A Friend in Need: Chapter 34

Chapter 34

“This is going to take years,” Tonks groused.

Picking up a dust-covered crystal ball, she heaved it angrily at a towering pile of chairs. The crystal ball shattered with a satisfying crash, and the pile of chairs teetered precariously. Harry looked over, his wand at the ready just in case it fell over and started another avalanche. The pile swayed back and forth a couple of times, creaking and groaning before it settled.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“A little bit,” Tonks sighed. “Seriously, though, there’s no way we can search all this.”

Harry looked out over the mountains of lost items spanning the Room of Requirement and ran a hand through his hair. There were sprawling mounds of debris as far as the eye could see. Stacks of cauldrons, furniture, brooms, clothes, trunks, and all sorts of odds and ends.

“This is the most likely place Voldemort would have hidden a Horcrux,” Hermione said.

“But we’ve been at this for weeks, and we haven’t even made a dent!” Tonks yelled.

“What else can we do?” Hermione asked. “We tried brooms but kept missing things, and we can’t use Summoning or Tracking Charms. If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it.”

“What about the House Elves?”

Hermione whirled around to face her angrily.

“No,” she barked. “We’re not ordering those poor House Elves to search this for us.”

“We wouldn’t be ordering, we’d be asking,” Tonks said.

“It’s too dangerous,” Hermione huffed. “Professor Dumbledore warned us about Horcruxes. What if one of them found it and we weren’t there? They could get hurt. And besides, we’d have to tell them what we’re looking for, and if that got out...”

“And I already talked to Dobby,” Harry admitted. “The House Elves don’t really know this room that well. They just use it to store stuff. They don’t spend time looking for things.”

“Great, just great,” Tonks grumbled.

Folding her arms over her chest, she pouted and sat down heavily on an old couch. A puff of dust plumed into the air and enveloped her. As Tonks coughed and waved her hand in front of her face to clear the air, tiny, blue-skinned Pixies began crawling out from between the cushions.

Tonks screamed and started swatting them away.

“Immobulus!” Harry and Hermione shouted.

The Pixies froze and floated listlessly in mid-air. Tonks angrily slapped one out of her way, sending it careening into a wardrobe, and jumped to her feet.

“Bloody menaces,” she growled. “I hate Pixies.”

Harry approached one of the floating Pixies as it lazily spun through the air, blinking its wide, bulbous eyes. A gentle poke of his finger sent it coasting away from him as a wild smile spread over his face.

“Harry?” Hermione asked.

Turning, his smile widened.

“I think I know who can help us.”

~

In the weeks that passed, the inhabitants of Fort Potter settled into a routine. Within the first month, Molly and Arthur returned to a newly rebuilt and improved Burrow. June and Robert had also returned home, but not without an emergency Portkey from Amelia which now sat on their kitchen table. Since then, Evangeline took over the mantle of making breakfast every morning while she, Amelia, Andromeda, and Apolline took turns preparing lunch and dinner. Dobby would drop by in the evenings to do the nightly cleaning and occasionally drop off letters.

On this morning, Evangeline was cooking eggs and bacon on the stove. As she was slipping them onto a plate, Amelia entered the kitchen and animated the tea set with a flick of her wand.

“Good morning,” Eva smiled.

“Good morning,” Amelia replied. “Has the paper arrived yet?”

“Not yet,” Eva said, placing a plate of toast on the table. “It should be here any minute.”

As Amelia nodded and sat at the table, Ted and Andromeda entered the kitchen. Greetings were made as Evangeline placed the rest of the food on the table.

“Is Apolline sleeping in again?” Andromeda asked.

“I guess so,” Eva said. “Should I wake her?”

“Let her sleep,” Amelia said with a teasing smile. “You know how the French are. I heard the French Muggles recently moved to a thirty-five hour work week.”

“Really?” Ted asked, munching on his toast. “Good heavens, how do they find the time to get anything done?”

“I don’t know,” Amelia said. “But if it’s true, it’s only a matter of time before the magicals do the same.”

The conversation was interrupted when an owl flew in through the window. It landed on the table, dropped off that morning’s copy of the Daily Prophet, and stuck out its leg expectantly. Ted dropped a Knut into the pouch on its leg and offered it a piece of bacon. The owl snatched it up with a grateful hoot and then took off back through the window.

“Anything important?” Amelia asked, a fork full of eggs paused halfway to her mouth.

“Not that I can see,” Ted said.

Sighing, Amelia ate her eggs and glared down at her plate.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Eva asked.

“I don’t like it when things are too quiet,” Amelia said. “Even regular crime is down. It makes me think something big is going to happen.”

The conversation was interrupted again when another owl flew in through the window. Barking a greeting, Hedwig landed next to Ted and snatched a piece of bacon from his plate.

