Chapter XV – Surprise
Three weeks had passed, Harry and Ginny finished taking their OWLs and were waiting for the scores. Christmas break was in another week and that meant going to Hogwarts to look for the last Horcrux.
They were keeping busy with Ironfist, he had them doing NEWTs work claiming they could take the DADA NEWTs test as soon as their OWLs score arrived because they were already past the normal level at which students tested.
They in turn were teaching Ironfist their silent wandless form of magic including shields that were so powerful, they were like solid objects that would absorb or reflect even unforgivable curses.
Ginny was almost eight weeks along and having bouts of morning sickness, which caused Harry to get nauseous right along with her; sharing emotions and thoughts apparently included sharing the feeling of a queasy stomach.
After having just some toast with jam for a light breakfast, Ginny said, "Harry, we have to go to Diagon Alley to finish our Christmas shopping; with taking OWLs and all that has been happening, I haven't had time to shop."
Harry answered, "What about after class today; we can shop and have dinner in London at a Muggle restaurant before coming home?"
Ginny agreed, so they teleported to the private room in the Leakey Cauldron where their classes were held and spent the day with their tutors doing NEWTs level work. At three, they headed out into Diagon Alley to start their shopping.
It was after five and Harry said, "Aren't you done yet? It's dark and the crowd is getting heavier; I guess people getting out of work are all coming here to do last minute shopping."
Ginny answered, "Almost done, I haven't found anything for dad yet."
Harry said, "I forgot to tell you, got him a Muggle RC model airplane kit by mail order. He has to put it together and it really flies if he builds it right. I thought he and I could work on it together, maybe get to know each other better after I stole his fourteen-year-old daughter away from him and got her pregnant."
Ginny laughed and said, "He took our bonding and my pregnancy better than mum did; you should have got something you and her could have worked on together."
Harry said, "I planned on asking her if I could help her bake the Christmas cookies and pastries this year. Some time together in the kitchen might help her see me in a better light."
Ginny said, "In that case, our shopping is done; we can head to that restaurant now."
They were headed toward the Leakey Cauldron on the way out to Muggle London when there were many pops from people Apparating directly into Diagon Alley instead of the normal Apparation place. Seconds later, there was spell fire.
"Death Eaters." Ginny said as they started walking toward the noise to see if it really was an attack and someone needed help.
Harry said, "It can't be. Dumbledore said it would take Voldemort a month to save enough energy to possess someone; two or three months to form a proto-body, it's only been three weeks. And planning a raid would take a few more days at least."
Ginny said, "Maybe it's not Voldemort, maybe a few Death Eaters decided to attack on their own. Maybe with him gone they need money, or want loot, or are just taking out their anger about him being killed."
Harry replied, "Could be; but the last time he disappeared when I was a baby, except for the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr., the others all ran or pretended to have been under the Imperious curse. And all his inner circle like Malfoy and Bellatrix are dead; do you think some new recruit would have the nerve to lead an attack on their own?"
Before Ginny could answer, they saw two young men in black robes firing spells into a shop. Harry cut the closer one in half with a severing curse; Ginny did the same to the second man.
She said, "No masks, but black robes; they look like new recruits."
Harry said, "Yes, but it doesn't matter; Death Eaters or regular thieves, we have to stop them. Be careful and remember what Dumbledore said, we're not safe from the killing curse fired by anyone other than Voldemort."
Ginny replied, "And there are plenty of other lethal curses; so let's both be careful."
A hundred feet up the street they saw a group of black robed men in front of Gringotts. The Goblins had the doors closed and locked and several men were firing curses at the front double doors. A red haired man who looked to be in his mid twenties seemed to be directing the attack.
He called out, "Keep up the fire, their wards can't take much more."
He looked about and saw four robbed figures entering two nearby stores. He yelled, "Forget looting other stores, all of you concentrate on those main doors. If we can breach the doors, all the gold in the main room will be ours."
Harry said, "Looks like you were right. That red-headed bloke seems to have organized this raid for money. I guess they figure Voldemort is gone for good and have just become common thieves."
