On a clear night, the stars twinkle brightly in the sky, like countless brilliant silver beads, densely embedded in the deep black night sky.
But oddly, the normally bright moonlight was tinged with elegance, with an abnormal hint of red shimmering through the hazy glow, as if a hand stained with blood were gently sweeping over the moonlight.
A light breeze, originating from the vast and untouched forest, was rushing towards the castle. It gently pushed open Amosta's window shutters, allowing the dyed red moonlight to slip in, spreading a rosy hue on the deep brown floor of the dormitory.
The stone chest on the desk had been opened halfway, and it seemed to have the power to swallow light. The candlelight from the candlestick was shone into it but none of it escaped. So, the other half of the box remained black and mysterious, with no clue about what was inside.
Amosta leaned back in the chair, his gaze focused on the thumb-sized glass bottle he was holding between his fingers. The silver-threaded mist shimmering within it rotated slowly, resembling a rotating Milky Way galaxy.
This is a bottle of detached memories, the owner of which is Amosta, but he does not know when he left this thing.
This morning, when Professor McGonagall encountered Harry Potter, a message automatically popped up in his mind, informing him that something of great importance was hidden under the floor of his dormitory. Once the memory is recovered, it must be retrieved immediately. The trigger condition for this message is to witness Harry Potter in person.
Why did I set such a condition back then?
Amosta gazed at the brilliant silver mist, thinking about this question. Suddenly, his heartbeat quickened its rhythm, and an idea occurred to him.
"Could it be that the memories inside are related to Harry Potter's plot, and for all these years, I have not been able to backtrack to my past self about Harry Potter's plot because I myself peeled away this memory?"
Amosta muttered, but then he shook his head, dismissing the guess he had just made.
The biggest advantage of a time traveler is simply that they know the plot beforehand.
Knowing the plot means being able to avoid all dangers in advance and seek benefits for oneself. Regardless of what happens, Amosta believes he will not give up such a huge advantage.
In fact, Amosta could directly immerse himself in this memory, and thus his doubts would be resolved. However, being cautious, he dared not try lightly.
Memories represent a person's past and experiences, to some extent, they can even change a person's personality. Amosta is even unsure whether the information in his mind is something he left himself in the past or was forcefully implanted into his mind by others through memory magic.
If it were the latter, then the caster must have foreseen that he would retrieve and absorb the information after seeing it. If he planted some false information in the memory on purpose to deliberately mislead his actions...
Of course, someone capable of forcibly extracting his memories and modifying them has no need to go through the trouble. Perhaps simply using magic to control his actions would be simpler.
However, Amosta still cannot ignore this possibility. Back when he was still a student, he did not have the strength he has today, and it was not impossible for him to be manipulated by others.
After much hesitation, Amosta decided to temporarily give up merging with the memory. His mastery in memory magic was not out of the ordinary. If the memories in the bottle had been altered by a master of memory magic, he might not have the insight to notice. It would be wiser to consult a memory master for an examination than to take a risk.
Is there a master of memory magic at Hogwarts?
Amosta pondered, Dumbledore definitely counts as one, but unless he takes two bowls of Felix Felicis, it would be a very foolish choice.
After placing the memory bottle safely on his body, Amosta stood up, pulled open the half-covered stone cover, and quietly gazed at the items inside the box. The flickering candlelight cast a shadow on his face, making his expression look obscure and enigmatic.
One of the four founders of Hogwarts a thousand years ago, the founder of Ravenclaw House -- Rowena Ravenclaw's cherished possession in life, a treasure representing the two beautiful qualities of calmness and wisdom, lay quietly at the bottom of the box.
However, now this treasure has become a piece of trash, a waste that is black and dried up with crusts on the surface, and split into two pieces.
The Ravenclaw crown had been lost for a thousand years, and Amosta did not know how much effort Voldemort must have gone through to find it. However, he was extremely indignant at Voldemort's decision to make such a treasure into a Horcrux.
Amosta could imagine how much commotion it would cause if this thing appeared in the underground world. Countless ancient magical factions that share the magical power of the Four Founders would probably be willing to exchange all their fortunes for it. Even, they would not spare the bloodshed of the wealthiest Malfurian family in the wizarding world, just to pool enough Galleons to purchase it.
It was only a step away from achieving financial freedom, but he had to destroy this opportunity with his own hands. Thinking about it now, Amosta felt a lump in his throat.
The mention of destroying the crown is another thought-provoking issue.
Amosta vividly remembers how he discovered the crown, and can also feel the remnants of the fierce fire aura permeating his magic. However, the memories of destroying the crown are blurry, as to why such a situation occurred, the answer probably lies in that small bottle of memory from earlier.
"Restore to its original state!"
Amosta pointed his wand at the crown, and the two ancient, faded crowns lying in his hands trembled for a moment before returning to peace.
This was not surprising, although the powerful dark magic attached to the crown had been melted by Amosta's fierce fire, the crown itself still harbored strange magic. It is not easy to restore a legendary magical artifact with powerful magic.
"The crown really possesses the wondrous magic, as rumored, that bestows unimaginable wisdom upon its bearer?" Amosta guessed.
At least, Voldemort did not discover the power of the crown itself when he obtained it, otherwise, he would not have made such wasteful actions.
"Keep it for now," Amosta said to himself, "Try to use an adhesive to glue the crown back together later. Maybe those weird magical factions won't notice either!"
The cold current outside and the warm air inside formed a cold-hot convection, with a strong wind slamming the open window shut with a loud crack. Amosta went to the window to close it, and surprisingly, he saw a lantern sway out from the Forbidden Forest, bobbing towards Hagrid's cabin.
"--It should be Hermione Granger who told Hagrid that I have been reinstated as an investigation officer to Hogwarts, but perhaps she got the wrong message and thought it was the Ministry of Magic... something is not right,"
Amosta suddenly furrowed his brow and carefully recalled the scene when he met him this morning.
Hagrid seemed very anxious about the news, but that was strange. What could he be anxious about? Did he think it was the Ministry of Magic ordering me back to Hogwarts to cause trouble for Dumbledore?
Or, he may actually have some knowledge of the Slytherin Room... or even a direct connection?
Amosta pursed his lips and gazed at Hagrid's cabin, his eyes deep and mysterious.
After a moment of contemplation, Amosta looked at the tower room nearby that was still lit by candles and shook his head. As Professor Snape said, Dumbledore may not be as noble as people think, but he certainly would not allow anyone to harm the students at the school. The trust Dumbledore showed towards Hagrid was enough to prove that Hagrid was not a suspect.
"Professor Headmaster must be collecting Voldemort's Horcruxes now..."
Amosta pulled the curtains shut as he walked back, muttering to himself, "If he's willing to reclaim the broken Horcruxes, and for the sake of Professor Snape, I can give him a fair price!"
