Sorry for the delayed Chapter. I had some finals this week and couldn't write as much as I wanted to.
(Word Count: 2,481)
Time rewound itself. Because it was rather early in the day, in a rather isolated section of the castle, Harry didn't get to experience the cool blur of people going about their business in reverse as seen in the movies. The only real indication that time was, in fact, rewinding was seeing himself walking backwards out back into the office, the stairs descending, then after a brief moment the stairs ascended again and he reappeared walking backwards from the office and down the hall. A while longer and the same thing happened, but this time it was McGonagall walking backwards.
Time resumed moving forward, leaving Harry in an empty hallway.
Harry immediately applied a Notice-me-not charm, one of his favorite spells at this point, and made his way to the room of requirement, which wasn't that far.
'Should I go get the Grey Lady involved?' He thought for a moment. He did have the Death Quest for the Hogwarts Ghosts. Which was to basically play ghost whisperer and help resolve their lingering regrets so they can move on.
Though, knowing a little about the Grey Lady's story, her regret wasn't that the Diadem had been turned into a horcrux, though she definitely regretted talking to Tom about it. It couldn't be that, because she had been a ghost for centuries already.
It definitely involved the diadem though, considering she had stolen it when she ran away.
No matter what her reasons were back then, she at least deserves to know what will happen to it.
Decision made, he changed course to Ravenclaw's tower.
The tower was mostly just a long spiral staircase to reach the dorms above. Considering the size of the tower from the outside, compared to the length of this staircase, there had to be some sort of spatial manipulation going on.
Why would Rowena decide to torture her students like this? Harry groaned. 'Luna will have to climb these stairs every single day, probably multiple times a day if she's unfortunate.'
He pitied her.
He passed a handful of some of the older Ravenclaw students, each carrying a large bag of books. They probably planned out their classes for the day and brought everything they needed with them so they wouldn't have to come back for anything. He remembered seeing these particular students down at breakfast before.
Their eyes crossed his briefly, before their attention slid away.
"I've never seen a first year talking to a ghost like that before," one of them muttered to the other quietly.
"I have my fill of ghosts with Professor Binns, and even that's too much," the other snickered. "What's so interesting about dead ghosts? All they do is float about and get in the way."
"I know! She's got to be crazy," the first one mocked.
A crazy Ravenclaw girl? A cold feeling of anger surged within him There was only one girl in Ravenclaw that had that sort of reputation. They were speaking of Luna.
Harry pulled out his wand and jinxed their clothes. Over the course of the day, they would slowly get itchier and itchier. Harmless enough, but it would ensure they had a terrible day. They may even have to take another trip up these stairs.
He hurried up the stairs and there she was. She was sitting on the edge of one of the small landings, her feet dangling in the air between the railings, swinging carelessly. Her hands clutching at the bars. She was pressed up against the railing talking to a ghost that was floating out in the open air.
He smiled at the sight. She was always so carefree and whimsical. What was so crazy about this? Those two were just being idiots.
"And my mum? What was she like in school? She would only talk about how great the castle was, but she would never tell me any stories about herself," Luna asked eagerly.
The ghost lady smiled warmly, "You remind me of her, actually. Just like you, she had an insatiable curiosity. She would explore the castle and talk to every ghost and painting that would talk to her. She had a real knack for potions, charms, and arithmancy." The ghost sighed, "ever since she discovered arithmancy she hardly explored much. She was constantly holed up in some abandoned room brewing potions and trying to create her own magic."
Luna listened, eyes shining brightly. "She's like that at home too, I—"
Just then she noticed him from the corner of her eyes, despite his Notice-Me-Not charm. "Oh, it's Harry. "
She quickly got up, brushing the dust from the ground off her skirts, and gave him a hug.
Harry looked between her and the ghost. "Talking to the locals of Hogwarts to learn more about your parents' time at school is very clever."
Luna smiled. "Yes, Jane is really nice to talk to," Luna said, motioning to the ghost Jane.
Harry gave Jane a nod as Luna introduced her.
"What are you doing in the Ravenclaw's tower?" Luna asked.
"I need to meet with the Grey Lady. Do you know where she is right now?" He asked.
"The Grey Lady?" Luna hummed thoughtfully. "I don't know."
Jane spoke up, "She's usually out on the tower's rooftop terrace this time of day. She likes to watch the valley in the mornings. I don't think you'll have much luck talking to her. She doesn't usually talk to students."
"Thank you, Jane," Harry said. He turned to Luna. "Luna, I need to speak with her about something important. We can meet up after classes, yeah? If you'd like, I can show you some interesting spots I've found."
Luna shook her head. "No, thank you. I think I'd like to get to know Hogwarts for myself. Exploring the castle will be much more interesting without someone that knows it already."
"Then perhaps when you've explored most of it yourself, we can compare our findings and share some of our favorite spots?" Harry suggested.
"That would be fun! Let's do that," Luna said.
"Then, I'll see you later," Harry said, turning to leave.
"You won't be able to get there," Luna said.
"Hmm?" Harry turned back. "Ah, do I need to go through the common room?"
She nodded. "I can open the door for you, if you want to go invisible."
"That would be great, please," Harry said gratefully.
"Just follow me," Luna said. "Excuse us, Jane. I'll find you later, okay?"
Jane just smiled. "Come talk anytime you wish," and floated off.
Together, Harry and Luna walked up to the top of the stairs. Harry threw his Invisibility cloak over himself before he came into view of the enchanted door knocker.
Luna rapped the door knocker gently. It came alive. The golden eagle eyed her wearily. When it was satisfied that she was a Ravenclaw student, it spoke, "What may be broken without ever being touched?"
Luna pondered for a moment, then said, "a promise."
