HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

It's practically an abandoned warehouse of a secondhand store, recording the "glorious achievements" of Hogwarts students throughout history.

The number of dilapidated tables, chairs, and benches was astonishing; some were engraved with family crests that no longer existed, while others bore scorch marks or deep cuts.

As he walked behind a pile of overturned bookshelves, a dusty black cabinet caught his eye.

The cabinet door was ajar, and its style was old-fashioned.

Sargeras approached and examined closely the magical patterns carved on its edges and its internal structure.

"A vanishing cabinet..."

He recognized it; it was the kind that came in pairs.

He examined the magic circuits inside the cabinet and found that most of them were either malfunctioning or disordered, but the core teleportation magic seemed to still be there, only it had lost the coordinates of its paired object.

This is a dangerous yet interesting discovery.

Besides these, there were many other odds and ends: rusty swords and shields, out-of-tune music boxes, tapestry fragments that moved on their own, a large number of empty magic potions, and even several metal skeletons that looked like failed alchemical creations...

Sargeras did not rush to explore deeper, nor did he attempt to immediately conduct a large-scale magical search.

He was more like conducting preliminary "field research," squatting down to study anything interesting he saw.

Just as he rounded a pile of crooked armor and his gaze swept over a small hill made of dilapidated astronomical instruments and withered magical plant specimens, a glimmer of light, so different from the surrounding drab and chaotic grayness, caught his attention.

It was a box.

It was half-hidden under a faded Hufflepuff badger emblem tapestry, with only a corner showing.

Sagres waved his wand gently, and an invisible force moved the tapestry and surrounding clutter aside.

A beautifully crafted wooden box, about a foot long and half a foot wide, was revealed.

Its wood is deep, presenting a dark reddish-brown color that has been mellowed by time. The surface is polished to an extremely smooth finish, and the edges are wrapped with brass corner protectors that have faded but are still exquisite. A small piece of finely carved ivory is also inlaid in the center of the lid.

The box itself is like a work of art that should be treasured in a museum or an old family study, completely out of place in the surrounding dilapidated "junkyard" environment.

Sagres crouched down, not daring to touch it rashly.

He first scanned the area with several detection spells, but found no common curses or curses.

He reached out his gloved hand and carefully opened the box.

The brass hinge made a dry creaking sound.

The lining inside the box was faded dark blue velvet, which had lost most of its luster, and in some places it was even riddled with small holes by insects.

In the center of the velvet, a book was placed neatly.

The gold lettering on the spine is still clearly visible: "Standard Spells".

Sagles raised an eyebrow.

The contrast is quite interesting.

Such an exquisite and obviously valuable old box contained nothing more than an ordinary Hogwarts Charms textbook.

This book looks quite old; the cover is worn at the corners and the pages are yellowed, but it is well preserved and has clearly been carefully collected.

He gently took the book out of the box.

The book is not heavy, and the paper is dry.

He quickly flipped through the notes and found several notes made with different inks. One of them had neat and even somewhat restrained handwriting, and mostly contained reminders about pronunciation points and gesture corrections. It looked like it was left by a diligent but average-talented first-year student.

He smiled because he noticed that one of the characters was his own.

Turning back to the title page, he found his name there, next to which was "Samdron" written in red ink, but then crossed out in black ink.

Sagres closed the book and examined the empty box again carefully.

There was nothing unusual about the internal lining, and there were no engravings or hidden patterns on the bottom and inside of the lid.

Aside from its exquisite materials and antiquity, the box seems to be nothing more than a box.

"I never expected you would choose to hide it..."

Sagres muttered to himself as he put the book back in the box, but did not close the lid.

Chapter 501 Many years later...

Sagres stood up and turned his gaze back to the boundless ocean of debris.

If Voldemort really hid his Horcruxes here, he wouldn't have kept them so carefully and prominently displayed like that textbook.

It is more likely to be disguised and hidden in some inconspicuous corner of this garbage mountain.

Sagres continued on, and just as he rounded a small hill made of broken Quidditch goalposts and old brooms, and approached a scratched old bookshelf, the halo at the tip of his wand suddenly rippled slightly.

Sagres went around to the side of the bookshelf.

The tall bookcase was leaning precariously against a pile of discarded crucibles, its doors half-open and its interior crammed with all sorts of junk.

At the top of the bookcase, near the corner, beneath a pile of dust that has accumulated for decades, there is a vaguely irregular protrusion.

He gently waved his wand, using a soft breeze to brush away the dust from the top of the bookshelf.

More of the accumulated grime was revealed, and the protrusion was buried even deeper, with only a faint metallic edge showing, its shape blurred.

Instead of touching it directly with his hand, Sagres raised his wand, aimed it at the small area, and whispered, "Clean it up."

A gentle stream of magical light swept by.

