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chapter 169 part 2
"Relax. Just like Percy, think about what you want to use that wisdom for. Go on."
The second student quickly finished the test, then the next, and the one after that, until the very last one, Hermione, had completed her test. The memory inspection showed no problems.
---
After another period of observation and some logical reasoning tests, the professors and students who had participated in the test left Professor McGonagall's office, leaving William and the others behind.
'How on earth did Ginny trigger the protective charm on the Diadem? She's only a first-year student. The youngest student who tested it, Hermione, is only a second-year. Their magical power can't be that different. Why did only Ginny trigger the magic on it?'
William stared at the Diadem, his thoughts racing.
But it was no use—he wasn't the only wizard stumped. The other professors in the office were as well.
"A magical creature has acknowledged you. You have obtained a treasure chest x1."
Another sudden notification interrupted William's train of thought. Since he was out of ideas anyway, he might as well open a card.
[Financial Genius Price Smith (R): Hmm, this one should rise, this one should fall, something like that, who knows why? Strong Luck; tear this card, and for the next hour, you will possess extremely strong luck. —Experts rely on calculation, geniuses rely on intuition.]
Then came two low-probability, no-level cards that William had seen back in Azkaban. William decisively chose the only one that wasn't completely useless.
'Did this come from that Ravenclaw who was just tested? How can the gap between students be so large?'
'I still have two chests. Should I tear the card and then open them?' The thought instantly popped into William's mind.
It wasn't that he was being extravagant, but Adams had been extremely happy when he left earlier, saying that since he had solved quite a few problems, he would send him a bottle of Felix Felicis later.
Since the newly acquired card's effect could be replaced by a potion, he naturally didn't treasure it much.
'Forget it. At least with Felix Felicis, I can control the dose. A small sip is enough for two chests. I'll open them when I get back. No need to be so extravagant.'
In the end, William's frugal side won out.
'Wait, extravagant?'
'What I'm doing is nothing. That Diadem is the truly extravagant thing, using a treasure of Ravenclaw to cast Dark Magic—is there anything more extravagant than that?'
'The culprit's power is so much higher than mine; they can't be an idiot. Magic is a rigorous practice. A fool might have enough magical power that an ordinary person couldn't block their spells, but they could never complete such an exquisite piece of magic...'
'If this is a targeted trap, then a wizard like me is definitely not the target of the attack. If they used this Diadem as a bounty to kill me, there would be enough left over to kill me ten times...'
'In the entire British Wizarding World, there's probably only one person worth using the Diadem to kill: Dumbledore.'
'No, that's not right!' William interrupted his own train of thought. 'If it was targeting Dumbledore, then Ginny would never have triggered it. Unless it was sent here deliberately, and Ginny triggered something other than the Diadem.'
'That's not right either. If Ginny triggered it, we would definitely inspect the Diadem carefully. The person who set the trap couldn't be so foolish as to bet such a precious item on such a vague possibility. The loss would be too great if it were discovered.'
'So, could the Diadem, like in those cultivation novels, have an item spirit? An evil spirit, but one with low intelligence, that bewitched the weak Ginny into killing the roosters, but then got scared and backed off when it sensed a lot of people?'
After all, it was a thousand-year-old artifact; it wouldn't be surprising if it gained sentience.
William boldly stated his hypothesis. "Professor Dumbledore, do you think... the Diadem has come alive? That it can sense whether its surroundings are dangerous and act accordingly?"
"An interesting hypothesis, Professor William. Please continue."
"You see, Hogwarts has the Sorting Hat. It can sing, talk, communicate with people, and even see into their thoughts. That's Gryffindor's hat, but Ravenclaw's Diadem is no less remarkable, is it?"
"Of course not! The Diadem of Ravenclaw is a symbol of wisdom!" Professor Flitwick interjected, a rare occurrence. It seemed his grievance concerning the Diadem was unusually deep.
"So, it's possible the Diadem has also developed a soul, but it's not very intelligent, and possibly even evil."
"How could that be!" Professor Flitwick complained.
"I apologize, I don't mean the Diadem itself is evil," William apologized to Professor Flitwick. "What I mean is, perhaps its newly born intelligence was corrupted by its previous master. After all, you told me..."
William looked at Dumbledore, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid—he was afraid that if the professors present were all cursed, Hogwarts would be half-decimated.
