Chapter 193: Nirvana

Chapter 193: Nirvana

Voldemort's greatest secret—the Horcrux—was what Regulus mentioned in his final testament, a fact that had eluded Voldemort.

Voldemort had not discussed this aspect with Dumbledore before.

Even someone like Slughorn would be frightened and panic-stricken if a student discussed Horcruxes with him.

Perhaps Dumbledore would gain some insight from their previous experiences at the Gaunt residence... Whether he had guessed about Horcruxes or not, this time he would surely get confirmation.

At the same time, Dumbledore also seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Horcrux..."

He sighed and said to Weird:

"I've wondered many times what has kept Voldemort alive... There's more than one kind of magic that can do this. But in the end, he chose the most evil and dangerous Horcrux."

"It sounds like it has something to do with the soul," said Weird.

"Voldemort split his soul."

Dumbledore did not beat around the bush. He said:

"He separated a piece of his soul and sealed it in an object, which is then called a Horcrux."

"So even if he suffers a fatal injury, he won't die because another part of his soul remains untouched and stays in this world, waiting for a chance to resurrect."

"But to live in such a state is more painful than death."

"If he cannot be resurrected, he will neither be accepted by the world of the dead nor linger in the world of the living. The remnants of his soul will grow weaker and eventually forget who he is, dissipating in endless torment."

After he finished speaking, he looked at his student and saw him nod slightly, showing no sign of longing for a Horcrux.

At the same time, he did not seem surprised.

He said bluntly, "When we burned down the Gaunt house with the fierce fire, an evil black shadow emerged from the flames."

"Yes."

Dumbledore nodded, affirming his unspoken thought:

"If I'm not mistaken, that should be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Very clever... he hid a piece of his soul in the ruins where no one would think to look."

Weird added, "Actually, it's not the first time we've had such an experience."

"...What do you mean?"

Dumbledore paused for a moment before replying.

"I once found an old crown in the Room of Requirement at school."

"A crown?"

"Yes. It resembled the Ravenclaw diadem, but it was imbued with evil black magic. Remus, Michael, and I burned it in a cave."

Now that Dumbledore had confirmed his identity as a seer, Weird no longer racked his brains to find excuses for his discoveries. Skipping the pretext, he directly described the situation at that time.

Hearing about the figure that was also destroyed by fire, Dumbledore remained silent for a long time.

In the stone basin, the green potion slowly filled up again. If the locket were still inside, one would only see a hint of gold by now.

"Let's go back. Remus must be getting anxious," said Dumbledore.

The two stepped onto the little boat, which automatically returned to shore, the bright light on the bank gradually expanding in their vision.

"Weird, don't mention Horcruxes to anyone," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, Professor," replied Weird.

"Do you still have the crown?" Dumbledore asked.

"After returning to school, I'll send it to you, Professor," said Weird. "But it's already been burned by the fierce fire, so we might not find anything useful on it."

"Magic always leaves traces, no matter how it's used," said Dumbledore. "I guess you also found something special at the Gaunt house, aside from Michal?"

"A ring, Professor," Weird admitted. "But I think it's better if I keep this item."

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore was taken aback, his eyes widening slightly.

He seemed about to say something, but looking at Weird's bright gray eyes, he swallowed his words.

"Well... if that's what you think... you must have your reasons..."

Dumbledore mumbled, his fingers twitching slightly before he clasped them together.

The little boat bumped against the shore.

Lupin reached out and pulled Weird up, giving him a thorough once-over. Seeing that both of them were unchanged, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've been gone a long time... Did you find anything?" Lupin asked.

"Yes, we made some... special discoveries," said Dumbledore, glancing at Sirius in the distance. "They're related to Regulus."

He took out the golden locket from his pocket.

"Professor, Remus," Weird suddenly spoke up. "I'd like to go back to school first. Is that alright?"

Lupin looked surprised. "Is something urgent?"

"No, it's not..." Weird hesitated and then looked at Dumbledore. "Perhaps we can have Fox bring Harry over?"

"

Would Sirius be heartbroken when he learned the truth about Regulus?

