The Crown and the Horcrux

At the dinner table, Nicolas pushed a plate of bone-in steak in front of Kyle and said with a smile, "I almost forgot to ask, what brought you here this time... It couldn't be just to spend Christmas with me, could it?"

"That's the main reason," Kyle said.

"Nothing else?"

"No." Kyle shook his head.

"If that's the case..." Nicolas glanced at him and said half-jokingly, "Then I'm not going to bother with you anymore."

"You know, finding the right symbol takes a long time, and I might not leave that room for weeks afterward."

"Uh..." Kyle patted his head. "Oh dear, now that you mention it, I do remember something."

"Go ahead and say it," Nicolas chuckled. "Just Albus, producing Time-Turner from a thousand years ago."

"No, no, it's just a very small matter..."

Kyle placed a box on the table, put on his Shield Gloves, and took out a rusty Ravenclaw's Diadem from it.

"I found this in Hogwarts Castle and am trying to see if there's any way to fix it."

When Nicolas first saw the Ravenclaw's Diadem, he didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was just a broken alchemical artifact that Kyle had found at Hogwarts.

After all, it wouldn't be surprising to find anything in that thousand-year-old school.

With the intuition of an alchemist master, Nicolas quickly noticed the unusual nature of the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

His expression turned serious, as if he had considered a certain possibility.

"Could it be...?"

Nicolas suddenly tensed up and instinctively asked, "What is this...?"

"It's nothing, just Ravenclaw's Diadem," Kyle said casually.

"The Ravenclaw's Diadem that was lost for a thousand years?" Nicolas couldn't help but stand up.

For almost all alchemists, the Ravenclaw's Diadem, which increases wisdom, is like the Philosopher's Stone —something that exists only in legend.

Nicolas already possessed the Philosopher's Stone, but he had never actually seen the Ravenclaw's Diadem, which was one of the few regrets in his long life of six hundred years.

I never imagined it had always been at Hogwarts.

Albus actually told him that he had never seen him before, and that the principal was nothing more than a teenager.

Nicolas thought to himself, "That's what I'm complaining about."

However, there is another problem now.

Ravenclaw's Diadem was so worn out, it looked like it had been salvaged from a thrift store.

Logically speaking, magical items of this caliber shouldn't be able to rust...

Nicolas couldn't resist moving closer to examine the Ravenclaw's Diadem more closely.

His expression grew increasingly serious.

"This is... Horcrux?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded. "When I found it, it had already been made into Horcrux."

Even with Nicolas's composure, she felt like swearing now.

Even the Herpo the Foul wouldn't dare to turn Ravenclaw's Diadem into Horcrux.

Nicolas tried touching the Ravenclaw's Diadem, and no one knows what he did, but a black mist suddenly surged out and swirled around the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

Faint whispers drifted from all around.

"Smack!"

The House-elf Tata instantly Apparition in front of Nicolas, nervously pointing at the black mist.

"Don't be nervous, Tata," Nicolas said, pressing his fingers down, and the black mist returned to the Ravenclaw's Diadem.

Kyle put it back in the box before continuing:

"I came here to ask if there's any way to remove the soul fragments attached to it."

Nicolas responded softly.

He didn't ask Kyle where he found the Ravenclaw's Diadem, or whether Dumbledore knew... He simply asked with interest, "What are your thoughts?"

"If it's simply a matter of destroying the Horcrux, there are many ways..."

Kyle said, "The Basilisk Fang, the Fiendfyre, the Dementor's Kiss, or even the Killing Curse can dissipate the soul fragments inside."

"But all these methods will cause some degree of damage to the Ravenclaw's Diadem itself."

"I'm glad you thought of that."

Nicolas chuckled, "When an item is made into Horcrux, it and the soul fragments placed inside it become one... or rather, the entire Ravenclaw's Diadem is its soul."

Now I understand a little better why that person chose the Ravenclaw's Diadem as a vessel. For most people, even if they knew it was Horcrux, they probably wouldn't be willing to destroy it.

In this respect, this man is far more astute than the Herpo the Foul.

"Are you confident you can fix it?" Kyle asked. "If possible, I happen to have Basilisk venom, or I could use Dementor."

They're right there in Hogsmeade, and there's only one Ministry of Magic official guarding them. If we act quickly, catching a couple shouldn't be a problem."

Nicolas's expression was somewhat strange.

He could understand the Basilisk's venom. Dumbledore had said before that the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets was now Kyle's, so releasing some venom was naturally not a problem.

But catching Dementor... isn't that a bit too risky? Can you just catch those things like that?

"Ahem, no need, I have a better way." Nicolas waved his hand. "Although it might take a little longer, I can guarantee that it won't cause any damage to the Ravenclaw's Diadem."

"What method?" Kyle asked curiously.

"An ancient Potions for the soul," Nicolas said calmly. "I once saw it on a stone tablet in an attempt to prove that Horcrux weren't alchemy. Coincidentally, this Potions was also invented by that Herpo the Foul."

"Herpo the Foul... Potions from a thousand years ago?"

Kyle frowned and asked, "After all this time, is it still possible to find those Potions ingredients?"

"No problem," Nicolas laughed. "I've stored many ancient Potions ingredients using special methods. Even if one or two are missing, I can always find suitable substitutes."

"But child..." He shifted his gaze from the box, looking calmly at Kyle, "You seem to have a deep understanding of Horcrux."

"Yes, I've been researching this for a while because of an idea."

Kyle didn't hide anything, "I'm preparing to..."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me."

Nicolas interrupted Kyle again, "I believe you can make the right judgment, and you must have your own reasons for doing so."

I'm not blaming you, but rather reminding you... Do you remember what I said to you back in Paris?

If you need, you can always visit my private library again; it has a large and diverse collection of books..."

Nicolas blinked, and while Kyle was distracted, she quietly took the box away.

By the time Kyle noticed, the items had already been neatly packed into a bag by him, and he did it with remarkable speed and efficiency.

Of course, Kyle was originally planning to hand the Ravenclaw's Diadem to him anyway, and he certainly wouldn't take it back, so Nicolas's little tricks were really unnecessary.

In addition to the Ravenclaw's Diadem, he also plans to begin searching for other Horcrux.

Kyle wasn't sure if he could stop Voldemort from rising from the dead, but he could at least set a small goal... like getting all of Voldemort's Horcrux before he came back to life.