In fact, since Hermione brought Harry and others to the Room of Requirement that day, they quickly recalled the events of the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk attack in their second year after learning about the Horcruxes.
In the secret room, they saw Tom Riddle with their own eyes - from the black-covered diary.
For this reason, they made full preparations during the holidays to break into the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets again. Because there was no evidence of the death of the basilisk in the second grade, they naturally thought that the basilisk might still be alive in the secret room.
Because of this, the three little lions and Luna, the little eagle, specially practiced intensively. It includes an eye disease spell that is said to be effective against basilisks, an existence spell that can barely grasp its movements with your eyes closed, and a magic potion to resist petrification...
Hermione even bought two big roosters to target the basilisk's weaknesses.
Of course, this is just because it is mentioned in the book that the crow of the rooster can drive away the basilisk. But whether this is a truly effective method remains to be seen.
It's a pity that they have made a series of preparations to deal with the basilisk that "may" still be alive. But when I got there, I found that the basilisk had disappeared, leaving only mountains of rocks.
Of course, Tom Riddle's diary was not found either. Harry and the others were a little confused about this, but Hermione thought that the diary might have been taken away by Maka.
As for the secret room in the secret room that Maka found when he went back to investigate for the second time, he had already sealed it long ago, and Hermione and the others were not aware of it.
"... I heard a story from Ms. Gray. Do you... want to hear it?"
In the front garden of Hogwarts, when the three little lions were worrying about having no other clues, Luna, who had been standing quietly aside, suddenly spoke.
"Ms. Grey? Oh... Is she the ghost beauty from your Ravenclaw house?" Ron scratched his head, "Although I really want to hear it, but now... I guess it's not the time to listen to the story, right?"
Everyone has gradually gotten used to Luna's confusing words. Ron naturally thought that Luna's thoughts had wandered off again, and even Harry thought so. Only Hermione paid a little attention.
"What story? Is it something related to Horcruxes?" In line with the principle of not letting go of any possible clues, Hermione still asked.
"Oh, I don't know... maybe?" Luna said with misty eyes, seeming to have entered her unique trance mode, "At least it has something to do with Tom Riddle... It was him who deceived Lala from Ms. Gray. The location of Winclaw’s Golden Crown…”
…
Lady Grey...also known as Helena Ravenclaw, this is a dignified and beautiful woman. After death, she turned into a ghost but can still be called a beauty. Her appearance in life can naturally be imagined.
It's just that this female ghost from Ravenclaw House is very beautiful, but she always has a domineering attitude, which makes people feel uncomfortable to get close to her.
If Maka hadn't gone to her place and tried to say hello beforehand, given Luna's temperament, she probably wouldn't have interacted with this thorny rose.
But in general, Ms. Gray has taken some care of Luna since she entered school. For example, Luna could give directions when she was unfamiliar with the castle, or occasionally chat with her. As time passed, the living person and the ghost gradually developed some friendship.
Due to some past events, Ms. Gray doesn't like those who are pretentious, and the thing she can't stand the most is deception. But Luna is an extremely pure girl, and this alone is very appealing to her.
In this way, one day after Voldemort was eliminated by Maka, Ms. Gray seemed to have some emotions about the past. And Luna became the person she confided in.
"Did you know? The man who died there a few days ago stole something from me."
That day, in front of a certain window in Ravenclaw Tower, Ms. Gray said this quietly. Her translucent eyes shone with a complicated light, as if she was stuck in some embarrassing memories.
"It's wrong to steal things." Luna said as she glanced at the ghost floating by the window.
Although Luna's words were simple and empty, they seemed to have an unimaginable weight on Ms. Gray. The other party also looked towards Luna, but quickly looked away again.
"Yes! It's wrong to steal things..." Ms. Gray repeated this sentence softly, with deep meaning in her words, "Maybe it's because I stole things first, and then I was punished again and again?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh slightly.
