CHAPTER 917: CHAPTER 917: THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF THE DIADEM

When Snape learned that Harry had fled Hogwarts overnight just to avoid seeing him, his face turned a deep shade of purple with rage.

"Very well. Excellent," Snape said, eyes cold and voice slick with malice, as he stared at Hermione and Ron. "Tell me where he went."

"I don’t know, Professor." Hermione looked as though she was on the verge of tears. "Last night, a Slytherin student said you were looking for him. He left to see you and never came back."

"Headmaster Snape." Hermione suddenly stopped sniffling, lifted her chin, and spoke with grave seriousness. "I know you don’t like Harry, but this is Hogwarts. Even a headmaster has to inform a student before putting them in detention."

"And you’ve kept Harry locked up all night. Shouldn’t you let him out by now?"

Snape’s expression darkened even further.

He would have loved to keep Harry Potter in detention—ideally until graduation—but the truth was, he hadn’t even seen the boy. He had come looking for him to cause trouble.

"You’re lying," Snape said, narrowing his eyes and turning his gaze back to Hermione.

This time, he noticed something curious.

The Gryffindor witch seemed to be doing everything she could to avoid making eye contact, and when she couldn’t, faint veins stood out on her neck and forehead.

It looked almost like the strain of gripping something heavy—as though her brain were exerting effort on something.

Occlumency?

Snape wondered, but quickly shook his head.

Occlumency didn’t require you to physically strain your head. That would be idiotic.

Still, Hermione had given him an idea.

Perhaps he could use Legilimens—dive into her memories and find the answer himself. As Harry’s closest friend, she had to know something.

His hand moved to his wand instinctively.

But whether by coincidence or not, all the portraits lining the walls of the headmaster’s office suddenly opened their eyes and turned to look at him.

Especially the newest one—Dumbledore’s portrait. Those blue eyes, bright and deep, made Snape instinctively recall the line he had heard so many times.

"Severus, as professors, we must never read a student’s mind without consent."

Dumbledore had always said that whenever Snape suspected Harry of scheming behind his back and wanted to dig deeper.

Dumbledore had forbidden him from probing Harry’s mind. Even when he was teaching Harry Occlumency, they had made a strict agreement.

Maybe that was why—despite Dumbledore being long gone—Snape loosened his grip on his wand.

"I haven’t seen Potter," he even added, offering a rare explanation before dismissing Hermione from the office.

...

Hermione stood beside the gargoyle for a moment, then turned and hurried off. Once she had passed the Fat Lady’s portrait and stepped back into the Gryffindor common room, she collapsed into an armchair, gasping for breath.

Hearing the noise, Ron rushed over. "Well? Did he believe you?"

"He did!" Hermione grinned. "At first, he didn’t, but he came around. I think Occlumency worked."

"That’s amazing," Ron said in awe. "I didn’t think you’d be able to fool Snape with a spell you just learned."

"Neither did I," Hermione said happily. "I always thought I hadn’t fully mastered it. But it seems I was wrong."

"I could feel it—Snape definitely suspected me. He probably wanted to use Legilimens, but he ended up trusting what I said and let me go... which means he didn’t see anything about Harry in my mind."

There was a thrill of excitement in her voice.

Occlumency, along with the Patronus Charm, was almost like a third wizarding exam—separate from the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

A kind of adult wizard’s test beyond Hogwarts.

The Patronus Charm was used to send messages, while Occlumency was used to guard secrets. Only those who had truly mastered both could be considered capable, mature witches and wizards.

But there was a difference—Occlumency was harder to learn than the Patronus Charm.

Most Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members could probably produce a Patronus, but not all of them could use Occlumency.

There were definitely Aurors who couldn’t.

Back when Kyle was teaching Harry the spell, Hermione had been envious beyond words.

But that method didn’t suit her—it was far too brutish.

After all this time, she had combed through nearly every book in the library on Occlumency and had finally managed to learn it.

And before graduating, no less.

