CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: Wit Beyond Measure

Harry woke up feeling more rested than he had in months. For one long, luxurious moment, he let himself believe that Voldemort's mental assault had ceased and he was free of the nightmares at last, but then his scar twinged and he opened his eyes to discover that he was in the Infirmary. Again.

"Good morning, Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Which morning?" Harry asked shrewdly, shifting to sit upright against the pillows. At least he wasn't in any pain this time.

"Tuesday."

Harry frowned. The last thing he remembered was… a Quidditch match in what had felt like a hurricane. His head had been hurting something fierce, he had been battling against the wind in a vain attempt to reach the Snitch before Malfoy – and then he had been watching a younger version of himself sobbing hysterically as a belt tore his back open. It must have been one of the earliest beatings he had received; it hadn't taken long for him to learn that crying just made Uncle Vernon angrier.

Voldemort's visions were getting stronger. He hadn't even been asleep; the force of the vision had knocked him unconscious.

"Did we lose the match?"

"Both Seekers were knocked out of the game before the Snitch was caught, so technically neither team won."

"Both...? Draco! What happened, is he okay?"

"It was a close thing. When you fell he caught you out of the sky, but you both would have hit the ground hard if not for a miraculous bit of magic on his part."

"So he's okay?"

"He's fine. I released him on Sunday, but you wouldn't know it – he's spent most of his free time in here watching over you. He even claimed one of the beds to sleep in; I only just managed to convince him to go and get some breakfast for the two of you. He didn't want to leave – I don't think he wants to take the risk of you getting hurt again."

Harry was beginning to lose count of the number of times Malfoy had saved his life but he did know he owed Malfoy more than he could ever repay.

"How come I was unconscious for so much longer than he was?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Mr Potter. Sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous."

"If I could sleep I would."

Her stern expression faltered a bit. "I know you did not want to speak to a Mind Healer, but if the nightmares are that bad maybe professional help is something you should seriously consider."

"A Mind Healer can't help me," Harry said sombrely. When the Dreamless Sleep potion had stopped working he had reached a point of such utter exhaustion that he had actually thought about Healer Whitman's offer to be his shrink, but ultimately he had come to the conclusion that there was no point. Talking about the traumas he had been through to a complete stranger wouldn't do anything to stop the dreams. "These aren't normal nightmares anymore. Voldemort is in my head." He tapped his scar. "We're connected, and I've already learned the hard way that I'm rubbish at Occlumency. There's nothing I can do to block him out. This ends when one of us is dead."

"Harry…"

"It's fine. You've given me a booster; I'll survive a little longer. Hopefully long enough to do what needs to be done."

Madam Pomfrey was prevented from saying anything else by the return of Malfoy. He came bearing a large stack of toast which he almost dropped as he came to a sudden halt at the sight of Harry sitting up.

"You woke him without me!"

Madam Pomfrey hid a smile. "My apologies, Mr Malfoy." She withdrew from the room, leaving them alone.

Malfoy approached the bed, setting the toast on an empty medicine trolley. "Alright, Potter?"

"Alright." As well as could be expected anyway. "Thanks… you know, for saving my life. Again."

There was tension around Malfoy's eyes even as he smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

Harry frowned. "Are you alright?"

Draco shrugged. "Most of Slytherin is mad that I saved an enemy player instead of winning the match, but my reputation was in tatters long before the game. Besides, it's not like my father is around to be disappointed in me for getting kicked off the team."

"They- what a bunch of tossers!"

"It's fine. I don't really feel like one of them anymore anyway." He tried for a half-hearted smirk. "You Gryffindors have corrupted me."

Harry examined his friend's face, noting the shadows under his eyes and the ghost of some undefined emotion within them. "Are you sure there isn't something else bothering you?"

"I could use a holiday," Malfoy admitted. He reached for the stack of toast and took one for himself before he held the plate out to Harry. "Want a piece?"

It was an evasion; Harry used them enough to recognise one when he heard it, but he played along. "Thanks. It is nearly Christmas break, isn't it?"

Malfoy nodded around his mouthful of toast, then swallowed and said, "Hogwarts Express leaves this weekend."

