Chapter 24: Helena's Redemption

Dumbledore stepped out of his quarters to find Severus sat at the desk, staring at the Stone, with a broad grin on his face.

"I take it things went well." said Dumbledore, unsure if Severus knew he had done it for more than just empathetic reasons.

"Yes, as you had planned, Dumbledore." sneered Severus when he saw the Headmaster had returned.

"My apologies, Severus." said Dumbledore. "But it had to be done. And you did get to see your friend once again in the deal."

Severus smiled. "Yes, I did."

"Did you get information from her about the Horcruxes?" asked Dumbledore.

"All the information that we could possibly need." said Severus delightedly.

Dumbledore was intrigued at the effect Lily Potter's visit had done to Severus' character, but then, it had been twelve years, and although he was best friends with a new Lily, he still had and always would have a strong place in his heart for the old Lily, the woman he died for.

"What did she reveal?" asked Dumbledore keenly.

"There are five Horcruxes in total." said Severus. "Voldemort would make the snake into a Horcrux after his first downfall, and Harry Potter would be one at the time it happened, but with some luck, we won't get that far to let it happen."

"Indeed not." said Dumbledore. "We have the ring. What are the others?"

"We were right about the diary." continued Severus. "But there is also another Slytherin heirloom: a locket. And Voldemort has also used the cup of Hufflepuff, and the lost diadem of Ravenclaw."

Dumbledore was intrigued. "Do you now know where they are?"

"Not all of them yet, but we now have a spy who cannot be caught. Lily says she will keep an eye on those she knows will come to possess the Cup and the Diary. As for the locket, it will at some point be placed in a cave where Voldemort used to visit when he was living in an orphanage. He will be assisted in that task by a house elf named Kreacher, owned by the Black family." explained Severus.

Dumbledore nodded with a smile. He knew what Lily's help meant, but he waited for Severus to ask, but then he noticed that one Horcrux hadn't been mentioned.

"And what of the lost diadem?" he asked.

"It is here, at Hogwarts." replied Severus.

"Here?" gasped Dumbledore excitedly. "Where?"

"Voldemort learned of the diadem's location from the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw. She stole it from her mother and hid it in Albania before she died. He turned it into a Horcrux and hid it in the Room of Requirement on the day-"

"On the day I denied him the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts post." said Dumbledore in realization. "I knew he had his own private agenda, besides teaching."

Severus nodded. "We could get it now."

"No." said Dumbledore. "You have been away from your dormitory long enough. I will try and find it privately."

"Lily also told me how we can destroy the ring and the diadem." said Severus after a pause of frustration that he couldn't help in finding the Horcrux.

"Oh?" said Dumbledore, trying not to let his excitement show.

"It involves very Dark magic, sir." said Severus gravely.

"What is it, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Without the ability to speak Parseltongue, and the fact that the Basilisk in the Chamber tried to kill Harry Potter despite understanding him, its venom is unattainable." said Severus. "And sadly, from what Lily has witnessed, that only leaves one known existing method: Fiendfyre."

Severus was expecting Dumbledore to hiss with despair at how it would be next to impossible to use that spell to destroy the Horcrux, as neither of them had any experience using it and controlling it. But instead, he saw that Dumbledore was smiling.

"That is fortuitous." said Dumbledore. "I'm very well practiced in the usage of Fiendfyre."

"How?" cried Severus. "It is very Dark Magic!"

"I may work for the Light, for the Greater Good, Severus." said Dumbledore cryptically. "But that doesn't mean I never knew how to use the enemy's weapons."

Severus bowed his head. He had read Rita Skeeter's book, fully inclined to believe she had told lies about Dumbledore, but the portrait of Dumbledore denied nothing, albeit showed deep remorse for his foolish actions in his youth. He understood that during his many escapades with Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore must have learned many Dark forms of magic, including Fiendfyre.

"Do you think you can still master it?" he asked. "It must be years since you last used such a Dark spell."

"Oh, decades." admitted Dumbledore. "But I am confident that the talent never fades. Especially if one owns the Elder Wand."

Severus could see how having the Elder Wand would certainly give Dumbledore an advantage in controlling Fiendfyre, especially if, like the Stone, its powers were true.

