Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle

"He used improper means to obtain several treasures, including Hufflepuff's gold cup and Slytherin's locket. Based on this, I speculated that the mysterious Ravenclaw Diadem might have fallen into his hands as well, but I have never had any evidence.

"I have been searching for them for years, but only today have I made any substantial progress...

"Melvin, you deserve the gratitude of all the teachers and students at Hogwarts."

"..."

The principal also tells the current story in the same detailed and appropriate way.

Based on the analysis of the two clues from the house elves and the innocent people, the headmaster should have been talking about something that happened shortly after Voldemort graduated. At that time, Voldemort worked as a clerk in Borgin and Burke's. He accidentally learned that Hepzibah Smith, a descendant of Hufflepuff, was pregnant with two of the founder's relics. He poisoned her and put the blame on the Smith's elf, and took away Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's gold cup.

Melvin gave a noncommittal smile, pretending to know nothing about Horcruxes. "I don't know if you've noticed, Headmaster, but this tiara seems to have been tainted by dark magic."

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I previously thought the dark wizard simply wanted to collect these treasures as souvenirs, but now it seems he has transformed them with sinister black magic. However, I'm not sure exactly what has happened yet. I will conduct some preliminary research later, hoping to reverse the black magic and restore them. It would be even better if I could find clues that connect them to the other artifacts."

"Is it convenient to watch?"

"not very convenient."

"OK then."

Melvin was not disappointed. Even if he completely gained the headmaster's trust tonight, the headmaster would not refuse if there was anything he needed to do in the future, such as conscript men or get legendary wizards to support him, as long as it did not involve Voldemort and Horcruxes.

"..."

Dumbledore said goodbye and left, and the Room of Requirement suddenly became quiet.

Melvin stood beneath the knight's armor, his long shadow covering half of his shoulder. He looked thoughtfully at the circle of marks left by the crown, wondering what else was missing from the Room of Requirement.

Trivial debris piled up like a mountain. Most of the magical items stored here had faded under the erosion of time, their magic dissipated, and no longer had any magical effects. Perhaps some items that were nearly a hundred years old could still be used after simple repairs, but it was difficult to determine where they were hidden. Digging through them was a huge project, a thankless task.

If the crown remains here, in about six or seven years, a fierce fire will burn everything.

Melvin's eyes reflected the nearby objects: the towering, dull metal armor, the crucible covered in green copper rust, and the cabinet in the corner covered with cobwebs and dust.

"This looks like a vanishing cabinet."

A figure suddenly flashed through Melvin's mind. If he was looking for inferior black magic props with weakened power and a frightening element, wouldn't there be a store in Knockturn Alley?

Others have been well-known stores for decades.

……

The inner room of the principal's office.

The sleepy phoenix lay on the gilded branch, its eyes half-open and half-closed, its eyelids drooping limply.

Fox glanced at the principal's expression, then glanced at the crown. That thing gave him a bad feeling.

Fox stretched out his claws and quietly moved to the side, climbed over the perch, climbed up the shelf, and came to the Sorting Hat. He buried his head and arched it into it, his wings folded up, and the bright red feathers were put away, leaving only two black eyes peeking out from the crack.

The tattered cloth hat shook a few times, unwilling to be used as a bird's nest, but there was nothing it could do.

In the center of the room, the crown was suspended in mid-air by a levitation spell.

Dumbledore analyzed it using the 197 detection methods he knew, and used alchemy combined with the magic of legendary wizards to create a double layer of protection. He blocked the crown and his own mind at the same time, and soon his perception penetrated into the blue gem.

"..."

The founder's relics have been passed down for thousands of years, and they are still full of magic power. The blue magic power is not strong, but sensing and touching the magic power brings wonderful feedback, as if the mind is clearer and the will is stronger.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, taking it in.

This feeling is like returning to the most energetic time in youth, full of curiosity about everything in the world, with enough physical and mental strength to learn complex and obscure knowledge, and explore magical realms that no one has ever reached before.

It seemed to confirm the rumor: Ravenclaw's wisdom lies in her crown.

But now it is not only a gift from Ravenclaw, but also mixed with Tom Riddle's evil dark magic.

What on earth had he done with these treasures?

Dumbledore searched, cautiously extending his senses deeper into the sapphire.

At this moment, a strange magical power suddenly appeared, accompanied by a slight buzzing sound, and the sapphire emitted a faint crystal light.

A dark blue and black light rose from the gem. The space became hazy, and the light and shadow floating in the air began to change and distort, as if it were soft, shapeless smoke, or some kind of viscous liquid. It changed from a blue and black light to some kind of gray substance, forming a shadowy shape.

After about half a minute, a bird with a vague outline quietly emerged. It had neat and smooth feathers, a slightly curved beak, and hollow eyes with a red glow. It had the characteristics of a bird, but its specific species could not be seen.

Dumbledore watched the gray shadow change silently, gazing into its disembodied eyes.

I inexplicably recalled Melvin's question not long ago. The symbol of Ravenclaw is an eagle, but now it has been distorted into a raven.

The bird's beak opened and closed, and a heavy, hoarse voice echoed in the office late at night: "Is this... Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"you are?"

"The current headmaster is Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore's expression was unclear and his voice was calm.

"..."

"Now it's my turn to ask, who are you, or what are you?"

"I am the raven that dwells in the crown. I carry the wisdom of Ravenclaw." The gray shadow raven's beak opened and closed, its eyes slightly narrowed. A strange red light seemed to penetrate his mind, but it only encountered an empty void. The gray shadow quickly lowered its head. "Place the crown on your head. With just a little bit of magic, I can bring you extraordinary wisdom."

"I am over a hundred years old, and the long years have long made me lose my thirst for knowledge."

