Hogwarts: What are the four great masters doing?

Page 334

Inferi are evil creatures that kill all living things they see.

But they won't destroy the bodies - just like Regulus's body, all the victims dragged down by the Inferi here should have their bodies left.

But the body of the house-elf named Kreacher was not here.

so...

"Either someone came back and took his body, or... he's not dead."

These are two obvious possibilities.

"The facts will speak for themselves."

Dumbledore said softly.

Ryan also understood what he meant - he had to go to the island in the middle of the lake to confirm the situation.

Then the old man and the child stopped talking.

The two quickly arrived at the center of the island and saw the potion basin standing in the center of the island.

"An evil potion... yes, very evil..."

Dumbledore looked at the dark potion in the potion basin with a serious tone.

But at this moment, Ryan frowned and looked at the locket in the potion.

"Mr. Principal, something is wrong."

"what?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"That locket—it's not the one I saw in Mr. Filch's memory, and it's not Slytherin's locket."

Ryan saw this immediately.

Although the dark potion could cover up most of the details on the locket, for Ryan... he could tell the difference between that thing and the real locket even just by the difference in outline.

"It's a fake - it looks similar at first glance, but the details are very different."

Ryan made a judgment.

But therein lies the problem.

He had clearly seen from Filch's memory that Voldemort placed the real locket inside.

But now it has become fake.

"Is this Voldemort's trap? Is there really something wrong with that memory?"

"...it could be another reason."

Dumbledore whispered, "We have to get it out, Ryan - of course I trust you, but we have to be sure."

"I will drink these potions—they should only weaken, but not kill."

After hearing what Dumbledore said, Ryan also agreed.

He could tell the locket wasn't the original one, but the memory's origins were already suspicious.

They had to determine whether the locket was a Horcrux or not.

However, Ryan had a different opinion on Dumbledore's request to drink the potion voluntarily.

"I have a rough idea of the core of this potion, Mr. Headmaster. Professor Snape and I have spent the past year studying the effects of emotions on the soul."

Ryan said softly, "I mean...it might be tricky. It has magical properties. The properties Voldemort gave it are very tricky."

"But the effects of the potion itself can be neutralized."

He said this and then took out a small bottle from his arms.

"There's a joyful feeling here, and you know where it comes from."

"Taking it and then drinking these potions will, I think, slow down or even completely negate its effects."

He handed the bottle to Dumbledore.

"Oh, I've heard of the Magic Trick Shop. It's a pity that there are no props for the elderly, otherwise I would be interested in using it to greet my old friends."

Dumbledore said very childishly.

"..."

Ryan looked at the over a hundred-year-old wizard and felt that it was not necessary to expand the business to this area - if the old man was frightened and fainted, the reputation of the magic trick shop would be damaged.

So he ignored Dumbledore's words and simply pressed the bottle into his hands.

Dumbledore didn't mind. He just lifted the bottle and swallowed the light particles flowing in it in one gulp.

Then, his eyes lit up and his mood became visibly high.

Afterwards, Ryan didn't need to remind him.

He walked excitedly to the potion basin, scooped up the potion with the wooden spoon beside the basin, and put it into his mouth.

Dark, desperate, negative emotions flooded into his mind, but were quickly offset by the strong feeling of happiness.

"Oh...this feels amazing."

Dumbledore smacked his lips and sighed.

"But I dare say Tom's potion-making skills are as usual too dogmatic - at this time, he should at least add some sugar."

"Oh, Headmaster, I think that might be because Voldemort doesn't like sweets."

After sighing at Voldemort's potion-making skills, the old wizard continued to drink the potion.

He drank slowly, as if he was slowly savoring Voldemort's malice.

But even so, the potion in the small potion basin was soon empty.

The locket appeared, and Ryan quickly took it out.

Then Dumbledore put down the spoon in his hand.

The two wizards, one old and one young, looked at each other and then began to observe the pendant box.

"It's certainly not Slytherin's locket."

Dumbledore also spoke softly.

That's right.

Slytherin's locket, as Slytherin's relic, is quite famous in the wizarding world.

Its most iconic feature is the S-shaped pendant lid engraved with a giant green snake, but the pendant box in their hands obviously does not have these features.

It was just an ordinary black locket with some runes engraved on it.

"Guardian Spirit Blessing."

And after casting a spell of self-protection on himself.

Ryan opened the locket in his hand.

Then...

He and Dumbledore saw a note in the locket.

"To the Dark Lord:

I know I'll be dead by the time you read this, but I want you to know that I've discovered the secret of your immortality, and I've taken the real Horcrux and will destroy it as soon as possible.

I risked my life for you, but I was only a flesh-and-blood mortal when I met my opponent. "

Below, there is a signature - RAB.

That's obviously the abbreviation of a person's name.

At this moment, Ryan could immediately react and figure out who the name represented by those three letters was.

"Regulus Arcturus Black."

He whispered the name softly.

"I see..."

That way, everything can be explained.

Why would the body of Regulus, a marginal Death Eater, appear alone in this secret place?

Just as Dumbledore said.

It was a redemption of returning to the right path.

Ryan had no idea what exactly happened to Regulus - why he changed from a Death Eater to a warrior who was willing to die to fight Voldemort, what he saw and experienced in that short life.

But he knew—it was respectable.

In fact, what was written on the note in his hand was almost deafening even to Ryan.

He even felt that the note in his hand weighed more than a thousand pounds.

That was the last remnant of a man who faced death with equanimity.

At this moment, Dumbledore also let out a long sigh.

"He's a clever little wizard with a heart of determination and passion—just like his brother."

"But the difference is that he was more deeply influenced by his family, too deeply."

He said so.

Then, there was a long silence.

"How did Regulus know about the existence of Horcruxes?"

Ryan perked up and asked another key question of the moment.

That's right.