It wasn't until Dumbledore, who had somehow appeared at the doorway, cleared his throat that the crowd dispersed. Before leaving, Hermione even reminded Harry not to forget to finish his essay.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Hall," Dumbledore said with an apologetic expression. "For letting you go through such an unpleasant ordeal."
"Mm…Although it was dangerous, I have to admit it wasn't exactly unpleasant. Besides, it was the first real battle of my life—one where I defeated the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore, however, looked solemn.
"But something like this should never have happened at Hogwarts. I've spent too much time dealing with the Ministry…I thought that with Fawkes around, nothing would go wrong. But I never imagined Voldemort had even taken Fawkes into account—and used some unknown method to keep him occupied."
Edward remained silent on the side.
He had thought Audrey would be safe at Hogwarts with Dumbledore around. Yet when things happened, Dumbledore had been at the Ministry, Snape had been dealing with Lucius Malfoy, Professor McGonagall was in the Forbidden Forest rescuing Fred—and even Duelling Master Flitwick had been dispatched elsewhere.
If it hadn't been for his premonition of Audrey's danger, and reversing the outcome using [Madman to the Right], he didn't even want to imagine what could have happened.
But…was the Voldemort from the original story really this cunning?
To leave such a being lurking in the shadows—who could predict what he would do next?
Dumbledore sighed.
"I truly must make some changes…to prevent the children at Hogwarts from being put in danger again."
Audrey raised her hand.
"There's something—I don't know if Harry mentioned it to you."
Harry, who had just been cue'd, looked over in confusion.
"In the Chamber, Voldemort seemed…strange. It was like he existed in a liminal state—somewhere between reality and illusion. He was obviously a powerful Dark Lord, but throughout the entire fight, he only cast a few spells, mostly acting as an observer, directing the basilisk and Wormtail instead."
Dumbledore paused, adjusting his half-moon spectacles with a puzzled expression. "Voldemort is indeed supposed to be nothing more than a soul fragment now…But even so, a soul should still exist tangibly…Anything else?"
"Also, Wormtail's behaviour was odd. He showed fear, terror, and submission to Voldemort, but at the same time, he seemed to be hiding something—for instance, that pendant symbolising Salazar Slytherin's legacy. Oh, and the basilisk—when it attacked Malfoy, it was completely fine, but when we encountered it, its eyes had already been gouged out.
Voldemort and Wormtail had no reason to do that…So there might've been someone else who entered the Chamber."
"I see."
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I'll investigate all of that further."
Audrey hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Professor, do you think Voldemort… is dead?"
"I'm afraid not, Miss Hall," Dumbledore said. "I have no evidence, but it's more of a gut feeling."
At that moment, Edward, who had been silent all this time, spoke up. "Professor, in the past few days, I've made some new discoveries while divining Voldemort."
"Oh?"
Dumbledore looked over with interest.
Edward cast a Silencing Charm before continuing.
"Professor, do you remember in my first year, I asked you about Horcruxes?"
Dumbledore's expression turned serious.
"I told you then—it's an extremely dangerous and wicked form of magic. You mustn't harbor any curiosity about it, nor believe that nonsense about it granting immortality."
"But someone did believe it, didn't they?"
Dumbledore's eyes, behind his half-moon spectacles, narrowed slightly.
"You mean Voldemort?"
"Exactly."
Edward pulled out a Galleon.
"According to my divination, Voldemort has survived all this time because he created multiple Horcruxes in advance."
"Multiple Horcruxes."
Even Dumbledore, who had long suspected as much, looked startled. Creating a Horcrux required enduring intense soul-splitting pain—just one could nearly kill a person. So was Voldemort just afraid of death, or insanely bold, to have made several?
"So far, Voldemort has created six Horcruxes. One was Voldemort's own diary, another is Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, then there's the Resurrection Stone—one of the Deathly Hallows—Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Salazar Slytherin's locket, and finally…"
He looked Dumbledore in the eye.
"Harry Potter."
"…"
Dumbledore had remained composed through the first few Horcruxes—it all fit Voldemort's arrogant personality.
But when he heard "Harry Potter", his pupils visibly contracted. After a moment, he opened his mouth and asked,
"Was it made that night, when he was killed by his own spell?"
"Yes. A complete accident—so much so that Voldemort himself might not even realise this Horcrux exists."
