"Because Miss Hermione Granger recovered Ravenclaw's Diadem, which had been lost for a thousand years, her House will receive one hundred points! Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and applaud! This means Ravenclaw's wisdom has returned to us, and it was all made possible by Miss Granger's intelligence and meticulousness."
The next morning at breakfast, Dumbledore made this announcement from behind the lectern at the staff table, then took the initiative to applaud Hermione.
He was genuinely delighted. The return of the Diadem, one of Hogwarts' symbols, meant a great deal. Especially now that they had discovered it was also one of Voldemort's Horcruxes—this had likely given Dumbledore some ideas.
Gryffindor's sword had always been in his possession, and it was undoubtedly clean.
Then Slytherin's symbolic "wand" had already been destroyed in the United States, leaving only Slytherin's Locket as an heirloom. Could it be a Horcrux as well?
Following that line of thought, could Hufflepuff's Golden Cup be the same?
Dumbledore did not know where the locket was, but he knew that the Golden Cup was in an underground vault at Gringotts, where it had originally been placed to prevent theft.
Voldemort could undoubtedly enter a Gringotts vault. Neither goblins nor Dragons could stop him. Perhaps the Golden Cup had also been turned into a Horcrux.
He would know after taking a look later. Verifying it would be easy.
Just like that, Old Dumbledore had located three Horcruxes without doing much of anything. His plan had now shifted its focus to Hermione, allowing Harry to live peacefully.
Potter no longer needed to take risks, and Snape no longer had to be on edge every day. It was said that students had even recently spotted him smiling.
As he led the entire school in applause, Dumbledore looked wistfully at the man