Chapter 1240: A Trap Awaits
Chapter 1240: A Trap Awaits
Waiting, waiting, and continuing to wait patiently, Harry felt his patience gradually waning.
After obtaining the crucial memory from Professor Slughorn, Harry had only briefly returned to the Gryffindor common room to share the good news with Ron and Hermione before heading straight to Dumbledore's office to await the headmaster's return.
However, Harry had not anticipated the lengthy wait that lay ahead of him.
From morning to noon, and from noon to afternoon, Dumbledore still did not return to Hogwarts, as if the memory he had obtained was of little consequence.
During this time, Professor McGonagall paid another visit to the headmaster's office and updated Harry on Professor Slughorn's condition. The poor Potions master had been successfully relieved of the effects of Veritaserum, suffering only minor injuries aside from the fright he had endured.
Harry was not surprised that Snape had an antidote for the potion; most likely, Narcissa had obtained the Veritaserum from him.
The whole situation seemed a bit too convenient.
If Snape had been wholeheartedly loyal to Dumbledore, Harry would have even suspected that this was a scheme concocted by the two of them—allowing Narcissa to use the Veritaserum to interrogate Slughorn about the Felix Felicis, only for him to swoop in and seize the opportunity, completing this nearly impossible task.
It was no wonder Harry had such thoughts; as Albert would say, "This world is never short on coincidences."
Unfortunately, Dumbledore and Snape were not in cahoots, or else Slughorn would likely have been crying his eyes out in the bathroom.
Harry turned yet another circle in the office, ignoring the grumbling complaints of Phineas' portrait, and sat back down in the armchair. He picked up the Marauder's Map to search for Malfoy's whereabouts, feeling that the boy was brewing some sort of conspiracy.
At the very least, during the Felix Felicis' effects, Harry's intuition told him that Malfoy was up to no good and that he might take action soon.
Whether it was the Slytherin common room, near the Room of Requirement, or even the library, Harry couldn't find Malfoy anywhere.
"He's probably still in the Room of Requirement, but what's he doing in there?" Harry had tried to enter the Room of Requirement before coming to the headmaster's office, but someone was clearly inside, preventing him from entering.
"You seem to have quite the bias against that student named Malfoy," Phineas continued, "because of your grudge; you suspect him..."
"If Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius, wasn't a Death Eater, if his mother, Narcissa, hadn't just broken into Hogwarts to steal the Felix Felicis, and if he himself hadn't joined the Death Eaters, I wouldn't think there was a problem with him," Harry said, turning to look at the portrait of Phineas on the wall and smiling coldly. "To be honest, I don't think there are many Death Eaters worth sympathizing with. If they were all worthy of sympathy, then who would sympathize with the Muggles they've killed? Are you going to be the one to pity those innocent Muggles who have died tragically?"
Harry ignored Phineas and picked up the newspaper from the desk, a paper he had flipped through countless times.
He suspected that Dumbledore was at Azkaban.
Perhaps there had been a fierce battle at Azkaban, and Dumbledore was there to stop Voldemort from breaking out the prisoners.
Perhaps Dumbledore had been injured in a battle with Voldemort and was receiving treatment...
No, very few people could injure someone of Dumbledore's caliber.
But the thought of Dumbledore's withered hand made Harry worry.
Just as Harry's thoughts began to wander, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the office and jumped up from his chair, his face lighting up with expectation as he looked toward the entrance of the headmaster's office.
A familiar figure pushed open the door and entered.
"Harry!"
The old man seemed surprised to see Harry in the office.
"You're finally back, sir," Harry said excitedly, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out the small glass bottle. He held it out to Dumbledore like a precious offering and said, "I got Slughorn's memory."
"That's wonderful, Harry! I knew you could do it!"
Dumbledore paused for a moment, a smile spreading across his face.
He took the glass bottle containing Slughorn's memory and strode toward the cabinet where the Pensieve was kept. He moved the Pensieve from the cabinet to the desk and immediately poured the contents of the bottle into it.
