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Chapter 919: The Note in the Pendant Box, and Voldemort's Fury
Chapter 919: The Note in the Pendant Box, and Voldemort's Fury
Not long after Professor McGonagall's departure, the entire Hogwarts came to life.
Even though it was already night, all the professors rushed over from all directions at the fastest speed possible.
"Oh... Minerva..." Professor Slughorn hurried downstairs, his heavy footsteps and panting breaths accompanying him as he approached Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva... could you please explain why you've summoned the students at this late hour?"
"It's for their safety," Professor McGonagall replied.
"Safety... I see," Professor Slughorn said, stroking his exquisite silk pajamas and looking around. "Does Severus know about this? I don't see him here."
"This is a minor matter; we needn't bother our headmaster with it," Professor McGonagall said.
Whether intentionally or not, the silvery tabby Patronus managed to enter every professor's office except for the most crucial one—the Headmaster's Office.
"I apologize for waking everyone up," Professor McGonagall said, holding her wand. "I believe the one whose name we dare not speak might be approaching, and before he arrives, we must ensure that all students are safely escorted out of the castle."
Professor Sprout gasped and involuntarily took two steps back, almost stumbling.
"Sorry, Filius," she quickly added.
Professor Flitwick rubbed his shoulder; he was just as shocked by Professor McGonagall's news and completely unaware of the movements around him, or he would have dodged it.
However, Professor Flitwick didn't seem to mind.
"What should we do?" he asked in a high-pitched voice. "You're certain, aren't you, that no matter what we do, we can't keep the Dark Lord from entering?"
"That was true before," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes flashing. "But Kyle just brought us good news—that person is injured."
"Injured?" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "Are you sure?"
"Of course, Professor," Kyle said, approaching from a short distance away.
"I'm not questioning your word," Professor Flitwick said, steadying himself. "But this news is so astonishing; could you elaborate?"
"As far as I know, it's been about three times," Kyle said after a moment's thought.
"The first time was several months ago when the Death Eaters attacked the Ministry of Magic. The Dark Lord and Professor Dumbledore engaged in a fierce battle abroad, and he managed to steal Professor Dumbledore's wand but at a great cost."
"Then, in Godric's Hollow, I witnessed the Dark Lord's body being scorched by Professor Dumbledore's magic."
"Still, the same side of his body was soon burned again by a Blasting Curse."
With each sentence Kyle spoke, the surrounding professors gasped, their breaths hissing.
This was mainly because they spent most of their time within the Hogwarts castle, and their sources of information were limited to the Daily Prophet and conversations with colleagues. Until now, they had been unaware of these secrets, especially the latter two.
"Was Professor Dumbledore also in Godric's Hollow?" Professor Sprout asked, perplexed. "I never heard him mention it, and what's this about a Blasting Curse?"
Professor McGonagall knew more than them, but some details remained unclear.
After listening to Kyle's description, she pondered for a moment and said, "It should be a Weather Charm."
"What?"
"In Godric's Hollow," she explained, "Albus likely used a Weather Charm, combined with magical runes, to create a lightning strike. It's his specialty.
"Remember the group of thieves who broke into Hogwarts thirty years ago? They were captured by these seemingly spontaneous lightning strikes, instantly disabling over twenty wizards."
"Oh, I recall it now," Professor Flitwick said. "I had just joined Hogwarts then, and I was in awe of his skill."
"It was incredibly powerful," Kyle agreed. "The Dark Lord struggled to walk properly afterward.
"And with the subsequent Blasting Curse, I dare say the Dark Lord's current condition must be dire. He didn't even dare to show himself during the Death Eaters' attack on the Ministry, even though Professor Dumbledore is now deceased."
As they listened to Kyle, the professors fell into deep thought. Indeed, if this was the case, it presented the best opportunity to eliminate the Dark Lord.
"But, Kyle..." Professor Slughorn, finally catching his breath, said, "If that's the situation, why would the one whose name we dare not speak come to Hogwarts? He should know it's even more dangerous than the Ministry."
"If I were him, I'd find a place to hide," Kyle said. "After all, Professor Dumbledore is gone... Hey, don't look at me like that; I'm just stating a fact."
Professor Slughorn, noticing the professors' stares, quickly explained, "I mean, with his greatest rival gone, there's no need to rush to deal with Hogwarts."
"In theory, you're correct," Kyle smiled. "But I have a reason why he must come."
"What is it?"
"This." Kyle produced the Ravenclaw Diadem. "Professor Slughorn, you should be familiar with Horcruxes, right?"
Professor Slughorn's face paled, and he unconsciously took two steps back, stammering, "I've... I've heard of them."
He was well aware, and it was his teachings that had enabled Tom Riddle to learn how to create Horcruxes.
