29 Diadem

A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Welp, SECOND CHAPTER OF THE DAY!

As I said, it's Ganesh Chaturthi tomorrow, and I was really busy from right after uploading the previous chapter, till now. So, sorry for the wait.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, people! Read on!

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The DOM chapter was behind me, for now, since I couldn't even do anything about them yet. I did have to make a few changes to my life, to prevent them from tracking me down, unless I want them to. And currently, I don't want them to find me.

I now limit my experiments with time to the Time slower, or in the Chamber of Secrets itself, since it did manage to keep me hidden for so long. They'll still know of the experiments, but they won't be able to do anything about it, since they're not idiots. Attacking Hogwarts, or even trying to accuse Hogwarts teachers (because honestly, what student has that kind of Magical knowledge?) of experimenting with time, is nothing but career suicide.

Hogwarts is a Fortress, both in its making, and in its protections. Attacking it is tantamount to suicide, when you also consider the fact that almost every teacher here is more than competent in using their wands.

I also wasn't going to do any major Time related experiments for a few months to at most two years. I'll still read the books from the Time Room, but I won't practice anything yet. And there are many books left still, even with my reading speed, the Time Slower, and my Astral Form.

After 23 hours of isolation, with Blinky bringing me food, I had left the Chamber for my home in Islington. I had moved there(publicly), last year, once I turned 18. Hiring a man to act as Harrison Evans's lawyer, I had him approach the orphanage, and give me the deeds to the property in Islington, given to me by a relative of mine, that had stayed hidden.

In hindsight, I could have just rented the House from Harrison Evans, but well, what's happened has happened.

Harrison Evans had then disappeared, off to Asia, but I know that he will be needed again.

For anyone concerned, Wizard or muggle, Mason Aves now lived at Malbern Terrace, Islington, in a good house, with a small piece of land to it. And I did live there once in a while, but my primary Home was still the Aves Manor.

And now, I had another residence to add to it. The Castle. An actual Castle, that I didn't even need.

The piece of land that I'd seen in my Scrying Ritual turned out to be two acres of land, in Northern Ireland. I'd gone there yesterday, and with the advice of Blinky, bled on an inconspicuous looking stone, which turned out to be a blood bound key of sorts.

5 minutes of continuous bleeding later, when I was just about to doubt her claims, I saw a ripple go through space, and I was exposed to it. The Castle. Entering it was a chore, thanks to the many dark creatures that had made it their home. Dust bunnies, Lethifolds, boggarts, and various snakes. But, I did enter it after taking care of them all.

Controlling the snakes was just a matter of ordering them, and I did, after which I came to learn that the Castle was the Slytherin Castle, locked down after the Death of the Last Slytherin.

It had a few interesting things, mostly suits of armour, and a few staffs of my ancestors. The suits of armour were amazing, with Animation Enchantments already done on them for defending the castle, but the Staffs, none of them worked for me. 

Meh, if I need a staff some day, I'll make one for myself. Until then, my trusty acacia wand is good enough.

There were a few portraits of my ancestors, but none of them were moving, let alone talking. And there I had hoped to find a moving, talking portrait of Salazar Slytherin.

A few days after discovering the Castle, I walk through a portal, and out into my house, the Aves Manor. I had just spent a day with the Potters, going over a few case files with Aunt Mia.

I wasn't allowed to heal professionally, not before I turn 21. But, helping Aunt Mia with consultations was a loophole that I wasn't not going to take advantage of.

And now, I was finally going to do it. I was going to wear the Diadem.

These last few days I'd scanned the Diadem using every Diagnosis Charm I knew. Heck, I even used a few suitable for Living beings, those that we use in Healing. As far as I know, the Diadem wasn't dangerous, nothing about it was dangerous. It was just a piece of headgear, that Rowena Ravenclaw used to wear.

But.. there was something about it, that just screamed, 'I am hiding something', but for all I know, it wasn't anything malicious. Of that, I was very sure. I even checked it for hidden soul pieces, just because.

