Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 382 Old Tom and Little Tom

381 Old Tom and Little Tom

In this way, Ginny and Luna, who accidentally appeared on the scene, returned to the castle safely. Although they were still confused about what happened, after all, even Dumbledore was back, so this matter would definitely not be easy to handle.

On the other side, after comforting Hagrid, Dumbledore also walked back into the paddock.

Toby was standing opposite Old Tom, somewhat imitating the posture of the Death Butler who appeared at an unknown time, staring condescendingly into Old Tom's dull eyes.

At this time, Old Tom was still chanting over and over again——

"He got the knowledge about Horcruxes from me and I don't regret doing so. He has no way of facing death and will have to pay the price sooner or later."

After Dumbledore came back, Toby thought thoughtfully and said: "It seems that we have found out who taught You-Know-Who the Horcruxes. It was his Muggle father. If I guessed correctly, Helbo must be in Mysterious Man."

A lot of thought was put into this person, and even his parents didn't let go. They arranged all this early, and successfully conveyed the knowledge related to Horcruxes to the mysterious man through Old Tom's mouth."

Dumbledore came to Toby and stopped, staring at Old Tom's young face with his light blue eyes - this was the work of the plant Animagus. Old Tom, who originally had few breaths left, came back to life with this body.

Come here, but my brain is not working very well.

"I really didn't expect this." Dumbledore said: "Try to keep a close eye on him and don't let him come out to scare the students again."

Toby turned around and asked, "You're leaving and you're not going to stay to help?"

"There is nothing to do here for now." Dumbledore said calmly: "Besides, don't you have another helper - Gellert Grindelwald? Let's see if he can help you."

"Besides, I don't mind if you tell him what I threatened Slughorn today. I really want to see the expression on his face, but unfortunately he probably won't want to

See me."

——

When Toby found Lockhart in the big ship, he was staying in his own cabin, wrapped in a thick fur coat and warming himself by the stove, holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate in his hand.

"You're living a comfortable life." Toby said, leaning on the doorframe, deliberately opening the door wide to let all the cold air pour into the house.

"Close the door quickly." Lockhart muttered and shifted on the sofa chair, making a creaking sound.

He then added: "I'm not as relaxed as you think. What kind of magic circle did you leave for the warriors? I'm so confused that I don't know what to do to help Krum."

"If it could be solved so easily, it wouldn't be a problem I set." Toby finally walked in and closed the door, then turned around and said, "Where is Grindelwald, I have something to discuss with him.

"

Lockhart's eyes passed through the cup. He looked Toby up and down and said: "You sound like you are ordering a servant, that is Grindelwald. But don't worry, I will keep it a secret for you. As long as you don't leave for a while."

Just let me go outside to collect firewood, but I don’t want to go out in this weather at all.”

"up to you."

Toby said nonchalantly. He came to the wall where he last saw Grindelwald and tried to tap it twice with his fingers.

Maybe it was because this method was really effective, or maybe it was just that Grindelwald had been watching him since he entered the room - in short, within a few seconds, that familiar face appeared on the wall.

It seemed that the wind was very strong where Grindelwald was, causing ripples on his face.

Before he could speak, Toby took the lead and said: "You guessed it wrong, right from the beginning. Instead of becoming more conservative, Dumbledore became more radical than we thought. Just now he threatened someone."

An old friend who has been with me for a long time. Do you have anything to say about this?"

Before Grindelwald could speak, Lockhart began to mutter: "Doesn't this sound quite normal? You have done this to Snape before, and Dumbledore is your teacher. Either you learn from it."

Him, or he learned it from you - the former is probably more likely."

Toby silently opened the door a crack. Lockhart, who was huddled on the sofa chair, jumped up and closed the door. He showed a friendly smile and shining teeth and said: "No, I'm just kidding, don't

Really kick me out."

Fortunately, Grindelwald rescued Lockhart in time.

"This is indeed a bit beyond my expectation."

When he said this, his eyes were always fixed on Toby.

"What?" Toby frowned and asked, "Can I influence him?"

Grindelwald smiled and said: "You seem to have forgotten one thing. It was you who attracted Dumbledore's devil, not me - since you clearly know that Ariana is the key, then her devil is also the same. Very

It may be because of this that Dumbledore can see himself more clearly, or it may be that it leads him to another wrong path - if it is the latter, then our situation will be even more difficult."

Toby did not forget this, but Dumbledore had not summoned the devil for a long time, so he ignored this clue.

However, after listening to Grindelwald's words, he immediately retorted: "It's not us, it's just you. I can change back to that obedient good student anytime, anywhere, but you are different, you have no chance to do it again.

.”

"It sounds so pathetic." Grindelwald said, but his tone was completely different from the meaning of this sentence, and even seemed a little relaxed.

At this moment, Toby suddenly asked: "So who is the warrior you chose? Harry? Or Cedric?"

Faced with Toby's sudden attack, Grindelwald's answer remained calm.

"No, I didn't get involved in this matter."

"Of course you would say that." Toby sneered: "Even if I ask Dumbledore this question, he will definitely give the same answer."

"Dumbledore?" Lockhart couldn't help but be surprised: "Didn't he need to consult with you before making such a decision? You actually suspected him?"

Toby turned his gaze to Lockhart, and there seemed to be countless pressures in his gaze - at least Lockhart thought so, and he really wished he hadn't said anything.

But Toby responded uncharacteristically: "He is best at hiding secrets. I think this is his most powerful talent, much more powerful than any magic."

"I think so too." Grindelwald replied with a smile: "Tell me, what else do you want to talk to me about? You can't just come here to ridicule me in disguise."

"Of course not all of it."

Toby stared closely at the wooden face on the wall and asked: "Have you found the mysterious man?"

