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"Wizards have defeated too many enemies, and that's exactly why magic was inevitably lost.
Ignorance, young wizard, is not what blocks the progress of magical civilization—arrogance is."
Mr. Owl said.
"So you won't use the confusion charm on me anymore, right?"
Sean asked.
"Foolish young wizard."
Mr. Owl flapped his wings, and the entire painting vanished with him.
In the massive tapestry showing the knight trying to teach the troll ballet, both the troll and the knight quietly watched.
Once the conversation settled, the troll resumed pummeling the knight.
Sean glanced at the painting. A very smooth door had already appeared on the adjacent wall.
Sean stared at it, then gripped the brass handle, pulled the door open, and walked into a spacious room lit with torches, like those in underground classrooms.
Along the walls stood rows of wooden bookshelves, and on the floor, instead of chairs, there were large satin cushions.
At the far end of the room, countless wooden shelves held various instruments like spyglasses and detectors.
Most eye-catching were the tables, with several steaming bowls placed on them.
Sean looked over curiously—they were empty.
He immediately understood. The Room of Requirement used simple summoning charms and transformation spells, so it followed Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.[1]
Namely: transfiguration cannot conjure delicious food out of thin air.
If you know where food is, you can summon it.
If you already have some, you can transform it or make more of it.
That's why his pumpkin juice hadn't appeared.
After taking in everything in the Room of Requirement, Sean raised his wand and walked into the wooden bookcases on the left side.
Light beams from high windows revealed the bookcases rising like walls of a city. Sean could see they were formed by items hidden here by generations of Hogwarts students.[2]
Along those alleyways were tottering piles of broken furniture—possibly discarded items from other rooms that the Room of Requirement consciously collected.
Or perhaps hidden away by house-elves maintaining the castle's dignity.
Perhaps, as Mr. Owl said, this was just a storage area for Hogwarts clutter.
Deeper into the passages, there were thousands upon thousands of books—undoubtedly forbidden books, defaced books, or stolen books.
There were enchanted slingshots and dangerous flying discs, some still feebly circling above mountains of contraband.
Broken bottles contained solidified potions. There were hats, jewelry, cloaks, what looked like dragon eggshells.
Several corked bottles still flickered with sinister light. A few rusty swords and a blood-stained battle-axe.
In this heap of clutter, Sean immediately noticed a tarnished crown.[3]
—Ravenclaw's diadem.
He silently stepped back several paces. From his grimoire, a basilisk fang floated out and stood beside him.[4][1]
But he didn't directly destroy the crown. Instead, he slowly looked toward the doorway.
A figure appeared as if shedding an invisibility cloak.
"Welcome back, Sean."
Justin smiled.
"The scent again?"
Sean paused and sighed.
"So, what can I know?"
When Justin's gaze moved to the crown, his smile had faded.
He had many things he wanted to say, but for him, many things could take a backseat to one thing.
"So, the Restricted Section—have you been there?"
Sean said slowly.
"Is it The Darkest Arts?"
Justin asked.
"There's a type of the darkest creation that requires the most vile acts to make.
Voldemort—that name means 'flight from death.'"
Sean explained quietly.
"I saw it fly away then. Is that why Principal Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort?!"
Justin seemed to grasp something.
"What method did he use? Sean, you know—"
He suddenly stopped, then opened his mouth but said nothing more.
There should be no cold wind in the Room of Requirement, but he felt a chill deep in his bones.
He suddenly understood why those green eyes always remained neither happy nor sad, calm as still water.
He knew such eyes always carried a trace of desolation and resolution.
And now, everything seemed explainable—
"Whether he comes back or not, we'll win—"
Justin forced a smile.
He remembered facing Voldemort, remembered standing shoulder to shoulder with Sean, planning how to fight a battle they were destined to lose.
What would Sean say?
No, he never spoke—he just answered with action. The important thing is to keep fighting, fighting, and fighting. Only that way can evil be controlled, though it can never be completely eliminated—
Justin felt his heart must be blocked. He suddenly realized the entire magical world was in danger.
Because Voldemort possessed dark magic beyond anyone's imagination.[5][1]
He hadn't died. He would come back.
And Hogwarts was safe not only because of Dumbledore.
Because there was someone who always stood between Voldemort and terror.
Even in the hardest times, they all fantasized that Dumbledore would protect them from any harm.
But someone had long abandoned such fantasies.
"Only by relying on ourselves do we have the best chance of winning."
Justin suddenly murmured.
He felt like he'd fallen into a nightmare.
And now, no one could wake him from the nightmare, nor would he fantasize again.
A twelve-year-old wizard, at this moment, let go of all hope for luck.
He clearly knew he had to stand with Sean forever.
Because more than ever before, he realized the young wizard was lonelier than they imagined.
"Soul anchor."
Justin finally spoke the concept—the concept he'd seen in The Darkest Arts —[1][5]
[As for certain more terrifying directions, regarding soul anchors, this most evil magical invention, we should not discuss it, nor should we provide guidance.]
Now Justin knew this magic could help evil escape death in a way they couldn't imagine—cruel beyond measure.
"So this is a soul anchor? How do I destroy it? The basilisk fang?"
Justin spoke, his eyes burning with fighting spirit, more passionate than ever before.[4][1]
"No, you stay back."
Sean said.
Justin felt disappointed and instinctively moved away.
Sean also retreated far back. He didn't want any variables.
Since Tom Riddle's diary could corrupt souls and control wizards' thoughts, treating other soul anchors with utmost caution wasn't excessive.[5][1]
As his wand rose, the walls of the Room of Requirement underwent massive changes.
A stone statue nearly ten feet tall walked out from the wall and, in an extremely short time, picked up the basilisk fang and, like a warrior, walked toward the wooden cabinet.[1][4]