Ginny said, "If he's their leader, and we take him out, the others will probably panic and run."
Harry said, "I agree, let's get him while the others are occupied with Gringotts door."
Harry shot a severing curse at the red-headed man and was surprised when the man rapidly turned and blocked Harry's curse. He quickly fired a bludgeoning curse back at Harry, blocked another curse Ginny fired, and he fired another bludgeoning curse at Ginny this time.
Harry and Ginny both blocked the curses coming at them and each shot drilling curses at the man's chest; he blocked both.
The man said, "Potter, I was sure I killed you and your little girlfriend in Hogsmeade. Then I was careless enough to be distracted by going myself to check your bodies and I let someone surprise me. I'll be sure to be more careful this time."
They realized it was Voldemort talking to them; the red-headed man was being possessed despite what Dumbledore said about energy and the time it would take."
Ginny answered back, "Tom, we knew you weren't permanently dead; but we're surprised you were able to possess someone so quickly. We thought after Harry killed that body you formed in the graveyard and I got your snake, it would take you at least a month, maybe two to save enough energy to possess an adult and even longer to get another proto-body."
Voldemort answered, "You are as foolish as that old man. My followers are loyal, O'Conner realized it is a privilege for me to possess him; with his willing help I hardly needed any energy to take control of him. This body will serve me until I can make a new one again; but neither of you will be alive to see it this time."
He shot a killing curse at Harry first, followed by another at Ginny; Harry summoned two crates from in front of a store that blocked the curses. They then fired severing curses back which Voldemort blocked.
Suddenly, the wards protecting Gringotts' front doors collapsed and the doors were blown inward. The dozen Death Eaters rushed forward with the thought of plundering the Goblins' gold; but before they reached the opening, two dozen Goblin warriors charged out of the bank through the cloud of dust.
The Death Eaters were surprised and the Goblin guard, moving rapidly down the steps, reached the closest Death Eaters before they could react. Three fell to Goblin blades before the return spell fire dropped five of the Goblins. More blades flashed and three more Death Eaters fell; half of Voldemort's people were dead.
The remaining six Death Eaters fired another round of spells and disapparated out of the alley; two of them with Goblin knives stuck in their chests.
While the Goblin-Death Eater fight was going on, Voldemort had exchanged a number of lethal spells with Harry and Ginny without either side scoring a hit. When he saw his remaining people Apparate out; and the Goblins coming toward him, he said, "We'll meet again Potter." and he disapparated.
Two seconds later, Ironfist reached Harry and Ginny. He said, "Lord and Lady Potter, Gringotts thanks you for your help against the thieves trying to rob the bank. Are you both okay?"
Harry answered, "Yes, we're fine. But those weren't ordinary thieves; that was Voldemort we were fighting. He must be desperate for money to attempt a frontal assault on Gringotts; you better warn the board of directors that he may make another attempt at breaking in. Probable a stealthy attempt to sneak in, or some form of fraud."
Ironfist said, "I will inform the board of your warning.
On another subject, after class today, your other tutors and I discussed your future lessons. We will meet with you in the classroom the first Monday after your Christmas holiday to speak to both of you about taking your NEWTs before summer."
Ironfist and the remaining Goblins went to stand watch over the bodies of their comrades until a detail could remove them for the cremation ceremony.
Because of the fight, Harry and Ginny decided not to go out to eat, and they returned to Potter Manor. As soon as they got there, Harry owled Dumbledore with the news of Voldemort's attack on Gringotts and that he was possessing the body of one of his followers.
In his throne room in what was left of the Lestrange estate, the surviving Death Eaters were trembling in fear that the Dark Lord would punish them for running from the Goblins.
Voldemort, still in the body of Sean O'Connor, was raging. He wanted to punish the four followers that disapparated from Gringotts steps still alive, but he had too few remaining people as it was and knew he had to control his temper.
