Chapter 1158: The Destroyed Pendant Box
Chapter 1158: The Destroyed Pendant Box
In the quiet of midnight, a figure appeared out of thin air at the corner of a street. It was an elderly man, dressed in a long robe that stood out from his surroundings. The old man took out a silver lighter from his robe's pocket, flicked it open, and raised it high. The nearest street lamp went out with a soft 'pff', and soon the entire street was plunged back into quiet darkness.
The old man looked around to ensure no one was nearby before walking towards a nearby dirty alley. The stench that hit him made him frown slightly, but he continued into the alley and soon stopped in front of an old house. He knocked gently on the door.
A few seconds later, there was movement from inside, and the door opened slightly.
"Oh my, your letter nearly scared me off," Mundungus muttered as he opened the door, complaining to the elderly man outside. "What's so important that you had to come find me yourself?"
"We better not talk here," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Right, come in then."
Mundungus quickly stepped back and invited Dumbledore inside, keeping his head out the door to look around cautiously before closing it again.
Even though Mundungus knew the chances of being followed were low, he couldn't risk anyone knowing about his connection to Dumbledore. Otherwise, Death Eaters might show up at his doorstep one day.
"If it's something dangerous, don't come to me," Mundungus said anxiously, looking at Dumbledore expectantly.
"Don't worry, I'm just here to confirm something and gather some information," Dumbledore said, motioning for Mundungus to sit down as he spoke.
"What do you need to confirm?" Mundungus asked, his guard still up.
"You took something from Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, didn't you?"
"Oh, you mean that trash?" Mundungus' heart skipped a beat as he quickly tried to deflect, "I asked Sirius about it, and he said he didn't want any of that rubbish, so I..."
"Relax, I just want to know if you took a pendant box from there," Dumbledore said, fixing his gaze on Mundungus. "Do you still have it?"
"Is it valuable?" Mundungus' eyes shifted, avoiding Dumbledore's intense stare.
"In a way, it is," Dumbledore said with a smile. "But that pendant box is also very dangerous."
"Dangerous? A Dark artifact?" Mundungus mumbled as he retrieved a suitcase from the corner of the room and took out a golden pendant box, handing it to Dumbledore. "I don't understand. I touched it myself and didn't feel anything. But I must say, I think it's quite valuable."
"It's fortunate that you didn't open it," Dumbledore said, examining the pendant box without taking it from Mundungus. It was just as he remembered—the Slytherin pendant box with the serpent emblem on its golden lid.
"What would have happened if I had opened it?" Mundungus asked curiously.
"I don't know for sure, but something terrible, most likely," Dumbledore admitted. He couldn't discern any Dark magic cast on the pendant box by Voldemort, but he was certain that any Dark magic associated with a Horcrux would be dangerous.
"Terrible?" Mundungus repeated, his hands shaking as he spoke. The pendant box slipped from his grasp and landed on the table with a thud. He jumped back, putting distance between himself and the table.
Dumbledore found himself amused by Mundungus' reaction, but his expression turned serious as he remembered something. He reached into his pocket and placed a bag of Galleons on the table.
"What's this?" Mundungus almost lunged for the bag, clutching it tightly in his hands.
"Your payment," Dumbledore replied.
"For me?" Mundungus asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes, I need your help in gathering some information," Dumbledore explained.
"What kind of information?" Mundungus asked hesitantly, worried about what kind of trouble this might bring.
"As far as I know, someone is secretly offering a large sum of Galleons as a bounty for Albert," Dumbledore said, donning dragon hide gloves before picking up the pendant box and placing it in a wooden box he had prepared earlier.
"Oh, I've heard about that," Mundungus said, quickly counting the Galleons in the bag. "I heard the Malfoy family offered a bounty of ten thousand Galleons for Anderson's life. A lot of people in the gray area are interested in that bounty."
"But you should know..." As Mundungus finished counting and looked up, he found himself staring at Dumbledore's wand. His eyes glazed over momentarily.
Dumbledore had modified Mundungus' memory, erasing any recollection of the pendant box. While the chances of Mundungus revealing this information were slim, it was best to keep the knowledge of Horcruxes limited to a select few.
"I want you to find out how many people are interested in the bounty on Albert," Dumbledore said, putting his wand back into his pocket. As Mundungus shook off the daze, Dumbledore continued, "I need to know if anyone plans to harm Albert to claim that generous reward."
"I might know a thing or two about that..." Mundungus pocketed the bag of Galleons and said, "Oh, I can do that. But why are you so interested in this matter?"
"In any case, help me investigate this first, and there will be other tasks for you later," Dumbledore said, adding, "Don't be too quick to refuse—that bag of Galleons is just a down payment."
Mundungus mumbled, his hand still on his pocket, "You didn't used to pay me."
"You can consider that bag of Galleons as a reward from Albert," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I see, no wonder you're being so generous," Mundungus said, nodding in understanding. "But why didn't the Weasley twins come find me? They usually handle these things."
"Right, what did you want me to do again?" Mundungus looked confused, perhaps a side effect of the Obliviate spell.
"I need you to continue gathering information about Albert, as much detail as possible," Dumbledore said after a moment's thought. "Later, I may need you to deliver some false information to throw others off the trail, so they don't realize anyone else is interested in Albert."
"That won't be easy," Mundungus mumbled. "That bag of Galleons is just too tempting. Almost no one can refuse that."
"Don't worry, there are plenty of ways to make them give up on such unrealistic ideas," Dumbledore said calmly.
"You seem to care a lot about this Albert," Mundungus said, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Why is that?"
"Albert has provided a great deal of help to the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said quietly. "If possible, we would like to ensure his safety."
"So helpful, how come I don't know about this?" Mundungus muttered.
