The Counterfeit

Cyberlina didn't use Occlumency to calm herself down, letting her emotions subside on their own. After they had all settled, she released Dumbledore and stood up with him—only then did she realize that Dumbledore had used a Cushioning Charm when helping her sit down.

After giving Dumbledore an appreciative glance, Cyberlina once again dropped the cup into the stone basin, retrieved it when it was full, and then lowered her head to check how much liquid remained inside.

"Cyberlina?" Dumbledore frowned.

"Don't rush, don't rush," Cyberlina gave him a reassuring smile, then released her hand. The cup, now full of liquid, floated in the air. She then took out her wand, tapped the cup, and drew a long arc in the air with the wand—two identical cups appeared on either side of the original cup, and through the small snakes on them, the residue of green liquid could still be seen inside.

"While these things need to be drunk, as long as the liquid in the cups doesn't disappear, the magic in the stone basin won't detect anything—so it's not strictly necessary to drink them." Seeing Dumbledore's unwillingness to let her go, Cyberlina chuckled, "Don't overthink it, Albus. I've been through it myself, don't worry."

With that, Cyberlina took down one of the cups and placed it into the stone basin.

Only when Dumbledore saw the cup fill with liquid and be taken out by Cyberlina, with no increase in the liquid in the stone basin, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. After Cyberlina had scooped out all the liquid from the stone basin, he stepped forward and took out the item within.

"Oh... it's Slytherin's locket..." Dumbledore looked at the locket in his hand, laughing with some surprise, "I think I might know what an as-yet-unseen Horcrux looks like."

"As expected of Albus." Cyberlina, who was thinking about how to take the three cups of liquid back, turned around upon hearing this. When she saw the locket, she paused, looked closely for a moment, and then said seriously, "This isn't a Horcrux."

"What?" Dumbledore looked up in shock.

"There's no soul inside."

Dumbledore fell silent at this. He didn't doubt Cyberlina's judgment, so he slowly opened the locket in his hand.

Cyberlina ultimately chose the simplest method for the three cups—sealing the mouths of the cups with Ancient Magic. Seeing that the liquid inside the cups hadn't disappeared, she nodded in satisfaction, put them away, and walked towards the clearly stunned Dumbledore, looking at the locket in his hand.

There was no soul in the locket, but there was a short letter—or rather, a suicide note.

[To the Dark Lord:

I know that by the time you read this letter, I will have been dead for a long time, but I want you to know that I have discovered your secret. I have taken the real Horcrux and will do everything in my power to destroy it quickly.

I risk death only so that when you meet your destined opponent, you will be merely mortal.

R.A.B]

Cyberlina read it silently a few times, then turned to look at the pale-faced Dumbledore, "Who is he?"

"If I'm not mistaken..." Dumbledore sighed, stroking the letter, "This should be Regulus Black's handwriting... R.A.B... it does match his name."

"From the Black family..." Cyberlina couldn't find this name in her memories—forgive her, she hadn't paid much attention to the Black family since her return. She only knew about Sirius because she had read information about the case of the Potters' deaths before the start of the school year.

"He is Sirius's brother." Dumbledore solemnly folded the letter, and after a few seconds of silence, put it back into the locket.

"Brother?" Cyberlina raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes, Sirius's only brother, the youngest child of the main branch of the Black family. When he died... he was only eighteen years old." Dumbledore looked at the locket in his hand, his tone heavy, "At the time, we all speculated that he died at Tom's hands—after all, he was very young and perhaps not that important."

"But he's a Black. Since Tom champions the pure-blood cause, he certainly wouldn't let such an old family go," Cyberlina chuckled, "Little Black—oh no, Sirius Black, he's clearly on your side. If Tom wanted the Black family's support, he only had Regulus... so it wasn't Tom who did it."

Dumbledore was silent.

"So, Regulus faked his own death." Cyberlina looked at the locket, "A death that wouldn't arouse suspicion from either side—after all, if Tom discovered what he did, the Black family would surely—Oh!" Cyberlina suddenly understood and then sighed, "He did it for the Black family. He destroyed Tom's Horcrux and protected his family. Truly a clever and brave child. The Black family has produced a fine son..."

