A/N) Okay, I didn't exactly reach my goal of writing to chapter 71, however I am simultaneously writing chapters 69 and 70 and I hope to get both finished tonight, which is the principle reason why I am updating today. My plan for this story has also now completely changed, but the ending does remain the same.

Hope you like this chapter.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Diadem

Monday 15th March 1996

Though Albus Dumbledore had predicted that Cornelius Fudge would once more be Minister of Magic in the coming days, he was proven wrong by the following Monday. Pius Thicknesse had taken the post of Minister, however the Aurors had quickly realised he was under the Imperius Curse. Cornelius Fudge was the Deputy Minister of Magic but he was the one truly in charge, working through Voldemort to push through his policies, though none at present, had been made known. Fortunately, Dumbledore understood that the Dark Lord was waiting for his death before pushing any further, but he had his puppets within the Ministry and at his control. There was nothing they could do. The wrong people were at the top and despite Dumbledore's power, he was weakening.

Rumours were already flying around the Wizarding World pertaining to that, no doubt started by Voldemort himself. Snape's position as a spy meant that he had to give the Dark Lord that information, however since Dumbledore had refused to explain how he had come by his hand injury, Voldemort was none the wiser that he was tracking down his Horcruxes. With any luck they'd be able to track them all down before he uncovered the truth.

But one thing nagged at the Headmaster. He knew that both Sirius and Harry had heard what the Horcrux Voldemort had said to him; he understood that their curiosity had been piqued by its words. How could it not have been with what it had taunted him with? It was out of respect for him that they did not ask, yet he knew that when he died the truth would be brought out. People like Rita Skeeter would dig out the past: surely it would be better for them to know, instead of finding out in the worst possible way?

The voice reverberated out of his pocket loudly causing Sirius to jump out of his chair, sending it crashing to the floor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the one of the two-way mirrors. "Harry?" he asked, tiredly. He had just been dropping off to sleep in the uncomfortable chair in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place when his godson's voice had echoed loudly from below.

"Sirius?" Harry's face looked out at him from mirror. "Did I wake you or something?"

"Erm, you might have done," he replied. "It is quite late." He glanced over his shoulder at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's nearly two in the morning. You should be asleep."

Harry bit his lip, looking nervous. "I should have been, yeah, but I was doing homework and when I came to bed I wasn't tired so I decided to look at the Map. Sirius, Malfoy isn't appearing on the map. He's missing. You never told me to not investigate but I've been checking the Map sporadically, just in case. He keeps disappearing off it. It's getting more and more frequent now. And his behaviour in class isn't what it usually is... he doesn't seem to care! You told me that Malfoy is trying to kill Dumbledore. I think he's leaving the castle."

"He isn't leaving the castle, Harry," said Sirius quietly.

"But he's not on the map!" Harry was indignant.

"Yes he is," continued Sirius. "There is one room in the castle that does not appear on the Marauders Map. No matter how many times your father and I tried, we could not get the Room of Requirement to appear on it."

"But how did Malfoy find out about that?" questioned Harry, curiosity piquing in his voice now.

Sirius ran a hand through his bag-raddled hair. "Technically it is my fault. I fear that I may have led him to it."

A quizzical expression appeared over his godsons face, and Sirius sighed. "I think he saw me the first night I created our training room from the Room of Requirement. I looked up and saw him peering round the corner but he was gone in a flash. I ran to the corner where he had been watching from but he was nowhere to be seen. I'd hoped I'd imagined him being there, but I guess he's been using the room. It also explains why that on some nights the room has been closed to me. I forgot that I thought he had seen me when you, Ron and Hermione arrived for your first lesson. Stupid of me really, but I wasn't thinking properly."

"When he's not in the room would we be able to ask the room to reveal what Malfoy has been doing in there?"