"I suppose Dumbledore will want us to stay here, where it's safer." Harry wasn't thrilled by the prospect, but at least the majority of the students would be going home for the holidays so the castle would be quieter.

"Actually, I think the Weasleys wanted to have us at the Burrow."

A flood of images flashed through his mind; their house in ruins, blood and spells and chaos, screams and grief and Mrs Weasley being rushed off to Saint Mungos for emergency treatment from the nearly-fatal wounds she had received trying to protect him. "No."

"Potter-"

"No. No way."

"Let me finish. They wanted to have us at the Burrow but they knew you wouldn't go for it, so they were hoping they could join us for Christmas at Grimmauld Place instead."

That wasn't such a terrible idea. The Death Eaters didn't know the location of the Black Mansion and they couldn't learn it unless Harry told one of them directly. In that regard, it was probably safer than Hogwarts. Come to think of it, Harry wasn't sure how Hogwarts could claim to be a safe haven from Death Eaters when Quirrell had walked around for a year with Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head, Wormtail had masqueraded as a rat for three years, Barty Crouch Jr had impersonated a Hogwarts Professor for a year and Crabbe and Goyle were still legally enrolled despite strong indication that they were working for Voldemort.

All of a sudden, Harry had a very strong desire to get out of this place.

"I'd like that."

Malfoy blinked. "That was easier than I thought it would be. Ron bet me two Chocolate Frogs that it would take me at least ten minutes to talk you into it."

"It'll be nice to see Mr and Mrs Weasley again." Hopefully he could replace the strong mental image of Molly's dreadful injury with one of her smiling and happy as everyone unwrapped their Weasley jumpers on Christmas day.

"Yeah it will." Harry could tell he meant that genuinely, though his wistful expression revealed his unspoken desire to spend the holiday with his own parents instead. "So now we just need to survive the next few days of school."

Harry affected a groan. "How much did I miss yesterday? Do I have an enormous pile of homework waiting for me?"

"Don't worry, Granger took notes for you and I think she might have started writing your Transfiguration essay as well."

Honestly, Harry did not know how he would have made it through the past 5 years of his education without Hermione's help. He owed a lot to a lot of people, and what truly amazed him was that they never asked anything of him in return. Maybe he'd had a lousy family growing up, but he had been incredibly lucky to make such amazing friends. "Remind me to get her a good Christmas present."

"I have some Diagon Alley ordering catalogues that you can look through if you like."

"Thanks." Given that shopping in Hogsmeade wasn't an option anymore, catalogues were definitely the way to go. Harry imagined that the owl postal service would be very busy this holiday season.

A thought occurred to him. "What about the DA meeting? Is that still on tonight?" He was nervous about getting up in front of everyone for the first time since the article had come out, but Voldemort was still a threat and the students of Hogwarts still needed to know how to defend themselves against him. "I haven't planned anything specific-" he had lost an entire weekend after all, "-but seeing as it will be the last one for the term I suppose we could just do a review of everything we have covered so far…"

"Good idea. I know my group could do with some additional practice with counter-curses, and I think Granger said she wanted to go over a few of the offensive spells with hers."

Not for the first time, Harry was glad he had thought to divide the large number of students who had joined the DA into smaller groups. His Seniors had really flourished as leaders and their individual knowledge of the students in their care meant they were able to effectively build on strengths and work on weaknesses so there were no gaps in their learning and no student was left behind.

"It's a plan, then," he said and took another piece of toast.

With the promise of Christmas break on the horizon and a decent chunk of sleep giving him more energy than he'd had in a while, Harry felt significantly lighter. He finished his breakfast, reunited with a very relieved Hermione and Ron, and attended classes that day as though his school life had finally returned to normal. He barely even noticed the way that people were still walking on eggshells around him.

The DA meeting that evening brought him sharply back to reality.

Harry arrived in the Room of Requirement half an hour early to set up, as usual, and his core team of Seniors were there for the debriefing fifteen minutes before it was due to start.

But seven o'clock came and went, and not one other student came through those doors. The huge, cavernous room remained virtually empty.

"I'm sure I remembered to put up the notices," Neville said nervously at half past.

"We did say 7pm, didn't we?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe everyone figured it would just be a catch-up session and decided they didn't need to be here," Ron suggested.