"Do you still know?" she said, "What that man stole was my trust in him... He stole my trust in a despicable way..."
Luna didn't speak this time. She just stood aside as usual and listened quietly. Sure enough, Ms. Gray continued to talk without waiting for her to say anything else.
"That man, Tom Riddle..." she said, "He used sweet words to please me. He praised my beauty and intelligence. He said that I was no worse than my mother. And then... He took advantage of me to have a crush on him. When he arrived, he asked me about the location of the crown that my mother had made. He also said that he was willing to help me find it and then rededicate it to me... "
"But... but..." At this point, Ms. Gray said with great disappointment, "He still lied to me after all - he obviously found the golden crown, but didn't give it to me, and lied that he didn't find it at all."
"I know he must have found it, because no one knows where the golden crown is except me. It must still be there..."
As she spoke, Ms. Gray slowly shook her head, her eyes looking out the window full of weakness.
"But, what can I do to him?" she continued, "I am just a ghost, and he had already graduated at the time. He returned to Hogwarts that day, just to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position ’s... Later, he didn’t apply, so he left alone... "
…
"...Ravenclaw's Golden Diadem."
Hermione obviously knew what the diadem mentioned in Luna's account was. But I saw her pondering for a while, and then she frowned and showed a thoughtful expression.
"Extraordinary wisdom is the greatest wealth of mankind." Luna sang in a light tone, "Ravenclaw's golden diadem can enhance the wisdom of the wearer."
"But I really didn't expect that Ms. Gray was actually the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw..." Ron's concern was obviously elsewhere.
"So, there seems to be clues... But, did they end here?" Harry said helplessly, "Voldemort might make the golden crown into his Horcrux and hide it somewhere... After all, Voldemort has a total of How many Horcruxes have you made?"
"Who knows?" Hermione said, "But at least, it will definitely not be just one - that is obviously too unsafe for him! You think, we actually encountered that diary so easily... "
Hermione's analysis certainly makes some sense. But they didn't know that the reason why the diary appeared under their noses was actually the "contribution" of Lucius Malfoy.
While they were still wondering about the number of Horcruxes, Ron suddenly spoke again.
"Actually," he said hesitantly, "I'm more curious about Ms. Gray... Luna, as you mentioned just now, she said she also stole something, right? That's why she was punished... "
"Yes." Luna nodded quickly, "She stole her mother's golden crown and hid it in the Albanian forest... She said it should be the hollow of a big tree."
At this point, Luna became interested and whispered in a serious voice: "Later, in order to get her daughter back, Rowena Ravenclaw sent Barrow, who loved Ms. Gray deeply, to find... you Do you know who Barrow is? In fact, he is the bloody Barrow from Slytherin!"
"Oh, this is really another amazing news!" Ron said with a gossipy face, "So? What happened next? There must be some other stories... Don't tell me that there won't be any more... "
"Later," Luna said mysteriously, "Barrow stabbed Ms. Gray to death because she was unwilling to go back to Hogwarts with him!"
"this… "
Since no one expected that Ms. Gray would die like this, the three of them looked quite shocked. But Luna didn't pause for long, and then continued...
"... But after Ms. Gray died, Barrow was also very remorseful, so he committed suicide on the spot." She said, "So, Barrow became the Bloody Barrow - the blood on his body was not only his own, There are also some that belong to Ms. Grey.”
"Bloody Barrow has such a bad temper, it's not surprising that something like this would happen..." Harry nodded, "But let's put these stories aside for now! What we need to know now is where Voldemort hid the golden diadem. Where is it?"
As Harry said before, he finally got an unexpected clue from Luna, but here, the clue stopped again.
Two consecutive items that may be Horcruxes can only be traced to the middle of the road. This feeling is undoubtedly frustrating. But the world is so big, and wizards can cast Apparition spells all over the world at any time. Finding something that has been deliberately hidden is more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.
After that, time passed day by day, and before you knew it, the International Alchemy Competition was approaching.