But he hadn't forgotten his real purpose. He stopped observing his surroundings for the moment and began using Magic Sense to search, inch by inch, through the vast ocean of magic for the signature of a particular object.
Soon, his senses picked up a magical void that he couldn't probe at all.
"Found it!"
In his experience, a magical void meant an intelligent being. But he was the only person in the room. That meant the extra magical void had to be Ravenclaw's Diadem, which held a piece of Voldemort's soul!
He drew his wand and walked slowly toward the void. After sweeping aside heaps of junk along the way, he came to an exquisite, glimmering headpiece. He reached out and lifted it from the pile.
There was no additional curse on the Diadem. He could touch it directly.
But Avada didn't dare put it on just yet. It held a very real, very evil soul. Judging by what the Horcrux Diary had done, it was hard to predict what might happen if he used it.
"The magic on it is so complex and profound that I can't understand it at all..."
"But even so, it's easy to see that this magical object has two completely unrelated enchantments. One is connected to the Diadem itself, and its structure is a little like the human mind. It must be the Diadem's ability to increase intelligence."
"The other enchantment tightly protects the magical void—the fragment of soul—and is less closely connected to the Diadem itself. There's no doubt about it: that's Voldemort's Horcrux enchantment."
Staring at the Diadem in his hand, he furrowed his brow and muttered to himself, "But it seems possible to use my mental power to forcibly unravel the structure protecting the soul fragment. That must be the right way to destroy a Horcrux without damaging the object itself."
"Given the strength of my mental power and the complexity of this protection, if I cast spells day and night without eating, drinking, or resting... it would take about six months to unravel it completely."
Well, that was great. If anyone knew that a first-year student could theoretically spend six months unraveling one of the most advanced forms of Dark Magic in the world, a Horcrux, they'd be flabbergasted.
But Avada wasn't planning to keep himself going for six months on stimulants and glucose drips, only to die alongside the Horcrux. He'd wait until he was stronger, and could easily undo the protection, before dealing with it.
A Killing Curse or Fiendfyre could achieve the same result, but that would destroy Ravenclaw's Diadem itself. That was the last thing Avada wanted.
"Next target: the Vanishing Cabinet..."
Avada tucked the Diadem into his robes and looked around. Before long, he spotted a large, black cabinet that looked as though it had been doused in acid. It was battered and falling apart.
Back when he'd read the original story in his previous life, he'd thought this thing should have been capable of changing the Wizarding World.
It ignored distance and transported objects instantaneously. Best of all, it wasn't difficult to build—one sixth-year student had been able to repair one with ease. It was cleaner than Floo Powder for getting around, and as a means of communication, it would be countless times faster than owls. Just imagine what would happen if someone could shrink one to the size of a palm, then adapt it using Floo Powder technology so it could link to any other Vanishing Cabinet, like a fireplace.
At the very least, owls would be out of a job.
Avada had never understood it. The magical world's spatial technology was already so advanced it bordered on miraculous: Apparition, undetectable extensions, folded space—even a trunk that contained an entire world. So why wouldn't they apply that technology to communication?
What, did owls have unemployment insurance?
"I have to figure out how it works as soon as possible."
Looking at the somewhat fractured magical structure on the Vanishing Cabinet, Avada made a silent decision. "Once I get back, I'll have to speed up my independent studies and try to reach the level where I can research Spatial Magic. Maybe I can borrow a few books about Apparition for reference..."
At last, he took a few reluctant looks at the battered Vanishing Cabinet and left the Room of Requirement.
"First, I need to put the Horcrux somewhere safe."
Avada tucked the Diadem into his robes, left the Room of Requirement, and shut the door. He watched it fade from the wall, then focused his attention and paced back and forth in front of that stretch of wall three times.
"I need a room that only Avada Kedavra can open. I need a room that only Avada Kedavra can open..."
The door appeared again. Beyond it was a small, empty room about a few square meters in size. Avada placed the Diadem in a corner and checked for any hidden hazards. Only after he was satisfied did he leave and head straight for the school library.
He had to fill in the gaps in his knowledge as quickly as possible and gain the ability to analyze the Vanishing Cabinet and break the Horcrux's protections!
"I should be able to learn how Vanishing Cabinets work by sixth year. Draco Malfoy repaired one in sixth year in the original story, after all."
"But Horcruxes are far more advanced. Even before sixth year, Voldemort didn't know exactly what a Horcrux did. And Dumbledore has already hidden the book that gives a detailed account of Horcruxes, Secrets of the Darkest Art, in his office. If I ask him for it, he'll probably throw me into Nurmengard to keep Grindelwald company..."
"Anyway, I'll master everything from first to seventh year as quickly as I can, then try sneaking into the Restricted Section to see if I can find any clues. The only problem is that my memory isn't that good. I remember Dragon Claw Powder can temporarily increase intelligence, so I can try to get some if I get the chance..."
"Oh, right. There's also a potion called Wit-Sharpening Potion that has the same effect, and they teach it in fourth year! I'll ask Professor Snape after Potions Class tomorrow. I'm neither Harry Potter nor a Gryffindor, so maybe he'll be a little nicer than he was in the original story... maybe?"
At last, Madam Pince, who ran the library, warned him that curfew was almost upon them. Avada finally crawled out from among the books, his head spinning, and wandered back to the Hufflepuff common room in a daze.
"Hey, K, why are you back so late?"
Avada's roommate, Shabi Nott, was sitting by the fireplace. "While you were gone, the older students gave us first-years a crash course in Hufflepuff customs. I wanted to call you over, but I looked all over the Great Hall and couldn't find you. Where were you?"
"The library."
Avada rubbed his temples, feeling as though his head still hadn't cleared. "I didn't realize how little I knew about magic until I started school. And since I'm Muggle-born, I'm even further behind than students from wizarding families. I have to work hard to catch up."
"Merlin's beard, you've got to be joking! You were the best one today!"
Shabi gave him a look of scorn that said, "Don't show off." "You were the second to finish in Charms, and the first to succeed in Transfiguration. If you count as 'behind,' what does that make everyone else? Is 'behind' some sort of bottomless pit?"
"Anyway, let me tell you about Hufflepuff. These are all customs and tips passed down from older students. You'd never find them in the library."
"Oh?" Avada realized he'd been so absorbed in his research that he'd neglected to bond with his fellow Hufflepuffs. "Tell me more."
Shabi gave him a smug smile. "I'll start with some of the traditions. For example, every Sunday afternoon, if the weather's nice, the house picks a scenic spot for a picnic. If you're confident in your cooking, you can ask the Prefect to let you volunteer as a cook. And there's tea in the common room every Wednesday evening..."
"The kitchen is right beside the common room entrance. It's behind that painting of a large basket of fruit. Just tickle the pear and it'll giggle, then turn into a doorknob. Open it and you're in the kitchen..."
"And the House-elves in the kitchen get along really well with Hufflepuff students. You can borrow the utensils whenever you like, and if you get hungry at night, you can go there and find yourself a snack..."
Before you continue