Lights Will Guide You Home (And I Promise I Will Burn For You)

17

A few days later, Harry and Ginny managed to corner the Grey Lady in an out of the way classroom in the dungeons. She was hesitant, but under their determined gazes and heavy pleading, told them of her sordid tale, her aspirations to make herself better than her mother. She had stolen the diadem and run away.

Harry and Ginny were shocked to learn that the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost, had been around at that point as a wizard, and had gone after her when her mother had fallen ill, and wanted to see her daughter again.

"I was too proud to admit my mistakes," Helena Ravenclaw sniffed. "In his anger over my refusal to return, the Baron killed me. When he saw what he had done, he turned his sword on himself. All these years later, he wears his chains as penance."

Harry frowned. "What about the diadem?" he pushed gently, hoping she wouldn't just leave.

Helena looked suddenly fearful. "I can't..." she whispered.

Harry suddenly understood. "We're not the first ones you've spoken to about this," he said gently. "You told another student about the diadem."

Helena's misty eyes widened. "He was so kind and charming," her voice broke. "I thought he cared."

Harry nodded knowingly. "It's all right," he reassured her. "Tom Riddle was good at making people tell him what he wanted. Thank you for sharing this with us."

Helena sniffed and glided away. Harry turned to look at Ginny. "So it looks like Voldemort found the diadem," he said grimly.

Ginny shrugged as they headed back up to the main levels of the castle. "Yeah, but it still doesn't tell us where it is."

Harry agreed, and they headed outside to join their friends in a study session by the lake, as they were tired of spending all their time inside.

XXX

A week later, Hermione, Ron, Susan, and Blaise all said goodbye to Harry, Neville, Daphne, Ginny, and Luna, and met up with Twycross in order to go take their Apparition test. As Harry, Neville, and Daphne were not seventeen yet, they could not take the test until the summer. Daphne was particularly upset, since she would be turning seventeen in just two weeks. Harry and Neville, with several months to go yet, were not quite as annoyed as they wished their friends luck, and headed outside shortly after the group of hopeful seventeen year olds left. As limitless as the Room of Requirement was, they were feeling a little pent up, and decided to spend some time exploring the Forbidden Forest.

They returned to the castle later that afternoon, feeling much calmer; it definitely did Ginny and Luna some good, to get away from the schoolwork and exam preparation for the day.

Hermione, Ron, Susan, and Blaise met up with them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, and they all ate together as they told their friends about the test. Fortunately, they had all passed, though according to Ron, it was a close thing for him.

Hermione shook her head fondly. Sometimes her boyfriend rivaled Harry for the biggest inferiority complex.

They all congratulated the foursome, and Ron preened a little as Ginny reminded him that Charlie had needed to take the test twice, which put him ahead of his older brother.

The others prompted her for the story, so Ginny told them about how on Charlie's first go at the test, he had apparated on top of an old lady doing her shopping, five miles away from where he was supposed to end up.

They were all roaring with laughter by the end, and spent several hours talking as dinner ended and the room emptied out, until they had to leave or get caught out after curfew.