Destroying the Diadem

Chapter 134: Destroying the Diadem

Filch's ominous voice echoed, "Either you work, or you're expelled. You can choose."

The sound came from an empty room.

Through the slightly ajar door, Wade saw Malfoy glaring angrily at Filch. After a tense standoff, Malfoy finally picked up a rag and started wiping the innumerable candlesticks on the shelves.

Filch continued to grumble beside him, "If you ask me, Dumbledore's too soft. For rule-breaking brats like you, he should string you up and give you a good lashing…"

Wade walked through the dim corridor and left.

...

Saturday arrived quickly.

Wade had already contacted Lupin in advance. In the morning, while the other students were still asleep, he brought Michael to the Room of Requirement.

Soon after, Theo and Ryan arrived.

Then Zoe.

Michael and the others were very surprised to see a House-elf there and couldn't stop looking at her.

Zoe nervously kneaded her tea towel, bowing to everyone.

"If you're ready, let's go," Wade said, opening the cabinet door. "Who's first?"

"I'll go!" Michael was the first to step inside.

Then Theo, then Ryan.

Wade stayed behind. He crouched down and said to the elf, "Zoe, wait for me to message you, then open the cabinet door, okay?"

The Vanishing Cabinet didn't require an extra spell; closing the door would activate the teleportation.

But to get out, someone had to open the cabinet door from the outside. People inside couldn't open it from within.

So, the prerequisite for using this cabinet was that there had to be a reliable person waiting at the destination to open the cabinet door when needed.

Zoe nodded and said in a soft voice, "Wade Gray, don't worry, Zoe will definitely complete the task."

Wade smiled and patted her head.

"You don't have to stay here guarding it. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be back before curfew. When that time comes, I'll send you a message in the Book of Friends beforehand."

"Okay," Zoe nodded.

Wade also stepped into the cabinet and closed the door. Darkness enveloped him.

Almost the next second, the cabinet door opened again, and Lupin was outside, smiling at him.

"Unbelievable!" Michael said. "We just left the school so easily."

"Where are we?" Ryan asked, looking around in confusion.

"We're still in the Scottish Highlands, two mountains away from Hogwarts."

Lupin said to Wade, "As you requested, there are no Wizards, no Muggles, and almost no vegetation or animals nearby."

Wade also looked around and nodded slightly.

It was a lonely and rugged barren mountain, covered in broken rocks, with only a little moss and weeds on the ground.

"Wade, what are we doing here?" Michael asked.

Wade looked at everyone; they were all waiting for his answer.

"Tom… that is, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… invaded the school last year. Everyone knows that."

Wade saw Theo and the others nodding silently, then said, "I found a… Dark Magic weapon he might have left behind at the school."

"Our purpose on this trip is to destroy it."

"Voldemort's secret weapon?" Lupin frowned. "He still wants to tamper with Hogwarts?"

He wasn't afraid to say Voldemort's name directly, but the three Young Wizards all turned pale.

"Why don't you give it to Professor Dumbledore to handle, Wade?" Ryan asked. "Do you… not trust the Headmaster?"

"Of course not… When it comes to fighting darkness, probably no one is more trustworthy than Dumbledore."

Wade said, "But… guys, Dumbledore is over a hundred years old."

"I'm not saying he's gotten slow or his magic isn't powerful enough, but… he's been fighting for many years and has carried many burdens. It seems everyone is used to relying on him, putting all the responsibility on his shoulders."

"But… what reason do we have to dump everything we can accomplish ourselves onto an old man?"

"We can rely on Dumbledore, but who can Dumbledore rely on?"

Everyone was deeply moved, and a look of shame appeared on Lupin's face.

Dumbledore was like a banner, a belief. When it came to Voldemort or Dark Wizards, everyone's first reaction was — tell Dumbledore, let Dumbledore handle it.

It seemed not many people realized… an old man over a hundred years old, in another place, should have been enjoying his retirement long ago.

Of course, Wade didn't want to tell Dumbledore, not only because he didn't want to act only under the guidance of a light Wizard, but also for two other reasons.

One was that he didn't want to confront Dumbledore too early, allowing him to place him on his chessboard.

Another reason was that he didn't want Dumbledore to confirm the Horcrux's existence too early and then secretly go to Riddle Manor.

In the original story, Dumbledore found the Resurrection Stone Ring there and somehow got cursed by Voldemort, which led to his death a year later.

Wade worried that if his butterfly effect caused Dumbledore to die prematurely, the following years would become much harder, and Voldemort might even revive earlier.

Of course, no more explanation was needed; everyone already completely agreed with Wade's view.

Lupin had already found a large cave nearby, and everyone worked together to move a rock large enough to completely block the cave entrance.

Wade also explained why they did this:

"Tom's weapon contains powerful magical energy; ordinary spells won't work on it. Currently, it seems only Fiendfyre can completely destroy it."

Wade had already confirmed with Lupin that he also knew the Fiendfyre spell.

Most Wizards who had experienced war could skillfully use the three Unforgivable Curses, let alone common Dark Magic.

In reality, casting the Fiendfyre spell isn't very difficult; the true challenge lies in controlling it. Wizards with insufficient ability can easily suffer a backlash when using Fiendfyre, causing unexpected destruction.

For example, Crabbe in the original story cast Fiendfyre only to be burned to death by it himself.

"Then we'd better clear out the weeds around here too," Theo suggested. "I heard Fiendfyre burns anything combustible."

So, everyone spent another hour meticulously clearing all combustible materials inside and outside the cave.

"That should be enough."

Wade said, picking a bare rock inside the cave. They piled a stack of firewood on it.

Wade took out a magic-shielding box from his bag, then used tongs to carefully place the Diadem on the rock.

His cautious and serious demeanor made it impossible for the others to view the situation lightly.

The Diadem looked dull and gray, its gems dim and lusterless. Michael didn't recognize it as the founder Ravenclaw's Diadem at all.

After all, that legendary Diadem had disappeared with its owner a thousand years ago. Even though the statue of Ravenclaw in the common room wore a Diadem, what did that matter?

For over a thousand years, every year a few students would imitate the Diadem, pretending they had also gained supreme wisdom.

The Diadem lay quietly on the rock, showing no special power nor any hint of Dark Magic.

Lupin gestured for the students to stand behind him, his Wand pointed in that direction, and he murmured, "Fiendfyre!"

A searing ball of flame shot out, igniting the firewood, and the blaze roared, growing larger.

"Get out!" Lupin shouted.

The group hurriedly exited the cave, ready at any moment to drop the large rock to block the entrance, their eyes fixed on the spot.

Perhaps because there was too little fuel, the Fiendfyre wasn't very large, but the twisting flames constantly morphed into various beasts—Horned Serpent, Dragon, Cheetah…

Suddenly, a huge dark shadow soared up in the flames. It twisted, roared, and let out sharp, pained screams, then abruptly lunged with the Fiendfyre toward the people at the cave entrance!

*Thud!*

The huge rock crashed down.

A few sparks flickered out from the cracks.

"Wade…"

After a long time, Wade heard Michael, eyes glazed over, say weakly:

"I somehow feel… that shadow… it was like Tom himself, wasn't it?"

"...Just a—a hallucination, right?" Theo mumbled.

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