"I didn't expect you to know much." Dumbledore stood up and said, "This matter must be kept confidential, and it's best to figure out the situation as soon as possible."
"Alright, if there's anything else, you can find me," Mundungus assured, patting his chest.
Who wouldn't like some Galleons?
After leaving Mundungus, Dumbledore immediately returned to Hogwarts with the newly acquired Horcrux.
This time, he didn't rush to destroy the Horcrux but instead made himself a cup of tea, waiting for his emotions to settle before taking out the Sword of Gryffindor from the nearby glass box.
"I must remind you that the last time you fiddled with that thing, you almost lost your life."
The silver-haired old witch in the wall painting suddenly opened her eyes and spoke up.
"Don't worry, Deloris, I'm fully prepared this time," Dumbledore said as he held the Sword of Gryffindor and approached his desk.
The sleeping portraits all opened their eyes, curious to see what Dumbledore was up to with the sword, as he placed the pendant box on the table.
"You were just as confident last time, and look how that turned out!" The goat-bearded old man beside her teased, but he soon found himself on the receiving end of a wand, causing him to yelp in pain.
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
Dumbledore put on his gloves again, took out the pendant box, and placed it on the table. He then picked up the Sword of Gryffindor, ready to cleave the pendant box in half.
However, the sword's strike veered off course, severing the silver chain of the pendant box and slicing deeply into the table.
"Are you trying to chop up the table?" Phineas dodged the waving wand and asked with a laugh.
"Indeed."
Dumbledore ignored the teasing from the portraits and could clearly sense the restlessness of the soul within the pendant box. Tom's fragment clearly sensed the threat posed by the Sword of Gryffindor.
"What is this thing? I think I saw the pendant box move just now."
Phineas squeezed into the nearest frame, curiously examining the 'S' serpent mark on the pendant box and muttering softly, "Could this be a relic of Slytherin?"
"Indeed, it is a pendant box that belonged to Slytherin."
"Then why are you destroying it?"
"Albus has his reasons." A shrewd witch waved her wand, silencing Phineas.
"There's a rather frightening piece of Dark magic cast on the pendant box," Dumbledore explained vaguely.
"So, you plan to destroy it directly?"
"Unfortunately, that is the safest method."
Dumbledore drew out his wand and waved it lightly at the Slytherin pendant box. The desk surface rippled slightly, forming a groove that securely held the pendant box in place, ensuring it couldn't escape its fate.
"It's too late, Tom."
Dumbledore raised the sword and brought it down with force.
Just as the Sword of Gryffindor was about to destroy the pendant box, its little golden lid suddenly snapped open with a 'click'.
The pendant box was filled with thick darkness, and within it, a pair of eerie eyes blinked, staring at Dumbledore.
"Abforth Dumbledore, I see your desire, your fear. Lord Voldemort knows your plan, and you..."
Immediately after, two heads popped out of the pendant box—they were the heads of his sister, Ariana, and his dear friend, Grindelwald. They frantically wrapped themselves around Dumbledore, trying to stop him from swinging the sword.
"An illusion?"
Dumbledore looked up and down at the two bizarre soap bubble-like heads, not giving them a chance to speak. With the Sword of Gryffindor, he stabbed into the pendant box, and a long scream filled the office.
The Horcrux was destroyed.
The phantoms of Ariana and Grindelwald completely vanished.
"It's over!" Dumbledore took a deep breath and murmured, "It's your turn to be afraid now, Tom."
After he spoke, he used the tip of the sword to lift the small golden lid of the pendant box and examined the silk lining inside, which was emitting tendrils of smoke. He nodded in satisfaction.
However, having learned from the previous incident with the ring, Dumbledore didn't rush to touch it. Instead, he carefully observed the remains of the pendant box to ensure there were no traces of Dark magic before picking it up and placing it in the drawer of his desk.
Inside the drawer were also the notebook pierced by a Basilisk fang, the Ravenclaw Diadem stored in a glass box, an ugly black gemstone ring, and now, the remains of the pendant box—four Horcruxes gathered together.
Oh yes, and he had also killed that snake, Nagini.
It was incredible to think that they had now destroyed five Horcruxes.
If Voldemort had indeed created six Horcruxes, then the last one should be the Hufflepuff Cup.
"It really is thanks to Albert," Dumbledore said softly.
As long as all the Horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort would be reduced to an ordinary mortal, his soul damaged, and vulnerable to death.
While it would still require extraordinary ability and skill to kill Voldemort, Dumbledore wasn't worried... What concerned him was that, in order to truly kill Voldemort, they would have to destroy the small fragment of soul lodged in Harry's forehead, of which Voldemort himself was unaware.
That meant Harry had to die.
This was undoubtedly a cruel and difficult truth to accept, but it was unavoidable if they wanted to completely eradicate Voldemort.
"How am I going to tell him about this?" Dumbledore muttered to himself. He needed to find the right time to reveal this truth to Harry.
However, asking someone to face death bravely was no easy task; it required not only exceptional courage and boldness but also the courage to face death itself.
Dumbledore had seen too many brave people falter in the face of death, and it was crucial that he give Harry the courage to face death when the time came.
"What should I do?"
Dumbledore's gaze fell on the Resurrection Stone in the drawer, and he murmured, "Perhaps, it's time I wrote my will."
"A will? I thought you would have written it long ago," Phineas said in surprise as Dumbledore returned the sword to its glass case.
"Yes, the will has been written, but there's a part that needs to be modified."
Dumbledore sat back down at his desk, took a piece of parchment, wrote something on it, folded it, and handed it to the phoenix, Fawkes.
"Deliver this to him."
Fawkes gave a soft cry and disappeared with the note.
After Fawkes left, Dumbledore picked up his quill and began to modify his will. He intended to leave the Resurrection Stone to Harry through his will.
(End of Chapter)
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