Pointing to the two bodies on the floor that still had Goblin knives in their chests, he said with great difficultly, "Remove that, then the four of you eat and get some rest. You did all I asked of you; you brought down the Goblins' wards. My plan to attack Gringotts failed not because of you; but because of the unexpected arrival of Harry Potter.
If I could have joined you in the attack, we would be swimming in gold Galleons; but I was forced to defend against Potter's attack instead. When I have had time to recruit new followers I will form a new plan to take the Goblins' gold.
You four will have time to relax and train until I am ready."
The four men removed the two bodies, grateful to still be alive. When they were gone, Voldemort let his rage out by destroying everything in the room.
His anger now burned off, he began to go over what went wrong in Diagon Alley. First, why were Potter and the Weasley girl there? Did they just happen by; or did they know of the attack, could one of his followers be a spy giving Potter information?
No, it had to be bad luck; if they knew of the attack, they would have brought more help; either Aurors or members of the Order of the Phoenix.
Next and more important was what the girl said, they knew he hadn't been killed in Hogsmeade; but they weren't expecting him to return so soon. Though it wasn't in the Daily Prophet, his spies at the ministry told him the Aurors' office knew he wasn't dead even though his old body had been killed and burned; and from what the girl said, she and Potter knew it too.
How could they know he wasn't dead if they were the ones to kill his old body? They had to know his secret, they knew about his Horcruxes, or at least that he had one Horcrux. How?
The diary that fool Malfoy gave to the girl; after Potter saved her, Dumbledore had the diary and must have recognized what it was. After his return in the graveyard, with the diary already destroyed, Dumbledore also must have figured out there had to be at least one more Horcrux.
They girl's statement meant that she and Potter also knew of the Horcruxes. How many more people knew his secret? Not many he thought, Dumbledore didn't trust many people; but still, the three of them were three too many.
The big question was do they know how many Horcruxes he made? The girl said she killed Nagini; did she do that because they knew Nagini was a Horcrux, or was it for some trivial reason like she was afraid of snakes.
He couldn't take the chance that they knew of the other Horcruxes. With two destroyed, the diary and Nagini, he would have to check on the others. But there was a problem, he couldn't walk into Gringotts to check the Lestrange vault for the cup; and he couldn't walk into Hogwarts to check on the diadem.
He would have to go to the cave to check the locket and to the Gaunt house to check the ring. If those two were safe so was his secret of multiple Horcruxes; if not, he would have to think of a way to check the other two.
He waited until dark to set off to the Gaunt house first; he found that the ring was gone. Since Dumbledore went through the work of finding it, and obviously knew what it was, he would also know, no matter where the Horcrux was kept, if it was left whole, it would still keep his life bound to the earth.
Dumbledore wouldn't allow it to remain intact; Voldemort had to assume the ring was destroyed. He then hurried to the cave only to find the locket also gone and assuredly destroyed.
That made four of his six Horcruxes destroyed; he had to learn if the cup and diadem were also gone, or possibly, hopefully, still safe. But how to check the Lestrange vault; if he couldn't get in, who could?
The three Lestranges were dead, and none of them had children. Who was the next relative in line that could get into the vault? The brothers, Rabastan and Rodolphus had no living aunts, uncles, or cousins; who did that leave on Bellatrix's side of the family?
Her sister Andromeda was the closest living relative. But Andromeda married that Mudblood Ted Tonks and was renounced by the Black family; that meant her right to access any family vault was rescinded.
Their cousin Sirius Black was Bellatrix's next closest relative and was now head of the Black family; as such he could access all the related family vaults. But he rejected the Black family values and became Harry Potter's godfather. He would never help willingly and was a formidable fighter; forcing him to help, even trying to put him under the Imperious curse would be difficult. Were there any other members of the Black family?
Then it hit him, Lucius Malfoy's wife was Bellatrix's sister, she was a Black. Narcissa Malfoy was dead; but the Malfoy boy was alive and he was at Hogwarts. He had a claim, not just on the Malfoy vault, but on the vaults of all his other deceased relatives, including the Lestrange vault.
