Near the end of the school year, Dumbledore called Dean into his office with news that changed everything.
"Harry, I need to tell you something," the headmaster said, his expression grave. "Something that I've been keeping from you for your own safety."
Dean felt a chill run down his spine. What had Dumbledore discovered?
"When you defeated Voldemort as a baby, you didn't actually destroy him," Dumbledore continued. "He created objects called Horcruxes, pieces of his soul bound into objects to achieve immortality. I've been searching for them, trying to destroy them before Voldemort can return."
"How many are there?" Dean asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
"I believe there are seven," Dumbledore said. "I've found and destroyed two of them. But I need your help to find the others. You have a unique connection to Voldemort, a connection that might help us locate them."
Dean realized what was happening. Dumbledore was testing him. The old man suspected that Dean had absorbed the Horcruxes, and he was trying to get Dean to reveal his knowledge.
"I'll help however I can," Dean said, playing the role of the loyal student.
Over the next few weeks, Dumbledore took Dean on what he called "research expeditions." They visited locations where Dumbledore suspected Horcruxes might be hidden. And at each location, Dean had to pretend to search while hiding the fact that he'd already found and absorbed the Horcrux there months ago.
It was a dangerous game. One mistake, one hint that he already knew where the Horcruxes were, and Dumbledore would know the truth.
But Dean had learned patience in his previous life. He'd learned to play the long game, to wait for the right moment to strike.
The moment came near the end of the school year.
Dumbledore had grown weak. The curse on his hand, inflicted when he'd destroyed the ring Horcrux, was spreading through his body. The old man was dying, and he knew it.
In desperation, Dumbledore made a mistake. He invited Dean into his office and attempted a powerful Legilimency spell, trying to force his way past Dean's mental defenses to discover the truth.
But Dean was ready.
Instead of defending against the spell, Dean let Dumbledore in. But what the old man found was a trap. Dean's mind was a labyrinth, filled with false memories and illusions. And as Dumbledore tried to navigate it, Dean attacked.
For the first time, Dean unleashed his true power. The power he'd been hiding, the magic he'd been developing in secret. He hit Dumbledore with a spell that should have killed him, a spell that came from the darkest corners of his knowledge.
Dumbledore fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"You," the headmaster said, his voice barely a whisper. "You're not Harry."
"No," Dean said. "I'm not. But I'm using his body, his power, his life. And I'm done being controlled by you."
"What have you done?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes wide with horror.
"I've absorbed the Horcruxes," Dean said. "All of them except the one you're keeping. And I'm going to take that one too."
He moved toward the headmaster's desk, toward the place where Dumbledore kept Nagini in a protected case. But Dumbledore, despite his weakness, managed to raise his wand one more time.
"You're becoming like him," Dumbledore said. "Like Voldemort. You're becoming the very thing we fought against."
"No," Dean said. "I'm becoming something better. I'm becoming free."
He disarmed Dumbledore with a casual flick of his wand, then took the case containing Nagini. The snake hissed at him, but Dean was no longer afraid of such simple threats.
"What will you do now?" Dumbledore asked, slumped in his chair.
"I'm going to complete my ascension," Dean said. "And then I'm going to reshape this world."
He left Dumbledore's office, carrying the case with Nagini, leaving the old man to contemplate the failure of his grand design.
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