"No," Harry said flatly. "That is not the reason. It's because of me. Because they don't trust me anymore." Because they think I'm weak. Broken. Pathetic. Useless. Because they think I'm not good enough to be the Chosen One. Because I let everyone down.

"Harry," Malfoy said in a low tone of warning, giving him a look that clearly said 'I know what you are thinking and if you don't snap out of it right now I will not hesitate to give you yet another lecture about ignoring the opinions of stupid ignorant people'.

"It's their loss, Harry," Hermione said.

"Yeah, well, I just hope we taught them enough." Harry had made sure to cover as much of the practical Defence content as he could in as short a time as possible, so that in the event of an attack the students would be able to defend themselves. They had learned a lot; maybe something he had taught them would mean the difference between death and survival.

"If they aren't willing to learn from you anymore, there isn't much else you can do to help them, and that isn't your fault," Ginny said.

Harry supposed he should feel angry, or betrayed, that the students he had invested so much time in had lost faith in him so easily. But he found he couldn't just write them off. Their teacher or not, he felt responsible for them and he had made a promise to protect them. Now, it seemed, there was only one option left to him.

"I may not be able to teach them how to fight Voldemort anymore," Harry conceded, "but that won't stop me from doing it myself. It doesn't matter if they believe in me or not. I was born to fight him, I will fight him, and I will defeat him." He would prove that he was more than the abused orphan from Rita Skeeter's article; he could, and he would, be the hero that they needed him to be.

"That's the spirit, mate!" Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder. Harry flinched a little, but he appreciated the sentiment.

"And remember, we're here to help," Hermione added.

Harry looked around at his friends. Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Luna, Neville and Ginny – all of them brave, determined and stalwart. He knew they would be with him until the end and he couldn't imagine a team of people he would rather work with.

"Alright, then. Let's get to it."

The Room of Requirement shifted and morphed around them, shrinking down from the enormous DA training ground to something that looked like a war room out of an action novel. It came complete with seven chairs around a huge mahogany table, a pin board on the wall, a pile of maps, a fully stocked bookcase, large quantities of parchment and quills, and a thermos of hot tea.

Harry pulled his notebook out of his pocket. "First things first; we need to deal with these Horcruxes."

Malfoy, Ron, Hermione and Ginny each gave a firm nod, but the other two just looked puzzled.

"Ah, this may be a stupid question," Neville ventured. "But what's a 'horcrux'?"

Once, Harry would have been inclined to keep the information to himself, both out of fear of putting the others in danger and out of a tendency to try and do everything on his own. But now he didn't hesitate.

"The key to Voldemort's immortality," Harry replied. "And our key to defeating him once and for all."

He filled Neville and Luna in on everything they knew and had achieved so far.

"...the diary, the ring and the locket have been destroyed. That leaves Nagini, Hufflepuff's cup, and something of Rowena Ravenclaw's. We know that Nagini will be with Voldemort. We suspect that one of the others will be hidden somewhere in Hogwarts and that the last will have been entrusted to Bellatrix Lestrange," Harry summarised. "What we need to do now is work out what Ravenclaw's relic is, think of a way of getting the Horcrux from Bellatrix, and find the place in Hogwarts where the other is hidden. Any ideas?" He looked to Neville and Luna in particular, hoping that having a couple of fresh perspectives would help.

"I think You-Know-Who would want the Diadem of Wisdom," Luna said. "It was Rowena Ravenclaw's greatest achievement, you know. No one has been able to replicate its power, although my dad is designing one at the moment that might come close. He is planning to use Wrackspurt siphons, a Billywig propeller and a Dirigible Plum to-"

"That's interesting, Luna," Hermione interrupted, a trace of impatience in her voice. "But the original diadem was lost centuries ago. You-Know-Who must have used something else."

"Things that are lost have a strange way of coming back in the end," Luna said airily, glancing down at her shoes with a faint smile. "But if anyone knows what happened to it, I'm sure the Grey Lady does."

"Why would a ghost know?" Ron asked.

Luna blinked at him. "The diadem was lost centuries ago."

Ron's expression remained blank, but Hermione's eyes lit up with comprehension. "So who better to ask than a centuries-old ghost! Do you think the Grey Lady knew Rowena Ravenclaw?"

