Having made his decision, Karl immediately took action, going to the Ravenclaw Tower to find Nina and Helena.
After some discussion, Karl, having organized his words, arrived before the gargoyle in the corridor on the eighth floor of the Castle.
"Stubborn Donkey, it's me, we're old acquaintances, could you please open the door?"
Gargoyle: (._.)
"Alright then, listen to my menu: cockroach skewers, sizzling bees… huh?"
Under Karl's dumbfounded gaze, the gargoyle moved, hopping aside to reveal the spiral staircase behind it.
"Ah, this… did I get lucky and guess right, or has this thick-browed, big-eyed fellow also started following procedures?"
He strongly suspected that Dumbledore had given him a back door, allowing anything he said to pass.
Ascending the spiral staircase, Karl quickly arrived at the Principal's office.
The portraits of past Principals hanging on the wall immediately began to chatter when they saw him.
Especially Phineas Nigellus Black, who glared furiously at Karl.
"Look, look! This cunning and despicable brat is here again! What does he want to do now?"
"Dumbledore, I must remind you, you are the Principal of Hogwarts, and you should not collude with this brat!"
This fellow was extremely displeased with Karl; it was likely that the phrase "all the Sickles from the three major houses will be returned, and the Galleons from Slytherinwill be split three-seven" had left this Slytherin-born Principal with deep resentment.
"Principal Black, you're already hanging on the wall, so don't be so angry. What if you spontaneously combust?"
Seeing the seemingly obedient Karl speak such disrespectful words to him, Phineas Black was so angry he bounced in his portrait frame.
"Dumbledore! Expel him quickly! Such a student should not remain at Hogwarts!"
Dumbledore, who was enjoying the show, suppressed a smile and winked at Karl.
"You must maintain a Principal's demeanor, Phineas, Mr. Orolin is only a first-year student."
But Phineas Black didn't buy it, "Principal's demeanor? Dumbledore, you're always like this, I don't understand why you always show favoritism to these…"
"Shut up! Black!"
Principal Dilys Derwent next to him sharply interrupted him, "Watch your words!"
"What about me? You're as peculiar as Dumbledore, fond of associating with Muggle-born students!"
Before long, all the Principal portraits joined the argument between Dilys Derwent and Phineas Black.
It quickly escalated from irrelevant bickering to personal attacks, revealing a large number of hidden incidents.
This left Karl, who was observing, extremely satisfied, feeling a thrill akin to Xiao Huan entering a melon field when Run-tu isn't home.
Isn't this a million times more interesting than some "Secret Stories of Hogwarts Principals"?
Unfortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore didn't let Karl listen to his fill; with a gentle wave of his hand, a huge curtain covered the entire wall.
It not only blocked the portraits on the wall but also isolated the sound.
After all, such matters of former Principals exposing each other's dirty laundry were not suitable for students to hear.
"Karl, what can I do for you?"
Hearing this, Karl immediately put aside his regret of not being able to hear more gossip.
"Principal, I must report Professor Heller for harboring malicious intent, causing chaos at Hogwarts; his crime is unforgivable!"
Dumbledore: (⊙ˍ⊙)
He motioned for Karl to sit down and poured him a steaming cup of hot tea.
"I think we have plenty of time; you can tell me in detail, slowly."
"Alright!"
Karl sat down opposite Dumbledore, and then immediately dropped a bombshell.
"Principal, Professor Heller lured me to the Room of Requirement, where I encountered Lord Voldemort."
The impact of this sentence was quite significant, directly causing Dumbledore's originally gentle expression to suddenly turn serious.
"Karl, I truly didn't expect to hear that name from you. You must know who he is, so you wouldn't joke with me, right?"
"Principal, I am serious. In the Room of Requirement, I found Ravenclaw's diadem, and Lord Voldemort's soul was within the diadem."
Regarding Dumbledore not knowing about the Room of Requirement, Karl didn't believe it when he first read the book.
Because the first mention of the Room of Requirementcame from his own mouth, and it was to outsiders.
When Dumbledore was discussing school secrets with Igor Karkaroff, the Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, he mentioned that he had taken a wrong turn while going to the restroom and ended up in a beautifully decorated room with various luxurious chamber pots, and that the room disappeared after he left and he could never find it again.
At the time, Karl was only puzzled as to why Dumbledoresecretly winked at Harry, suspecting he was hinting to Harry about a magic room.
Later, when he learned the method for entering the Room of Requirement, Karl believed it even less.
Because it was hard for him to imagine Dumbledorewalking back and forth three times in front of a tapestry when he was in a hurry to use the restroom.
What, did he get lost in a corridor?
It couldn't be that the old man couldn't hold it anymore and wanted to relieve himself on the spot, could it?
Later, when "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was released, the mystery was finally solved: Dumbledore not only knew about the Room of Requirement, but he also used it very skillfully.
Dumbledore silently met Karl's gaze, then let out a deep sigh.
"Ravenclaw's diadem, Lord Voldemort's soul… combining them is not good news."
"To choose to place it in that room, his grasp of human nature is even more precise than I imagined."
"Karl, you've spoken with him, haven't you? What did he say to you?"
In fact, ever since Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard, he had never been to the Room of Requirement again.
Karl scratched his head, feigning embarrassment, preparing to use this opportunity to bring up the Fiendfyre Curse.
"Lord Voldemort said he had conquered death and had gone further than anyone on the path to eternal life. He wanted me to follow him and teach me how to create something called a Horcrux."
Upon hearing the word Horcrux, a glint flashed in Dumbledore's eyes, "And then?"
"Then I burned him with Fiendfyre, but he said he would meet me again."
Karl's face showed a look of guilt, "I'm sorry, Principal, I heard Nina talk about the power of Fiendfyre, so I secretly went to the Restricted Section to learn the Fiendfyre Curse."
Dumbledore blinked, suddenly unsure what to say.
Not only because Lord Voldemort's Horcrux was easily destroyed, but also because of Karl's reason for learning Fiendfyre.
Nina must have learned about Fiendfyre from Queenieand Newt.
After all, one crossed a fire circle, and the other, along with Nicolas Flamel and others, prevented Fiendfyre from destroying Paris.
And the source of Fiendfyre… was that person…
Gellert Grindelwald.