The Lost Bronze Ring

Dumbledore stepped out of the room and strode towards the third floor, where the Defence Against Dark Magic office was located.

William didn't return to the Ravenclaw Common Room; instead, he followed the crowd at the back, like a nobody.

The professors were all worried and paid him no attention.

A number of teachers had gathered outside Professor Tywin's office, with Professor McGonagall standing on the outermost edge, wiping away tears with a handkerchief.

This was the first time William had ever seen McGonagall cry.

Snape frowned, looking extremely confused... even worried.

Everyone remained silent. Dumbledore strode in and, upon seeing the scene in the office, his pupils contracted slightly.

William peered inside through the crack.

The office was extremely tidy, as if nothing had gone wrong... but in one corner of the office, there was a private bathroom with its wooden door wide open.

Professor Tywin sat slumped on the toilet, head bowed, his robes tattered and the bloodstains already congealed. A long wound lay on his chest, seemingly the fatal one.

The most terrifying thing was his legs. Through the ripped robe, one could see grotesque teeth marks on his legs, a truly horrifying sight!

Professor Tywin is dead.

He died on the toilet in his office bathroom.

Dumbledore stepped forward, gently placing his hand on Tywin's chest, feeling the Dark Magic beneath his touch.

After Snape entered, he bent down, pointed to the wound, and said something to Dumbledore, but the old man simply shook his head.

William couldn't hear what the two were saying; his entire attention was drawn to the row of teeth marks.

His face was pale.

These were definitely the teeth marks of a large Magical Creatures, and so dense and menacing that William could only think of Fluffy, at Hogwarts.

He suppressed his nausea, observed for a moment, then turned and left the room.

Professor Flitwick saw this and followed.

Professor Flitwick led William to his office and took a piece of chocolate from his drawer.

He handed it to me and said gently, "Child, eat this. You must have been terrified by what you saw."

William took it and took a big bite to calm his shock.

Professor Flitwick choked up again.

Poor Robert, he only has a few months left before graduation.

Of course, Professor Tywin is the same; he told me just a few days ago that he's going to resign after teaching for a year...

William remained silent. He didn't know how Robert had died, but the teeth marks on Professor Tywin's feet were unmistakable.

Is that Fluffy?

It's entirely possible that Professor Tywin accidentally entered the Room of Requirement and then encountered Fluffy.

So what will happen to Hagrid, who illegally kept a Cerberus?

William chewed on his chocolate, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Professor, what would happen if the murderer were caught?"

Professor Flitwick sighed. "They'll definitely send him to Azkaban. The situation is too dire; he'll probably be imprisoned for life."

Although it was April, William felt as cold as if it were winter.

"What's wrong, William?" Professor Flitwick noticed this and pulled a large bag of chocolates from his drawer.

"If that's not enough, I have more here that might make you a little more comfortable."

"It's nothing, Professor, I just..." William didn't know what to say.

Just then, a commotion arose again from outside the corridor.

William heard the voice of Fudge, the Minister for Magic.

With such a major incident at Hogwarts, Dumbledore naturally had to notify the Ministry of Magic.

Through the window, William saw a large number of Auror gathered in the castle square.

Professor Flitwick sighed, and said uneasily, "If the murderer isn't caught, the school will probably be closed. Fifty years ago, a student died, and the school almost went out of business."

Today, a student and a professor died...

William didn't know how he left Professor Flitwick's office. His head was buzzing. He wanted to find Cedric, but the Hufflepuff Common Room was probably under martial law now.

William paced the corridor several times, wanting to go find Hagrid, but he held back. He sat at the top of the stairs, racking his brains for a solution.

William certainly doesn't want Hagrid to go to Azkaban, but what if Professor Tywin really dies at Fluffy's hands...?

After an unknown amount of time, William got up and went up to the Seventh Floor.

After circling around three times, the doorknob of the Room of Requirement appeared, and he opened the door and went inside.

Following the congealed bloodstains on the ground, William found Fluffy in a corner, licking his paws.

Its claws were charred black, and there was a wound on one of them.

The last glimmer of hope vanished.

Professor Tywin must have accidentally entered the Room of Requirement. But Fluffy didn't recognize him and started fighting with him.

Wait... how did Professor Tywin get into the Room of Requirement?

William's dark green eyes lit up, as if he had noticed something amiss.

He overlooked something important!

William circled Fluffy, carefully considering the entire process.

Generally speaking, if someone is using the Room of Requirement, outsiders cannot enter unless that person knows how the person Room of Requirement is using the room.

For example, if William needs a place to hide something, and he's inside, the room will only appear if the other people also want to hide something; otherwise, they simply cannot enter.

In other words... if Fluffy was inside, Professor Tywin could only enter the room if he wanted to hide something.

Why would a Hogwarts professor like Tywin need to hide anything in the Room of Requirement?

William looked around with his head down, but there was too much trash around, and he had no idea which item belonged to Professor Tywin.

William sighed. Fluffy lowered his head, panting, trying to rub against William's thigh.

Cerberus has a strong ability to recover; a minor injury is nothing to Fluffy. He was mainly hungry!

All you do is eat! You'll eat yourself to death someday!

William kicked the middle tooth of the skull without hesitation, sending it flying away.

Ding-dong!

With a crisp thud, a ring fell from Fluffy's mouth, bounced on the ground, rolled a few times, and landed in the trash heap.

William frowned, followed the sound, walked quickly over, rummaged through the trash for a while, and picked up the ring.

It was a Bronze Ring shaped like an eagle, with an antique design and a cool, refreshing feel to the touch.

There is also a line of smaller text on the inner ring.

Exceptional wisdom is humanity's greatest treasure.

(First update, please vote. Thanks to BABYLON for the donation)