The Room of Requirement

"Merlin, there's so much stuff!"

Staring at the endless clutter stretching beyond his field of vision, Ron gaped. Then, as if struck by a thought, his face flushed red.

"There might be antiques from a thousand years ago here..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Faced with such a magical room, that's the first thing you thought of?"

Ron scratched his cheek and muttered softly, "That's a normal person's reaction."

Vaughn watched with a smile. Once the three of them had gradually adjusted, he casually asked Harry, "Harry, do you feel anything?"

"Hm?" Harry found the question strange, but still answered, "Uh, it's amazing."

"What else?"

Harry looked a little confused. "What else should I feel?"

Ron and Hermione also looked at Vaughn curiously.

"Nothing, just asking." Vaughn waved a hand, then said, "You can look around. Maybe you'll really find antiques from a thousand years ago, like Ron said."

Ron immediately dragged Harry off to explore in excitement.

Hermione was also drawn to a pile of glittering objects and prepared to take a closer look.

Watching their backs recede into the distance, Vaughn's expression turned grave. He narrowed his eyes.

"Looks like the attraction and resonance between Horcruxes aren't there from the very beginning..."

On the third day after school started last week, Vaughn had found the Room of Requirement. Of course, it wasn't because he urgently needed a private space, but because this room, filled to the brim with junk, hid a treasure.

Ravenclaw's Diadem!

It was an alchemical marvel, said to grant wisdom to whoever wore it.

Vaughn didn't know what that so-called wisdom actually meant.

But without a doubt, as something once worn by Ravenclaw, one of the Four Founders and a legendary witch, it might contain the most mysterious and advanced magic of ancient alchemy.

Not to mention that Voldemort had turned it into a Horcrux!

Thinking of that socket-faced bastard, Vaughn's expression turned cold.

He had never imagined that one day, he would have to kneel before Voldemort and kiss his robes.

That maniac, who had split his soul and completely lost his mind, was not worth following—he wasn't even worth cooperating with.

But there was no denying that Voldemort was an extremely powerful wizard!

In his previous life, some people thought Voldemort was nothing special, that he couldn't even defeat an old man over a hundred years old like Dumbledore.

What they failed to consider was that Dumbledore had the Elder Wand and was also a master of Transfiguration.

It was clear from the original story that the Killing Curse was not unstoppable. It could be blocked, especially by objects created through Transfiguration—it could briefly grant life to inanimate objects, allowing them to be killed by the curse in a wizard's place.

Voldemort, who had spent his life studying the Unforgivable Curses, was practically hard-countered by Dumbledore.

Yet even so, Dumbledore had never truly defeated Voldemort.

"I still need time to grow. More importantly, I need to weaken Tom. At the very least, I have to make sure he doesn't come out and stir up trouble over the next few years, just like in the original story..."

Vaughn twirled his wand between his fingers, his gaze at the clutter dark and profound. Naturally, he had no intention of destroying the Horcruxes himself.

But that didn't stop him from finding them and handing them over to Dumbledore.

That great white wizard had always been puzzled as to why Voldemort could not die. Vaughn could give him a helping hand.

Old Dumbledore would surely be very grateful to him!

Originally, he had planned to use Harry's connection to the Horcruxes to find Ravenclaw's Diadem, but unfortunately, it seemed the time had not yet come.

He could only put in the work himself and slowly inspect the mountain of clutter piece by piece.

The magic of the Room of Requirement thrilled the trio, and they had originally decided to spend several more days playing there.

But the very next day, news that Harry had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team spread throughout Hogwarts.

Wood, the team captain, was deeply frustrated. He had repeatedly reminded Harry and the other team members to keep it secret, hoping to use Harry as a secret weapon.

But tight-lipped Harry had turned around and told all his friends.

And Fred and George, both members of the team, bounced around the next day telling everyone they met, "Harry is our Seeker! The House Cup is definitely ours this year!"

That night, Wood sat in despair on the Quidditch pitch, wondering what he was supposed to do in the future with so many blabbermouths on his team.

Harry was miserable too. He had nearly forgotten that his detention with Malfoy was going to last a week.

Compared with the later detention assignments, dusting the Trophy Room was actually the easiest—he had to help Professor Snape prepare potion ingredients!

As a result, the trio's plan to explore the Room of Requirement had to be postponed.

After searching the Room of Requirement for another two days without finding anything, Vaughn returned to Professor Snape's office that weekend.

The moment he pushed open the door, he heard Snape's sharp, cutting voice:

"Honestly, Potter, I'd love to pry open your skull and see whether it's stuffed full of slug slime instead of that thick, stupid brain of yours."

Malfoy snickered under his breath.

Only when he heard the door being pushed open did Snape lift his face, which had been almost pressed against Harry's head.

He glanced at Vaughn, pulled a note from a drawer, and handed it over.

Still as terse as ever, he said, "The books are in the library. This is the authorization slip. Read them yourself first."

"Thank you, Professor."

Vaughn thanked him, then shrugged helplessly at Harry, whose eyes had gone vacant from being sprayed with spit and who was looking at him pleadingly.

That was the professor's love for you, Harry. How could an outsider interfere?

At the library, Vaughn handed the slip to Madam Pince. This gaunt, elderly witch was the third most feared person among the young wizards.

Anyone who dared make a racket in the library would get a taste of her feather duster before being thrown out in disgrace.

She examined the note with hawk-like eyes, then looked Vaughn over and complained, "The Restricted Section? Why would Professor Snape issue such an outrageous authorization slip? The books there aren't meant to be borrowed by first-year students at all."

"The professor believes I'm qualified, Madam," Vaughn said with a smile.

"Hmph..." Madam Pince snorted through her nostrils like an enraged bull, but ultimately did not question him further.

"Follow me. And remember—quiet!"

Madam Pince led Vaughn to the Restricted Section at the back of the library.

She undid the magic sealing the Restricted Section, left Vaughn outside, and hurried in. When she emerged again, she was carrying several books. "Advanced Potion-Making, Magical Drafts and Potions, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, and this one... An Introduction to Dark Arts. These are the books Professor Snape has authorized you to borrow."

"Thank you, Madam." Vaughn accepted them.

Madam Pince gave him another long look and warned, "The contents of these books are all very dangerous. If you encounter any problems, go to Professor Snape or me immediately. Do you understand?"

After Vaughn agreed, Madam Pince finally allowed him to leave.