Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 26 The Raven Living in the Crown
The illumination spell emitted a silver-like glow. Melvin raised his head slightly, but did not find the shadow of the sapphire crown he remembered. Instead, he saw a bunch of dusty ornaments.

Confirming once again that the crown in his memory was in this room, Melvin took two steps to make room and continued his search.

The piles of old items here are numerous and messy, and the hills stacked and embedded in each other are too unsightly. Metal armor and knight statues seem to be embedded in the pile of debris, and the dust on the surface almost obscures their original appearance. In addition, the room is dimly lit, so you need to walk closer and observe carefully to see the outline of the accessories and guess whether it is a crown or a mask.

In addition, there are indeed crown-like ornaments on the armor and statues, and you need to carefully identify whether there is the Ravenclaw eagle wing logo.

Melvin stopped to observe for a moment, then moved towards other piles of debris.

Dumbledore was staring at the reflection inside the Mirror of Erised. He looked away with a hint of reluctance, not knowing why Melvin was behaving strangely, but he followed slowly.

In fact, he really liked the style of the pair of wool socks in the mirror. The color and pattern were very beautiful, especially when Ariana wore them.

"You seem to be looking for something. Do you have a target?" Dumbledore asked.

"Just take a look. Like you said, be patient..."

Melvin carefully searched the nearby junk pile for ornaments, leaving a trail of footprints on the dusty floor. "Sir, have you searched this warehouse carefully? There might be something unexpected hidden inside."

"I come here occasionally when I can't sleep, but I prefer to go to the tower to admire the moon, or go to the kitchen downstairs to have a cup of hot cocoa." Dumbledore looked around and didn't find anything unusual, so he kept his attention on Melvin.

"It's really hard to count the things that have been hidden by the teachers and students of Hogwarts for nearly a thousand years."

"..."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, somewhat curious but not asking further questions, showing plenty of patience.

After walking like this for about ten minutes, he saw Melvin stop in front of a pile of junk. This pile of junk didn't look special, just like any other pile of stuff in the room: old wooden furniture, yellowed old books, a damaged peephole, a slightly twitching Quaffle...

But as he approached the pile of debris, a strange feeling came over him.

His intuition, accumulated from nearly a hundred years of magic and talent, was warning him.

Melvin stopped at a dusty metal armor and looked up at the raised lance and the crown beside it. "I've always wondered, Ravenclaw's name stems from raven, so why is her symbol an eagle?"

Dumbledore followed his gaze, his eyes widening slightly.

It was a dusty crown, with an eagle's wings spread out. A gem was set in its belly, shimmering with a misty blue light. The words engraved on the side were blurred, but Dumbledore knew what it said without having to read it:
"Extraordinary wisdom is mankind's most precious treasure."

The crown lay quietly on top of the armor's head.

Dumbledore put away his usual calm and gentle appearance, as if he had sensed some unusual magic, his expression became serious and steady. He approached the crown cautiously and casually waved a whirlwind to sweep away the dust.

The sapphire revealed its original luster and was crystal clear, but the center was a little dark, as deep as the bottom of a black lake.

Dumbledore looked at it carefully for a moment, then cast several spells in succession:
[Original shape appears]

【Evil test】

"..."

After confirming again and again that there was no vicious curse or poison on it, Dumbledore carefully took off the crown and placed it in a wooden box inlaid with silver wire. Only then did he begin to consider how to explain it to Melvin beside him.

"I should thank you, Melvin, on behalf of Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw, on behalf of all Hogwarts..."

"Let me guess, you don't feel like explaining your gratitude?"

“That’s what I originally thought…”

Dumbledore's blue eyes flickered, and he quickly made up his mind: "But you are the one who found the crown that has been missing for a thousand years. If I hide the truth from you, I will not be able to sleep tonight."

A relieved smile appeared on his face, and he winked at Melvin. "Please be considerate of the centenarian's sleep quality. In order to meet the goddess of luck again in the future, you should at least reveal some information... That's what I think."

"I'm happy to listen."

"This story begins a long time ago. Let me think..."

Dumbledore chose his words carefully. "The four founders of Hogwarts achieved extraordinary accomplishments in various fields of magic. After the school was established, they synthesized their understanding of magic and created several extraordinary artifacts for posterity. These include the Hufflepuff cup, the Ravenclaw diadem, and even more artifacts left by Slytherin. However, most of these have been lost to history."

