3-Eventful Holidays

The winter vacation arrived only a few days later. Harry stayed at Hogwarts since neither he nor his relatives wanted to see each other more than strictly necessary. Hermione, like most other students, went home for the holidays. Ron also stayed, as Harry knew he would. Well, with only the two of them, Ron was quite nice, even trying to teach Harry Chess, although Harry didn't think he had much chance. He just couldn't think about the game as a battle, especially after having experienced a few real battles in his other life.

Christmas morning, Harry was glad to find the Invisibility Cloak among his presents, as he knew from his older self. This would come in handy for his and Hermione's future plans, he was sure.

His older self still made sure that Harry didn't abuse his new toy. He also refrained from visiting a certain room where he was bound to find an enchanted mirror. Although he'd love to see his parents, their reflection from his inner desire was not worth wasting his time.

He tried to drag Ron to see the Quidditch books at the library, to no avail. "Just going close to the library makes me feel tired," Ron whined, refusing his attempt.

Harry didn't really mind. He used the notes that Hermione left him to try and find the missing Horcrux. They suspected it was something of Ravenclaw, but had no idea what it could be or where to look for it. Without destroying that Horcrux, they couldn't get rid of Voldemort, and that was why they needed to find it.

While the library helped him narrow his search to one specific relic – the Ravenclaw diadem – it didn't help in locating it. The diadem, according to what he found, had been lost for many generations. Not quite knowing how to proceed, Harry went to the ROR while his mind was still searching for the lost diadem. He was surprised when the door that appeared on the blank wall opened into a vast room, filled with miscellaneous objects. Most seemed extremely old, although a few seemed to be relatively new. Harry wondered what these were and how they even came to be in that room.

He couldn't really dwell on it, since the room seemed to direct him to a certain location, where the light seemed to be stronger, making a certain crate, one near a cupboard that seemed to have had acid thrown at its blistered surface, stand out. A chipped bust of an ugly old warlock was placed on it, with a dusty old wig at its side and an old tarnished tiara at its other side. The light seemed to direct him towards the tiara. As Harry went closer, he could feel the malicious magic in it, similar to the one he had felt from the Slytherin locket in his other life. He didn't dare touch it, although he remembered touching it briefly in his other life.

Looking around, he found an old bag whose straps were torn but that seemed otherwise in good condition. He levitated the diadem into the bag, closed it and held it only by its handle that was on the top – as far from the diadem as possible.

He quickly went out and closed the door. A few seconds later, it turned back to stone, like the rest of the wall. He then started pacing again, asking for the room where his scar had been treated. After the third time, a different door appeared. Harry opened it and stepped into the room he remembered from a few days earlier.

Not wanting to handle this alone, he tucked the bag with the diadem at the corner and cast a containment shield around it. With that done, he felt confident that it would stay there until Hermione returned. Although he'd learned the relevant spells along with Hermione, he trusted her to do that much better than him.

\/\/\/

The next morning, an official-looking owl brought Harry a letter.

"Dear Mr. Potter,

I'm sorry to tell you that I couldn't find any information concerning the trial of Sirius Black. When checking further, I discovered that he had no trial at all; he'd been sent to prison by a ministerial order only. Since this is highly irregular, I informed the minister and he's arranged a trial for Mr. Black, a few days after the new year. He'd also approved the use of Veritaserum (the truth potion, forcing its recipient to only speak the truth), so we're guaranteed to get the truth of the matter out.

I suggest that you come and attend the trial in person. If possible, I'll also try to let you ask any relevant questions you may have.

I'm sorry I couldn't help you and I'm also thankful that your request brought to light a possible miscarriage of justice, that we shall now try to correct.

Please inform me if you want to attend and I'll send a formal invitation for you to get permission to leave school for that day. I can also give you Auror escort if you like.

Sincerely your,

Amelia Bones

Head of the DMLE"

Harry was glad that his godfather would get a chance, but he also started thinking about how he could help. Well, he would start by telling Hermione and asking for her advice. Hedwig would be content to have something to do.

"What was that?" Ron asked him.

Harry shrugged. "I just got a reply to my request to get some documents from the Ministry. They don't seem to find any of them. It looks like they're even less organized than you."

Ron didn't seem to mind. He knew that staying organized wasn't something he was good at. He didn't really try.

"I think I should write and thank them anyway," Harry said.

Ron just waved his hand dismissively, as if saying, 'Do what you need to do but don't bother me with that.' It was just perfect for Harry. He only took some parchment and a quill from his dorm and went to the library, where he sat down to write. He first wrote a long letter to Hermione, telling her everything he'd done until then and asking for her advice. He then wrote to Madam Bones, thanking her for her effort and requesting to attend the trial with an Auror escort, since school would already resume by then and he didn't think he should make others lose studies by taking away one of the teachers. He thought this would make her more agreeable.

\/\/\/

That evening, right before dinner, they met Dumbledore on their way to the Great Hall. After exchanging greetings, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "I've heard that you got your scar healed. Care to show me how it looks now?"