"A rather bold theory, Professor William."
"But it's just a theory, Professor," William said, deciding to voice his other, even more outrageous idea. "I have an even more absurd thought. Perhaps it's not alive, but a trap aimed at you. In Hogwarts, you are the only one worthy of having such a trap set with it."
Because the speculation was so shocking, William instinctively used a more formal tone.
"You truly overestimate me, Professor William," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I'm just an old man who has been fortunate enough to stand in a high position."
'And also a pretty good fighter, the top-ranked wizard...' William snarked internally, saying nothing aloud.
"Alright, everyone is tired today. Let's go back and rest. The Diadem will remain in my office for safekeeping. Severus, would you please place it in the box," Dumbledore said, pointing to the transparent container. "I think we do indeed need to be a little more wary of it."
---
'What a busy day. Finally back in my own office. Quidditch, the Minister for Magic's visit, the Diadem test—' William lay down on his bed without even taking off his robes, sprawling himself out in utter comfort.
'I'll rest for a bit before looking up information. In this state, it's easy to miss things...'
He stretched lazily, listening to the tapping sound outside the window.
'It's got a nice rhythm to it.'
But William quickly realized something was wrong. He hurried to push open the window and let the two tapping culprits in—they were two owls.
One of them was already getting angry, hopping about on his desk and staring at his finger, looking as if it wanted to give him a peck.
"Alright, alright, I just got back," William said, pulling out two packs of owl feed and waving his wand to summon two small dishes. "Eat up, eat up. Give me the letter."
The first letter was inside a package, on a small note.
"William, I couldn't wait to do the experiment, and you weren't back yet, so I had an owl deliver this to you. —Adams."
Inside the small package behind the note, wrapped in thick cotton and cloth, was the Felix Felicis that Adams had promised William.
The golden potion filled the small vial, and although it was just a small bottle, it looked far more tempting than a bag of Galleons.
'As a former potioneer, you're actually mooching Felix Felicis off a Herbologist, William. You've fallen so low!'
After chastising himself, William pulled open a drawer and began to find a place for the precious potion—he knew his stuff. This thing was truly worth more than a bag of Galleons.
(end of chapter)
"Relax. Just like Percy, think about what you want to use that wisdom for. Go on."
The second student quickly finished the test, then the next, and the one after that, until the very last one, Hermione, had completed her test. The memory inspection showed no problems.
---
After another period of observation and some logical reasoning tests, the professors and students who had participated in the test left Professor McGonagall's office, leaving William and the others behind.
'How on earth did Ginny trigger the protective charm on the Diadem? She's only a first-year student. The youngest student who tested it, Hermione, is only a second-year. Their magical power can't be that different. Why did only Ginny trigger the magic on it?'
William stared at the Diadem, his thoughts racing.
But it was no use—he wasn't the only wizard stumped. The other professors in the office were as well.
"A magical creature has acknowledged you. You have obtained a treasure chest x1."
Another sudden notification interrupted William's train of thought. Since he was out of ideas anyway, he might as well open a card.
[Financial Genius Price Smith (R): Hmm, this one should rise, this one should fall, something like that, who knows why? Strong Luck; tear this card, and for the next hour, you will possess extremely strong luck. —Experts rely on calculation, geniuses rely on intuition.]
Then came two low-probability, no-level cards that William had seen back in Azkaban. William decisively chose the only one that wasn't completely useless.
'Did this come from that Ravenclaw who was just tested? How can the gap between students be so large?'
'I still have two chests. Should I tear the card and then open them?' The thought instantly popped into William's mind.
It wasn't that he was being extravagant, but Adams had been extremely happy when he left earlier, saying that since he had solved quite a few problems, he would send him a bottle of Felix Felicis later.
Since the newly acquired card's effect could be replaced by a potion, he naturally didn't treasure it much.
'Forget it. At least with Felix Felicis, I can control the dose. A small sip is enough for two chests. I'll open them when I get back. No need to be so extravagant.'
In the end, William's frugal side won out.
'Wait, extravagant?'
'What I'm doing is nothing. That Diadem is the truly extravagant thing, using a treasure of Ravenclaw to cast Dark Magic—is there anything more extravagant than that?'
'The culprit's power is so much higher than mine; they can't be an idiot. Magic is a rigorous practice. A fool might have enough magical power that an ordinary person couldn't block their spells, but they could never complete such an exquisite piece of magic...'
