Friday 25 March, 1994 Transfiguration Classroom
Remus watched over his class of Third Years. Each one was tasked to turn a teacup into a toy of their choosing. Harry had changed his into a toy tank, Hermione turned hers into a miniature elephant, and the rest were working on various shapes with varying skill. A few minutes before the bell rang, he called for their attention.
"I would like to let you all know that I'm instituting a Final Project for the year. This project must be an original creation so you cannot work in groups. I want to see creativity and complexity. You may not create something dangerous no matter how 'cool' it is. Also, nothing insulting is allowed. You may start with any non-living material you find in the castle itself or from the grounds. This project will account for seventy-five percent of your total grade. The other twenty-five percent will be based on a written test," The bell rang at that moment, "Thank you and dismissed. Harry, if you would stay behind a moment?"
Harry held back and mentioned to Neville he would see him in a few moments.
"Harry," Remus began, "I've heard from Minerva that you have something planned for the upcoming Tournament?"
Harry nodded and began to describe some of the events and workshops planned. He mentioned that the other artists wanted to bring the Art Gallery outside so that way everyone could visit without potentially getting lost in the castle. Remus looked thoughtful for a moment and asked him if there were any artists who specialized in transfiguration.
"I think there are a couple. Why?"
"I was thinking of coordinating with them to help out with their projects. Minerva suggested I contact you since you're the one spearheading the side events."
Harry nodded at this and recommended that Remus stop by tomorrow at Potter's Place and speak with the sculpture artists.
After he left Remus, Harry traveled down to the greenhouses where he found Neville working on repotting a Bouncing Bulb plant. He didn't say anything but just watched his friend clearly in his element. Neville finally noticed Harry and grinned.
"What brings you by, Harry?"
"I couldn't find you after you left the Transfiguration class and I knew that you'd end up here eventually, so here I am."
"What did you want to ask me? Homework or class notes?"
"I was wondering if there were any plants here that had interesting ribbing or designs I could copy for the vases I'm working on?"
Neville thought for a moment and led Harry off to Greenhouse One, "In here are the best ones I can think of that won't try to harm or kill you, should you decide to harvest a bit of the plant. I recommend staying with the non-flowering vines and bushes."
Harry thanked him and started perusing through the greenhouse.
Later in the evening before curfew, Harry was summoned to Headmistress McGonagall's office. She informed him that the Unspeakables requested his presence as early as possible tomorrow. She suggested that he be up, fed and ready by no later than eight am.
"Any idea as to what they need me for, Headmistress?" he asked.
"It would be my guess that they found another of those vile devices, but frankly your guess is as good as mine."
Saturday 26 March, 1994 Veil of Death Room, Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic
Harry shivered as he gazed upon the legendary Veil of Death. It seemed to beckon and draw him in. He could see the Veil blowing in a non-existent breeze and could hear faint whispers coming from…beyond. He turned as he heard someone else approaching.
"Fascinating subject material, isn't it Mr. Potter?" commented the Unspeakable.
"If you say so. It gives me the creeps. So what was it that required me to be here?"
The Unspeakable led him over to a table that had been setup with a bunch of different items on it. He picked up one of the items, a gold ring with a chunky black rock on it.
"According to our scans and research, this stone belongs to you, Mr. Potter. It's one of three pieces of a set. Are you familiar with the Tale of the Three Brothers?" Harry shook his head no.
The Unspeakable told the Tale and described the Three Deathly Hallows. A Wand of immeasurable power, a Stone that could bring those we had lost back to us in ghostly form and an Invisibility Cloak that never faded or wore out over time. At the mention of the Cloak, Harry thought about his own invisibility cloak that he had been gifted with. He asked the Unspeakable where the wand was and told that the wand was currently in storage. Harry asked what would happen if all three were to be brought together but the Unspeakable wasn't sure.
"Well then, I think for this moment, that they should stay apart. I have an invisibility cloak that I inherited from my father. It sounds remarkably similar to the one you described. I have no need to bring anyone back, it would just lead to heartache and I don't want that. As for the wand, I'm happy with mine and it just seems like that other one would lead to problems down the line."
The Unspeakable nodded and asked if they could view the Cloak. Harry thought for a moment and replied that once Voldemort was dead and gone for good, he would loan the Cloak to the department. Until then, he would hang onto it. They then turned to the other items on the table.
Harry saw a golden chalice amongst the others. He pointed out that it looked incredibly like the legendary Hufflepuff chalice. The Unspeakable took it out of the pile and said that it was discovered in the vault of the Lestrange family as were a number of the other Dark objects. The ring Harry was shown earlier; had been found in an abandoned shack on the outskirts of a town called Little Hangleton.
"Have you determined if the chalice is a Horcrux?" Harry inquired and the Unspeakable nodded, "What will you do with it? It seems a shame to destroy the cup."
"We will most likely have to destroy it as I don't know of a way to keep the container intact with its initial enchantments while destroying the evil one."
Harry was thoughtful, "What about the Goblins? Would they know of a method?"
The Unspeakable was intrigued, "Never thought of that. Good idea, Mr. Potter. I shall enquire with a contact of mine."
