Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.

Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome, I adore feedback of any kind. Enjoy the chapter.


The Albanian Cave

"I'm bored."

"Then do something productive Ronald."

"But there's nothing to do Mione, the adults are in a meeting that we're not invited to."

"Honestly Ronald, maybe its something we shouldn't hear."

"We're supposed to be Order members now Hermione, they shouldn't keep us out."

"I know Harry, but it must be important. Come to think of it, the only people there are those who know about Horcruxes - maybe they've got a lead on Ravenclaw's Diadem."

"Does that mean we'll get to go on a mission, please say they let us - I am so bored right now I'd almost wish for training, no matter how painful."

"I'll remind you of that sometime Ronald."

"Ha-de-ha Mione, I don't get how you're content to just sit here."

"I'm doing a little light reading since I'm up to date on assignments and research."

"Bloody hell Mione, that book is 1000 pages long, if that's light then what in Merlin's name do you class as long."

"Oh be quiet Harry, some of us like to read."

"You two aren't berating Mione about her books again are you," came a jovial voice and they turned to see a grinning Bill at the common room entrance. Hermione's face lit up and she dropped her book immediately, hauling herself off the sofa and throwing herself into Bill's waiting arms. He laughed deeply, "pleased to see me are you Mione? I'd love to stay, but I'm just the errand boy today - Dumbledore wants you three in his office now, he said you'd know what it was about. I'm supposed to stay here and make sure Ginny doesn't sneak off after you, Dumbledore said that while she knows what's going on, she shouldn't be wherever you're going today."

Hermione, Harry and Ron shared an excited look, they knew Dumbledore must have been referring to Horcruxes. Could it be that he had managed to find Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem? Hermione wondered why Ginny was forbidden from going, the only thing she could think of was it having something to do with the copy of Tom Riddle. Maybe the Diadem was another early Horcrux and Dumbledore was worried that it would use a form of Tom Riddle as protection - only two things really terrified Ginny - loss of her family and friends and Tom Riddle as he was in the diary form (seductive and evil).

Ron and Harry quickly found Ginny and brought her down to where Hermione was talking quietly with Bill, heads close together. The fiery redhead put up a bit of a fight at being left behind, but the look in Harry's eyes let her know there was a good reason and she didn't want to upset him. Hermione, Harry and Ron grabbed their wands and cloaks before speeding off to Dumbledore's office, though not until after Hermione had given Bill a suitably affectionate goodbye. Ron gagged, Harry laughed and Hermione blushed.

They entered Dumbledore's office to find him waiting with Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Severus and Tonks, whose bump was very noticeable now she was in her seventh month of pregnancy. Dumbledore informed them that Moody was unavailable and that since Tonks was pregnant and unable to go out on missions, that he would be accompanying the trio to destroy the Horcrux, with the assistance of Sirius, Remus and Severus. Tonks looked a little down at being left behind, she was never one to sit around idly. However, since her pregnancy had made her even clumsier than normal - and had resulted in an anti-trip charm having to be refreshed on her every hour - she had agreed to remain behind. Besides, accidentally hurting the baby was the last thing she wanted to do, not to mention how much of an over-protective husband Remus was being to her at the moment.

Dumbledore explained the situation quickly; Ravenclaw's Diadem had been located and found to be hidden in a magical cave in Albania. Hermione knew Voldemort had spent some time there, but she would have never guessed he would hide a precious piece of his soul there, there seemed to be no attachment. It was not until Dumbledore informed them that Albania was where Voldemort had discovered Nagini, his familiar, that she saw the link. They would be journeying by portkey - unauthorised of course and untraceable thanks to Dumbledore's power. Hermione had sighed to herself as Dumbledore explained that piece of information, she seriously wondered if she would ever trust the Ministry fully - after the debacle with chasing the wrong man (Sirius), denying Voldemort's return and being slowly taken over by Voldemort, she severely doubted it. She had become very suspicious of governing bodies.


The forest was damp, dense and humid, having experienced heavy rainfall recently. Hermione made a mental note not to come back for a holiday - she tended to prefer straightforward sun if possible. They pushed through heavy branches and she groaned as she felt her robes rip occasionally on sharper branches - thank Merlin these were some of her old robes. She wanted to ask how much longer the journey to the cave would take, but since Harry and Ron had taken to asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes, she refrained, not wanting to be classed with their childish behaviour. She would just have to stick it out.

Harry and Ron seemed to lack her manners and were complaining every second sentence, while Dumbledore chuckled, Sirius and Remus grinned and Severus scowled darkly at the two boys. Hermione was relieved when they finally came to some sort of clearing which allowed her to breathe without inhaling leaves and also to collapse onto the soft mossy ground and rest her aching legs. She did well in training but she wasn't used to walking so far and in such annoying conditions. She noted with satisfaction that both Harry and Ron were lying spread-eagled on their backs and that Sirius and Remus were sitting cross-legged on the ground. Dumbledore and Severus remained standing, but Hermione had expected this as she could never imagine them flopping down to sit on moss.

