The intricate patterns on the tall iron door shimmered before it gently swung open. Not a speck of dust fell from it during the process.
"This is... the Room of Requirement!"
Rey was startled. He hadn't expected the Room of Requirement to open for him right now. It was unbelievable.
The Room of Requirement comes and goes, appearing only when a person truly needs it.
Truly needs it?
Rey was confused. Honestly, he had just been thinking about how to transform into a giant dragon. That didn't seem like the kind of need that usually triggered the room.
Besides, transforming into a dragon wasn't something external aid could solve; it was more about self-realization of one's own magic.
Although he didn't know why the door had opened for him, since it was open, it would be a pity not to check out the most mysterious room in Hogwarts.
"Maybe there really is something in here that can help me."
With that thought, Rey walked into the Room of Requirement—and was immediately stunned by what he saw.
The room was packed. Items were piled from the floor all the way up to the high ceiling.
There were statues, furniture, glass containers of various sizes holding unidentified objects, and unknown potted plants.
Vine-like plants grew incredibly tall, reaching the ceiling. Their leaves spread flat across the top, making it hard to tell at a glance if their roots were in the large pots below or in the ceiling above.
The size of this cluttered room was indiscernible. Four winding paths snaked through the piles of junk in front of him, stretching out of sight.
Faced with everything before him, Rey stood there, dumbfounded.
He had entered the legendary Room of Requirement, but he had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.
---
Entering the Room of Requirement without a specific request—Rey might be the only person in Hogwarts history to do so.
Just as Rey was about to pick a path at random to explore, a transparent figure appeared at the end of the winding path directly in front of him.
A woman in a long dress. Her silhouette was incredibly familiar.
"Helena!"
Rey shouted. He hadn't expected Helena to be in the Room of Requirement too.
However, Helena ignored his shout. instead, she turned and walked deeper into the room.
Without thinking, Rey immediately chased after her.
Helena wasn't far ahead, but the path wound and twisted. No matter how fast Rey ran, Helena always vanished just as she reached the end of the path ahead.
It felt like she was guiding him because every time she stopped to wait, it was at a fork in the road.
"Where are you taking me?"
After chasing for a while, Rey asked himself. He picked up his pace.
After passing a standing bronze statue, a sofa, and a bookshelf full of glass containers, the figure ahead finally stopped in front of a small round table covered with a tablecloth.
The table was cluttered with finger-thick ropes and various nameless trinkets. Her hand was resting on a box sitting beneath the ropes.
When Rey finally reached her, the figure turned around. Only then did he see clearly that this transparent woman wasn't Helena at all—it was Rowena Ravenclaw, Helena's mother.
Rowena looked just as she had when he met her a thousand years ago: young and beautiful. Maintaining an elegant smile, she gestured with her right hand toward the box she was pointing at, then silently mouthed a sentence to Rey before vanishing into thin air.
"Please take care of Helena."
Although no sound came out, Rey heard it in his heart loud and clear.
Rey was astonished. He hadn't expected to see the millennium-old Rowena Ravenclaw in the Room of Requirement. But before he could speak, the transparent Rowena tapped the wooden box under her hand and dissolved into light smoke.
Rowena was one of the founders and architects of Hogwarts. Rey never imagined she would guide him here. This explained why the Room of Requirement had opened its doors to him even when he hadn't asked for anything.
He didn't know the reason, nor did he know what kind of magic she used to make this persist for a thousand years. But clearly, her goal was to bring him here.
The answer should be inside that wooden box under the ropes on the round table.
---
Rey approached the table, moved the ropes aside, and opened the box.
Inside lay an exquisite piece of jewelry: Ravenclaw's Diadem.
It featured a spread-winged eagle with a blue-black gemstone set in the center.
Before opening the box, Rey had considered many possibilities, but finding Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was the last thing he expected.
He didn't understand why Rowena had led him to the diadem, nor did he understand what she meant by "Please take care of Helena."
Staring at the exquisite diadem, Rey fell into deep thought.
A thousand years ago, Rey remembered the sapphire in the center of the diadem being crystal clear and flawless. But now, the inside was clouded with black.
This diadem no longer belonged solely to Rowena Ravenclaw; it was now one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Voldemort had defiled it with dark magic, turning it into a vessel for a piece of his soul. That was likely the origin of the darkness in the sapphire.
Rey ran his fingers over the diadem; it felt cool to the touch. He picked it up to examine it closely.
As he lifted it, he saw faint tendrils of dark magic seeping out from the sapphire, staining his fingers.
That dark magic was the source of the coolness. But as the dark energy touched him, Rey felt no discomfort.
A white wizard would have been instantly repelled or alerted by contact with dark magic. But Rey wasn't a white wizard. A thousand years ago, he had actively absorbed dark magic.
Strictly speaking, Rey was currently an orthodox Dark Wizard.
In the modern wizarding world, "Dark Wizard" was usually synonymous with "evil wizard." But in the true sense of the classification, a Dark Wizard wasn't necessarily evil, and an evil wizard might not even be qualified to be called a Dark Wizard.
As a Dark Wizard who had absorbed dark magic before, Rey naturally didn't fear the dark energy on this Horcrux.
Even if Voldemort's dark magic was powerful, as long as Rey didn't wear the Horcrux for extended periods like Dumbledore eventually would with the ring, he should be fine.
---
Ravenclaw's Diadem was a magical object said to grant wisdom to the wearer.
Helena Ravenclaw had stolen it from her mother because she wanted to become smarter.
Now, it had become Voldemort's Horcrux and was hidden here.
Voldemort had deceived Helena to get to it, then defiled it with dark magic. This was Helena's eternal shame and pain. Although she never spoke of it, Rey knew the story well.
Thinking of this, Rey's eyes narrowed. No man would want to let someone who deceived his girlfriend get away with it.
Rey was no exception. However, he didn't have time to dwell on Voldemort right now. He needed to figure out why Rowena had led him to the diadem.
Stroking the diadem in his hand, Rey felt a bit lost. What exactly was Rowena trying to tell him?
"Maybe this diadem has something to do with Helena's current state?"
In that moment of confusion, he suddenly recalled Rowena's figure just before she vanished.
In that fleeting image, she was wearing the diadem.
A lightbulb went off in Rey's mind. "Is she... wanting me to wear the diadem?"