Sirius shook his head. "The room doesn't work like that, Harry. If Draco has asked the room to keep it a secret then it will. No matter how much you ask it, it won't reveal it." He bit his lip. "If he's spending so much time in the Room of Requirement then I think he's getting scared. He's worried that he will fail and he will die. That will be the price he will pay if he fails."

"Why can't the Order just offer to protect him?" said Harry. "Wouldn't that be the most logical thing to do? You'd be saving him from himself."

"If we did that, we would risk exposing Snape. Voldemort cannot know that he is really working for Dumbledore and that he has been for years. He must think Snape remains loyal to him, no matter what. If we offer Draco protection, it means that Snape will lose his life and the unique position he holds within the Inner Circle. Voldemort will suspect him, as he is the only Death Eater who knew of the plot against Dumbledore who is in constant access of him. He knows that Snape is keeping an eye on him, but he doesn't know that Dumbledore has been forewarned of the plot against him," explained Sirius, urgency in his voice. "It is important that you understand this, Harry. Snape risks his life on a daily basis. If Voldemort were to realise that Dumbledore knows then Snape would die and we can't lose him. No matter how much I hate the slimy, greasy git, he has a valuable purpose to the Order. It's up to Snape to save Draco; we can do nothing."

Harry sounded exasperated. "But what could he be doing in there?"

"I don't know."

His godson was silent.

"Sorry I can't be of more help, Harry, but I have my orders. Draco is Snape's responsibility. Dumbledore knows what he is doing."

"He intends to let himself be killed, Sirius!" snarled Harry, angrily. "We need him!"

"You've forgotten that he already is dying. His blackened hand is cursed but it is a slow acting one, but one that cannot be lifted. In the end the curse will kill him; better for Dumbledore to plan his own way of going rather than to sit and wait for death to find you. Wouldn't you agree?"

Harry hesitated. "That kind of reminds me of Nicolas Flamel. When the Philosophers Stone was destroyed, he and his wife planned how they would die. It's not the same, I know, but they knew they would die at some point." He pulled a face as he considered Sirius' original question. "If I was dying, I'd rather end it on my own terms rather than wait for it. I guess what Professor Dumbledore is doing isn't so bad." He chewed at his bottom lip. "Sirius, if he wasn't dying, would he be planning his own means of dying?"

Sirius shook his head with no hesitation. "No, I don't think he would be. I could be wrong as I'm positive he wouldn't want Malfoy to die for his failure. Draco isn't all bad." Harry was about to contest this but Sirius moved swiftly on. "He can be a jerk and his views on pure-blood superiority won't change, but he isn't cut out to be a Death Eater or a killer. He's been frightened into service. I think if dying meant saving Draco Malfoy's soul, Dumbledore would do it, but he'd make sure we were prepared for it. And that is what he is doing, Harry, he is preparing you for when he won't be here. Without him, we would never know about the Horcruxes."

"I know," said Harry wistfully. "Do you know if we could be close to finding another one?"

Sirius frowned. "I doubt it. Dumbledore was concentrating on tracing that cave. Now that we have destroyed the Horcrux held within, we're back to square one. I'm guessing you have an idea?"

"Hermione did," admitted Harry, "but I think it's worth it."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "What did she suggest?"

"That we ask a Ravenclaw student about any artefacts Rowena Ravenclaw might have had. If she had any, her students might be able to help. They don't need to know why, but if we could narrow down what type of object it could be, it would help us a lot, right?" replied Harry, smiling lightly.

"It would help. Can you think of a good student to ask?"

Harry frowned. "That's the hard part, choosing a student we can trust. We're making a list of potential people we can question. I don't know when Hermione is planning on 'hauling' them in." He shrugged, the movement obscured by the mirror. He fell silent, unsure of what to say. "I guess I'd better get to bed."