Dumbledore sighed with a complex expression and placed the locket in the inner pocket of his clothes, "Sirius will blame himself again."

"Don't tell him yet," Cyberlina smiled, "He'll be a bit busy for a while. And even if he buys a new house, he'll have to return to the Black family first after leaving the hospital, and might even be delayed for a long time due to various matters."

Dumbledore looked at Cyberlina with an indescribably helpless expression.

"Then, in the old house, through the traces of Regulus's life, he will countless times... miss his brother, whose ideals differed from his. And then to know that he was actually a hero who walked the same path as him—how touching." Cyberlina said with a smile, "You could also have Phineas mention Regulus a few more times—hmm, no, Phineas must also be kept in the dark for now."

"..." Dumbledore sighed, "Perhaps Phineas isn't needed. The portrait of Mrs. Black... that poor mother will make Sirius think of his brother."

"That's even better." Cyberlina walked to the edge of the island and looked down at the black lake, "I'm very thirsty right now, but I can still manage. I just don't know if that poor child managed to resist drinking the water from this lake."

Although she asked the question, the answer was already implied—Regulus's letter was too resolute. Dumbledore understood this as well. He walked silently to Cyberlina's side, and together they looked at the dark lake.

"Is there a way to find that child?"

Cyberlina thought for a few seconds, then said, "Yes, but not yet."

"Then when it's possible, let me know," Dumbledore said softly, as he wished he could bid farewell to this brave child.

"Okay." Cyberlina responded earnestly.

"So, Cyber, do you think Regulus managed to destroy the real Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked, having regained his composure.

"At least he definitely got someone to take it out." Cyberlina looked up and scanned their surroundings, "Apparition is forbidden here. If there was a creature that could take something out--"

"A house-elf." Dumbledore interjected, "I did hear Phineas mention that the old Black manor has a house-elf who was very fond of Regulus."

Cyberlina smiled at Dumbledore, "I never doubt the loyalty of house-elves."

Dumbledore nodded.

"But we don't need a house-elf—" Cyberlina extended her hand to Dumbledore, "We can go out directly."

"Oh, alright, then let me guess where you're going." Dumbledore smiled, took Cyberlina's hand, and winked at her, "Perhaps to the place I Apparated you to this morning. That candy shop seems to have quite a few drinks inside."

"Correct, but no bonus points." Cyberlina smiled and disappeared with Dumbledore from the cave.

The day after Christmas, Hermione, as usual, went shopping with her parents.

She had a very good Christmas holiday, not only finishing the books she borrowed from the Hogwarts library but also reading several Muggle books and magazines her parents had bought. However, even after being buried in books for nearly half a month, she would still be drawn to interesting books while shopping with her parents, especially the political magazines displayed outside the newsstands—thanks to Cyberlina, she had become very interested in such things lately.

Initially, she was simply engrossed in observing Harry's actions to infer Cyberlina's movements. Later, after reading content in the Daily Prophet, she felt that Cyberlina, standing among a group of old wizards, looked incredibly cool. Then, upon learning that Cyberlina's real age might be even older than Dumbledore's, and that she might have even been his professor, Hermione felt no dissonance at all, and her admiration only increased—a witch more powerful than Headmaster Dumbledore!

But unfortunately, Cyberlina had rarely appeared at school since then. When she occasionally did, Hermione was in class, and they only managed a few distant greetings. Other times, she could only search for clues in newspapers and some history books.

It was just the things in the Daily Prophet. Hermione always felt that Cyberlina was more than what met the eye when she did things, but upon further thought, she couldn't quite grasp it. So, she wrote down these troubles when she wrote to her parents. To her surprise, when her parents replied, they also sent a few Muggle political magazines and an analysis written by her mother and father through a friend. She instantly realized—the Daily Prophet was often just like this!

Although it only spoke of one matter, the actual message conveyed was more than just that simple event!