"What about Gryffindor?"

"..."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, as if he found it difficult to speak. "Gryffindor commissioned the Goblin King Ragnark I to forge a sword, a symbol of indomitable courage. It remains at Hogwarts to this day, and only those with courage can wield it."

"This isn't right."

Melvin knew of the sword's existence, of course. He was just curious about something else: "The goblins claim that all goblin-forged objects belong to the Goblin Kingdom. Given their greedy nature, would they let the sword stay in Hogwarts?"

"Gryffindor has the right to use the sword for twenty years."

"What about twenty years from now?"

"Twenty years later the Goblin King sent his subjects to try and get the sword back, but they failed."

"Your stories about the past are really well-written and concise..." Melvin savored the omitted parts and thought it was very Gryffindor.

"The four founders each left behind a treasure, and then what?"

"Gryffindor's sword has always been kept at Hogwarts, Ravenclaw's diadem was lost long ago, and the other two founders' treasures have been passed down to their descendants. Many changes have occurred over the past thousand years, but overall it was relatively stable until fifty years ago..."

Dumbledore stared at the wooden box in his hand with a profound look: "This story is too complicated, Melvin, don't think that I, an old fellow, am too long-winded. Let's start with the Hufflepuff cup.

"This golden cup was collected by the witch Hepzibah Smith, the last direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff. In the winter of 1950, poor Hepzibah was poisoned to death at home. The Ministry of Magic Aurors quickly solved the case and found that the murderer was her house-elf.

"The elf named Hokey, who was as old as she was and had dim eyesight, slipped a rare and deadly poison into her cocoa as icing sugar. The court of inquiry found him guilty and imprisoned him for life in Azkaban.

"At the same time, Hepzibah's relatives discovered that her two most precious treasures were missing: Hufflepuff's gold cup and a locket left by Slytherin... Why Slytherin's locket ended up in Hepzibah's hands is another story, and I'll tell you someday.

"Back to the mysterious disappearance of the two treasures. Everyone was puzzled, including me, so I visited Hao Qi in prison and got a vague memory from her, which led to another person, an old acquaintance of mine.

"He is a wizard obsessed with the pursuit of dark magic power. He worships Slytherin to the extreme and his soul is completely corrupted. I have sufficient reason to believe that he murdered Hepzibah in order to obtain Slytherin's relics and framed the innocent elf.

"He used improper means to obtain several treasures, including Hufflepuff's gold cup and Slytherin's locket. Based on this, I speculated that the mysterious Ravenclaw Diadem might have fallen into his hands as well, but I have never had any evidence.

"I have been searching for them for years, but only today have I made any substantial progress...

"Melvin, you deserve the gratitude of all the teachers and students at Hogwarts."

"..."

The headmaster's narration of the current story was also meticulously detailed. Based on the two clues of the house-elves and the innocent people, the headmaster was probably referring to events shortly after Voldemort's graduation. At that time, Voldemort was working as a clerk at Borginborough when he learned that Hepzba Smith, a descendant of Hufflepuff, was in possession of two relics of the founder. He poisoned Hepzba Smith and framed the Smith family's house-elves, stealing Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup.

Melvin gave a noncommittal smile, pretending to know nothing about Horcruxes. "I don't know if you've noticed, Headmaster, but this tiara seems to have been tainted by dark magic."

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I previously thought the dark wizard simply wanted to collect these treasures as souvenirs, but now it seems he has transformed them with sinister black magic. However, I'm not sure exactly what has happened yet. I will conduct some preliminary research later, hoping to reverse the black magic and restore them. It would be even better if I could find clues that connect them to the other artifacts."

"Is it convenient to watch?"

"not very convenient."

"OK then."

Melvin was not disappointed. Even if he completely gained the headmaster's trust tonight, the headmaster would not refuse if there was anything he needed to do in the future, such as conscript men or get legendary wizards to support him, as long as it did not involve Voldemort and Horcruxes.

"..."

Dumbledore said goodbye and left, and the Room of Requirement suddenly became quiet.

Melvin stood beneath the knight's armor, his long shadow covering half of his shoulder. He looked thoughtfully at the circle of marks left by the crown, wondering what else was missing from the Room of Requirement.

Trivial debris piled up like a mountain. Most of the magical items stored here had faded under the erosion of time, their magic dissipated, and no longer had any magical effects. Perhaps some items that were nearly a hundred years old could still be used after simple repairs, but it was difficult to determine where they were hidden. Digging through them was a huge project, a thankless task.

