Hilke did not interrupt his thoughts. Before long, Sherlock suddenly raised his head, his eyes sparkling with a bright light.
"I remember reading about a legend like this in 'Hogwarts: A History'."
"There is a magical room in this castle called the Room of Requirement. If someone in need paces back and forth in front of where it is located, it will appear, providing the seeker with the room they desire."
"The hidden room mentioned in the last hint is very likely this!"
As Sherlock spoke, he walked over to the abruptly blank wall and paced back and forth, silently chanting in his heart, 'I need a room'.
After he had finished pacing three times, a door suddenly appeared on the wall.
Upon seeing the door, a relaxed smile immediately appeared on Sherlock's face.
"That's right! The prophecy refers to the Room of Requirement."
Hilke's expression also relaxed slightly, but she was not overly optimistic. She said calmly,
"We've found the Room of Requirement, but which specific room Frederick is in remains a problem."
Even though they had found the Room of Requirement, the search area hadn't narrowed; instead, it had become even harder to find him.
After all, no one knew what kind of room Frederick would choose.
But as the moment arrived, Sherlock became increasingly calm. He stared at the door that had suddenly appeared and said softly,
"I remember you saying that if you could divine the information attached to that straw within a single day, it means it actually wants us to find it, rather than planning to stay hidden?"
Hilke nodded gently.
"Since it wants us to find it, it won't be hidden in a place we could never think of. Furthermore, through the Room of Requirement, this room must be perfectly suited to it, providing it with an advantage."
Sherlock stroked his chin, thinking back to the Goblins' underground chamber from last year.
"It likes darkness, especially pitch-black darkness. Such an environment is where it can best exercise its power."
As he said this, he stood before the door of the Room of Requirement again and began pacing back and forth once more.
'I want the darkest room...'
Chanting these words in his heart, on the third pass, the door of the Room of Requirement seemed to ripple, undergoing a distinct change.
At the same time, Sherlock expanded his Control Magic, attempting to peer at the scene behind the door.
But just like when he tried to see behind the twelve black doors in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries, he saw nothing but a void.
This indicated that the Room of Requirement was similar to the black doors in the Department of Mysteries; the door was merely a medium, and the space it connected to was not on the other side of the wall.
Sherlock wasn't too disappointed by this. He had only wanted to make an attempt; since he couldn't see inside, he would just enter directly.
"You wait outside for me."
He said seriously to Hilke.
Before Hilke, whose face had darkened, could open her mouth to scold him for burning bridges after crossing them, he beat her to it.
"Don't be so quick to get angry. I won't close the door later. You need to help me guard the door to prevent it from escaping."
Hilke's voice remained cold.
"You don't know how to catch it. Even the most powerful Patronus Charm can only suppress its power. It has no physical form, so normal means can't control it at all."
Sherlock's expression was calm.
"You are the expert in prophecy and riddles, but I am the professional when it comes to fighting. Think about it. Although you were the one who captured it last year, it suffered greatly at my hands. Judging by its actions from its appearance until now, it isn't a fool. Without any support or a power boost compared to last year, do you think it would be stupid enough to come looking for revenge against me?"
These words made Hilke fall silent.
Sherlock's analysis was correct. If there truly were no changes, with the wisdom Fedetick had accumulated over so many years, there was essentially no chance it would walk into a trap.
"I don't plan on dealing with it in one go." Sherlock had already placed his hand on the doorknob. "Keep an eye on the entrance for me. If it tries to escape, stop it. I'm going in first to test what kind of support it has found."
After finishing his words, he pressed down on the handle and gently opened the door.
Behind the door was a heart-stopping darkness, as if a black hole had swallowed all light. Even the sunlight from the corridor didn't illuminate it in the slightest.
Hilke had tacitly accepted his words. She did not insist on going in with him, but instead stood guard at the door, watching Sherlock step into the darkness behind it.
With just one step inside, the darkness completely swallowed his figure, and even sound could no longer travel out.
The moment Sherlock stepped into the room, a slight stinging pain suddenly came from his left arm, where the crescent moon mark was located.
This familiar burning sensation made his entire spirit jolt!
In the years since Sherlock had come to this world, the number of times the crescent moon mark had reacted could be counted on one hand.
The first time was when he encountered Voldemort's Horcrux Diary; the second was when it guided him to find the magic notes left by Sally in the library; and the third was when he found the Horcrux golden cup in the Lestrange family's vault.
Now that the mark had reacted again, he couldn't help but associate it with a Horcrux!
From previous experience, the mark's primary targets were Horcruxes. It had responded to both Horcruxes Sherlock had found so far.
Of course, there was a small possibility that there was something else Sally wanted to leave for him in the Room of Requirement.
But Sherlock leaned towards the former; the possibility that a Horcrux was hidden in the Room of Requirement was much higher!
However, now was not the time to think about such things. He gathered his thoughts and fully released his Control Magic. Before looking for the Horcrux, he definitely had to resolve the current matter first.
This dark-filled room was very large; even when Sherlock fully expanded his Control Magic, he did not reach the end.
Without pulling out a wand, he recited the incantation into the air.
"Lumos."
In the next second, a dozen faint lights flickered around him for an instant before being swallowed by the darkness again.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes and pulled out a bag, scattering all the wands within.
Directly casting spells with Control Magic was certainly possible, but using wands would consume less physical energy.
Just as he scattered over a hundred wands, a blurry orange light suddenly and slowly lit up in the far distance.