Alone in his office, Dumbledore pulled out the box that contained the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw and set it down on his desk to study it. He felt bad that he'd had the diadem in his possession for well over a week and still hadn't determined if it was a Horcrux or not, but other matters had taken precedence. He hadn't even had the diadem in his possession for a day when The Burrow had been attacked and that emergency had taken priority. Then of course on the same day little Lyra had fallen into her magical coma.
Between what was happening with Lyra and Arthur's death, it had been understandable that Dumbledore hadn't focused on the potential Horcrux in his possession. The diadem had been forgotten in the midst of the grief of losing Arthur and the situation with Lyra, but now Dumbledore was trying to focus on determining if the diadem was a Horcrux. If it was they needed to destroy it, so they could then focus on finding a way to lure Voldemort into battle with his snake. Then they could hopefully destroy both Nagini and Voldemort and save the wizarding world.
Although what Dumbledore hadn't told anyone was that he had an ulterior motive in trying to hurry things along with Voldemort. He'd been praying that the worst wouldn't happen and Lyra wouldn't end up in a coma, but now she had, he was worried about the effects it would have on her if it ended up being a long term thing. He was confident that as long as she was only in the coma for a few months, she would be perfectly fine, but he was worried that if time stretched on she would end up suffering when she woke. In the coma Lyra would age at approximately half the speed than if she'd been awake, while obviously her development would be compromised. For a few months, Dumbledore was confident that it wouldn't make much difference to the young girl, but if she was in the coma for years, she could seriously lag behind other children her age. Then there was her magic to consider as Dumbledore had no idea what being in a prolonged coma would do for her magic which hadn't yet fully developed. For all he knew, Lyra could wake up as a squib.
Dumbledore felt guilty for not discussing any of the potential side effects with Hermione, and he made a mental note to try and do so. However, he would make sure to stress that his solution had been the only one they had. If he hadn't altered the spells Voldemort had placed on Lyra and put her into a coma, she would be dead right now. They would all just have to hope that they could get rid of Voldemort soon and that Lyra's coma was going to be over shortly.
Hoping for the best, Dumbledore turned his attention to the diadem on his desk. Determining if the diadem was actually a Horcrux wasn't easy, and although Dumbledore thought he could sense darkness emanating from the piece of jewellery, he wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking on his part. Fortunately he had potions and spells to check for the presence of dark magic on the diadem, and he spent the next hour doing all he could to determine if the diadem had been exposed to the darkness.
By the time he'd exhausted all the tests, Dumbledore was confident he was holding another of Voldemort's Horcruxes in his possession. And once he'd destroyed it, they would be down to Nagini as Voldemort's last line of defence. Fortunately, the diadem wasn't the first Horcrux Dumbledore had to destroy, and he had a basilisk fang locked away in his safe to do the task from him. It hadn't been easy, but he'd retrieved the fang from the Chamber of Secrets after Harry had destroyed the diary in his second year and Dumbledore had worked out how Voldemort was still alive. He'd since used the fang to destroy other Horcruxes, and now it was time to destroy the diadem.
Clearing his desk, Dumbledore placed the diadem in the centre and retrieved the basilisk fang. Taking a deep breath, Dumbledore raised the fang in his hands and with all his strength he plunged it into the diadem. The second the fang hit the diadem a loud wail emanated from the Horcrux and a puff of green smoke filled the room. Voldemort's mocking voice began to torment Dumbledore, telling him he would never be strong enough to defeat him, but Dumbledore was prepared for such an event and he studiously ignored his former pupil as he drove the fang deeper into the diadem. With a loud crack, the diadem suddenly broke in two and the smoke and Voldemort's voice evaporated. With a sigh of relief, Dumbledore slumped back into his seat, exhausted by the effort of destroying the Horcrux.
"One more down," he whispered to himself. "Just one to go, and then the main event."
Once he was recovered, Dumbledore tidied up the office and secured the broken pieces of the Horcrux where no-one could reach them. He then headed off to find Harry to inform him that another Horcrux had been destroyed and they were one step closer to defeating Voldemort.