The boy would be able to come home for Christmas break in just a few days; but with his parents dead, he might stay at Hogwarts, or perhaps go to the house of a friend. Voldemort knew he had to see the boy and get him to first check the Lestrange vault for the cup, then check for the diadem when the boy returned to school.
What was the best way to contact the boy to make sure he left the castle over Christmas break and could be convinced to help?
Since he was in the orphanage, Voldemort always hated children and avoided dealing with them if possible. They were unreliable because they always thought they knew everything better than he did; he hated when they would argue against his orders, or worst, not precisely follow his orders.
But he had to deal with the Malfoy brat; what was his name again? He remembered, Draco, that was his name; he wrote a note, cursed it to burn up within a minute after it was opened, and owled it out.
Draco, you will return to Malfoy Manor for Christmas break where I will give you instruction for two tasks I require done as quickly as possible. You will tell nobody of this letter or of any of your instructions from me. If you fail me, you will beg to die long before I grant your request.
Draco Malfoy was sitting at breakfast in the great hall when an owl landed in front of him and extended its leg which had a letter tied to it. Draco was surprised, since his parents were killed; there was nobody he knew that had a reason to write to him.
He took the note and as the owl took off, he read the address;
Draco Malfoy
Great Hall, Hogwarts
Private, do not open in public
Malfoy was worried, that order sounded like something his father would have sent. There was only one other living person he could think of who would send an order like that; someone that Draco had only glimpsed while at Malfoy Manor, someone that had never spoke to him before, the Dark Lord.
He put the letter in his inner pocket; he had two classes in a row before he could get to a private place to open the letter. Instead of paying attention to the lessons, he spent the time in those two classes thinking of what the Dark Lord could possible want of him, and what he should do about it.
Finally he was alone and opened the letter, he read it and as he finished, the letter burst into flames. The Dark Lord had two jobs for him and wanted to see him personally over Christmas; Draco didn't know what to think of that.
He was torn emotionally, his father always talked about having Draco becoming a full-fledged Death Eater when he finished school and Draco had always looked forward to that day. Now, both his parents had been killed because they followed the Dark Lord. His Aunt Bellatrix and the parents of many of his friends that had followed the Dark Lord were also dead.
He hated Potter and the Weasley girl for killing his parents and wanted revenge; but he was also afraid of being killed like the others, especially after what happened on the train September 1st. Besides killing his parents in a straight up duel, Potter and the girl stood up to ten Slytherins; and without wands, stunned and hurled them all out of the train compartment putting them in the hospital for days.
They were a lot more powerful than anyone previously believed; and threatened to kill him if he tried anything against them again. But the Dark Lord would also kill him if he failed to do what he ordered; Draco almost cried. Six months ago, he was heir to a prominent family; rich and influential among his peers. Now his future looked dismal no matter what he decided.
He couldn't even ask anyone for advice; he was ordered to tell nobody. Not that it would matter, Goyle and Crabbe were idiots; good as muscle, but not to be trusted with thinking about anything seriously. The other Slytherins could be of no help either; no Slytherin could be trusted, except to do what was best for them personally.
He was on his own for now; he would have to go to Malfoy Manor and listen to the Dark Lord's orders. If he thought it was safe, he would follow the orders; if he thought it would get him killed, he would have to find someone to help him disappear.
Three days before Christmas, as Malfoy left Hogwarts to meet Voldemort, Harry and Ginny arrived to start their search for the diadem.
They went to the hall where the Room of Requirement entrance was and Harry walked back and forth thinking, "I need the room that the diadem of Ravenclaw is hidden in". No door appeared.
He tried again thinking, "I need the Room Voldemort hid the diadem in". Nothing.
He tried dozens of times as he went down the list they had made over the past few weeks of possible names for the version of the room containing the diadem. They knew this was the reason Voldemort considered the diadem safe; even if someone discovered the room, they would have to call up the exact name of the version Voldemort used to hide it.
When Harry got tired, Ginny took a turn; but hours passed with no luck. Finally Harry said, "We're wasting time; for all we know, Voldemort might have put a curse on the room preventing any request using his name or the term diadem from opening the room.