Harry lifted his bangs, exposing his forehead. It was almost clear by then, with only some very faint discolouration showing where the scar had been. Dumbledore seemed surprised. He touched it a bit with the tips of his fingers to ascertain that it was really what he saw.

"How was it healed?" he asked, very curious about the answer.

"Well, one evening Hermione and I missed a turn and found ourselves in an unknown corridor, with a door left ajar. We checked the room behind the door and found some books about curse breaking. One of them had a spell to cleanse an object by transferring all foreign matter and magic to another, less valuable object. Hermione thought it could be useful for my scar. She learned the spell and then put a piece of cloth on my scar and cast the spell. Some darkness seemed to fill that cloth. We then burned it and it emitted sounds of rage and despair before it burned completely. A simple healing spell, which Hermione already knew from the library, did the rest." That was close enough to the truth without disclosing anything of importance.

"Do you still have that book?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry made a sad face. "We were so happy that it worked, that we forgot to take the book with us. The next day, when we tried to find that room, we failed. I was looking for it since, but haven't found it."

Dumbledore patted his shoulder encouragingly. "Well, Hogwarts is known for having rooms appear and disappear at random. If ever you find it again, though, I'd like you to bring that book to me." He then thought for a moment and added, "May I use some spells to make sure no dark remnants are still there?"

Harry shrugged, letting the old man know that he didn't mind. He still made sure to pay attention to the spells and the wand movements, just to be safe.

Dumbledore took his wand and pointed it at Harry's forehead. He cast several spells. Some caused a faint blue or pink glow, others seemed to have no effect at all. "It's really gone," he mumbled in disbelief, before regaining control. "Your forehead is really clear of any remnants of that dark magic. I believe you also feel much happier this way, don't you?"

Harry smiled. "The scar used to give me a slight ache, like a slowly healing wound. Now it's gone and I have no more pains. It makes me feel much better, thank you."

"As you should be. A boy your age should not suffer from any aches. Now, I believe some food is waiting for us…" With that, Dumbledore urged them forward, while he stood back, deep in thought.

\/\/\/

Hermione's reply arrived the next morning. She had no real advice, though. "It could be helpful if you had your parents' will, but if there is one, then it's either sealed or hidden in their vault, where you can have no access until you reach adulthood. Maybe Sirius has a copy in his vault, but it won't be reachable before his trial anyway." She then told him a bit about her vacation and signed, "Love, Hermione."

The letter from the DMLE arrived the day before the new year. "I've sent a letter to your headmaster, requesting your presence at the trial of Sirius Black, as an interested party. Don't let him persuade you not to go, as he always thinks that children (and for him, even thirty years old are children) should be spared from the harsh sides of life. I believe that children your age, and especially with your personal background, are more than capable to handle this.

An Auror will arrive during breakfast on the day of the trial, Friday, the third of January, to escort you to the Ministry and back. You'll identify him or her by the distinct robes and the name tag under the left shoulder.

I also hope to have a chance to thank you for your help in this."

Harry glanced at the Headmaster, who was also reading a letter and didn't seem to like it. Well, tough luck, he thought.

Ron, who was sitting at Harry's side, didn't try to read his letter, but asked, "Who's this from?"

Harry shrugged. "Just a follow up about the documents I've asked. Nothing useful."

Ron didn't insist.

\/\/\/

On Thursday, January 2, the students arrived back from the winter vacation. Harry was especially glad to see Hermione's good mood. In her future self, she had oblivated her parents and sent them to Australia for their safety, not sure if she could ever restore their memories and their trust in her. She was more than happy to have them back.

Harry took her aside and told her all that he'd learned and done since their letter exchange. Hermione was quite impressed.

That evening, soon after dinner, they sneaked to the ROR and asked for the medical treatment room. The diadem was still there in its bag. Hermione levitated it out, had a look at it and levitated it back in. She then cast the cleansing spell, transferring the Horcrux to the bag. With that done, she levitated it back out, letting it settle on the desk, while banishing the bag straight into the burning furnace.

The cries of anger and despair were much louder this time, making the two children shiver. They also seemed to last longer, but once silent, there was nothing to be seen inside the furnace. The Horcrux was gone.

"What shall we do with the diadem now?" Harry asked.

Hermione considered their options. "I'm not sure. We can't just give it. That may cause too much suspicion and questions that we don't really want to answer. I don't think we should put it back where it was, either." She thought some more and sighed. "Well, we can leave it here, where there's not much chance for anybody else to find it or we may take it with us, risking it may be found by others or even stolen." She sighed again. "Looks like we should better leave it here."

Harry agreed, but had another idea nagging in his mind. "Isn't it supposed to give its wearer knowledge and understanding? Why don't you use it while searching in the books that this room can give you? It may help find better and quicker answers to what we need."

Hermione smiled at him. "That may be helpful, but I think we should still check it first, to make sure it's clean from any malicious magic. We may do it later. Now we need to go to the tower, or we risk being out after curfew."

Just before leaving the room, Hermione cast some detection spells, to make sure no new spells had been cast on Harry. They came out clean. "I suppose that whoever cast those binds is not yet aware of their removal," she noted.