In the end, Avada left the Headmaster's office clutching that book, his head hanging low.
Alright… so he really is suspicious of me. Still, that was expected—and acceptable.
All things considered, this year has been immensely rewarding. No—"rewarding" doesn't even begin to cover it. Voldemort has been dealt with, I've obtained Nicolas Flamel's research notes, earned the trust of Dumbledore and Harry, and even managed to deceive Magical Perception—only exposing prophecy-related abilities and mental sensing…
The real question is, how exactly does Dumbledore intend to carry out this so-called "eradication of Voldemort"?
And now that things have reached this point, Lucius definitely won't dare to keep that Horcrux diary any longer. Next year, the diary should still end up being brought into the school by Ginny just like in the original timeline. When that happens, I'll simply take it.
Oh, right—speaking of that… should I go check out the Chamber of Secrets ahead of time? With my current strength, killing the Basilisk would still require a lot of preparation, but at the very least I could record that petrification magic and see if I can develop a counter-curse early…
I spent the entire year dealing with Voldemort. After finishing the Near Yet Far Spell, I never even went to the Chamber to "check in." Who knows—maybe some system reward would pop up if I did…
"Near Yet Far."
After casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, Avada slipped into the spatial interstice in a flash. More and more, he was coming to appreciate just how powerful this spell truly was. No matter how secretive the place—be it a hidden chamber, a Gringotts vault, or even Azkaban—to him, none of it was truly off-limits anymore.
The only uncertainty was whether places protected by the Fidelius Charm would still bar his way.
Lost in thought, he rode his broom to the abandoned girls' bathroom on the third floor. Passing straight through the ghostly mental presence of Moaning Myrtle, he began to examine the surroundings—
"..."
"Hmm…"
"...So where's the Chamber?"
After a brief silence, Avada voiced the question that came straight from his soul.
To his Magical Perception, the bathroom was completely ordinary. There were no strange passages leading elsewhere, not even the faintest trace of a Parseltongue-activated enchantment.
Even if some almighty celestial being showed up, they could probably walk in, take four steps, and lie down for a nap without issue!
"…Did I end up in the wrong universe?"
Avada felt as though his worldview—quite literally—had just been shattered.
He promptly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and stepped out of the spatial interstice, carefully observing the bathroom's layout before Myrtle noticed him.
Not long after, he spotted a small snake symbol etched near one of the sinks.
"What's going on here?"
"In theory, this symbol should conceal the voice-activated magic that opens the Chamber—but why does it look like nothing more than an ordinary mark to me? There's no magic in it at all!"
"Does the Chamber of Secrets even exist?"
"If it doesn't, then will the Basilisk and the Horcrux diary still show up? And if it does exist, why can't I sense it at all?!"
"Damn it—why does it feel like getting rid of Voldemort didn't reduce my problems one bit?!"
His eye twitching, Avada quietly slipped away. After removing the Disillusionment Charm, he returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room, his gaze unfocused and dazed.
"Fine. We're leaving Hogwarts tomorrow anyway. I'll just take things one step at a time next term."
"Hmph… once I'm back, the first thing I'll do is collect every Horcrux I can get my hands on!"
"Counting the crystal ball I just made, Voldemort has seven Horcruxes in total now… the Resurrection Stone, the locket, the cup, the diadem, the diary, the crystal ball, and Potter…"
"The diadem and the crystal ball are already under control. The locket is still at Grimmauld Place—I'm not sure I can get in. The diary should deliver itself next term, and if all else fails, I can have Dumbledore demand it from Lucius. This summer, I have to get the Resurrection Stone and the cup!"
"Oh right—the Resurrection Stone still carries a powerful curse. I'll need to see if I can grind that down. Worst case, I'll isolate it with something and store it safely…"
"That way, I'll have at least two Horcruxes available for research—three, if I'm lucky. Research into removing soul fragments without destroying the vessel should be able to advance even further."
"So… what is going on with the Chamber, exactly?"
"..."
The next day, aboard the Hogwarts Express, Baron and Cedric were startled to find that the dark circles under Avada's eyes had deepened yet again.
"You still haven't calmed down from that excitement?" Baron asked in confusion. Even he, who had faced Voldemort directly, had managed to sleep soundly the night before.
"How could anyone calm down that easily?" Cedric said animatedly, waving his arms. "You sealed Voldemort! If I had done something like that, I'd be too excited to sleep for a whole month—and I'd brag about it for the rest of my life! My dad would probably carry me straight into the Ministry of Magic so his coworkers could admire me, shouting to everyone, 'My son sealed Voldemort!'"
"That sort of thing would only happen to Baron," Avada replied dryly. "Harry and I don't get that luxury."
With that single dark joke, the atmosphere in the compartment instantly cooled.
"…Ahem. Well," Cedric coughed after a moment, clearly finding the silence awkward. "You'll be third-years next year, right? Have you decided what electives to take?"
"I've already made up my mind," Baron said, nodding. "I'm planning to take Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies."
"Muggle Studies?" Avada forced himself to lift his head, staring at him in surprise. "Why would you take that?"
"To understand Muggles, of course?" Baron replied, equally puzzled by Avada's reaction. "Muggles make up the majority of the world, and they have a significant impact on magical society. That seems well worth studying, doesn't it?"
"…Have you actually read the Muggle Studies textbook?"
"Yeah. I thought it was pretty interesting—otherwise I wouldn't be interested in the class."
"I'd personally recommend you read less of that thing," Avada said, sighing. "I've looked through it too. The descriptions of Muggle society in there are just… well… 'ridiculous' doesn't even begin to cover it."
"Huh?" Cedric looked confused as well. "What, are you saying they even got something as basic as 'rubber ducks are an essential bathing item for Muggles' wrong?"
"They did. Rubber ducks are just optional toys, and only used during baths. Plenty of Muggles prefer taking showers."
As Avada watched Cedric's and Baron's expressions slowly stiffen, he let out a helpless sigh.
"That's why—if you really want to understand something, the best thing to do is experience it firsthand. At the very least, you should ask people who are actually connected to it, instead of making assumptions about what it's supposed to be like. Unfortunately, most wizards build their understanding of Muggles using that latter method."
"So unless you're planning to work in the Muggle Liaison Office, you'd be better off not choosing that course. If you have questions, just ask me—I can answer pretty much all of them…"
Avada suddenly froze.
By that logic, didn't he count as the world's foremost expert on Muggle Studies?
After all—who else could perfectly predict the next thirty years of Muggle development?
(End of Chapter)