A quirky smile lit up Sirius' face. "You'll need your sleep if you're going to go Horcrux hunting," he teased. "Oh, and Harry," he added in a serious tone, "I'll be dropping by tomorrow. I think it's for the best if we collect those Basilisk fangs as quickly as possible. We cannot predict when things might go from bad to worse. We will need to have something of Horcrux destroying potential with us at all times. There is no telling when we might stumble across one."

"We wouldn't just find one like that, would we?" asked Harry.

Sirius laughed lightly. "No, I doubt it. Voldemort has probably hidden them in places important to him. The ring and the locket Horcruxes were hidden in significant places that are part of his history; it is likely that the other two are protected in some way like that. We've just got to figure out where they might be, forming our answers from what we have learnt so far."

"Considering that I've got enough on my plate with my O. coming up, I think I'll leave that part to you," replied Harry cheekily.

Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

Thursday 18th March 1996

Hermione, holding a quill in her right hand, passed a slip of parchment to Harry, who took it and scanned the names on the list. He frowned as he ran his eyes over the Ravenclaw students Hermione had picked out for them to talk to. "There are a lot of students in our year in Ravenclaw," he commented.

Hermione shrugged, unfazed. "I've already picked out the student we can ask for information anyway."

"So why did you give me the list then?" laughed Harry as he handed it back to her.

"I guess I thought it might be informative for you if you knew of every Ravenclaw student in our year we may need to ask if Terry doesn't know."

Ron peered up from the essay he was currently trying to finish. "You're going to ask Terry Boot? He's a Muggle-born, Hermione! What would he know about Ravenclaw?" He flinched as Hermione glared daggers at him.

"Because, Ron, anyone other than a Muggle-born might question our motives," stated Hermione, her eyes narrowing. "We can't have that happening. A pure-blood or even a half-blood might ask awkward questions, but a Muggle-born witch asking another Muggle-born wizard for information isn't likely to raise Terry's suspicions. And, if he's anything like me, he will have found out all he can about Rowena Ravenclaw. I don't know Terry very well, but I do know he thirsts for knowledge. He simply loves to learn. It is likely he researched everything to do with Ravenclaw, just for his own amusement."

Ron and Harry traded amused glances.

"Look," continued Hermione, exasperated, "just trust me, okay?"

Saturday 20th March 1996

"You like her, don't you?" Sirius pointed out as he escorted the trio back to the Common Room after their Defence lesson training. Due to the up-coming O.W.L examinations, Sirius had decided to take pity on them and limit their lessons to once a week. They were already far ahead and he felt that they were as ready as one could be. Ron still had trouble with some spells but overall Hermione and Harry were truly well advanced for their age-group. Sirius couldn't be more proud of his godson. He had decided to keep the Saturday lessons as that ensured he could spend the day with Harry. Shut up inside Grimmauld Place was not proving to be fun.

"I don't know what you mean," said Harry, glancing towards Sirius. Ron and Hermione were a little way in front, allowing godfather and godson to share a quiet moment, something that they probably wouldn't really get in person for another week as Sirius would be leaving the school to return to Headquarters. Though they had the mirrors to communicate, it really wasn't the same.

"Ginny Weasley," stated Sirius, conversationally. He threw a grin towards his godson. "I saw you looking at her when we just passed her. Plus, isn't she currently filling in for Katie Bell in the Quidditch team? I've seen you watching her, Harry. I saw it back when you took her to the Yule Ball. Also you've been spending a lot more time with her lately, especially since Ron and Hermione started dating. I would have thought you'd have gone around with Neville, Dean or Seamus considering they are in your year... But it has been Ginny. Just Ginny Weasley."

Harry was going red, his cheeks were flushed. Sirius was right. He did like Ginny. He had done for a while now, probably ever since he had escorted her as a date to the Yule Ball. He enjoyed spending time with her; he would be kidding himself if he denied the feelings he had for her. It just seemed natural to spend time with her when Hermione and Ron had started dating. He knew her better than the other boys in his dormitory.

"You should talk to her," advised Sirius. "She feels the same way. Why deny yourselves when you both feel alike?"

