It seemed like a long time had passed, and it seemed like only a moment had passed, and Gawain woke up.

He found himself lying on his back with a silver blanket underneath him, and Professor Dumbledore sitting in a high-backed chair that appeared at some point, holding a delicate teacup in his right hand.

"Good morning, Gawain. Would you like some chocolate? At times like these, it doesn't hurt to have something sweet. ”

Seeing that Gawain woke up, Dumbledore smiled lightly. He handed over a peeled chocolate frog, which Gawain took and stuffed into his mouth.

"Looks like you've made a lot of gains?"

Dumbledore handed him another cup of tea, with a faint steam on top, as always, in Gawain's favorite toffee ratio.

He looked at Gawain, waiting for him to share what he had just experienced, but Gawain suddenly remembered something.

Very important thing.

"Professor, does the Ministry of Magic have an inheritance tax?"

- It is true that the gems and collections displayed in the first room are illusions, but the legacy of Salazar Slytherin to future generations is not!

It was one of the Big Four who were known for their wealth a thousand years ago. The wealth accumulated would never be a small number if it had been passed down to this day.

"Of course not, but what does it matter?"

Dumbledore looked at Gawain puzzled.

He seemed to be worried about whether the child had slept and slept like a fool.

"Just now, I got all the wealth that Salazar Slytherin left to his family's descendants, that must be a lot of money, right?"

Gawain looked at Dumbledore expectantly, as if he had watched him die suddenly in Saudi Arabia, leaving no will, but a lawyer for a wealthy relative with only one heir.

"Of course, of course. The descendants who inherited the Slytherin fortune became the Gaunt family. They are one of the twenty-eight families with a long history and an unparalleled influence in the wizarding world. ”

Dumbledore didn't question it, but patiently explained, making Gawain nod frequently.

- Because the stronger and more prosperous the Gaunt family, the more wealth he has.

However, the fact that Slytherin eventually became Gaunt was something that Gawain really did not expect.

He had only seen the surname twice, once a little more than half a day earlier, when he had found the name "Corvinus Gaunt" on the mirror in the bathroom.

Another time is now.

But if Gaunt is a Slytherin...

Then everything can be explained.

As the most influential family, they are likely to be shareholders of Hogwarts, and thus have a lot of power over the renovation of the castle's water and drainage system.

Even the construction team may be their own.

And the Gaunt family, who have Slytherin blood, can master the "Parseltongue" and know the secrets of the "secret room", which is also a smooth success.

It's just that at that time they didn't think it was necessary to "clean" the castle again, so they kept it hidden.

"And how much wealth do they have?"

Gawain felt his little heart tremble.

"As one of the oldest wizarding families, the Gaunt family owned enough gold gallons to fill Gringotts' largest vault. ”

Dumbledore said with a sly smile, which made Gawain feel cold inexplicably.

"Once?"

When he heard the past, Gao Wen panicked inexplicably.

"But that was three hundred years ago.

The last known member of the Gaunt family, Morfin Gaunt, died in Azkaban decades ago for the brutal murder of several Muggles;

Earlier, his father, Marvolo, had died in a small wooden hut in Big Hangleton. ”

Dumbledore said it with a straight face at first, but at the end he burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, Gawain, but I can't help it. Your expression is so funny. ”

"Professor!"

Gawain protested with some annoyance.

But even he could understand why Dumbledore was behaving the way he did.

In the last second, he was still imagining that he had countless gold gallons, but the next second he learned that the Gaunt family had been wiped out for half a century.

This is probably similar to a rich Saudi tycoon who has a large amount of wealth, but when Gawain is about to sign the inheritance, the lawyer says that the rich man donated all his wealth to charity the day before his death.

Only a toothpick was left for Gawain.

"That old monkey must know something!"

Gawain thought to himself, but he didn't have the place to retaliate.

"Of course, you're not getting nothing, are you, are you? though I don't know the quality of the shed. “

Dumbledore stroked his beard, and he was laughing happily until Gawain stared at his hair.

- "Maybe they've got some lost magical items, or valuable treasures or something like that. “

"As for now, it's time for us to go back to the castle. On the way, why don't you talk about what happened in that room?"

The White Wizard snapped his fingers, and he vanished the blanket, chair, and two teacups, and turned around with Fawkes, walking in the direction he had come.