"Not yet. You should be able to tell that I am busy with this matter. By the way, the wind on the sea is really strong. It is estimated that there will be a tsunami in the near future."

"Come on, don't think you can lure me in with such rhetoric. Who knows where you are hiding now, at least the students you left on this boat certainly don't know."

"It's good that you know." Lockhart breathed a sigh of relief after hearing these words. He was finally able to get rid of the torture of worry day and night.

Then, Toby changed the question again.

"Do you know the Castle of Death?"

It seems that this time he got the idea. Not only Grindelwald, but also the expression on Lockhart's face changed a lot.

At Grindelwald's signal, Lockhart began to say in a tone that would not offend others: "The Castle of Death. Well, I have been there once. Don't look at me like that, you should have known I was there."

I have followed you a long time ago and secretly learned a lot of magic circle knowledge. Of course, the Castle of Death is no exception."

"Furthermore, you may not believe it. I went to the Castle of Death earlier than you. I already knew about this castle when you were still inquiring about it. It's a pity that I didn't dare to tell you too much about it at the time.

Going in too deeply and even giving up leaving my name in the hall roster made me feel very bad, very bad.”

Toby looked at them with a sarcastic face: "So you guys came up with an idea to let me go in and die first, and then make plans, right?"

"You can't say that. Well, that's what it means." Perhaps because Grindelwald was emboldening him, Lockhart simply put aside his worries and said: "But there is nothing that can be done. To be honest,

At that time, I wanted to indirectly stop you. Didn't you see that Death Butler? I have never seen anything so weird, and no one would want to encounter it - everything I said is true."

"It seems I still want to thank you?" Toby's tone was still sarcastic.

At this time, Grindelwald opened his mouth to ease the atmosphere and said: "Is there any reason why you asked about the Castle of Death? This seems to be your real concern, but it doesn't matter if you don't want to say it. What we can tell you is

——In addition to the roster, Gilderoy also made other discoveries, that is, the relationship between the black feathers and the residents in the castle. You should also be able to guess that this is related to the soul, which is very rare."

soul?

Toby suddenly frowned.

What if the way Death Butler communicates with Old Tom is also the soul?

After all, you can tell by looking at Old Tom's face that the corners of his mouth are so awkward that most people can't communicate with him.

Lockhart saw Toby look like he understood something, and then turned around and left the cabin without even having time to close the door.

"It's so rude," he muttered under his breath, and reluctantly walked over and closed the door tightly. When he turned around, he found that Grindelwald's face on the wall was gone.

"Professor must be busy with something, well, that should be it."

He found a reason to comfort himself for Grindelwald's departure without saying goodbye.

——

soul.

Toby was still thinking about the key information that Grindelwald reminded him of this point. He walked all the way towards the Ancient Magic Office. On the way, he saw some Durmstrang students swimming in the winter. They were really a group of crazy young men.

After returning to the castle, Toby ignored the students in the corridor, but everyone could tell that Professor Heimer was in a hurry, so they moved closer to both sides of the corridor one by one, not daring to disturb him.

Al and Angela have returned to the office. They were not there before - especially when they met Dumbledore, Angela always disliked him and felt that he was Toby's biggest enemy.

"Where is the mysterious man's Horcrux?"

As soon as Toby walked in, he asked Al: "How many more do you have there?"

So far, they have found many of Voldemort's Horcruxes - the diary that had been completely destroyed in the Mason Gate, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's golden cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, and

The Gaunt family ring, which was just found not long ago and was worn by Old Tom on his finger, has completely lost its function as a Horcrux, and the broken soul originally hidden inside has long since disappeared.

Dumbledore speculated that it was because of the way Herbo used this Horcrux and the black feathers in the Castle of Death to resurrect Voldemort's father, Old Tom.

In addition, there is also the most special Horcrux - Harry Potter. He is the only Horcrux left by Halper and the only living person.

Toby kept looking at the three things in front of him - the gold cup, the locket, and the crown.

These are the only functioning Horcruxes left, and they are all relics left by the founder of Hogwarts.

"I really can't bear to part with you."

Toby's eyes skipped the locket, and after thinking about it carefully, he glanced at Lady Hufflepuff's golden cup, and finally focused on Ravenclaw's diadem.

"It's up to you."

Except for Slytherin's locket, the other two relics are no different to Toby. The only difference is that Ms. Ravenclaw's diadem also contains her own will, which may be more helpful to the reception.

Down experiment.

He picked up the crown under Al's extremely reluctant eyes. If Angela hadn't stopped him, Al would have been so distressed that he would have snatched it back.

"I'll be back in a moment."

Toby said to them finally.

——

Deep under the castle, Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

Old Tom returned here again. In his dull sight, Toby Hemmer appeared from the dark end of the passage, gradually revealing a more complete figure.

"Since I can use the black feathers to sense the presence of the Death Butler and prevent it from showing up in the castle, then it shouldn't have taken you away for no reason."

"You want to kill the mysterious man, right? Apart from this, what else would make you willing to follow him away?"

"I hope I'm not wrong."

Toby took out the crown and, surrounded by armor, put the crown on Old Tom's head with his own hands.

It was only then that Old Tom began to make some moves. He put his palms on the top of his head and brushed his fingers little by little over the lines on the crown's surface.

The next second, he suddenly disappeared, showing the abilities that a plant Animagus should have.

"It is indeed a soul." Toby raised his eyebrows and said. He looked at the empty venue and muttered to himself: "Is this the ability given to you by Death Butler? What is its purpose?"

"How could you be able to use this body so skillfully? Is it because you have seen magic a long time ago? What exactly did you learn from Merope?"

"Anyway"

He conjured up a chair and slowly sat on it, silently waiting for Old Tom's return.

"I hope you can bring back some good news. It would be better if you can also eliminate the threat of the mysterious man."