"..."

The gray shadow remained silent, staring at the curve of the man's mouth with the strange red light, always feeling that there was a mockery of him hidden in that smile.

It was the same smile fifty years ago, and it was still the same smile fifty years later, with a condescending and defensive look, as if it had seen through his thoughts. It was really disgusting!

"but……"

Dumbledore suddenly spoke, raising his voice slightly and speaking slowly, as if deliberately teasing people: "I've been very interested in the world of the dead lately. That's what happens when people get old: they cling to life and fear death...

"If I could understand more about death, it would probably eliminate the fear in my heart. The wise Ms. Ravenclaw should have done some research on this. Do you know any information about this research?"

The red light in the gray shadow's eyes suddenly became brighter: "Of course, of course!"

Chapter 27: A Bad Impact on Borgin and Burke

It is normal to fear death.

No matter how great the ambitions were in youth, no matter how brilliant the achievements were, whether it was King Arthur or Merlin, no matter how they said in their youth that death was another great adventure, a wizard is just a wizard, not a god.

As one approaches old age, the body gradually becomes old, the mind begins to feel dizzy, and one realizes that death is approaching. Even the wisest person will become panic-stricken, and anyone will toss and turn in bed when they hear the footsteps of death at night.

The man standing in the headmaster's office right now, afraid of death, was Dumbledore.

At a certain moment, Gray Shadow Raven suddenly felt that the legendary wizard in front of him was not so powerful.

He was only surprised for a moment, then quickly accepted this statement.

Because as early as the night he stepped into the Hogwarts entrance hall sixty years ago, he had already experienced this fear. He was more far-sighted and wiser than Dumbledore. He did not squander his talent or waste his time. Since his student days, he has devoted all his energy to finding a way to defeat death, and he has achieved it.

"Ms. Ravenclaw became seriously ill in her later years. Even the most outstanding healers could not relieve her pain, so she gave up the idea of ​​healing and began to search for magic that could transcend life and death..."

Gray Shadow Raven explained very actively, even a little chattering.

Dumbledore listened quietly.

"As Ravenclaw said, wisdom is the most precious treasure. Her wisdom quickly penetrated the mysteries of life and soul and discovered the path to eternal life..."

Gray Shadow spoke in a hoarse voice, observing Dumbledore as he spoke.

Although he had seen through the old wizard's thoughts, he had no intention of winning him over and controlling him.

The gray shadow only wanted to manipulate his fears and desires to achieve his goals, and then before killing him, enjoy the desperate expression on this old face when he faced the killing curse, and mock him to his heart's content.

"Really?" Dumbledore said calmly, his expression indifferent. There was no sign of belief or doubt on his face. "Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw was extremely intelligent, but if I remember correctly, she eventually died of a serious illness. It seems that she never set foot in the realm of life and death."

Gray Shadow was somewhat displeased by the calmness of the old principal with white beard:

"That was due to a family tragedy. The diadem was the key to prolonging life. Rowena almost saved herself, but her daughter Helena Ravenclaw stole the diadem out of greed, causing everything to change."

"According to you, the diadem was stolen. How did it return to Hogwarts and be hidden in the Room of Requirement?"

"..."

This old guy still looked so disgusting even when he was dying. He was obviously afraid of death in his heart, but he pretended to be so calm on the surface. It was really disgusting!

He should plead with himself in an ugly manner for the hope of immortality.

"I don't know either. No one has communicated with me for a long time. I'm just a crown." The continuous questioning made Gray Shadow Raven impatient. He tried hard to control the bloodshot in his eyes.

Thousands of years ago, the other founders left Hogwarts one after another. The young Helena longed for her mother Ravenclaw's wisdom, and foolishly believed that her wisdom came from the diadem. Taking advantage of Ravenclaw's serious illness and negligence, she stole the diadem, fled from Hogwarts, and was finally captured in the Albanian forest.

The wizard Barrow was originally Helena's admirer, but he accidentally killed Helena during the pursuit.

Both of them returned to school as ghosts, namely Gray, the ghost that lingered in Ravenclaw Tower, and Bloody Baron, the ghost in Slytherin Dungeon.

For thousands of years, the sapphire tiara lay hidden in a hollow tree in the Albanian forest.

Gray Shadow accidentally learned of Ms. Grey's identity while attending Hogwarts, and then approached her in disguise, and got the whereabouts of the tiara from Helena's ghost. After finding the tiara, he randomly killed a local resident and made the fifth Horcrux.

In a sense, he did not deceive Dumbledore, the secret of immortality was inside the crown.

"..."

Dumbledore was silent.

After taking over as headmaster, he learned many secrets from Headmaster Dippet and the portraits of previous headmasters, including the identities of Ms. Grey and the Bloody Baron. They had communicated before, but the conversations were superficial and never touched upon the truth of the millennium-old events.

On the one hand, this is someone else's private secret after all, and it is not convenient for him to ask too much.

On the other hand, he thought that Ravenclaw's relics had not been left at Hogwarts, just like Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket.

Over the past thousand years, the world has changed, and no one can tell where these objects have ended up. Perhaps they are placed in the attic cabinet of an old witch, or left in the window of an unsigned shop in Knockturn Alley.

Combining his understanding of Voldemort with the Gray Shadow's words, Dumbledore quickly pieced together the truth of the matter in his mind, and by the way, deduced the time when Voldemort hid the crown -

That was the night Voldemort returned to school to apply for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Tom Riddle was still very young at that time and had never encountered any setbacks. He gathered a group of dark wizards to serve him. He was very proud and arrogant and did not know how to hide his thoughts.

The crown transformation was also made at that time.

Dumbledore gave the phantom raven a penetrating look.

"..."