"Of course; why wouldn't she? Though I don't think they got along very well. It was hard for her to live in the shadow of such a clever witch, you see, and I think she was rather jealous, but in the end she regretted not being able to say goodbye. I feel the same about my own mother sometimes, so I understand. Maybe that's why Helena talks to me."

"Hang on – are you saying that the Grey Lady is Helena Ravenclaw?" Hermione exclaimed. When Luna nodded, Hermione continued excitedly, "I can't believe you found out who she is. Bathilda Bagshot asked for her backstory to record it in Hogwarts: A History, but the Grey Lady wouldn't tell her. I've always thought the book was incomplete without it…"

"Maybe she didn't like the idea of everyone knowing every detail of her private life," Harry said, wishing he'd had the same chance to say 'no comment'.

Luna placed a gentle hand on his arm, the dreamy look in her eyes fading to something more serious. "I'm sorry about the article, Harry."

"I don't blame you," Harry assured her. Even though many of the things he had told her that night by the lake had been directly quoted in the article, he had never for a moment believed that Luna had sold him out to a reporter. He knew she would never do something like that to him, or to anyone for that matter. There had only ever been one explanation.

"Rita Skeeter shouldn't have been eavesdropping on our conversation," he said. "And even given how things have turned out…" The humiliating reveal in the Great Hall, the pity letters from random members of the public, the official inquiry, Dumbledore's claims of ignorance, the whispers that followed him, and now the DA meeting no one had turned up for "…I'm glad we talked. It meant a lot to me."

"Me too," Luna replied softly.

Ginny coughed loudly. "If the Grey Lady knows something then you should go talk to her, Luna."

"I'll come with you," Harry offered.

"No," Ginny said quickly. "I mean, she won't want a crowd. Luna's a fellow Ravenclaw – I'm sure she'll have better luck on her own."

"There is something about Luna that makes people open up to her," Harry agreed with a fond smile, "so you're probably right."

"Okay," Luna said. "I'll be back soon."

Harry was startled when he heard himself say "I'll miss you" and was even more startled by the jolt he felt in his stomach when Luna laughed lightly in response. She withdrew her hand from his arm, leaving his skin to tingle in the wake of her touch.

"…ry? Harry?"

"Hm? What?" Harry shook his head to clear it, realising with a flush of embarrassment that he had been staring absently at the door that Luna had just left through. He must be even more tired than he thought.

Ginny was scowling at his lapse in attention, which he thought was probably warranted given the importance of their task, although he couldn't fathom why Hermione had a smile twitching at her lips or why Ron looked torn between grinning at him and whacking him over the head.

"I was saying, Harry, that while Luna talks to the Grey Lady we should think of a strategy for retrieving the Horcrux that Bellatrix has," Hermione said.

"Right." Harry forced himself to focus. "The first question is: where would she keep it?"

"Malfoy, do the Lestranges have a house or manor or something?" Ron asked. "With a secret cellar like yours?"

Malfoy frowned a little. "Apparently our cellar is not much of a secret. But yes, the Lestranges had a manor. After their conviction and imprisonment, though, the Ministry raided it thoroughly. If the Horcrux was ever there, it won't be anymore."

"They must have known there was a risk they would be caught," Hermione said. "You-Know-Who was gone and the Death Eaters were being rounded up."

"They were not exactly subtle about their loyalties," Malfoy agreed.

Harry glanced at Neville, uncomfortably aware that this could not be a pleasant topic for him, given that the crime that the Lestranges had been arrested for was the torture of his parents. But this discussion was too important to avoid. "So do you think Bellatrix would have hidden the Horcrux elsewhere?" Harry asked.

"She probably considers it her most valuable possession," Malfoy said. "Provided she doesn't sleep with it, and presuming she wanted to keep it safe, there is one place more secure than almost any other…"

"Gringotts," Harry breathed. He remembered what Hagrid had said about the wizarding bank the very first time he had taken Harry to Diagon Alley: "Ain't no safer place. Not one.'Cept perhaps Hogwarts."

Malfoy nodded. "Exactly."