Then it came to him.

"Sir, if you have the Elder Wand, and I'm now holding the Resurrection Stone, does that mean the Cloak of Invisibility exists also?" he asked.

"I believe it does, Severus." said Dumbledore. "Although, I don't think Death came to the three brothers and gave them these items, I believe they were just clever and exceptional wizards who made these items themselves, how, I cannot begin to imagine. But nevertheless, we have two items that make it entirely possible. Many Invisibility Cloaks exist, but none last. The spells used to make the gift possible never remain in power and can never truly make one perfectly invisible. A glimmer or a blur persists when one is wearing one, but this Cloak should be completely impossible to see the wearer, perfectly out of sight. I have spent many years wondering where I could find it."

"Is it not possible that like the diadem and the other two items, the Cloak is in fact within the castle walls?" asked Severus.

Dumbledore looked up to Severus, looking even more surprised than he had been when Severus revealed that the Diadem Horcrux was in the Room of Requirement.

"You know where it is?" he asked.

"Not with certainty." said Severus. "But when I was in school, James Potter possessed an Invisibility Cloak, and back then, I couldn't understand how he always seemed to appear from nowhere to harm me. But then, in his third year, I learnt that Harry Potter had the Cloak. I even used it to my advantage. It is very well made, and nobody saw me until I wanted them to, they didn't even make out a blur as you said. Potter's son got away with murder with the cloak. And Potter and Black were wearing that Cloak on the night I saved them from Remus. I wonder if perhaps Potter's Cloak is the one spoken of in The Tale of the Three Brothers."

Dumbledore certainly looked intrigued.

"Whoever uses all three of the Deathly Hallows, these three items, become Master of Death, or so many people claim." said Dumbledore. "I do not wish for that…now. But if your theory is correct, Severus, we are potentially making our efforts against Voldemort even greater."

Severus nodded comprehensively.

"Sir." he said quietly. "If I were to ask Potter about the Cloak, could I in return…keep the Stone? So that I can use it to keep in contact with Lily every three months. She said that whenever we do that, she can update us on whether or not she has seen one of the Horcruxes being located and therefore, discoverable."

Dumbledore smiled. "I guessed you would ask me this, Severus. And I have no objection on your using the Stone, but as it is dangerous and could easily fall into the wrong hands in Slytherin House, I would prefer to keep it in my office. But I will give it to you to use every three months, as you say."

Severus wasn't too pleased that Dumbledore insisted on keeping the Stone in his office, but from that point of view, it seemed the safer option. He nodded in agreement.

"Now, for the time being, I think we should retire to bed." said Dumbledore politely. "I'm sure your dormmates are wondering where you are."

Severus didn't want to arouse suspicion and so agreed to depart.

"When should we go looking for the diadem?" he asked.

Dumbledore paused thoughtfully.

"After your exams." he said at last with solemnity. "You need to focus on your education, or you will be in no position to fight Voldemort. It is really such a pity you didn't maintain your full magical talents from when you died."

Severus agreed. He still had the natural skills necessary to reach his previous wizarding levels again, but he still had to re-educate himself, and that would take time. That reminded him that perhaps next time he spoke to Dumbledore, he would bring up the fact that he used to brew the Wolfsbane Potion for the former Lupin, and would like to learn to brew it again for the current version of his new friend.

"Goodnight then, sir." said Severus.

"Goodnight, Mr Prince." smiled Dumbledore kindly.

Severus rushed back to his dormitory. He had five minutes before curfew began, and he didn't want to be delayed by someone like Lucius Malfoy on his way back, let alone get asked some difficult questions by Quincey.

The month went by insufferably slowly for Severus, but horrifyingly quickly for Lily, Quincey and everybody else. The exams were fast approaching, and Severus was not concerned about them in the least. He knew what questions were coming and he was confident that he would get high marks all round, with the possible exception of History for Magic.

What Severus really wanted to do was to help Dumbledore locate the diadem and watch with pleasure as the Headmaster destroyed it and the ring…if Dumbledore had not destroyed the latter Horcrux already.

Lily, however, was not letting her best friend slack. She even set up a rotor for herself, Severus, Quincey, Mary and anybody who would listen in their group to revise regularly.

