Finding the Lost Diadem - 10

"This is it," he said, feeling both nervous and excited.

Ron pulled the Spell Detector from his pocket and placed it on his nose. "Blimey," he muttered. "It's loaded with Dark Magic."

"Let me see," Hermione said, ripping the Detector off Ron's face and examining the tiara herself.

"It looks just like Auntie Muriel's," Ron said, grimacing. "See how those patterns look like spiders?"

Harry used his sleeve to try and polish it, looking for the lightning-bolt shape. It was pointless, however, it was too badly tarnished and would need a good cleaning.

"So…if we can hold it without a problem…how do you suppose we're going to destroy it?" Ron asked, still frowning at the jewel-encrusted piece.

"I wonder…" Hermione said, drumming her fingers on the table.

"What?" the others chorused.

"Well, it's meant as decorative headwear…perhaps it needs to be placed on your head," she said, cringing.

Harry shrugged, lifting the tiara towards his head. This time, Ron stopped him.

"No, Harry. You have to be the one to battle Voldemort — everything depends on it. You can't risk an injury. I'll do this one," he said grimly. "Fred and George used to make me wear Auntie Muriel's all the time."

"Ron," Hermione said, grabbing his arm.

Harry felt panicked. He didn't want to let Ron do this, but he didn't know what else to do. He locked eyes with his friend and solemnly nodded.

With shaking hands, Ron raised the tiara and placed it atop his head, wincing as he did. Although they all held their breath, nothing happened.

"I thought for certain that would work," Ron said shakily.

Hermione grinned, leaning against him. "You do look frightfully cute with that on your head though," she said. "Do you have any other pieces I might want to borrow?"

Scowling, Ron ripped the tiara off his head while Harry and Ginny chuckled.

"What now?" Harry asked, staring at the tiara in Ron's hands.

Hermione took it from Ron, staring at it in silence for several moments. "I suppose…" she said slowly.

"What?" Harry asked, desperate for an idea.

"Maybe it has to be worn by a woman," she replied.

"What?" Ron asked sharply. "Why would you think that?"

"Well…it did belong to Rowena Ravenclaw and despite your stunning appearance, tiaras are traditionally worn by women. I think Voldemort is sadistic enough to force anyone finding the Horcrux to sacrifice his mate," Hermione said, frowning.

Both Ron and Harry stared at her, gaping.

"Well, do you have any other ideas?" she snapped. "I'll just put it on, and we'll see what happens," she said, swallowing heavily.

"No, Hermione," Ginny said, grasping Hermione's arm. "If something goes wrong, you're better at figuring out how to fix it. We need you for that. You know it. My magic didn't register before, so maybe it won't trigger this — or at least not as strongly as intended."

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. This was getting out of hand.

Ginny scowled at him. "You've both tried, and it hasn't worked. Do you have any other suggestions?"

Harry gaped, wishing inspiration would strike, but he somehow knew they wouldn't be able to remove the tiara from this room.

"It's either me or Hermione, and I think she's the bigger risk on this one," Ginny said firmly. She stuck out her chin, but Harry could see it tremble slightly. For all her bravado, Ginny was as frightened as the rest of them.

Taking a deep breath and flashing an unsteady grin at Harry, she placed it on her head. For a moment it did nothing, and Harry thought they were back at square one, but then it began to shimmer, growing brighter and brighter until the glare was so blinding that he had to shield his eyes.