"My lord, I have found the information you have requested. The location of Ravenclaw's diadem is known to only Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter. Apparently, she was the last one in possession of it." Rosier declared eagerly. His head was lifted, his eyes roving over the dark lord's intimidating form, avidly awaiting praise. Tom valued Rosier as a loyal follower, he is obedient, but not foolishly so. And eager to please him.
"Good, Rosier" Tom gave him a stiff nod of approval and Rosier lowered his head, hiding his self-satisfied smile.
The rest of the meeting went as smoothly as usual. Macnair and Dolohov were scouting for recruits, now venturing out of the castle to find them. Lestrange and Yaxley were ordered to find information on the location of various dark artefacts and books that Tom wanted to obtain. Malfoy was using his wealth and connections to gather information on various important wizards and witches in the magical world. Incriminating evidence of any of their misdeeds were especially important, as blackmail is often a useful mechanism in controlling others.
After the meeting with his followers, Tom pondered the location of the diadem. Rowena Raveclaw had a daughter named Helena, that much was well known. The founders of Hogwarts are idolised but there is much about them that remains a mystery, including what happened to the daughter of Rowena. No one knew much about Helena Ravenclaw, and any information about her was just speculation. The diadem was supposedly lost before it came into Helena's possession…apparently not.
The day passed slower than usual as Tom obsessed over the diadem. It was obvious to him that Helena Ravenclaw might be the ghost of Ravenclaw's house. The grey lady was often speculated to be the daughter of the founder but it had never been confirmed, mostly because the grey lady never spoke much to anyone. They looked similar enough that Tom knew it was her.
Tom wandered the castle looking for the ghost, searching mostly around the Ravenclaw common room. Eventually he found her at the top of the astronomy tower. She stood tall and regal in an elegant out-dated dress. Her body was transparent, as were all the ghosts in the castle but with the full moon that night, she looked like she shimmered in the semi-darkness.
"Hello," Tom whispered. The grey lady spun around in the air, looking surprised at seeing another person. It was well-known that the grey lady was timid and never spoke much, and most students ignored the ghosts entirely, so she was rightly confused at his acknowledgement of her.
"Who are you?" She asked as she floated gracefully towards him. Tom noticed her eyes scanning over his face and body blatantly and, a light blush formed on her cheeks.
"My name is Tom Riddle. It's a pleasure to meet you" He offered her a practised smile, a kind and soft one which always managed to woo women. He took a few steps towards her. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions? I'm utterly fascinated with ghosts…especially with you." Tom expressed in false reverence. He caught her eyes in a heavy gaze which he maintained for quite a while before she spoke.
"I, uh of - of course" The grey lady stuttered, her eyes locked with his as if in an especially captivating trance. Good, she's getting flustered. Some well-placed questions and a touch of vulnerability will ultimately reveal the location of the diadem.
"I assume you are Helena Ravenclaw, am I correct?" Tom would need to start slow, patience was required in situations such as these. "Yes," the grey lady admitted in a surprised whisper. She seemed only mildly wary of him, but mostly pleasantly dazed by his raw undivided attention.
"You are much more beautiful in person, I must say." Tom gave her a charming grin and an appreciative glance. He needed to flatter her with compliments, convince her he had no ulterior motive besides being interested in her and her life. The grey lady flushed, it looked dull due to her pale complexion. When Hermione blushed, her cheeks would turn a bright rosy colour that crept up from her neck. Though, that was not relevant, no matter how lovely it was.
"Well, you are quite handsome yourself." Helena chuckled as she admired his flawless appearance, and added as an afterthought "and charming too." Tom broke his eye contact with her and looked away shyly, in a mildly timid fashion that girls seemed to like. "Thank you, you are very kind"
"I was wondering if you would tell me about your life and how you died?" Tom asked, making sure to colour his voice with polite curiosity. He pushed a stray strand of hair from his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair intentionally, in an attempt to refocus her attention on his appearance and demeanour rather than his questions. The grey lady just stared at him in a wistful sort of longing.
Helena talked about her life for a while and Tom feigned interest, leaning toward her subtly and asking appropriately innocent questions. Tom wondered why people told him she didn't talk much because at this moment she would not stop chattering, no matter how much he wanted her to.
And suddenly she shifted nervously as she reached the topic of her young and tragic death.
"I have always sought to make myself cleverer, more wise and more important than my mother. You see, I was always in her shadow, always an afterthought. I craved the knowledge and power that her diadem would bring. So i…I stole it from her." Helena's voice was small and soft and inundated with shame and regret. "You have to understand, I was not a bad person, I just - I…" She wept quietly. He loathed when people cried, it was such a disgusting display of weakness.
"It's okay, I understand. The pursuit of knowledge is never something to be ashamed of. I understand the feeling of wanting, the desire to be more than you are, and you did what you thought you had to do to gain it. And I understand your envy. It's an ugly feeling that drives you to do things you never thought you would." Tom spoke softly, injecting sympathy into every word he said. Tom felt a building anticipation for the information he needed her to reveal. Just a little more pushing and he'll know where the diadem is.
"You understand why I did it?" she cried in relief, like she was sure he would judge her. Like she was so sure Tom would shun her, that he would stand up and leave because of her past misdeeds. "Of course I do." Tom murmured compassionately. At his words she seemed to sober up slightly and compose herself. Helena gave him a grateful smile and continued.