The hardened dust was absorbed as if by an invisible sponge, quickly dissipating and revealing the true appearance of the items underneath.

That was a crown.

It lay quietly in the corner at the top of the bookcase, like an old object carelessly discarded by its owner.

The crown is made of a material that resembles silver but is not silver. Its design is simple yet elegant, with an overall openwork floral and leaf pattern and a sapphire the size of an egg set in the center.

The gemstone itself had been covered in dust for a long time, but now that the dust had been cleared, it faintly shone with a restrained brilliance even in the dim light.

The crown has some wear and minor scratches on the edges, but its surface reveals a serene and profound quality that represents wisdom and pursuit.

But beneath this aura lies a completely different, icy magic.

This magic, like a poisonous vine parasitizing an ancient tree, entangled the crown's magical core, twisting and defiling it.

"Ravenclaw's crown..."

Sagras confirmed softly, his eyes sharp, "It's here after all. And as expected, it's been turned into a Horcrux."

He extended his wand, the tip gleaming with a soft silver light, like a miniature cage carefully enveloping the crown.

The dark magic on the crown stirred slightly, but it was quickly forced to subside under the powerful suppression of Sargeras's magic.

He used this magic to lift the crown, making it float in front of him, and examined it carefully.

Deep within the gemstone, an extremely faint, distorted figure flashed by.

Sagles expressionlessly put the crown into his arms.

Another Horcrux has been acquired, and it is an important relic that embodies the hard work of the founder of Hogwarts.

Sagres carefully put it away, then looked around again. The House of Requirement was still vast and boundless, piled high with clutter.

The discovery of the crown confirms the danger and preciousness of this place, but it also means that there may be more secrets buried here.

Did Voldemort only hide this one item?

Is it possible that the belongings of the other founders ended up here?

Are there other items of great historical or magical value hidden among those mountains of clutter?

Sagles did not leave immediately.

He decided to systematically label and initially classify the room.

Before leaving, he wanted to make sure that the entrance mechanism and general layout of the room were fully recorded, and to set up some hidden monitoring magic to prevent any accidents before his next visit.

Standing halfway up the mountain of miscellaneous items, he surveyed the astonishing layers of magical history deposited there, a slight smile playing on his lips.

“A true treasure trove…not just for finding Horcruxes.”

Sagles's eyes gleamed with excitement. "The 'forgotten' and 'hidden' side of Hogwarts... is very interesting."

……

Many years later, one morning, the Hogwarts Express whistle echoed through the mountains, but unlike before when it only went to King's Cross Station in London, today the train had more gleaming carriages, and colorful magical sparks mingled with the steam.

It is no longer heading towards a single destination, but rather, through the newly established international magic rail network, to several renowned magic schools around the world for a multi-week study tour and exchange program.

The platform was bustling with activity as students from different colleges boarded the train in an orderly fashion under the guidance of their professors, filled with excitement and curiosity.

The air was filled with farewells, the clatter of suitcases, and whispers of anticipation for the unknown journey ahead.

In a relatively quiet connecting area between carriages, two adults who appeared to be professors were having a seemingly gentle but actually uncompromising discussion in hushed tones.

One of them is Hermione Granger.

Time has shed some of her youthful impetuosity and added a touch of composure to her, but her brown eyes remain bright and sharp, and she is now slightly frowning.

She wore a well-fitting wizard's robe, with a badge pinned to her chest that symbolized the "Principles and Innovation of Spells" teaching and research group.

“Mr. Stinfallis, I must emphasize again,”

Hermione's voice was clear and firm, with her characteristic tone, "In the current overall planning of basic courses for grades one through three, the time allotted for Charms Theory is based on solid data analysis."

She argued logically, "Only by understanding the fundamental laws of magical flow and the universal principles of spell structure can students cast spells safely and efficiently, laying a solid foundation for any future specialization they may choose. The era of rote memorization of spells and blind practice is over."

Standing opposite her was a male wizard who looked much younger than her, with a face that even looked somewhat childish.

Stinfalis was trying to straighten his back to appear more authoritative, but his youthful face was rather jarring.

“Professor Granger, I fully respect your and the teaching group’s opinion,”

Stinfalis spoke quickly, his words tinged with youthful enthusiasm and a hint of defiance, “But you can’t deny the importance of practice! Especially in the field of defense against the Dark Arts!”

His voice was rather loud, causing several young wizards dressed in Muggle clothes to turn around frequently.

But Stinfallis didn't care and continued excitedly, "Even under the cover of the magic network, understanding the characteristics of dark creatures, recognizing the signs of curses, and practicing the immediate reactions of defensive spells all require a lot of real classroom time and simulation training! We can't put all our eggs in one basket. What if... what if we encounter an emergency situation where the principles cannot be explained immediately?"

"The principle is precisely to provide analytical tools and create possibilities for situations that cannot be immediately explained!"