Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 379 All of Voldemort's Horcruxes

In fact, the lucky rabbit's feet do have some effect, since the psychological effect can also be considered an effect.

At least Hermione felt less panicked.

They thanked Hagrid again for his help and took Rabbit's Foot back to the Great Hall to prepare for dinner.

Lunch was still eaten together with the other academic years—and during lunchtime, the four college tables reappeared.

Most students had little appetite; although their hands were busy grabbing food to eat, their minds were already wandering far away.

Neville, in particular, dipped bread in jam and then shoved it into his face, painting a red pattern on his chubby cheeks, which looked absolutely hilarious.

“You really should look in the mirror, my God,” Seamus said, shaking his head. “You are handsome, but not much like a wizard. You look more like… well, more like your Rafe.”

Neville glanced at Seamo but didn't reply.

That's not a nice thing to say, like a toad... ugh.

After lunch, it was time for the practical exam.

Harry stood up, intending to join the others to see what was going on—although he didn't need to take the exam, he still needed some entertainment.

So he followed the group of classmates, intending to go there to observe in person.

The students taking the exam lined up and entered a small room next to the auditorium, waiting to be called to take the practical exam.

Small groups of students entered the examination room in alphabetical order. Those who stayed behind were still muttering incantations and practicing the movements of waving their canes, sometimes accidentally poking someone's back or eye.

Hermione's name was called, and she trembled as she left with Anthony Goldstein, Gregory, Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass.

The students who had already taken the exams did not return, so no one knows how Hermione did.

Harry searched for a long time before finally finding Hermione sitting outside the foyer.

“Hi,” Harry said, sitting across from her, “how did your exams go?”

“That’s good,” Hermione nodded. “At least that’s how I feel—practical courses are much easier to know the results of than written exams, and at least those professors looked quite satisfied—that’s what I think.”

“That means you did pretty well,” Harry said with a chuckle. “Ron even said you must have done well on the test; you once got a full 120 on a Charms test!”

Just then, Ron walked over happily.

"That's great, it feels really good to be done with the exams," Ron said with a grin. "At least we don't have to review Charms anymore, it's so much easier with one less subject..."

"So you think you can get an 'O'?" Hermione asked.

“I don’t know,” Ron said, shrugging. “The decision on grades isn’t up to me, it’s up to the professors.”

When they returned home that evening, no one relaxed—after a hurried dinner, they immediately went back to the common room to prepare for the Transfiguration exam the next day.

On the third day, there was an exam in herbalism, followed by a Defense Against the Dark Arts class on Thursday.

Friday's exam was a written test in ancient runes. Ron hadn't registered for the course, so he didn't need to take the exam.

Harry only studied for the exam for one day and then didn't go back. Rather than watching the excitement outside, he preferred to go back to his dorm and study.

On Friday afternoon, while Harry was lying in his dormitory sleeping, Ron suddenly returned to the dormitory.

“Hey Ron.” Harry rolled over.

“Professor Dumbledore asked me to pass on a message to you,” Ron said. “He’ll be waiting for you in the Headmaster’s office. The password for the Headmaster’s office is ‘Sizzling Honey.’ He advises you not to frighten that poor gargoyle—what’s that? I’ve never understood.”

“It’s the statue that squats outside the headmaster’s office,” Harry replied casually. “I remember you’ve been to the headmaster’s office, haven’t you?”

“Oh, I see.” Ron remembered what the statue outside the headmaster’s office looked like. “Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time. Professor Dumbledore seems to be in a bit of a hurry.”

Harry nodded, got out of bed, and left the dormitory.

In the headmaster's office, besides Dumbledore, there was the newly appointed Minister of Magic, Sirius Black, as well as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Lupin and Potions Professor Snape.

Upon seeing Harry, Sirius went over and gave him a big hug.

It has to be said that power is indeed the best tonic for men, and Sirius looks absolutely fantastic now.

Not only is her complexion rosy, but she also looks exceptionally healthy.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked curiously.

Snape smirked, his tone cold and greasy, "That's a question for the Headmaster. Why have we all been summoned to his office? As far as I know, Professor Lupin needs to review the OWLs' exam papers..."

“Oh, please allow me to interrupt you, Severus.” Lupin had to raise his hand to stop Snape. “We are just professors at Hogwarts, and we are not qualified to review OWLs’ exam papers.”

“Oh,” Snape said slowly, “I thought Professor Lupin was fully qualified to review the OWLs exam papers.”

Lupin: ...

I get it, you just want to be sarcastic, right?
However, to everyone's surprise, Sirius Black, who was standing next to him, didn't say a word.

Given Sirius's personality, he should have stood up and confronted Snape long ago. Why is he standing there doing nothing?
Snape was clearly surprised as well. He squinted at Sirius, his expression uncertain.

Who possessed this black dog?

Could it be some kind of ghost?

Sirius Black, however, laughed. He sat there, calmly saying, "Don't look at me like that, Professor Snape. I know what you're thinking—you're just wondering why I haven't insulted you...right?"

