The Room of Requirement

"Merlin, there's so much stuff!"

Staring at the endless clutter stretching beyond his field of vision, Ron's mouth fell open. Then, as if something occurred to him, his face reddened. "There might be antiques from a thousand years ago here..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Faced with such a magical room, that's the first thing you thought of?"

Ron scratched his cheek and muttered quietly, "That's a normal person's reaction."

Vaughn watched with a smile. Once the three of them had gradually adjusted, he casually asked Harry, "Harry, do you feel anything?"

"Hm?" Harry found the question strange, but he still answered, "Er, it's pretty shocking."

"What else?"

Harry looked a little confused. "What else should there be?"

Ron and Hermione also looked at Vaughn curiously.

"Nothing, just asking." Vaughn waved a hand, then said, "You can look around. Maybe, just like Ron said, you'll find antiques from a thousand years ago."

Ron immediately dragged Harry off on an adventure with great enthusiasm.

Hermione, too, was drawn in by a pile of glittering objects and prepared to take a look.

Watching their backs fade into the distance, Vaughn's expression grew solemn. He narrowed his eyes. "It seems the attraction and resonance between Horcruxes wasn't there from the beginning..."

On the third day after school started last week, Vaughn had found the Room of Requirement. Of course, it was not because he urgently needed a private space, but because a treasure was hidden in this room Piled Full of clutter.

Ravenclaw's Diadem!

It was an Alchemical Wonder. Legend said that it granted wisdom to whoever wore it.

Vaughn did not know what that so-called wisdom actually meant.

But without a doubt, as something once worn by the Legendary Wizard Ravenclaw, one of the Four Founders, it might contain the most mysterious and cutting-edge Magic of ancient Alchemy.

Not to mention that Voldemort had made it into a Horcrux!

Thinking of Socket Man, Vaughn's expression turned cold.

He had never imagined that one day, he would have to kneel before Voldemort and kiss his robes.

That man who had split his soul and gone completely mad was not worth following, much less cooperating with.

But there was no denying that Voldemort was an extremely powerful Wizard!

In his previous life, some people believed Voldemort was nothing special, since he could not even defeat Dumbledore, a centenarian old man.

What they failed to consider was that Dumbledore had the Elder Wand and was also a master of Transfiguration.

It was clear from the original story that Avada Kedavra was not invincible. It could be blocked, especially by objects created through Transfiguration—it could briefly grant life to inanimate objects, allowing them to be killed by the Killing Curse in place of a Wizard.

Voldemort, who had spent his life studying Unforgivable Curses, was practically hard-countered by Dumbledore.

Yet even so, Dumbledore had never truly defeated Voldemort.

"I still need time to grow, and I need to weaken Tom even more. At the very least, I have to make sure that, just like in the original story, he doesn't come out and stir up trouble over the next few years..."

Vaughn spun his Wand between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the clutter with dark, profound eyes. Of course, he would not destroy the Horcruxes himself.

But that did not stop him from finding them and handing them over to Dumbledore.

That great White Wizard had always been puzzled by why Voldemort would not die. Vaughn could give him a helping hand.

Old Dumbledore would surely be grateful to him!

Originally, he had planned to use Harry's sensitivity to Horcruxes to find Ravenclaw's Diadem, but unfortunately, it seemed the time had not yet come.

He could only put in the hard work himself and slowly search through this mountain of clutter piece by piece.

The wonders of the Room of Requirement left the Trio exhilarated, and they had originally decided to spend a few more days playing there.

But the very next day, news of Harry joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team spread throughout Hogwarts.

The team captain, Wood, was furious. He had repeatedly told Harry and the team members to keep it secret, hoping to use Harry as a secret weapon.

But Harry, who was supposedly "tight-lipped," turned around and told his friends.

And the next day, Fred and George, both team members, skipped around telling everyone they met, "Harry is our Seeker! The House Cup is definitely ours this year!"

That night, Wood sat in despair on the Quidditch Pitch, wondering what he was supposed to do in the future with so many blabbermouths on his team.

Harry was miserable too. He had nearly forgotten that his detention with Malfoy was to last an entire week.

Compared to the later detention assignments, dusting the Trophy Room was actually the easiest—he had to help Professor Snape process Medicinal Material!

As a result, the Trio's plans to explore the Room of Requirement had to be postponed.

After searching the Room of Requirement for another two days and still finding nothing, Vaughn returned to Professor Snape's office that weekend.

The moment he pushed open the door, he heard Snape's sharp, vicious voice. "Tut, tut, Potter. I truly want to pry open your skull and see whether your thick, stupid head is stuffed full of slug slime."

Malfoy was snickering.

Hearing the door open, Snape finally raised his face, which had been almost pressed against the top of Harry's head.

After glancing at Vaughn, he pulled a note from a drawer and handed it over.

Still as concise as ever, he said, "The books are in the library. This is the authorization slip. Go read them first!"

"Thank you, Professor."

Vaughn thanked him. Seeing Harry on the other side, his eyes already glazed from being berated and pleadingly fixed on him, Vaughn could only shrug helplessly.

That was the professor's love for you, Harry. How could an outsider interfere?

At the library, Vaughn handed the note to Madam Pince. This thin, elderly witch was the third most feared person among the Young Wizards.

Anyone who dared make noise in the library would get a feather duster across the head before being driven out in disgrace.

She examined the note with hawk-like eyes, then looked at Vaughn and complained, "The Restricted Section? Why would Professor Snape write such an outrageous authorization slip? The books there are not meant for First Year students to borrow."

"The professor believes I am qualified, Madam," Vaughn said with a smile.

"Hmph..." Madam Pince snorted like an enraged Bull, but ultimately did not question him further.

"Come with me. And remember, be quiet!"

Madam Pince led Vaughn to the Restricted Section at the back of the library.

She undid the Magic on the Restricted Section, left Vaughn outside, and hurried in. When she came back out, she was carrying several books. "Advanced Potion-Making, Potent Potions, Greatest Magical All-Naturers, and this one... Introduction to Dark Magic. These are the books Professor Snape has authorized you to borrow."

"Thank you, Madam." Vaughn took them.

Madam Pince gave him another long look and warned, "The contents of these books are all very dangerous. If you have any problems, immediately find Professor Snape or me. Do you understand?"

Only after Vaughn agreed did Madam Pince let him leave.