Truth be told, Hermione couldn’t help feeling a bit proud of herself.

"What do we do next?"

Ron’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. She lowered her voice and said, "Nothing. Just keep going to class."

"Class?"

"Yes. We have to act like we know nothing. We can’t slip up—not even once."

"Got it!"

The two of them looked tense and resolute, the weight of fate heavy on their shoulders.

...

At the same time, over at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"I fully support your decision, Harry!" Sirius clapped his godson firmly on the shoulder.

"Snivellus as headmaster... Honestly, Hogwarts isn’t even worth going to anymore!"

To be fair, after finding out what had happened, he’d had the same thought—pull Harry out of Hogwarts before Snape could use his position for petty revenge.

That small-minded Snivellus was exactly the type to do something like that.

What he hadn’t expected was that Harry would beat him to it, running off in the middle of the night and coming straight back on his own.

They really were family—right down to their instincts.

"I want to come with you," Harry said.

"No problem." Sirius agreed without a second thought. "Do whatever you want. Even if that’s doing nothing at all, that’s fine too. And if you ever need money, just say the word."

Sirius was acting the generous godfather—and he had the means to back it up.

The vault at Gringotts was stacked with gold like a miniature mountain—enough for him and Harry to spend lavishly for centuries, assuming they didn’t try to start a business.

Back when Sirius had wanted to stay close and protect Harry, he’d opened a cold drinks shop in Hogsmeade. Business had actually gone decently.

It wasn’t until he tallied the books after the mission ended that the truth hit: not only had he failed to turn a profit, he’d lost nearly eight thousand Galleons. Remus Lupin had been so furious, his face turned visibly darker with rage.

Eight thousand Galleons! That was more than Remus had probably spent in his entire life combined.

No one could figure out how Sirius had managed to lose that much money—not even with rent out of the equation.

"Really?" Harry’s eyes lit up. "I want to fight the Death Eaters with you."

Sirius’s expression froze. He went quiet, and for a moment, looked like he wished he could swallow his words back down.

"Harry... this isn’t as simple as you think," Sirius said hesitantly. "Going up against Death Eaters isn’t safe. You could be in mortal danger at any time."

"I’m not afraid!" Harry said firmly.

"These ones... they’re not like the Death Eaters you’ve faced before," Sirius went on, still trying to dissuade him. "They’re far more vicious."

"I don’t care," Harry said, his tone resolute. "And I wouldn’t call the ones I’ve met gentle, either."

Sirius thought about it... and had to admit Harry had a point.

Whether it was the Triwizard Tournament, the nameless hillside he’d been taken to, or the Department of Mysteries afterward, Harry had faced some of the most elite Death Eaters. One wrong move and he could’ve been killed.

Even so...

Sirius frowned, torn. Like most parental figures, he didn’t want Harry facing danger—no matter how much he’d already endured.

In that moment, he truly wished Harry could just stay at Hogwarts. It was still relatively safe there, and at least he wouldn’t have to worry about Death Eaters.

"By the way, is Kyle here?" Sensing Sirius’s hesitation, Harry changed the subject on his own.

Stay cooped up in a safehouse?

No chance. Not even a remote possibility. He was going after Death Eaters and Voldemort, and not even Sirius could stop him.

"Kyle?" Sirius blinked. "Isn’t he a professor at Hogwarts? You should be closer to him than I am—why are you asking me?"

"He’s probably already left the school," Harry replied, briefly explaining what he’d discovered yesterday.

Professor McGonagall had ordered that everyone be present—even Hagrid showed up—but Kyle was the only one missing.

"I’m guessing he must’ve sensed something," Sirius said after a moment’s thought. "I remember someone mentioning that You-Know-Who’s been desperate to kill him. Kyle went to Hogwarts in the first place because Dumbledore could protect him."

"What did he do... to have to go into hiding like that?" Harry asked, surprised.

From what he knew about Kyle, ordinary Death Eaters were no match for him—something that had been confirmed by others in the Order of the Phoenix.

