Chapter 597: Unveiling the Truth
Chapter 597: Unveiling the Truth
The atmosphere in the graveyard was eerie and terrifying. The faint lights from the distant town of Little Hangleton, instead of adding a touch of life, seemed to flicker like ghostly flames, providing a backdrop for Voldemort and Bellatrix's conversation, a common element in horror stories.
Voldemort wore a loose black robe, his exposed skin pale in the moonlight. He spoke in a soft, hushed tone, while Bellatrix’s head bowed lower and lower, though her eyes glowed brightly in the desolate graveyard.
“Yes, my lord—I have been waiting for this moment,” Bellatrix said, her voice filled with flattery. “They will never see it coming!”
Tonight was bound to be a restless night.
“Dumbledore, there is something wrong with your body,” Felix said solemnly. His eyes, devoid of pupils and a ghostly gray, scrutinized the old man sitting behind the Long-legged Desk without any pretense.
Dumbledore smiled, lowering his head to gaze at the peculiar silver instruments in front of him.
Felix suspected these instruments were crafted by Dumbledore himself, much like the Deluminator he had demonstrated before. He believed their functions were far more than just emitting puffs of smoke. The two men remained silent for a while. Then, Dumbledore removed the glove from his right hand, examined it carefully, and placed the withered, charred hand into the smoke. The blackness on his palm began to lose its purity, like old, peeling paint, gradually fading.
After about ten minutes, the hand in the smoke stopped changing, but it did not return to its original state. Upon closer inspection, one could see tiny, dark, and stubbornly twisted marks entangled in the palm lines.
“That Horcrux—the Gaunt Ring,” Dumbledore said softly. “It was imbued with a particularly powerful curse, hidden and potent. Moreover—perhaps even Voldemort himself did not realize it, but the material of the ring has a significant allure for me. It was a lucky mistake on his part, but in the end, it overwhelmed me—”
“Perhaps it was fate. I was carrying the Christmas gift you gave me during that time,” he smiled again, praising it. “The design is extremely clever, irresistibly intriguing to study…”
“It’s just a detector,” Felix said with a shrug.
“It is more magical than any detector I have ever seen,” Dumbledore corrected him. “It does not detect external dangers but examines internal anomalies. I must emphasize again, the design is ingenious.”
He continued, “After I brought the ring back, I spent some time studying the curse and managed to extract part of it.” Dumbledore showed Felix his hand, as if boasting about his achievement.
“So your research resulted in you re-infecting yourself with the curse?” Felix asked incredulously.
Dumbledore smiled. “Oh, despite my frequent criticisms of Voldemort’s ignorance, it is because he focuses all his efforts on the wrong path. I have often wondered, if he had taken the right path, would these tragedies have occurred?”
“Felix, when facing him, we must not entertain unrealistic fantasies, especially regarding his areas of expertise. It is not easy to deceive him, and this is a necessary sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice…” Felix repeated.
“Yes, so you should understand why I did not tell you the location of the duel. Voldemort holds the initiative; he can leave at any moment and open a new battlefield elsewhere, putting us at a disadvantage.”
A moment of silence followed.
“Is that all?” Felix asked.
He pointed to his eyes. “If the curse is a necessary sacrifice, I can understand that. I believe you can contain it. But I’m talking about something else—your soul, to me, seems like a flickering torch, whole but abnormally pulsating. Or has the curse affected your soul? That’s impossible. If Voldemort had that power, he would have hidden away to mend his crumbling, ugly soul long ago… Do you know what I’m thinking, Dumbledore? You seem to be planning something terrible. I even doubt if you can defeat Voldemort now. This isn’t what we initially agreed upon!”
He raised his voice involuntarily, and the portraits on the walls opened their eyes. Phineas Black spoke in a sarcastic tone, “How rude! In my time, such behavior would never have occurred. I have a particular fondness for order—”
Felix waved his hand, and Phineas’s mouth was sealed shut, causing him to mumble in frustration.
“No, Felix,” Dumbledore said. “We have always been on the right path. I have not considered any alternatives. I am merely addressing potential flaws in our plan. I have full confidence in this duel. Don’t forget, I told you I have a technique to temporarily enhance my power.”
Felix frowned.
“Since you mentioned it,” he said, adopting a casual tone, “that technique… I can’t figure out how it works. It seems less about boosting power and more about restoration, or tracing back… You already possess this power, but not now, rather at the peak of your life…”
As he spoke, Felix himself was surprised.
Since becoming a magical creature, his strength had been growing continuously, not in one specific area but in all aspects. Of course, the most fundamental change was in Magic, but it was more than just Magic. The strength and control of spells he rarely used had also improved.
He had once proposed a hypothesis in the Rune Club, “Studying magic is actually a process of rediscovering one’s innate casting abilities.” His personal experiences seemed to confirm this.
“Is it Transfiguration? Blood magic? Dark magic? Or—something related to time?”
“Why do you say that?”
Dumbledore folded his hands, supporting his chin, and looked at Felix with interest.
“You mentioned time. Many clues suggest you are no stranger to the Time-Turner. Of course, all Time-Turners were handled by you, then given to Minerva, who in turn passed them to her best students… You had ample opportunity to study the Time-Turner. Perhaps even…”
Felix paused, his eyes narrowing. He suddenly thought of a question worth pondering: Had Dumbledore ever visited the Department of Mysteries? This was impossible to verify, as even if he had, Dumbledore would not have been as blatant as Felix in stealing most of the time energy.
Perhaps a better question would be: Does Dumbledore have an interest in time magic?
Of course, who could resist the allure of time? Felix himself couldn’t, even without the ‘Madam Jane’ incident, he would have found his own opportunity to study it. He hadn’t forgotten the task he had given to Mundungus.
However, after inheriting Nearly Headless Nick’s notes, he no longer held out hope for Mundungus’s lucky breaks.
For wizards like Felix and Dumbledore, as long as they had sufficient preparation time, there was no impenetrable stronghold in the world. Voldemort was no exception, which was why Madam Bones had not reclaimed that portion of time energy.
Even Grindelwald was the same, though he was now imprisoned in Nurmengard.
Dumbledore did not answer the question, nor did he address the previous one. He simply sighed sentimentally, “Time, time, how many have yearned for your favor throughout the ages?”
He waved his hand, allowing Phineas’s sealed mouth to open again. As soon as the restriction was lifted, Phineas began to curse. Felix raised an eyebrow threateningly, and the wizard immediately hid behind a green flag in the portrait.
“Damn, evil, portrait-abusing Slytherin brat, I am your Headmaster!”
“Oh,” Felix responded expressionlessly.
“Hmph! I’ll go find my great-grandson—”
“Hmm—Headmaster Black? Have I mentioned that I personally captured Sirius Black at the Black Family Manor, while he was still a fugitive…” Felix reminded the ancestor of the Black Family.
Phineas, hiding behind the green flag, let out a strange cry. “He will have children! The Black bloodline is noble and pure, not like yours!” He said smugly, “I’ve heard that he and the Minister—yes, yes—will have a child with exceptional talent.”
“Just wait, little jerk!”
(End of Chapter)
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