Karl gently waved his wand, and the raging Fiendfyre vanished.
He looked at the shattered ravenclaws diadem, then turned to look at the ghost who had been hiding in the sea of fire.
Her long hair reached her waist, her robes touched the floor, and her beautiful face held no trace of its usual arrogance, but instead carried nostalgia, guilt, remorse, and relief.
Karl waited a moment before speaking, giving her enough time to reminisce about the past.
"Ms. Helena Ravenclaw, I have fulfilled my part of the agreement; now it is your turn."
Nina had successfully befriended Helena not long ago and introduced Karl to her.
However, while Helena was willing to chat about other topics, she would clam up whenever the conversation turned to the history of Hogwarts.
So, yesterday, Karl told her that he had found ravenclaws diadem, only to regret that it had been tainted and possessed by an evil, sinful soul.
In her shock, Helena confessed her past foolish betrayal and how she had been deceived by Lord Voldemort, begging Karl to retrieve or destroy the ravenclaws diadem.
Thus, Karl took the opportunity to strike a deal with her, hoping Helena would tell him some secrets from the early days of Hogwarts.
"Mr. Orolin, thank you."
"No need to be so formal, Helena. I think after this, we should be friends."
"Of course, if you, like Nina, don't mind being friends with a useless ghost."
Witnessing the destruction of the ravenclaws diadem made Helena's emotions unstable; after all, it held special significance for her.
"Karl, I thought you might consider Lord Voldemort's words," Helena's face flashed with disgust at the mention of the name. "After all, it is a treasure that can grant magic; I was once among the many who coveted the ravenclaws diadem."
Karl shook his head regretfully. "Actually, I wanted the ravenclaws diadem too, but there was no way to have the best of both worlds."
"Compared to the magic the ravenclaws diadem grants, destroying Lord Voldemort's soul is more appealing."
"That guy is still too dangerous. Even if he lost his great power, his ability to bewitch people remains."
Thinking of how she had been deceived by Lord Voldemort's sweet talk back then, Helena sighed deeply.
"Karl, what do you want to know? I will tell you everything I know."
Great! This is what I was waiting for!
"Helena, does Hogwarts Castle have a magic core?"
"Hmm, it should have one; that was the consensus among everyone back then."
Speaking of which, Helena looked a bit embarrassed. "But I was young then and only cared about playing, so I don't know where the Castle's magic core is."
Karl:...
Fine, it wasn't a complete loss; at least he confirmed the target existed.
"Lady Rowena once recorded in her manuscripts that a Wizard claiming to be Merlin participated in the construction of Hogwarts Castle. Do you know this person?"
"I do. He looked young, handsome, and very suave, but Mother, Uncle Godric, and Aunt Helga were all very wary of him and wouldn't allow me near him."
Karl held back his inner snark. "Besides his appearance, is there any other information?"
"Let me think... Right! He seems to have been someone Uncle Salazar met while traveling in Greece!"
Karl: (⊙o⊙)
Huh? Greece again?
...
Early the next morning, Karl woke up from his sleep and stretched on his bed.
"Cheep~"
Fire Treasure hopped around on Karl's chest, happily greeting him.
"Merry Christmas!"
"Yiya!"
Fire Treasure flew over and rubbed against Karl's cheek, then pointed a little finger toward the foot of his bed.
A large pile of packages was stacked there—his Christmas gifts.
"Wow, perfect, let's open the gifts together. I hope George and Fred aren't playing any pranks."
Karl rolled out of bed and began to examine the packages.
As expected, the gifts from the Little wizards were just as unoriginal as his own.
The candy he unwrapped made Karl's teeth ache; he figured he could eat it until next Christmas.
Cedric seemed to be retaliating for Karl's psychological warfare by sending him a copy of "Flight Technique Manual."
Just like the "Complete Guide to Flight Stunts" from Cho Chang, although it was nominally a gift, it felt full of mockery.
The Weasley Brothers' gift was even more outrageous. What the heck was this giant bag of Dungbombs? For fertilizing the greenhouse?
Professor McGonagall and Nina were the most thoughtful; their gifts were much more normal.
Professor McGonagall gave Karl her personal notes on studying Transfiguration, along with several pairs of shoes that matched his new school uniform.
Nina had prepared several Self-Writing Quills for Karl so he could easily write stories; they would definitely meet Judy's requirements.
Moreover, Nina's magical creature companions joined in the fun, earning him valuable tail feathers, scales, and fur, as well as a set of miniature bows and arrows.
Hmm, it all felt a bit strange.
The last gift was from Headmaster Dumbledore, and after seeing it, Karl felt a bit unnerved.
It was a manual written by the Headmaster himself, containing his insights on the General Counter-Spell and the Counter-Curse.
"What's going on? Did my sneaking into the Restricted Section to learn the Fiendfyre Curse get exposed?"
Karl scratched his head, feeling this wasn't a coincidence, but rather Dumbledore hinting... no, this was a clear indication.
"Forget it! Whatever happens, happens! I've already learned it anyway, and it seems Dumbledore doesn't intend to pursue it."
Karl left the dormitory; the usually bustling common room had only one young Witch in it.
She had a heart-shaped face, dark, sparkling eyes, and striking, multicolored hair.
"Hi! Tonks, Merry Christmas!"
"Hi! Karl! You too."
"Your hair color is great today!"
"Of course! I prepared it especially for Christmas!"
"How come I haven't seen you lately? I thought you had graduated early."
Tonks couldn't help but look happy at hearing this. "I went to participate in a project sponsored by the Ministry of Magic."
"What project?"
"It's about experiencing various professions at the Ministry of Magic. I was assigned to the Auror office under Alastor Moody. Do you know this Auror?"
"His reputation precedes him."
Karl certainly knew of this famous, highly decorated legendary figure; after all, the Death Eaters he had captured could fill half the cells in Azkaban.
"Haha! Mr. Moody is really cool! I want to become an Auror after I graduate too!"
Tonks was full of fighting spirit now; she probably didn't realize she would need three years of training before she could start the job.
"So you're not going home for the holidays just for your N.E.W.T. exams?"
N.E.W.T. exams were the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, the academic certification for Hogwarts graduates.
If Tonks wanted to become an Auror, she had to achieve Exceeds Expectations or Outstanding in five subjects on the exams.
"That's not it! My grades are quite good; why would I need holiday tutoring?"
Tonks glared at Karl, her expression suddenly turning a bit sad.
"This is my last Christmas at Hogwarts, so I wanted to stay at the school."
Karl nodded, then handed her a handful of candy. "Eating something sweet will make you feel better."
Tonks laughed in spite of herself. "Thanks for the comfort. I want to give you a heartfelt piece of advice."
"What?"
"Did you receive any Dungbombs in your gifts? Remember, definitely do not use them to fertilize the plants in the greenhouse."
Karl: (▔,▔)
Seriously... who in their right mind would do that?
Tonks smiled brightly, her teeth shining white.
"I tried it last year, and then I was sent to the kitchens for detention."
Fine, fine, fine!
Hogwarts really doesn't keep idlers!