Dumbledore fell into thought.
"How many of them have you found so far?"
"Uh…Two. Ravenclaw's diadem was in the Room of Requirement. The Resurrection Stone at the Gaunt shack."
"You know where the other three are?"
"The diary is probably still with the Malfoys. The cup is hidden in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. As for the locket—it's at Grimmauld Place, the Black family's ancestral home."
He smiled. "I understand. Leave those to me."
"Understood."
"As for Harry Potter…"
Dumbledore sighed. "Let me think about that a while longer."
Edward had been planning to say that once Audrey's strength was sufficient, maybe she could deal with the Voldemort inside Harry Potter. But then he thought—something like that would never be entirely safe.
They weren't even related to Harry Potter—why should Audrey be the one to take that risk?
Dumbledore left.
The hospital wing was now occupied only by Edward, Audrey…and Harry Potter—more precisely, a soulless essay-copying machine.
"Where's Lilith?"
Edward shrugged.
"Probably wandering around the castle. Oh, and she wanted me to bring you a rat as a get-well-soon gift—but I mercilessly rejected her."
"Pfft—"
Audrey laughed. "Good thing I brought Susie back right after she was born. Otherwise, I don't even want to imagine what Lilith would've given me."
She lowered her voice slightly.
"By the way…that pendant…"
She briefly explained Salazar Slytherin's legacy. Edward frowned after hearing it.
"A god? An entrance to a dwelling? One of the Deathly Hallows? That's basically…Death itself, isn't it?"
"He didn't say clearly."
A flicker of insight passed through Edward's mind as he recalled the scene he'd seen while divining the goblin's spirituality.
Could it be connected to this?
"Salazar Slytherin—the founder of Slytherin House, a staunch blood-purity advocate. After falling out with the other founders, he left in a rage, leaving behind the Chamber and the basilisk to 'purge' Hogwarts of the unworthy. A man like that…any 'secrets' he left behind are bound to be suspicious. What worries me now is—this so-called remnant of consciousness, in what form is it communicating with you?"
Edward glanced at Harry.
"I hope it's not what I'm thinking…"
Audrey puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "Then once I get back, I'll ask Mr. Fool for help!!"
Tsk, the Sefirah Castle could purify the fragments of Voldemort's soul hidden in the diadem and Resurrection Stone—
Could it also purify Salazar Slytherin hidden in someone's consciousness?
Wait a minute...Didn't that Bishop Utravsky have some sort of candle? In the original novel, Klein used it to enter the bishop's mental space and eliminate his evil consciousness.
Maybe he could find a way to obtain that candle and let Audrey try it.
"Phew—"
Edward suddenly let out a long sigh and said, "Every other time, I was the one doing all the big stuff behind your back while you watched and felt envious. This time, it's finally your turn."
Audrey waved her hands immediately.
"If I can help it, I never want to experience that kind of 'big thing' again! From now on, if anything dangerous happens, I'll report it right away—to Mr. Fool and to the Church!"
They exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.
Knock, knock, knock!
Madam Pomfrey knocked on the door.
"Keep it down, don't disturb the other patients!"
She strode over to Harry and snatched the notebook from his hands.
"Oh, Harry, you should be resting right now, not scribbling away at this useless essay."
"No, Madam Pomfrey! If I don't finish this, even if I'm discharged tomorrow, Snape will drag me right back!! Madam Pomfrey! Nooo—!"
———
[London—early evening]
Two days later.
Edward and Audrey stepped out of a Chinese restaurant, merging into the flow of pedestrians on the street.
"Ugh, that Chinese food was so inauthentic. The head chef was clearly Chinese—I seriously suspect his taste buds have been corrupted by the British culinary wasteland."
"I thought it was quite good! A flavour I've never tried before—and Lilith liked it too."
Lilith was perched on Edward's shoulder, licking her paw and washing her face. At the mention of her name, she looked up and declared, "Miss Lilith—likes!"
"One day I'll take you to try the real stuff—roast duck, roast spring chicken, roast goose…"
Just as he was rambling, he suddenly remembered a certain goddess's shopping list…which happened to include various delicacies.
His head began to ache.
Everyone had different tastes. If the food he brought back didn't suit the goddess's preferences…well, she probably wouldn't be angry, right?
Either way, he needed to finish collecting the remaining items on the list.
