"You can't be serious." Harry groaned out. He had just received a note from Dumbledore asking for his presence in the Headmaster's Office. It was the weekend and one of the few times Harry felt like he had actual peace in this castle. He had created a tradition for himself of jogging around the Black Lake every Saturday and Sunday. That was ruined now on this beautiful Sunday evening by Dumbledore's note, delivered by a frightened first year who was too scared to even hand him the note, instead tossing it into the air before running off. Why he was so scary to the first year, Harry couldn't figure out. Hermione had laughed beside him, saying that he could be intimidating at times.

Harry turned and trudged back up to the dorm room where the rest of his peers were already sleeping in their beds. They were the first one's up every morning, and the last to go to sleep. The both of them would relax by the fire and read the various books assigned to them. They had used the time to grow more accustomed to one another and had become fast friends. It wasn't a surprise to Harry. He had been told many times over now by Dumbledore and other professors that Hermione was in many ways just like Lily Potter.

Once making it into his dorm room, Harry threw on a change of casual clothes, taking off his running clothes. He changed quickly and walked back downstairs. Hermione was curled up in front of the fireplace, reading a book as she always was.

She looked at him as he made for the door. "All of your meetings with Dumbledore makes one suspect the two of you are up to no good." She said. Harry turned and saw a small smirk on her face.

Harry laughed. "I'm Harry Potter. I've been up to no good my whole life." He then turned back around and left through the portrait door.

"I'm becoming well aware of that." Hermione said quietly to herself.

Harry began his walk towards the Headmaster's office. He wasn't in a rush this morning, wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of the castle as much as he could. A week had passed since he had set fire to Fleur's letter. He felt bad and desperately wanted to call to Hedwig to send a letter. But his idea of duty kept him in check. He had been brought up his whole life with the single idea that one day he would be the one take Dumbledore's role in the world. Any kind of relationship was a risk for someone like him, a risk that could cause the death of innocents. He wasn't the kind of man to play risks at the expense of others.

"Harry." Professor Flitwick walked over to him. By his side was both Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Harry looked at them confusedly, wondering why they were also headed towards the Headmaster's office.

"Professors?" Harry responded.

"Know what this is about, Potter?" Snape asked as they drew closer. Harry turned to walk with them.

"No, I thought you might?" Harry said.

"Dumbledore and his secrets." Snape muttered. They reached the office and walked up the stairs, the gargoyle already having moved aside for them. They found Dumbledore sitting behind his large desk, his hands folded in front of him and an unusual expression on his face.

"Headmaster?" Professor Flitwick said upon entering the room. The Headmaster looked nervous about something which put Harry on edge. Dumbledore rarely ever looked nervous.

Dumbledore gestured for them to sit, which they did. "I've found another one."

Everyone instantly knew what Dumbledore was talking about. The Great Evil. The scourge of men. The Devil's Gift. Harry had heard the name a hundred different ways. A Horcrux. The very thing that had infested in his mind as a baby. Voldemort had created several at least. They didn't know the amount, that was why Slughorn was within the castle walls. The old potions master would have a good idea of how many horcruxes his most prized student had created.

"Where? When did you discover it?" Snape asked quickly. Harry was never sure if Snape was curious about all things horcruxes from an academic level, or if the Dark Arts enthusiast was looking to enter himself into the game Voldemort played. It was one of the reasons Harry always kept an eye on the man.

Three horcruxes had been destroyed already. Two of them had been dealt with quite easily, but the third, the third proved much more tricky. The ring on Dumbledore's finger was a constant reminder to Harry that even the brightest, most powerful of all, could fall quite easily. When Harry had originally learned the news of Dumbledore's demise at the hands of a simple ring, it felt like his entire world had fallen off a cliff. It was in that moment he knew one day the responsibility that Dumbledore carried would become his. It wasn't until last week that he had fully accepted it.

"Harry and I will leave to retrieve it at once." Dumbledore said, answering neither of the questions that Flitwick proposed. Dumbledore had always been very careful with the information that he provided. It was for good reason. He didn't want what happened to him to happen to others. Only Harry knew the full truths to the horcrux hunt that Dumbledore had been conducting ever since he discovered the horcrux within Harry's lighting shaped scar.

