My name is Sasuke, from being the richest man in Naruto to dominating the world

Chapter 587 Dumbledore and the Horcruxes

After completing the first tentative contact, things will become much easier.

Zhou Ming proved with practical actions that he could indeed control Voldemort, so that Hermione could rest assured to keep this secret for him.

"You guys go back first. I'll study the spell again."

After closing the box containing the Horcruxes again, Zhou Ming suddenly said to Hermione and Cynthia.

"You're not trying to study Horcruxes in secret, are you?"

Hermione looked at him suspiciously.

"How could that be? Do you really not trust me? Don't worry. If we say that we should study together, then we should study together. I will definitely not sneak out. If it doesn't work, can you take this box away?"

Zhou Ming handed the small wooden box directly to Hermione.

Hermione took a small step back subconsciously.

"Alright, forget it. Just take it. I trust you."

After saying that, he grabbed Cynthia's hand and ran away.

After Zhou Ming watched them leave, he bent down and began to collect the candles. After he picked up the last candle, he slowly turned around and looked at the figure that had appeared behind him at some point.

"I thought you wouldn't show up, or would just attack me from behind, Professor Dumbledore."

That’s right, the person who came was none other than the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore.

The reason why Zhou Ming "drove Hermione away" was just to prevent her from meeting Dumbledore directly.

She and Cynthia were special, so it wouldn't matter if they met Dumbledore, but Hermione was different. If she was caught by Dumbledore, it would be difficult to resolve the subsequent issues.

"Student Zhou Ming, don't make me sound so scary. I am still your principal after all. As long as you don't completely violate the school rules, I won't do anything to you casually."

Dumbledore pushed up his glasses and said with a smile.

"Even if I'm secretly researching Horcruxes, isn't that against school rules?"

Zhou Ming was actually very clear that he would attract Dumbledore's attention sooner or later, so when he was studying Horcruxes, he simply avoided other schools and teachers, but did not deliberately avoid the castle.

There are a lot of eyes in the castle, including paintings, armors, and various strange little things scattered throughout the castle, which can be turned into cameras when necessary.

Therefore, if you really want to avoid being discovered by others, fulfilling every request is not the best option. The best choice is actually the underground sewer, the space where the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets is located, which is the blind spot of the school.

There are many ways to activate a Horcrux. The simplest one is to wear it directly on your head, so that you can communicate with Voldemort immediately.

But Zhou Ming used magic to awaken Voldemort and briefly released him from the Horcrux. He then used a spell that was similar to a magic ritual. If Dumbledore still didn't notice this series of actions, Zhou Ming should really wonder if he had come to the wrong world.

So, he actually had no intention of hiding the truth from Dumbledore from the beginning. The main reason was that he also wanted to see what Dumbledore thought about Horcruxes at this stage, and what Dumbledore thought about himself getting involved with Horcruxes.

"If you are simply studying Horcruxes, there is no school rule at Hogwarts that explicitly prohibits this. But Zhou Ming, you must remember that dark magic will affect a person's heart. When you continue to study it, your will will be contaminated by it until you step by step walk down a path from which there is no turning back."

"I understand. As long as I don't actually try to cast dark magic or actually make a Horcrux, I won't be breaking school rules."

Zhou Ming nodded and said.

Dumbledore smiled but said nothing.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, regulations like this do make sense.

Because black magic does not completely represent evil. In fact, there is no distinction between good and evil power. The greatest white wizard, Dumbledore, knows countless black magics.

The biggest problem with black magic is that it will erode a person's will, making them more and more extreme and crazy, until they are completely trapped in it and unable to extricate themselves, and finally become a complete black wizard.

But if someone can really stick to his original intention and not be corrupted, then in theory, even if black magic is performed by such a person, it is completely legal.

To put it bluntly, schools have similar loopholes, which are actually prepared for some gifted students.

Geniuses are definitely different from ordinary people. What others may need seven years to complete, they may only need three years. What should they do with the remaining time? You can't just declare them graduated, right? So the school must have a path for these genius students to continue their studies. In addition to the clubs of professors in each college, trying to study some black magic and some taboo knowledge has become an option that can be allowed.

But there's another problem here.

"You need to complete the relevant studies under the supervision of a professor, rather than doing it on your own. There are great risks involved, and you may not be able to handle it well."

Dumbledore stood guard and walked slowly to Zhou Ming's side. He stretched out his hand and pointed. The small wooden box floated into the air and flew in front of him.

The lid opened, revealing the crown inside.

"These protective spells are interesting. Have you modified them?"

Dumbledore observed for a moment and then asked.

"Yes, the original spell was a little difficult for me to use, so I changed it a little bit."

Zhou Ming replied.

"These spells can also be combined with each other. A single relatively weak spell can become stronger after being combined. It's a genius idea and design."

Dumbledore praised generously, then he reached out and grabbed the crown directly with his hand.

If Hermione saw this scene, she would probably be scared to death. Before, Zhou Ming had only released the residual soul of Voldemort, but Hermione could not withstand the evil power of the other party. Dumbledore was even more exaggerated. He actually touched the Horcrux with his hand.

But from Zhou Ming's perspective, the moment Dumbledore touched the crown, a layer of imitation protection appeared on his hand.

The dark magic from the Horcrux tried to erode Dumbledore, but was blocked by these magical protections.

Is this the Yu Yu of the strongest white wizard in history? He is indeed very powerful.

"Ravenclaw's Diadem, one of the relics of the four founders..."

Dumbledore held the crown in front of him and said, "If I remember correctly, it has been missing for many years. Zhou Ming, where did you find it?"

