Victor didn't go into the specifics of how he investigated, simply because he couldn't explain how he knew the diary was at the Malfoys'. He had shown this prophetic ability many times before, but he could never find a plausible explanation. So he just decided to make it a secret that couldn't be revealed. This way, people like the old bee would have a harder time prying.
Dumbledore's face showed a hint of surprise upon hearing that the diary had been with the Malfoy family all this time. He then fell into thought for a moment before saying, "It seems that Tom didn't properly protect his Horcruxes; instead, he used this one as a weapon."
"What do you mean by that?" Victor asked, puzzled.
"The purpose of a Horcrux is to allow Tom to live on indefinitely. However, the soul in this diary manipulated Lockhart to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the Basilisk to attack Filch and Mrs. Norris. This act of self-exposure is very risky because it could reveal Tom's secret of creating Horcruxes, yet he did it anyway! What do you think is the reason?"
"Arrogance?" After Dumbledore asked this question, Victor thought for a moment and then said the two words.
"Yes, arrogance!" Dumbledore nodded. "The diary, the Ravenclaw Diadem, and Hufflepuff's Cup, three Horcruxes have now appeared. The diary driving Lockhart to open the Chamber of Secrets, while a risky act, is something Tom would be willing to do to prove that he is Salazar Slytherin's direct descendant, as long as he has multiple Horcruxes as a backup!"
"Well, if you put it that way, it's not arrogance at all, it's an inferiority complex!" With that, Victor took the diary from Dumbledore's hand and forcefully infused it with a burst of life force using nature magic. A younger version of Tom Marvolo Riddle then appeared in the office.
"Tom?!" Dumbledore stared at the figure in surprise. It was identical to the Voldemort he had seen decades ago.
"See? This guy's looks are only slightly less handsome than mine, and with the talent he displayed, do you think proving that he's a descendant of Salazar Slytherin means anything to him?" Victor said, pointing his wand at the young Voldemort's face. "He wouldn't do so many things if he didn't have an inferiority complex! Right?"
This last sentence was directed at Tom, and it instantly set him off.
"Shut up, you filthy Mudblood! I am…"
"You're a Half-blood yourself, so you're insulting yourself when you insult me!" Before Tom could even start, Victor interrupted him and started a magical duel of words.
"Shut up!" Tom looked absolutely hysterical. It was clear that Victor's words had struck a nerve. "I have purged my name of my filthy Muggle father's surname! I am Voldemort, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, I…"
"But your own diary is still inscribed with your father's surname! It's right here, see for yourself!" Victor once again interrupted Tom's rant, pointing at the name "Tom Marvolo Riddle" on the diary.
"Shut up, you…"
"Your father was a Muggle!"
"You…"
"You're a Half-blood!"
"I am not…"
"Yes, you are~~"
For the next few minutes, Victor's simple words sent Tom into a fit of rage. And at that moment, the soul magic he had developed to catch Peeves suddenly came in handy. Victor looked at Tom, who was wrapped in a silver light, restrained in place, and furiously raging, and he asked Dumbledore, "Professor, do you think this is arrogance, or a flaw?"
"…." Dumbledore was speechless. He couldn't find the words to describe the scene in front of him, although Victor's assessment of Tom didn't seem to be wrong.
After what felt like an eternity, perhaps because the life force Victor had just infused was used up, the young Tom vanished from the office.
"Professor, do you still need this thing?" Victor asked, holding up the diary. "If not, I'll just burn it!"
"Wait!" Dumbledore, hearing that Victor wanted to destroy the Horcrux, quickly stepped forward and took the diary. "I still have a use for it. This is how I'll clear Hagrid's name after all these decades!"
"Do you think Fudge will agree?"
"Sometimes, being in a position of power isn't always a good thing!" Dumbledore said. "It doesn't matter if he wants to agree. It only matters that he can."
And so, the Horcrux that had plagued all of Hogwarts for an entire school year in the original story was dealt with prematurely, and the brewing chaos under Hogwarts temporarily returned to peace.
Another two and a half weeks passed, and the annual Halloween arrived as scheduled. In that time, quite a few things had happened at Hogwarts.
First, Gilderoy Lockhart was exposed as a fraud who stole other people's memories and was quickly escorted to the Ministry of Magic for trial, which also led to the suspension of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
Furthermore, the Basilisk that Victor had captured from the Chamber of Secrets was being well-cared for at the Fairy Tail Guild. Upon discovering that the Basilisk's ability was slightly different from its canon counterpart and could petrify other substances, Victor formed a Basilisk research team consisting of Luna, Zoe, Justin, and Harry.
Each of the four had their own roles. Luna and Zoe, being enthusiasts of magical creatures, were mainly responsible for the specific research on the Basilisk. Justin, who liked to study magical history, was responsible for finding historical records about the Basilisk to provide research direction and basis for Luna and Zoe. And Harry, being a Parselmouth, was, of course, the translator.
Aside from providing a research subject for people like Luna and Zoe who loved magical creatures, the Basilisk had another extremely valuable asset: its venom.
Basilisks were extremely rare in the wizarding world, first and foremost because breeding one was against the law. So when Victor put the Basilisk venom on the black market, he found that each pint was worth as much as 2,000 Galleons, which was twenty times more expensive than Acromantula venom.
Later, he also heard that after the Basilisk venom entered the international black market, its price instantly doubled or tripled with each resale. The speed at which it generated money was almost faster than robbing Gringotts.
So naturally, the high price of Basilisk venom not only covered the daily expenses of the Fairy Tail Guild but also provided a huge amount of financial support for the Weasley twins' research on alchemical items and Neville's research on herbology and potions.
Aside from the Lockhart and Basilisk situation, there were also internal matters within the Fairy Tail Guild. In the past two and a half weeks, the members of Fairy Tail had made great strides in learning about magic circles, and they were already starting to compress the time it took to carve basic magic circles.
The reason they were learning faster than Hermione and Cedric was not because these new members were more talented, but because of Victor's mandatory collective learning. Under Victor's arrangement, new members, from the day they joined, had to spend at least four hours a day studying the fundamentals of magic circles, and on weekends, it was increased to ten hours.
This long and intense collective learning naturally significantly improved the Fairy Tail members' learning efficiency, allowing them to learn the basics of magic circles half a month ahead of schedule.
However, in this fulfilling but dull academic life, a little bit of flavor was essential. And just like that, a new confrontation started in the guild's dueling area. But for now, it wasn't a physical fight, but a battle of wits.
Draco, who couldn't stand being lectured by Hermione, his Vice Master, about Potions, a subject he was so proud of, challenged her to a duel.
One had to admit that Draco was very brave. Although he had learned a lot about Potions from a young age because his father was friends with the Potions Master, Snape, and even got first place in his Potions exam last term, he was no match for Hermione's studious nature.
As far as everyone knew, Hermione had already memorized all the Potions textbooks up to the third year, and she was already teaching herself the fourth-year curriculum. So the crowd watching from the sidelines was certain that Draco was going to lose terribly!
The referee for this intellectual duel was Neville. He looked at the two contestants, then began to announce the rules of the match: "The two sides will duel in a question-and-answer format. If one side fails to answer the question posed by the other, they lose! Now, please choose between Heads or Tails!"
With that, Neville took out a silver coin.
"I choose Heads!" Draco said with confidence.
"I choose Tails!" Hermione looked very relaxed.
Then, the coin was tossed. It landed on heads, so Draco got to ask the first question.
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