Hermione's interest was instantly piqued, and she immediately asked her parents to prepare related books for her—the same ones she had finished reading during Christmas.

Seeing Hermione's eyes light up, Mr. and Mrs. Granger exchanged a helpless smile and let her linger at the newsstand. Then, quite suddenly, they saw their daughter, who was browsing the newspapers, sharply turn her head and look towards the bustling intersection.

The newsstand's windows, displaying various magazines, were cleaned daily by the owner, but the frequent snow in winter, the cold air, and the dust from passersby always made them appear blurry and dirty. Through the smudged glass of the magazines, Hermione saw a bright figure that couldn't be ignored—white hair, vibrant purple robes, and a pointed hat embroidered with stars—it was Headmaster Dumbledore!

Hermione, surprised, leaned over the newsstand and took a few steps in that direction. She discovered that the attire, which was impossible to ignore, had not drawn anyone's attention. He was holding a bag from a Muggle store and looking with a helpless smile at the woman beside him—a black-haired witch—who was looking down, holding a bottle of Muggle water in her hand!

Hermione: "!!!"

She froze on the spot, unsure whether she should be surprised by the appearance of these two people here or shocked by the strange scene she had witnessed.

Dumbledore spotted Hermione first and waved at her with some surprise, then patted Cyberlina's shoulder beside him.

Cyberlina had just finished a bottle of water, her dry throat relieved, and she sighed softly as she bent over. After receiving Dumbledore's pat on the shoulder, she slowly turned her head and saw the little witch staring blankly at her. Cyberlina immediately straightened up and waved at Hermione.

At the crowded intersection, two wizards she admired stood in a vacuum zone that everyone automatically avoided, smiling gently and waving at her.

Hermione felt as if she had lost the ability to think for a moment, her heart pounding, and heat rushing to her cheeks.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

Her mother's worried voice reached her ears. Hermione snapped back to attention, excitedly pointing in the direction of Dumbledore and Cyberlina, "Mom, I saw Senior Cyberlina—the lady, the very powerful witch I told you about!"

The Grangers paused, looked at them blankly for a moment, then looked down at Hermione with slight apology. Hermione realized that the two powerful wizards must have used magic invisible to Muggles, otherwise, no one would have noticed them.

Hermione turned her head and saw Dumbledore put a finger to his lips, wink at her, and then—the two of them vanished into the hurrying crowd.

"They really are amazing!" Hermione puffed out her cheeks at her parents and said confidently, "I'll become a powerful witch like them too!"

"Of course, our Hermione is the best at everything she does!" Mrs. Granger bent down and kissed Hermione's forehead. "Is there anything else you want to buy?"

"Of course!"

Hermione's enthusiasm lasted until the morning of the first day of school, the moment before she received the Daily Prophet.

"Hermione—" Ron, who had had a wonderfully happy holiday, greeted the little witch. Then, seeing her shocked expression, he stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Pro, Professor Lockhart..." Hermione blinked twice, then immediately shook her head, her face full of disappointment and anger. "Lockhart! He's just a fraud who steals others' achievements! And a bad wizard who casually uses spells to harm others!"

Ron had never seen Hermione speak of Lockhart like this before, so he immediately stuck his head out to look at the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hand—

[Gilderoy Lockhart! The Fraud with the Brightest Smile!]

A huge headline.

And in the accompanying picture below, Lockhart, in a luxurious robe, was being held by the arm by an Auror, looking disheveled and dejected.

Ron burst out laughing, "Oh, you only just found out about this?"

"You knew already?" Hermione frowned, looking at Ron with suspicion.

"Of course!" Ron lifted his head and pointed at the Auror holding Lockhart's arm in the newspaper. "Ms. Carverlin, the kind person who got us Muggle train tickets. She's good friends with my dad. She told our family the day after Christmas—Lockhart is a complete fraud!"

Looking at Ron's smug demeanor, Hermione was furious, but for the first time, she didn't argue with him. She snorted, shook the newspaper in her hand, and turned away, ignoring him.