Everyone at the table exchanged a worrying glance.

“Why would Harry send a letter through Hedwig?” Amelia asked.

Looking as offended as it was possible for an owl to look, Hedwig hooted reproachfully. Iffy poked her head out of Andromeda’s hair and looked around blearily. With a yawn, she lazily fluttered down with a smile and gave her feathered friend a hug.

“No offense, my dear,” she added quickly. “It’s just much faster and safer to use Dobby.”

Hedwig let out a disgruntled chirp and stuck out her leg. As Ted untied the attached letter, Andromeda set a grape on Iffy’s little plate. Ignoring the silverware, she opened her mouth as wide as she could and took a bite. When she pulled back, her entire face was covered in purple, watery juice.

“How many times do I have to remind you to use your silverware?” Andromeda said, shaking her head. “What’s the letter say, dear?”

“Harry says he wants us to send Iffy to Hogwarts,” he said, his brow furrowed in confusion. “That’s why he sent the letter with Hedwig, so she could fly her back. He says it’s important.”

“Can I see that?” Amelia asked.

Ted handed her the letter, and she read through it quickly, her brow furrowing.

“Did he say why?” Eva asked.

“No, he didn’t,” Amelia sighed and leaned down to look at Iffy. “Do you want to go back to Hogwarts with Hedwig?”

Iffy smiled and nodded her head.

“I better go and make you some clothes,” Andromeda said, getting to her feet. “It’s still quite cold out.”

~

Iffy squealed with exhilaration as she soared through the sky, riding on Hedwig’s back. The shrunken cloak Andromeda had given her flapped in the cool wind that turned her cheeks a rosy red. With a broad smile, she looked down at all the trees that passed under them with curious delight.

~

Outside of a barn in Paisley, Douglas Kirk set two cans of magical ink at Xenophilius Lovegood’s feet.

“Here you are, Xeno,” he said. “How’s the Quibbler doing?”

“Oh, quite well,” Xeno replied. “Our exposé on the Rotfang Conspiracy has garnered us four new subscribers. Our biggest growth yet!”

“Wonderful,” Douglas smiled. “That’ll be three Sickles.”

Xenophilius dug through his robe, checking several pockets, before he found his money and handed over three silver coins.

“See you next week,” Douglas said.

“See you then,” Xeno smiled. “Oh, and you might be interested to know we’ll have an article about the Tartan Crisis.”

“Tartan Crisis?” Douglas asked. “As in the fabric?”

“Ah, that’s what they want you to think,” Xeno said, thrusting his finger into the air. “Tartan actually comes from a magical creature known as the Beast of Tartan, and they’re going extinct. The Ministry’s been hiding it for centuries.”

“Really now?” Douglas said with a smile. “Well then, I’ll have to warn my aunt to stock up while she still can.”

“That might not be the safest thing to do,” Xeno said gravely. “If the beasts ever escape, they’ll kill anyone wearing tartan. Terribly vicious, I’m afraid.”

“Well, if they’re going extinct, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Douglas smiled. “But I’ll pass your warning along.”

“Good man,” Xeno nodded.

Bending down, he picked up the cans of ink. When he straightened back up, he opened his mouth to speak and suddenly froze. His eyes widened as he stared at something over Douglas’ shoulder.

“The Fairies have made an alliance with the owls,” he said in a harsh whisper. “They’ll cause chaos with our mail system. Letters will never make it to the right person again. This puts our whole world in jeopardy! I have to go!”

Xeno turned on the spot and vanished with a crack. Douglas blinked bemusedly at the spot the man had stood in a moment ago and chuckled softly. Glancing over his shoulder, he did a double take as he spotted a beautiful white owl winging its way through the sky with a Fairy riding on its back.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

~

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Harry looked up from his homework and smiled. Hedwig sat on the windowsill, silhouetted by the setting sun, with Iffy on her back. The little Fairy waved happily, a wide smile on her face, before pulling her cloak tightly around her body and shivering slightly.

Getting to his feet, Harry opened the window, allowing Hedwig to fly into the room and land on the bed.

“Hey, girls,” he said. “How was your flight?”

Hedwig hooted softly and leaned her head into Harry’s finger as he stroked the top of her head. With a flutter of her wings, Iffy took to the air and settled in front of the fire by Hermione’s feet, arm wrapped around herself for warmth.

“Oh, you poor thing,” she cooed.

Picking Iffy up, she stuck her in the top pocket of her robes and wrapped a blanket around her shoulder. Iffy snuggled in with an inaudible sigh and smiled up at her. Across from them, Tonks poured a cup of tea, shrunk it to the appropriate size for a Fairy, and carefully handed it to her. Iffy squeaked gratefully and took a sip.

“I told you we should have had Dobby bring her,” Hermione said, tucking the blanket around Iffy.