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While Dumbledore was examining the diadem to determine whether or not it was a Horcrux, Voldemort was settled in Lucius's study, having a conversation with the blond wizard. The topic of their conversation was Draco, and how much use they thought he could still be. In the last week they'd kept up the pressure on him by torturing Narcissa and making sure he knew that if he put so much as a toe out of line again, they would kill her. Voldemort even followed up the threat with a promise to hunt Hermione down and kill her in front of Draco if he disappointed him again.
However, as defeated and broken as Draco currently was, Voldemort wasn't sure how much more use he had for Lucius's son. Of course he would keep him around until after Draco had witnessed Hermione, his friends, and everyone they'd joined forces with destroyed, but after that, Voldemort just couldn't see him fitting into his future plans. However, he was Lucius's son and heir, and since Lucius had been nothing but loyal to him, Voldemort didn't want to destroy his son and the only means of carrying on the family name.
"Of course you could always remarry and have another son," Voldemort suggested. Of course at the moment Narcissa was still alive, but like Draco, Voldemort didn't see her featuring in his future plans.
"I could, but it's a risk," Lucius replied. "The safest way to secure the family line is to get Draco to have another child. This time a legitimate boy with the right blood."
"Do you think he could be persuaded?" Voldemort asked. "Thankfully not all his friends are traitors like Nott and Zabini. The Parkinson girl and the Greengrass girl have both proved loyal, one of them could be perfect to give Draco the child your family needs."
"Persuasion isn't an option, he'll do as we tell him," Lucius said firmly.
"In that case, I suggest we get onto securing your family line, Lucius," Voldemort said. "After all, once Draco has delivered a son and heir, he's no more use to us."
"Sadly, he's not," Lucius replied with a sigh. It was hard for him to admit, but he was finally ready to give in and confess that Draco wasn't the son he'd always hoped him to be. He was a complete disappointment, and to be honest the only thing left for him to do was produce a pureblood heir to carry on the family name.
"Which do you prefer, Parkinson or Greengrass?" Voldemort questioned. "Both will be leaving school soon, and I'm sure they'll both be willing to help us out."
"We could even use them both and see who falls pregnant first," Lucius replied. "Don't forget the child has to be a boy to carry on the family name. A girl is no good to us. Whichever produces the heir, gets to marry Draco and receive the honour of becoming a Malfoy. Then we can decide how best to deal with my son."
"Will we be able to get Draco to be intimate with the girls?" Voldemort questioned. "There's no denying his heart still lies with the mudblood."
"I'll stand over them and force Draco to do the deed if I have to," Lucius vowed. "One way or another, my son will give me the heir I desire."
Voldemort smirked evilly at Lucius's declaration, but in an instant his smirk vanished and was replaced with a grimace as pain ricocheted through his body. Clutching at his heart, Voldemort let out a cry of pain as he slumped back in his chair. Jumping to his feet, Lucius was around the desk in an instant as he checked The Dark Lord was okay.
"What was that?" Lucius asked as the pain drained from Voldemort's face and he shakily sat up.
"Something I never thought would happen," Voldemort replied shakily, hardly able to believe what he'd just felt. "Send for Bellatrix and Severus, I have an important task for the three of you."
Lucius scurried from the room and he was back in under five minutes with a worried Bellatrix in tow. While they waited for Severus to arrive, which would take longer as he had to get away from Hogwarts, Bellatrix fussed over Voldemort and checked he was really alright. Both she and Lucius were shaken by what had happened as since his return they'd viewed Voldemort as invincible and impervious to any real harm. Thankfully, Voldemort reassured the pair that he was just fine, although they could both see that something was troubling him greatly. When Severus finally arrived ten minutes later, Voldemort still didn't tell the trio what had happened or what had scared him so badly.
"Bellatrix, years ago I gave you a cup to keep secure, where is it?" Voldemort asked.
"It's in our vault at Gringotts," Bellatrix answered.
"Retrieve it for me," Voldemort ordered. "Lucius, I want you to go to a place called Little Hangleton. There's an old deserted cottage located down the lane to the large manor house. In that cottage should be a hidden ring. Find it and bring it to me."
