Chapter 119 - The Diadem

The Room of Requirement held too many things. From the era of the Four Founders to the present day, everything lost and never found, everything deliberately hidden away, it was all here.

Praeris considered for a moment. Her first thought was the Summoning Charm.

But there was one very practical problem: she had never actually seen what Ravenclaw's diadem looked like. She hadn't even seen the portrait in Ravenclaw Tower.

She could only search based on Helena's description. Summoning the diadem by charm was out of the question.

If she were Voldemort, she would certainly have placed an Anti-Summoning Charm on it, or used some other method to ensure it couldn't be called forth at will.

That left only the simplest, most brutish approach: a manual sweep, inch by inch.

Don't talk to her about luck. She didn't think she had any.

Praeris began her search from the classroom doorway, sprinting around each junk pile, committing their shapes to memory, then running on to the next.

The piles were far too large. She could only scan the surfaces visible to the eye.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of books, some clearly forbidden texts, some that even the Hogwarts library didn't possess.

If Praeris was certain they weren't in the library, then they definitely weren't.

That was authority.

She suppressed the urge to flip through them and kept moving.

Potion bottles glowed with a sickly green light in the junk piles, some kind of vicious poison, its water content long since evaporated, congealed now into a viscous semi-fluid.

Silver cutlery and candlesticks, still bearing the Slytherin house crest. Who had done this?

Rusted longswords and suits of armor. A dust-covered wooden harp. An apricot-yellow corset. A silver-gilt censer with long chain clips. A seal bearing the Ravenclaw emblem. A silver rusted iron rapier. A short Ottoman dagger with gold and gemstone inlay. A brass Hebrew astrolabe and hourglass. A bloodstained, notched great axe.

And beyond all that, diadems. All kinds of diadems: silver set with emeralds, silver set with sapphires, gold set with rubies, silver set with diamonds and pearls.

Same gemstones, same metals, but different designs: wave patterns, swirl patterns, shield shapes, cabochon cuts, wheatear styles, Gothic styles. Praeris sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the pile of diadems she had pulled from different junk heaps, and let out a heavy breath.

If Hogwarts ever fell on hard times and faced bankruptcy, Dumbledore could simply pull a diadem out of the Room of Requirement and sell it.

The only thing to watch out for was not selling the wrong one. Ravenclaw's diadem was somewhere in this pile.

Praeris shook her head. That was Dumbledore's problem.

She had only one question: which one was Ravenclaw's diadem?

And worse, what if it wasn't here at all? Then she would have to comb through her memory for anything she'd missed, and possibly start digging through the junk piles themselves.

"On the Ravenclaw portrait there is a magnificent diadem, and etched upon it is the motto of our house's founder. We thought that best represented Ravenclaw."

Those were the words of the timid little Ravenclaw boy, Barron. Praeris extracted the key information: magnificent, etched with the Ravenclaw motto.

She closed her eyes and recalled every diadem she had picked up, tracing the patterns on each one in her mind.

Her eyes snapped open. She reached into the pile and pulled out a tarnished silver diadem set with sapphires.

At the very bottom, a familiar line of text was unmistakably engraved: Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.

Praeris narrowed her eyes. She thought for a moment.

Then she set the diadem down, ran quickly to her left, and retrieved a wooden box from an abandoned, broken cabinet.

Box in hand, she hurried back. She wrapped the diadem carefully in the silk lining, then tucked it inside and closed the lid.

Praeris decided to take back what she'd said about having bad luck.

Who said she had bad luck?

This luck was far too good.

In her projections, the most troublesome possibility had been the diadem ending up outside the school, its location impossible to determine. The worst possibility had been the diadem in Voldemort's own hands.

But fate had taken pity on her. She had actually found it within the school.

---

Outside the headmaster's office, Praeris paced before the massive stone gargoyle.

Damn it. In her excitement, she had completely forgotten, she had no idea what the password was.

Was it related to Gryffindor?

Or to Dumbledore's hobbies and interests?

She was so anxious she was going in circles. Without thinking, she cracked open the wooden box, just a sliver.

The pearl-white silk bulged in an irregular outline. The shape of the diadem.

If she put on the diadem, could she think of the password? Hand over the Horcrux before anyone discovered her?

What am I thinking?!

Praeris fumbled the box shut.

Her eyes went wide. Her breathing turned shallow.

Had she gone mad? Praeris!

If she couldn't figure out the password from the clues she already had, the diadem couldn't help her either.

And if she could figure it out, what need was there to put it on?

The moment she'd found the diadem, she had hidden it away in the box. The precedent of the diary seducing Ginny Weasley was still vivid in her mind. The best way to resist temptation was to cut it off entirely.

The diadem would not have returned to Hogwarts on its own. The original diadem had certainly never possessed such powerful seductive force. Praeris was now more certain than ever, this was a Horcrux.

"Miss Prince?" A witch in green robes frowned as she approached. "What are you doing here?"

"Professor McGonagall. I need to see Dumbledore." Praeris kept her voice low. "There are some important matters."

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. Her tone was matter-of-fact. "Miss, I think if you tell me — or Professor Snape — it would serve the same purpose. At least for most issues."

Praeris shook her head. "Professor McGonagall, thank you, but it's not the same."

"Are you certain?"

"I am certain."

Yes, handing the diadem to Professor Snape would lead to the same outcome. It would still reach Dumbledore eventually.

It wasn't that she doubted Professor Snape's willpower. But the danger in between was uncontrollable.

If Professor Snape were summoned by the Dark Lord midway, the diadem left sitting in his office would present a risk.

If the Dark Lord discovered that Professor Snape had come into contact with it, who knew whether he had such an ability? But Praeris could not gamble on it.