Weed guessed he would be.

This Gryffindor had intense and pure emotions; when he hated someone, he wished them dead, and when he cared for someone, he would go through fire and water for them.

But Weed didn't want to witness that scene.

He didn't want to see a man at his most vulnerable and helpless moment.

If there was anyone who could offer comfort, it would be Lupin or Harry.

However, Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, if Harry were here, he would force himself to be strong. But today, we should give him an environment... that allows him to be weak."

"I understand," Weed said.

Without seeing any movement from Dumbledore, the phoenix, Fawkes, suddenly appeared.

It perched on Weed's shoulder, and as it flapped its wings, a few more feathers drifted down.

Weed caught them in his hand and bid Lupin farewell. "Professor Dumbledore will explain things to you, Remus. If you need any help... don't hesitate to ask me."

"Okay, thanks," Lupin replied, sounding perplexed. He watched as Weed and Fawkes disappeared in the golden-red light.

...

In a flash of fire, Weed found himself back at school.

To be precise, he was in Dumbledore's office.

Fawkes landed sluggishly on its gilded perch, looking exhausted. It let out a suffocating sound, and its eyes were dull and lifeless.

Weed asked softly, "Are you about to undergo nirvana?"

Fawkes didn't reply.

It arched its neck, and suddenly, its entire body was engulfed in flames. With a piercing cry, it turned into ashes that fell to the ground with a soft rustling sound.

This cry seemed to startle the sleeping former headmasters, and the surrounding portraits began to stir.

A thin, elderly headmaster shouted, "Hey, student! How did you get in here? This is the Headmaster's office, and no one is allowed to enter without permission! You'd better scram right now!"

The surrounding former headmasters nodded in agreement.

"So, if I'm here, it's obviously because Professor Dumbledore allowed me to be here. Could there be any other reason?" Weed retorted.

Upon hearing this, the other headmaster portraits started mocking the thin headmaster, saying he had no brains.

It was evident that this particular headmaster was quite disliked.

Weed glanced at the name on his portrait—[Phineas Black].

The most unpopular headmaster in Hogwarts' history, Sirius and Regulus' great-great-grandfather.

He sat cross-legged next to the ashes, waiting for Fawkes' resurrection.

Phineas narrowed his long eyes and asked curiously, "Did Dumbledore say you're the most outstanding Ravenclaw student in nearly a century? What great achievements have you made?"

His tone was flippant and arrogant, and Weed raised an eyebrow, glancing at him sideways.

Immediately, Phineas' initially lazy expression changed, and he frowned with displeasure. "Why do I feel like you're pitying me?"

"How is that possible?" A female headmaster in a nearby portrait said, "Black, stop bothering the student!"

But Phineas actually walked into the adjacent portrait, pushing the old headmaster inside aside.

"Really!" The old man steadied his hat and grumbled.

Phineas walked into the portrait directly across from Weed, leaned on the frame, and asked, "Is your outing today... related to my good-for-nothing great-grandson?"

Weed replied in a deep voice, "No, it's about another relative of his."

"What?" Phineas was puzzled.

"Regulus Black," Weed said. "We found his body."

"Regulus?"

The flippant expression on Phineas' face vanished, and he fell silent. The surrounding portraits also became quiet.

They held their breath (if they had any) and remained silent.

The ashes stirred, and a wrinkled baby bird poked its head out.

A newly hatched chick, featherless and naturally far from beautiful, moved its scrawny wings, exploring the surrounding world from within the ashes.

Weed couldn't help but wonder: Does this phoenix have the memories of its previous life? Can it be considered the same phoenix as before?

"How should I take care of it?" he asked the former headmasters. "Does it need to eat something?"

After a while, one of the ancient portraits spoke up.

"Dumbledore knew that it would undergo nirvana soon, so he prepared in advance—see that green crystal bottle on the cabinet? Just feed it three drops of the potion inside."

Weed followed his instructions and found the crystal bottle—it was placed next to Fawkes' perch, quite noticeable.

He unscrewed the stopper and smelled a refreshing bamboo fragrance. After hesitating for a moment, he carefully fed the potion to the chick.