"Would my dad be pleased that you are urging me on?" asked Harry slyly.

Sirius chuckled. "Your father was chasing after your mother ever since he was thirteen. You're a bit of a late developer in the Potter line in regards to girls..."

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, hitting his godfather on the arm with his left hand.

His bark-like laugh echoed down the hall-way. "Oh, Harry, if you only you knew..."

Harry scowled, walking faster so that Sirius had to hurry to catch up. "Know what?" he said over his shoulder.

"Your grandparents were together ever since they were twelve years old. It was fate, really."

"And what has that got to do with me being a late developer with girls? Plenty of boys my age haven't dated," said Harry, trying to keep his voice level. He didn't know why this conversation was angering him, but it was. Maybe the reason for that was that he really did like Ginny and didn't know how to about it?

Sirius shrugged. "It's just that your father and by extension your grandfather started quite early. I know you haven't exactly had a normal life... and, well, I was really just joking by that comment. What you've been through, I don't expect you to do what James did, but I think you should tell Ginny that you like her." He laid a hand on his godson's shoulder and was relieved when he didn't shake it off. "You deserve all the happiness you can get. You never know when it can be taken away from you."

"Ginny?"

The red-headed Weasley girl looked up at Harry as he approached her. He sat down beside her on the Common Room floor, legs stretched out in front of him. It was still busy when he had arrived back with Sirius, but he figured at least he could talk to her without anyone overhearing her. Her twin brothers were entertaining the younger years with some joke products that they had been creating for their joke shop that they hoped to open when they finished school at the end of the year.

"I need to talk to you," he said, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. He felt nervous, but Sirius' words had rung true. He did deserve happiness and he should take it while he still could. He couldn't have a normal life at the moment, but he could try to make it as normal as possible.

A quirky smile pulled at her lips. "What about? Do you want to go elsewhere or here just fine?"

"Just here," swallowed Harry, tugging at his collar. "I don't think anyone can overhear us. Everyone is focusing on Fred and George, rather than two teenagers sitting in a corner."

"You hope," smiled Ginny, a bit slyly.

Harry rested his head back against the wall behind him, turning to look at Ginny with his bright green eyes that shone behind his glasses. "You know how we've been spending more time together then we usually do?"

Ginny nodded. "It's been noticeable..."

"I know, and, well, I don't know how to do this, but I don't know how long I will have." He shifted uncomfortably, his face growing red as he spoke. "I don't know if you feel the same way but I'd rather know that there was something to come back to if I survived..." He met Ginny's bright brown eyes. He didn't understand why he did it, but he took Ginny's hand in his own. She didn't swipe it away. It felt comfortable.

"There will be, Harry. I've liked you for a long while now. I know that there is something you've got to do and I respect that, and I can wait for you. But if you have time now?" She left the question hanging, waiting for an answer.

A small smile crossed his face. "I do."

"Good," she grinned, squeezing his hand intimately.

They broke apart, not wanting for their classmates to find out, but both knowing that if they left together this late at night, it would arouse suspicion and rumour and neither Ginny nor Harry wished that to happen. So they stayed in the Common Room, just talking and laughing together when one of Fred and George's tricks went wrong, causing George's ear lobes to grow downwards.

As the Common Room emptied, and Ron and Hermione trooped off to bed, Harry and Ginny said farewell, gently kissing one another on the cheek. Something had changed between them that night with their words; their feelings for one another were no longer hidden from each other, and before long the entire school would soon know that Harry Potter was dating Ginny Weasley.

For now, it was their little secret.

Sunday 21st March 1996

They found Terry Boot in the library trying to work on a Defence essay for Snape. Ever since he had taken over their lessons, Snape's essays had just got harder and harder. He was pushing them as much as possible, claiming that they still had a lot to learn if they were to pass their O.. According to Snape, no one in the class was capable of passing the Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L with an 'Outstanding' though Harry, Ron and Hermione begged to differ. The lessons they had been receiving from Sirius was a help to them and their school marks in Defence were better than anyone in the class.

