Allen stopped worrying about how the system would handle the Diadem containing a fragment of Voldemort's soul and quickly left the Room of Requirement. Seizing the chance to continue exploring Rowena Ravenclaw's statue was the priority.
To avoid alerting whoever had placed the Troll there, Allen activated the invisibility function of the Miaomiao Wizard Robe. It proved to be an excellent decision. The moment he slipped out of the Room of Requirement, he saw Professor Quirrell, pale-faced and flustered, hurrying upstairs from below.
Could the seemingly timid Professor Quirrell really be the one who had soaked the Troll in Preservation Potion? Allen, who knew the rough outline of the plot, had no doubts about it. After all, Voldemort was hiding behind Professor Quirrell's garlic-smelling turban! Voldemort's sense of taste probably had not recovered yet, right? Otherwise, if it had, wouldn't he be surrounded by the smell of garlic every day? Allen wondered whether it would make him question his entire existence.
Lost in random thoughts, Allen soon returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room. The Ravenclaw students who were still enjoying themselves had not returned yet. Allen repeated his earlier method, taking out the Diadem purified by the system and placing it atop Rowena Ravenclaw's curls. Its shape fit perfectly, but the Diadem was soon flung away by an unseen force. It slid off the statue's smooth head, landed on a chair with a crisp clatter, then bounced onto the carpet.
Where had he gone wrong? Allen hurriedly jumped down and picked up the Diadem. This really did not look like Ravenclaw's Diadem. The old crown did not possess the slightest gleam. Allen drew his wand and pointed it at the Diadem. "Reparo"—but it did not change in the slightest and remained just as shabby.
At a complete loss, Allen simply cast every remotely relevant spell he could think of, including Scourgify and Revelio, but the Diadem still showed no change. Until—
Allen remembered the Magic Orb of the Goddess of Luck he had received before the school year began. He took the orb and the Encyclopedia of Spells from the system's storage slot. Ever since the Lucky Elves had cast the curse-breaking Incantation, the Encyclopedia of Spells had automatically recorded it, complete with phonetic guidance!
Since Allen was already helpless when it came to the Diadem, he might as well give it a try. Perhaps a miracle would happen!
As Allen studied the Incantation, time slipped away bit by bit. When he heard voices outside answering the riddle, he suddenly realized that the Halloween lakeside Bal Masqué had ended, and the common room would soon become lively again. To be safe, he should stop studying for now. After all, whether he went or not, the statue would still be there. It could not go anywhere.
After quickly putting the chair back in place, Allen ran back to the dormitory. Soon, noise rose from the common room, then quickly faded away into the distance.
The bedroom door was shoved open with a bang, and Edward charged in excitedly. Seeing Allen sitting at his desk, Edward was not surprised in the least, which made Allen somewhat puzzled.
"Allen, you came back so early? I really don't understand what you top students find interesting. Such a fun dance, and you still chose to read." As Edward spoke, he pulled off his sweater, which was covered in cream and butter. Clearly, he had had a wonderful night, and the sweater was proof of just how wildly he had played.
After November began, the weather turned exceptionally cold. The mountains surrounding the school were gray and covered in ice and snow, while the lake was cold and hard like quenched steel. Every morning, frost covered the ground. From the upstairs windows, they could see Hagrid wrapped in a long moleskin coat, wearing rabbit-fur Gloves and enormous beaver-fur boots, defrosting Flying Broomsticks on the Quidditch Pitch.
The Quidditch season was about to begin. Roger was bursting with energy as if he had been injected with stimulants, dragging Allen and the others into training whenever he had the time. Their Quidditch practices thus increased from three times a week to five.
The professors did not relax their academic demands just because the thrilling Quidditch season had arrived. "A truly outstanding wizard can withstand any pressure—any pressure!" Professor Snape declared as he assigned an additional ten inches of parchment homework.
Compared with the other students, Allen was clearly much busier. He absolutely could not fall behind in Quidditch training. Besides completing the assignments given by the professors, he had to get up early to practice the Basic Body Refining Technique, diligently accumulate Potions-related books in the library... More importantly, during the hour before bed, Allen carefully studied the Lucky Elves' pronunciation and casting movements for the curse-breaking Incantation.
Before you continue