The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 127 Seven Horcruxes

Chapter 127 Six Horcruxes

He didn't answer immediately, but leaned back slightly in his chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the table, as if striking a rhythm that only he could hear.

The office was dimly lit, with only the image projected by the overhead projector casting a faint green glow that illuminated the almost stagnant air between the two people.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice steady and clear, without avoiding any scrutiny from Dumbledore's gaze.

"I understand your concerns, Headmaster Dumbledore."

He paused.

"I will not use this spell on anyone other than Voldemort."

"This is a personal commitment to you."

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes gazed at Lynch for a long time.

Lynch's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that was not quite a smile: "You know what? More than ten years ago, when I was hunting down those dark wizards and Death Eaters, the hardest thing was not finding them, or even killing them—but controlling myself, and only taking action against those who truly deserved to die."

Dumbledore knew that Lynch was telling him that he had self-control far beyond that of ordinary people, and that the kind of loss of control he was worried about would not happen.

He finally nodded slowly, his voice solemn: "I accept your promise, Professor Lynch. Not just because of your abilities."

Moreover, because we both know the tragedies that can occur when forces spiral out of control.

A moment of silence fell over the headmaster's office as Dumbledore processed the information Lynch had just revealed.

After a moment, Lynch spoke, pointing to the frozen image in mid-air: "Now, can we focus our attention on Voldemort?"

His words roused Dumbledore from his thoughts.

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course, please continue."

Lynch turned the roller on the side of the projector, precisely advancing the frozen image in the air to the most crucial frame—the moment when Voldemort's twisted, ethereal soul was completely immersed in the emerald green beam.

The green light of the Killing Curse acted like a developer, clearly revealing the previously invisible structure of the soul.

On the surface of that soul, one can see several areas illuminated by a bright green light.

Lynch stood up, walked to the screen, and stretched out his finger, tracing the unsettling marks with his fingertip.

"As we can see, at that particular moment when Voldemort's soul was attacked by my spell energy, the structural damage was fully exposed."

His voice was as calm as if he were analyzing an anatomical diagram: "Look here, and here, these, six in total, blurry and twisted gaps, varying in size and 'depth,' with jagged edges, like a tattered piece of fabric that has been violently torn."

"I believe this is the indelible scar left by Voldemort each time he savagely tore his own soul apart when he created a Horcrux. Each split was like a piece being torn directly from the body of his soul."

Following Lynch's pointing finger, Dumbledore's deep blue eyes were fixed on the shocking cracks in Voldemort's soul.

It's as if you can feel the pain and madness emanating from it.

He nodded slowly and heavily, a deep sorrow and understanding on his face.

"Yes, Professor Lynch, your judgment is undoubtedly correct." His voice was lower than usual, with a hint of a sigh that was barely perceptible. "These are the most direct evidence left behind when the soul was forcibly torn apart during the creation of Horcruxes."

"Every split is a fundamental desecration of the self. Seeing it so clearly is more shocking than any speculation."

He took a deep breath, his voice growing even lower: "Voldemort's soul has been ravaged by his own actions, making it unbelievable that it is a living soul."

"Look at the cracks and blurring at the edges of these gaps; they are almost entirely filled with the essence of the soul, making the entire structure shaky and fragile beyond imagination."

He leaned back slightly, lifting his gaze from the screen to look at Lin Qi, his eyes filled with a sense of profound experience: "The Horcrux did allow him to escape death, but the price was eternal self-destruction and unspeakable pain."

"Your discovery once again confirms an ancient warning: the power of black magic may be alluring, but it often backfires on its users in a way that is far more devastating than the benefits it brings."

"All its costs...will ultimately be borne by the user, without exception."

Lynch sat back down in his chair and continued Dumbledore's words, "Unfortunately, this price won't be of much use in eliminating Voldemort at the moment."

Dumbledore nodded, glanced at the image in the sky again, and said with a hint of excitement, "So... Voldemort created a total of six Horcruxes!"

After confirming this terrifying total, the atmosphere in the office became even more somber.

The two began to sort through the information they already had.

"Of the six Horcruxes, we can confirm four," Lynch said, as if taking stock of a list. "The Slytherin locket, the Ravenclaw tiara, the Hufflepuff cup, and," he paused, his voice carrying a complex emotion, "the living Horcrux that Voldemort accidentally created—Harry Potter."

"That's right," Dumbledore replied, his fingers interlaced on the table. "In other words, there are still two Horcruxes hidden in the unknown, and we know nothing about their form or whereabouts."

Lynch continued, "And then there's the Hufflepuff Cup. Although we know it was made into a Horcrux, we have no idea where it's hidden."

"Therefore, we are actually facing three daunting tasks: to identify the true identities of the last two Horcruxes and find them, and to locate the Hufflepuff Cup where it is hidden."

Dumbledore stroked his beard: "We've come halfway down the path of collecting Horcruxes."

Lynch's gaze swept over the tattered soul image in the air again: "This is a good start, but finding three deliberately hidden items in the vast magical world is still like finding a needle in a haystack."

In the silence, a resolute look gradually appeared on Dumbledore's aged face.

Finally, he raised his head, his azure eyes gleaming with an undeniable sense of responsibility and unwavering determination.

"The task of finding these unknown Horcruxes and tracking down the Chalice," Dumbledore's voice, though gentle, carried a heavy weight, "is left to me, as we previously agreed. This requires certain connections and a deeper understanding of Voldemort's past, and I am better suited to handle these tasks. Our time may be more pressing than we realize."