At this, Karl's spirits immediately lifted.
He told Dumbledore everything: how Heller had lured him to the Room of Requirement to find the Horcrux, and what he had said to him after class.
"Oh, and Principal, he also has a metal pendant with a Basilisk biting its tail, inscribed with ancient Greek words that say, 'May the esteemed Herpo the Foul have mercy upon us.'"
Dumbledore frowned at his words; it seemed things were more complicated than he had imagined.
He had initially thought it was a Death Eater who had luckily escaped, but now...
He was suspected to be a fanatical follower of Herpo the Foul, knowledgeable about Horcrux creation and Basiliskhatching, and even involved Lord Voldemort.
"Karl, did Elvis Heller say you made him lose an option?"
"That's right."
Dumbledore detected a problem; this attitude and approach didn't seem like valuing Lord Voldemort's Horcrux, but rather treating it as a tool that could be utilized.
Interesting, what was he planning to do?
If Lord Voldemort's Horcrux appeared in Hogwarts, who would be most affected?
Undoubtedly, Dumbledore confirmed that person was himself.
He would definitely seize the opportunity to search for various clues about Lord Voldemort, and leave Hogwartsfor a period of time.
So... could this be Elvis Heller's goal?
Karl noticed Dumbledore's thoughtful expression, so he added, "Mr. Principal, the Acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest has been acting strangely; they've all hidden themselves. I suspect Elvis Heller brought a Basilisk into the school."
With such dangerous behavior, shouldn't you, old man, take action and get rid of him?
Dumbledore's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he smiled at Karl, "I remember saying at the beginning of the term that Young Wizards are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest."
"Ah ha ha ha! This was to investigate the sealing curses!"
"What did you find?"
"The last time it appeared was when Hogwarts Castlewas built; a Wizard calling himself Merlin might have used this type of curse on the Castle's magic core?"
Karl stared intently at Dumbledore, hoping Nina's deduction was correct.
"Very good, that's all I know too. It seems Miss Goldstein has indeed helped you a lot."
"Do you believe that Wizard was Merlin? Helena said he was very young, and Mr. Slytherin met him during his travels in Greece."
Dumbledore shook his head, "In fact, no one would think he was Merlin."
The longest-lived Wizard in world history was undoubtedly his friend Nicolas Flamel; although he had lived for over six hundred years thanks to the Philosopher's Stone, his body was already decaying beyond repair.
"Then Mr. Slytherin..."
"Karl, that's Slytherin. Even if Ms. Ravenclaw, Mr. Gryffindor, and Ms. Hufflepuff were deceived, Mr. Slytherin would not be, because he would always be wary of everything in his heart."
"Then why did he still invite the other party to participate in the construction of Hogwarts Castle?"
"Because he just happened to be able to solve the problem at the time, and Mr. Slytherin was confident that under the watchful eyes of the four of them, no one would be able to cause trouble."
Well, that makes a lot of sense.
After all, they were the four top Wizards of their time; even if Merlin truly resurrected, it would be difficult for him to cause trouble in front of them.
"Mr. Principal, do you think Elvis Heller has any connection to this matter?"
After the name Herpo the Foul appeared, any Wizardrelated to Greece needed attention.
Dumbledore stroked his long white beard, "Now I have the same thought."
"Confirming something requires evidence, but when in doubt, it's best not to miss any possibility."
"After you first told me about Elvis Heller's problem, I had Fawkes monitor him secretly."
"I found that he often walked on the stairs in the Castle, seemingly observing something."
"Coupled with the information you provided, his behavior becomes very suspicious."
Karl was truly confused now; did that unlucky staircase have some secret?
"Suspicious in what way?"
"The magic stairs play tricks on Young Wizards; it's actually Ms. Ravenclaw's... well, a little mischief, but the stairs actually conceal her extraordinary wisdom."
Karl began to get curious, "Such as?"
"For example, by understanding the patterns of the magicstaircase's movement, you can find the Castle's magiccore."
So Elvis Heller knew this secret? No wonder Dumbledoreagreed with his idea, "Anything else?"
"Hmm... the rest of the content cannot be told to you; this is a secret passed down orally by successive Principals of Hogwarts."
Dumbledore suddenly winked at Karl, "If you really want to know, then become the Principal."
"In fact, the four founders of Hogwarts all left precious treasures for the school, and these are among them."
Karl: (¬_¬)
Heh! What a grand promise!
It was as if he heard someone saying, "Do you want these treasures? If you want them, I can give them all to you. Go and become Principal, and you can know all the secrets of the treasures."
And you say Ms. Ravenclaw has a mischievous streak; I don't think you're any better than her.
I'm a first-year Young Wizard; how long will it take for me to wear the robes and seize the position?
If that day ever came, Karl would surely shout, "The Principal position is passed around; this year, it's my turn!"
Then he would organize a full-scale land and water ritual, celebrating lavishly for seven days.
Why not ten days? Because three days needed to be set aside for Dumbledore's memorial service, complete with singing, dancing, and rap.
Dumbledore understood Karl's gaze, so he pretended to consider it for a moment, then spoke again: "Besides becoming Principal, if you can repair ravenclaw's diadem, you will also be qualified to know everything."
"Can this thing even be repaired?"
Karl looked at the broken Diadem shattered into a pile on the table, feeling that becoming Principal was more reliable.
"Of course, the materials used to create ravenclaw's diadem, Gryffindor's Sword, Hufflepuff's Golden Cup, and Slytherin's Locket all belong to a legendary secret treasure, and it, along with the Castle's magic core, comes from the same place."
"So as long as you bring the Diadem fragments to the Castle's magic core, it can be repaired."
Karl quickly wrote all this down; these were secrets he hadn't known before.
"Shall we go repair the Diadem now?"
Dumbledore refused Karl's request, "Perhaps we should let Elvis Heller take us."
"Huh? You're still going to let him act freely?"
Karl didn't understand; what if things went wrong?
Dumbledore sighed deeply in response to his confusion.
"Elvis Heller is, after all, a Professor at the school. Although we suspect him, we don't have definitive evidence."
"Moreover... Lord Voldemort is hidden in the shadows, and he could return at any time. The days ahead will not be peaceful."
"For the current Young Wizards, it's necessary to instill in them a sense of vigilance and the awareness and understanding of facing danger."
"Karl, sometimes, the appearance of a crisis isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"At least we have the initiative, don't we?"