Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

"This is just the front hall, the entrance hall. We need to find the entrance here... Clearly, this isn't an obstacle set by nature, but a mechanism Tom set up to stop us... So, try to find that mechanism and open it."

Sirius smiled wryly and said, "Albus, we have already graduated...we should hurry up..."

Dumbledore interrupted Sirius and said seriously, "This is a rare opportunity to understand Tom's magic and compete with him... Douglas is right, we should make good use of this opportunity..."

As he spoke, Dumbledore winked at Douglas.

Douglas was confused and asked, "What do you mean by winking at me? When did I tell them to seize this opportunity?"

Seeing the looks from Sirius and Lupin, Douglas nodded seriously.

Then Douglas saw Sirius and Lupin look at each other, stand apart, and make a gesture of invitation to Douglas. Lupin smiled and said:

"I think this opportunity should be given to the young people who have never seen You-Know-Who's abilities... What do you think, Padfoot?"

Sirius looked at Douglas and said, "I can't help but agree with this very good idea."

Douglas's mouth twitched and he looked at Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked at the top of the cave, as if there was a vortex there that attracted him.

Douglas raised his eyebrows and took out a magic radar from his pocket. Who are you looking down on?

He adjusted the magic radar and inserted the probe into the crevice of the rock. Soon the structural diagram of the entire cave appeared on the display.

Sirius and Lupin didn't understand what it meant, but Dumbledore was very interested in what was displayed. He wasn't too surprised, after all, he had seen this thing before, and he hadn't found so many traces of magic when he had examined it just now.

After a careful observation, Dumbledore asked, "Douglas, why isn't there a display of what's behind the rock?"

Douglas said without looking up, "The unknown is where the fun is. Don't be like me. Sigh, this tool makes me lose a lot of fun."

Sirius looked at Douglas with disdain. He had never seen anyone so pretentious. He didn't know who was forcing him to learn the principles of Muggle tools every day... Sirius suddenly remembered that he seemed to have agreed to sell his body to the other party for ten years...

Douglas pointed to an archway formed by various magical traces and said:

"This is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort has set up extremely complex black magic here, including curses, defenses, identification, and even sacrificial magic... Sacrifice means exchange, and this sacrificial magic is displayed in blood red, indicating that anyone who uses magic-containing blood can enter. Honestly, this design is very low-level..."

At this point, Douglas felt somewhat disdainful of Voldemort. He had no creativity, was not ruthless enough, and killed people without destroying their souls...

Kreacher, who was standing behind everyone, had a surprised expression on his face. Douglas was right. The first time the Dark Lord brought him here, he used his blood, a lot of blood.

At that time, Kreacher had the illusion that he was a pig being bled. If the Dark Lord had not needed him later, he might have died from losing blood.

Thinking of this, Kreacher touched his dirty bag. The blood of the dead rat had dried and solidified on the bag. There was also a fruit knife in the bag that he had taken from the kitchen before going out. He was willing to sacrifice himself for Master Regulus once.

Dumbledore also said in a disappointed tone: "In fact, you can also understand that the principle is to weaken the opponent before entering. They once again failed to understand that there are many things that are much more terrifying than physical damage..."

After hearing what Dumbledore said, Douglas nodded in agreement:

"That's right, that's why I said this method is too low-level. If it were me, I would definitely set up a heart-breaking sacrificial magic. For example, I would have the visitor kill their loved one in front of the arch as a sacrifice. This would definitely cause them to have intense emotions, and only through these emotions could the arch be opened.

People with faith don’t mind self-sacrifice, especially physical pain, which is insignificant to them. But for him to kill his loved ones for his own faith is a very painful thing…”

After Douglas finished speaking, Sirius and Lupin couldn't help but shudder.

Dumbledore's sharp eyes looked at Douglas through his half-moon pupils. Douglas shrugged and said, "What are you afraid of? I was just making an analogy, I wouldn't really do it. Don't forget that I'm the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. I will definitely imagine those dark wizards to the most evil degree and prepare in advance, so that students will not suffer in the wizarding world in the future. Do you really think that no one would do this? The world is so big, there are always evil wizards with even more evil ideas."

After saying that, Douglas walked towards the location of the arch shown on the radar, drew out his wand, pointed at the blank rock wall, and muttered to himself.