We need to find out more about how the room works, and more about the diadem itself. If it has been lost for a thousand years, did Voldemort really find it? Where did he find it; and how did he do that?"
Ginny said, "You may be right; but who do we ask; who would know the answers to those questions?"
Harry said, "As far as how the room works, we ask the house elves. After all, it was an elf that first told us about the room; if anyone knows more, it's them.
We can ask them about the diadem too; maybe they have stories about it handed down in elf society. But I really think for the diadem, we go to the castle's oldest inhabitants, the ghosts. Nearly-headless-Nick has been here since 1492, and maybe there are even older ghosts. They probably know more of the early history of the castle and the founders than anyone else."
Ginny said, "Alright, let's go to the kitchen and find some elves."
Malfoy arrived at Malfoy Manor, but other than the house elves, nobody else was there. He gave orders for a meal to be prepared, then settled in his bedroom to wait, either to eat, or for the Dark Lord to arrive.
He ate dinner, then breakfast the next morning with no sign of Voldemort. He was going down for dinner the next day when he heard a voice he didn't recognize say, "Stupid elf, tell Draco I am here, he is expecting me."
Draco went to the foyer and found not the Dark Lord, but a tall red-headed man he didn't know. Draco said, "Who are you and how did you get through the wards protecting this house?"
Voldemort answered, "Just because my appearance is different, don't act like a fool. You know who I am; I sent you the letter ordering you here. Order you elves to bring me the wine I always drink; we will go to the dining room to talk as I did with your father."
Draco wasn't sure this man was Voldemort in disguise; but he wasn't going to take a chance it was. He called an elf and said, "Two wines, the one I like, and the one the Dark Lord prefers."
Voldemort turned his back on Draco and walked directly to the dining room showing that he knew the layout of the house. Draco followed and found Voldemort already sitting at the head of the table; exactly where his father had told him the Dark Lord always sat.
The man pointed to a neighboring chair and said, "Sit Draco, I have much to tell you."
Draco sat as the elf appeared with the wine. The man took a sip and said, "Your elf remembered the proper vintage; now I will tell you what you must do.
First, your aunt Bellatrix placed one of my valuables in her vault for safe keeping. I want you to go to Gringotts and check that is still there and safe."
The man waited as if he was expecting a question. Draco was scared but had to ask, "Why me?"
The man said, "Didn't your fool parents teach you anything?"
Draco bristled at the slur of his parents, but held his tongue as the man continued, "Gringotts vaults can only be accessed by the authorized owner and someone approved by the owner. All the Lestranges are all dead and their only relatives are you and that cursed Sirius Black. I need you to check my item before Black, as head of the house of Black, thinks of looking through the vault."
Draco said, "My mother also has a sister, Aunt Andromeda and she has a daughter Nymphadora, can they get in the vault?"
Voldemort answered, "Thankfully no, they were renounced by the family when Andromeda married a Mudblood. Now listen carefully, you must follow my instruction exactly.
Tomorrow you will go to Gringotts and say to the Goblin clerk these exact words, 'I am the nephew of Bellatrix Lestrange and I am here to claim my inheritance.' The clerk will take you to the Lestrange family account manager; he will demand a drop of your blood to confirm your relationship to Bellatrix.
After the Goblin checks your blood, he will ask what you wish to do; you will tell him you want to access the Lestrange vault. When you get in the vault, you will look for a gold cup. It is twenty centimeters high with Hufflepuff's badgers on both sides. Bellatrix told me she placed it on a top shelf in the back of the vault.
Once you find it, under no circumstances will you touch it; it is protected by many curses that will kill you as soon as it touches any part of your skin. You will point your wand at it and say this spell, "Spiritus est occultatum revelare" (Reveal the hidden spirit).
A small image of me should form above the cup; once you see that image you will say, "Finite incantatem" to cancel the other spell. If the cup is not there, or the image of me does not appear when you cast the spell, you will ask the Goblins for the names of anyone that has entered the vault in the past year.