"But Dumbledore-" Professor McGonagall began.

"I am strong enough to travel." Dumbledore said. Harry wasn't so sure. The Headmaster looked older by the day. It had only been a few months since his mistake at the Gaunt's family home. The change in Dumbledore's face over those few months had been quite noticeable to those who knew him well. It was a sad thing to watch.

"And I will have Harry with me." Dumbledore said, giving Harry an encouraging smile. Harry felt a pang of nervousness run through him. He had never been on a mission before, let alone with Dumbledore. Sirius and Remus had occasionally gone off for missions with other members of the Order, but never Harry. He had wanted to go many times before, but he was always deemed 'too important', and so Harry stayed at home.

"Let me go at least." Snape said.

"That is not necessary." Dumbledore said. "Moody and Kingsley will be in reserve if we need their help." It was clear that Dumbledore didn't want them to know the location of this horcrux. All three professors looked to one another, none sure about the idea of Harry and Dumbledore going off alone, but they didn't say anything further.

"Harry." Dumbledore looked to him. Harry stood up from his chair and followed Dumbledore to the floo network.

Dumbledore then turned back to the professors. "Thirty minutes is all it should take, I think." He then grabbed the Gryffindor sword from its place above the fireplace mantle. He tossed it to Harry who grabbed it reflexively. Harry was surprised at how lightweight the famous sword was. He had admired it from afar many times through his childhood, and holding it was completely different from what he imagined. The blade shimmered in the firelight, and he carefully swung it around, getting used to it. A warmth rushed through his body at its touch, as if the blade were accepting him.

"Step into the fireplace and say, 'The Dark Pit.'" Dumbledore said to Harry.

"The Dark Pit? Sounds a bit ominous." Harry mumbled as he dutifully walked over to the fireplace.

"That sounds dangerous, Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall said.

"I agree, though I wish I didn't." Snape added in.

Dumbledore chuckled. "It is of no concern." He then paused and his face grew more grim. "Unless if we aren't back within thirty minutes of course."

Harry laughed at Dumbledore's odd sense of humor as he stepped into the green fire. He knew Dumbledore wouldn't bring him that was immediately dangerous, and so had no problems going through the floo. "The Dark Pit." With a flash of fire, he was pulled by his navel and into time and space itself. In the blink of an eye, his feet hit solid ground. It was a far shorter trip than he imagined it would be.

Harry blinked several times to help his eyes adjust to the lack of light in the large room. He realized he was in a gigantic, expansive hall that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Everywhere there were scattered books and broken furniture. Lying all about were odd items, from clothing to money, trinkets to quidditch gear. He bent down and picked up a pink lacy bra that was laying on the ground, wondering how this got here.

Dumbledore came out of the fireplace, startling Harry. He quickly tossed aside the bra and looked on like nothing had happened. Dumbledore didn't bother with what he'd seen and simply walked passed Harry. "What is this place?" Harry asked. "Where are we?"

"Hogwarts. Though I am unsure if it actually is Hogwarts." Dumbledore said, a frown on his face.

Harry looked around in confusion. He didn't know there was a room this large in Hogwarts. "What?" Harry asked in a disbelieving tone.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. An interesting thing that I only found by accident while wishing for some socks." Dumbledore said. He began to walk into the maze that had been formed by stacked items and random objects. "I believe that anything lost within the halls of Hogwarts finds its way here."

"How?" Harry asked further. He stepped over a fallen statue of an old wizard Harry didn't recognize. Everywhere he looked were wondrous things he wanted to touch, but a fear in him kept him from doing so.

"Even I do not know everything." Dumbledore said.

"And you found the horcrux here?" Harry continued. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of quiet in a place like this. As he walked through the maze, it felt like a dozen eyes were on him, watching silently from the shadows. The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and out of reflex he pulled his wand.

"Found? No dear boy." Dumbledore chuckled. "I was told it was here. Finding it is another matter."

"Told? And how do you expect to find this thing in thirty minutes? We could be here for years and never find it with how large this place is." Harry grumbled. He then paused for a moment. "What does it even look like?"

