A broken Hogwarts

Chapter 158 Dumbledore's Confession

Seeing Owen's figure disappear behind the door, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

Fox tilted his head to look at him, and groaned sweetly in worry.Dumbledore raised his hand and stroked its feathers gently.

The portraits of the headmasters on the wall all opened their eyes from sound sleep and began to make noise.

"Oh, this kid is really good! Humble and polite, smart, full of curiosity, and very handsome, it reminds me of that student back then..." The thin old principal in the picture frame sighed, his voice suddenly low Go down, "Who would have thought?"

"Amando, I don't think this kid is handsome, he is very beautiful." The witch Dai Lisi Devante with long silver curly hair giggled in another frame.

"Look, this is our outstanding student in Slytherin! If I remember correctly, he is the first grader!" The former headmaster of the Black family gave everyone a sideways look triumphantly, "Also, ha Leigh Potter belongs to Slytherin too..."

"Shut up, Phineas." Before he finished speaking, several former principals who couldn't see him hurriedly covered his mouth.Dai Lisi said casually: "We have known about this for a long time, you don't need to say it every day..."

"Woo, let me go..." Phineas finally broke away from Dai Lisi's hand, and was pressed down by more people.

"What is your plan, Dumbledore? Do you want that child to support Harry Potter?" Dai Lisi asked softly.The old principals in the portrait also stopped making noise and listened attentively.

"The diadem, sir!" said Harry, excitedly.

"Just the two of us going in, Harry. Fawkes will be waiting for us outside," said Dumbledore.

"Okay, let's get back to the point." Dumbledore smiled easily, his long white beard trembling slightly, "During this time, I just found out a location that might hide a Horcrux. Having said that How about a lot, why don't you experience it for yourself... Would you like to go and see it with me tonight?"

"Only by destroying the Horcruxes can Voldemort be truly killed." Dumbledore stared deeply at Harry, with inexplicable emotions hidden in his eyes.Harry was a Parseltongue... he had to guess...

There was a trace of expectation in Harry's eyes, such innocent and pure eyes hurt Dumbledore's heart.Dumbledore looked at him helplessly and full of pity. If he still had time, why would he put such a burden on the shoulders of such a young child that an adult could not bear at this time?

He dragged and tugged with red eyes, helped Dumbledore onto the chair, and said in a crying voice: "Sir, we have returned, we have succeeded..." He held an oval tightly in his hand. locket, and a long gash was drawn on one arm.

"I won't be here forever, Harry." Dumbledore smiled wryly, "I'm old..."

Dumbledore collapsed on the chair with a pale face, his eyes were tightly closed, his mouth was weakly opened, and he looked lifeless.Harry was horrified to see a dry and charred hand under the right glove that he had taken off, and the ominous and terrible blackness was even spreading towards his arm.

"Professor Dumbledore?" He paused for a while before saying, "It's because of this? A prophecy? Voldemort thinks I might defeat him?" He thought it was absurd, like an old African witch suddenly pointed The sky said that the end of the world was coming, and then the whole world began to grow mushrooms.

……

Dai Lisi in the frame sighed softly and said, "Then what do you want to do?"

Dumbledore's spirits improved a little. He caught a glimpse of the opened locket and said very calmly: "It seems that we missed nothing...someone got there first..."

Harry twisted his body a little uneasily, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore.

"This is the Pensieve, it can show us those unknown memories." Dumbledore poked the silver substance with the tip of his stick, and a figure wrapped in a shawl emerged from the basin.

Harry knew this person, she was the professor of divination at Hogwarts, Sybill Trelawney.

Facing Harry's repelling gaze, he eased his expression, and tears seemed to glisten in his eyes: "This is your mother's most sincere blessing for you, Harry, you must live well..."

"Facts have proved that it is true." Dumbledore said softly, "Voldemort was too afraid of death, so he destroyed his own soul recklessly, created many Horcruxes, and then hid them everywhere..."