At Lupin and Tonks’s wedding, it was Kyle who had saved everyone. He’d grown even stronger than he was back at school—much stronger.

If he was hiding now, the threat had to be Voldemort himself. But that seemed like an overreaction... Harry had killed Voldemort once and never been hunted down like that.

Then again, maybe it was just because he’d stayed at Hogwarts all this time. Still, Kyle seemed to be the only one in the Order who got that kind of treatment.

What could he have done to make Voldemort so furious?

Harry was dying to know the answer. If it were possible, he wanted to do the same thing.

Anything that could piss off Voldemort was worth celebrating.

But he was disappointed.

Sirius shook his head. "No idea. No one’s ever talked about it. Maybe only Dumbledore knew. But he’s gone."

If there were a prize for worst conversational timing, Sirius would win it. After that sentence, Harry couldn’t help thinking of that kind old man, and suddenly had no desire to keep talking.

The room fell into silence.

...

Just then, the door outside opened.

"Oh, come take a look—big news!" Lupin rushed in from outside and, looking up, immediately caught sight of Harry’s eyes—the same bright green as Lily’s.

"Harry?" he blurted out. "Aren’t you supposed to be at school? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing major. I got expelled from Hogwarts," Harry said, trying to sound as lighthearted as possible.

"What?" Lupin was startled. "Harry, this isn’t funny at all. You can’t be so impulsive—"

"Come off it, Remus," Sirius stepped forward. "Dumbledore’s dead, and that Snivellus is headmaster now. Keeping Harry away from Hogwarts is the smartest thing we could’ve done. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who he used to serve."

Lupin fell silent, which was as good as agreeing.

They all knew Snape had been a Death Eater—once, and quite possibly still.

"Enough about that," Sirius waved it off. "What’s this big news you brought?"

"I mean, I’m curious. What could possibly shock you like that? Don’t tell me Dumbledore came back from the dead?"

"Hardly," Lupin said, shaking his head reflexively. "But it’s still Hogwarts-related."

He laid out a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table.

Harry leaned over curiously and immediately spotted the photo on the front page—a gleaming, elegant diadem with a stunning gemstone set at its center.

His eyes moved to the headline.

"The Ravenclaw Diadem, Missing for a Thousand Years, Discovered in Diagon Alley..." Harry read aloud, almost without realizing.

"Ravenclaw’s Diadem?!"

"That’s right," Lupin said, smacking his lips. "The one said to grant wisdom to the wearer. Who’d have thought the legend was true?"

Harry read on.

"According to sources, the unknown wizard visited the famed dark magic shop Borgin and Burkes to authenticate the diadem.

’Never in my life did I expect that legendary diadem to truly exist. I offered my entire fortune for it, but was refused.’

So said old Borgin. And judging by his words, it wasn’t hard to tell just how badly he wanted Ravenclaw’s Diadem. Unfortunately for him, the mysterious wizard clearly wasn’t impressed by Borgin’s entire life savings.

Maybe he figured a dark magic shop owner didn’t have much to offer. Either way, he turned Borgin down and planned to find a more well-heeled buyer."

After finishing the article, Harry pursed his lips. "Is that Ravenclaw’s Diadem really worth that much?"

He was familiar with Borgin and Burkes—he’d stumbled in once by accident. It was a dark magic shop, sure, but nothing in there came cheap. In fact, most of it was absurdly expensive.

Surely the shopkeeper’s entire fortune was more than the gold Harry had in his own vault... and it still wasn’t enough?

"That’s Ravenclaw’s Diadem we’re talking about." Sirius was flipping through the newspaper again and again. "If I ran into the guy, I’d give him everything in the family vault in exchange for that diadem."

"Remus, what do you think—can we find him?"

"Unlikely," Lupin said after a moment’s thought, shaking his head.

Bang!

Another door slammed open. In came Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Auror Kingsley, and Mundungus, the slippery thief who always skirted the edge of the law.