“She’s fine,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not that cold out. And you had fun, right?”

Iffy looked up, smiled, and nodded her head vigorously.

“If she catches a cold because of this, you’re taking care of her,” she said with a glare.

Harry raised his hands in surrender and returned to his seat. They made small talk for a few minutes while Iffy warmed up by the fire and finished her tea. When she was sufficiently warm, and her cup was empty, she flew out of Hermione’s pocket. Landing on the low coffee table, she stretched and stripped out of her robe and trousers.

“You little nudist,” Tonks chuckled.

Iffy smiled and stretched again, her little wings flapping rapidly.

“Should we ask her?” Harry asked softly, his face turning serious.

Hermione sighed, “I suppose we might as well get it over with.”

Iffy looked between them curiously and then turned her attention to Harry when he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.

“Listen,” Harry began, licking his lips. “You spent a lot of time in the Room of Requirement, and we need to find something hidden there. A Diadem. It’s silver– looks like a tiara. Have you ever seen anything like that?”

Iffy turned her face up thoughtfully and tapped a finger against her chin.

“It would probably help if you showed her a picture,” Hermione said.

“I got it,” Tonks told her.

Grabbing a book with a blue leather cover from the table at the end of the couch, she flipped through the pages before holding it open and turning it around. The moment Iffy spotted the silver, jewel-encrusted Diadem, the color drained from her cheeks. She let out a high-pitched squeal and darted into Hermione’s bushy hair.

“Ow!” Hermione cried. “Iffy, be careful!”

“I guess that’s a yes,” Tonks said.

Harry stood up, moved over to Hermione’s chair, and sat down on the arm. Carefully, he parted her hair until he found Iffy.

“Iffy,” he called soothingly. “I know you’re scared, but we need to find. We need to destroy it. I can’t tell you why, but this is very, very important. Can you help us? Please?”

Slowly relaxing her grip on Hermione’s hair, Iffy studied his face for a long moment and then nodded.

“Thank you,” he said gratefully.

“Maybe we should wait until morning,” Hermione suggested.

“No,’ Harry said firmly. “We need to go now. The sooner we get this over with, the happier we’ll all be.”

Iffy rode on Harry’s shoulder as they made the relatively short walk to the seventh floor. The moment they stepped inside the Room of Requirement, she took to the air and gazed around the room. After some consideration, she waved for them to follow and led them on a meandering path through the towering piles of missing and hidden items.

While Harry, Hermione, and Tonks crawled over, under, around, and through, Iffy zipped around with ease, pausing occasionally to let them catch up. In a matter of minutes, Harry had completely lost his bearings. He had no idea where he was or where he was going.

At one point, Tonks tripped, causing an avalanche of expensive-looking dining chairs. Harry pulled out of the way just in time to avoid injury. The chairs clattered to the floor, blocking their path and forcing them to find a way around. They continued more carefully for a few more minutes until Iffy suddenly came to a stop.

“Are we there yet?” Tonks asked, rubbing a rapidly forming bruise on her forearm.

Nervously, Iffy raised her hand and pointed. Harry, Hermione, and Tonks stepped past a large black wardrobe for a better look. They found an old, battered dresser. A marble bust sat on top of the dresser, atop which sat the Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.

It was no longer the thing of beauty that they saw in the memory of Salazar Slytherin. The once gleaming jewels were now dull and covered in a thick layer of dust, and the intricate bands of silver were now tarnished and discolored. A dark cloud seemed to hang in the air, blanketing the area with a sense of malevolence. It felt like the shadows might spring to life at any moment and attack you. More than once, Harry thought he saw something out of the corner of his eyes, only to find nothing there when he looked over. As he wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, Iffy drifted backward and hid behind an old, rusted birdcage.

“That thing gives me the creeps,” Tonks shivered. “Maybe we should go and get Dumbledore.”

“No,” Harry said, licking his lips. “I’m not letting that thing out of my sight until it’s destroyed.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Hermione asked.

“It can’t hurt us,” he said, squaring his shoulders determinedly. “It’s just messing with our thoughts.”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds safe,” Tonks snarked.

“Let’s just grab it and get out of here,” Harry said.

Walking forward slowly, he resisted the sudden urge to turn and run. A spike of irrational fear swelled in his chest as he reached out. The moment his fingers grasped the cool metal, he felt a painful throb behind his scar.

You can’t win.

He pulled the Diadem off the bust and clutched it tightly.

You’ll never stop him. He’s made too many. He’s too powerful.

“Harry?” Hermione called worriedly.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts, unaware of how long he’d been standing and staring at the Diadem. Dropping his arms to his side, he turned and took a deep breath.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Iffy, get us out of here.”

With a nod, Iffy began leading the way back. Harry followed after her. His eyes focused straight ahead while Tonks and Hermione trailed silently after him.