Harry managed to clear his head, but found himself surprisingly accepting of it, perhaps because it was so remote and unreal.He also understood why Dumbledore would teach him magic and self-defense skills, because he must fight Voldemort in the future?One of them must die at the hands of the other?
He blinked his eyes in confusion, and his mood was unexpectedly calm. Voldemort was the enemy he had to fight.He was just worried that he would not be able to carry such a heavy responsibility.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, even if you only go back once a year, you have to. Voldemort always comes back, his supporters don't disappear entirely, and we have to admit that you're never quite safe, Harry. Dumbledore's serious expression softened a little, "This protection will last until the day you become an adult, and before that, I hope you will go back."

I don't know if it was an illusion, but Harry always felt that Dumbledore was getting old and tired, which made him feel worried and uneasy.

Harry glanced at the phoenix hovering in the sky, swallowed nervously, and followed Dumbledore into the icy water, swimming towards the disturbing dark cave.

"Fortunately, there are no traces." Dumbledore actually laughed, "Voldemort always tends to hide his soul fragments with those important or precious items, and likes to hide them in places that are meaningful to him. place. As long as we learn about his life, we can find many traces..."

"Severus, I need Severus..." Dumbledore seemed to be a little confused muttering, "You can...you can trust Professor Snape, Harry..."

After saying this prophecy, the phantom slowly spun and sank into the Pensieve, and disappeared.

Dumbledore slowly opened his eyes, with tiredness and vicissitudes in his light blue eyes.He said softly: "I don't know, in fact, I'm not sure what to do..."

"The free and straightforward nature of phoenixes makes them always act according to their hearts, that is to say, they only love people who are in harmony with their hearts, just like unicorns only get close to people with pure hearts. And black phoenixes, It will only identify with people who are similar to it... people who are also deeply involved in darkness and malice." Dumbledore said very slowly, "After all, I... still did something wrong..."

Harry looked curiously at these silvery substances swirling and floating on the bottom of the basin like clouds, and there seemed to be vague figures flashing inside.

In a blink of an eye, it was time for Dumbledore's private lecture again. Harry, who was deeply troubled by Peter Pettigrew's question, came to the principal's office full of thoughts.

Snape murmured a spell on Dumbledore's right hand, and poured bottle after bottle of potion for him solemnly, frowning so hard that he could kill a fly.After a while, Dumbledore, who was already in a daze, regained consciousness, and thanked him weakly.

"Your hand, sir!" Harry said helplessly, tears starting to well in his eyes.He dropped the locket in his hand on the table, the lid of the locket fell off, and a note slipped out of it.

"What's the matter?" Dumbledore's expression was very calm.

"Harry, remember you asking me why Voldemort wanted to kill you when you were very young?"

"We know that Voldemort took some way to keep himself from dying." Dumbledore winked at him. "Fortunately, I have some clues about that."

"Why?" Harry raised his voice, and his reaction was even more intense than after hearing the prophecy just now, "That's not my home!"

"Seven..." Harry felt a little desperate for a moment.How to find this?The diadem is one, so is the diary?But if there are only two, it won't help.

Fox stood on the table, leaning his head over Dumbledore's arm, big drops of tears fell on it, but it didn't seem to be of much use.

"But your hand..." said Harry anxiously.

"I'm afraid . . . seven."

Dumbledore was wearing a robe inlaid with gold on a purple background, and sat on a high-backed chair waiting for him as usual. On the table in front of him was a shallow stone basin with strange runes carved on its mouth.

"I think you have already seen that what I'm teaching you is actually trying to find ways to increase your survivability so that you will have more confidence in the face of Voldemort." Dumbledore said softly.

"But what I don't know is whether he still cares..."

"I see, sir..." Harry nodded sullenly.Isn't it just going back every summer vacation before becoming an adult?He endured it!

He didn't dare to think about everything that happened in the cave: the stone wall opened with blood, the corpse at the bottom of the lake, and the potion in the stone basin... He ignored Dumbledore's painful pleas, and poured him a cup with his own hands. The potion that makes the opponent extremely painful...

"I know. Stop talking, I'm going to find Professor Snape." Harry ran out, took a shortcut like Owen, and arrived at the Potions office in the underground as fast as he could, "Boom boom Bang" banged on the door.

"Good evening, sir. Remember to have a good rest." He said with concern.

"Professor Snape, Dumbledore..." Harry gasped and said intermittently, "Go and save Dumbledore!"