Harry thought about the items that had been discovered and noticed a trend, "Have you noticed that Voldemort was collecting items of historical value? Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's chalice? All we need is something of Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's to complete the set."
The Unspeakable nodded, he had noticed this as well. The problem was that no one knew where the others were hidden. Harry asked if they had sifted through Dumbledore's memories and found anything interesting. The Unspeakable snorted a bit and replied that there was a LOT of 'interesting' things and ideas, unfortunately nothing useful or obvious. He offered to show Harry the highlights of the memories pertaining to the Horcrux hunt; Harry agreed but requested that they wait until closer to summer. He explained that exams would be coming up and he needed to study without being distracted. Harry watched as all the items except the chalice and ring were thrown and disappeared into the Veil.
Friday 1 April, 1994 Potter's Place
It was the twins' birthday and it was a birthday to remember. Food, drinks and games were held and attended. Pranks were pulled by everyone present; some funny, others groan-worthy. It didn't matter, everyone was having fun! The twins were seated on a couple of chairs transfigured to look like thrones and were wearing cardboard crowns that Harry had gotten from a non-magical fast food restaurant. They held toilet plungers decorated to look like scepters and footballs decorated to look like Orbs of Power.
Harry approached them and bowed low, "Oh, mighty Pranksters! This lowly servant begs an audience to bestow upon you a most wondrous present for the occurrence of your birth." The twins grinned and nodded.
Harry held out a square box wrapped in gaudy paper and backed away. Fred opened it and his eyes nearly popped out of his head! He started stuttering a thank you to Harry.
"Ha-Harry! Wh-where did you find this?" he began, "Georgie, look! Look!"
George took one look and his response matched that of his twin. The gift Harry had bestowed upon them was mind-boggling. He pulled out a thick leather bound book with letters done in gold inlay, which spelled out, "The Marauder's Guide to the Noble Art of Pranking."
Both boys jumped up out of their seats and grabbed Harry into a gigantic hug.
Harry grinned as they released him; "I came by that book from the authors themselves. I personally know Moony and Padfoot. I'm also the son of Prongs." At this declaration, the twins were nearly drooling and looked like their brains had just melted.
"As a matter of fact, the two of you have already met Moony and I'll introduce you to Padfoot at the end of the year."
Harry laughed as he watched the twins stumble over themselves trying to bow before him loudly proclaiming themselves to be unworthy. The next half hour was spent watching and listening to the two of them trying to decide who Moony really was.
Wednesday 13 April, 1994 Potter's Place
Harry and Hermione were having a quiet evening dinner together in the reading room. The two talked about the Unspeakable's research into the Horcruxes and their possible locations. Harry had mentioned that if they could find the two missing Founder items, they'd be that much closer to getting rid of Voldemort. The problem, in Harry's mind, was that no one knew where the fabled Ravenclaw diadem was nor did anyone know what Gryffindor's most famous item was. Hermione thought that Harry should at least see what the diadem looked like so after dinner, the two trooped up to the Ravenclaw common room to view a sculpture of Rowena Ravenclaw.
"See that tiara on the statue's head, Harry? That's what the diadem is supposed to look like." Harry nodded pensively.
"And no one knows anything about its whereabouts?"
"Nope, at least no one in living memory."
Harry stopped suddenly with his eyes wide open. He turned to look at her; she could see an idea explode behind his eyes.
"What? What are you thinking about?"
"You said, 'no one in living memory,' what about someone who's dead? Like a ghost?"
Hermione paused, thinking of whether or not any of the castle ghosts could help. She glanced around the room and spotted Luna working on her homework.
"Luna? You're familiar with many of the inhabitants of this castle. Do you know if Ravenclaw house has it's own ghost?"
Luna looked up from her work, her eyes slightly glazing over as she thought, "Yes, Helena Ravenclaw. She haunts the lower levels of the castle. If you'd like, I will introduce you to her."
Both of them nodded so they headed back downstairs to a lonely hallway halfway to the Slytherin dungeons. Luna glanced in one hallway and spotted the specter.
"Helena? Are you in the mood to answer a few questions? I have some friends that would like to talk with you."
The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw glided over; she was dressed in a medieval gown and had a sad smile on her face.
"Hello, dear Luna. Hello, Luna's friends. What is it that you seek?"
Hermione nudged Harry; this was his show. He lightly cleared his throat, "Miss Ravenclaw, we were wondering if you knew the location of your mother's diadem." Helena started backing away at his question. "Please! We don't seek it to become more knowledgeable, we seek it to cleanse it of the taint that Voldemort placed on it."
Helena paused then responded, "It is here in the castle. It resides in the Room of Hidden Things. If you have to ask, you will never know. If you know then you need only ask." She then turned and flew off.
Harry turned to the other two girls, "I don't get it. I mean… I know it was a riddle and Ravenclaws seem to love their riddles…well, except one." Hermione gave a un-lady like snort.
The three of them pondered over the message but couldn't come up with anything. Harry decided to write to the Unspeakable in charge of the Horcrux Hunt and pass along the message.