The night after discovering Ravenclaw's Diadem, Alaric wandered around the Ravenclaw Tower, finally finding Helena in an empty classroom.
Upon seeing her, Alaric called out, and Helena immediately floated over to him.
Once she confirmed that they were alone, Helena eagerly spoke up.
"How is it, Alaric?" she asked impatiently, "Did you find my mother's Diadem?"
"Of course, I found it," Alaric replied.
"I knew you could do it," Helena said with evident satisfaction, then looked at Alaric with anticipation.
"So, the Diadem hasn't been turned into a Horcrux, has it?"
Seeing her joyful expression, Alaric felt reluctant to disappoint her, but the truth was unavoidable.
He took a deep breath and said quietly, "I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately, Tom Riddle has indeed turned it into a Horcrux."
"Really…?" Helena lowered her head, looking somewhat saddened.
"I'm sorry, but the truth is quite harsh," Alaric shook his head and took out the Diadem from his pocket, placing it in front of Helena.
At the sight of the Diadem, Helena was initially thrilled. She floated around it happily, but soon, she seemed to see something filthy and drifted to Alaric's side, trying to distance herself from the Diadem as much as possible.
"What a dark and filthy soul!" she cried out, "What has the Dark Lord done to this Diadem? He's gone too far!"
She then lowered her head, starting to sob quietly.
"It's my fault… I… I shouldn't have… trusted him… I… I ruined my mother's relic… It's all my fault."
Tears fell from her beautiful, ethereal face and vanished upon hitting the ground.
Faced with Helena's tears, Alaric appeared flustered.
He awkwardly attempted to comfort her and wipe her tears, but being a ghost, his efforts were futile.
However, his futile gestures seemed to have some effect, as Helena was somewhat amused by his clumsy attempts, eventually stopping her crying.
"Thank you, Alaric," Helena said, touching the corner of her eyes and offering a smile.
"Thank you for your comfort. You're such a considerate boy. If only the Bloody Baron were like you… Ah, I shouldn't have brought that up."
She sniffed and looked at Alaric with hope, asking, "So, have you found a way to restore the Diadem?"
"I'm sorry," Alaric said, lowering his head and speaking softly.
"The connection between the soul fragment and the Diadem is too tight.
I haven't found a way to destroy the soul fragment without damaging the Diadem."
"What… You're lying to me, aren't you?" The moment Helena heard this, her eyes reddened and she almost started crying again.
Seeing her expression, Alaric became anxious.
He didn't want to see the ghost crying twice in one day, so he hurriedly said, "Wait, it's not without a solution."
"Is… is it?" Helena's expression immediately brightened.
She grasped at the last straw of hope, asking urgently, "What is the solution? Tell me quickly!"
"This solution…" Alaric hesitated.
"What are you waiting for? Just tell me!"
Under Helena's urging, Alaric finally revealed the solution.
"The solution is relatively simple. After destroying the soul fragment, you need to place a substitute into the Diadem to replace the effect of the soul fragment.
This way, the Diadem's structure remains intact, and it won't lose its magical effects."
As Rowena Ravenclaw's own daughter, Helena had inherited her mother's talents.
Even though she had been a ghost for thousands of years and had not practiced magic, she still retained her knowledge from her previous life. After some thought, she nodded in agreement.
"Your method, though unprecedented, is indeed an effective one."
"But the key question is, what is the substitute?" Alaric asked next.
"Yes, what is it?"
Helena thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. She then looked at Alaric with a request in her eyes.
"Alright, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me."
"Actually, I already gave you a hint," Alaric smiled slightly, "I hinted at it earlier, didn't I?"
"Hinted at it earlier?" Helena frowned, recalling Alaric's previous words, "Hmm… You mean the part about making a sacrifice?"
"Yes."
"The meaning of that is…"
"It's quite evident, isn't it?"
"No way…" Helena's eyes widened in shock.
"You mean, the substitute for the Dark Lord's soul fragment in the Diadem is… me?"
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