Sighing in amazement, I lift the Diadem from the bust it was resting on, and look at it. It was made of silver, the normal one, and was carved intricately. The body of the Diadem was shaped like an Eagle, with its wings shrinking as they went backwards. 

The belly was fixed with a blue sapphire, and above it, was the silver head of the Eagle. Its eyes were also fixed with two smaller sapphires, while a few other blue gemstones were fixed all around. All in all, it looked beautiful, suitable for a Princess, if not a queen.

I'd moved it from the school to the manor, because I didn't want Helena to know I had it. That.. would have messed up the friendship we have, not to mention the additional change in the timeline it would bring. And yes, I did worry about the timeline sometimes.

I was still debating over my eventual part in this Universe, my part in the Harry Potter part of this Universe, to be exact. But, that's for later. For now, I'm going to wear the Diadem.

Taking a deep breath, I resolutely put it over my head, and wear it without hesitation. For a second, nothing happens, and I sigh in disappointment. But then, just as I go to remove the Diadem, I feel my Astral form being pulled somewhere without my permission, and I black out.

Fuck.

"Well, this is interesting." I mumble, looking around as soon as my consciousness returns to me. 

The place I was in was pitch black, with a soft shine coming from my own Spirit. Other than me, there was nothing here, not even a single item that can tell me where I was. There was just me, and the void.

But, for some reason, I wasn't afraid of what was happening, I wasn't afraid of the Void, as if my mind.. was being influenced. Fuck.

Someone behind me chuckles, making me turn around with a snap, and says, "You recollected yourself earlier than most would, my child. I approve."

I float a few steps back, still not feeling even a little bit vary of the woman in front of me. She was tall, almost 5'10, and had a built that said she's a fighter. She was wearing Wizarding Robes, of blue and bronze, and had the same Diadem I was just admiring above her head.

If that wasn't enough for me to identify her already, her face definitely was. A sharp face, similar to Helena's, with a head full of wavy black hair.

"Rowena Ravenclaw." I say, and then I frown, for the first time feeling something wrong. Gesturing with my fingers, I summon two sorcery shields in my palms, jump back even more, and ask, "Who are you?"

The lady just looks like Rowena Ravenclaw, but everything in me screamed that it wasn't her. It was someone else, pretending to be her.. it was something else.

'Rowena' freezes in her place, and then smiles to reassure me. She says, "Ah, you've met Helena, then. Her description of me would have been enough to make me wary of meeting me. Do calm down, will you. I have not brought you here to harm you."

During our short conversation, she has yet to move from her place, content with me keeping her distance. She is either too confident of her powers, or she's considering me harmless. Both of which mean she knows something I don't.

I still keep staring at her, with a Runic spell ready in my hands, ready to send me back to my Physical Body, back in the Physical Realm.

"Lady, I'm not an idiot. You might wear her face, but you aren't Rowena Ravenclaw. Of that I am sure." I say.

I don't know how, maybe it's because I've met Helena, whose stories have coloured my opinion of Rowena. Maybe it's my experiments with Time, Runes, and my limited knowledge of Soul. I know for a fact, that she's not Rowena.

'Rowena' raises her hands, which makes me tense, and then says, "Okay, you're right. I am not her.. but I am her. It's... complicated."

I scowl, not liking the answer. Nothing good ever comes after someone said 'It's complicated'. Changing the spell on my left hand to be an Spirit Exorcism spell, I say, "Uncomplicate it."

The lady sighs, after a few seconds of staring at me, and says, "Very well. I am a Spirit, that roams around, taking hosts of sufficient eligibility, to carry out my purposes. Your ancestor, Rowena Ravenclaw, was a descendant of mine, from my previous host of a few thousand years before. She was dying once, 200 years before she even met with those other Wizards, and she unknowingly summoned me, to help her heal. I possessed her, healed her body, and then stayed with her, both of us becoming what my daughter knew, as Rowena. I am not the original Rowena Ravenclaw, but I am her, just as much as you are you. I am the Rowena Ravenclaw that became renown as a fierce Witch, and I am the Rowena that gave birth to two wonderful daughters in Morgan and Helena."

