on opposite ends | vsoo

THE LOST DIADEM

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE. 

The horcrux was in Hogwarts. What it was doing there, Jisoo had no idea and Seulgi had not explained that bit when she briefed Jisoo on their way to their old school. She did, however, finally told her the truth behind the raid at Gringotts.

"We received a tip from the Kims that a horcrux had been transferred to their family vault in the bank. It was heavily guarded, but we managed to get their in the end." She hastily explained to Jisoo, whose eyes lit up in instant realization.

That's what Sowon meant when the Death Eaters were already there in Gringotts, Jisoo thought to herself as they whizzed past the familiar mountainous scenery a few miles east of the school grounds. They were protecting the horcrux from the Ministry.

So the raid in Gringotts wasn't much of a raid at all on the part of the Death Eaters, it was the Ministry raiding the Kim's vault for a piece of Voldermort's soul. In the end, Seulgi told them they had retrieved the horcrux and destroyed it. The sacrifices that their comrades made weren't for nothing at least, and that made Jisoo feel somewhat better and more driven to put an end to this madness.

They descended down from the clouds on their brooms and the eerie castle, once full of life and promise, came into view looking menacing and intimidating even in the day. She cannot explicitly remember a time where Hogwarts looked like it would swallow you whole on the spot. For her, Hogwarts always felt like a second home of sorts.

But now the school had been forced to close down due to the raging war and everyone had been evacuated: the students, teachers, and all the staff. There wasn't a single living person on the castle grounds because the place had been banned from travelers. Jisoo doubts that peeves, the ghosts and portraits still even linger in the halls. Perhaps a deserted castle had been one reason why Voldemort felt assured that he could hide one of the horcruxes in its premises.

"Do you know what the remaining horcruxes look like?" Jisoo asks, turning to the rest of the team as they propped their brooms against the walls. Hoseok had already walked ahead, scanning the area in caution. "And the previous ones, what items where they?" She knew that horcruxes could take on any form, may it be living or non-living and she's curious as to the items Voldemort chose to house his soul.

"They varied a lot," Seulgi answers, looking over at her shoulder to Jisoo. She was at the front with Hoseok after he cleared the immediate area free of suspicions. Jisoo was right behind her while Jennie and Jungkok trailed closely behind. The sound of their footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallways. "A ring, a book, a locket. They each had a story, a history tied You-Know-Who to his past. They were all... sentimental things to him, can you believe it? Even You-Know-Who had a heart to feel humane emotions at one point in time. A long time ago, maybe."

"Too long," Jennie mumbles under her breathe. Jisoo looks back at her and their eyes meet. "We're looking for a tiara this time. It's what Jinyoung saw in Taehyung's memories and is consistent with the description his parents gave us in their last letter."

Jisoo tilts her head, her eyes wandering away into space. "A tiara," she says as an old, fuzzy memory resurfaces to her consciousness. A tiara in Hogwarts? That could only mean one thing. "You mean, Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem?"