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 there 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 cup, and a pendant. 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?" 

Seulgi and Hoseok came to an abrupt stop as they turned to her. Jennie and Jungkook did the same thing. "What?" Seulgi blurts out.

Jisoo blinks and looks at the group curiously. "You've never heard of Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem?" 

Surprisingly, they all shook their heads. 

"We're Gryffindors," Jungkook says, motioning to him and Seulgi. 

"Hufflepuff here," Hoseok adds. 

"Slytherin," Jennie says while shrugging. 

Jisoo feels herself frown a little. "Oh, right." She was the only Ravenclaw in the team and one of the few Ravenclaw Aurors. The legend of the lost diadem had never really made it to the other houses during their time. "Well, Rowena's lost diadem is a famous myth among Ravenclaws. The diadem, a tiara, is rumored to be hidden somewhere in the castle. Others have said it was lost. I'm not quite sure about how it ended up here, but all the versions do say that it is here within the castle. I guess that if it's the horcrux, then it's not really a myth anymore because the Dark Lord found it and tainted it with his soul."

The team captain took a step closer toward her. The scorching sunlight made Seulgi's brown hair appear hazel under the golden rays. "You know what it looks like then? And do any of the version say where it's located exactly?"

"I have a vague idea of what it looks like, yes," Jisoo nods slowly, her eyes scanning the now hopeful faces of the other Aurors. She feels her frown become more prominent. "But I don't know the exact location." 

Seulgi shakes her head, but she's smiling at Jisoo like she had just given them an invaluable piece of treasure. "It doesn't matter, we'll find it. But at least you have an idea about the image of the tiara, that would save us a lot of time. Even the Kims didn't know what the horcruxes looked like, they just knew what it was. Your knowledge is already a big help, Jisoo. I was right in recruiting you."

With that, Seulgi walked briskly forward and Hoseok followed close behind her after flashing Jisoo a small smile. Jennie does the same as she passes by. 

A little flustered, Jisoo quickly falls into step beside Jungkook, who is looking at her in subtle awe which she tries hard to ignore. 

Jisoo feels useful again. After capturing Taehyung, she didn't know what to do next but she's thankful that she could be of help to Seulgi's team. It was one step forward in ending Voldemort once and for all. 

"It could be hidden in a room by itself," Jennie suggests to Seulgi. Her eyes scanned the perimeter. Her face and the grace of her movements reminded Jisoo of a slinking cat. 

"Or it could be in the attic, a tiny crown in a huge storage room among piles of rubbish." Hoseok offered.

Jungkook chipped in. "It's either hidden in plain sight or stowed away into one of the hundreds of rooms here." 

Jisoo watched them as they talked to each other and shared their ideas. These Aurors were thinking aloud, communicating directly with each other for all the possibilities of the diadem's location. It meant they trusted each other. That's why they're such a lethal team of aces and why they've all come this far. 

Jisoo has to trust in them too, she has to bring herself to do so if she wanted to survive the next few days.

"Jisoo, what do you think?" Seulgi asked without looking back at her, the heels of her boots clicking against the empty halls. 

"It could be both," Jisoo sounded unsure even to herself. "Locked away in a room that's hidden in plain sight." 

The team stopped walking just as Seulgi did. She turned to Jisoo, eyes wide and bright. Even in the middle of a war and running on less than five hours of sleep a day, Seulgi was still energized. She was thinking the same thing as Jisoo was. "The Room of Requirement." 

The Room of Requirement was was a secret room within Hogwarts Castle, that only appeared when a person was in great need of it. Jisoo never found the Room during her time, perhaps this was because she never really needed it and so it didn't think of appearing to her. Bona hadn't mention finding it either, and neither did Taehyung. They knew about it of course, from the upperclassmen and the ghosts that loved to gossip. But she had never stepped foot in it before and she's heard that the Room had locked itself away even before the war had started, so she doesn't even know where to start. 

Hoseok bristles. "But the room's been locked away for two years now, we're not sure if it can even open." He says as they begin to move again. He stares at the blank walls as they pass, as if imagining the Room would appear to them then and there. 

"Which makes it the perfect hiding place for a horcrux." Jisoo mutters absent-mindedly. 

"You're right," Jungkook affirms her as he falls into step beside Jisoo. He's throwing her a big smile. 

The younger boy seems to be a bit too clingy. No, scratch that, he seems to have some sort of open affection towards Jisoo. 

Jennie and Seulgi exchange glances while smirking to themselves, something that Jisoo does not miss. 

"Lucky for all of us, I happen to know where the Room often frequently pops up." Jungkook chirps happily. 

They stand in front of a random blank wall on the second floor in the west wing that Jungkook had led them to. It could have been any other wall in the castle, but Jungkook had touched the surface and nodded so assuredly to them. "This is the one." 

Jisoo tries to will the room to appear, tapping into her desperation to find the horcrux, but it does not open. She's heard of stories from other students that they had thought of a place they wanted to run to and the Room was there to answer their calling. She thought maybe this would work but nothing happens and no door appears. 

"It's still locked." Jennie says, looking at the rest of the members. "How are we going to open it?"

Se