Harry approached Terry, quickly glancing over his shoulder to see that Madam Prince wasn't around and leant down close to the table. Terry lifted his blonde head of hair to stare at Harry.

"Erm, do you need anything?" he asked, curiously, holding the quill in his right hand, poised to add something to his essay.

"Well, we do require help with something," whispered Harry, "and we thought you might be able to help us."

"Your friend Granger couldn't help?" replied Terry, suspiciously. He moved his head to the right and swiftly glanced at the bushy-haired Gryffindor. Everyone knew that Hermione was the brains of the trio – there was nothing she didn't know.

Harry shuffled on his feet. "You see, what we want to know is something that only Ravenclaw students would. Hermione wouldn't know this." He could see that Terry was frowning over this news and he hurriedly continued. "It's important."

"Why?" questioned Terry, his blue eyes meeting Harry's green ones.

"I can't say."

"Terry," began Hermione, standing beside Harry and beseeching the Ravenclaw with her eyes, "it is important that we find out about any artefacts that Rowena Ravenclaw left behind and if so, of any known history surrounding it and where it last was."

"I suppose it can't hurt to tell you..." mused Terry, "it's not like you are going to find it anyway."

"Why not?" Ron butted in, eyes narrowing, as if he suspected Terry of harbouring the real thing.

Terry rolled his eyes. "Because the diadem of Ravenclaw is lost. Disappeared centuries ago... but Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked for it, but no one has ever found a trace of it."

Ron was looking completely confused. "What is a diadem?"

"It looks like a crown, sort of. Legend says that Ravenclaw's was supposed to have magical properties and enhance the wisdom of the wearer," explained Terry. "I, personally, believe that is a load of old tosh."

Harry frowned. "You said it was a lost... do you know what happened to it?"

Terry shook his head. "No, all I know is that it was lost centuries ago. I don't think anyone knows what happened to it. There is a copy of the diadem on Ravenclaw's statue in our common room. It's the only symbol that is associated with her."

"Can we see it?" asked Hermione lightly.

"No, but if you're familiar with Hogwarts: A History, there is a rough sketch of what it looks like in there," said Terry.

Hermione whacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, why didn't I think of that? Of course any magical objects associated with the Founders would be recorded in there!" She shook her head in amusement. She had the very book in her dormitory!

Ron tugged at the back of Harry's sleeve, indicating with his eyes over his shoulder. Madam Prince stood there, eyes narrowing as she watch them converse with Terry.

"Look, thanks for the help, Terry, it's really helped," said Harry quickly, "but we need to leave now."

Terry shrugged, glancing back down at the piece of parchment he had been writing on. "If you need to know anything else, just tell me... I don't know if I can be much use though. I've told you pretty much what is known about the diadem anyway."

Harry smiled softly and then turned away, ignoring the pointed and scowling look that the Hogwarts librarian threw his way. They had a lead, not one that was of much use at the moment, but at least it was something.

"So young Harry has told you a possible Horcrux could be the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw herself?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. It is also the only object linked to her, but the fact it's been missing for many years means that it would be impossible to find. Could Voldemort have found it?"

"It is possible," inclined Dumbledore. "He was highly skilled at finding things that were once thought lost. The Chamber of Secrets springs to mind..."

"If he did find it, where would he put it? And if so, how did he find it?" questioned Sirius.

"That, Sirius, is something we are going to have to work on. For now, our priority is to locate the cup – which at least we know exists. Once that is achieved, we can then turn our attention towards the diadem; whether it is a Horcrux remains to be seen."

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Next chapter: Truths - in which Sirius and Harry learn some truths about a very close friend.

No preview, unfortunately. Should hopefully be up on Thursday, if not it will be next Monday :)

the-writer1988