Ravenclaw's Diadem

Dumbledore didn't pursue Fred and George's nighttime wanderings, and followed Albert into a narrow alleyway amidst the rubbish heaps. After passing the Troll specimen, they walked a short distance and stopped in front of a large cabinet with a bubbly surface, as if it had been splashed with strong acid.

"Last time, I hid Mr. Dagworth. Hertok Dagworth's Gold Card here." Albert opened the cabinet door and pointed to the cage inside. The creature in the cage was long dead, and judging from the skeleton, it had five legs. "Later, I came back to study this thing, and I think this creature must be the legendary Runespoor."

"I've never seen Runespoor either, and almost no one knows where the Deria Island is." Dumbledore also looked at the skeleton in the cage and shook his head. "However, your guess might be correct."

"Where is the Diadem in the photograph?" Dumbledore asked again.

"There!" Albert pointed to the top of the crates next to him, where there was an ugly old wizard bust with a dusty old wig and a rusty Diadem on his head.

"So this is where it is." Dumbledore reached for the Diadem, but Albert grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked Albert, puzzled.

"I think it's best to wear Dragonhide Gloves. I've heard that many Dark Magic items are deadly, and contact with the skin could have serious consequences." Albert took the Dragonhide Gloves out of his robe pocket and handed them to Dumbledore. "Although we can't be sure if the Diadem is Dark Magic item, we should still be on the safe side. Otherwise, losing our lives because of it would be really bad luck."

Seeing Albert's serious expression, Dumbledore was also taken aback. He took the Dragonhide Gloves and said with a smile, "It was my oversight."

Although Dumbledore felt that Albert was being overly cautious, he was actually right; many Dark Magic items were indeed very dangerous.

After he put on the Dragonhide Gloves, he reached out and took the Diadem off the old wizard bust, examined it carefully, nodded and said, "You're right, this should be a Dark Magic item. Luckily you didn't touch it, or who knows what terrible things might have happened."

"Is it dangerous?" Albert asked.

"A very dangerous, very evil Dark Magic item." Dumbledore's smile had vanished, and he narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the Diadem from head to toe, lost in thought.

Soon, Dumbledore's mood brightened again. He led Albert away from the Room of Requirement and said to Albert with a smile, "You handled it correctly. Gryffindor Fifty points."

"Those things, sir, are yours to handle. I'm off!" Albert said goodbye to Dumbledore and then turned to leave.

"A very good boy," Dumbledore murmured, watching Albert's departing figure.

When he returned to the Headmaster's Office with the Diadem, the portraits that had been pretending to be asleep immediately gathered around.

"Is this the Diadem in the photo?"

"It does look somewhat similar to Ravenclaw's Diadem."

Can its authenticity be confirmed?

"Well... I can't be sure either. After all, the Ravenclaw's Diadem has been missing for over a thousand years. However, we have a simple way to tell." Dumbledore instructed one of the headmasters, "Armando, could you please go and find the Grey Lady and ask her to come to the Headmaster's Office?"

"The Grey Lady? I understand."

Armando left quickly; he had his own portrait in the Ravenclaw Common Room, and when he went there, he could ask students who weren't in class to pass on messages.

"Dumbledore, do you need me?"

Not long after, the Grey Lady arrived.

"There's something," Dumbledore said, pointing to the Diadem on the table. "I've found it. Can you tell me if this is the legendary Ravenclaw's Diadem?"

A moment of surprise crossed the Grey Lady's face. She floated to the table, stared at the Diadem for a few seconds, and murmured, "It looks like it, but it's impossible. It couldn't possibly be at Hogwarts."

"Where did you find it?" The Grey Lady asked.

"The Room of Requirement," Dumbledore added, "That magical room on the Seventh Floor of the castle, opposite the tapestry of the Troll Bashing Barnabus."

"Is this really the Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Armando was shocked, knowing that the Ravenclaw's Diadem had been missing for over a thousand years.

"That can't be!" The Grey Lady murmured. "It should be inside a hollow tree in the Albanian Forest."

Now, anyone with a brain can guess the Grey Lady's identity from that sentence.

"Someone took it back to school."

In fact, Dumbledore had already guessed what it was, and even guessed who had brought Ravenclaw's Diadem back to the school.

"The Grey Lady, I regret to inform you that this Ravenclaw relic has been tainted by evil Dark Magic."

"He...he was very charming. He...he was very understanding...compassionate." The Grey Lady was stunned, staring incredulously at the Ravenclaw's Diadem, and murmured, "How could he do such a thing?"

"Tom is very good at using Eloquent Deception to deceive people," Dumbledore said softly. "You're not the only one he's deceived..."

"Is the Diadem shrouded in powerful Dark Magic?" Armando asked. "Is it possible to restore it?"

"Tom has very likely turned the Diadem into Horcrux," Dumbledore said softly. "It's a very evil form of Dark Magic, and ordinary magic can't even harm it! I need to find some special methods."

"Horcrux!"

This caused an uproar among all the headmasters! "Fortunately, Mr. Anderson was very vigilant and handled the situation correctly when he found it, otherwise he would have been in big trouble!" Dumbledore raised his wand, trying to remove the Dark Magic from it, but his magic had no effect.

"Even you can't do anything about it?"

"Destroying Horcrux requires immense destructive power, so powerful that the Dark Magic on the Horcrux cannot withstand it," Dumbledore murmured, shaking his head.

"Use Dark Magic! Don't tell me you can't!" Phineas suddenly shouted. Although Dumbledore had hardly ever used Dark Magic, he believed that Dumbledore would definitely use it.

"Fiendfyre Curse or Avada Kedavra Curse should be able to destroy it!" Dumbledore naturally had a way, and he didn't really want to use those methods if there were other better options.

"Use the Killing Curse, it's not like you're using it on a person. Don't tell me you don't know how!" Phineas couldn't help but scoff. He really didn't like Dumbledore's hypocritical attitude.

"Shut up, Phineas." An old witch brandished her cane at Phineas in a show of defiance, ready to whack him on the head if he uttered another word of nonsense.

"Destroy it. Don't leave this evil thing here; it makes us feel uncomfortable."

The other principals also said that Horcrux are really too evil things, and no one knows what might happen if they are kept.

"Alright, Avada Kedavra!"

The next moment, green light filled the entire Headmaster's Office.

After the green light dissipated, the Diadem seemed to vibrate violently, and then, in full view of everyone, it cracked on the table. A blood-like, black, viscous substance seeped out from the Diadem, and extremely faint screams of pain came from within Diadem.

"How could this happen, how could this happen..." The Grey Lady extremely shocked. Ravenclaw's Diadem was ruined because that boy used evil Dark Magic to defile it.

"It seems I need to give Mr. Anderson another Special Contribution Award!" Dumbledore said casually.

He raised his wand and gently waved it at the broken Diadem on the table, and the liquid vanished completely. He picked up the damaged Diadem and placed it in a box, then solemnly said to the others, "By the way, please don't spread the word about finding the Ravenclaw's Diadem and the Horcrux. This matter needs to be kept secret; it's very important, extremely important. As for the Diadem, I'll have someone try to repair it, but I can't guarantee it can be completely fixed."

"Mr. Anderson?" The Grey Lady murmured. "Perhaps I should thank that boy. Thanks to him, I was not kept in the dark."

Ravenclaw's Diadem was ultimately destroyed, which made her deeply regretful that she should not have trusted that boy.

At that moment, Albert, who was listening to the lecture, suddenly smiled with delight. On his Task Panel, three more tasks had been completed. What a great harvest!

It seems the Horcrux has been destroyed. The headmaster is certainly decisive!