He’s going to kill them all.

Images of Hermione, Tonks, and Fleur swam in his vision, their bodies broken and bloodied, eyes lifeless. Harry shook his head and stepped over a fallen wardrobe.

Take your friends and run. It’s your only hope.

“No,” Harry whispered.

The Diadem began to burn against his skin, but he only gripped it tighter. Voldemort’s voice continued to taunt him; images of his friends, dead and dying, appeared in his mind, and a growing feeling of fear filled every fiber of his being. Harry focused on the pain in his hand, and although he fought the urge to run, he still moved faster, his movements bordering on the edge of frantic.

The girls struggled to keep up with him. When they did catch up with him, they asked him if he was alright. Harry barely noticed and never answered. They exchanged a worried look as they crawled and climbed after him through the maze of lost and forgotten things.

Sweat dripped from Harry’s forehead. Something he only noticed when it burned his eyes. Shaking his head, he continued on until he eventually reached the entrance. Barely pausing to wrench the door open, he stepped out into the hall and strode as fast as he could toward the stairs. Iffy gave him a look of concern as he passed her, a look she shared with Hermione and Tonks when they caught up.

“Harry, are you alright?” Hermione asked, jogging to catch up with his long strides.

“I’m fine,” he said shortly.

Hermione bit her lip just as Tonks caught up and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“That thing’s really bothering him,” Hermione said softly.

“I know,” Tonks said. “Let’s keep an eye on him and get him to Dumbledore’s office as quickly as possible.”

Harry stuffed his hand with the Diadem in the pocket of his robes as he wound his way through the halls and down the stairs. They ran into a pair of Hufflepuffs on the fourth floor, who immediately turned and scurried off down another hall as they approached. By the time they reached the second floor, Tonks and Hermione were practically jogging to keep up with Harry’s gradually increasing pace. They only caught up to him completely when he stopped in front of the Gargoyle guarding the Headmaster’s office.

“Open!” Harry barked. “Now!”

Hermione opened her mouth to give it the proper password, but to her surprise, it obediently hopped aside. Harry strode forward and started taking the stairs two at a time. He burst through the door to Dumbledore’s office without bothering to knock.

“Sword,” he said, only looking around to make sure they were alone after he said it.

Mercifully, the office was empty except for Dumbledore, who sat behind his desk.

“You found one?” he asked, arching a bushy white eyebrow.

Harry pulled his hand out of his pocket just as Tonks and Hermione entered the room and closed the door behind them. He dropped the Diadem on the rug. A couple of drops of blood landed next to it. The sharp peaks of the Diadem had pierced his skin from his tight grip.

Dumbledore stood, locking the door and freezing the portraits with a wave of his wand.

“Sword, now,” Harry demanded.

Dumbledore turned and pulled on one of the portraits, revealing a hidden compartment behind it. Reaching inside, he pulled out the sword of Gryffindor, walked over to Harry, and handed it to him. Harry didn’t hesitate to raise it above his head and bring it down as hard as he could. The sword cleaved through the Diadem, sliced through the rug, and clanged as it bit into the stone underneath.

A loud, piercing howl rent the office as a black, billowing cloud poured from the halves of the Diadem. It rapidly formed into a roiling ball with two sunken eyes, a flat nose, and a large mouth. The face opened its wide, gaping maw and charged toward Harry. He stumbled backward, nearly falling over as he drew his wand when Dumbledore stepped forward and cast a shining silver shield between them. The face grimaced and recoiled as if in pain before it turned and glared at the Headmaster.

“You will not harm him,” Dumbledore said, his voice carrying a power that belied his age.

The face sneered with rage. Its mouth opened wide, and a horrific screech echoed through the room. Harry, Hermione, and Tonks covered their ears as it continued to scream, even as it slowly faded into nothing. Then, suddenly, the office was enveloped in silence and a sudden stillness. A long moment passed where no one even dared to breathe. Then, Harry sighed in relief.

“It’s gone,” Dumbledore said, dropping the shield and lowering his wand. “Come take a seat, and you can tell me what happened.”

It was an hour before Harry, Hermione, and Tonks finally left the Headmaster’s office. Dumbledore had wanted every last detail of their adventure. He seemed particularly interested in what Harry had experienced with the Horcrux. None of them could figure out why, and Dumbledore wasn’t inclined to explain.

By the time they got back to their private room in Gryffindor Tower, Harry looked ready to collapse. The girls helped him change and forced him into bed before changing themselves. He was already asleep when they returned a couple of minutes later. Crawling into bed, they curled up against his sides, rested their heads on his chest, and hugged him tightly.

Iffy watched from the dresser and waited for them to settle before flying over and landing on top of Harry’s head. Kissing his forehead, she pushed his hair around to make a little nest and then laid down to sleep.