Sirius frowned slightly and said, "Didn't you say you would use blood? What are you doing now? Are you planning to use magic to forcibly break this place open? If the operation is not done properly, will the entire cave be destroyed? If necessary, you can use my blood to open this archway..."

Douglas ignored him and continued to tinker with it. As sweat slowly flowed from Douglas' forehead, Dumbledore noticed the radar inserted in the crevice of the rock. The original blood-red magic trace on the screen slowly turned pale white.

Then Douglas appeared. He rummaged in his pockets for a long time, then took out two stones half a man's height and piled them on the left and right sides of the arch.

Douglas pointed his wand at one of the stones, and soon a person with his hands tied behind his back and half-kneeling appeared on the stone.

After seeing the man's appearance, Dumbledore sighed deeply and explained to Sirius and Lupin, "This is what sixteen-year-old Tom looks like. It should be the appearance that Douglas once saw in the other Horcrux. But Douglas, isn't it a bit... Never mind, it doesn't matter..."

At the moment the statue was formed, the radar showed milky white traces of magic entangled with the stone statue.

Douglas explained:

"I've modified the blood sacrifice magic. From now on, anyone who wants to enter can just spit at this statue, and the archway will appear.

Of course, I only know this form of Voldemort at the moment. If he comes back later with a different appearance, I will carve him on the other side as a kind of atonement for those heroes.

Professor, I suddenly have another idea. I want to build some commemorative stone statues in this hall to commemorate those who fought against Voldemort. I want to place them here for future generations to admire and for Voldemort to confess his sins to them. Of course, we can discuss the details after we return to school."

After hearing Douglas's proposal, Sirius and Lupin looked dazed. How many people in the Order of the Phoenix had sacrificed back then.

Douglas took the lead and spat at the statue. A white light flashed on the statue and the spit disappeared immediately.

Immediately afterwards, a dazzling white light flashed on the rock wall, and an archway appeared before his eyes. Then the rock wall disappeared, revealing a doorway, and inside was endless darkness.

Douglas put away the magic radar and was about to move forward when he was stopped by Dumbledore. He winked at them and said with a smile:

"Let me go first. You guys wait for my signal. Although Tom's methods are low-level, they can still cause a lot of trouble. Of course, I'm more confident that I'm stronger than you..."

After saying this, Dumbledore lit his wand and walked straight towards the dark doorway.

Douglas shrugged and walked straight in without waiting for Dumbledore's signal. Dobby was the first to react, rushing towards the doorway and shouting, "Boss, Dobby first!"

When everyone stepped in, they were shocked by the scene before them. They were standing by a large black lake.

Dobby rushed too fast, but luckily Dumbledore was quick enough to catch his arm.

Several people stood side by side at the lake, looking around. The darkness here seemed denser and heavier than ordinary darkness, and ordinary light could not penetrate it. As a result, the lake seemed endless at first glance, and they couldn't even see the top of the cave.

In the distance, in the center of the lake, there was a hazy green light flickering, reflected in the dead silent water.

Sirius pointed to the center of the lake and asked, "Is that where we are going? Is Regulus nearby? Kreacher, I have a question for you."

Seeing Kreacher trembling all over, Sirius finally roared angrily.

Kreacher shed tears as big as beans and nodded vigorously. He leaned against the rock wall tightly. He knew that there was countless water in this lake.

Then he pointed his trembling hand towards a dark place and said, "There, there, there is a small boat pulled out of the lake. The Dark Lord took Kreacher on the boat to the center of the lake..."

Dumbledore did not take any action. Originally, he just felt that the scene before him was somewhat familiar. But when he heard Kreacher talking about pulling the boat out of the lake, he suddenly turned around to look at Douglas and said softly:

"Douglas, I think you should give me an explanation!"

Chapter 274 Comrade Principal, Voldemort is old

Hearing Dumbledore's question, Lupin reacted quickly. He had visited the practical class classroom designed by Douglas, with the lake, the boat, the island in the middle of the lake, and the darkness that was difficult for light to penetrate.

This layout was exactly the same as the sixth grade practical class classroom. This made it hard for him not to wonder if Douglas had been here before.

