From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

“It’s impossible, Blake. You should know who did this. We can use some shortcuts, but we can’t directly sabotage it…”

“No, actually it’s possible,” William, who had to go out to test for toxins because of the reconstruction of the Bubble Head Curse, could only barely bear it by relying on the sweetness in his mouth—the four of them could not remove the Bubble Head Curse at the same time, and if any toxins appeared in the air, someone had to be able to provide timely assistance.

“If we had Dumbledore with us, none of these mechanisms would have been a problem. We underestimated Black’s discovery…”

"Dumbledore, but this is... Voldemort's..."

"Even Voldemort's is not acceptable."

As William tested the magical reactions around him, he replied, "Even if we were to make the boldest estimate that he could defeat Dumbledore in a head-on duel, he still couldn't overwhelm Dumbledore in the realm of Transfiguration."

"He is more skilled in dark magic, and while dark magic certainly involves a lot of design in creating mechanisms and traps, it's not as advanced as transfiguration..."

William glanced at his colleague, his meaning clear: in terms of constructing mechanisms alone, the Dark Lord was clearly no match for Dumbledore, let alone the fact that one could create and the other could dismantle—everyone knew that destruction was much easier than creation.

"If we're talking about curses and evil spells, the Dark Lord is undoubtedly the most powerful, but these mechanisms are a real challenge for us professors..."

Dumbledore obediently solved the puzzle—no joke, unless Dumbledore started teaching again, afraid of using some advanced magic his students wouldn't understand…

As William spoke, he unleashed the final probing spell.

"As things stand, there are no problems... So..."

William waved his hand, and a water shield materialized on his body, quickly solidifying into clumsy blocks of ice. "I'll go test it out..."

He stepped onto the island and focused all his attention.

There was no danger. It was just a black stone slab, slightly larger than an empty classroom, with only a green light source on it. William, wearing ice armor that slowed him down by half, carefully moved over and found that it was a stone basin placed on a base.

"Hold…"

William muttered an Azkaban slang term under his breath, then called out to the professors around him, “Come on, theoretically there are no more traps here.”

Sirius Black swaggered over with his wand in hand, followed by Lupin, whose face was a mixture of wariness and helplessness. Moody, on the other hand, only strode over after confirming once again that the Icebound Forsaken were still binding the Infernals and that their retreat was not threatened.

"This is?"

They gathered around the pot of green liquid, and Sirius was the first to ask a question.

"Potion..."

William's expression darkened. "To be precise, it's a special kind of potion...that only exists in theory..."

"That's not..."

Sirius said it as usual, but Lupin, quick-witted and agile, stopped him from finishing the sentence.

"I can't cook it..."

William looked at the potion and didn't know what to say—wasn't any more skilled wizard better at potions than him?

As he spoke, he fanned the potion with his hand, and a small, transparent ball enveloped a tiny bit of the scent, which was then incorporated into the Bubble Head Charm. The moment it touched William's nose, it was completely expelled…

"That's it..."

William nodded, then manipulated the ice, piercing it into the liquid, but it was firmly fixed in place in mid-air by something, unable to move.

"This is?"

"The Sigh of the Dead... that should be the name, a very obscure potion, I only have a vague recollection of it..."

As William recalled the events, he rummaged through his bag and found a cup, then dipped it into the liquid—the previous obstruction seemed to have vanished entirely, and the cup went straight into the stone basin, filling it to the brim.

"Just scoop it out?"

Sirius asked in surprise—he didn't think Voldemort's traps could be that powerful.

"No, there are limitations. A second cup cannot be scooped out, nor can a container that is too large be used, as this will cause the potion to return to its original container..."

William recalled and explained

"There are such potions?"

"Yes, its brewing doesn't even require a crucible. As long as the conditions are met, even if it's consumed, it will slowly return to a full container... Rather than a potion, it's more like a special permanent ritual achieved using herbs and other ingredients..."

William looked at the potion, then took an empty bottle from his pocket and tapped it—a toad with its mouth wide open appeared on the ground.

"One cup..."

William poured the potion in, and the toad instantly exploded, the potion vanished, and the potion in the basin, which had sunk slightly, immediately rose again.

"Even Transfiguration won't work?"

"It seems so; there's no way to take shortcuts... Just as the description said, consuming potions requires enough magic power..."

William sighed, then took out a large number of herbs from the bag, transformed them one by one, and then used a small cup to pour the potion into the mouths of the transformed animals, one small cup at a time.

Amidst the constant hissing and crackling sounds, the herbs became broken and rotten, completely losing their magic, but the potions were also being consumed rapidly.

"Don't you need to drink it?"

"No need... Unless someone is determined to die, just looking at the color of this potion tells you how wrong it is..."