"It's right here." Zhou Ming pointed at his feet, "It's just another feudal city, a place full of all kinds of miscellaneous items."

"I didn't expect it to be so close to us. Tom, you are so talented, but you have to go down a crooked and evil path."

Dumbledore said with emotion.

Then he put the Horcrux back into the wooden box, raised his hand to cover the box, and then with a flick of his finger, the wooden box flew straight towards Zhou Ming, and finally he reached out and hugged it.

"You gave it back to me?"

Zhou Ming widened his eyes slightly.

To be honest, this was indeed a little beyond his expectations.

In his imagination, when Dumbledore discovered the Horcrux, there should be three possible developments between them.

First, the two sides had a fierce debate, and finally he used his eloquence to convince Dumbledore and obtained the qualification to study Horcruxes.

The second option is for the two sides to fight directly. In terms of attainments in spells, Zhou Ming is naturally not as good as Dumbledore, but as long as he shows enough strength and talent, he should be able to make Dumbledore give in.

The third is to reveal his identity directly, so that Dumbledore can realize that there is something wrong with the world and give him more freedom.

But no matter which one it is, it is completely different from the current development. To be honest, Zhou Ming himself is a little confused at the moment.

"The school should give outstanding students more room for advancement. And didn't I say that? You should do research under the supervision of professors instead of taking risks on your own."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Next time you want to do research, you can ask your raven to send me a letter, or find a painting you trust and ask it to pass the message to me. Don't worry, I won't show up. I know you are worried that the girl will be scared after seeing me. I will only watch you in secret to make sure that there will be no problems with your research."

Dumbledore made a huge concession. He actually agreed to let Zhou Ming continue to study the Horcruxes, and promised not to intervene or show up.

Zhou Ming could never have imagined that all this would go so smoothly. He even suspected that he had been unknowingly cast under Voldemort's spell of creating illusions.

So he raised his wand, a white light flashed from the tip of the wand, and he gently pressed it against his temple.

Then, white light appeared in his eyes.

However, under this white light, nothing unusual appeared. It was not an illusion, nor was it some other force affecting him.

"Don't worry, I'm not a false illusion, I really exist..."

Dumbledore smiled and suddenly raised his right hand. With a clear sound, a scarlet Fawkes flew over from somewhere and landed in Dumbledore's palm.

"But you must be careful, classmate Zhou Ming. Horcruxes are very dangerous dark magic props. You must be very careful in all your research. If you notice something wrong, come to me immediately. In addition, I will always keep an eye on you. If I judge that you have been affected by Voldemort, I will intervene immediately. Do you understand?"

"Of course, but I probably won't give you this opportunity."

"I hope so."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Finally, if you have time, you can come to the headmaster's office. After all, this is not a place to talk. Our communication should be carried out in a more quiet and formal setting. The password to enter the office is 'Sherbet lemon'."

After he finished speaking, a burst of flame suddenly rose from Fawkes' body, and Dumbledore's figure quickly disappeared in the flame.

Zhou Ming stood there, feeling a little unreal as Dumbledore was a child.

Dumbledore just let this go so easily? Is this reasonable?
Even if he didn't confiscate the Horcrux, shouldn't he have asked me more questions? Or did he think he didn't know more information? But it's always okay to ask about what you know or don't know.

At the same time, Zhou Ming did not believe that all his thoughts had been seen through by Dumbledore. Although the other party was indeed a rare master of Legilimency in the world and more powerful than Snape, his own Occlumency was not just for show.

Moreover, after Zhou Ming entered this world, he only sealed the power of other worlds. Ninjutsu, spiritual power, domineering, and superpowers are no longer usable. However, the strong defensive ability that he has built up during his growth process will not disappear because the above abilities are sealed.

Especially the mental protection of Fang Min, which has almost become his passive skill and is effective all the time.

So if Dumbledore really used Legilimency on him, he would have been able to detect it, and the lack of reaction meant that the other party did not do so.

No, when did Old Deng become so easy to talk to?
Zhou Ming was completely confused.

In the original book, he was only so tolerant towards Harry, but that was Harry Potter after all, the savior, the protagonist, the destined child of this world.

Look, apart from Harry and a few people who have a close relationship with Harry, when has old Dumbledore ever indulged other students?

Unfortunately, this old man also likes to be a riddle teller. As long as he doesn't want to say it, it's really hard to get his true thoughts out unless you use force.

Zhou Ming pondered for a while but couldn't figure it out, so he decided to stop thinking about it. Anyway, if Old Deng really had any follow-up plans, he would definitely come to see him. Besides, if he didn't come, he could go there. He knew the password to the principal's office anyway, so he could go and disturb him at any time.

The first study on Horcruxes came to an end here.

Halloween is coming soon.

And this Halloween, a very important thing will happen, that is, the first appearance of the basilisk.

On Halloween, Zhou Ming was participating in activities with other students from the same college. He knew how things would develop, so he was not in a hurry at all.

But other people didn't know that Hermione was still following Harry and Ron as in the original book. Cynthia didn't like to participate in such activities, but she could not resist the persuasion of other girls in the same college, and finally had to put down her books and spend a wonderful Halloween with everyone.

Then, when everyone finished celebrating and prepared to go back to the dormitory.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were caught by students who were preparing to return to the college.

In front of them was Mrs. Norris, who was hanging in the air and had been petrified. Oh, she was the pet of the castle caretaker Filch. There was also a line of blood words written on the wall.

"The secret room has been opened. Those who are enemies of the heir, be alert!"

"..."

Harry, Ron and Hermione were stunned.

The large group of students who happened to come over and blocked them here were also stunned.

Everyone looked at each other, and the air was eerily quiet.

(End of this chapter)