200 years?! Just how old was Rowena, to meet and give birth to two girls, AFTER she was at least 200?!

"Let's say I believe you, what was the point in staying behind in the Diadem then? You wanted another vessel to live in?" I ask, because this sounds suspiciously like a Horcrux, without actually being one. I know, I tested it for any presence of Soul Magic, there was none. This is also why I somewhat doubt her claim of being a Spirit.

The lady chuckles, and says, "You are either very smart, or very lucky. To guess so much about me, heh." This makes me tense, as I prepare to fight my way out of here. But, she says, "To answer your question, no, I had not prepared the Diadem to select a future Vessel for myself, We created it so we can help my future descendants, like you."

"Excuse me?" I say, to the open amusement of the woman. Wait.

Now that I'm focusing on it, I can tell that I could tell what she's feeling. It was as if our emotions were open to each other, just emotions. Ah.. The Astral Plane. Figures.

She smiles at me, and then turns her back to me. As if remembering something, she looks at the empty void, but then she does something that shocks me once again. There, in front of me, was a window to the past, an illusion, of past events. Of Rowena.

"I loved her, you know, Rowena. We were one, and I loved being with her the most, out of all my hosts." Rowena says, her voice somber, as she remembered the past.

Well, she is a spirit. I mean, her previous statement did say it quite clear, but this confirms it. And, if Helena is her daughter, from after the possession, it explains why she's so.. different than other ghosts. 

"Even she was happy living with me, forever, just collecting knowledge as we go. I made her immortal, unageing, stronger, and she taught me the meaning of being a mortal, she showed me the enjoyment in little things in life, while at the same time, we were hoarding knowledge like crazy. But then, she met the other mortals, Godric, Salazar, and Helga. They convinced her to join them, in their silly crusade of creating a place of learning."

I dismiss the shields in my hands, but keep my Runic banishing spell ready, just in case. In the window, I see her, Rowena, travelling around Scotland, Greece, Albania, Japan, Egypt, and a lot of other places, impressing everyone with her magic, keeping their attention on her, as she stole knowledge left and right. 

Good thing to know she was always a knowledge thief.

Then, I see her meet with 3 other people, almost as impressive as her, who can only be the other founders. They were older than her, well, by looks. Where she looked to be in her early twenties, the other three looked to be in their late thirties to their forties.

Well, I guess the lady isn't lying about that part at least. She had possessed, or merged with Rowena, way before meeting the founders. Illusions can be false, I know, but it is very easy to find out which illusions are false, and which are memories of the past. And this is a memory, for sure.

Rowena, and I agree that she is Rowena, then says, "My other half began getting distracted then, distracted from me, our life, our oneness. She still focused on hoarding her knowledge, and everyone else's too, but she wanted to become a mortal again. We had two daughters now, and she didn't want to see her daughters die before her. Alas, Morgan ran away when she became old enough, and although we knew where she was, we allowed her the privacy she desperately needed."

Now, Rowena gets sad, and I see a few tears drop from her eyes. And I understand, seeing the daughter you love leave you, seeing her believe that she's better off without you, that's got to hurt.

She says, "But.. when Helena turned 17, Rowena found a way.. to become mortal again. She found a way to banish me. Forcefully. I tried to tell her, that it will harm her, she'll be bedridden for months, if not years, if she did that, and she might also die. But she didn't listen, she locked me inside our mind, so that I don't interfere, and then.. she did it. She sent me away, far far away from here, and I wasn't there to heal her when she died."

And now, she openly cries. Awkwardly, I pat her back, tears in my own eyes from feeling the emotional stress she is currently feeling. Damn, the Astral Plane is really weirding me out. I can literally feel her love for Rowena, for her daughters Morgan and Helena.