Speaking of Voldemort, Harry straightened his back even more, and his heart became heavy.If Voldemort was resurrected, would he really have the power to resist?Looking at Dumbledore in front of him, he immediately felt relieved.

"Professor, how long do you have to live..." Harry opened his mouth.

"Harry, your mother's love for you saved you from being killed by Voldemort, and gave you a lasting protection that still runs in your veins. Therefore, I rely on your mother's blood , handed you over to her only remaining relative—her sister." Dumbledore stared into Harry's eyes and said seriously, "As long as you are still with your mother's blood relatives, you can still take that A place is called home, and there is your sanctuary, where Voldemort and his supporters can never harm you."

"It's not as good as before, that's not a health drink..." Dumbledore said weakly, the corners of his mouth twitching, "I need...Professor Snape..."

"So I still have to go back?" said Harry stiffly, cheeks scrunched up.

The phoenix flew up, gracefully circled in mid-air, and stretched out its golden claws to grab Dumbledore's shoulders.A burst of orange flames covered their figures, and after the flames dissipated, the principal's room became empty.

He didn't make him wait long, Snape hurried out with a few bottles of potion, and went away as quickly as a big bat flapping its wings.Harry followed behind him tearfully, but was mercilessly sent out after entering the headmaster's office.

"I don't know, I can't make up my mind." Dumbledore looked at his right hand, "If things go on, they may get better or worse. If I still have time, I have the responsibility to be a guide, but..."

In the dazzling firelight, Fenghuang brought the two of them back to the principal's office.Harry supported the weak Dumbledore, and stood where they left with a pale face, looking at the shivering old man anxiously.

He took off his glasses, rubbed between his brows, and his expression suddenly relaxed: "But it is gratifying that that child is not alone. He has parents who love him, a group of sincere friends, and ha A man like Lee... maybe he won't go astray completely."

Harry turned his eyes to Dumbledore in surprise, but he didn't feel panicked, only absurd and surprised, as if he had heard a not-so-funny joke.

"I can't help it, Severus." Dumbledore smiled wryly, "Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Marvolo's ring, and... He paused, and then continued, "I only destroyed one of the seven horcruxes. I have already arranged for the crown in the school, but the whereabouts of the rest are unknown, and there are even two that I don't know at all." ..."

"If you think you're not dying fast enough, you can tell me directly, I don't lack poison here." Snape said in a very sarcastic tone, his black eyes flashed with anger.

A low, hoarse voice came out of the figure's mouth: "The man who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord is approaching... Born in a family that resisted him three times, born at the end of July... The Dark Lord will mark him as his strong enemy , he will have powers unknown to the Dark Lord... Both cannot live, only one will survive... The one who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord will be born at the end of July..."

"There is one condition: you must immediately obey any order I give you without question."

"It's a very evil kind of black magic, Horcruxes." He said softly, his expression becoming serious, "Split a part of the soul and hide it in a certain object. As long as this part of the soul remains in the world, Voldemort will always retain the chance to make a comeback .”

Dumbledore smiled at him, his eyes were vicissitudes but wise.He crossed his hands on the table, and said slowly: "Today's lecture will be very special. You know, Harry, Voldemort is not dead, he is always plotting to make a comeback, and you who escaped from him are destined to be His enemies..."

His expression hesitated for the first time, his brows were tightly frowned, and his eyes became guilty and complicated: "That black phoenix agrees with that child...but what I didn't say is that a phoenix will not easily identify with someone , even if that person is the person who helped it break out of its shell, they will repay their favor, but they will not follow. If it is a black phoenix, they may not even be grateful..."

There was a long silence in the office, the phoenix Fox standing on the perch stopped eating, and even the snoring sound from the portrait of the old headmaster disappeared.

"Are you all right, sir?" Harry said hastily.

Dumbledore pushed the shallow stone basin next to the table in front of the two of them, pointed his wand at his temple, pulled out strands of silvery, spider-web-like substance, and dropped them into the basin.

"Okay, then, we have to talk about how to defeat Voldemort." Dumbledore squinted and smiled.

"Voldemort wanted to kill you when you were a baby because of a prophecy not long before you were born, Harry." Dumbledore said slowly, looking Harry in the eyes.