To conceal this fact and avoid being eliminated by Voldemort, he had even altered his own memories and gone into hiding.
Could it be...
Professor Slughorn couldn't help but look up at the Diadem, and in the next moment, he heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
Fortunately, there wasn't a single trace of a Horcrux on it.
"I never expected that the mysterious wizard in the newspaper would be you." Slughorn regained his confidence, "Do you think the Dark Lord wants the Crown and plans to make it into a Horcrux?"
Seeing the pretentious Slughorn, Kyle didn't expose his intentions, but simply shook his head and said, "He did have that idea, and he's already done it. Over a decade ago, he turned the Crown into one of his Horcruxes."
"That's impossible!" Slughorn exclaimed, "Horcruxes aren't like that."
"That's because the soul fragment inside has been cleaned out," Kyle said, looking at him and smiling, "Mr. Niccolo's craftsmanship is quite something, right? It looks as good as new."
The Crown radiated a dazzling light, just like the eyes of the professors.
Although they knew that a fragment of Rowena Ravenclaw's memory had been preserved, they were still excited when they saw the Crown.
The Heads of Houses, like McGonagall and Sprout, were a bit better off, as they had learned a lot of inside information from Dumbledore in advance.
But it was different for the professors of ordinary subjects. Ever since Kyle took out the Crown, their eyes hadn't moved an inch.
"Niccolo..." Slughorn clutched his chest, feeling that Kyle seemed to know something.
"A cleaned Horcrux shouldn't be enough to fool the Dark Lord." He changed the subject, "Even if he takes it back, it's useless."
"But the Dark Lord doesn't know that it's been cleaned," Kyle shrugged, "You must know that soul fragments are independent of each other, and can only be sensed when they are close enough."
"And when we cleaned the Crown, the Dark Lord hadn't been resurrected yet. He couldn't have known that one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed."
"Ah, yes, that's right." Slughorn stammered, "I'll go call the Slytherin students now."
He hurried away, as if afraid that Kyle would reveal some of his past foolishness in the next second.
"When did Horace become so enthusiastic?" Professor McGonagall said, "Well, I suggest we gather the students together as well and meet in the Great Hall.
"Most students must be evacuated, but if there are adult students who are willing to stay and fight, I think we should give them the chance."
"Agreed," Professor Sprout had already started walking towards the door, muttering, "Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, Mandrakes..."
Professor Flitwick followed behind her, his steps heavy, but with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
"An injured Dark Lord, perhaps this time we can really win." He muttered to himself, unable to resist glancing back at the Crown in Kyle's hand.
As the Head of Ravenclaw, he knew more than the other professors. He had thought that Dumbledore would lock the Crown in the Headmaster's Office, but he never expected that he would give it to Kyle.
Or perhaps it was Ravenclaw's decision... after all, she was somewhere in the castle.
It was just unknown whether she would help this time.
After all, it was Ravenclaw, the smartest witch in history, one of the founders of Hogwarts, and countless honors were bestowed upon her... At this thought, Voldemort and the Death Eaters suddenly didn't seem so terrifying.
"Oh, no, we can't put our hopes on a wizard from a thousand years ago." Professor Flitwick shook his head and quickened his pace.
Soon, only Kyle and Professor McGonagall remained.
"I still need to confirm this," Professor McGonagall said, "Would the Dark Lord really come to Hogwarts for a Horcrux, dragging his injured body?"
"Maybe not for one, but what about many?" Kyle said, "We have more than just the Crown here, he will definitely come."
"When?"
"I don't know," Kyle said, "It depends on when he discovers that his Horcruxes are gone. I left him clues, and he should be able to realize it."
...
"Oh!"
Meanwhile, in a room at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Harry suddenly woke up from his sleep, his nightclothes drenched in sweat, even his hair was wet.
But he didn't pay attention to this. As soon as he sat up, he couldn't help but cover his forehead scar with his hand.
"Bang!"
The door was pushed open from the outside.
Sirius rushed in anxiously from outside, "I just heard your shout, what happened?"
He held his wand, cautiously examining the surroundings, not daring to let his guard down even though he knew it was safe.
"No, nothing, it's just... I just dreamed of Voldemort."
"What did you say?"
"I dreamed of Voldemort." Harry rubbed his forehead, feeling the burning scar as if a knife had been stabbed there.
Since learning Occlumency, he hadn't felt this way in a long time.
"You, what did you dream about?" Sirius asked, frowning.
"No, he was very angry." Harry covered his forehead, trying hard to recall the dream.
He saw Voldemort leaving Knockturn Alley, going to Gringotts, and killing many goblins there.
Then the scene seemed to flash, and Voldemort appeared in a cave, sitting in a sinister little boat, swiftly gliding across the pitch-black lake...