"My brother Bill said that the goblins won't take sides in the war, so the Ministry wouldn't have been able to raid the Lestrange vault even after they were arrested," Ron added.

"So it's a good bet that the Horcrux is there," Harry said.

"Yeah. But if it is, we have a whole new problem. Gringotts has a reputation for being the most secure bank in the world for a reason. How on earth are we supposed to break in there?"

"If the Lestrange vault is anything like ours, it will be located in the depths of Gringotts. We would be up against complex locking enchantments, curses and probably even a dragon or two," Malfoy warned. "Trying to steal something from there would be extremely dangerous."

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Harry said.

"Um, actually, I have an idea if you want to hear it," Neville ventured, and Harry nodded encouragingly. "A blood relative who has been entrusted with the key can gain access to a Gringotts vault without having to worry about security. My Gran withdraws money for me all the time. And isn't Bellatrix Lestrange Draco's aunt?"

"Unfortunately," Malfoy confirmed, his nose wrinkling with distaste. "But somehow I doubt she would be willing to give the key to her blood-traitor nephew so I can rob her vault."

"Who said she had to be willing?" Neville said darkly. "I say we set a trap for her and take it by force."

Harry was surprised to hear such venom and ferocity in the voice of a boy who was usually so kind and gentle by nature. But in light of what Bellatrix had done to Neville's parents, he understood. Neville probably hated her as strongly as Harry hated Voldemort.

The idea was appealing for more than one reason. Harry had to admit, after his failure to avenge Sirius's death that night at the Department of Mysteries, he had been itching to go up against Bellatrix again. He was stronger now than he had been then. This time he would not be so easily overcome.

"That would be almost as dangerous as breaking into Gringotts," Hermione pointed out.

"If it means Bellatrix goes back to prison and we get another Horcrux, I think it's worth the risk," Harry said firmly, earning a grim smile from Neville.

Hermione sighed, but she must have been able to tell he was determined about this because she made no further attempt to dissuade him. "Well, if we are going to do this, we need a solid plan. Ron, you're our primary strategist these days. Any suggestions?"

Ron looked immensely pleased with himself. "Yeah, I reckon I could come up with something."

"Good," Harry said. "You, Hermione and Malfoy work on that. Ginny and Neville, we need to figure out where this last Horcrux is hidden."

"And you're sure it's in Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

Hogwarts was the only real home that the orphan Tom Riddle had ever had. It was where he had learned to master his magic, discovered he was the Heir of Slytherin, and begun to gather supporters for his pureblood cause. It was also reputed to be the most secure location in all of Great Britain – even more so than Gringotts. "Yes, I'm sure."

For the next half an hour they all say around the table brainstorming ideas and sketching out plans. But Harry felt certain that they were missing something important. Something painfully obvious but just out of reach.

If I were Voldemort, he thought – and shuddered, because he had no desire to try to adopt the mindset of his enemy, even for a moment. They were more similar than he liked to admit, though. His scar chose that moment to give a painful twinge, reminding him of their connection. Voldemort used it against him but, if he was careful, could it also be used to Harry's advantage?

He concentrated, allowing a wash of alien emotions to slide like slick oil over his soul. Revolted but determined, Harry sifted through them, trying to find something relevant.

Arrogance. The belief that he was intellectually superior to all those around him, more knowledgeable.

Tom Riddle had found Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets and was confident that he was the only one. What else had he found in his time at Hogwarts?

The Marauders, and the Weasley twins after them, had found most of the hidden places and passages that Hogwarts had to offer. It had to be something more than that. A secret of Hogwarts, but one manipulated beyond the obvious. Or perhaps Voldemort simply believed no one but himself was smart enough to discover what he had.

If I had something important that I needed to hide somewhere inside Hogwarts castle, where would I put it? Harry asked himself. He tried to picture himself with something valuable, dangerous, secret. What would he do with it?

He had no idea.

Frustrated, with a splitting headache making him feel even worse, Harry jumped to his feet and started pacing the floor restlessly.

The only place he had really hidden anything was under the loose floorboard in his room at Privet Drive-

The floor creaked beneath him.

Harry looked down and saw that the wooden plank he stood on had shifted under his weight. Excited, he got down on his knees and pried it open… but the space beneath was empty. He sat back on his haunches, disappointed, feeling that he was stumped after all.