If the crown remains here, in about six or seven years, a fierce fire will burn everything.

Melvin's eyes reflected the nearby objects: the towering, dull metal armor, the crucible covered in green copper rust, and the cabinet in the corner covered with cobwebs and dust.

"This looks like a vanishing cabinet."

A figure suddenly flashed through Melvin's mind. If he was looking for inferior black magic props with weakened power and a frightening element, wouldn't there be a store in Knockturn Alley?

Others have been well-known stores for decades.

……

The inner room of the principal's office.

The sleepy phoenix lay on the gilded branch, its eyes half-open and half-closed, its eyelids drooping limply.

Fox glanced at the principal's expression, then glanced at the crown. That thing gave him a bad feeling.

Fox stretched out his claws and quietly moved to the side, climbed over the perch, climbed up the shelf, and came to the Sorting Hat. He buried his head and arched it into it, his wings folded up, and the bright red feathers were put away, leaving only two black eyes peeking out from the crack.

The tattered cloth hat shook a few times, unwilling to be used as a bird's nest, but there was nothing it could do.

In the center of the room, the crown was suspended in mid-air by a levitation spell.

Dumbledore analyzed it using the 197 detection methods he knew, and used alchemy combined with the magic of legendary wizards to create a double layer of protection. He blocked the crown and his own mind at the same time, and soon his perception penetrated into the blue gem.

"..."

The founder's relics have been passed down for thousands of years, and they are still full of magic power. The blue magic power is not strong, but sensing and touching the magic power brings wonderful feedback, as if the mind is clearer and the will is stronger.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, taking it in.

This feeling is like returning to the most energetic time in youth, full of curiosity about everything in the world, with enough physical and mental strength to learn complex and obscure knowledge, and explore magical realms that no one has ever reached before.

It seemed to confirm the rumor: Ravenclaw's wisdom lies in her crown.

But now it is not only a gift from Ravenclaw, but also mixed with Tom Riddle's evil dark magic.

What on earth had he done with these treasures?

Dumbledore searched, cautiously extending his senses deeper into the sapphire.

At this moment, a strange magical power suddenly appeared, accompanied by a slight buzzing sound, and the sapphire emitted a faint crystal light.

A dark blue and black light rose from the gem. The space became hazy, and the light and shadow floating in the air began to change and distort, as if it were soft, shapeless smoke, or some kind of viscous liquid. It changed from a blue and black light to some kind of gray substance, forming a shadowy shape.

After about half a minute, a bird with a vague outline quietly emerged. It had neat and smooth feathers, a slightly curved beak, and hollow eyes with a red glow. It had the characteristics of a bird, but its specific species could not be seen.

Dumbledore watched the gray shadow change silently, gazing into its disembodied eyes.

I inexplicably recalled Melvin's question not long ago. The symbol of Ravenclaw is an eagle, but now it has been distorted into a raven.

The bird's beak opened and closed, and a heavy, hoarse voice echoed in the office late at night: "Is this... Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

"you are?"

"The current headmaster is Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore's expression was unclear and his voice was calm.

"..."

"Now it's my turn to ask, who are you, or what are you?"

"I am the raven that dwells in the crown. I carry the wisdom of Ravenclaw." The gray shadow raven's beak opened and closed, its eyes slightly narrowed. A strange red light seemed to penetrate his mind, but it only encountered an empty void. The gray shadow quickly lowered its head. "Place the crown on your head. With just a little bit of magic, I can bring you extraordinary wisdom."

"I am over a hundred years old, and the long years have long made me lose my thirst for knowledge."

"..."

The gray shadow remained silent, staring at the curve of the man's mouth with the strange red light, always feeling that there was a mockery of him hidden in that smile.

It was the same smile fifty years ago, and it was still the same smile fifty years later, with a condescending and defensive look, as if it had seen through his thoughts. It was really disgusting!

"but……"

Dumbledore suddenly spoke, raising his voice slightly and speaking slowly, as if deliberately teasing people: "I've been very interested in the world of the dead lately. That's what happens when people get old: they cling to life and fear death...

"If I could understand more about death, it would probably eliminate the fear in my heart. The wise Ms. Ravenclaw should have done some research on this. Do you know any information about this research?"

The red light in the gray shadow's eyes suddenly became brighter: "Of course, of course!"

(End of this chapter)