Why was Dumbledore trying to suppress the rumors of Voldemort's return?
As Dawn listened to the students chatting in the common room, he finally understood the Headmaster's concern after learning about the castle's consciousness.
Because Voldemort had split his soul among the students.
The accumulated Castle Consciousness, built over centuries, would amplify the shared beliefs of the students.
For Voldemort, whose soul fragments were hidden within them, this was a natural advantage.
Judging from how he could already control the students' bodies, influencing their thoughts from the shadows would be even easier.
Dawn believed Dumbledore had seen this possibility as well, which was why he was actively denying the rumors.
However—
From a worst-case perspective, Dawn felt that Dumbledore's efforts might ultimately be futile.
He recalled the Marauder's Map, filled with countless instances of the name Tom Riddle.
How could simple words compete with direct manipulation of the soul?
Dawn narrowed his eyes and subconsciously rubbed his head with his forelimb—then froze, lowered it, and quickly shifted his focus.
Did Voldemort also know about the Castle Consciousness?
Based on his actions so far, that seemed highly likely.
Dawn had never understood why Voldemort would split himself into so many pieces.
What benefit could that possibly bring?
Even the question of which version was the "main" one became unclear.
If he put himself in Voldemort's position, Dawn would never choose such a method.
But now, it seemed possible that Tom intended to use the castle's collective consciousness to restore himself.
No—
Not restore.
Dawn shook his head.
That wasn't precise.
In his view, even with the accumulated Castle Consciousness, true resurrection would still be far beyond reach.
However, Voldemort had never fully died. His soul still lingered in the world, making his return far easier than true revival.
Dawn thought about the recently spreading rumor—that Voldemort's soul would choose a student to possess, returning through them and reclaiming his power.
He had good reason to suspect that this rumor had been deliberately spread by Voldemort himself.
As he considered this, Dawn shifted his gaze to one of the students who had questioned Dumbledore earlier.
Was that student currently being influenced by Voldemort?
Was that why he had challenged the Headmaster's words?
Dawn studied his expression carefully.
Then—
He suddenly thought of himself.
If one of the Weasley twins were truly influenced by his own thoughts, then theoretically, he could also use a similar method to alter perception.
Dawn was equally tempted by the Castle Consciousness.
To him, it was an incredibly valuable resource.
But soon, his excitement cooled.
There was a fundamental limitation.
Numbers.
Even if the Resurrection Stone powder could connect to the thoughts of the dead, it would likely only do so individually.
He could never achieve the scale Voldemort had by dividing his soul.
Dawn sat in the warmth of the common room fire, feeling an odd sense of regret.
Then another question surfaced.
Where had Tom Riddle learned about the Castle Consciousness?
Dawn did not believe Voldemort had entered the hidden room within the Room of Requirement.
Otherwise, given how thoroughly he had looted and destroyed Slytherin's legacy, that stone book would not have survived.
Wait.
Dawn suddenly paused.
Slytherin's legacy.
That was the key.
If Ravenclaw knew about the Castle Consciousness, then the other founders likely knew as well. They might have left records behind.
Dawn's gaze flickered as it shifted toward the Chamber of Secrets.
Compared to Ravenclaw's unknown inheritance, Slytherin's legacy still had a clear trail.
Tom Riddle.
If Voldemort had learned about the Castle Consciousness from the Chamber, then perhaps Dawn could extract that knowledge.
After all—
He currently possessed two Horcruxes.
The diary and the Gaunt ring.
One represented Voldemort's younger self, the other his later self.
The Gaunt ring was troublesome. The soul within it was both unstable and cunning, making it difficult to extract anything useful.
But the diary—
That might be workable.
Dawn's eyes sharpened.
In 1943, during his sixth year, Tom Riddle had used the basilisk to kill Myrtle, creating his first Horcrux.
The fact that he could control the basilisk meant he had already inherited Slytherin's legacy at that time.
And in the original events, the diary had the ability to drain life force and allow Voldemort's younger self to manifest.
Dawn considered it seriously.
If he used Legilimency at that moment, could he extract the knowledge he needed from that fragment?
He added the idea to his plans.
But it would have to wait until after he used the Time-Turner.
One step at a time.