But then his eyes widened as he realised what had just happened.

The Room of Requirement had accommodated his needs. He wanted a hiding place, and the Room had provided one.

He leapt up.

"Out! Everyone out!"

"Harry, what-?"

"Just do it. Trust me." Making them drop the books and papers they were working on, Harry herded them all out of the room, and they nearly ran into Luna coming the other way.

"Oh, is it bedtime already?" Luna asked. "You have been looking very tired, Harry; I can tell you what I found out in the morning…"

But sleep was the last thing on his mind; adrenaline had shoved Harry's fatigue to the bottom of his list of priorities. He was eager to try out his theory, but Luna's fact-finding mission was important too. He forced himself to slow down and listen. "No, what is it?"

"Well it is a very long and tragic story, but you look like you would prefer the short version right now."

He smiled gratefully. "Yes, please."

"Helena stole the diadem from her mother and hid it. For centuries she was too ashamed of what she had done to tell anyone, but about 50 years ago someone coaxed the story out of her."

Harry recalled the image of a charming and manipulative young Tom Riddle, and the answer came easily. "Voldemort."

Luna nodded. "He promised to destroy it for her. Its existence had tormented her and she longed to be free of it, so she told him where it was hidden."

"But when Voldemort found it, he turned it into a horcrux instead," Harry said. It all made sense. "So now we know exactly what we are looking for."

"I did a rough sketch of the diadem the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw's statue in our common room wears, if that helps," Luna added, handing him a sheet of parchment.

He looked down at the beautifully drawn, detailed picture of a tiara. "You, Luna," he declared, "are absolutely wonderful." In the heady rush brought on by long-awaited breakthroughs, he impulsively leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and he was too caught up in the moment to notice what he had done, to see Luna's light blush and small smile, or to hear the choke and splutter from someone in his forgotten audience. "Now we just need to find it, and I think I have a pretty good idea of where it could be."

He turned to fix his gaze on the blank wall where the door they had just come through had been only moments ago. The Room of Requirement came fully equipped with the seeker's needs. He couldn't make a general request, though; he had to need it. "Ron, do you still have that Fanged Frisbee?"

"Um, yeah."

"Can I have it?"

"Yeah, it's here somewhere…" He rummaged through his bag and handed it over.

Hermione tutted disapprovingly. "Ron, you know that is a prohibited item; you shouldn't be carrying it around. If Filch came past here and saw you with it…"

Harry smiled, and spoke to the wall. "I could get in trouble for having this. I need somewhere to hide it."

He spun on his heel, pacing back and forth three times, thinking about the need for a room to hide the Frisbee in, a room that could be used to hide anything and everything.

On his third time past, a door appeared.

"Surely it can't be that simple…" Hermione murmured.

"Maybe not," Harry said. "But it could be." He reached out and pulled open the door.

As one, the group let out a collective gasp at the sight that greeted them. They stood dumbly in the doorway for a few long moments, staring out into the room with awe. The Fanged Frizbee fell from Harry's slackened grip and flew off to join a few others that were hovering around.

This was certainly the place to hide it.

But there was more than just Fanged Frisbees hidden in this room. Far, far more.

"Bloody hell, this place is massive!" Ron exclaimed at last.

"That is an understatement," Malfoy said. "You could fit an entire cathedral inside of here easily, if it was not already filled with so much junk."

"Is this all stuff that students have hidden?" Neville wondered.

"This room must have been used for centuries," Hermione said. "There could be artefacts in here from the very first generation of students to attend this school! Just imagine what we could discover…"

"At the moment, there is only one thing we need to find," Harry reminded them. "And I know it's in here." He could feel it.

"How on earth are we supposed to be able to find it amongst all this lot?" Ron asked, gesturing at the innumerable piles of miscellaneous objects that loomed overhead and stretched back into the room as far as the eye could see.

"It's this way." Harry started down one of the many aisles, leaving the others to follow after him. They must have been confused, but he was glad that they did not ask questions. He could not explain his reasons and he wasn't really eager to think about why he felt so confident that he knew where he was going. Besides, his head hurt and the throbbing that had been in the background was getting worse with every step.

