NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: Changes in the Crown
For the following week, aside from occasional visits home, Tver was immersed in studying the various artifacts he possessed: the crown, the Philosopher's Stone, and the ring containing a Resurrection Stone.
These were all renowned treasures in the wizarding world; any one of them could fetch a fortune and improve the Weasley family's situation. However, in his eyes, their research value was more important than mere wealth. Yet, despite spending a week researching with Marvolo, they couldn't make heads or tails of it.
First, the crown.
Tver once again attempted to place the crown on his head.
...
"Fairy tales are all lies!" Ten minutes later, he angrily threw the crown onto the table, where it was caught by Marvolo across from him. "If this crown were really useful, my original self wouldn't have chosen to turn it into a Horcrux," he scoffed.
"With your intellect, even if you did turn a precious artifact into a Horcrux, it wouldn't be surprising," Tver retorted. Knowing Voldemort's temperament, if he did indeed turn a crown with special magical effects into a Horcrux...
"Hey, don't mix us up," Marvolo tossed the crown back in front of Tver. "That was Tom Riddle's doing; what does it have to do with me, Marvolo?"
Tver rolled his eyes speechlessly and examined the exquisite crown that had been restored. Time had not left its mark on it; after the soul fragments inside disappeared, the crown shone as brilliantly as it did thousands of years ago. Of course, he didn't know if it actually looked like this a thousand years ago.
The inscription beneath the crown was clearly visible:
"Wit Beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
To be blunt, every Ravenclaw student knew this maxim, but the problem was, he still didn't know how to use it.
"If we can't figure it out, let's forget about it," Marvolo said, picking up the Philosopher's Stone and playing with it. "It's better to study this stone. At least its magical power is palpable."
He took a small iron spoon from the table and carefully placed the Philosopher's Stone on one end.
...
"Haha," Tver couldn't help but laugh, "then you figure something out. You can't even harness the life force inside!"
Marvolo blushed, mimicking Tver by throwing the Philosopher's Stone onto the table, where it knocked against the crown he had placed down.
It was this action that caused a thin thread of life to connect to the crown, emitting a faint magical fluctuation.
This fluctuation was as subtle as a gentle spring breeze, but both Tver and Marvolo were not ordinary wizards; they immediately focused their attention on the crown.
"It's absorbing life force, but there's still no magical feedback," Marvolo frowned after observing for a while.
In fact, not only was there no magical feedback from the crown, even the absorbed life force seemed to disappear, as if the influx of life force had been their imagination.
The crown remained just that: a crown.
"This is some change, better than being clueless before," Tver remarked.
"Why did the Crown and the Philosopher's Stone seem connected before? Why the change now?"
"That's for you to answer. What did you just do?"
Marvolo paused for a moment, recalling his recent actions.
"I simply channeled the life force within the Philosopher's Stone, much like when I crafted bodies, except this time it wasn't for absorption."
So, the Crown is absorbing life force and then resurrecting?! Is Ravenclaw's soul residing within it?!
Tver startled himself with his own speculation.
Marvolo also realized the implication, but as the only known wizard to have created a Horcrux, he immediately dismissed the possibility.
"If there truly was a soul inside, my departed brother would have known. And the sensation of being within a Horcrux, you wouldn't know, it's like having complete control over the object, every inch perceivable by me, no blind spots."
Tver snapped back to reality, realizing he had been lost in thought.
The Crown couldn't be Ravenclaw's Horcrux; otherwise, he would have discovered it long ago. And from his interaction with Helga, it seemed the founders wouldn't stoop to such low methods for immortality.
But—
"I certainly don't know what it feels like to be a Horcrux, and I don't want to know either," he grumbled as he stood up. He swept the items on the table into his wallet, making sure the Crown and Philosopher's Stone were safely enclosed in a separate bag.
"Hey, at least that ring has been my vessel for so long, can't you be gentle?" Marvolo complained.
Tver couldn't be bothered to deal with him. The newly resurrected soul was inexplicably melodramatic, always trying to burden him with complaints.
"Let's go, get the crystal from Borgin & Burkes."
As he moved, his face gradually morphed, once again taking on the features of Dumbledore.
"Having witnessed so much magic by your side, my greatest regret is not paying enough attention to Transfiguration," Tver said as they exited.
"You're supposed to be a master of life force shaping, can't you mold your face as you please?"
"I can only follow the form of the soul, becoming younger, or a bald head like the Crown."
Borgin & Burkes shop.
When the two arrived, the shop had just opened its doors.
"Sorry, Mr. Percival, I've been a bit sleep-deprived lately, hence the drowsiness," Borgin greeted them with a smile as they entered.
After spending some time together, he realized Mr. Percival was still quite friendly, at least willing to pay, and not a small sum either.
"Are you suggesting we've interrupted your nap?" Marvolo, following behind Tver, glared at him impolitely.
Well, Mr. Marvolo wasn't exactly friendly.
"What happened before was our fault, I didn't anticipate the protective spells weakening due to the walls," Tver apologized with a smile to Borgin.
"I didn't blame you," Borgin bowed gratefully, "Regarding your commission, I've completed it."
Swiftly, he reached the counter, retrieving a small pouch from within, "Here are two crystals for you to inspect."
Before Tver could reach out, Marvolo grabbed them first, pouring the two sparkling crystals into his hands.
"Not bad," feeling the protective power of the crystals, Marvolo squinted happily, "just a bit lacking in protection."
He immediately began murmuring to Borgin.
As for Tver, he was keenly observing the black cabinet before him. If he wasn't mistaken, this was a vanishing cabinet, gradually fading from the magical world's memory.
With a specific incantation, it opened a passage between two locations. However, due to its susceptibility to damage and the prevalence of apparition, vanishing cabinets were now rare sights among wizards.
Tver didn't understand the principle behind vanishing cabinets, much like he didn't understand why Harry Potter would appear inside one.
"Is this a broken vanishing cabinet?" he asked, pointing at the cabinet.
"Indeed," Borgin immediately ceased his argument with Marvolo, looking up, "We've lost track of where the other matching cabinet went."
Feeling the increasingly frantic breaths from within, Tver smirked and knocked twice.
"Quite intriguing, do you sell it?"
Recalling a scene from the movie, he instantly understood why Harry appeared here.
Borgin gaped in astonishment, thankfully Marvolo helped him articulate: "What would you want with this? It's neither safe nor convenient."
"Just a whim," Tver shrugged, "If Mr. Borgin happens to find the other one, even if it's faulty, I'd still be interested in purchasing it."
"I'll keep an eye out for you," Borgin agreed without hesitation.