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"Still, wearing it like this on my head doesn't seem quite right."
George frowned as he placed the diadem on his head and glanced at himself in the mirror.
Ravenclaw's diadem was a glittering crown adorned with numerous gemstones. Along its base was inscribed Ravenclaw's famous motto: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
The crown had an extremely feminine design—when worn by a girl, it gave the appearance of a princess. But on a boy, it looked terribly out of place.
"Did Ravenclaw never consider that her future heirs might include boys?"
After thinking for a moment, George quickly came up with an idea.
"Flavido!"
Extending his left hand, he conjured a wizard's hat typical of the current era. With a spell to awaken its sentience, he then placed the diadem inside, allowing the hat to stretch and wrap around it completely.
A diadem disguised as a hat was thus created.
When he placed the hat on his head and looked into the mirror again, a satisfied smile finally appeared on George's face.
"This actually feels pretty good."
The moment the hat was worn, the magic of Ravenclaw's diadem activated.
He felt a stream of cool energy pour directly into his brain from the top of his head. Under its influence, his mind instantly became much clearer, and he could clearly sense that his thoughts were moving faster than before.
To draw a comparison, before wearing the diadem, it was like being at work or in class during that sluggish hour around 3 or 4 in the afternoon—drowsy and inefficient.
But with the diadem on, it felt like waking up after a full, dreamless eight hours of sleep—refreshed, alert, and ready to take on the day.
After obtaining the diadem, he spent several more hours studying it inside the Room of Requirement before finally returning to his room.
Meanwhile, deep in the Albanian Forest, a massive serpent suddenly fell from a tree, letting out an enraged hiss.
"Why... why do I have one less Horcrux again?!"
It was none other than the Dark Lord Voldemort—the name no wizard dared to speak, instead referring to him as He Who Must Not Be Named.
Years ago, after his Killing Curse rebounded from the prophesied child Harry Potter, Voldemort's body was destroyed and his soul fled to the familiar depths of the Albanian Forest. There, he clung to life by possessing the bodies of weak animals.
In his weakened state, he couldn't possess magical creatures, only ordinary animals—severely limiting his power.
And with Dumbledore, a wizard he couldn't defeat even at the height of his power, still active in the wizarding world, and most of his loyal followers imprisoned in Azkaban, the remaining Death Eaters had made no effort to seek him out.
Thus, he hadn't dared to make any moves.
It wasn't until three years ago that he happened upon Quirinus Quirrell, vacationing in the forest, and turned him into a devoted servant. Only then did he manage to return to Hogwarts, hiding in the back of Quirrell's head.
Unfortunately, his plan to return using the Philosopher's Stone failed due to Harry's interference. Quirrell died, and Voldemort was once again forced to flee in disgrace back to the Albanian Forest.
The following year, he sensed that his Horcrux—the diary he had entrusted to the Malfoys—had been destroyed for some unknown reason.
He suspected Lucius Malfoy, the traitor, had handed it over to Dumbledore, who had personally destroyed it.
Though furious, there was little he could do.
Still, he believed that even if the diary had been destroyed, he had four more Horcruxes, all hidden with extreme secrecy and protected by numerous magical traps. Nothing should have gone wrong.
And yet, this year, another Horcrux had been destroyed. Now, only three remained.
What truly unsettled him was the possibility that Dumbledore had uncovered clues about his Horcruxes and was actively hunting them down one by one.
If that were true, the situation was even more dangerous.
If the remaining three Horcruxes were also destroyed, his soul would no longer be anchored to the world. He was certain that Dumbledore would personally lead Aurors and other powerful allies to find and kill him once and for all.
That thought filled him with both panic and rage.
"I can't just sit here waiting for doom. I must strike first. At least I've tamed a Blood-Cursed Orc—I'm not entirely powerless."
This year, he had discovered a host body in the forest that was particularly suited for possession: a Blood-Cursed Orc.
The Blood-Cursed Orc wasn't a magical creature, but rather a wizard who had been transformed by the Blood Curse.
The Blood Curse is a maternally inherited magical affliction, passed down to all future female descendants. It grants them the ability to freely transform between human and serpent forms.
However, upon reaching a certain age, the curse forcibly and permanently transforms them into giant snakes, stripping them of all memories and completely turning them into cold-blooded beasts.
But these serpents are no ordinary snakes. While not classified as magical creatures, they carry wizarding blood within them, granting them formidable offensive power and even the ability to cast spells.
As a Parselmouth, Voldemort was able to possess Nagini and utilize her magical energy to cast spells—far more effectively than he could while inhabiting an ordinary snake. However, even this power couldn't compare to what he had in his original body.
Originally, he had planned to wait. If no opportunity presented itself, he was willing to bide his time for a few more years, hoping Dumbledore would die. With Dumbledore out of the picture, resurrecting himself would become far less dangerous and much easier.
Unfortunately, time was no longer on his side. He feared that if he waited any longer, all his Horcruxes would be destroyed.
After a night of deep contemplation, he finally resolved to take action. He would first possess Nagini and leave the Albanian Forest—his destination: Azkaban.
Why Azkaban? Because he needed allies to help him achieve resurrection.
But he no longer trusted Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy, who had once sworn loyalty but were now doing everything they could to distance themselves from him.
The ones he still had faith in were those imprisoned in Azkaban—those who had endured torment without ever betraying him, some even choosing capture rather than falsely claiming they'd been under the Imperius Curse to escape punishment.
And he now had a rough plan for how to break them out. Risky, yes—but it was his only option.
His method was simple and one he excelled at: seducing and persuading the leader of the Dementors that guarded Azkaban.
If he could make the Dementors serve him, freeing the imprisoned Death Eaters would be inevitable.
Once he had loyal followers again, the resurrection plan could finally begin in earnest.
Three days later, the results of the N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) were released. George came out on top, earning Outstanding in all twelve subjects—placing him at the head of the entire exam.
Second place went to Ron's brother, Percy.
That very day, George, Percy, and several other top-performing seventh-year students submitted their applications to join the Ministry of Magic.
Securing a job at the Ministry is considered one of the best career paths for graduating seventh-year students. However, the Ministry only hires a handful each year—sometimes none at all.
To everyone's surprise, the Ministry responded the very next day—half a month faster than usual.
(End of Chapter)