Filch's eerie voice echoed: "Either work, or get expelled, you can choose one yourself."
The voice came from an empty room.
Through the ajar door, Vid saw Malfoy angrily glaring at Filch. After a moment of stalemate, he eventually picked up the cloth and began wiping the countless candlesticks on the shelves.
Filch muttered beside him: "I should say, Dumbledore is too gentle. To deal with rule-breaking brats like you, they should be strung up and whipped a few times..."
Vid walked through the dim corridors and left.
...
Saturday quickly arrived.
Vid had already contacted Lupin in advance. In the morning, while all the other students were still asleep, he brought Michael to the Room of Requirement.
A short while later, Theo and Leian also arrived.
Then came Zoe.
Michael and the others were quite amazed to see a House-Elf here, constantly eyeing her.
Zoe nervously wrung her tea towel and bowed to everyone.
"If we're ready, let's set off." Vid opened the cabinet door: "Who goes first?"
"I'll go!" Michael stepped in first.
Then Theo and Leian followed.
Vid stayed back, crouched down, and said to the elf: "Zoe, when I send you a message, open the cabinet door, alright?"
The Disappearing Cabinet does not require an extra spell; closing the door activates the transport.
But to exit, someone on the outside must open the cabinet, as those inside cannot do so themselves.
Thus, the prerequisite for using this cabinet is to have a reliable person stationed at the destination to open the door when needed.
Zoe nodded and softly said: "Vid Gray rest assured, Zoe will complete the mission."
Vid smiled and patted her head.
"You don't need to stay here all the time. If all goes well, we will return before the curfew. At that time, I'll send you a message through the Friendship Book."
"Alright." Zoe nodded.
Vid also stepped into the cabinet and closed the door, leaving darkness in his view.
Almost immediately, the cabinet door opened again, with Lupin standing outside, smiling at him.
"This is unbelievable!" Michael exclaimed: "We've left the school so effortlessly."
"Where is this?" Leian asked, looking at the surroundings in confusion.
"We're still in the Scottish Highlands, separated from Hogwarts by two mountains."
Lupin said to Vid: "As per your request, there are no wizards or Muggles nearby, almost no vegetation or animals either."
Vid also looked around, nodding slightly.
It was a lonely and rugged barren mountain, covered with gravel and only a bit of moss and weeds on the ground.
"Vid, what are we doing here?" Michael asked.
Vid looked around at everyone; they all waited for his answer.
"Tom... the Mysterious Man... he invaded the school last year, as everyone knows."
Vid saw Theo and others nod silently, then continued: "I've discovered something in the school... possibly a Dark Magic weapon he left behind."
"We're here to destroy it."
"Voldemort's secret weapon?" Lupin frowned: "He still wants to meddle in Hogwarts?"
He did not shy away from using Voldemort's name, though the three young wizards paled at the mention.
"Why not let Professor Dumbledore handle it, Vid?" Leian asked: "You... don't trust the Headmaster?"
"Of course not... When it comes to fighting darkness, there's probably no one more trustworthy than Dumbledore."
Vid said: "But... folks, Dumbledore is already over a hundred."
"I'm not saying he's become slow or that his magic power isn't strong enough, but... he's been fighting this fight for many years, bearing heavy burdens, and everyone seems accustomed to relying on him, handing over all the responsibilities."
"But... why should we throw everything we are capable of doing ourselves onto an old man?"
"We can rely on Dumbledore, but who can Dumbledore rely on?"
Everyone was deeply moved, and Lupin showed a guilty expression.
Dumbledore is like a banner, a belief. When it comes to matters involving Voldemort or Dark Wizards, everyone's first reaction is to find Dumbledore and let him handle it.
Not many realize... an old man over a hundred, in a different place, should have been living peacefully long ago.
Of course, Vid had other reasons besides not wanting to always walk under the guidance of a White Wizard:
One reason was he didn't want to directly confront Dumbledore and be placed on his chessboard.
Another reason was he didn't want Dumbledore to prematurely ascertain the existence of the Soul Artifact and then secretly rush to Riddle Manor.
In the storyline, Dumbledore found the Resurrection Stone Ring there and somehow got cursed by Voldemort, leading to his death a year later.
If Dumbledore dies earlier due to Vid's butterfly effect, Vid fears the following years will be tougher, and Voldemort might even resurrect sooner.
Of course, there was no need to elaborate as everyone fully agreed with Vid's viewpoint.
Lupin had already found a large cave nearby in advance, and everyone worked together to move a stone big enough to completely block the entrance of the cave.
Vid explained his reason for doing this:
"Tom's weapon contains powerful magic; ordinary spells won't work. For now, only Fiendfyre can completely destroy it."
Vid had already confirmed with Lupin in advance; he could also use the Fiendfyre Curse.
Wizards who have gone through war likely master the three Unforgivable Curses, not to mention ordinary Dark Magic.
Actually, casting the Fiendfyre Curse isn't very difficult; the real challenge lies in control—wizards who lack ability might easily backfire with Fiendfyre, causing unintended destruction.
For instance, in the storyline, Crabbe, who released Fiendfyre Curse, eventually got burned to death by it.
"Then we'd better clear all the weeds around," Theo suggested: "I've heard Fiendfyre will burn anything that can catch fire."
So they spent another hour carefully clearing all combustible materials inside and outside the cave.
"It's about done."
Vid said, selecting a bare stone inside the cave, where they piled up some wooden logs.
Vid took out a masking spell box from his bag, then carefully placed the Diadem on the stone with fire tongs.
His cautious and prudent attitude left the others unable to perceive it lightly.
The Diadem appeared dull on the surface, its gems dimmed, and Michael didn't recognize it as Ravenclaw's Diadem.
After all, the legendary Diadem disappeared with its owner a thousand years ago; though the statue in the Ravenclaw common room wears a diadem, what difference does it make?
Every year for over a thousand years, several students would mimic the Diadem as if they too achieved supreme wisdom.
The Diadem sat quietly on the stone, showing no special powers, nor did it emanate any Dark Magic aura.
Lupin gestured for the students to step behind him, pointed his wand in that direction, and whispered, "Fiendfyre Rages!"
A blaze of fierce fire flew out, igniting the logs, and the flames flared fiercely with a "boom".
"Get out!" Lupin shouted.
The group hurried out of the cave and prepared to lower the large stone over the entrance, watching the direction intently.
Perhaps due to the sparse combustibles, the Fiendfyre wasn't very large, but its twisting flames kept morphing into different beasts—a Poison Horned Beast, a Fire Dragon, a Cheetah...
Suddenly, a massive black silhouette rose into the fire, twisting, roaring, screaming sharply and painfully, then with Fiendfyre charging towards the group at the cave entrance!
Boom!
The boulder fell heavily.
A few sparks emerged from the cracks.
"Vid..."
After a long time, Vid heard Michael speaking weakly, eyes glazed:
"I feel like... that shadow... it looked like Tom himself."
"...An illusion, perhaps?" Theo muttered.