183- Fate, Indescribable
Hearing Rhys's question, Helena frowned slightly, then slowly said, "It should be... maybe because I didn't want him to see my mother's diadem?"
"He was sent by Rowena to find you. How could he not know you had taken her diadem?"
"Maybe I was afraid he'd take the diadem from me?" Helena thought of another possibility.
Before Rhys could respond, Barrow quickly defended himself: "I wouldn't! I wasn't after the diadem—I just wanted to bring you back to Hogwarts after all!"
"Then try to recall the details of what happened that day," Rhys said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm curious—why would an argument between two wizards end with you stabbing her to death with a dagger, Barrow?"
At this, both Helena and the agitated Barrow fell silent, faint wisps of black mist swirling faintly around their ghostly forms.
Helena seemed to be earnestly trying to recall, but in the end, she simply shook her head weakly and admitted to Rhys that she couldn't remember the details of that day at all.
After Helena came to the same conclusion as himself, Barrow's expression grew pensive, as if he'd sensed something amiss.
"See?" Rhys said with a smile. "Full of doubts, isn't it?"
Helena pressed her lips together tightly. Rhys's series of pointed questions had made her realize there was indeed something wrong.
Her death seemed far less simple than she remembered.
"The diadem is an extremely dangerous artifact. Your mother cast several spells on it to restrict its power, concealing its sharp edge. But ultimately, it was crafted from the skull of the King of the Gods. Do you understand what that means?"
Helena uneasily nodded.
In truth, she didn't understand.
She had been born after the end of Ragnarok.
Having never experienced the Age of the Gods, Helena had no idea how formidable those deities truly were. To her, the so-called King of the Gods and the other deities were nothing more than foes defeated by her mother, uncle, and aunt.
She could only see the enormous potential benefits the diadem held but was blind to the dangers lurking behind it.
"And as for the 'friend' Barrow mentioned... Heh, I think I now understand how you managed to break the diadem's seal."
According to Rowena Ravenclaw's estimation, Helena didn't possess the ability to break the protective spells on the diadem. But if you added one or more scheming 'friends' to the mix, that changed everything.
Helena fleeing Hogwarts with the diadem was like carrying a treasure trove on her back. A child holding gold while walking through a bustling market—was it any wonder that others would covet it?
"I... well, there was a student. I told him the location where I hid the diadem." This time, Helena spoke in a whisper so soft that if the wind outside the tower had been slightly louder, Rhys would not have been able to hear her.
"What?"
"I... he... he was very charming. He seemed... understanding, empathetic..."
Rhys's expression began to turn strange.
A situation like this? He thought. Unbelievable.
Truly, you live long enough, you see everything!
Sometimes, Rhys couldn't help but be amazed by the creativity of future generations of wizards.
First, there was the Secret Order infiltrating Hogwarts in stages, and now, an unknown young wizard had come up with such an ingenious way to locate the diadem.
"He managed to make our Nana fall for him~ So~? Who was that student?" Rhys was eager to know the name of this genius.
"...Tom Riddle. As far as I know, he later became a dark wizard and went by the name Voldemort."
Rhys: '!!!'
It's you again!
Rhys couldn't help but marvel at the mysterious twists of fate.
The last time he had encountered Tom inside the third floor's trapdoor, the boy had been a great help to him. With his soul fragment, Rhys cured Ravenclaw of her madness. At that time, Rhys had already noticed that the boy was using Horcruxes in his pursuit of immortality.
Was he seeking the diadem to use its wisdom to achieve immortality?
Had he fallen to using Horcruxes because the diadem was a fake and incapable of providing him with the wisdom he sought?
Rhys pondered and speculated, then sighed, "Voldemort... This child really seems to share a deep connection with us. Helena, your mother's illness was cured thanks to him."
Helena: "What?!"
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