Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 146 The Sincerity of the Golden Cup

"help?"

Tom Riddle raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

"Since you've listened to my plan in its entirety and haven't explicitly expressed any objection, I'll assume you agree with my ideas. And based on my understanding of my younger self, you're probably the Horcrux who most desires to regain wisdom in your true form, right?"

Ken's gaze turned serious: "I need to cooperate with you to collect the other Horcruxes and completely eliminate Dumbledore, whom you've cornered in the shadows."

"Destroy Dumbledore? Before he reappears?"

Tom frowned. "You should know Dumbledore's strength best... We're not yet strong enough to directly confront him. And what do you mean by collecting the other Horcruxes? As the last Horcrux to be created, don't you have the memory of the locations of the others?"

"The original body left behind a method to kill Dumbledore."

Ken smiled mysteriously, took a simple ring from his pocket, and pushed it in front of Tom. The top of the ring was set with a gray stone, on which was engraved a triangle containing a circle, with a straight line in the middle.

"This is?!"

A sudden, inexplicable pang of anxiety sent a shiver down Tom's spine—he recognized the emblem; it was the source of his mother's lineage, the coat of arms of the Gaunt family! And not only that, the ring also emanated the same aura as the golden cup, a feeling that made Tom feel a blood connection…

"You have another Horcrux?"

"Not only that."

Ken chuckled and said, "This ring was specifically left behind by the original owner to kill Dumbledore, so it doesn't have the ability to act on its own. It's imbued with an extremely powerful curse that can instantly kill any life that touches it—of course, it has no effect on us."

Tom pulled that damned student's wand from his pocket, compared it to the ring, and then a look of fear flashed in his eyes: "A very strong curse."

"You lack sufficient understanding of the true power of the body."

Ken's expression turned proud: "So as long as I deliver this 'Hordeal' that I've painstakingly collected to Dumbledore, his life can end—of course, only after I retrieve the original from him."

"And what you need to do is cooperate with me to control your pure-blood followers and create conditions for Dumbledore to return to the school, whether it's a legitimate return or a clandestine infiltration to protect the students... Given the danger of his true form, Dumbledore will definitely always carry him with him, and I currently have no direct way to contact him, so I must rely on your power."

"If that's the case, why didn't you kill Dumbledore as soon as school started?"

After a moment of contemplation, Tom asked suspiciously.

"How dare you ask me that!"

At this point, Ken suddenly gritted his teeth: "My original plan was to kill Dumbledore only after I had collected all the Horcruxes, ensuring that the instability during the resurrection of the original body was minimized—but who knew you would pull this on me! Dumbledore has now guessed that the mastermind behind the whole thing is a Horcrux! Guess how much effort he will put into finding and destroying Horcruxes once he fully understands their destructive power? And how much of a threat they will pose to the other Horcruxes?!"

"If he successfully destroys even one Horcrux, his original soul will never be able to be perfected!"

"..."

Tom opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

"But in the end, I also bear some responsibility for this."

Ken suddenly changed the subject and sighed, "It was my suggestion at the beginning of the semester that Dumbledore use the sound of a rooster to kill the basilisk, which aroused your suspicion, wasn't it? We were just doing what was right from our own perspectives. It's just that a lack of communication caused this troublesome misunderstanding."

"And besides killing Dumbledore, there's something else I need your help with."

"What is it?"

"The Horcrux, Ravenclaw's tiara, has gone missing."

Ken rubbed his temples in frustration: "Of the five Horcruxes in my original body, including yours, I've already collected three. Of the remaining two, I know the location of the Slytherin locket, but it's a bit troublesome to retrieve. The real problem is my original body's fourth Horcrux, the Ravenclaw tiara."

"The original owner had hidden him in a secret room within Hogwarts, so the first thing I did after entering the school was to find him and get his help. But when I arrived at the place where he should have been hidden... he was gone."

Does he also possess the ability to act independently?

Tom also realized the seriousness of the situation, and his expression became serious.

"Autonomous action? Ha, if only that were all."

Ken gave a wry smile: "The Ravenclaw tiara possesses the ability to grant its user extraordinary intelligence, and I don't need to elaborate on how terrifying a Horcrux embodied in it, combined with the user's own intellect, would be, would I?"

"The fact that he managed to extricate himself from his original position at least indicates that he has his own plans. If things go wrong, this could become a serious obstacle to my plans. At best, it could lead to a troublesome blunder like what happened to you and me; at worst..."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice turned bitter: "At worst, he'll abandon his original body and become another Voldemort, independent of his terrifying intelligence... But if that's the case, what will become of his original body, and of us Horcruxes?"

"..."

"I see."

After a long silence, Tom finally nodded heavily: "I will arrange for those people to search for traces of the crown as quietly as possible. I will also try to keep an eye on the surroundings to see if he is also lurking in the school like we are."

Please.

Ken breathed a sigh of relief and raised the golden cup he had won to Tom once again.

"By the way, what happened to the basilisk?"

Tom suddenly remembered this matter and asked Ken about it again.

"Let's leave it for now. You might need it to lure Dumbledore out. It's not too late to kill it later."

After thinking for a moment, Ken said, "As for how to handle the rest, that's up to you. I just need you to get Dumbledore back into the school; you can decide how to do it."

"I see."

Tom nodded.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Ken seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked up at Tom, saying, "The situation is a bit too complicated now. We've reached a preliminary agreement, so let's avoid any more blunders in the future. We need a way to stay in touch at any time."

"...Let's meet regularly for now."

Tom thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "I don't have any magical items right now. But I should be able to get a two-way mirror or something after the Christmas holidays."

"So during this Christmas holiday season, we'll meet here every three days."

Ken clapped his hands and made his decision: "And you can continue to conceal your vessel and host as you are today. I don't mind, as long as you can complete my plan."

"That's for the best."

Tom's grip on the wand loosened slightly. "I should go back. My host has been out there long enough."

"Okay, see you in three days."

Ken casually raised the golden cup. Tom nodded in acknowledgment, then his body became ethereal, passing through the walls like a ghost and leaving the room before instantly returning to his host, who was still covered by the invisibility cloak.

"It seems he's sincere..."

Throughout the conversation, he kept a sliver of his attention on the host. If he detected anyone trying to approach, he would immediately pounce and subdue Ken, then decide whether to kill him depending on the situation.

Three days later...

He opened his mouth, hissed something at the basilisk crawling in the pipe, and then turned and left. The basilisk, after he left, stopped staring at Ken and slowly swam away, disappearing into the depths of the pipe.

(End of this chapter)