Ryan Smith hunched over as he wove through the cluttered pile of junk. Dust settled over his golden hair, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks, leaving streaks of grime across his otherwise handsome face.
He rummaged through a stack of dust-covered cauldrons, lifted a moldy old tapestry, and even pried open a chest whose bronze lock had long since rusted—only to find a heap of brittle, blackened bones inside.
"Damn it!"
Ryan kicked an empty bottle, sending it flying. The shattering glass rang out especially harshly in the vast, empty room.
Wade, who had been dozing off, jolted awake in alarm. His eyes flew open, and when he saw Ryan's furious expression, he couldn't help but rub his nose awkwardly.
If only he hadn't put the Transfigured Cauldron so far away—what a waste of everyone's time.
Ryan asked in a low voice, "Sir, if the diadem has already been taken… what will happen?"
Voldemort was silent for a while.
To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure whether the fragment of soul stored in the diadem still had the ability to cause trouble.
Because aside from the diary, the other Horcruxes had been quiet ever since they were created.
But back then, he had cast powerful protective magic on the diadem. If someone had dared to put it on their head… Hogwarts would surely have seen headlines about a student dying mysteriously by now.
Perhaps even a string of deaths.
So is it a professor who had taken it?
Unlikely… Professors have no need to urgently hide something, and this doesn't fit the usual pattern of discovering the Room of Requirement.
Voldemort's arrogance was innate. Even back when he still relied on school stipends, he never regarded the wizarding world's slaves—the house-elves—as worth his notice.
He had never spoken to them, much less tried to win them over. And so he had no idea that the Room of Requirement, which he thought of as his own private secret, was actually well known to every house-elf in Hogwarts.
After some thought, Voldemort concluded that the diadem should still be here.
Sure enough, after a brief silence in the communication bean, that impatient voice finally said:
[Check carefully. Those careless fools might have dropped the diadem on the floor while moving other things.]
Panting, Ryan braced his hands on his knees and stared at the mountain of junk. "Are you sure? It's still here?"
The voice on the other end replied with cryptic certainty:
[If the diadem had left the chamber, I would have sensed it.]
After a pause, Ryan heard the voice again:
[You long for supreme wisdom, yet you cannot endure a few hours of labor?]
Ryan's face flushed red with shame. Without another word, he bent back down and kept searching, not uttering a single complaint.
Time dragged on. After another two or three hours, Ryan finally uncovered the place where the "diadem" was hidden.
He picked it up, gave the rusted, shabby object a quick glance, then casually tossed it over his shoulder.
Wade, who had just stood up: "…"
The diadem clattered noisily as it landed back in the pile of junk, then rolled with a rattle beneath a collapsed sofa.
Ryan kept digging—pushing aside some books, hefting an old chessboard and throwing it aside. He bent down to pick up a chipped plate, when his hand suddenly froze.
Wait a second—what is it I am looking for again?
…The diadem?
Did I just throw away something that looked exactly like it?
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
A few seconds later, Ryan let out a piercing scream and lunged toward the spot where he had casually tossed the object.
Wade: "...?"
He sighed, flicked his wand, and the diadem that had rolled out of sight quietly shifted into view, allowing the glint of the gemstone to reach Ryan's eyes.
"Found it!"
Ryan rushed over, snatched up the diadem, and nearly burst into tears of joy.
Clutching the long-lost treasure as though it were the most precious thing in the world, he reveled in his discovery before proudly declaring, "I finally found it! Ravenclaw's Diadem!"
Voldemort: "..."
He thought back to his own trip to Romania, when he had searched through countless trees in the forest to locate the one hollow hiding the diadem—and still, Ryan's struggle to find it seemed far more ridiculous.
[Put it on,] came the voice from the communication bean, sounding as though even it had breathed a sigh of relief. [You will gain Rowena Ravenclaw's wisdom and knowledge.]
"Yes!"
Ryan lifted the hem of his robe and wiped the dust from the diadem. Then, like a king at his coronation, he solemnly raised it high and placed it upon his head.
By then, Wade had silently stepped behind him. The instant the diadem brushed against Ryan's hair, a silent spell shot from Wade's wand and struck him square in the back.
Lightning flashed!
In that instant, Ryan felt the world collapse into a blinding whiteness. Sharp, piercing pain stabbed into his skin like needles, racing along his nerves. His fingertips burned, his hair stood on end, his whole body went rigid, unable to move—and even his consciousness seemed to shatter.
Behind him, the wand moved like a conductor's baton, tracing smooth arcs through the air.
Sensory Amplification Charm!
Ryan had never felt his mind so clear. The sticky grime of sweat and dust clinging to his skin seemed to vanish. His vision sharpened until he could see each speck of dust spiraling in the air.
Confundus Charm! Memory Modification!
Countless strange symbols poured into him like a torrential downpour, as if the magical knowledge of Rowena Ravenclaw was flooding his mind.
"Ah—!"
Ryan groaned, half in pain, half in ecstasy. His knees slammed against the floor, yet he felt no pain.
In his vision, endless streams of knowledge danced before his eyes: ancient runes, celestial charts, unfamiliar incantations, secrets of alchemy…
In his ears, an urgent question echoed:
[What happened?]
"I… I saw it… I felt it…"
Ryan's fingers dug hard into the floor as his whole body shook from the searing pain, yet his face twisted into a crazed smile.
"This is Ravenclaw's wisdom! So much knowledge… all the secrets… ah… hahaha…"
Ryan burst into maniacal laughter, then clutched his head and screamed in agony.
Suddenly, a thought shot through his mind like lightning, cutting through the haze and instantly clearing his chaotic thoughts. It solved a question that had haunted him for so long.
"I understand… I understand everything now…"
Slowly, Ryan rose from the floor. A streak of blood trickled from his nose. He wiped it away with his hand and spoke with absolute certainty:
"You're not some thousand-year-old ghost wandering the library, nor a benevolent guide… You are Voldemort, aren't you?"
All sound in his ears abruptly vanished.
"Everyone says you died. I thought so too. But you're still alive."
Ryan's lips curled into a blood-stained grin.
"Fortunately, you're alive."
"Great Dark Lord, why hide your true identity? If you had revealed who you were earlier, I would have followed you from the very beginning!"
Voldemort: …Really?
But when he had sent Ryan to infiltrate the Room of Requirement, this same boy had hesitated so much from fear of being discovered that he missed several chances.
Ryan pressed on feverishly: "The wizarding world today is rotten! It does nothing but retreat and grovel under Muggle threats!"
"I have longed for someone like you to appear… Lord Voldemort, I've heard of your deeds, and I always regretted being born too late!"
"I am willing to serve you! The wizarding world needs a new order—one ruled by strength and bloodlines! Not just Britain, not just Europe or America—the whole world should kneel at your feet! And I will be the witness to this glory!"
Voldemort: …
How exactly did that fragment of soul twist into this? I never even fully conquered Britain, and now it's pushing Ryan into delusions of world domination?
Although, thinking back… the younger me was just as arrogant.
And if I kill Dumbledore and Grindelwald, then seize the protection charm hidden in Harry Potter's bloodline… perhaps uniting the world's wizards isn't entirely impossible…
After a long silence, Ryan finally heard a cold, low voice whisper in his ear:
[Then prove your worth. Bring Harry Potter to me!]
"Yes, my master!" Ryan shouted.
He shut off the communication bean and stood up. His lips twitched, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Then he let out a peal of wild, derisive laughter:
"Hahahaha… So Voldemort is nothing more than this… hahahahaha…"
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