"Hey, that is the cabinet that Montague got stuck in last year," Malfoy said.

Harry glanced at it, dimly recalling seeing a similar cabinet somewhere before. But his gaze was drawn off to the side and there, tucked in between a stack of magazines and a broken crate, half hidden beneath a horribly-knitted jumper, was a discoloured tiara.

It did not look like anything special; just another ancient and somewhat battered piece of history long forgotten. But if Harry squinted, he could just make out the words 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure' engraved on the surface. He checked the picture that Luna had drawn for him. The two matched.

"I found the diadem," Harry said quietly. He suspected that the head piece was never meant to be particularly beautiful or grandiose; a single crystal was set in the simple silver band and age had dulled both. But Harry found he could not stop gazing at it.

He should have been able to hear a reaction to his announcement from the others, but sounds were muffled, as if the world had been submerged in water. If he concentrated, though, he could just make out a faint whisper.

It was coming from the diadem.

Harry moved closer, trying to hear what was being said. This was the Diadem of Wisdom. What knowledge did it contain; what secrets could he uncover? Could this be the key to learning how to defeat Voldemort once and for all? Could it help him regain the respect of his peers and the general public who, in the wake of Rita's article, had judged him and found him lacking?

Harry stretched out his hand-

"Don't do that, Harry."

Harry blinked; Luna had appeared in front of him. "What?"

"There is a swarm of Wrackspurts there and you have enough of those buzzing around your head; you don't want any more. They make your brain go all fuzzy." She started to flap her hands in the air as though to dispel the invisible creatures, and oddly enough Harry did feel that his mind was clearing.

"Never mind imaginary Wrackspurts, you nearly picked up a horcrux!" Hermione exclaimed. "Who knows what kind of spells and curses Voldemort could have put on that diadem! If you had put it on it could have killed you! Or you could have killed one of us!"

"Don't blame Harry," Ginny said. "The pull from one of those things can be very hard to resist."

"Well everyone stay back, then," Malfoy advised. "I will go and get a Basilisk fang while the rest of you stay here to keep an eye on the horcrux – and each other. Then we can get rid of it."

While they waited for Malfoy to return the others stood in a semicircle facing the diadem, as though it could try to leap up and escape at any moment. After a time, the silence became uncomfortable and Harry thought he could hear the horcrux begin to whisper again. He did his best to ignore it, but he was relieved when Ron spoke.

"So, this is the fourth horcrux, huh? Once it's gone, that'll be four down, two to go."

"That was a stroke of genius, Harry, finding it in here," Ginny said.

"You know, we'd probably be famous if news of this got out," Neville said. "I mean, this is the legendary Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. People have been searching for it centuries and it's right here! I bet we could get on the front page of the Daily Prophet. There would be interviews, photographs…"

"It's not as fun as it sounds," Harry said dryly. He had ended up in the headlines of the newspaper more times than he cared to remember and it had never been a particularly pleasant experience. Fame was not all it was cracked up to be. "Besides, if Voldemort found out about this he would realise we are hunting Horcruxes and we'd never get to the others."

Harry shuddered at the possibilities; Voldemort could create even more Horcruxes and put so many layers of protection around them that they would be impossible to find, let alone destroy. The Light side only barely had the advantage now; if they jeopardised that there would be no hope left. "No. No one can ever know about this. The horcrux will die today, and we won't speak of it to anyone else."

"The real shame is the loss of the diadem," Hermione said. "It is supposed to enhance the intellect and wisdom of the wearer. Can you imagine the good we could have done with it? The breakthroughs we could have made in so many different fields of research? The grades we could have gotten?"

"You're already the smartest in our year, Hermione," Ron pointed out. "You'll be top of the class even without a diadem to help you."

"Boy, it sure would be nice to be that smart," Neville said wistfully. "My gran might be proud of me, then."

"I'm sure she is already," Hermione said, giving him an affectionate nudge with her shoulder.

"No she isn't," Neville sighed, looking glum. "I'm too dumb."

"Would you like me more if I was smarter?" Ron asked suddenly, his gaze flicking from the diadem to Hermione and back again.

"Maybe if I had been sorted into Ravenclaw I wouldn't be so invisible to you," Ginny said, shifting her weight forward.