"Oi, have you heard?" Mundungus blurted out eagerly. "There’s a massive treasure in England—a real one, I mean."

"Of course," Sirius nodded.

He didn’t much care for Mundungus, but he didn’t outright dislike him either.

"We were just talking about it."

"Talking about what?"

"Whether we can find the guy," Sirius said. "I’d pay everything I’ve got for that diadem."

All the Black family’s gold.

Mundungus looked momentarily dazed, like he’d just glimpsed a dream. He nearly drooled on the spot—but quickly snapped out of it and shook his head.

"That’s impossible. Don’t even think about it."

"Why not?"

"Because every wizard in Britain is looking for him," Tonks added.

"No one knows how his location got leaked, but ever since that article came out, almost the entire magical community has been stirred into action—Aurors, Death Eaters, even wizards from other countries. It’ll be nearly impossible for us to find him before they do."

"Exactly," said Mundungus. "There’s already a bounty on him in the black market. You’d never guess how much he’s worth."

"So that’s why you were chasing me earlier, trying to get information on what the Aurors know—just so you could cash in, huh?" Tonks narrowed her eyes at Mundungus, her hair flaring bright red.

"I... I..." Mundungus stammered, unable to respond.

He had been thinking just that. Coming to 12 Grimmauld Place this time was all about tapping into the Order of the Phoenix’s intelligence network.

But now, it seemed they didn’t know any more than he did.

Which made sense—after all, the Order had been disbanded, with everyone reassigned to the Auror Office. It wasn’t until after Dumbledore’s death that the group had even begun to reassemble.

In such a short time, there was no way they’d have gathered any particularly valuable intel.

Realizing that, Mundungus quickly made up an excuse and slipped out of the house.

Watching his greedy little exit, Mrs. Weasley muttered in disgust,

"I really don’t know why Dumbledore let that man into the Order."

"Probably because he could get information the rest of us couldn’t," Lupin said offhandedly, clearly not bothered. Then he turned to look at Tonks, as if waiting for her to say what she’d come to say.

"You-Know-Who has appeared."

Sure enough, the next moment, Tonks delivered a piece of news that stunned the room.

"Seriously?" Harry asked reflexively.

"Someone saw him in Knockturn Alley. He killed more than one person," said Mrs. Weasley. It was only then she seemed to notice Harry. "Dear, what are you doing here..."

"Let’s talk about that later, Molly," Sirius cut in. "What’s strange is, You-Know-Who never showed up during any of the Death Eaters’ three attacks on the Ministry. So why would he suddenly appear in Knockturn Alley now?"

"Maybe because of the Diadem," Kingsley said. "It’s Ravenclaw’s Diadem—we all know Voldemort would want it."

"But still, a diadem can’t be more important than seizing control of the Ministry," Lupin said under his breath.

He’d been worried back when the Death Eaters attacked the Ministry that Voldemort might show up himself. If that had happened, the Aurors and Hit Wizards wouldn’t have stood a chance.

But Voldemort never came.

Even after the Death Eaters failed three times, there was no sign of him.

Some speculated he was preoccupied with something more crucial, something that kept him from joining the fight for the Ministry. And that theory had gained quite a bit of support.

Amelia Bones had even considered targeting a few Death Eaters working within the Ministry—either to test Voldemort’s limits or to take them all down in one stroke.

But before she had the chance to act, Voldemort showed up—for a diadem.

Lupin’s words made the others fall silent in thought.

It was true—no matter how valuable the Diadem might be, it couldn’t be more important than taking over the Ministry. That was the biggest obstacle standing in the way of Voldemort ruling the British wizarding world.

"That Diadem must mean a great deal to him," Kingsley said, lifting his gaze. "We need to look for it too. No matter what, we can’t let it fall into You-Know-Who’s hands."

"No problem," Harry said immediately, volunteering to team up with Sirius.

"I’ll go with you. That should put your mind at ease," he added.

Sirius’s mouth twitched—reluctant, but he gave a small nod of agreement.