"Now, we can finally see the truth that has been hidden," Dumbledore said, sounding a little excited. "Harry, you go first..."
As Harry bent over the Pensieve, he finally witnessed Slughorn's memory—the one he didn't want others to know about. Just as Dumbledore had guessed, Slughorn had indeed told Tom Riddle about how killing could split his soul and the secret of Horcruxes, which could grant him immortality.
Upon learning of Voldemort's resurrection, Professor Slughorn realized the potential consequences of his actions that day. He had hidden this memory out of shame for his mistake and fear of Voldemort's retaliation.
Those who knew Voldemort's secrets tended to have short lifespans.
Nevertheless, this memory was still of great help to Dumbledore. In the conversation with Professor Slughorn, Tom Riddle had clearly mentioned his insane idea of splitting his soul into seven parts.
The reason was that seven was the most magical number, and it would enhance Voldemort's power.
"So, Albert's prophecy is true," Harry said suddenly.
"Yes, this memory does prove that Voldemort split his soul and even attempted to split it into seven parts," Dumbledore said, sounding pleased.
"So, we just need to find the last two Horcruxes, and we can completely destroy Voldemort," Harry said, his mood improving. The gloom of waiting was swept away, and nothing made him happier than seeing Voldemort on the brink of destruction.
"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore nodded. "The remaining Horcruxes are likely Helga Hufflepuff's cup and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem."
"Professor, when will you take me to find the Horcruxes?" Harry asked excitedly. "If we can destroy one more, Voldemort will be as good as finished."
"I'm afraid we'll have to wait a bit longer. I'm still gathering information, and now is not the time," Dumbledore said, not revealing his earlier suspicion that the cave he believed might contain a Horcrux no longer held it. After all, it was strange for the Slytherin locket to have been in the Black family's possession, and as he had said, the timing wasn't right.
"Oh, okay.
"Harry felt a sense of disappointment, but then he seemed to remember something, and suddenly said, "By the way, Professor, has Professor McGonagall informed you about what happened to Professor Slughorn at the school?"
"I'm already aware of the situation. Professor Slughorn is fine; he just got a bit of a scare. Madam Pomfrey said he'll be discharged tomorrow after resting for a night in the hospital wing," Dumbledore seemed rather indifferent about the matter.
"I blocked the attacker's path as they were about to leave. I think it might have had something to do with the Felix Felicis, although the person used a complex potion to disguise themselves as Pansy Parkinson. Nonetheless, I'm certain that the attacker was Narcissa Malfoy, as her real name appeared on the Marauder's Map.
"I think Narcissa Malfoy infiltrated Hogwarts to attack Professor Slughorn because of the Felix Felicis," Harry rambled on with his analysis. "According to Sirius, Narcissa and Bella have been searching for the Felix Felicis all over Europe, and she's even been wanted for murdering a potion master. I think they probably..."
"I'm already aware of the situation, Harry," Dumbledore finally interrupted Harry's rapid-fire speech, speaking calmly. "I think you must be tired as well. Why don't you head back and rest, and your friends are probably waiting for you to share this good news with them."
"No, sir. I have a feeling that Draco Malfoy is up to something. They definitely have a grand conspiracy..."
"That's just your damn prejudice talking," Phineas mumbled.
"It's not prejudice. It's my intuition after taking the Felix Felicis, and I don't think I'm wrong about this," Harry glared at Phineas as he spoke. "Also, the newspaper mentioned that Voldemort plans to break into Azkaban..."
There was no stopping Harry as he voiced his thoughts and suspicions. The whole situation with Narcissa Malfoy breaking into Hogwarts seemed odd, and he felt it was a bad omen.
"Don't worry, Harry. I just came back from Azkaban, and Scrimgeour has set up heavy defenses and traps with the Aurors," Dumbledore reassured gently. "As for Hogwarts, I don't think anyone can stir up trouble here while I'm in the school."
This confident statement left Harry momentarily speechless.
