In the distant Hogwarts, the scar on Harry's forehead suddenly felt a sharp pain, as if a terrible scream was coming from a great distance.
He was training on the Quidditch pitch, and the pain made his head spin suddenly, making him involuntarily fall from his broom.
"Harry—"
The team members exclaimed, and Fred, who was nearby, sped over and finally grabbed his ankle before Harry hit the ground.
...
Outside the cave, everyone looked at Vid, waiting for him to give an answer.
Vid said calmly, "You know, some magic items often have the creator's thoughts infused into them during their making."
"No wonder that shadow just now was so evil." Michael sighed in relief and said, "It must have been injected with evil thoughts by the mysterious... Tom?"
The young wizards all accepted this explanation, but Lupin gave Vid a deep look.
Back in school, he once made a Marauder's Map with James Potter and others, which could show the location of everyone in the school in real time, and each of them infused their thoughts into the map, imitating the four founders.
Therefore, while Michael and others believed it, Lupin was skeptical because he also knew what magic items with infused thoughts were like.
The magical fire burned for a long time, and only when there was nothing left to burn did it gradually extinguish.
Everyone moved the boulder away and saw that the entire cave had been scorched, even the spiders in the corners and the grass roots in the crevices were not spared.
On the cracked stone that had been burned, the blackened diadem still lay there, and Vid was pleased to see that the extra name had disappeared.
Leian wanted to go in and retrieve the diadem, but Vid pulled him back.
"Don't go in," Vid said, "there may still be lingering flames, be careful not to get burned."
He raised his magic wand: "Diadem, come!"
Even if there had originally been an anti-summoning charm on it, it must have been destroyed by the magical fire.
So the diadem immediately flew towards him and was caught mid-air by Lupin.
He turned it over to examine the diadem.
All the magic attached to it had been destroyed, and now all that remained was an ordinary metal item.
The surface still clung to some black and sticky substances, baked by the fire, which crumbled like ash when rubbed with fingers.
"Aguamenti!"
Vid summoned a stream of water to clean the diadem before placing it back in the box.
"Does this thing have any use?" Lupin asked.
"Not much," Vid said, "but I promised someone that after removing the dark magic on it, I would put it back where it came from."
Michael recalled the diadem, which looked quite different after being rinsed by the water flow, and asked, "Vid, don't you think... it looks a bit like the one on the Ravenclaw statue?"
"Perhaps it's Tom's imitation," Vid said calmly, "if he went to Hogwarts, perhaps he made something similar, imitating the four founders."
Michael nodded.
In the story, Dumbledore only told Harry's trio about the Horcrux but did not tell those Order of Phoenix members who had followed him through thick and thin.
Vid used to not understand, but being in this world, Vid gradually understood his actions.
Everyone in the wizarding world holds a magic wand, which is equivalent to having a gun in hand.
Originally, they would only use it for cleaning, brewing magic potions, or defending themselves, but what if someone told them this "gun" could kill, and after killing, they could gain immortality...
Even if some can hold on to their principles and morals today, how can one be certain they won't change in the future?
Even if he himself is indifferent to Voldemort's "rebirth," what if it involves his parents, loved ones, or children?
So it is not about trust, nor about character.
Some evil things should just remain forever secret.
...
After the Horcrux was destroyed, it was equivalent to the conclusion of a successful club activity.
But everyone did not return immediately. At Lupin's invitation, they decided to first rest at his home in Hogsmeade for a while, take a stroll there in the afternoon, and return to the school in the evening.
Lupin's house was relatively secluded, near the Screaming Shack. Because of local ghost stories, the house was sold very cheaply.
It was a three-story small building with an attic on top, making it look like a tall and slender chicken leg mushroom. Beside it was a fence enclosing a dozen chickens and one goat.
Further away was a rectangular vegetable garden, growing lettuce, snow peas, tomatoes, strawberries, etc. The surroundings were separated by colorful flowers like cornflowers, dahlias, and peonies.
Wizards basically have a habit of being self-sufficient. Lupin previously never had this opportunity, but after having a stable place to live, he learned to manage his home like others.
With the help of magic, planting and livestock rearing were much simpler than for ordinary people.
Upon entering, there was a spacious living room, where the fire in the fireplace automatically ignited. The coat rack by the door bent down to make it easier for the young wizards to hang their coats.
To the side was a small door, beyond which was the kitchen.
"Pretty nice, isn't it?" Leian looked around the room and said, "It's more spacious inside than it looks from outside."
Lupin directed teapots and teacups to fly out from the kitchen, pouring hot tea for everyone, and brought out cookies and cake to entertain these young guests.
Michael leaned in front of the fireplace to look at the photographs hanging on the wall.
There were photos of Lupin standing with Harry, ones of Vid and Harry, and another of Harry holding a goat.
One photo was clearly of a young Lupin, with a gentle smile exactly like his current one.
The photo also featured a black-haired boy with glasses and messy hair who looked very much like Harry, likely Harry Potter's father.
Beside him was a short, plump boy with small round eyes and a pointed nose, whose smile was somewhat bashful.
His appearance and expression made Michael instinctively associate him with a rat.
In the photo, there was another person whose features were obscured, but he had black hair and was standing close to James Potter.
"Who is this person?" Michael couldn't help but ask.
"An unimportant person."
Lupin quickly walked over, taking the photo off the wall, "I forgot to put this away."
He placed the photograph face down on the table, then smiled and asked the others, "What do you want for lunch?"
While Lupin was in the kitchen, directing pots and pans to make lunch with clattering sounds, Michael whispered to Vid, "His expression completely changed... it's definitely not just an unimportant person."
"Don't pry into things you shouldn't, or you might get in trouble."
Theo said softly, "I've heard about that person... Sirius Black, the most notorious Death Eater, who also betrayed Harry's father."