After that, he woke up.
"Listen to me, Harry." Sirius put his hand on his shoulder, "Whatever he wants to do, it doesn't matter.
Harry was taken aback. "Why do you say that?"
"Because we've received word that he's likely planning an attack on Hogwarts," Sirius said quickly.
"Oh no, Hermione and Ron are still at school."
"Then we must leave immediately," Sirius said. "Hurry up, Remus is waiting, and we're off."
"Okay!" Harry replied without hesitation.
He jumped out of bed, and before he could steady himself, a surge of anger and pain shot through his head, as if his skull were about to split open.
In that moment, he looked down and saw a pale, withered hand—Voldemort's hand, clutching an open pendant box with a piece of paper inside.
Harry tried to make out the writing on the paper but couldn't, as the burning scar on his forehead kept distracting him. He could barely make out what seemed to be three letters on the paper.
R.A.B.
"Harry, Harry... Are you alright?" a voice asked, and Harry snapped back to reality, finding himself sitting on the floor with Sirius pulling him up by the arm.
"You scared me for a moment there. Did you see him again?"
"Yes," Harry nodded, then asked instinctively, "Sirius, do you know what R.A.B. stands for?"
"R.A.B.?" Sirius shook his head. "It sounds like an abbreviation for a name. In fact, it's my brother Regulus's initials, but you probably don't know him, right?"
"No," Harry thought for a moment, realizing he didn't know the name Regulus.
"What did you see just now?"
"A cave, Voldemort was inside, and he had a pendant box. That's where I saw those letters."
Harry didn't notice that as he mentioned the cave and the pendant box, Sirius began to tremble, and his eyes were misty.
"Can you... describe it in more detail?" he asked cautiously. "What was the cave like...?"
"It was dark," Harry replied, not understanding why his godfather was so interested in the cave. "There was a pitch-black lake in the middle, with a stone basin. That's where Voldemort took the pendant box from."
"Haha, hahaha!"
Sirius suddenly burst into laughter, startling Harry.
His laughter grew louder, even drawing Lupin's attention from outside.
"Sirius, what's going on?"
Sirius didn't answer him but turned to Harry. "What was Voldemort's reaction when he saw the pendant box?"
"He was furious," Harry said. "I saw him destroy the entire cave, and the falling debris filled the black lake."
"Wait, you said you saw..." Lupin stared at Harry. "Did you pry into the Dark Lord's thoughts again? Dumbledore should have told you, it's dangerous. What you saw might have been what he wanted you to see."
"I know, but I think this time it was real," Harry said, pointing to his forehead. "Only when Voldemort is truly angry does my scar hurt. Just now, I felt like my head was about to split open."
"Hahaha, wonderful, hah!" Sirius's laughter interrupted their conversation.
Wonderful? Harry's mouth twitched.
What did he mean by that? Was it a good thing that he almost split open, and it made Sirius so happy?
And as he laughed, he muttered, "Regulus, you did it. He saw what you left behind and flew into a rage. That was your intention, wasn't it?"
Sirius, of course, knew about the cave. A few years ago, with Dumbledore and Kyle's help, he had brought Regulus back from there.
He also knew that the Horcrux stored in the cave was a fake, and the real one had been taken by Regulus long ago and was likely in Kyle's possession by now.
And according to Harry, Regulus had left a note in the fake one to taunt Voldemort.
Voldemort's expression upon seeing the note must have been priceless.
"Lupin, what's with Sirius?" Harry asked quietly.
He felt his godfather had suddenly become a bit neurotic. Could it be that the cave held some special significance?
"I don't know," Lupin shook his head.
The matter of Regulus was a secret, more or less. To prevent Voldemort from finding out about the destruction of his Horcrux too soon, Sirius had been holding back from revealing the truth.
He hadn't even told Lupin or Harry.
But now, it seemed, there was no need for secrecy.
Sirius waved his wand vigorously, his expression one of relief, as if he had wanted to do this for a long time.
A clicking sound came from outside, as if something had fallen.
Harry and Lupin rushed out and found a new portrait in the entrance hall, next to Phineas, even larger than the headmaster's portrait.
The portrait depicted a young man who bore a slight resemblance to Sirius, but his expression was more serious, or perhaps gloomy, than Sirius's.
Harry could tell at a glance that he was a Slytherin, as most Slytherins had such expressions.
"Sirius, who is he...?"
"Regulus Black," Sirius said. "The R.A.B. you saw stands for Regulus Arcturus Black, and he's the one who left that note."
"Him?" Harry exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," Sirius wiped the corner of his eye, a sense of relief in his demeanor. "Let's go to Hogwarts first, and I'll tell you everything later."
...
(End of Chapter)
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