Before you leave Gringotts, you will collect five-hundred thousand gold Galleons and bring the money to me."
Draco said, "My parents taught me something about Gringotts; I can check the cup, but I can't remove anything, including money, from a vault because I'm underage. Besides, even if I could get the money out, five-hundred thousand Galleons, that will fill a couple of chests and be more than a hundred kilos; I can't carry that much."
Voldemort got angry and yelled, "Fool, are you not a fifth year, haven't you learned any basic charms?
The Goblin guide will not enter the vault with you; he will wait in the gallery. After you have checked the cup, fill as many chests as needed. Once you have the chests filled, point your wand at each and say, 'Unde et in occulto' (let this object remain hidden). Then use the shrinking and feather weight charms. You will be able to carry them unseen in the pockets of your robe and the Goblin spells will not be able to detect the chests."
Draco answered, "Yes my Lord, but I have no idea of how wealthy Aunt Bellatrix was; what if there aren't five-hundred thousand Galleons in her vault?"
Voldemort said, "Then you will go to the Malfoy vault for the rest; but I will have the five-hundred thousand Galleons or your blood."
Draco asked, "What other task do you have for me; your letter said there were two tasks?"
Voldemort replied, "The other task is checking on another item of mine. It is in a hidden room at Hogwarts. I will tell you how to find the room later; assuming you do this first task successfully and are still alive to return to Hogwarts.
I will be here tomorrow afternoon to hear about the cup and to collect the money."
Voldemort finished the wine and left; Draco sat thinking of his options. If the cup was there safe, and he got the five-hundred thousand Galleons, he would be safe for now; if not, he was sure Voldemort would kill him.
Even if he would be safe, he didn't like the idea of giving five-hundred thousand Galleons of what he considered his money to Voldemort. Aunt Bella was not a nice person, and was crazy, but she was his aunt and her money should be his, not Voldemorts. After all, he was an orphan now and would need money until he finished school and could take over his father's businesses.
He decided to go to Gringotts as ordered. After finding out about the status of the cup, and after seeing how much money there was in both vaults, then he would decide what he needed to do to stay alive.
In the Hogwarts kitchen, Harry and Ginny were questioning the oldest elves they could find. Eventually, they meet an elderly elf named Brundie who, because of his age, only did the least strenuous jobs. Brundie said, "Yes, master and mistress, Brundie knows much about the 'Come and Go Room'; fifty years ago, when he first learned of the room, a student named Tom Riddle asked Brundie the same questions you now ask."
Brundie spent more than an hour explaining everything he knew about how the room worked. He ended with, "The room has infinite forms, so hoping to find the form used to hide what you seek by randomly saying names will not work.
If Brundie remembers correctly, Tom Riddle was most interested in a form called 'The Room of Hidden and Lost Things'. Perhaps master Harry and mistress Ginny should start there."
They thanked Brundie and left the kitchen. Ginny asked, "Well Harry, what now? Do we try looking in this 'Room of Hidden and Lost Things'; or do we stick with the plan to check with the ghosts?"
Harry answered, "Brundie seemed to think the form was the one we want; but I think we should follow the plan and check with the ghosts first. Maybe they will think the same thing, or perhaps give us an alternative if Brundie's idea isn't right."
The found Nearly-headless Nick wandering in Gryffindor Tower. Harry yelled, "Nick, wait a minute, we have something important to ask you."
The ghost stopped and said, "Harry, Ginny, I didn't know you were back at Hogwarts; rumors said you left school."
Harry said, "We did leave, we're being tutored now; but we came back because we need to find something, something that will help us kill Voldemort."
Nick asked, "How can I help?"
Ginny asked, "What do you know about 'The Room of Requirement'? It's also called 'The Come and Go Room'.
Nick said, "I know more than most ghosts because its entrance is here in Gryffindor Tower. Is there something specific that you need to know?"
Ginny asked, "First, we think, but are not sure, that Voldemort hid Ravenclaw's diadem in the room about twenty years ago when he was in the castle to see Dumbledore. It would help if we knew for sure; do you remember seeing Voldemort up here in Gryffindor Tower around that time?"
