Jon's raised wand slowly drooped back down.
His thoughts raced, yet no matter how hard he tried, no viable solution emerged.
He could clearly sense Astoria Greengrass's soul growing weaker by the moment, while the monster's soul grew stronger and stronger, steadily seizing control.
If he didn't destroy the Horcrux, he couldn't stop the Blood Curse soul from continuing to expand. And once the Blood Curse soul completely took over the girl's body, everything would be beyond saving…
"Then… what if I wait until the monster completely takes over her body… and then use the Horcrux to revive her?" Jon suddenly thought.
After all, the original purpose of a Horcrux was for dark wizards to resurrect themselves, functioning much like a lich's phylactery.
But he dismissed the idea almost immediately.
Every wizard who had ever managed to resurrect themselves using a Horcrux was an exceptionally powerful dark wizard—figures like Herpo and Tom Riddle.
Only those with profound magical mastery and souls far stronger than those of ordinary wizards could survive bodily destruction and return through a Horcrux.
Astoria clearly met none of those conditions. Worse still, after years of torment by the Blood Curse soul, if her already fragile soul were forced into a Horcrux, it would almost certainly become a "dead soul."
So even if resurrection were possible, it would be nothing more than animating an empty shell…
The girl's face twisted, her skin turning deathly pale.
The Blood Curse soul had grown overwhelmingly strong, on the verge of fully seizing control of her body.
Jon drew a deep breath and raised his wand once more, pointing it at the locket hanging over Astoria's chest.
He had no other choice… He could only destroy the Horcrux, even if it meant sacrificing part of Astoria's soul. At least that way, there would still be a sliver of hope left.
Just then—
With a loud bang, the door to the Room of Requirement was forced open.
...
An elderly wizard with waist-length silver hair burst into the room.
He wore an immaculately tailored purple-red velvet suit. Behind his half-moon spectacles, pale blue eyes gleamed sharply.
"Dumbledore… Professor Dumbledore…" Jon looked at him as if grasping at a lifeline, his voice hoarse as he spoke.
Albus Dumbledore's expression was so severe that it exceeded anything Jon had imagined.
There was no kindly smile, no playful sparkle behind those lenses. Every line on his aged face carried unmistakable weight.
He didn't even pause to greet Jon, striding straight past him and stopping in front of Astoria.
By now, Astoria had collapsed onto the floor, writhing in agony, her expression growing increasingly distorted.
The strange Elder Wand in Albus Dumbledore's hand suddenly radiated a crimson glow.
The intense light enveloped Astoria—and the locket at her chest, the Horcrux Jon had made for her.
Jon stood off to the side, watching in silence as the red light grew stronger and stronger. At the same time, he could feel Astoria's soul beginning to recover, while the Blood Curse soul was gradually being suppressed.
Yet despite sensing all of this so clearly, the tension on Jon's face did not ease in the slightest.
The crimson light slowly faded. Astoria slumped onto the hammock, apparently asleep.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, dropped heavily to the floor, tossing his wand aside without much care. He gasped for breath, one labored inhale after another—it was obvious how utterly exhausted he was.
...
"Professor… thank you…" Jon said quietly as he turned toward him.
A faint trace of color returned to Dumbledore's pale face as he asked softly, "It didn't work… it failed… didn't it…"
"Yes," Jon nodded, forcing a bitter smile. "The Blood Curse soul had grown too strong. The Horcrux only ended up forcing Astoria's own soul out of her body…"
Dumbledore stood, walked over, and gently patted Jon's head.
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
Jon lowered his head in silence.
"Half an hour ago, Aberforth sent me an owl," Dumbledore continued in his gentle tone. "He said you brought Miss Greengrass back to Hogwarts from the Hog's Head. I guessed you were preparing to make that Horcrux, and that you would choose this place… so I came straight here. Fortunately, I arrived just in time."
"How much longer can Astoria live?"
Jon looked up, his expression grim.
"At most, a week," Dumbledore sighed again. "I forced the soul inside the Horcrux back into her body. But after all this, the Blood Curse soul now controls most of her body. At this rate, within a week, her soul will be completely devoured."
Hearing this, Jon suddenly felt his eyes sting.
So… that was it. After all that effort… it had all been in vain. There was no hope left.
"You did everything flawlessly," Dumbledore said softly, sitting beside him and patting his shoulder with gentle reassurance. "From finding the method to create a Horcrux… to gathering the materials… to completing the Horcrux itself…"
"There was nothing you could have done better. We simply didn't anticipate how quickly the Blood Curse soul would grow," Dumbledore sighed for the third time. "For the past few weeks, Miss Greengrass has been holding on purely through sheer will, fighting to keep that monster from taking over her body. She worked incredibly hard… you both did everything you could."
"But what difference did it make?"
Jon shook his head bleakly.
"How is this ending any different from doing nothing at all…"
Clenching his teeth hard against his lip, Jon dropped to his knees, forcing himself not to cry.
...
Albus Dumbledore stood up. He looked at Jon kneeling on the floor, then at the unconscious Astoria.
"Actually…" Dumbledore said quietly, "you never needed to do anything at all…"
"What?" Jon looked up in shock.
"Because," Dumbledore continued, "there is another way."