That way, if something went wrong, he could still adapt.
Dawn continued listening to the chatter in the common room.
Gryffindor really was lively.
He hadn't seen anything like this back in Ravenclaw.
He watched the noisy crowd in front of him.
For a moment, he felt a trace of regret.
If he could read Voldemort's memories directly from these students, it would make things much easier.
Logically, when Olivia had used the soul-splitting magic, her memories were distributed among the students.
Voldemort's should work the same way.
But—
Perhaps due to the nature of Horcruxes, Tom Riddle's method was different.
Aside from controlling bodies, no additional memories surfaced.
Otherwise, Dumbledore could have easily identified all the infected students using the Pensieve.
Even the student who had spoken Parseltongue and released the basilisk had only dreamed about the Chamber's location.
Nothing else was ever discovered.
At present, even Dawn could only identify the infected through the Marauder's Map.
He leaned back, bored, letting his thoughts wander.
Meanwhile, the conversation in the common room shifted again.
The students finally realized it was Sunday, and that their holiday was ending.
They began borrowing and copying homework from each other.
Hermione coldly refused Ron's request.
Then she glanced around and asked, "By the way, where's Neville? I haven't seen him these past two days."
"…He went to the hospital for a check-up," Ron muttered, still annoyed. "His grandmother took him away on Friday. He didn't even attend the practical lesson."
"I see." Hermione nodded, relieved, and stood up to head to the library.
At that moment—
Bang!
The common room door burst open.
"Woohoo!"
The Weasley twins leapt in dramatically, nearly colliding with Hermione.
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
When he wanted to find them, they were nowhere. When he didn't, they appeared on their own.
From a certain perspective, this almost validated one of his earlier absurd theories.
The twins showed no signs of abnormality. They blended naturally into the room and joined the conversation.
Dawn listened a bit longer.
It was all useless chatter. So he left through the window, heading out to find something to eat.
Time passed slowly.
The sun set. Night fell over the castle.
In the quiet darkness— A small, unremarkable insect hovered outside Ravenclaw Tower.
It was Dawn.
After eating his fill, he had come for Ravenclaw's inheritance.
He was familiar with this place.
Instead of waiting for students to open the entrance, he found a loose window and forced his way inside.
The bronze-toned common room was empty. Only Ravenclaw's statue stood silently in the center.
Good.
Helena wasn't here.
Dawn felt a slight sense of relief. He circled the statue, studying it carefully.
There was nothing unusual.
It was just an ordinary stone sculpture.
The nearby bookshelves and books were equally mundane, with no magical traces.
Nothing suggested a hidden inheritance.
So the common rumors were wrong.
Dawn clicked his tongue.
Still unwilling to give up, he reverted to human form, cast a Disillusionment Charm, and began tapping around with his wand.
He searched for hidden spaces. Like the chamber behind Olivia's portrait.
But after an entire night— Nothing.
As dawn broke and Ravenclaw students began waking up, he had to stop. Several early risers entered the common room.
Dawn spotted a familiar face—his former roommate, the boy connected to the Carter family.
The boy frowned, scanning the room.
"What's wrong, Aemon? Looking for something?" his friend asked with a yawn.
"No… just that the book I left on the table seems to have moved," Aemon Carter said, shrugging.
They left for their morning Herbology class.
Since Dawn had left the castle, Aemon's life had improved dramatically.
From hell to heaven.
Dawn watched him leave without any particular emotion.
The boy's only significance now was that he reminded Dawn of the chubby child he had met in Egypt.
It had been a long time since Iceland.
That child— Was he still alive?
After all, the blood curse had been real.
Dawn let the thought pass. Then he transformed into an insect again and left the tower.
Over the next two days— Everything was calm.
After the events of the weekend, life seemed to settle. No major incidents occurred.
Dawn followed Avery but gained nothing. It only reminded him what life as a student felt like.
A complete waste of time.
At the evening feast, the pale green potion Dumbledore had promised was finally served.
Each student received one bottle.
After drinking it, they felt refreshed and clear-headed. Their trust in Dumbledore deepened.
Dawn secretly obtained a sample.
After testing it, he confirmed— It was nothing more than a basic invigorating potion.
It had nothing to do with what Dumbledore had implied.
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