Professor McGonagall glanced at the box, nodded, and turned to the stone gargoyle. "Fizzing Whizbees."

The wall split open. A spiral stone staircase appeared behind the gargoyle. Professor McGonagall led Praeris onto the steps, and the wall sealed shut behind them.

Professor McGonagall knocked 3 times on the beast-shaped door knocker. The headmaster's office door swung open, revealing the peculiar sights within.

A very distinctive office. But Praeris's attention was elsewhere. She barely even registered the phoenix with gold-and-crimson feathers perched on Dumbledore's desk.

"Minerva, and Praeris! It's been a long time!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I must wish you a happy Christmas. Unfortunately, I haven't prepared a gift for you, Praeris. I hope you can forgive me. Would you like a sweet?"

According to Winnie, Dumbledore always offered sweets when people were feeling nervous or uncomfortable.

But right now, he probably just thought it impolite not to have a Christmas gift for a child.

I hope he doesn't think I've come to ask for a Christmas present.

"Oh, thank you." Praeris shook her head. "No, thank you."

Dumbledore's voice was gentle. "So, Praeris, you've come to see me about something?"

Clearly, he had already deduced that this wasn't a Slytherin girl caught misbehaving by the Gryffindor Head of House. Praeris was here to see him.

Professor McGonagall was his colleague, and something of a former student besides. They knew each other all too well.

If she were the one with a request, she would have spilled the whole story by now.

"Yes." Praeris kept her voice soft. "Regarding our earlier correspondence —"

Professor McGonagall caught the hesitation. She said, considerately, "I'll take my leave, then."

Praeris gave her a slight bow of thanks.

The moment Professor McGonagall left, Praeris carried the box forward and placed it on the desk. "Headmaster. Ravenclaw's diadem."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with astonishment and excitement. "That is truly, magnificent. I believe I am extremely eager to hear what happened."

Praeris shook her head. "Headmaster, it's a rather dull story. Perhaps fate was simply unwilling to watch a person remain unfortunate forever."

She gave him a brief account.

How she had speculated about the Dark Lord's thinking. How she had found the Lady Helena through Moaning Myrtle. How she had used Hermione's words and her own knowledge of Hogwarts to lock onto the Room of Requirement. How she had gathered a pile of diadems and identified Ravenclaw's.

"No, this story could not be better." Dumbledore's voice was full of wonder. "You have done splendidly. Better than I could have imagined."

Praeris had to admit, whatever else could be said, the emotional value Dumbledore provided was truly top-notch.

"How do you intend to destroy it?" she asked. "I imagine a Horcrux is not so easily eliminated."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Yes. But courage is our sharpest weapon. I shall destroy it with the Sword of Gryffindor."

"May I stay and observe?" Praeris spoke carefully. "Dark magical objects always possess a certain power to tempt."

Even if Dumbledore was the one carrying out the task, she would not relax. She would not assume that handing it over meant everything was settled.

Just like the words she had once spoken to the Sorting Hat. She had never regarded Harry Potter as a savior, and even less would she regard Dumbledore as an omnipotent god.

Harry Potter was human. Dumbledore was human too.

To be human was to have weaknesses. Loves and hates. Desires. The possibility of being swayed.

Dumbledore smiled. "That is a request that cannot be refused."

Only when she witnessed it with her own eyes, Dumbledore cleaving the diadem in two with the Sword of Gryffindor, did Praeris finally let out her breath.

"Will this alert the Dark Lord?" she asked. "Like the connection between him and Harry?"

Dumbledore looked at her with a teasing expression, as if to ask: You're only thinking of that question now?

Praeris lowered her head, embarrassed. She suspected her rationality had been contaminated by the Gryffindors.

"I think not," Dumbledore said. "He has been away from some of the Horcruxes for too long and too far. The connection has grown faint. I believe only the destruction of Horcruxes sufficiently close to him — and made relatively recently — would cause him to sense it."

The diadem, created over a decade ago, did not meet those conditions.

Praeris finally felt at ease. She blinked, her expression serious. "Headmaster, will we win?"

"Praeris, that is something no one can say for certain. Not even me." Dumbledore looked at her with affection. "But love will always triumph over darkness. It will guide us toward the path of hope, just as the discovery of this diadem has."

She had found the diadem, and neither reason nor love could have been absent.

Without fierce love for her family and friends, she would have simply handed her speculations to Dumbledore, the safest course, rather than charging into the Room of Requirement on a slim hope.

After all, the probability of Voldemort hiding the diadem at Hogwarts was far lower than him handing it to a follower or keeping it himself.

It was Praeris's friendship with Myrtle that had led Myrtle to seek out the Lady Helena. And it was the regret in Helena's heart that had made her willing to help.

Praeris felt a tightness in her chest. Dumbledore's words reminded her of Winnie and Lady Prewett, their fates still unknown.

She said softly, "Headmaster Dumbledore, since the diadem has been destroyed, I shall take my leave. I wish you a happy Christmas."

In truth, she also wanted to ask about the DA, to know Dumbledore's plans for them.

If the DA were discovered, Dumbledore and the Ministry would inevitably be at open odds. Either the organizers would be handed over, or Dumbledore would sink deep into a political quagmire.

But to preserve the trust between her and Hermione, she had signed her name on that parchment. She could not reveal the truth about the DA.

Praeris stopped and looked back at Dumbledore.

Sensing her gaze, he looked up with a smile, as if asking Is there anything else? and also as if telling her There is no need to worry.

---

For the remaining days of the Christmas holiday, Praeris went to the Room of Requirement to increase her knowledge reserves.

Once the holiday ended, the students would return. The DA would resume their secret training.

By then, if she went to the Room of Requirement again, she could very easily run into people she ought not to meet.

➤ Next: Enlightenment — Words Unspoken