I can also feel the hurt she felt when she was banished from Rowena's body, and I can pseudo feel the consequences that Rowena herself faced after such banishment. They stayed together, in one body, for way more than 200 years, which was the majority of Rowena's life. She literally banished half of herself away, because she wanted to be mortal again.

I can't help but curse Rowena, how dare she? Not only did she do something as stupid as this, but from what I could see in the Window to the Past, Rowena's research in regaining her mortality was what drove her daughters away from her.

Her one track mind is what made her daughters feel as if they weren't important to her, when she was actually trying to do the opposite. And what happened? Both of them ran away as soon as they could.

Sighing, I allow 'Rowena' to have her fill of crying. Until I know the Spirit's name, she's Rowena. She's been Rowena for 200+ years, I think she deserves to be called that.

Once she gets her emotions under control, Rowena wipes her eyes, and says, "After that, I returned to my original body, all the while Rowena remained unknowing of my shard waiting in the Diadem that we created together, waiting for our descendants to claim it. Rowena made the Diadem so she can amplify her Mind even without my presence in her, and I in turn made it, so I can help my descendants reach their full potential. Alas, Helena stole it away, and hid it, so I couldn't help any of my descendants anyway."

I suddenly interrupt her, and say, "Wait, wait. Original body? Shard?"

This.. confuses me. Magical Spirits don't have Originals and Shards, I know they don't. Even ghosts don't. The only ones that do are the ones that made a Horcrux, and I know for a fact that this is not a Horcrux. Plus, there's her way of talking.

She's speaking as if she's the original, with the memories of the original, yet here she just said, she's a Shard that was left behind.

"Ah, your confusion is understandable. I am the shard that was left behind, as you put it. But, I am also the bigger piece that was banished. We are not completely separated, save for our distance. As long as the Diadem exists, I exist both here, and there." Rowena says, as if hearing my thoughts.

I frown, realising that of course she can hear my thoughts. She's a Spiritual Entity, and probably the one that made Rowena Ravenclaw into the fearsome Telepath that Helena spoke of. Damn, my telepathy is useless, isn't it?

I ask, "And where is there? Where is your original body? And is there a purpose to the Diadem other than wanting to meet with me?"

Rowena smiles, and says, "My body is currently away, but don't worry. My next host is also on this planet, so I will return here soon. As for the purpose, didn't I say? I wanted to make sure my descendants reach their fullest potential, without turning into my hosts, or depending on other beings for power."

I widen my eyes, and ask, "You actually don't want to turn me into a host, do you? You're afraid. But.. of what?"

"Betrayal." Rowena says, in just one word, still smiling. And I understand.

I feel a pang in my heart for her, for everything she's been through.

She doesn't want another one of her descendants to betray her, but she wants me to become stronger on my own. She wants to help me reach my potential, but she doesn't want to just spoon feed it to me.

Is there another Spirit incoming that I'll have to fight in a heroic battle to the death or something?

Rowena chuckles, making me belatedly remember that she can hear my thoughts despite my numerous mental barriers, and says, "Nothing of the sort, no. There are entities however, that wouldn't think twice about using you to have an advantage over me. And my responsibilities are too severe to abandon them for a single soul, no matter how precious it is to me. I apologise, my child, but I want you to be stronger, so you don't become a weakness to me."

Well, rude. She just assumed that any spirit would try to kidnap me, and succeed. Who even is she?

At that thought, I see her smile, and she widens her arms around herself. Then, I see something that makes me almost piss my pants. Surrounding her body, was an aura of flames, yellow fire burning with a very high intensity.

As I cover my eyes to protect them from the light, I hear, "I am your ancestor, my child, Rowena Ravenclaw. I am her ancestor, Morrigan of the Flames, but more than that. I am the Fire. I am Life Incarnate. Now and Forever, I am- THE PHOENIX!"