"I ran away…My mother never admitted the diadem was gone. She never spoke of it, and never even admitted her loss. She concealed my betrayal, even from those closest to her. Soon after, my mother fell terribly and fatally ill…Despite my treachery, she wanted to see me one last time before she passed on. So she sent the Baron, a man who had long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to find me. She knew that he would not rest until he had done so." Helena continued to weep and Tom grew restless in his anticipation. Desire gripped him fiercely. He needed to know where the diadem was. He needed to satisfy this aching curiosity, this burning need to collect something so valuable and rare and make it his own. Tom didn't show this viscous greed on his face, instead he hid it behind the kind and sympathetic mask that he wore often.
"He tracked me to a forest in Albania, so I panicked and hid the diadem inside a hollow tree. The Baron and I had a terrible quarrel. I refused to go with him, too ashamed of my actions to face my mother again, even on her deathbed. When I rejected his affections once again, he…he stabbed me, again and again in a fit of rage. Oh, it was horrible! When I returned from the dead as a Hogwarts ghost, the Baron returned too. He had stabbed himself to death in remorse for what he had done to me." The grey lady continued weeping with snotty vigour, and Tom maintained his caring pretence as he comforted her. What a pitiful creature, Tom thought. How idiotic must one be to spill their secrets to charming young men who only ask.
His mind focused on only one thing, the diadem. It was in Albania. A forest in Albania. Inside a hollow tree. But hundreds of years have passed since it was hidden there, perhaps it was not there anymore. But it must be. There have never even been rumours of anyone finding the lost diadem of Ravenclaw…so it must be there still.
Tom's mind raced, creating plan after plan. Calculating every step.
After Tom had thoroughly comforted the pathetic Ravenclaw ghost, he left the astronomy tower and headed to his dormitory.
On Christmas break, he will travel to Albania. There is an old ritual used to locate ancient magic that Tom remembered reading about in a book from the restricted section. The ritual could even locate magic that was hidden behind wards, it was incredibly useful, especially considering the fact that he wanted to find other magical artefacts such as slytherin's locket. It would be fairly easy to do the ritual in order to find the diadem, seeing as it required very little ingredients. The diadem was infused with century old powerful magic that would be easy to detect using the ritual, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find even in a large forest. But turning it into a Horcrux might prove to be much more burdensome.
He could use a random muggle, although it did wound his pride to use muggle scum to create something as important as a Horcrux.
But he was glad that the object would be just as valuable, just as precious as the soul it will contain. He was glad that his Horcrux will be an object intrinsically tied to Hogwarts…his first ever home.
/
Hermione couldn't sleep.
Nightmares about Ron and Harry kept her from a peaceful night's rest, just as it did most days. Usually she would take some Dreamless sleep potion but she ran out two days ago and still hasn't refilled her vial.
So she decided a peaceful walk around the castle might do her some good. Hermione wondered for a moment how different she was now from that snobby know-it-all from first year. it seems that as she gets older the rules seem less and less important, she would have balked at the thought of breaking curfew back then.
After twenty minutes of walking around the hallways of Hogwarts, she decided to go up to the astronomy tower. That was where she overheard Tom Riddle and the grey lady speaking about the diadem.
Hermione knew that at some point, Voldemort managed to find out the location of Ravenclaw's diadem. She distinctly remembered the conversation between Harry and the grey lady where she told them that she had revealed the diadem's location to Voldemort when he was in school. But she was somehow surprised, she hadn't expected it.
Hermione's thoughts swirled chaotically around her mind. She was struck by how strange this really was, like she was watching some obscure historical event while it was happening.
Hermione was horrified for a brief moment. Riddle was planning on creating a Horcrux, meaning he was ready to murder an innocent person, and he was ready to mutilate his soul once again. Of course he was. He was Voldemort, she already knew this would happen, she already knew that he would be creating his third Horcrux. So…why did she feel so disappointed? Like somehow, the Tom Riddle she knew wouldn't do that. But that was stupid, because Hermione knew exactly what he would do. She knew what he had done in the past, what he is doing in the present and what he will do in the future, And some are far worse atrocities than murdering one man.
Hermione needed to pull herself together. She was sent on a mission by those unspeakables. There is a reason she is here, why does she keep forgetting that?
Perhaps she is meant to destroy his Horcruxes? Or prevent him from making any more? Or perhaps she is meant to kill him before he starts the wizarding war?
Hermione couldn't do that, not even for a mission. Because honestly…the thought of murdering Tom Riddle made her feel sick. Despite the fact that it will save hundreds of lives in the future. Hermione thought suddenly of all the havoc that the death eaters caused under Voldemort's orders, right before they took control of the ministry. She remembered all the muggles that were killed during the false tornados or the bridge collapse that the death eaters orchestrated. And suddenly a twisted disgust and hatred for Tom Riddle erupted from the pit of her stomach.
She will destroy his Horcruxes. She will prevent him from creating another. She will do something to stop him. Anything.
Authors note: I'm really excited for this story to continue because it will start being more plot driven from now on! I hope you like it.
If you do, please leave a review, I would appreciate it so much, thank you :)