"Rowena's Diadem." Dumbledore answered him. He wasn't bothering to look at anything around him as he walked through the mess of random objects. Occasionally he would toss something out of his walking path, or pick up his flowing cloak so that it didn't get caught on anything. Dumbledore seemed to know exactly where he was going, and Harry followed.

Harry fell silent as he let his questions go. It was clear Dumbledore wasn't in much of a mood to answer him thoroughly as he usually did. So, Harry watched his surroundings. The deeper they walked into the room, the more on edge he became. For the last several minutes he had begun to feel a cold chill wash over him. He wondered why this place was so cold, until Dumbledore suddenly stopped.

Harry watched as the Headmaster slowly walked over to a broken bookshelf that was crushed in between two large statues, one a gargoyle, the other a goblin. Harry looked at them. The goblin was crowned as if a king. He held a spear in one hand and a large round shield in the other. The gargoyle on the other side of him was hunched over with a pot of coins at his feet. Both its hands were rummaging through the pot greedily.

"Do you feel it?" Dumbledore asked Harry, breaking a loud silence he hadn't known existed until now.

"The coldness?" Harry asked, unsure of what Dumbledore was referring to.

Dumbledore nodded, "There is more though. Listen, feel it."

Harry fell quiet again. He looked to the bookshelf where Dumbledore was staring. Tattered books and broken trinkets littered its shelves, which made Harry even more confused why they had stopped here. Then his eyes caught something shimmering beneath a few dusted pages of a ripped book. He edged closer to the bookshelf to get a better look.

He could see the diadem, the silver metal glimmering in an unknown light. It was beautiful to behold and besides the sword which Harry still held firmly in his grasp, it was the only item from the Founders he had ever seen. But as Harry looked further, he felt nothing out of the ordinary, just the coldness of the room.

Harry stepped back and shook his head. "I just feel cold."

Dumbledore frowned at him. "Nothing?" Harry shook his head again in answer. Dumbledore fell silent as he looked back to the diadem. He was thinking about something, Harry could tell that much. Eventually, Dumbledore spoke again. "Alright. Grab it and we'll be on our way."

"What? Shouldn't I destroy it with this?" Harry held the sword up in his hand.

"Humor me." Dumbledore said. "Touch it."

Harry opened his mouth and closed it several times, trying to find words of protest, but nothing came to mind. He tightened his jaw and walked closer to the bookshelf. He then turned back around abruptly. "Really?"

"It won't harm you." Dumbledore said.

"Because that ring sure didn't harm you." Harry mumbled as he turned back around to the bookshelf. Harry reached out with a shaky hand, and with one last breath, he put his fingers onto the cold metal of the diadem. Nothing happened. Harry let out his breath. He grasped the diadem completely and stepped back from the bookshelf.

"Still nothing?" Dumbledore asked him.

"No. What am I supposed to be feeling?" Harry asked.

"Something." Dumbledore responded.

"Oh. That's really-"

"Let's go." Dumbledore cut him off. Harry turned the Diadem over several times, inspecting the item. It just seemed like a normal diadem to him. There was nothing unusual about it and Harry began to wonder if this even was a horcrux. When he looked up, Dumbledore was gone.

Panic rushed through him. The last thing he wanted to have happen was get lost in this maze and die of stupidity. Harry jogged after where he had seen Dumbledore leave and was relieved to find him walking at a brisk pace. He was mumbling to himself, something the old Headmaster did when he was worried or annoyed. Harry had an idea it was more worry than annoyance which in turn made him worried.

They made their way back through the maze again. Instead of coming across a fireplace however, they came to a door. Dumbledore quickly walked through it, leaving Harry to jog in after him. When Harry stepped out of the room, he recognized that they were on the seventh floor. There was an ugly portrait of trolls being made to dance nearby. Harry turned to look at the door but found it had already vanished, only bare wall was in its place.

"The Room of Requirement. Why is it called that?" Harry asked. Dumbledore had already begun walking quickly down the staircase. Thankfully it was late at night and no students were walking around. It would be an odd sight to see Harry walking with a sword in one hand, and what was basically a tiara in the other.