And then, I'm blasted out of there, my Astral Form thrown back through the barriers that separate the Realms, and into my body, the Diadem still on my head. I was still in the sitting position when I wake up, and as I start taking the Diadem off, I hear in my mind, 'Worry not, my child, I will still teach you. Whenever you are free to learn, wear the Diadem and enter my Realm. I will make you into the strongest Wizard on the entire planet. No conditions, just because I want to. Love, your ancestor. Rowena, the Phoenix.'

As soon as the sound leaves my head, I throw the Diadem off, and stagger towards the tap to wash my face. 

"Is sir okay? Yous just freezes for a second and then sweats." Blinky says, appearing near me.

Rinsing my mouth, I register what she just said, and take out my pocket watch. Sure enough, I was gone for barely a second, from the moment I'd blacked out, to the moment I came back to my body.

Fuck.

What kind of shit did I get myself into? The Phoenix? Rowena bloody Ravenclaw was a descendant of the bloody Pheonix, and a host of her too?! At least this definitely explains the weirdness with Helena's ghost.

Nodding at Blinky, I take the water she offers me to drink, and say, "Yes, Blinky. I just.. had an amazing encounter."

"Will sirs be telling me?" Blinky asks, her eyes widening in hope.

Chuckling sardonically, wondering what my life is turning into, I do just that, and tell her about my encounter with Phoenix. Who knows, maybe her Elfness will have some comment on it.

Heh, my life really has gotten weirder and weirder, this year.

Found out the DOM is after me for experimenting with Time Magic, met Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, found an entire Castle belonging to me, found two of Tom Riddle's original Horcruxes, and exchanged them with flawless fakes, and now, met with the literal Phoenix Force.

Sigh.. and there I was, worrying about WW2, Naziz and Wizard Nazis.

-

In the month of July, Dorea graduates out of Hogwarts, joining Darla, Ana, and me in the life of actual adults. 

Darla and Ana had graduated last year, with both of them getting good grades overall. They lived in muggle London, sharing a room as "roommates", while working, or training to get work, in Darla's case.

Darla was currently in the Auror Training program, training her ass off so she can come out on top. And I was supporting her, by dueling her at least once a week, and training her in other areas she might need as an Auror.

The duels not only helped her understand how to fight with magic, but it also helped me learn how to fight a Witch. It was.. interesting.

Where I focus on quick attacks by charms, along with subtle telekinesis, Darla uses Charms as well as Transfigurations while dueling. She wasn't that magically strong, but she had speed on her side.

But, unless she gains the attention of a senior Auror, she won't go anywhere other than a cubicle and a desk. She's a Muggleborn, with a small disadvantage of having just me as a supporter amongst the Purebloods.

But, I wasn't openly a pureblood, or of a pureblood House yet. I was a half-blood bastard, who had the luck of having the support of Horace Slughorn, and Euphemia Potter.

Back to Darla, she had left her family, permanently, after they tried to arrange her marriage once more. She gave them one warning, accept her love for Ana, or she'll run away. 

Her father tried to slap her, and she left, never looking back. For a while, she stayed with me, in Islington, but when Ana's business began booming, she moved in with her. Along with training, Darla would help Ana.

Anastasia Greengrass, or Ana, had opened up a shop in Diagon Alley. She had become a professional enchanter, working with readymade objects only. She had left her house, her family, behind, taking only her Clothes with her.

Her family didn't agree to her relationship with Darla, but surprisingly, they did not disinherit her. They just did not talk to her anymore. Well, she was the second daughter of 5 kids, so the parents probably don't worry too much about her.

Plus, she was showing to be an amazing independent woman, living her life and enjoying what she's doing. Any man, and woman would have been proud of having her as a daughter.

Now, let's see what Dorea does with her life. Thankfully, she has gotten over her crush on me, or so she says. But, I wish her well in life.

Sigh, my friends are all growing up, becoming their own people. I'm happy for them, and I'll help them whenever they need help. Even Tom, who's now trying to become a professional Quidditch player.

And now, I'll have to move on with my own life, taking it one year at a time.

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A/N: I'll start with the War within two chapters, so stay tuned!

Thank you for your support! Tata!