a/n: thanks for reading and reviewing poka! I'm posting two chapters tonight since this one is short. I got exposed to poison ivy and haven't been able to concentrate much on editing my other stories. Hopefully posts will be out later this week on my other WIPs.

Prompt: Possession

Chapter 9: Vessel

A green light. That was the first memory formed. A baby crying. Then darkness. A deep sleep. Not too deep that awareness had been erased. Deep enough to allow time to pass. Time for the vessel to grow. Finally flashes of something familiar. A previous life. An awakening.

It saw itself in the mirror. Whole. Powerful.

It saw itself in the recreation of its younger form. Projected from the diary.

It saw itself in the graveyard. Changed. Transformed. And then it touched itself. It longed for restoration. It was bound to the vessel. Torn away from its maker. But it was a rival. Free to test its control only to find there was no control. Chance connections showed it the life it wanted. The life it could have. Until it was invited. Until the vessel opened the door.

Free.

Free to touch the vessel's magic. Free to stretch and reach. It thought it wanted to be made whole with the maker. This was better.

Harry walked through the room of hidden things. The iteration of the room of requirement that served as a hiding spot for Tom Riddle. Not just Tom. It was impossible all the illicit experiments were his. There was simply no way he could have thought the room made itself specifically for him. And yet, he trusted it to keep a horcrux safe.

Walking through the aisles of clutter, Harry tried to remember the turns he took when he hid the potions book. He'd been so amped up, trying to hide the book and get back to Snape in a reasonable amount of time that wouldn't draw the professor's suspicion. A stuffed troll looked familiar. Then an empty spot where the vanishing cabinet had been. Another regret. He should have been more adamant in his suspicions of Draco. He should have made Dumbledore listen to him.

He shouldn't have broken the taboo either. He was determined that mistake wouldn't cost a life. Despite that determination, he'd lost her again, so it appeared he was still making mistakes. Finding the horcrux hadn't really been at the top of his list. There had been glimpses into Voldemort's mind as he questioned Hermione. He was worried for his fragments of soul. They had to be a priority and if one was in Hogwarts this was the time. With the help of Luna, the Grey Lady told him what he needed to know. Enough to jog his memory. A tiara he placed on a warlock bust. It was possible it wasn't the diadem. Harry needed to rule it out before expanding the search.

As he rounded another corner, something jumped within him. Like recognizing an old friend in a crowd. The wig was sitting atop the bust. The diadem was lopsided, looking completely ordinary. Reaching for it, he knew before he touched it what it was. It didn't revolt him like the locket had. He welcomed it as his hand wrapped around it.

Reunited. The locket had been missed. It still remembered the exhilaration of being in the run down house with the locket and the master. The power of three pieces of the same cloth fitting together had ignited something ancient. The magic had made the locket fused to the skin of the vessel as the same met same with the force of the source.

Harry placed the tiara in his pocket. Ron had the sword. They could destroy it back in the Great Hall. At the thought, Harry paused. He finally had something that was more valuable to Voldemort than himself. He could trade it for Hermione. What would it matter if his mission suffered another setback. He'd have her back to come up with another plan.

"Harry!" Ron's voice called out from somewhere near the entrance to the room.

It was an option. Not if he told Ron. Looking around wildly, Harry spotted a piece of wire from a broken umbrella. He transfigured it to look like the diadem but not completely similar. Like the locket. As if someone else already found it and replaced it with a counterfeit. His hand shook as he placed it on the wizard bust with the wig.

"Harry!"

"Here! Over here," he finally answered. Standing there, thinking of the lie, he knew it was the right choice.

"Did you find it?" Ron shouted back, too loud for how close he was. The redhead appeared, looked relieved.

Harry turned to greet him, and pointed to the fake horcrux. "Yeah. Maybe," he said, pulled it down and showed it to Ron. "We need the Grey Lady to say for sure."

As Ron examined it, Harry couldn't help himself. With curiosity, he opened cupboard with the cage and the five legged creature. The book was still hidden away. He'd studied the book for days in his sixth year, but he hadn't had the knowledge he did in that moment. Snape may have hidden other useful information on the pages that would stand out now.

"You're taking that back?" Ron asked apprehensively.

Harry tucked the book under his arm. "It's useful. And maybe Snape divulged some secrets we didn't see last year. Come on. Let's make sure the castle is secure and plan our next move," he said, trying to redirect Ron's concern away. He already had the inferi between them, making Ron promise to not tell anyone he had a secret, corpse army hidden away in the forbidden forest. He couldn't afford raising any more suspicions from his best friend. Not before he used his leverage.