While Harry was still inside the Silencing Charm, Albus Dumbledore and Douglas Holmes continued their discussion about Harry's possible connection to that mysterious article, The Half-Blood Prince of Slytherin.
Following Dumbledore's train of thought, Douglas mused, "So, Harry might be analogous to the mistress who sealed a severed limb inside her own body?"
Dumbledore slowly chewed his candy, then spoke with deliberate care. "Douglas, I've spent some time searching through old records, and I found a form of Dark Magic that matches this situation—an ancient, rarely attempted, and truly wicked kind of magic..."
At that, Dumbledore fixed Douglas with a meaningful look.
Douglas blinked, a little nonplussed. Go on, why are you looking at me like I'm supposed to know this?
He prompted, "Really? What sort of Dark Magic could actually split a soul?"
Dumbledore looked pleased to be asked. A conversation with questions and answers was always preferable to a one-sided lecture.
"Last time, you mentioned Tom told you his diary was proof of his immortality. Based on the themes of immortality and soul-splitting, I traced it to a Dark Magic called the Horcrux.
To create a Horcrux, a wizard must commit murder or some other act of great evil, causing his soul to fracture. Then, through a specific spell, a fragment of the soul is separated and sealed within an object. That's what makes a Horcrux.
Because a portion of the soul remains untouched, even if the body is destroyed, the wizard won't die. That's likely why Tom—why Voldemort—has survived all these years."
Douglas could hear a note of sorrow in Dumbledore's voice.
He pressed on, "Professor, if this really lines up with that article, does it mean Voldemort has already split his soul into seven pieces? And if we want to destroy him completely, we'd need to destroy all the Horcruxes first. But then, what about Harry...?"
Wait. Douglas suddenly felt a chill of doubt. If memory served, even Severus Snape only learned about this at the very end. Why was Dumbledore telling him now?
Dumbledore neither nodded nor shook his head. He glanced over at Harry, who was still earnestly recording Parseltongue, and said quietly, "That's why I hope we'll find a way to resolve this, Douglas. We still have time, don't we?"
Douglas looked at Harry as well, then asked, "Professor, why are you telling me all this? I'm just a regular Defence Against the Dark Arts professor..."
Dumbledore suddenly smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "You'll understand in time. For now, I must ask you to keep this strictly confidential."
Staring at Dumbledore's enigmatic smile, Douglas had to bite back the urge to say, "Riddler—Hogwarts edition."
At that moment, they noticed Harry waving to them from inside the magical barrier.
They broke off their conversation and dispelled the Silencing Charm.
"I've finished recording everything!" Harry announced eagerly.
Douglas took the Multifunctional Magic Radio, turned the dial to playback, and pressed the button.
A moment later, a chorus of strange, hissing sounds filled the room. It was Harry's first time hearing Parseltongue from the outside, and he could hardly believe those noises had come from his own mouth—he hadn't felt anything odd while speaking.
Only Harry and Dumbledore listened intently to the recording. Even Fawkes, who had been buried in his ashes, poked his head out and crept closer, eyes fixed on the radio. Douglas couldn't help but feel like a complete outsider.
The recording was short, and soon the room fell silent again.
Douglas immediately asked, "Professor, is everything alright?"
Harry gave a little snort under his breath—so, you still don't trust me after all.
Dumbledore answered calmly, "Harry's Parseltongue is perfect."
Then he turned to Harry. "It's getting late, Harry. You should go have dinner."
Harry glanced at Douglas, said goodbye, and hurried out—he couldn't wait to find Ron and Hermione and talk this through.
After Harry left, Dumbledore absently fiddled with the radio and asked, "Douglas, what's the next step in your plan?"
Douglas glanced at Fawkes, then said, "We'll need to wait a bit longer—until Fawkes has fully recovered. When the time comes, we'll need him to blind the basilisk first.
Then, Professor, you'll need to contact the Ministry of Magic and have them send someone with real authority. Oh, and if possible, could you invite Mr. Lucius Malfoy as well? I heard he's a school governor—this sort of occasion calls for a governor's presence."
Dumbledore studied Douglas thoughtfully for a long moment, then nodded. "No problem. Fawkes recovers quickly—I'll let you know when the time comes."
Douglas nodded, then added, "One more thing—during this period, it would be best if Hagrid raised a few more roosters. That'll make dealing with the basilisk much easier."
Dumbledore didn't even look up. "Consider it done."
Suddenly, a peculiar song began playing from the Multifunctional Magic Radio.
Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "Ah! That's a Celestina Warbeck song!"
Douglas was immediately filled with a sense of foreboding.
He watched as Dumbledore, still clutching the radio, began to sway along with the music.
"If there's nothing else, Professor, I'll take my leave!" Douglas said quickly.
Dumbledore waved a hand, signaling Douglas was free to go, and made no move to return the radio.
Douglas forced a smile, pointed at the radio, and said, "Professor, perhaps you could hand that back to me?"
Dumbledore suddenly acted like a mischievous child, hiding the radio behind his back. "Ah, how about you let me borrow it for a while? I'll trade you this box of sweets.
The one upstairs is so clunky, and it's nowhere near as handsome as yours... Once this is all over, I'll give it back. Or, if you make me another, I'll tell you a very big secret!"
Douglas snorted to himself. As if the secrets you know are really worth that much. He was certain Dumbledore's motives weren't nearly so simple—especially since the old wizard's finger never left a certain key part of the device.
From his pocket, Douglas produced a small box and handed it over. "Professor, this is a spare mithril recording plate. If you're worried about accidentally erasing the original, you can swap it out for this."
Dumbledore smiled, deftly sliding a thin mithril plate from the side of the radio and inserting the new one. "Like this? Ingenious. It's almost like goblin craftsmanship. I imagine information stored on mithril is even harder to tamper with than memories themselves."
A phrase flashed through Douglas's mind: Dumbledore and his friend Nicolas Flamel achieved extraordinary things in alchemy...
When it came to alchemy, he really couldn't compare—he'd need to study much harder.
As he prepared to leave, another question occurred to him. "Professor, if we and the Ministry find some manuscripts or other legacies left by Slytherin in the Chamber, how should we handle them?"
Dumbledore replied serenely, "Salazar Slytherin was one of Hogwarts' founders—and the first Head of House for Slytherin."
Douglas nodded, indicating he understood.
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