Thinking of this, he explained in a low voice to Sirius, who looked confused, and they both leaned their ears forward at the same time.

But Douglas was not nervous at all. He secretly performed the brain block technique and then said lightly: "What do you want to explain? Explain why the level set by Voldemort is at the level of the sixth grade I teach?

Look at how uncreative his design is. Is such an uncreative level worthy of being copied by such an excellent designer like me?

Comrade Principal, you must understand that the times are progressing and society is developing. Voldemort is old, and the teaching methods of Hogwarts are also outdated. Look at the students taught there, they have no creativity at all, and their defense mechanisms are so simple and crude... Of course, this is not to blame you, professor. After all, this happened decades ago.

But Hogwarts continues to ignore external developments and lacks a strong emphasis on innovative thinking. Muggle society is undergoing a period of rapid change and advancement. Technological advancements, shifting social structures, and emerging challenges all require Muggles to be adaptable and innovative...

In short, backward education will make it difficult for wizards to keep up with the times and effectively respond to the challenges brought about by social changes. After all, the wizarding world cannot be isolated from the Muggle world forever..."

Dumbledore blinked and politely interrupted Douglas's long speech:

"Aha, sorry Douglas, today is Christmas. I think as the headmaster of Hogwarts, I should have a day off. You can talk to me about this after school starts... So, you really haven't been here?"

Douglas looked at Dumbledore, who was unmoved, and said, "

"Haven't you investigated me? Are there any records of me coming here? Why would I come here? A fake Horcrux? Besides, you know Voldemort so well and he didn't find this place, so how could I possibly find it?"

Hearing that Dumbledore had investigated Douglas, Lupin and Sirius looked at each other and wondered what this guy had done to deserve Dumbledore's investigation.

After looking at Douglas for a while, Dumbledore suddenly smiled and stopped dwelling on the matter. No matter what, he could feel that the other party was doing it for the good of the students.

But Sirius felt that it was not that simple. Finding him was a coincidence, and setting up the practical class classroom in advance to be the same as Voldemort's level was also a coincidence. How could he have encountered all these coincidences?

Finally, the few of them headed in the direction Kreacher pointed. With Dumbledore leading the way, their progress was relatively smooth. Voldemort had set up many small checkpoints along the path, but Dumbledore had easily destroyed them all.

Dumbledore suddenly stopped, and the people following him also stopped quickly.

"Aha, I found it, this is it. Magic always leaves traces, sometimes very obvious. I taught Tom and know his style..."

As he spoke, his hand began to slowly slide in the air, groping as if there was an invisible object there. A few seconds later, Dumbledore appeared with a smile on his face, as if he had grasped something. He then tapped the hand holding the object with his wand in his other hand.

Immediately, a copper-green chain emerged from the lake. Dumbledore tapped the chain with his wand, and it snaked through his palm and then coiled on the ground. The clanking sound of the chain echoed throughout the cave.

The others looked at the lake vigilantly, fearing that the noise would wake up the Inferi at the bottom of the lake. Even Douglas didn't dare to confirm whether there were only Inferi at the bottom of the lake.

As the chain was retracted, a small boat emerged from behind like a ghost, emitting a green light and floating towards the shore where the few people were, hardly creating a ripple on the lake.

When they saw the boat, several people frowned slightly. The boat was too small and it was obvious that it could only accommodate one adult wizard.

Sirius looked at the boat and said, "Is this boat safe? How do we get over there one by one? Should we search the lake? See where Regulus is?"

Dumbledore tapped his wand on the boat. Then he stood up and said:

"I think it's safe. Voldemort needs a way to cross the lake smoothly if he needs to visit or remove his Horcruxes, so as not to anger the guys he placed in the lake.

There's a spell on the ship so that Voldemort doesn't take weight into account, he only considers how much magic is passing through his head. So only one wizard can be on the ship at a time."

Kreacher stood behind the crowd with his eyes wide open, muttering, "The boat that the Dark Lord took Kreacher with him..."

Dumbledore smiled faintly:

"I don't think he would count you. The teacher said house-elves don't qualify. Voldemort would never count a house-elf. Compared to his power, your strength is probably negligible."

Lupin asked:

“So the only way those guys won’t attack us is if we take the mysterious man’s boat across the lake, right?

