Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ======Ravenclaw's Diadem====== =====Object Information===== * **Type:** [[Horcrux]], Founder's Object * **Owners:** [[Rowena Ravenclaw]], [[Helena Ravenclaw]], [[Tom Riddle]] ([[Lord Voldemort]]) * **Maker:** [[Rowena Ravenclaw]] =====Description and Appearance===== Ravenclaw's Diadem was a beautiful, delicate silver tiara inlaid with a large, oval-shaped blue sapphire. It was described as being graceful and elegant in its original state. Engraved upon its surface was the famous [[Ravenclaw]] motto: //"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."// When [[Harry Potter]] discovered it in the [[Room of Requirement]], centuries of neglect had left it tarnished and aged, appearing as a "discoloured tiara." Despite its condition, its beauty was still discernible. =====Magical Properties and Usage===== The diadem was imbued with powerful magic by its creator, [[Rowena Ravenclaw]]. Its properties changed drastically after it was turned into a [[Horcrux]]. * **Original Properties:** The diadem was enchanted to increase the wisdom of the wearer. This magical property was legendary and was the primary reason [[Helena Ravenclaw]] stole it from her mother, hoping to become wise and important herself. * **Horcrux Properties:** After being retrieved by [[Tom Riddle]], the diadem was cursed and transformed into one of his seven [[Horcruxes]]. He sealed this transformation by murdering an Albanian peasant. As a [[Horcrux]], it contained a fragment of [[Lord Voldemort]]'s [[soul]], making it an object of profound [[Dark Magic]]. This granted it a form of malevolent semi-sentience and rendered it incredibly durable, resistant to most forms of magical damage. Only exceptionally powerful destructive forces could destroy it. =====History===== The diadem was created by [[Rowena Ravenclaw]], one of the four founders of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. Her daughter, [[Helena Ravenclaw]], grew jealous of her mother's intellect and renown. Believing the diadem was the source of this wisdom, Helena stole it and fled to [[Albania]]. On her deathbed, a grief-stricken [[Rowena Ravenclaw]] sent a man who had long loved Helena to find her: the [[Baron]]. The [[Baron]] tracked Helena to a forest in [[Albania]] and begged her to return. When she refused, he flew into a rage and murdered her. Overcome with remorse, the [[Baron]] then took his own life. The two later returned to [[Hogwarts]] as the [[ghosts]] of [[Ravenclaw]] and [[Slytherin]] houses: the [[Grey Lady]] and the [[Bloody Baron]]. Before her death, Helena had hidden the diadem inside a hollow tree. For centuries, its location remained a secret, known only to her [[ghost]]. In the 1940s, a young and charismatic [[Tom Riddle]] charmed the story out of the [[Grey Lady]]. He travelled to the Albanian forest, found the diadem, and turned it into a [[Horcrux]]. Years later, when he returned to [[Hogwarts]] to request the [[Defence Against the Dark Arts]] post from [[Albus Dumbledore]], he took the opportunity to hide the diadem in the [[Room of Requirement]], believing he was the only one to have discovered the room's "room of hidden things" configuration. =====Role in the Story===== The diadem first appears, though unidentified, in //[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]//. While hiding his copy of //[[Advanced Potion-Making]]//, [[Harry Potter]] places the "discoloured tiara" atop a stone bust to mark the location of his book within the cluttered [[Room of Requirement]]. In //[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]//, Harry deduces that [[Voldemort]] created a [[Horcrux]] using a founder's object from [[Ravenclaw]]. After speaking with the [[Grey Lady]], he learns the diadem's history and its fate. He then makes the connection to the tiara he saw a year earlier. During the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], Harry, [[Ron Weasley]], and [[Hermione Granger]] enter the [[Room of Requirement]] to retrieve it. They are ambushed by [[Draco Malfoy]], [[Vincent Crabbe]], and [[Gregory Goyle]]. In the ensuing fight, [[Crabbe]] casts [[Fiendfyre]], a powerful and uncontrollable cursed fire. The [[Fiendfyre]] consumes the room and everything in it, including the diadem, thus destroying the [[Horcrux]] within. =====Behind the Scenes===== * In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2//, the diadem's destruction is altered. [[Hermione Granger]] gives [[Harry Potter]] a [[Basilisk fang]] she retrieved from the [[Chamber of Secrets]]. Harry stabs the diadem with the fang, and [[Ron Weasley]] then kicks it into the [[Fiendfyre]] erupting from the [[Room of Requirement]]. In the book, the [[Fiendfyre]] alone is sufficient to destroy the [[Horcrux]]. (film)