Harry raised his hand to wipe the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, feeling a little confused.

"How do we do this?"

"How many?" said Harry with difficulty.

Dumbledore stood up, turned from behind the desk with steady and powerful steps, stretched out his left hand to grab Harry's arm, and then looked at the phoenix standing on the gilded perch: "Fox, please."

"Of course, sir."

"Sir, you are always away from school these days, are you always searching for Voldemort's Horcrux?" Harry suddenly realized.

"Prophecy is a very strange ability, Harry. Voldemort obviously heard an incomplete prophecy, and when he obeyed the prophecy and chose to attack you in his infancy, he marked you as his rival." Dumbledore Lido said with some difficulty.

Harry broke free from the suffocation and the heat, gasping for air.It was dark all around and could smell the sea.When Dumbledore raised his wand and illuminated the surroundings, he realized that they were standing on a huge rock at the foot of a high cliff. There was a crack in the dark rock wall, and a deep cave was hidden inside.

"Yeah, who would have thought that I would still be busy running around in my old age? Fortunately, I found some clues..." Dumbledore paused, "I have already made arrangements, and at the right time, I will Someone handed you those clues... it will be up to you then, Harry."

"Prophecy?" Harry looked at him ignorantly.

Looking at the immature little wizard in front of him, his eyes flickered, revealing a trace of sadness and intolerance.He suddenly closed his eyes tightly, and those cloudy blue eyes became bright and sharp again: "Now, I should tell you something. Although I wanted to tell you in a few years..."

"The curse is spreading," Snape said icily. "I've managed to control it, but how long I can suppress it this time... I don't know. If you want to die quickly, you can keep wandering around..."

Snape's face changed, and he slammed the door shut, shutting Harry out directly, almost smashing his nose.Harry touched his nose that had been bumped red, and continued pounding on the door with disbelief, with physical tears in his eyes.

Harry's excitement was extinguished a lot at once, he asked dully: "You mean, he made more than one Horcrux?"

"That's right, Ravenclaw's diadem, I think it's Voldemort's Horcrux..." Dumbledore glanced at the little wizard who was so excited that he couldn't sit still, "One of them."

"I'm sorry for keeping you with your aunt and uncle for so many years, and for making you suffer so much, Harry," he said.

He sighed deeply, his voice dissipating in the air like the wind.

"I've been avoiding letting you know about this because I don't want you to carry such a heavy burden prematurely, and I want you to enjoy a little more peace and quiet, after suffering so much in the first ten years of your life After that..." Dumbledore smiled wryly, "but now I have to tell you."

The door opened with a "swipe", making him almost fall into it.Snape stared at him condescendingly with a dark face, as if he was about to cast a death curse on him.

"What was that one you left out?" Snape looked at him sharply.

As he spoke, he took out an ugly black gemstone ring with burn marks from the drawer, and placed it on the table: "For example, this..."

"Yes." Harry replied quickly.

Dumbledore looked at him deeply, and smiled helplessly.The little wizard in front of him was still too young, and he couldn't comprehend what kind of painful struggle this meant.But fortunately, this is the case, the other party can slowly adapt to all this, so that they won't be overwhelmed.

……

"Isn't there still you, sir?" Harry was stunned for a while, feeling more weird and uneasy in his heart.

Harry was silent for a while, and said: "It's all over, sir. I'm fine now, and I don't need to go back there." He felt that he could go out and rent a house during his vacation like last summer vacation Live, like go to the Leaky Cauldron.

"No, Harry, what I want to tell you is that you can't leave that house yet," said Dumbledore heavily but seriously.

"Ah, I want to rest, Severus," said Dumbledore softly.

Harry lingered outside the headmaster's room for a long time, waiting until Professor Snape came out.After he eagerly asked about Dumbledore's situation, he was slightly relieved.

But thinking of Dumbledore's scorched black palm, his heart couldn't help but get heavier.Recalling the conversation tonight, he always had the feeling that Dumbledore was explaining his funeral.

"How could it be?" He shook his head and returned to the common room worriedly.

　Thanks to guojun1998 for the reward of 200 starting coins~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)