Chapter 135: The Diadem and the Problem
Chapter 135: The Diadem and the Problem
Helena averted her gaze, somewhat guiltily. "About fifty years ago, I was tricked by a student and told him where I had hidden the diadem."
Felix added, "From what I know, Voldemort—oh, that's the name he took later—was indeed skilled at manipulating people. More importantly, his ambitions were enormous, and he created more than one Horcrux."
As for how evil Voldemort was and what he had done in the magical world, it was not a significant concern for Rowena Ravenclaw.
He took the tattered diary from his ring and handed it to Rowena Ravenclaw.
She caressed the neat scorch marks on the diary. "Fiendfyre Curse, a very sophisticated Fiendfyre Curse." She didn't mention dark magic; in her time, Fiendfyre Curse was widely used due to its immense power and the counter-curse.
"I also detected traces of my magic..." Rowena Ravenclaw looked up at him.
Felix, moved by this, provided a crucial piece of information: "Voldemort is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and he inherited Slytherin's magical legacy."
"Is that so? I did share Memory Magic with Salazar..." Ravenclaw murmured.
At that moment, Felix had a sudden inspiration. He took out Lockhart's magical manuscript and tentatively said, "These manuscripts come from a professor who graduated from Ravenclaw House. He claimed to have inherited a secret tradition—"
Ravenclaw took the manuscript and casually flipped through it. "This is mine, though it has been copied. Who is this person? How did they manage to become a professor here? His annotations are riddled with egregious errors and delusions."
"He has already paid the price", Felix said briefly. He didn't want to waste time explaining what Lockhart had done, as the light emanating from Helena grew increasingly intense. "Do you remember where you stored these documents?" Felix asked.
Ravenclaw glanced at him. "I think they are in the common room bookshelf. I set up some secret magic to wait for future generations to discover them..."
At this, she waved the manuscript with a puzzled expression. "Is this really a student of Ravenclaw? My magic shouldn't have lasted so long, should it? But I set it to automatically draw on the magic that Hogwarts disperses..."
Felix thought to himself that when it came to discussing magic, this woman wasn't as intimidating as she seemed.
His gaze shifted to the diadem. "Rowena Ravenclaw, if you don't mind, I need to take it and find a way to destroy it."
"Use your Fiendfyre Curse?" Rowena Ravenclaw asked.
"It's very effective."
"But the diadem will be completely destroyed." Rowena Ravenclaw glanced disdainfully at the large hole in the diary, then thought for a moment. "Let me do it." She extended her hand, and the diadem floated to her. She examined it carefully for a moment before tossing it out.
In the pure white space, magic surged, forming a myriad of colorful lights. These lights gathered behind Rowena Ravenclaw, like a cloak of starlight.
"Go." Rowena Ravenclaw said, and the starlight surged like a tidal wave, forming an exaggerated magical vortex in the air that swallowed the diadem.
Within the vortex, a stream of ice-blue and a stream of bronze magic began to spiral and tear at the diadem. Wisps of black smoke seeped out of the diadem, only to be dispelled by the surrounding magic.
A shrill voice echoed, but Rowena Ravenclaw pointed a finger, and the sound vanished instantly.
"What is this?" Felix asked in surprise. If he wasn't mistaken, this brute method was—
"I borrowed the castle's magic to form a vortex, gradually drawing out and crushing the soul inside", Ravenclaw said calmly.
Felix: "..." So what if you have magic.
He tactfully said, "Won't this damage your diadem?" The diadem, capable of granting wisdom, piqued his interest, though his original plan was to resolve the Horcrux without harm first.
"It's already ruined. The evil soul has tainted all of the diadem's wisdom. I just don't want to damage its materials", Rowena Ravenclaw replied.
Felix watched the diadem in mid-air, continuously emitting black smoke, and remained silent.
Helena, who had been holding Rowena Ravenclaw's hand, said, "Felix, don't you have a lot of questions you don't know how to solve? Here's a master of magic." She winked at Felix and mouthed, 'No need to thank me.'
Ravenclaw smiled at the interaction between Helena and Felix, "Ask any questions you have. Time is running out." She glanced at Helena, whose light could no longer be concealed.
Once Helena was free, her mission would be complete.
After all, she was just a memory.
Rowena Ravenclaw held Helena's hand, trying to delay the process, and Helena gave her a beautiful smile.
With limited time, Felix didn't hesitate and quickly asked about what he was most concerned about—
"Rowena Ravenclaw, my first question is: What is memory?"
Ravenclaw looked at him, "You are your memories. Apart from the thin layer of 'now,' everything in our lives is memory."
Felix solemnly said, "So, whether it's a person, a soul, or an animal, the most important thing is memory?"
Ravenclaw neither confirmed nor denied, "How do you view 'now'? Is it the result of the past or the beginning of the future?"
This question left Felix a bit puzzled. He wanted to ask about magic, not philosophy.
He expressed his thoughts, "From my perspective, 'now' is something I can absolutely control. It is my power, the manifestation of my will. Or simply put, 'now' is 'choice.'"
The past cannot be reclaimed, and the future is yet to come, but the key to everything is grasping 'now.'
Ravenclaw nodded with a smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Felix waited a moment, and when she didn't speak, he straightforwardly asked about what he was most concerned about, "Lady, I want to inject a fabricated memory into my Patronus, but there is a severe conflict between the two. Additionally, I want to transfer part of my consciousness to my Patronus..."
He waved his wand, and his Patronus flew out.
Rowena Ravenclaw smiled and waved her hand, letting the silver Swift land on her palm.
Felix relinquished control of the Patronus, knowing that Rowena Ravenclaw was about to demonstrate.
Her fingers brushed over its feathers, and the Swift chirped.
"You need to extract the memory correctly", she explained patiently. "Imagine you're catching a specific bird from a birdhouse full of birds. It seems difficult, but if each bird has a string tied to its leg, you can easily achieve this by pulling the string from outside the birdhouse."
(End of Chapter)
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