Nick answered, "Yes, I remember it well; he was a Slytherin and had graduated years before. I asked him why he was wandering around this side of Gryffindor Tower; he said he was here to see the headmaster. I told him, as a former head boy, he should know the headmaster's office was at the other end of the castle. He walked away without another word."
Harry said, "Thanks Nick, that pretty much confirms he did hid something. Now, what do you know about Ravenclaw's diadem?"
Nick said, "I know the general story; but if you want to know more, I'll introduce you to The Grey Lady. I can't guarantee she'll tell you her story, she doesn't like people asking her about what happened."
Ginny said, "The Grey Lady; isn't she the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower? I've seen her before."
Nick said, "Yes, her name is Helena Ravenclaw, she was the daughter of Rowena; but like I said, she rarely talks to people."
Harry said, "We have to at least try to get her to talk. Are you friendly with her Nick? Could you persuade her to talk to us?"
Nick said, "We're not close friends, but we talk at feasts. I can try to convince her to talk to you. Follow me."
Nick led them to Ravenclaw Tower and they looked about for twenty minutes before finding the Grey Lady. Nick spoke first, "Lady Helena, my friends need to know about your mother's diadem."
She interrupted him with, "Sir Nicholas, you know I do not speak of that; I will not talk to them or you about the diadem."
Ginny spoke up, "Lady Helena, you must have heard your students in Ravenclaw House talking about the war with Voldemort; hundreds of people have already been killed and hundreds, maybe thousands, more will die if we can't stop him.
He has cursed you mother's diadem in a way that protects him; he can't be killed until his curse on the diadem is removed. Won't you help us save innocent lives? You may be helping us save the lives of the students in your house."
Helena said, "Finding the diadem will not help you; he has many such items and all would have to be destroyed before he could be killed."
Harry said, "We have found and destroyed all the others; the diadem is the last one. As you said, all of them have to be destroyed; if you don't help us, you will be responsible for allowing him to continue killing."
She turned nearly opaque, perhaps a ghosts way of showing embarrassment; then said, "Fifty years ago, he tricked me into telling him where the diadem was hidden. He defiled it with his dark magic and one day, returned here to hide it where he felt it was safe because nobody could find it."
Harry asked, "Where did he hide it? Do you know?"
She said, "In the Come and Go Room; but I don't know exactly where in the room."
They thanked her and returned to the hall where the entrance to the room appeared.
Harry walked back and forth thinking, "Show me The Room of Hidden and Lost Things."
The door appeared and they entered. The room was as large as the Quidditch Pitch and twenty foot high piles of discarded things filled the place with only narrow aisles between the piles.
Ginny said, "It will take forever to search all this."
Harry said, "We have time, and with our magic extended, we should be able to sense the Horcrux from ten feet or more. If we can narrow down the area, we can dig through the pile until we get it."
They began walking through the twisting aisles leaving marks on the floor so they wouldn't get mixed up and go over the same places repeatedly. When they got hungry, Harry conjured a flag to mark the point where they left off; then they went to the kitchen to eat. They returned and continued through the aisles until Ginny said, "My feet are killing me; let's call it a day and come back tomorrow."
Harry agreed, they teleported to Potter Manor for a good night's sleep.
At nine, Draco Malfoy flued to the Leakey Cauldron and walked to Gringotts. He waited for the first open clerk and said the exact words Voldemort had told him. It went just as Voldemort said it would and now he was standing in the Lestrange vault. It didn't take long to spot the cup, exactly where it should be; he pointed his wand at it and said, "Spiritus est occultatum revelare."
Nothing happened, no image formed; Draco realized he was in trouble, Voldemort would be angry. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Draco levitated the cup closer and took a good look, the cup was scorched; some sort of powerful magic had been used on it.
Draco had to think quickly, Voldemort wanted to know if the cup was still in the vault and safe. It was there, but the scorching and lack of an image forming from the reveling spell showed that whatever spell or enchantment Voldemort had put on the cup was gone.