'If this is a targeted trap, then a wizard like me is definitely not the target of the attack. If they used this Diadem as a bounty to kill me, there would be enough left over to kill me ten times...'
'In the entire British Wizarding World, there's probably only one person worth using the Diadem to kill: Dumbledore.'
'No, that's not right!' William interrupted his own train of thought. 'If it was targeting Dumbledore, then Ginny would never have triggered it. Unless it was sent here deliberately, and Ginny triggered something other than the Diadem.'
'That's not right either. If Ginny triggered it, we would definitely inspect the Diadem carefully. The person who set the trap couldn't be so foolish as to bet such a precious item on such a vague possibility. The loss would be too great if it were discovered.'
'So, could the Diadem, like in those cultivation novels, have an item spirit? An evil spirit, but one with low intelligence, that bewitched the weak Ginny into killing the roosters, but then got scared and backed off when it sensed a lot of people?'
After all, it was a thousand-year-old artifact; it wouldn't be surprising if it gained sentience.
William boldly stated his hypothesis. "Professor Dumbledore, do you think... the Diadem has come alive? That it can sense whether its surroundings are dangerous and act accordingly?"
"An interesting hypothesis, Professor William. Please continue."
"You see, Hogwarts has the Sorting Hat. It can sing, talk, communicate with people, and even see into their thoughts. That's Gryffindor's hat, but Ravenclaw's Diadem is no less remarkable, is it?"
"Of course not! The Diadem of Ravenclaw is a symbol of wisdom!" Professor Flitwick interjected, a rare occurrence. It seemed his grievance concerning the Diadem was unusually deep.
"So, it's possible the Diadem has also developed a soul, but it's not very intelligent, and possibly even evil."
"How could that be!" Professor Flitwick complained.
"I apologize, I don't mean the Diadem itself is evil," William apologized to Professor Flitwick. "What I mean is, perhaps its newly born intelligence was corrupted by its previous master. After all, you told me..."
William looked at Dumbledore, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid—he was afraid that if the professors present were all cursed, Hogwarts would be half-decimated.
"A rather bold theory, Professor William."
"But it's just a theory, Professor," William said, deciding to voice his other, even more outrageous idea. "I have an even more absurd thought. Perhaps it's not alive, but a trap aimed at you. In Hogwarts, you are the only one worthy of having such a trap set with it."
Because the speculation was so shocking, William instinctively used a more formal tone.
"You truly overestimate me, Professor William," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I'm just an old man who has been fortunate enough to stand in a high position."
'And also a pretty good fighter, the top-ranked wizard...' William snarked internally, saying nothing aloud.
"Alright, everyone is tired today. Let's go back and rest. The Diadem will remain in my office for safekeeping. Severus, would you please place it in the box," Dumbledore said, pointing to the transparent container. "I think we do indeed need to be a little more wary of it."
---
'What a busy day. Finally back in my own office. Quidditch, the Minister for Magic's visit, the Diadem test—' William lay down on his bed without even taking off his robes, sprawling himself out in utter comfort.
'I'll rest for a bit before looking up information. In this state, it's easy to miss things...'
He stretched lazily, listening to the tapping sound outside the window.
'It's got a nice rhythm to it.'
But William quickly realized something was wrong. He hurried to push open the window and let the two tapping culprits in—they were two owls.
One of them was already getting angry, hopping about on his desk and staring at his finger, looking as if it wanted to give him a peck.
"Alright, alright, I just got back," William said, pulling out two packs of owl feed and waving his wand to summon two small dishes. "Eat up, eat up. Give me the letter."
The first letter was inside a package, on a small note.
"William, I couldn't wait to do the experiment, and you weren't back yet, so I had an owl deliver this to you. —Adams."
Inside the small package behind the note, wrapped in thick cotton and cloth, was the Felix Felicis that Adams had promised William.
The golden potion filled the small vial, and although it was just a small bottle, it looked far more tempting than a bag of Galleons.
'As a former potioneer, you're actually mooching Felix Felicis off a Herbologist, William. You've fallen so low!'
After chastising himself, William pulled open a drawer and began to find a place for the precious potion—he knew his stuff. This thing was truly worth more than a bag of Galleons.
(end of chapter)
