The Crown in the Treasure Room

Weekends at Hogwarts are always enjoyable, but some people don't think so.

At 7:50, Mikel, who had been lingering in the Great Hall for half an hour, had to put down his cutlery and head towards the underground classroom, looking back every few steps.

He seemed to be seeking help from his roommates, asking them to go with him, or perhaps he was trying to cast a curse on himself.

As long as he can get out of this detention, even being sent to the Hospital Wing for two days is fine.

But Kyle and Ryan never looked up at him.

"I'm going to the Quidditch Pitch in a bit." Ryan seemed completely unaware that someone was missing, and casually turned his head to the other side, saying, "Aren't they recruiting two people this year? I'm going to try my luck; maybe I'll get selected."

"Sure, which seat are you going to choose?" Kyle turned his head away, avoiding the pitiful gaze from the doorway.

"The Chaser, just like you."

Ryan poured himself a glass of juice. "Or goalkeeper would be good too. I've heard the competition for that position isn't as fierce."

"I don't know about that," Kyle said after thinking for a moment. "But I think you could try both positions and see which one suits you better."

"That's what I was thinking too." Ryan picked up another piece of toast. "Are you going later? We can go together."

"I'm not going." Kyle shook his head. "Cedric is there, I have other things to do."

After Harris graduated, Cedric became the team's new captain, and all the responsibilities, from recruiting new players to developing training plans, fell to him.

The two chatted for a while longer, until exactly eight o'clock.

Mikel's pitiful figure was no longer seen at the entrance of the Great Hall.

Kyle and Ryan stood up at the same time.

Ryan went straight to the Quidditch Pitch, while Kyle went up the stairs to the Seventh Floor and walked back and forth in a corridor three times.

"I need a room where I can hide things," Kyle thought to himself.

Finally, it stopped in the middle, facing the wall opposite a tapestry.

The door to the Room of Requirement appeared quickly, as if it had always been on the wall.

Kyle went inside and closed the door behind him.

There was complete silence all around. He stood in a room the size of a Great Hall, where items hidden by past Hogwarts students were piled up, forming towering walls.

Below were stacks of dilapidated furniture, teetering on the verge of collapse, and thousands of books.

However, these books are mostly worthless, and some of the forbidden books are even dangerous; opening them could result in some kind of curse, thus falling into the category of Dark Magic items.

Of course, there are useful books, but Kyle doesn't have the time or the inclination to examine them one by one. The ones in the library are enough for him; there's no need to waste time here.

Further down were winged slingshots and Fanged Frisbees, some of which were still hovering listlessly... Some broken bottles contained solidified Potions... along with clothes, hats... opals... eggshells... and rusty iron swords...

Kyle walked through these alleys made up of trash... or treasure, and soon found a specimen of a Troll.

The Troll, several feet tall, was quite conspicuous even amidst this pile of treasure.

"It should be around here." Kyle looked around and walked along the passage directly in front of the Troll, finally stopping in front of a group of ugly statues.

These statues are all in the same style, and each one is uglier than the last. Compared to them, even Old Tom from the Leaky Cauldron could be considered handsome.

Among the several wizard statues that looked like House-elf, there was one that was the most special. Although it was not the ugliest one, it had a dark rusted Ravenclaw's Diadem hanging askew on its head.

Ravenclaw's Diadem.

Kyle took a deep breath.

He had been here once when he was in first grade, but he only glanced at it from afar and left without ever getting close.

Kyle's original plan was simply to give Dumbledore the Voldemort under some pretext when he started searching for Horcrux.

It wasn't until around June that he suddenly changed his mind.

The main reason is Rowena Ravenclaw.

In the Chamber of Secrets, the Founders was arguably the most taciturn of the four; usually, the other three would do the talking while she just watched.

There was one thing she reminded herself to practice Occlumency more, and she mentioned the Ravenclaw's Diadem at the end.

If Kyle remembers correctly, her exact words were that she would only have truly mastered Occlumency when she could wear the Ravenclaw's Diadem without being affected.

At the time, this statement didn't seem strange.

After all, strictly speaking, increasing intelligence is another form of magical intrusion, which naturally falls under the scope of Occlumency.

But a few days ago, after seeing the Sorting Hat in the Headmaster's Office, Kyle suddenly felt something was off.

If a sword is protected so well, what if it were replaced by Ravenclaw's Diadem that could increase wisdom...?

Putting everything else aside, even if the Ravenclaw's Diadem hadn't been stolen by her daughter Helena Ravenclaw, nor turned into Horcrux, but had remained at the school... would such an important item be something a student could simply use as he pleased?

Furthermore, if Ravenclaw were to use the Ravenclaw's Diadem to practice Occlumency as he suggested, it certainly wouldn't be used only once or twice, but rather frequently.

That's simply impossible.

To give the Ravenclaw's Diadem to a student to practice Occlumency?

Unless Rowena Ravenclaw herself comes in person, probably no headmaster would agree to such an outrageous request.

Dumbledore might, but only he...

Ravenclaw couldn't possibly predict the personality of the Hogwarts Headmaster a thousand years from now.

Furthermore, there are so many ways to practice and test Occlumency, Legilimency... Confusion Charm... even using Veela would suffice, so why use Ravenclaw's Diadem? Isn't that setting the bar too high?

It's like you want to practice boxing, and someone just pulls out a 10-centimeter-thick steel plate and says you've succeeded when you can punch through it...

That's true, but is it really necessary?

Given Rowena Ravenclaw's intelligence, she shouldn't have been unaware of these things, but she still said it anyway.

Could there be some other meaning behind this...?

After hesitating for a few days, Kyle decided to come over anyway, regardless of whether he was overthinking it or not, he just wanted to get the Ravenclaw's Diadem first.

With his current Occlumency, he should be able to withstand the effects of the Horcrux.

I guess so...

Kyle put on his Shield Gloves and carefully picked up the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

There was no curse, nor any trace of mental magic; it was just that after being made into Horcrux, the Ravenclaw's Diadem lost its original luster and became rusty and dark.

If you put it in a thrift store in Diagon Alley, it probably wouldn't sell for even a Sickle.

But upon closer inspection, Kyle could barely make out the tiny inscription. "Extraordinary wisdom is mankind's greatest treasure."

Kyle took off the Shield Gloves again and held it directly in his hand, but there was still no reaction.

Although they are both Horcrux, the Ravenclaw's Diadem and the Diary are somewhat different; at least the Crown is not as active.

Kyle took out a box he had prepared beforehand and put the Ravenclaw's Diadem inside.

This box was a gift from Nicolas Flamel. Last year he used it to store his diary, and this year he's using it to store his Ravenclaw's Diadem —it's quite a fitting gift for his profession.