Daily News: The Prophet of Hogwarts

Chapter 313 Counterfeits and Heroes

As time went on, they could see the green liquid in the food bowl gradually disappear, and pendants and decorative items appeared in the green liquid.

Both of them sighed at the sight.

"It seems we're too late," said Dumbledore, setting down his goblet and retrieving the locket from the green liquid. After a glance, he said, "This is clearly a fake."

He had seen the locket Voldemort before and knew exactly what the real locket looked like.

As one of the people who had dealt with Voldemort quite a bit, Lane considered himself to have a fairly good understanding of Voldemort's character. And what was happening before his eyes was clearly not something Voldemort would do.

He told Dumbledore, "Voldemort doesn't seem like the type to leave behind fakes to mock those who come after him."

Dumbledore had the same thought. He opened the locket, but there was nothing inside except a folded piece of parchment.

It contained a letter, a sarcastic remark directed at Voldemort.

[To the Dark Lord: I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that I discovered your secret. I stole the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as possible. I risked my life in the hope that you would be killed when you encounter your opponent. RAB]

"He was a warrior." Dumbledore felt a pang of regret; such a warrior risked his life to fight Voldemort, but...

Voldemort was resurrected again through the locket.

This shows that the warrior's backup plan could not destroy the real Horcrux, which is truly tragic.

The feeling of risking your life but failing is so intense that just imagining it makes you feel like you can't breathe.

"RAB?" Ryan murmured the code name, then suddenly blurted out a name: "Regulus Arcturus Black?"

"Regrus? The youngest son of the Black family who once chose to follow Voldemort?"

As headmaster, Dumbledore was competent; he was able to remember all his students.

"I don't know. It just suddenly came to mind. Sirius Black mentioned him; he thought his brother was an incurable Death Eater, but then he suddenly disappeared during Voldemort's rampage," Ryan said. "That's very unusual. Voldemort did indeed kill indiscriminately and treat human life like dirt, but he shouldn't have been so ruthless towards a pure-blood wizard who had voluntarily pledged allegiance to him."

"Perhaps it's because—"

Ryan glanced at the locket in Dumbledore's hand, and then their eyes met. They both turned their gazes to the undead bound in the water prison.

The reason is simple: if Regulus can be found here, it will form a logical loop; finding Regulus...

The mystery of Voldemort's whereabouts was solved, and it was also revealed who took the Horcruxes.

"I think I should call Sirius over, but then I feel it would be too cruel to suddenly tell him that his brother, whom he has always viewed with prejudice, was actually a hero who fought against Voldemort and that this hero had sacrificed himself for the justice he believed in."

Ryan began to speak, saying that Dumbledore had already projected Regulus's image into his mind using Legilimency, and as he searched for people, he mentioned the only remaining male member of the Black family.

It can only be said that the Black family was full of heroes.

My brother is a hero who stands in the sunlight to fight against Voldemort.

The younger brother is the hero who lurks in the shadows and delivers the fatal blow to Voldemort.

Dumbledore's tone was heavy. As the headmaster, it was undoubtedly heartbreaking for him that his students had become undead after death, never to find peace.

Regulus, the pale-faced, gaunt, yet somewhat handsome man, was long gone. His dull, cloudy eyes held no light; like the other undead, he was bound in a water prison.

The difference is that the other zombies look grotesque.

But he had a relieved smile on his face.

Ryan said to Dumbledore, "It's actually quite simple to verify whether it's him or not. I'll go find Black."

The verification method is really simple.

Put yourself in Voldemort's shoes. If Regulus really did switch Voldemort's Horcruxes, then at the height of Voldemort's power, he would have had no one around him to consult. Therefore, the only person he could trust, the only one who could take the Horcruxes from that cave, was the house-elf, bound by ancient magic, and whom he could completely trust!

So all he had to do was go to Black and have Black, in the name of the Black family and as the sole heir of the Black family, inquire about their house-elves.

Nature will provide all the answers.

"Be careful on the road."

After the two left the cliff, Dumbledore thoughtfully told Ryan on his way to the next match that he was now the main target of the opponents and that it would be best to return to Hogwarts and have Black bring the house-elves to the school.

Ryan also noticed that the other side seemed to have a great interest in him, especially since there were a bunch of Voldemorts and a Helbo on the other side. Naturally, he wouldn't risk his life to try it.

Back at Hogwarts Castle, after much deliberation, he decided to contact Black by the fireplace.

As for Principal Blake, whose name is displayed above the principal's office, let the grandfather and grandson discuss these matters themselves.

"Hello, Mr. Ryan." Blake was surprised to be woken up in the middle of the night, as he and Ryan did not have much interaction.

Their relationship was merely one of normal familiarity. This was because Lane's actions of capturing Peter and nurturing Harry Potter made Black grateful; however, Lane's close relationship with Snape instinctively disgusted Black.

Ryan addressed the Black man's face in the firelight: "Mr. Black, would you please bring the Black family's house-elves to Hogwarts? There's something concerning your family that I need your help verifying."

"Is it Harry?" Black had clearly been woken up in the middle of the night and his mind wasn't quite sharp yet; he hadn't noticed that what Lane was talking about concerned their family. Of course, it was also possible that he thought Harry was part of their family.

"It's Mr. Regulus." Seeing that Black's face immediately darkened, as if he was about to say something criticizing Regulus, the Death Eater brother he considered a good-for-nothing, Ryan quickly added the second half of the sentence: "The headmaster and I have discovered some clues that point to Mr. Regulus possibly being a hero who sacrificed himself in the fight against Voldemort."

"Oh, Merlin, how is that possible?" Sirius Black muttered, but did not continue to refute. As he turned off the fireplace call, he vaguely heard Sirius Black calling a name.

"Kreacher! Kreacher! Where the hell have you been?!"

The fireplace flame went out.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. Perhaps in other ways Black behaved like a Gryffindor, but at least in his attitude toward house-elves, Sirius Black lived up to the reputation of his Black family.