"It requires death to create, death to restore, and death to consume..."

William looked at his herbs with a pained expression and explained, "Let alone those of us seeking its hidden secrets, even the builders have to find a way to consume these potions the first time they use them. Even the slightest impurity will cause the initial ritual to fail..."

As they spoke, the potion had almost completely disappeared, and the contents of the basin finally surfaced.

It was a golden locket, and the potion protecting it had been used to destroy William's potion, allowing William to pick it up with ease.

He gave it a quick check, then carefully opened it with his wand.

It was an empty locket with a small piece of parchment where the portrait had been. William hesitated for a moment, then took it out of the air and let it unfold.

"Don't read it aloud. It might be some kind of mysterious curse that will take effect if you do!"

William offered a careful suggestion, then began to carefully examine the writing on the parchment.

To the Dark Lord;

I died 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 am willing to die so that you may be killed when you encounter an opponent.

r·a·b】

r·a·b?

It was a strange name, but William didn't care. What he was more concerned about was—the Horcrux?

Someone has discovered the secret of the Horcruxes, then came to this cave and took the Horcruxes?

Has the Dark Lord discovered it? How many Horcruxes does he have left? Were the Horcruxes he took destroyed?

Am I already dead, and did I steal it? Am I willing to die?

These contradictory statements left William completely bewildered; he simply couldn't understand it—"Petrify them all!" "Immediately imprison them!"

Sirius, excitedly drawing his wand, was about to do something when he was caught off guard by a combined spell cast by William and Moody, and was immobilized on the spot.

William rushed over, taking Sirius's wand from him and bandaging him up. He then quickly opened Sirius's eyes, examined his face and ears, and pricked his thumb to draw a little blood for testing.

Then, he forced Sirius to take another dose of the potion that had previously resisted control. After doing all this, William finally released Sirius from complete petrification, hoping that the extent of his injury was not too severe and was still within his control.

However, after being freed from his restraints, Sirius did nothing but stare intently at the piece of paper half-floating in the sky, his eyes filled with sorrow, his eyes reddening...

This scene made William, who was originally planning to ask questions to verify something, suddenly realize something was wrong.

Who is R·A·B?

Before Sirius could respond, Lupin's face showed surprise.

"It's him? Regulus? But isn't he a true Slytherin?"

Is Blake?

William didn't believe Sirius would care about the rest of the Slytherin, which meant this person was most likely his blood relative...

He quickly rummaged through his bag, and the list of Death Eaters that Lucius had personally verified was soon found. Sure enough, he was lying on the list of the second-generation Death Eaters. According to the information provided by Lucius, Regulus had died before Voldemort's downfall...

Can…

More questions arose, but William first untied Sirius's restraints—he complained almost nothing, took the locket, and then stared at the parchment, examining it carefully as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

Even though he had never met the Death Eater named Regulus, William couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow—his farewell letter to his enemies had been seen by his own family. The words, which sounded like a declaration of war, would certainly enrage the enemy, but they would also break his family's hearts.

"The Dark Lord... he didn't discover Regulus's betrayal. If he had truly searched this place, he certainly wouldn't have allowed such mocking words to exist..."

"But... the Horcrux was stolen, the mechanism was triggered... and he couldn't sense any of that? The Horcrux might even have been destroyed, and the Dark Lord didn't notice at all? Is he so weak that he can't sense anything because too much of his soul was cut out?"

"You know, in the parts Lucius confirmed for me, Regulus's defection and death were already confirmed, yet the Dark Lord actually..."

He looked at the basin, then at the lake he had frozen, the infernal corpse, the potion…

"What would happen if I drank that potion..."

Sirius, having temporarily suppressed his grief, asked William.

"Temporary amnesia, magic dissipation, and then... an insatiable thirst... but any water untouched by dark magic or tainted by death will dissipate..."

Looking at the frozen lake, William suddenly realized the final link in this despicable trap…

A wizard who has lost the ability to resist, when faced with those not-so-weak undead... there is probably only one outcome...

"Is he there?"

As soon as William's gaze shifted, Sirius immediately understood.

After a brief, rapid breath, she cried out, "I have to take him with me, Professor William, I have to take him with me..."

"it is good."

Although it was an incredibly difficult task, William nodded without hesitation.

Chapter 486 The Ones Who Go to Their Deaths

"Notice…"

William picked up his wand and waved it. The ice in the area his wand was pointing at began to slowly melt. The released infernals, still covered in lingering ice, prepared to swarm forward, but were forced back by the fire controlled by Lupin and Moody.

The undead in the lake fear fire and light, and even if the poison isn't processed the way he did, it can still find creatures to drink it. All these traps seem difficult at first glance, but when you think about them carefully, they become so ridiculous...

'So why was he so determined to face death...'