"I didn't know you were so…Petunia! So organized, so bossy, so OCD!" teased Severus.

James and Sirius tried not to cackle at Severus' attempt to make a joke, while Quincey laughed away. Even Remus and Mary shook their heads humorously. Lily smacked his arm.

"Apart from our mutual desire for magic, I am nothing like Tuney!" she snapped half-heartedly.

"Nothing?" teased Mary. "So, you're not a girl?"

James and Sirius' restraints snapped, and they were both practically rolling on the floor.

Lily and Mary ended up wrestling. Fortunately, they were not in the library, or they would have been banned by Madam Pince until second year. They were now studying together in the Gryffindor dormitory. Even though two of the party were Ravenclaws, nobody showed too much reluctance, and Severus knew that Dumbledore wouldn't object, especially after he had received that talking to from Severus about Slytherins not being all bad. Severus was hoping that this would prompt Dumbledore to take more steps in securing House unity. This allowance of himself and Quincey into another house's common room was hopefully a starting point. He also hoped that if they managed to get Regulus to be friends with them, he would also help in promoting Slytherin's reputation in this way. A Slytherin in a Gryffindor residence was quite unheard of and would spark a lot of gossip, which would hopefully result in the unity that Severus wished to create.

Sirius was open to the idea of trying to divert Regulus away from their parents' Pure Blood principles and join their circle of friends but was personally not banking on any positive results. Lily also suggested making more friends in Hufflepuff as well, though so far, no particular candidate sprung to mind, but then again Hufflepuffs were friendly in general anyway. Something else that concerned friendship, which surprised everyone, was Severus' sudden cooperation in the befriending of himself, James and Sirius. The original Lily's words of warning were enough for him to make a lot more effort in letting the pair in, and although he wasn't truly happy to call them his friends, he certainly felt closer to them, as they did to him.

In the past month, although Severus hadn't heard anything from Dumbledore concerning the Horcruxes, he himself had found out that James' Invisibility Cloak was handed down to him throughout his family, passed down by his father, Fleamont. He personally didn't know how far back in the family the Cloak came from, but his father did express amazement that the Cloak's effects had never worn off like all other ones do.

This only heightened Severus' theory of James' Cloak being one of the three Deathly Hallows being a correct assumption.

Another piece of good news for Severus came in the form of a letter from his mother, confirming that despite Malfoy's father's best and most underhanded efforts, Septimus Prince was officially reinstated at the Ministry, with all his rights and privileges attendant. Septimus was positively glowing with triumph, as now was Severus…while Lucius Malfoy was now squirming with fury whenever they passed each other.

Eventually, the exams came. Lily was jittery with anticipation and nervousness. She was scared she didn't revise enough, or did but not the right things, and was hoping with all her might that she would do good enough to advance on to the second year of her education.

Severus wasn't worried, but did all he could to soothe her, especially when their first exam was about to commence, in this case, Transfiguration. Professor Reynolds oversaw the examination.

After that exam passed, Lily felt distinctively more confident, and thanks to her rotors and insistence, so did their social group as they had done more than enough revision to succeed in their exams.

Before they knew it, the stress was over for that year, and the exams concluded. Severus and Lily felt particularly confident that they got top marks in almost every subject, and Quincey only felt nervous with the Arithmancy and History for Magic exams.

As the group of friends celebrated the end of the exams, Frank and Alice deposited at the Gryffindor table, and Frank was the only one sat there without a smile on his face.

"What's wrong, Frank?" asked Mary.

"He's worried for next year." explained Alice. "He'll be taking OWLs by then."

As everyone tried to reassure Frank that he would do just fine, Severus saw an owl swoop to him and drop a note in his hand before flying back to the Owlery. Strangely, nobody saw this. They were all too busy stuffing their faces in delight that the exams were over for a year.

Severus took advantage of this and quickly scanned the note.

Dear Mr Prince,

I trust your exams went well. If you wish to discuss any other concerns, please meet me in my office immediately. There is no need for an escort.

Yours,

Professor A.P.W.B. Dumbledore

Severus already knew the perfect excuse and masqueraded dropping his fork in panic.

"Oh no!" he gasped. "I think I made a mistake in my History for Magic exam. I must check on it in the library! I'll see you guys at dinner!"