"The room can become anything the mind wishes it to be. There are a few rules, but I don't care to explain them all right now." Dumbledore was in a foul mood, though Harry wasn't sure why. Maybe he did something wrong? It was very rare for Dumbledore to show this level of annoyance, an emotion he only ever showed in front of Harry. He kept quiet and followed Dumbledore back to the Headmaster's Office.

They walked into the office, surprising the three professors who had stayed put in their chairs. Only Snape was on his feet, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Fawkes chirped happily at their return.

"Did you get it?" Snape quickly asked.

"No, I don't thin-" Harry began.

"We did." Dumbledore cut him off for the second time.

"We did?" Harry asked. He looked back to the horcrux. If this was a horcrux, why couldn't he feel anything coming off of it. Horcruxes were supposed to be extremely dark magic, yet he couldn't tell at all. A normal wizard would be able to sense such darkness emanating from an object, even if they didn't understand what the object was.

"Place it on the table, Harry." Dumbledore looked at him, a frown still marring his face.

"Sure." Harry said. He tossed the diadem onto the table, the metal making a hollow clinking noise.

"Is that?" Flitwick couldn't finish his words being too amazed at the object before him.

"I don't believe it. The lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw." Professor McGonagall breathed out.

"He used that? How did Riddle even find it?" Snape asked. He moved closer to the desk to inspect the diadem. By the way everyone else in the room shuddered at the first sight of the thing, the horcrux was probably the real. But why couldn't he feel anything out of the ordinary?

"Those questions can be answered later. Harry?" Dumbledore looked to him, gesturing with his hand to use the sword. Harry gripped the handle firmly in his grasp and walked towards the diadem.

"But that will destroy it, Dumbledore." Flitwick exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Filious. But it has already been destroyed." Harry continued. He raised the sword above his head, ready to swing it down. With one quick motion, he brought the sword down and broke into the diadem with ease. The object smashed in two and out from it came a black mist that swirled above everyone's heads. They were all forced to cover their ears as a high-pitched wail came from the mist. Slowly, the noise and the mist dissipated and the room returned to normal.

Harry adjusted his jaw around, trying to help ease his ears of the pain. He looked at Dumbledore who had a large smile on his face. The annoyed demeanor of earlier had vanished entirely. It must have been the horcrux that caused him to act that way Harry figured.

"That makes four of them, right?" Professor McGonagall asked. She stood up from her chair and moved to the desk to better investigate the remains of the diadem. It had been cleanly split in two, and now looked rusted and cracked. The magic of the horcrux had made the thing more beautiful than it really was. Flitwick was looking at it in horror, as if the holy grail itself had been destroyed.

"Yes, that was the fourth that we know of." Dumbledore said. "You did well, Harry. I am sorry for earlier."

"Why couldn't I feel the effects of the Horcrux?" Harry asked.

"When I removed the Horcrux from your head Harry, I couldn't remove every bit of dark magic that lingered there." Dumbledore said. "I didn't know for sure until now. I am very sorry that my work wasn't as good as I had hoped." Harry then remembered the sorting hat's words. I see the darkness that once festered in your mind. I can see it still, a piece of it impossible to fully destroy.

"What does it mean, me still having the remnants of a Horcrux inside my head?" Harry asked. The entire room had grown quiet, wanting to know the answer to that as well.

Dumbledore shook his head and he looked at Harry with a deep sadness. "I don't know. Only time will tell." Harry felt his heart sink. It was never a good thing when Dumbledore didn't know an answer, and deep down, Harry didn't think having a piece of this dark magic still in him was a good thing. Clearly it was affecting him if he couldn't feel the Horcrux. The thought made a current of panic run through him, but he did his best to repress it.

Dumbledore walked to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You are strong, Harry. The magic inside of you does not dictate your character, I genuinely believe it. Do not fret." Harry looked into the Headmaster's sparkling blue eyes and felt relief. He was right, as usual. Harry had lived his entire life so far with that bit of magic in him and never once did he feel any urges towards the darker sides of magic. Knowing for sure that it was there just made him more adamant about never using the dark arts.

"Any ideas for the fifth?" Harry asked, looking around. No one, not even Dumbledore, showed any answer on their face.