"Yes, My Lord," Lucius and Bellatrix chorused together.
"As for you Severus, what I want from you is at Hogwarts," Voldemort said, turning to his spy. "There's a room on one of the upper floors of the castle which transforms in whatever the user requires. One of its uses is a junk room. In that room you will find a diadem that once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. I want that diadem."
"Yes, My Lord," Severus replied.
"And don't let Dumbledore or anyone catch you prying," Voldemort warned. "Now go and get back here as soon as you can."
Voldemort waited until the trio had departed before pulling his own cloak on and leaving the manor. His destination was a seaside resort he'd visited as a child. However, he ignored the beach and the tourist spots and arrived outside of a cave that was virtually impossible to reach without magic. It had been hard enough to reach in his youth, but time had eroded the cliff face and unless you knew what you were looking for the cave was incredibly hard to find. The question was, had Dumbledore found the cave somehow and taken what was hidden inside?
Delving into the darkness, Voldemort made the journey right to the heart of the cave. To anyone else the journey would have been perilous and fraught with danger, but to Voldemort it was simple to reach the lake in the heart of the cave. He then easily made his way over to the island and peered into the basin that stood in the centre of the island. Even though he expected to see nothing, he still let out a scream of annoyance when he found the golden necklace he'd hidden away was missing.
One of his precious Horcruxes had gone, and if the pain he'd felt earlier was any indication it had been destroyed. The question was, how many more had the Order found and destroyed? Were they just destroying their first, or was one of many they'd destroyed and he was only now feeling the pain as the pieces of his soul became fewer? Although even if they'd destroyed all of his four hidden Horcruxes, he knew his final one was safe. Nagini was nestled back at Malfoy Manor and there was no way Voldemort was going to risk letting the Order get their hands on her. He may have used her in the past, but from now one she wasn't leaving the safety of home.
Storming out of the cave, Voldemort returned to Malfoy Manor to wait for his three Death Eaters to return. Of all of them he expected Bellatrix to return first, and to be honest he fully expected her to bring him back the silver cup which had once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Even though the Order had somehow tracked down Slytherin's locket, and he could concede they might have found the ring and the diadem, he couldn't possibly see how they'd gotten their hands on the cup if it had been safely nestled in the Lestranges vault at Gringotts.
However, Bellatrix was gone longer than Voldemort had anticipated and when she did turn up she wasn't carrying anything. Her face was set in an angry frown, but Voldemort could also see the worry in her dark eyes. Even before she spoke, Voldemort knew she was bringing him bad news.
"It's not good My Lord," Bellatrix said quietly. "I went for the cup, but it's not there."
"And how is that possible?" Voldemort questioned, biting down his temper. "A break-in perhaps?"
"I did wonder that, but the goblins showed me the records. Last year Rodolphus accessed the vault and removed several boxes. I've taken the liberty of speaking to Rodolphus, and although he claims not to remember any silver cup, he admits it's possible it was in one of the boxes."
"And what did he do with the boxes?" Voldemort asked.
"He sold the contents to Borgin and Burkes to pay off a gambling debt he had acquired," Bellatrix replied. "It would seem there's an undercurrent of gambling among the Death Eaters, and Rodolphus was foolish enough to bet more than he could afford without selling off some family heirlooms. It appears the cup was among the things he sold, not realising its value. I'm sorry My Lord, I had no idea it wouldn't be safe at Gringotts."
"You weren't to know Bella," Voldemort admitted with a sigh. "Although, I have to tell you, I think you will be a widow very soon."
"What a nice treat, My Lord," Bellatrix said with a smirk.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Voldemort couldn't help but chuckle at Bellatrix's reaction. However, the humour was short lived as Lucius soon returned with the news that he'd turned the cottage upside down and found no sign of the ring. Things then got even worse when Severus turned up without the diadem. Like Lucius he'd searched thoroughly, but found no sign of the diadem.
"What does all this mean?" Lucius asked a seething Voldemort.
"It means it's time to act," Voldemort snarled. "Prepare yourselves for war. This is going to end, and it's going to end soon."