Lily was surprised. Severus always seemed so confident. But then again, she was confident that his mistake wasn't a mistake and he would return at dinner time feeling much better about things. She certainly had his confidence now.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was waiting for Severus in his office, and when the boy knocked, he admitted his entrance.

"Mr Prince." he smiled. "I trust your first-year exams went well."

"Perfectly." said Severus immodestly. "But I'm only concerned about finding the diadem and destroying it and that ugly ring you have wrapped up there."

Dumbledore smiled as he held the ring in its heavily protected fabrics and pocketed it.

"Indeed. No time like the present to destroy a Horcrux or two." said the Headmaster approvingly. "Let's head to the Room of Requirement. You'll need to show me where it is."

Severus nodded and he led the way. To avoid suspicion that he was hanging around with the normally absent Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore used a Disillusionment Charm on himself to make it seem that Severus was walking alone to any passers-by.

The two of them travelled up to the seventh floor, and soon Severus approached the wall that he knew Harry had secretly set up Dumbledore's Army behind. He knew what he wanted, and he paced the wall three times, thinking: I want to find a room where all things in this castle have been hidden.

In answer to his wish, the door of the Room of Requirement made itself present and soon was fully formed, ready to be entered.

Dumbledore cast off his spell and became fully visible again. Severus looked at him to see the smile of impressiveness.

"Another splendid discovery at Hogwarts." he said cheerfully. "After you, Severus."

Before Severus could open the door, a loud female voice shrieked: "What are you doing?"

Both Severus and Dumbledore spun round.

The Grey Lady, aka Helena Ravenclaw was gliding towards them with a suspicious glare.

"What business have you got lurking around that doorway?" she said coldly.

Dumbledore smiled faintly.

"You have knowledge that could be valuable to us and would save us some time." he said eagerly. "My dear Miss Helena, would you be willing to help us find your family's lost diadem?"

"You have no business handling that possession of my mother's!" bellowed Helena. "The last time I let anyone on to its location, he polluted its radiance and power with Dark Magic!"

"We know." said Severus. "We're here to destroy that magic."

Dumbledore nodded. "If you help us destroy the Horcrux, your mother, I am sure, would be so proud…and I am sure it would fill you with a sense of…redemption."

Helena's cold glare softened at those last words. If there was one thing she craved in all her life as a ghost, it was to be forgiven by her wonderous mother, and to avenge the only thing she had left of her. She knew what destroying the Horcrux would mean, but better to be destroyed than corroded and corrupted by a fragment of the darkest wizard of all time's soul.

She made a decision.

"You promise to rid the world of that evil man?" she asked.

"Yes." said Severus.

"As you command, my lady." bowed Dumbledore.

Helena felt humbled. Never had she felt so respected and cared for. Even the pleas of the Bloody Baron, her former lover-turned-killer didn't compare to the kindness of Albus Dumbledore.

"Follow me then." she said, and she glided along into the Room.

Severus and Dumbledore obeyed and opened the door, entering the Come and Go Room.

They were astounded at the mess. There were items scattered everywhere, as far as the eye could see. There was no apparent end to the mass of junk. Old chairs, broken and tattered books and more than a fair amount of Zonko's products didn't even begin to describe the immense number of hidden objects in the Room.

"If Helena doesn't know for certain, or even know at all, where the diadem is in this lot, then our mission in here will be about as easy as finding fish in the Gobi Desert." said Severus doubtfully.

"No call for despair." said Dumbledore. "I'm sure Helena knows what she is doing."

"This way." droned Helena as she led the way in her mournful looking glide.

Severus and Dumbledore followed keenly.

Helena led them through this vast labyrinth of rubbish, and they even disturbed some Doxys along the way. The Room was clearly ridiculously vast, and even Dumbledore wondered how the founders managed to build such a massive room this way, where the walls seemed to be further out than the castle appeared from the outside.

Eventually, Helena came to a stop and pointed glumly at a box.

"Did he curse it?" asked Dumbledore seriously.

"No." she said. "He doubted anybody would ever find it. He didn't even see me follow him in here and watch him place it on that day he came here."

