A grand celebration banquet was in full swing in the grand hall, where the originally four parallel long tables were arranged into a square frame. The elves in the kitchen spared no effort, and the long tables were filled with various mouth-watering foods.
The professors also did not hold their status in high regard, mingling and joyfully chatting with the young wizards.
Professor McGonagall pretended not to notice the Weasley brothers secretly switching the juice of the young witches for butterbeer, while Snape seemed to be comforting the dejected Draco. When the mood suited them, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout even performed a waltz amidst the uproar of the others.
"I had already noticed something was amiss in that bathroom early on—"
After two months of absence from everyone, Looney Binns appeared here despite Mrs. Pomfrey's dissuasion. His face pale, he could only stand by leaning on the table, but he still did his best to match his smile with the dazzling starry river on the ceiling.
"But I believe trespassing in a girls' bathroom is not a gentlemanly behavior!"
"He dare to say so!"
Hearing the self-praising words of Looney Binns, Harry's face turned ashen with anger, and Dean at his side made a vomiting gesture.
"Where did Professor Brain go?"
Hermione, feeling a bit disappointed by Professor Looney's performance, looked around furtively, searching for that young, slender figure.
"He and Professor Dumbledore left in the middle," answered Neville.
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, both a little disheartened, after brief communication, they took some food and also left the grand hall to go to the school hospital to find Ron.
On the eighth floor of the castle, Amos was leading Dumbledore to open a smooth door set into the wall opposite a tapestry depicting a giant beating a fool.
"...At that time, I often practiced magic or brewed potions in some remote classrooms in the castle. From the lower secondary school semester, you and Professor Snape had been keeping an eye on me quite closely. Once, Professor Snape seemed to notice the smell of the potion I was carrying, but he didn't say anything. As a precaution, I wanted to find a safe place to store my potions...while wandering around here, I accidentally discovered this enchanted room."
Creak!
This is a room as large as a church, and the surroundings look like a city. The towering walls are made up of things hidden by thousands upon thousands of students who are no longer alive. The vast majority of these things can be considered trash—expired potions, rotting and moldy food, collapsed shelves and boxes, old textbooks, and the like...
Amos led Dumbledore through the labyrinthine garbage heap until they came to an old cupboard with a bubbly surface, in front of which sat a wizard half-figure with numerous freckles on his cheeks. The top of the cupboard was occupied by a male witch who had a clear round mark on his scalp.
"Here it is--"
Amos nodded his chin, addressing Dumbledore with a solemn expression.
Dumbledore held the broken crown that Amos had given him last night in his hand. After a glance at the statue, he looked up at the room above him.
"It's a good place to hide things...I can guess when Tom hid the crown here..."
Dumbledore murmured,
"To be honest, Amos, you've been a great help to me. For years, I've had doubts about whether Voldemort ever split his soul. And I believe he may have done so more than once, but I've never had any evidence. And yet, in just one day, you've proven two long-standing questions in my mind..."
Although Dumbledore said this, he couldn't see a sign of relief, but instead, his shoulders were hunched over, and his forehead seemed to be half-dropped by the heavy pressure.
Amos understood why Dumbledore looked like this. It was indeed a very difficult problem. To destroy Voldemort, one must first destroy his Horcruxes, but who knows how many times this madman has split his soul?
According to theory, the number of soul splits has no limit. As long as your broken soul is strong enough to support your body's activities, splitting it dozens or hundreds of times is not a problem. However, in reality, human souls cannot be so powerful. It's like a piece of white paper that can theoretically be folded countless times, but in reality, it can only fold a few times before it becomes unmanageable.
"Then--"
Amos ignored Dumbledore, who was frowning deeply in thought, and walked straight towards the exit.
"If you really believe that I have provided only trivial help, Professor Dumbledore, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't watch me every day like that. Otherwise, I will be very worried!"
.....
Although his arm muscles were torn by the fangs of the Serpent, thanks to the tears of Fawkes and Mrs. Pomfrey's professional care, Ron's arm, wrapped like a mummy in bandages, was now able to move. Lying on the pillow, listening to Harry recount the boasts of Looney Binns, he was so angry that his nose almost bent out of shape!
"Only him, Harry!"
Ron panted, "Without you, Harry, even if Hogwarts closed down, he wouldn't find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets...By the way, hasn't Peignoir received the punishment she deserves?"
"The Ministry can't just lock a ghost in Azkaban, Ron," said Hermione, finally regaining her composure. "Professor Brain also believes that it is both absurd and cruel to try a ghost."
"I don't see what's cruel about it!"
Ron turned his nose towards the several beds outside, where Ginny was sleeping deeply, and took a big gulp of a chocolate milk laced with sleep potion. The image of his parents worried to tears by Ginny's side this morning still echoed in Ron's head.
"Speaking of Professor Brain," Ron looked at Harry, "He has decided to leave, hasn't he?"
As soon as this topic was mentioned, Hermione's mood again sank, and even Harry sighed, looking worried.
"After all, Professor Dumbledore told me this. He told me that Professor Brain has fulfilled his duty and he will leave the school soon..."
"That's really terrible."
Ron seemed to want to cross his arms, but he forgot about his injured right arm and inadvertently pulled the wound, causing him to bite his teeth in pain.
"Ouch... mom even asked me to invite Professor Brain over for a visit during the summer vacation, dad said he almost saved our entire family... well, it's true. He saved Bill and Charlie when we were students, and now he's saved both Percy and Ginny from the hands of the Dark Lord and the basilisk. That's really difficult to repay."
"I'm not saving you for gratitude, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore.
Amos beamed and strode in, looking at the three surprised young witches.
"How do you feel, Mr. Weasley?"
"Ah... um, much better, Professor Brain!" Ron said, his cheeks turning red, and he tried to demonstrate by moving his arm.
Seeing that Ron's spirits were still decent, Amos nodded in satisfaction and sat on the bed next to him, smiling at them three.
"I have some gifts for you..."
...
...
...
...
"Reading Room"