Gawain hurriedly followed, and before he had lunch, he couldn't wait to return to the auditorium.

On the way back, Gawain told Dumbledore what happened in the "dream" just now, picking out the parts that could be said, such as the history of Hogwarts, the legacy left by the Big Four, and the fact that Riddle had also been here.

Dumbledore didn't say much, but hoped that Gawain would be careful when exploring. In his perspective, after opening the door, Gawain suddenly fell into a coma and passed out to the ground.

It was only that although the fluctuations coming from that room were "manic, arrogant, and deep", there was no malice in them, so Dumbledore did not force his move, but maintained a cautious attitude and watched from the sidelines.

As for Slytherin's strange contract magic, Gawain kept it in his mind, and swore that he would never use it unless he had to.

Not only because he can't control such a complicated ritual now, but also because the magic of this contract is very demanding for sacrificial sacrifices.

And He is "absolutely fair."

He does not judge the value of the goods paid by the parties to the contract, but the value of what the contractor thinks they give.

Of course, this is not absolute. While "Holkes" represents absolute fairness, there are many "tricks" that can be used.

- For example, adjusting the way the terms are expressed, obscuring the performance of the contract, or even changing the notary.

As long as you are strong enough to "defend your rights".

In the Forbidden Forest, Salazar simulated a high-enough "him" through the combined effect of the Gublai Immortal Fire and the tent to trick Ronan into signing the unfair and unpublic contract.

Gawain already had a vague guess about what Slytherin had to do in the first place to build such a secret room within a secret room.

Legend has it that Salazar Slytherin got into a quarrel with the other founders in his later years, and left the castle in anger, never to be seen.

Maybe his anger was real.

But he never really left.

- What could be more valuable than his own existence in the eyes of the most arrogant of all?

And at the same time, the edge of the dark forest.

"Ahh

Voldemort suddenly let out a loud cry of pain, and his otherwise handsome face had been distorted.

"Master, master, please forgive me!"

Quirrell, who had only one arm left, sobbed quietly.

He didn't know why.

The sudden anger of his own master, and the hint of vulnerability and panic could be heard in his cries of pain, which made Quirrell even more worried.

His appearance is much worse than before.

Many parts of the black wizard's robe were hung open by tree branches, and his face was covered with dust. Because there is no headscarf, the shape looks particularly weird.

But at least one thing is good...

He didn't stutter at all.

It was not pleasant to be caught by Dumbledore doing bad things at Hogwarts, especially when he was left behind in search of something extremely important.

If it weren't for the sudden disappearance of the stubborn centaurs some time ago, Quirrell wouldn't even know what he should have done to survive to this day.

At the moment, they are in a cramped tent.

It was a gift from a kind, humble, and helpful Mr. Werewolf, but unfortunately that gentleman didn't have the opportunity to cook his best French country tomato soup for Quirrell, so he was too tired and sent to sleep by Quirrell's Death Curse.

Hopefully he'll wake up one day.

Perhaps...

It took a few minutes for the expression on Voldemort's face to soften.

Just now, he suddenly felt that his fundamental existence had been cruelly deprived of some kind of existence. The executor is an incomparably mighty will, but he doesn't know why.

It's pain on the soul level...

The deepest pain.

But he was also sure that this piece of his soul had not been harmed in any way.

Voldemort had been convinced that no one would ever know his deepest secret, the magical number. But the pain just now is deeply rooted in his mind until now.

That's him asking for help, struggling.

In a little bit to face death.

And he's not alone.

"What the hell is that?!"

Voldemort was in deep fear, but could not reveal it to anyone, not even his servants.

Especially his servants.

"The plan has to be ahead of schedule, I want that stone! damn it!"

He decided to use some "special" means.

"Fool, you're going to speed up! We don't have time to squander! You have to do it before the next full moon!"

Voldemort, who had no way to vent his anger, could only punish the servant severely, causing Quirrell to fall to his knees.

"Yes, master, master. ”

Quirrell struggled and rolled on the ground in agony, begging for mercy in exchange for Voldemort's mercy and allowing him to kneel. He raised his wand, and a little black glow lit up.

PS: The Gaunt family and the construction of the secret room are from PM