Dumbledore nodded, and opened the box delicately. Inside was a beautiful diadem, a small but perfectly preserved tiara. But there was a forebodingly lack of appeal around the piece of jewellery which was evidently the piece of Voldemort's soul lurking within it.

"This is it." smiled Dumbledore triumphantly.

"Yes." murmured Helena.

"We can destroy it now?" asked Severus.

"Indeed, but not in this maze. We may not make it out alive." said Dumbledore.

"Then where?" asked Severus and Helena in unison.

"This Room, but in a different form. One more spacious for our rather heated mission to come." said Dumbledore suggestively.

The two spectators nodded and they all came out of the Room of Hidden Things. As the door faded from view, Dumbledore followed Severus' example and wished mentally: I need a room where there is plenty of space and no obstacles, in order to safely destroy a Dark object.

The door reappeared, and Dumbledore opened the door.

This time, the Room wasn't packed, but was still large. It was about the size of Septimus and Desdemona's banqueting hall, only completely bare of any furniture or possessions of any kind.

"This will be where we destroy the Horcruxes." said Dumbledore confidently.

"You sure you can do it?" asked Severus.

"Absolutely." said Dumbledore cheerily. He positioned the diadem and the handkerchief covered ring onto the floor. He carefully opened the handkerchiefs out and flipped them out from underneath the deadly object and it spun to a stop next to the diadem.

"Step back, please Severus." said Dumbledore.

Severus did so, and Helena watched on beside him with anticipation and what was very close to being a smile of hope.

Dumbledore also retreated, as if to protect Severus just in case, but the door was just behind them anyway.

"I'm going to cast the curse now, Severus, Miss Helena." warned Dumbledore.

"Okay, sir." replied Severus.

"Just do it, Headmaster." added Helena desperately.

Dumbledore nodded and conceded, silently swirling his wand. The Fiendfyre began to pour out of the wand tip and its holder aimed the evil conflagration directly at the seemingly harmless items on the floor. As soon as the Fiendfyre connected with the Horcruxes, terrible shrieks were heard from within them and something black and grim seeped out of the ring and diadem before ultimately being consumed by the terrible flames.

Before the Fiendfyre could begin to spread any further, Dumbledore flourished his wand strategically and artistically, and within a moment, the flames disappeared gradually and harmlessly.

Severus barely comprehended this. He felt dazed with joy. They had done it. They had found two Horcruxes and destroyed them, and his first year at Hogwarts was not quite finished yet.

"Success!" beamed Dumbledore.

"YES!" cheered Severus and Helena together.

Helena never looked so joyous before. Soon, Dumbledore led them both out of the Room and the door vanished again.

"I think we should make this Room our Horcrux Destroying base, don't you think, Mr Prince?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir." agreed Severus.

"Oh."

Helena was holding her hand up to herself…she was fading, even more so in her ghostly state.

"You seem ready to move on, it seems." smiled Dumbledore. "And I didn't think that was even possible. I've never seen this before."

Helena's smile showed nothing but peace and closure.

"A whole millennium…and at last, I am free." she whispered. "Thank you for ending the abomination on my mother's legacy…I hope she'll forgive me…"

"Good luck." said Severus kindly.

"Safe journey." added Dumbledore.

As Helena began to fade, she heard chains behind her. The Bloody Baron was there…he was fading too though.

"You." she said harshly.

The Bloody Baron looked pained. Severus realized…they knew each other, and as he had never seen the Baron look so unhappy before, he concluded that he was in love with Helena…but she didn't love him. Severus saw so much of himself in the Baron in that instant.

"If you must come." sighed Helena.

The Baron smiled softly. "Thank you. I only came back to punish myself…and…I didn't want to go without you."

"…You spent all this time here…for me?"

"How could I not?" asked the Baron earnestly. "I owed you."

"You did." said Helena. "And you were wise enough to see that you deserved punishment…but then, so did I. Maybe…things did turn out the right way after all. Come, let's go home."

The Baron took her extended hand, and with a final smile each to Severus and Dumbledore, the most unlikely couple that Severus had ever seen disappeared…on to the afterlife.

(Here's Chapter 24. Sorry for the wait. I hope you all like it. Chapter 25 will hopefully be up next week. Please review your thoughts. Thank you for reading!)