Voldemort would be angry, but the question was, would he take his anger out on Draco? From what his father had told him of Voldemort's past actions, the answer was, yes; Voldemort would take it out on him. If he wasn't killed, he would at least suffer the Cruciatus curse. That made up Draco's mind, he wasn't returning to tell Voldemort the cup was damaged.
His next decision was crucial, if he wasn't going back to Malfoy Manor, where could he go to hide and be safe? There were two possibilities, he could leave the country and hope Voldemort would be unable to track him down; or he could return to Hogwarts and ask Dumbledore for protection.
Draco had never been abroad on his own; trips had always been with his parents who handled all the arrangements. He had no idea of how to get out of Great Britain; he knew only a few basic phrases in French, not enough to get along in France, and no other languages at all. Asking Dumbledore to help him was the only practical option.
He took a few thousand Galleons knowing he would need money if Dumbledore turned him down, then walked to the Leakey Cauldron intending to flue to Hogwarts. He threw in the flue powder and called for Dumbledore's office flue; nothing happened, Dumbledore either had his flue closed, or had restrictions on who could flue in.
Thinking for a minute of what to do, Draco threw in more powder and called "The Three Broomsticks." He came out in the pub and to avoid suspicion of why a student was in town, he sat at the bar and ordered a Butterbeer. After finishing the drink, he left and walked to the main gate of Hogwarts.
The gate was locked and he stood there calling for a teacher or that oaf Hagrid to let him in. Draco was lucky, Harry and Ginny teleported in nearby and found him there.
Since moving into Potter Manor, Harry discovered, like Ginny, he enjoyed living in the country. After talking it over, this spring they planned to reopen the barnyard area that had been empty since Harry was a baby and his parents went into hiding.
Though Ginny was raised at the Burrow which had once been her grandparents' farm, she didn't know much about farming. Since her father got a job at the ministry, he couldn't care for all the animals; a few chickens for eggs and a small garden and the apple orchard was all that remained there.
Before returning to their search of the Room of Requirement, they decided to visit Hagrid for advice on the best breeds of chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, and sheep to raise. When they teleported to Hagrid's house, was when they heard Malfoy yelling.
They walked down to the gate and Harry asked, "Malfoy, what are you doing out there; students that stayed at Hogwarts aren't allowed into town?"
Malfoy answered, "It's none of your business why I'm here; you two shouldn't be here either, you left Hogwarts. Now just go get a teacher to let me in."
Ginny said, "Malfoy, you have to learn when you want a favor from someone, you should ask politely."
Malfoy was fuming, but he was more scared. At any second, Voldemort might realize he wasn't returning to Malfoy Manor and maybe come to Hogwarts looking for him. He said, "Okay, I went home for the holidays but I learned it's not safe there; I want to see Dumbledore and ask him if I can stay at Hogwarts for the rest of Christmas break.
Now will you get a teacher to let me in?"
Harry and Ginny quickly talked it over mentally, Harry waved his hand and the gate unlocked and swung open. Malfoy came in and with another wave of his hand Harry closed and locked the gate. Harry and Ginny decided to talk to Hagrid later; they didn't trust Malfoy and wanted to escort him all the way to Dumbledore's office.
Ginny raised her arm and made a Patronus which sped off to alert Dumbledore they and Malfoy were on the way.
On the walk to the castle, Draco was thinking, Potter being able to open and close the gate with a wave of his arm was impressive; students weren't supposed to be able to open the gate even with a wand. And the girl's Patronus showed she was also powerful. Draco was feeling better about his decision to leave Voldemort and ask Dumbledore for help; especially with Potter and Weasley helping him.
They reached the Gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office and again, Potter waved at it and it moved aside. When they reached the top of the steps, the door opened and Dumbledore said, "Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, come in; I'm surprised to see all three of you. What can I do for you?"
Malfoy spoke first, "'You Know Who' was at Malfoy Manor; he wanted me to do two things for him. He threatened to kill me if I failed. I want you to protect me."