Neville took a step. "No one would think I was a Squib if I got 'O's for all of my N.E.W.T classes."

"I could be the smartest witch in all of Britain!" Hermione exclaimed, pushing to be at the front. "Smarter than Dumbledore; smarter than Rowena Ravenclaw herself!"

They started jostling closer to the mound of objects where the diadem lay.

"I just want to try it on."

"Me first."

"I need it more than you do."

"You don't deserve it."

"I work harder than any of you!"

"I want it!"

"It's mine!"

"Not if I get to it before you!"

Possessiveness welled up inside Harry. He had found it first. It belonged to him! He stalked forward, ready to shout and shove until the diadem was within his grasp-

But a hand caught his and tugged him back.

"No, Harry," Luna said. "Wrackspurts, remember?" She drew her wand from behind her left ear and frowned a little in concentration.

The others cried out in surprised outrage as they were forcefully pushed back by a shield bubble expanding rapidly in front of them. Undeterred, they lurched forward again, throwing their weight against the invisible barrier and pounding at it with their fists.

"Snap out of it!" Harry yelled, seizing Ron by the shoulders and spinning him around. "Don't look at it. The horcrux is trying to control you."

Ron blinked at him in bewilderment. "What?"

"You too, Neville," Harry said, giving him the same treatment and snapping his fingers in his face for good measure.

"Come away," Luna was saying gently, pulling the other girls a safe distance from the diadem. Their eyes cleared and after a few moments they seemed to realise what had happened.

"Blimey, that thing is strong," Ron said, sounding shaken.

Hermione looked ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry for laying into you before, Harry. I-I didn't understand."

"I can't believe I let him get to me like that – again," Ginny seethed.

"Why doesn't it affect you, Luna?" Harry asked. She was the only one out of the group who had been able to keep a level head. If she hadn't been there to stop them, the horcrux might have succeeded in drawing them in and they could have ended up cursed or possessed – or worse. Considering that this was the first time Luna had encountered a horcrux, her resistance was remarkable. "Couldn't you hear the whispers?"

"Oh yes," she answered cheerfully. "It called me 'Looney Lovegood' and told me that everyone thinks I'm crazy. It said I wasn't a real Ravenclaw and that my mother was much cleverer than I am. It claimed that if I put on the diadem it would change the way people see me. It said I might finally make friends."

Luna's words gave Harry a small glimpse into what must have been a lonely and isolated life for her after her mother died. People were quick to label her as odd because she did not fit into societal norms; even Harry, when he first met her, had thought she was strange. And in a way it was true; she was different. But once he had gotten to know her better Harry had realised that her individuality was the best thing about her.

"You didn't listen to it?" he asked.

"Why should I? It was lying and anyway, I already have friends. I have you guys."

Harry smiled at her fondly. "Yeah, you do."

"Did I miss something?" Malfoy asked, appearing out of the maze with a Basilisk fang in hand.

"Nothing exciting," Harry reported. "Luna just had to put a shield around the horcrux so we wouldn't do anything stupid."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows, moved forward to examine the shield with a brush of his fingertips, then turned and gave Luna an approving nod. "Good work. You will need to drop the spell so we can destroy the horcrux, though."

"The Wrackspurts will escape," she warned.

"We'll keep far back," Harry assured her. He did not like putting the responsibility for this all on Luna, especially considering the danger involved. But after their proven susceptibility to the horcrux's whispers, he did not want to risk any of the rest of them interfering with what had to be done. "Do you think you can handle it on your own?"

Malfoy carefully passed her the fang and she tested its weight in her hand before tightening her grip. "Yes."

"Okay, then. Give us a holler if you need help. And be careful."

"I will."

Harry and the others retreated behind a towering stack of books and broken furniture. They waited with bated breath in the silence of the cavernous room.

Abruptly, there came the sound of smashing crystal, metal shattering and an inhuman shriek. Then nothing.

"Luna...?"

Harry was just about ready to start panicking when a familiar head of dirty blond hair popped around the corner.

"It's a good thing my dad is designing his own diadem," she said. "Because this one is toast." And she held up the broken remains of Voldemort's fourth horcrux for all of them to see.

ooOOoo