"You seem to be in good shape."
Rhys remarked as he examined Ravenclaw's spectral form. He noticed that the murky corruption within her had diminished significantly, making her look much more like a normal ghost. Sincerely, he offered his congratulations to his old friend.
Ravenclaw merely smiled without replying. She did indeed feel better than ever—like after a strenuous workout followed by a hot shower, a refreshing sense of relief washing over her.
After handing the Horcrux back to Rhys, she made sure to remind him to destroy it.
"The soul fragment inside has lost its consciousness, but its instincts remain. And after being eroded by corruption, its aggression is likely to be more intense than ever. It would be quite dangerous for the young ones at the school."
Rhys agreed. Even in his hands, Riddle's diary was already showing signs of restlessness. He could feel an intensely malevolent force trying to seep into his body.
However…
Rhys lowered his gaze to the diary, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind—wasn't the final exam for this term still undecided?
Ravenclaw caught the subtle shift in Rhys's expression and raised an eyebrow.
What interesting scheme was Salazar plotting now?
She was quite curious.
"You don't seem to want to destroy it?"
"Of course." Rhys patted Riddle's diary in his hands, using his magic to force it into a stable state. "Surely you don't intend to keep students' education limited to just theoretical lessons? Even that Dumbledore is trying to give his chosen student some 'extra tutoring.'"
"Tell me more?" Ravenclaw immediately understood Rhys's intent, but she was now more curious about what this current headmaster had been up to.
"Last year…" Rhys recounted the story of Dumbledore and the Philosopher's Stone to Ravenclaw.
"Though his primary goal wasn't to train Potter but rather to bait the trap, he did set up some trials for the boy—really childish stuff. If I had designed it, I certainly wouldn't have arranged such things."
"So you even got your hands on a Philosopher's Stone?" Ravenclaw's focus immediately shifted to the magical stone Salazar had mentioned.
"Yeah, I studied it for a while, but found it rather uninteresting and left it alone," Rhys admitted.
It was only now, thanks to Ravenclaw's words, that he remembered the Philosopher's Stone he had taken from Dumbledore.
After researching the thing for a while, he found it rather underwhelming—it could transmute base metals into gold, but right now, he had no shortage of gold. It could grant immortality, but the problem was that it only made someone "not die."
For extending one's lifespan, it was inferior to the methods he had devised. Maybe incorporating the Philosopher's Stone into a potion could lead to new applications, but that felt a bit extravagant.
It was like a luxury handbag—not particularly practical, but valuable enough that throwing it away felt wasteful.
"'Superfluous' is the perfect word for it."
"Immortality," Ravenclaw mulled over the word. "Perhaps it has benefits for the soul."
"That's true?! I could try using the Philosopher's Stone to brew a potion for Astoria, something to nourish her soul." Inspired by Ravenclaw's words, Rhys had a new idea.
Rowena: "…"
She had actually been trying to subtly hint that Salazar should hand over the Philosopher's Stone so she could study it—after all, the legendary stone was immensely enticing to her as well.
Who could resist the opportunity to research a Philosopher's Stone?
Rowena Ravenclaw was no longer the kind of girl who got excited at the sight of gemstones, but the Philosopher's Stone was clearly an exception.
Unfortunately, Salazar failed to pick up on her hint, and she didn't feel it was appropriate to ask for it outright.
As Rhys was deep in thought about his new potion formula, he suddenly sensed something and glanced at Rowena.
Her expression… was quite interesting.
A playful smirk crept onto Rhys's face.
"Ah, what should I do with this Philosopher's Stone? That little girl Astoria probably won't use up this much of it—what do you think, should I secretly brew an Elixir of Life and pour it into Dumbledore's teacup?"
"Or maybe I could turn it into face masks for Daphne, Astoria, and Granger? A whole new application for the Philosopher's Stone?"
Ravenclaw: (ー _ ー)
With her intellect, how could she not see that Salazar had already figured out her intentions? He was clearly teasing her!
A sudden breeze stirred through the cavern.
Sensing it was time to change the subject, Rhys smoothly shifted gears. "Say, do you think the Philosopher's Stone could help purify the contamination in your soul?"
Seeing that Salazar had returned to seriousness, Ravenclaw also began earnestly discussing the Stone's potential for soul purification.
"I believe it has a protective effect on the soul, preventing it from aging, so it's probably effective. But the specifics will depend on your adjustments."
In just a few words, the two had already outlined a general research direction.
This mutual understanding had been forged a thousand years ago.
"Do you want me to leave half of the Philosopher's Stone here for your research?"
"Yes, thank you."
Rhys: "…"
"I thought you'd at least say something polite and try to play it cool."
"I was afraid you'd change your mind."
Rhys fell silent.
"After you've studied it for a few months, you'll understand my reaction." He reached into the small leather pouch at his waist, fumbled around for a moment, then pulled out the Philosopher's Stone and split it in half, handing a portion to Ravenclaw.
"I'm really curious—what kind of treasures do you have in that bag?"
"Take a guess."
After a brief exchange, Rhys steered the conversation back to the main topic: Should they find a way to use Riddle's diary to create a final exam for their students?
"That's a good idea," Ravenclaw responded absentmindedly, toying with the Philosopher's Stone in her hand as she nodded.
"Why don't you find a way to involve that Granger girl along with the two Greengrass sisters? I have a feeling that Horcrux would do just fine—you only need to inject a little energy into it, and it'll stir up trouble on its own."
"That's a solid idea," Rhys agreed. "But where should we set it up?"
Last year, Dumbledore's chosen "exam site" had already been destroyed by him, so where would be a suitable trial location this year? He couldn't exactly use his own chamber, could he?
Should he have them conduct underwater combat instead?
"How about the Forbidden Forest? We used to send students there for training all the time," Ravenclaw suggested.
As for the specific test content, she left that up to Salazar—he would worry about the details anyway.
"The Forbidden Forest, huh?" Rhys pondered for a moment. After some careful thought, he realized it might actually be a great choice.
He and Ravenclaw began a serious discussion.
Meanwhile, Daphne, Astoria, and Hermione had no idea that deep beneath Hogwarts, two people were plotting against them.
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