"Well reasoned!" The door knocker said, and the door swung open revealing a much larger stone eagle carved into the wall facing the entrance. Stairs on either side of it wrapped around leading up to the actual common room.
At the top of the stairs was a marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw herself. The rest of the room was almost like a solarium with the amount of windows it had. It was a large circular room, with large arched windows going all the way around. Hanging from the center of the roof was a large chandelier, coming down through an opening leading to the second floor.
There were a lot of astrology themes everywhere, with a deep blue for the sky and bronze for the stars for both the carpet and parts of the ceiling.
It was already 8, so there were already plenty of students in the common room relaxing and talking to each other. A handful of them were reading at some of the sitting areas.
Luna led him up some stairs to the second floor, where there were plenty of bookcases, and a metal spiral staircase leading up further to the rooftop.
They came out onto the roof top, where there was a flat terrace, with several potted plants. Running along the outside edge were some stone benches to sit on.
Standing at the far end, leaning on the low stone wall was the Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw.
She appeared to be a young woman, somewhere in the mid twenties. She had waist-long hair, and was wearing a floor-length dress with a cloak over it. She looked for all the world like a runaway princess.
Which, in a sense, she was. Except, instead of some prince or charming rogue, she was chased down by the bloody baron.
"Lady Helena," Harry spoke softly, not wanting to startle her away. "I am Harry Potter. I happen to be a seer, and… well, I know about what happened to your mother's diadem."
Helen whirled around in anger. "Have you come to mock me then? Come to point out the failures of poor, foolish Helena who got tricked?"
"No, not that," Harry shook his head.
"Then why are you here?"
"I know it has been cursed with dark magic, so I intend to find a way to purify it. Failing that, I intend to destroy it. I thought you deserved to know what is happening to it," Harry explained calmly.
"Destroy it?" Helena rocked back in shock, and a wistful look appeared on her face. "Yes, perhaps it's better to be destroyed."
"I intend to save it if I can," Harry clarified. She had seemed to latch onto the thought of destroying it. "But either way, the taint on the diadem will end."
Helena was silent for a moment. "Do you need me to show you where it is?" She asked quietly.
"No need, I know where it is, but you can come along if you wish," he said.
"Let's go then," she said and floated back to the door.
Harry threw his cloak back on and turned invisible. Together they made their way back through the common room and out to the staircase.
He turned to Luna, who had been listening quietly the whole time. "Luna, I don't mind showing you where the Diadem has been hidden, it's one of my favorite spots in the castle, but I don't think you should come with us for now. The diadem has been cursed with very dangerous magic. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay, then. Just be safe," Luna said.
"You're not going to ask about it?" Harry asked.
"I trust you," Luna said simply, looking up at him with her pale silver-grey eyes. "You'll tell me if I need to know."
Harry smiled at the trust she showed in those eyes. "I'll explain things eventually, I promise."
"I know," she said, "see you later, Harry."
With that, she skipped away.
Harry nodded to Helena, and they made their way to the room of requirement.
Harry paced back and forth, thinking of the room of lost things. The door opened and revealed the large chamber stacked full of random items and furniture that Hogwarts had accumulated throughout its long history.
"I know the diadem is here somewhere near a large cupboard and a bust," Harry said. In various fanfics the location of the diadem is often placed coincidentally next to the vanishing cabinet Draco fixes in the 6th year, but that wasn't the case. In the books, Harry had only "[taken] a left at the broken vanishing cabinet," to get to the actual, completely normal, cupboard. The vanishing cabinet was only broken later this year when Nearly Headless Nick convinced Peeves to drop it to distract Filch. It was later only moved into the Room of Hidden Things by Draco himself during their sixth year, four years later. Right now, it was still a functioning vanishing cabinet somewhere on the first floor of the castle. He would definitely have to pick that up before it gets broken.
"Can you fly up to see if you can spot it?"
"There is no need for that," Helena said, "I know where it is."
"Lead the way then," he said, a bit embarrassed. After saying he didn't need her to show him, he still had to ask for help.
She led the way through winding paths through the piles of items. They passed a large stuffed troll that Harry remembered reading in the books. Soon after they turned a corner and saw the old cupboard, a tarp was thrown over it but it was slipping off so he could see the bottom of it. Beside it was a small marble bust of an ugly old warlock sitting on top of a crate. This was the area described in the book.
Harry looked around and easily spotted an old tarnished diadem sitting on top of a small pile of other random items. The Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.
It was in the shape of a silver eagle, its wings encrusted with many small diamonds. Engraved along the bottom band was the famous quote "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
'The diadem is supposed to give extraordinary wisdom and intelligence. Combined with my perfect memory, what could I do—' Harry shut that line of thought down quickly. Apparently the horcrux had noticed that they recognized it for what it was and started tempting him to put it on already. He could feel the subtle pull of it.
"Right, then," Harry murmured. He took out his wand and quickly transfigured a lead box as he had for the locket, and levitated the diadem into it. The subtle pull became a pressing force of panic, trying to force him to put it on. Harry's occlumency was more than enough to ignore it. As soon as the box closed itself, the sensation vanished.
Helena hovered next to him, a frown on her face. "You're not dealing with it right now?"
Harry shook his head. "No, Riddle has created several more horcruxes like this one, using Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup, among other items. I already have the locket, but I would like to get a hold of them all and study them, which would take some time. But my goal is to deal with them by the end of my fourth year here."
She didn't seem to like the idea, but relented. "Come talk to me when you're done, then. I'd like to see what remains of it, so I can put it all behind me, one way or the other."
Harry stashed the box into his trunk necklace next to the locket's own box. "Of course."
She floated off and quickly disappeared into the hoard of items.
Harry ruffled his hair and sighed heavily. That was two horcruxes down. Now, he just had to find that bloody diary.