Douglas, do you have any idea how to break this spell? Or perhaps expand its scope so that we can all roam freely across the lake and find Regulus's location?"

Lupin looked at Douglas at the end of his words. After all, breaking the mechanism set by Voldemort at the gate just now had opened his eyes. Maybe Douglas also had a way to solve this mechanism.

Douglas looked at them in surprise and said slowly:

"Why should we avoid these Inferi? We can directly eliminate some of them, or seal some away and release them gradually.

Professor, don't forget what you plan to do here in the future. If there are too many Inferi, do you think they can handle it?"

As he spoke, Douglas took out a small wooden box from his pocket. Inside, there were seven small boats neatly arranged. Everyone could tell at a glance that these boats had been cast under a shrinking spell.

Douglas took out one of the speedboat-like boats and placed it on the shore, then snapped his fingers and it instantly became normal size.

Sirius stepped forward, took a look, and said in surprise: "This is completely the work of Muggles. You didn't modify it?"

This time no one was too surprised. After all, no one knew how much stuff Douglas had on him.

Douglas pointed at the fuel tank and said, "I've slightly expanded the internal space of the tank to make it last longer. Now we need someone to alert all the Inferi in the lake and draw them together."

Douglas looked around, and without waiting for anyone to speak, he pointed at Kreacher and said:

"It's you. I think you have more experience here than anyone else."

Kreacher shook his head like a rattle, muttering, "Kreacher hates Muggle things. Kreacher can't learn bad habits like Master Sirius..."

Sirius glared at Kreacher, then rushed onto the speedboat and said, "I'll drive. I have experience driving Muggle motorcycles... Um, I remember this requires a key. Where's Douglas's key?"

Chapter 275: Soul-Calming Monument

Douglas pulled Sirius off the speedboat and said:

"Sirius, please stop messing around. He's the only one here who's most suitable. He needs to lure all the Inferi here so we can deal with them together. Only then can we search for Regulus' body with peace of mind. And his magic is the weakest here..."

After hesitating for a moment, Sirius directly ordered Kreacher to drive the speedboat. No matter how reluctant Kreacher was, he still sat on the speedboat awkwardly under Sirius's order and the desire to find Regulus's remains.

As soon as Kreacher sat down, Douglas smiled and shouted, "Kreacher, hold on to the handrails and activate cruise mode!"

As soon as Douglas finished speaking, the speedboat started up on its own, and with a roar, it quickly circled the lake...

Wherever the speedboat passed, scores of Inferi rose from the lake and charged towards it, but the speedboat seemed to have eyes, maneuvering in all sorts of unpredictable ways. Kreacher, aboard the speedboat, had no control over it at all. From the caverns rang out heartbreaking wails and insults, especially the words "Mudblood"...

Looking at the surprised expressions of several people, Douglas explained:

"This is a voice-controlled system developed using Muggle technology, so you won't feel any magic. Just input the correct commands. The entire ship will sail according to the pre-set route... Okay, enough nonsense. In about three minutes, the speedboat will gather all the Inferi in front of us.

What we need to do is destroy some of the Inferi and then trap others. Dobby, find a spot under the lake where there are no Inferi. Set up the magic circle I taught you before...

The three of us will destroy the Inferi that jump on the lake surface. These Inferi are stronger, so there is no need for them to exist."

Everyone looked at the dense army of Yin corpses following behind the speedboat. Many of the Yin corpses flew out of the lake like flying fish and pounced towards the speedboat.

Douglas's plan was proceeding smoothly with their help. Dobby quickly dived to the bottom of the lake and set up a magic circle. Dumbledore stared at Dobby's figure under the lake with interest. He found that the magic circle he used was slightly different from what he knew.

"Those runes are somewhat similar to the ancient writing used by goblins, but there are some differences. They seem to carry more powerful magic than goblin runes. Did you research this, Douglas, or did Mr. Dobby learn it on his own? House elves probably don't have any inheritance in this area. Goblins are very secretive about their knowledge."

Douglas shrugged and didn't answer Dumbledore's question. Instead, he drew his wand, pointed it at the top of the cave, and began to mutter something. As everyone watched, clouds and mist began to gather at the top of the cave...