They rested for ten minutes, each taking a deep drink from the magically refilling water bottle in Remus' backpack. Then they were back on the move, not wanting to linger to long in the forest where there could be many dangerous creatures present. Hermione thought guiltily that this could all have been done a lot easier and quicker if she, Harry and Ron had stayed at the castle, but she was glad Dumbledore wanted to include them, since it concerned them so much. Still, she almost wished they could use brooms, but they were too noticeable and the portkey could only take them ten miles from the cave at the least, due to the magical properties of the area. Hermione was a little relieved they were staying in the south end of the forest though, a few magical tribes resided in the south and Hermione knew they were not always particularly welcoming to strangers.

Hermione was incredibly excited when they spotted the cave a about a hundred metres in the distance, though she was a little worried about what might be guarding it. Her fears were realised when they spotted four guards in death eater garb guarding the entrance. She barely had time to blink before four red lights shot out from the wands of Dumbledore, Severus, Remus and Sirius, stunning the death eaters and knocking them unconscious. "We don't want to alert Tom to the fact that we have been here," Dumbledore told them, "so we must remember to modify their memories as we are leaving and ensure they still believe they are guarding the Diadem. They will likely be too scared to enter, but we will leave a copy in case and hopefully Tom will not discover the disappearance for a while, if ever."

They nodded and proceeded cautiously inside the dark cave, each lighting the area were Lumos. It was not a tiny cave, nor was it cavernous. Surprisingly enough the Diadem was fairly easy to find. Since all of them within the cave were powerful, they could feel the evil magic radiating from one corner and, sure enough, once investigated they found some simple wards easily broken down, and the Diadem on a bust - which was in fact of Tom Riddle's head. Hermione snorted audibly, how vain could the wizard be? They were all careful not to touch the Diadem, unsure of what sort of protections it could have. Severus waved his wand and though the spell was non-verbal, Hermione concluded it was a diagnostics sort to see what curses were upon Ravenclaw's heirloom.

What happened next was not precisely what anyone but perhaps Dumbledore expected and Hermione could see why Ginny had been left behind. The Horcrux appeared to have been the third one made, after the diary and cup, when Tom Riddle had disappeared from Borgin and Burkes to Albania. Which was why when his figure materialised, it was not the snake-like lord they remembered or an older man, but a still handsome man in his early twenties, though with an air of unmistakeable evil around him. The figure was much like the one that had come from the diary, rather solid but not completely so. Thankfully no one lost their cool and when Dumbledore ordered them to point their wands at the figure and believe in the light, they did so without questions. Hermione guessed it was some sort of light triumphs over evil type thing - more unspoken magic of the heart rather than a spell.

Whatever it was, it worked and the figure slowly dissipated into nothing. Severus repeated his test and they found fairly complex protections that would be difficult and rather tiring to get rid of. It was lucky there were seven of them - since seven was the most magically powerful number it would give their spell casting an extra boost and prevent them all from keeling over in exhaustion. Hermione might hate Voldemort, but even she had to admit he could perform some impressive magic.


They cast a variety of spells at once, Dumbledore with Bombarda Maxima, Sirius and Harry with Confringo, Remus and Hermione with Defodio and finally Severus and Ron with Diffindo. The effect was almost instantaneous - it took only a moment for the Horcrux to disappear behind a cloud of black smoke as an almighty bang was heard. When the smoke cleared the Diadem was lying on the floor on top of the remains of the bust of Tom Riddle's head. It was charred black and leaking what seemed to be dark red blood. Hermione sighed, it was excellent that the soul piece was destroyed, but the Diadem was an heirloom of Rowena Ravenclaw and it was a huge shame it had needed to be ruined to remove the piece of soul - just another thing she could hate Voldemort for.

With the Horcrux destroyed and the remnants safely in Dumbledore's possession, the exhausted group prepared to leave. Hermione leant against the stone wall of the cave next to Harry and Ron as the four adults modified the memories of the death eaters who would forget they were ever attacked. She smiled at the blue sky, "I'm so glad that's over with," she said to her two best friends, "now we can just go home and I can soak in the bath for an hour before going to bed." Ron nodded, probably thinking of the kitchens rather than a bath, but Harry smirked, "Mione, you aren't forgetting the fact that we have to walk all the way back through the forest before we can portkey away, are you?"

"Fuck."


Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it was very much appreciated; SweetSweetRevenge, HSCswimmer and ladygoddess8.

It isn't known for sure where Nagini's origins are, but it is suggested in Harry Potter wikia that she was found by Tom Riddle when he was in Albania, therefore that is what I went with.

All spells mentioned have appeared in the Harry Potter books at some point. If you want to know what they do then search them on Harry Potter wikia.

The next chapter, in which we get a look at Draco's perspective, will be up in a few days.