The baby bird, like all newborns, opened its mouth wide, seemingly with a bottomless pit for a stomach.

Weed only fed it three drops, and despite the chick's persistent cries, he put the bottle away.

Phineas watched him finish before slowly asking, "Regulus... how did he die?"

"He died because of the justice and faith in his heart." Weed said, "He rebelled against Voldemort, sacrificing his life to give people a chance to defeat him."

After a moment, Phineas let out a few unpleasant cold laughs.

"Sounds like he's not much of a Black after all... more like a foolish Gryffindor!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Phineas strode out of the portrait, leaving it blank.

Weed didn't stay long either.

He took out the box containing the crown from his bag—after deciding to invite Dumbledore to the cave, he had borrowed this crown from the Room of Requirement once again, and this time, Barnabas didn't stop him.

Weed placed the crown on an empty table and said to the portrait beside him, "This is for Professor Dumbledore. Please let him know when he returns."

"Yes." The portrait replied.

An old headmaster in another portrait grumbled, "Students these days... Ordering the Headmaster around!"

Weed didn't pay him any mind.

He opened the door and left the Headmaster's office.

By then, it was already evening, and the students who had gone to Hogsmeade Village were returning one after another.

Standing at a high point, Weed easily spotted two students hiding in a corner, sticking close together. The girl giggled, and the boy leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Those two were Michael and Padma.

Padma was shy, but Michael was as smooth as a seasoned player.

He hovered like a dragonfly, approaching, touching, then pulling back slightly, whispering something before drawing close again.

Their cheeks brushed, and they were in their own little world.

Weed couldn't help but smile, though he also thought these kids were growing up too fast.

In his heart, he still saw them as elementary school students, fitting for their age.

He knew that some people behind his back called him old-fashioned, but he didn't care.

As Weed walked down the spiral staircase, he thought about what had happened that day.

His candid conversation with Dumbledore... the Inferi... and the Black brothers.

And the phoenix's nirvana.

While the magical world's phoenixes weren't as powerful and omnipotent as the legendary ones, their tears could heal most injuries, even those inflicted by a Basilisk's fangs; their feathers also had various uses.

Weed planned to refine a few bottles of healing potions first, and the rest could be used for alchemy. Thanks to Fawkes' generosity, he now had more than enough feathers.

"Mr. Grey... Weed Grey..."

As Weed walked along the corridor back to the Room of Requirement, he suddenly heard a soft voice calling him.

He turned around and saw it was Mekky.

This was a house-elf who was good at cooking and also responsible for cleaning the Slytherin common room and dormitories.

"Mekky?" Weed walked over and squatted down. "What's the matter?"

"Weed Grey doesn't know yet, but something happened in the Slytherin House today, and Mekky wants to tell him."

Mekky clasped his palms together, as if ashamed of leaking information about his own House.

But since Weed was also a Hogwarts student, he was technically Mekky's master, so he didn't feel ashamed enough to bang his head against the wall as punishment.

"What do you want to tell me, Mekky?" Weed asked gently.

"In the evening, there aren't many Slytherin students around, as most of them went to Hogsmeade."

The elf looked up and said in a soft voice, "Two fat people suddenly attacked the others... Their magic isn't very good, and they accidentally conjured a cow, almost breaking their own ribs."

"A mispronounced Levitation Charm?" Weed frowned. "Isn't that a spell effect that only occurs very rarely by accident?"

Ever since Professor Flitwick mentioned that unfortunate, nearly cow-squashed wizard, there were always some rebellious young wizards who tried it in secret, but out of ten attempts, they might not produce that effect even once.

Even if they mispronounced the spell, their magical power wouldn't be enough to support such a huge spatial transfer.

The house-elf shook his head. "Mekky doesn't understand it either, but Mekky also discovered some strange phenomena..."

He suddenly stopped talking and looked around, as if worried that someone might be eavesdropping.

Then he leaned closer to Weed and whispered, "Someone has been secretly practicing dark magic... There's also an outside elf in his dormitory..."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end