"What's wrong?" Audrey asked.
"Hmm, just thinking where I should take you shopping."
Audrey paused and pointed at a movie poster outside a nearby cinema.
"Why not watch a movie first? Beauty and the Beast. Hahaha, isn't that us?"
Lilith immediately sat upright.
"That's you and Miss Lilith! I'm the beast! A fierce beast! Raaawr~"
"Yes yes, Miss Lilith is a beast."
"Exactly!"
"A fierce beast."
"Exactly!"
"A fierce beast that likes to eat children."
"Exa—wait no! Miss Lilith doesn't eat children."
She hesitated for a moment, then curiously licked her tongue.
"…Are children tasty?"
The two of them exchanged glances and replied in unison:
"Not tasty!"
———
When Edward returned to Nurmengard, several days had passed.
He crawled out of the suitcase with gifts he'd brought from Hogwarts. The cold wind blowing through the window immediately shrank him—after enjoying two warm days, he was once again frozen like a quail.
"Mr. Grindelwald, I'm back."
"Miaow~"
That was Lilith's greeting.
Grindelwald lay in his rocking chair, lazily watching television. He glanced over and said,
"You've already learned everything you need. There's no reason for you to return."
"Well, I had to give you a proper goodbye, right? I assume you've heard what happened these past few days?"
He nodded and replied with a vague, offhand remark, "Albus…he's getting old."
Edward understood what he meant.
Don't be fooled by Dumbledore's current image as a kindly old man—he was once young too, once sharp and dazzling.
"Oh, right—I have a few questions about prophecy and divination I'd like to ask you."
Grindelwald waved his hand.
"That's a talent of mine, not something I can teach. Isn't Cassandra's descendant at Hogwarts? Go ask her. Or the centaurs—Albus keeps a whole group of them in the Forbidden Forest. They understand astrology."
"Uhh…alright." That descendant of the great Seer is a full-blown drunk, he thought. The centaurs might be a better bet.
Edward held up a finger.
"Then, one last thing—do you know how I can contact your old subordinates?"
"You need something from them?"
"Yes. They were your trusted confidants—well-traveled, capable—I'd like to commission them to help me find a few items."
"Go on."
"Well, some legendary artefacts—like Excalibur, the Spear of Longinus, the Holy Shroud or some mythical grimoires…"
—If those items could absorb grey fog and mutate, that'd be ridiculously overpowered!
Grindelwald looked a bit surprised. His dry, bony fingers drummed unconsciously on the armrest.
"You still believe in that stuff? Most of what you mentioned is just myth and legend. Even if they did exist, they're probably just useless antiques."
"I know…but who knows, there might be surprises. Oh! Also, I want to buy some phoenix feathers. Professor Dumbledore's Fawkes is way too stingy—ate all my snacks and won't even give me one feather."
"…Fine. I'll pass along the message."
He waved his hand dismissively, shooing Edward away.
"Go on, go on. If I make any progress with the hand bone research, I'll contact you right away."
"Got it. See you, sir. Let's go, Lilith."
"Miaow~"
Lilith waved a paw and trotted off.
"That cat…"
Grindelwald stroked his chin, watching her leap into Edward's arms. He frowned slightly.
"…Isn't she a bit too smart?"
———
The next morning.
When Edward went to class, he immediately sensed something was off.
Even though it was broad daylight, the normally energetic young wizards were acting unusually quiet and well-behaved.
Then, he spotted a few unfamiliar faces wandering around the castle in groups.
Cedric came over.
"Did you hear? The Ministry suddenly sent a bunch of Aurors."
"Aurors?"
Edward's heart skipped a beat. Had the incident in Switzerland been exposed?
"Why?"
"Seems it's because of the explosion underground a few days ago. Miss Hall and Harry Potter were called into the Headmaster's office for questioning."
"I'm going to check it out."
Edward immediately took off, found a secluded spot, and cast a Disillusionment Charm as he headed toward the Headmaster's office.
Just as he reached the door, he heard a commotion from inside.
One voice in particular rang out the loudest—it was unmistakably Dolores Umbridge.
"So, our great wizard Professor Dumbledore is just going to take the word of two students at face value? Heh. First, slandering a war hero decorated with the Order of Merlin, now it's spreading rumours about the Dark Lord's return—Professor Dumbledore, what exactly are you trying to pull?!"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.