Gryffindor: Yes!

You may not respect Albus Dumbledore, but you must respect the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, member of the Magical Law Enforcement Committee, and the repeatedly nominated Minister-to-be.

It is worth mentioning that what Fudge fears most is that final title.

It means that as long as Albus Dumbledore wants to be the Minister for Magic and has someone impeach Fudge, Dumbledore could step into the position quite naturally.

The entire Ministry of Magic wouldn't even have a transition period.

No matter who sits in that Minister's chair, they would never feel secure.

After Professor Vinda Rosier's black tea was served, she did not drink it immediately, but instead elegantly held the cup and inhaled the tea's aroma.

Then, the box beside her drifted down onto the table in front of Albus Dumbledore.

"What... is this?" Albus Dumbledore had his suspicions, yet he asked subconsciously.

It is said that everyone develops occupational habits—having been an educator for so long, the "teacher" aura had practically seeped into Albus Dumbledore's very bones.

"The Diadem of Ravenclaw—also the Horcrux of my spendthrift senior, Tom Riddle." Isaac's words made the fingers Albus Dumbledore used to open the lid tremble.

A very ominous premonition suddenly rose in Albus Dumbledore's heart.

Before Albus Dumbledore could say anything, the portraits of past headmasters on the office wall began to stir.

Especially the few headmasters who had come from Ravenclaw House.

After all, the Diadem of Ravenclaw had been missing for nearly a thousand years; that is a thousand years—even Nicolas Flamel hasn't lived that long.

The fact that a diadem missing for a millennium was now being welcomed back was, in itself, sensational news.

Seeing this, Albus Dumbledore's hand, which had been reaching toward the exquisite box, suddenly froze.

The focus of all the headmasters on the wall was on the Diadem of Ravenclaw, but his focus was entirely on the second half of the sentence.

Voldemort's Horcrux...

As a knowledgeable master of magic, could Albus Dumbledore possibly not know how to destroy a Horcrux?

There are only a few ways to do it.

Other methods require the use of certain artifacts, but the Fiendfyre Curse does not; a single spell is enough to destroy a Horcrux.

Now, Isaac had come to find him carrying a Horcrux, accompanied by Vinda Rosier, once the lieutenant of Grindelwald.

Given Isaac's personality, could he have brought back an intact Horcrux?

In the days they had spent together, Albus Dumbledore had pretty much figured out Isaac's temperament.

The boy was a good kid, that went without saying.

He had high magical talent and was sensible. Perhaps due to his status as a seer, Isaac was clearly more mature than the average young wizard.

But that wasn't a bad thing.

There was just one point: Isaac was a bit petty.

The Death Eaters who went to attack Isaac were, unsurprisingly, likely dispatched by Voldemort; perhaps it was just a test from Voldemort.

But when Isaac saw that he had finished off Quirrell and Voldemort, his joy was not faked.

At the time, Isaac hadn't even bothered to hide it.

If Isaac could be that happy then, could Voldemort's Horcrux possibly be intact now that it had fallen into his hands?

Don't make Headmaster Albus Dumbledore laugh.

"Dumbledore, open the box and let us see the Diadem of Ravenclaw!" A headmaster on the wall was already impatient to admire the "relic" of Hogwarts.

"That's right, Albus! Stop keeping us in suspense, you old rascal!" More and more headmasters began to clamor.

Of course, there were a few headmasters here who knew about Horcruxes and how to destroy them.

They were uniformly silent, merely waiting with innocent expressions for Albus Dumbledore to "open the box."

This is bad.

I can't get away with not opening it.

If I open it, I'll become the greatest sinner in the history of Hogwarts!

Why is Voldemort so wicked!

Albus Dumbledore undoubtedly found the primary culprit and fiercely denounced Tom Riddle in his heart.

But the matter could not be delayed forever, and Albus Dumbledore could only silently open the exquisite box.

The headmaster's office went instantly silent.

"The Diadem of Ravenclaw... damaged after a thousand years? Such quality..." one blunt headmaster said subconsciously.

"Shut your mouth, you foolish monkey! That is the Diadem of Ravenclaw, how could it be damaged so easily?!"

The headmaster from Ravenclaw House turned red with anger; are you kidding me?

How powerful a witch was Ravenclaw! How could a diadem she crafted with her own hands be damaged so easily?

What's more...

"You fool, look closely! The shards of the diadem are still smoking!"

As these words fell, the gazes of every headmaster on the walls landed on Isaac, before shifting toward Professor Vinda.

"Ahem, I have something to say about this matter. My old senior, Tom, used a very wicked magic to forge the diadem into his own Horcrux. To prevent the diadem from being desecrated, I had no choice but to ask Professor Vinda to use the Fiendfyre Curse to purify the Diadem of Ravenclaw. It seems the purification effect was a bit too thorough, wouldn't you say?"

Hearing Isaac's words, the headmasters on the walls were nearly driven to laughter by their own indignation. They had lived their entire lives, and hung on these walls for even longer, yet this was truly the first time they had heard of the Fiendfyre Curse being used to purify dark magical objects.

"This boy has such thick skin and such a black heart; he is clearly a fine seedling for Slytherin!" a Ravenclaw headmaster remarked gloomily.

This statement gave the Slytherin-born headmasters a jolt, and they immediately retorted, "Nonsense! This boy is so bold, daring to do anything—he is clearly a talent belonging to Gryffindor!"

A Gryffindor-born headmaster chimed in, "Exactly!"

The headmaster's wall in the office began to grow rowdy, forcing Dumbledore to wave his hand helplessly. The velvet curtains on both sides of the wall fell, muffling the noise from the portraits.

Isaac placed his lemonade on the desk, rested his hands on his knees, and looked at Dumbledore with an innocent expression. "Professor Dumbledore, can this diadem still be repaired?"

"Hmm..." If it were an ordinary magical object, Dumbledore would have told Isaac immediately that anything scorched by Fiendfyre could never be mended. However, he had just seen the inscription clearly visible on the shards—the very phrase, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." For those words to remain legible even after being burned by Fiendfyre, there was clearly more to it than met the eye. But for Dumbledore to repair it himself, he simply lacked the time.

"I am not certain, but I will send it to an old friend of mine. I believe he would be very interested in restoring this diadem. Besides, Isaac, can you not simply foresee its outcome?"

"I certainly could—" Isaac nodded, "but life is more interesting when there are unknowns. If one knew everything in advance, wouldn't the future be terribly boring?"

Isaac chuckled, and for a fleeting moment, he caused both people in the office to fall into a trance.

How truly alike they were.