After Harry rested for a minute, they followed the map and found the headpiece. The dark-haired teen took a deep breath and concentrated on what he needed to do. He pulled out his tricorder and pointed it at the diadem, "Deep cleanse." A narrow beam of light hit the piece and it shook hard, like it was break apart at any moment. Once more the golden dome sprang up.
This time the curse fought ferociously, soon there came a hideous scream coming from the relic. The kids all stepped back, while Harry kept adding power to the spell. A flash of bright light blinded our explorers momentarily, when they could see again, the diadem was shining as new. Harry scanned it and saw that it still was spelled, but it was all good magic. He then dropped the shield and sank to the floor, almost completely wiped out. He took out some muffins, which he had put in his TARDIS pocket for just such occasions, and wolfed them down. He could already feel that his magic was replenishing.
The Lady Ravenclaw came out of hiding with a radiant smile on her face. "You have set me free," she said in awe.
"I promised that I would try. I'm just glad I could keep that promise," Harry said with a weak smile from his place on the floor.
"Thank you," she said as she slowly faded out. There was no flash of light, she was there one moment and then gone.
"Well, poo," Luna huffed with a stomp of her foot, "I wanted to ask her some questions."
"Cheer up, Lovely Luna," the tired wizard said, getting up and slinging his arm over her shoulders. "She's probably in a better place now."
"You're probably right," she conceded.
"How about we explore some more? Who know what we'll find," he said, looking around the room with a devious grin.
"Wait, what do we do with the this?" Neville asked, gesturing to the diadem, not wanting to leave such a treasure.
"I'm not sure, I guess we can take it with us," Harry said with a shrug.
"There is supposed to be a spell on it that will grant the wearer great knowledge," Luna added longingly, like she wanted to run and grab it and put it on.
"Let me take it and do a deeper scan on it first. If it is as you say, perhaps you can test it. But, I want to make sure it's safe first," the dark-haired wizard said, floating the headpiece into his TARDIS pocket.
"It belonged to Ravenclaw. If anyone should try it first it should be Professor Flitwick. However, if we give it to him, he is sure to give it to Dumbledore," was her reply. She truly wanted to give it to the diminutive professor, but keep it out of the hands of the headmaster.
"Let's wait until we talk to the whole gang. For now we have a room to explore," our hero said as he guided her away.
"Yeah, I want to see if there are any wands here that I can use," the sandy-haired boy said as he moved with them.
So the teens looked through the junk for a while, with Harry making plans on coming back and fixing what he could, which he believed would be all of it. He just needed to make sure he ate plenty of protein and starches before he came. He wondered if he could pull it off, this was much bigger than fixing the Shack. If his theory was right and magic burned calories, then yeah he would just make sure that he could replenish his core with meat and rolls. Maybe he'd bring sandwiches, big meat filled ones. He looked at Neville and noted the boy was much thinner in the face and body. He smirked.
They did find a few of wands, which Neville tried, but only one came closer to his magical signature. It wasn't a perfect match, but it was better than his dads, so he took it. He'd put his dad's in a safe place. After they gathered some ancient tomes and a few other items that would help with schoolwork, they then left the room and went to lunch. The jewels were left for another time. They would talk to the rest of their friends and discuss what to do with the trove.
As they entered the Great Hall, Harry was glad to note that he was no longer the topic of conversation. It was now going around that the Grey Lady was also gone. There were a few girls that were saying she forgave the Baron and now they were a peace together. Our hero just shook his head at that, but didn't say a word.
They went to their usual spot, and started to fill their plates. Hermione and the twins were missing, but the trio figured they were still reading. About halfway through the meal, a late edition of the Daily Prophet came. Harry wondered why it was so late, until he read the headline over Neville's shoulder.
Harry Potter Tells All
Below was an article that pretty much said what he had told Rita. He was sure she tried to defame him; little did she know she couldn't. The curse he placed would make her think she was succeeding. She would only see written the stuff that was in her conniving little mind. But really she was writing only the truth. Her editor would see the same that Skeeter did, and he would print the paper thinking that it would boost the ratings, which it would, but not for the reasons they thought. It would only be after the paper got out and was sold that they would realize just what happened.
It was the reason the Howler had taken so much out of him. When it exploded it cursed the whole building. Now that rag would be a genuine newspaper. Who knows it might even sell better.
Harry laughed his arse off, getting strange looks from people around him. They thought he'd be happy that his story finally got out, but not this happy. He sobered up and looked around when his proximity alert went off. He glanced at his map, which was now just on his lens, and groaned.
"Mr. Potter, we need to talk," the Headmaster stated very firmly. He thought the boy was coming around and now with his story out there, he could see that there was still a lot of animosity between them.
"I'm not talking to you without my lawyer," Harry stated just a firmly. He had no intention of going anywhere alone with this man. He was still very upset about the whole mind-rape incident. And since that was now in the paper, it was probably what the man wanted to talk about. He looked at the old man and saw there was great disappointment in his eyes. "Look, I don't want to fight with you. I only told the truth. I'm tired of being vilified in the press. You didn't seem to care about me being called a liar and a cheat. So why are you upset now?"
"What goes on in Hogwarts should stay in Hogwarts," was the vague answer.
"Right, like kids don't write home to their parents," our hero scoffed, though he did have to wonder how the last few years were suppressed. Or was it? He really didn't know. Maybe he should get ahold of some back copies of the paper and see. If word had gotten out and the whole of this Wizarding World just sat back and read his exploits like it was a good novel, well he didn't know what to think on that.
According to Hermione, these people wanted him to be a hero, but why would he fight for those that never lifted a finger to help him. Disappearing in to the non-magical world sounded better and better. He now knew who cause his memory loss and as soon as he got the guy arrested he'd book it. Probably taking his godfather with him. The poor man wouldn't need to hide anymore. And Harry could make them look any way he wanted them too. Young, old, fat or skinny, none of it would be a problem. They would never be on the run and could just live their lives. They were both loaded so they could live anywhere. His friends would understand and there is no reason the couldn't visit.
"Mr. Potter, you talked to a reporter that slipped unnoticed onto the grounds. I need to know how she did that. It is for the safety of the school," Albus tried to reason with the boy.
"Oh, well, if that's all, I can tell you that she flew in," Harry said with a smile.
"How do you mean?" the old man asked.
"That's all I can tell you," was the curt answer from the boy, who was lying through his teeth. "She flew in and cornered me. I didn't' see anything wrong with talking to her."
"Very well," Dumbledore stated, pinching the bridge of his nose, knowing that that was all the answer he would get. At least the boy was telling the truth. He would have to see about strengthening the wards this summer when the school was empty.
Harry was pretty much thinking the same, only sooner. Perhaps, after the first task.
.....
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