Chapter 296: Dumbledore's Shock
Approaching the diadem, Dudley's brow furrowed slightly.
He sensed a dark magic aura, quite strong.
Looking at the diadem before him, he could feel a powerful magical force upon it, though this magical power seemed to have been infiltrated by dark magic, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure!"
Dudley noticed an inscription along the lower edge of the diadem and read it aloud softly.
"If I'm not mistaken, this seems to be Ravenclaw's motto. This diadem really does belong to Ravenclaw House."
Seeing this, Dudley could almost certainly confirm the object was connected to Ravenclaw House. The eagle emblem and Ravenclaw's famous quote—yet why did this object carry such a strong dark magic aura?
Even more, it carried a familiar taste.
"Reveal secrets," Dudley cast the spell, targeting the diadem, but nothing happened.
Dudley hooked his finger slightly, and the diadem flew up, hovering in mid-air.
With his Spirit Vision activated, Dudley could faintly see a black shadow hidden deep within the diadem. It appeared to be a human figure.
"Wait..."
Dudley's face changed dramatically.
He suddenly realised why this object felt familiar.
He immediately retrieved the black diary from the Mirror of Erised.
"A Horcrux!"
Dudley nearly gasped the words aloud.
This discovery shocked Dudley immensely.
He had just been thinking about searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes when he found one here.
Was this truly guidance from fate?
This couldn't be such a coincidence.
"Blazing flames!"
Dudley cast the spell directly at the diadem.
Hum!
Terrible flames erupted from nothing, engulfing the diadem directly, yet they caused no harm whatsoever.
Dudley tried several more spells in succession, but none could affect the diadem.
This was almost identical to how the diary had behaved previously.
Combined with the familiar aura between the two and the black shadow hidden deep within the diadem, he was certain this was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
"If that's the case, then when Voldemort brought me here before, it wasn't just to gain my trust. He wanted to check if his other Horcruxes were safe?" Dudley speculated to himself.
"After all, criminals always want to revisit the scene of the crime, don't they?"
Dudley said to the diadem.
"I was planning to go back to sleep, but it looks like I need to trouble Professor Dumbledore again."
Dudley stored the diadem in the Mirror of Erised, placing it beside the Trunsoest Brass Book.
Without hesitation, he immediately left the Room of Requirement.
Making his way back around, Dudley arrived at Dumbledore's office door once more.
He knocked.
"Come in," Dumbledore's voice came.
Dudley pushed the door open and entered.
"Ah, Dudley, we meet again. What brings you back?" Dumbledore looked surprised to see Dudley.
Indeed, less than half an hour had passed since they parted, and Dudley had already returned.
"Professor Dumbledore, what would you think if I said I've discovered another Horcrux belonging to Voldemort?" Dudley asked with a light laugh.
Dumbledore first showed a surprised expression, then carefully observed Dudley, as if determining whether he was joking.
Subsequently, his expression became serious, for he sensed Dudley wasn't joking.
"If you're referring to discovering a clue about a Horcrux, then I would certainly believe you," Dumbledore said with a light laugh.
He sensed that Dudley had truly discovered something. However, it probably wasn't a direct discovery of a Horcrux itself, but rather a clue to one.
After all, only half an hour had passed since Dudley left his office. In such a short time, it was impossible for Dumbledore to believe Dudley had found Voldemort's Horcrux. He had long suspected Voldemort might have created Horcruxes and had been searching all this time, but found no clues until that diary appeared.
If Dudley could discover a Horcrux in just half an hour, Dumbledore felt he had truly wasted all these years.
"It's not a clue," Dudley said.
"It's a genuine Horcrux!"
With those words, Dudley retrieved the exquisite diadem.
"This... this is..."
The moment Dumbledore saw the diadem, his pupils contracted sharply. He froze in place.
His gaze fixed intensely on the diadem hovering in mid-air.
This object was almost identical to the diadem described in legends.
"Ravenclaw's Diadem!"
After a long moment, Dumbledore exhaled and spoke.
"You recognise this diadem?" Dudley asked, somewhat surprised.
"According to legend, Ravenclaw possessed a diadem which, when worn on one's head, would increase wisdom," Dumbledore explained.
"The diadem you've brought is almost identical to the legendary Ravenclaw Diadem."
Dumbledore came out from behind his desk and cautiously approached the diadem, examining it carefully.
"It truly is Ravenclaw's Diadem!"
Dumbledore confirmed that the diadem before him was indeed Ravenclaw's Diadem.
Moreover, he sensed the dark magic aura upon it.
"Ravenclaw's Diadem?" Dudley's brow furrowed. "Then Voldemort transformed Ravenclaw's Diadem into a Horcrux!"
"Where did you discover it?" Dumbledore asked, carefully taking Ravenclaw's Diadem in his hands.
In such a short time, Dudley most likely found it somewhere in Hogwarts. Yet after all these centuries, Voldemort's Horcrux had been right under his nose the entire time, and he had never discovered it.
"Right next to your office, in a very peculiar room I'm calling the Room of Requirement," Dudley briefly explained the Room of Requirement.
"Which means this object has been very close to me all this time," Dumbledore sighed.
"Precisely," Dudley nodded.
"This is likely what they call being blind to what's directly in front of you. The most dangerous place is the safest place. If I hadn't accidentally discovered it, I doubt you would ever have considered that Voldemort would place his own Horcrux inside Hogwarts Castle."
"Yes, yes, I overlooked it," Dumbledore said.
The Horcrux that was supposed to be extremely difficult to find had been discovered this dramatically. Was Dudley's luck truly this good?
"Professor Dumbledore, I've suddenly thought of a question. If Voldemort would transform Ravenclaw's Diadem into a Horcrux, wouldn't he possibly use relics from the other Hogwarts founders to create other Horcruxes?" Dudley voiced his thoughts.
"After all, from what I've observed, I don't believe Voldemort would carelessly transform just any rubbish into his Horcrux."