While Harry didn't believe that the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic could stop Voldemort from breaking into Azkaban, he knew that with Dumbledore in Hogwarts, it would be difficult for anyone to cause trouble, even if the Malfoys had cooked up some evil scheme. It would likely amount to nothing more than a joke in front of Dumbledore.
"What if they take the Felix Felicis? I mean..." Harry's eyes widened as a possible scenario flashed through his mind, and he looked at Dumbledore questioningly.
Indeed, the whole situation was odd, and he wondered if it was a trap they had set up.
Albert might have foreseen the Malfoys' plot and conspired with Dumbledore to catch them all in one go. That didn't seem entirely impossible.
After all, that guy loved pulling off such stunts, and he had used similar methods to trick and eliminate a bunch of Death Eaters and dark wizards with the help of the Ministry.
"Harry, I don't think anyone can threaten the safety of the students at Hogwarts under my watch," Dumbledore said calmly, but Harry could tell that he didn't want to discuss the topic further.
"Sir, I can feel that this is definitely a conspiracy."
Harry paused for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps it's something Albert did intentionally, or there might be some other reason. Although I don't know what role the Malfoys are playing in all of this, I believe that very few conspiracies can escape Albert and you..."
"You're giving me too much credit," Dumbledore interrupted abruptly.
"If you can, please tell me everything you can. I think I can handle the pressure. When I decided to defeat Voldemort, I mentally prepared myself for this," Harry said, looking into Dumbledore's eyes. "To be honest, I don't want to be left in the dark like a fool. That feels terrible."
"This world is never short on coincidences. If there are too many coincidences piling up, then they're definitely not coincidences." Harry averted his gaze to the newspaper on the table and said, "That's what Albert told me, and I think it makes a lot of sense."
Dumbledore looked deeply into Harry's eyes, realizing that this was the boy's way of protesting and expressing his dissatisfaction with being kept in the dark. Harry was far more exceptional than he had imagined, piecing together many things from mere clues. It filled Dumbledore with immense gratification.
He knew that Harry had been quietly preparing himself.
"Harry..."
Before Dumbledore could finish, a green light suddenly flashed outside the window, immediately capturing their attention.
"What's that?"
Harry and Dumbledore rushed to the window of the headmaster's office, craning their necks to look at the familiar skull floating in the night sky, with a huge serpent emerging from its mouth.
"The Dark Mark, but why is it at Hogwarts?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes widening as he thought of a possibility.
This was Draco Malfoy's doing; it was his conspiracy.
"I don't know, but I don't think this is a prank," Dumbledore said, gazing at the Dark Mark hovering over the Astronomy Tower. He turned to the portraits on the wall and said, "Phineas, please inform Sirius and ask him to gather the members of the Order of the Phoenix to reinforce Hogwarts. I'm afraid we can't rely on the Ministry for help."
"Harry, I want you to return to the Gryffindor common room," Dumbledore said, turning back to him.
"No, Professor. I can fight too."
Noticing the look Dumbledore gave him, Harry quickly added, "At least, I'm sure I can do something."
"You want to take your Invisibility Cloak and go alert the other professors that there might be Death Eaters who have infiltrated the school. Tell them to head to the Astronomy Tower," Dumbledore instructed swiftly.
Phoenix Fawkes let out a cry and spread its wings, flying toward Dumbledore.
"Professor, this is definitely a trap," Harry said, taking out the Felix Felicis from his pocket and popping one into his mouth before offering the bottle to Dumbledore.
"Remember, Harry, go find the other professors. That will be far more useful than you going there alone," Dumbledore said, and then he grabbed Fawkes's claw and vanished in a burst of flame.
"Damn it!"
Staring at the spot where Dumbledore had disappeared, Harry clenched his fists in frustration. However, he knew that rushing over would only cause trouble for Dumbledore, so he summoned his Invisibility Cloak and hurried toward the eighth-floor Charms classroom to wake up Professor Flitwick, the former Duelling Champion, who could surely lend Dumbledore a hand.
(End of Chapter)
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