Professor Snape snorted but didn't speak. "I am now Minister for Magic, Mr. Snape," Sirius said with a smile. "As Minister, I certainly won't insult a professor or any wizard casually—of course, if it were just an ordinary wizard like Sirius Black, he would be happy to give you a taste of his verbal daggers."

"Ha." Snape sneered. "Black dog."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Alright," Dumbledore interrupted them, "I didn't call you here to argue, but rather—about Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" the three asked in unison.

“Yes, Voldemort.” Dumbledore rubbed his forehead and then said, “Voldemort’s last Horcrux is with me, and I just happen to remember why it feels so familiar to me…”

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

No one else had seen Voldemort's last Horcrux, but Harry had.

“It wasn’t me who remembered, but Aberforth,” Dumbledore said with a sigh. “This snake is indeed someone I knew… In fact, she wasn’t a snake in the strict sense, but a blood cursed orc.”

"Blood Curse Orcs?" Lupin asked, frowning.

Harry, Sirius, and Snape, on the other hand, all looked thoughtful.

Sirius, as a pure-blood wizard, had heard his family's legends about the Blood Cursed Beastmen; and Snape, as a Potions Master, must also know of their existence—as for Harry, he had seen them a hundred years ago.

“It’s a curse, a blood curse.” Dumbledore sighed. “A blood curse is a special kind of curse. It doesn’t kill the target directly, but it exists in the blood and is passed on to the next generation. Blood cursed orcs are one type of people who carry a blood curse. They will eventually turn into animals forever… Unfortunately, Nagini is one of them. She is a blood cursed orc.”

Everyone keenly noticed the change in Dumbledore's personal pronouns—it was no longer "it" or "he," but "she."

As Dumbledore continued, he added, "It is believed that if someone is afflicted by the Blood Curse and ultimately turns into a snake, the cursed person will have no memory of being human, but will be completely corrupted into a snake."

"So that's why she doesn't remember you?" Harry asked tentatively. "I remember you speaking Parsley, Professor, but when you were talking to Nagini, she didn't remember you at all..."

“Yes,” Dumbledore said, rubbing his head. “Although destroying the Horcrux could directly remove Voldemort’s soul fragments, I would still prefer to save Nagini’s life if possible.”

"Don't tell me you're playing the mercy card now, Dumbledore." Professor Snape coldly curled his lip. "You should know that we should eliminate any power of the Dark Lord at all costs. And this Horcrux you mentioned—this blood cursed orc—has lost all its memories as a human. It's no different from a snake now. It's not your old friend. Wake up, Dumbledore!"

“I had no choice,” Dumbledore sighed. “She is the daughter-in-law of my brother Aberforth Dumbledore, and the wife of my nephew Aurelius Dumbledore!”

Everyone present was shocked upon hearing this news.

Holy crap, there's such a secret behind it?

Even Lupin and Sirius, members of the Order of the Phoenix, had never heard of such news, let alone Snape.

And Harry?
Please, Harry wasn't even that familiar with Dumbledore to begin with...

"Then what do you think we should do?" Snape asked slowly. "Don't tell me you're going to keep this snake until Voldemort remembers it and rushes to Hogwarts to take it away?"

"Do you think Voldemort would dare to come?" Harry turned to Snape and asked.

Snape choked.

Alright, with Potter here, unless Voldemort is an idiot, he absolutely will not break into Hogwarts.

"Before she was completely transformed into a snake, Nagini was a shy, gentle, quiet, and kind woman," Dumbledore said again. "So I hope everyone can help her break free from Voldemort's control."

“You’re putting us in a difficult position, Professor,” Sirius said helplessly. “As everyone knows, the curse of the Blood Cursed Orcs is irreversible. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t do it…”

“I don’t want you to help me reverse the curse of the blood-cursed orcs,” Dumbledore said. “I just want you to work with me to find a way to remove the fragment of Voldemort’s soul from Nagini.”

“Oh, that?” Sirius said. “Then you’ve come to the wrong person—I only know how to destroy Voldemort’s soul fragments along with the snake, not how to help the snake get rid of Voldemort’s soul fragments.”

“You’ve given us a difficult problem.” Snape, unusually, didn’t argue with Sirius, but instead stared directly at Dumbledore.

“Wait a minute,” Harry suddenly said. “It just occurred to me, have we gone off-topic? Didn’t Professor Dumbledore say he had news about Voldemort? How did the conversation turn to Nagini?”

“This is precisely the essential element,” Dumbledore said. “Nagini is currently controlled by a fragment of Voldemort’s soul. Only by removing the fragment can she reveal Voldemort’s movements to us…”

"Besides this?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore said nothing.

He stood up, walked to the cabinet, and instead of reaching for the Pensieve, opened the drawer next to it.

He took out a bunch of things from the drawer: a glittering gold cup, a silver crown, a green pendant, and a ring.

Sirius remembered that this ring was the key factor that led to Fudge's connection to Voldemort and ultimately resulted in Voldemort's removal from his position as Minister of Magic.

It must be said that Percy was quite clever.

"These are all of Voldemort's Horcruxes so far, plus Nagini, making a total of five," Dumbledore said. "Besides these five, there are two more Horcruxes—Tom Riddle's diary and Harry himself."

"Potter is a Horcrux?" Snape looked at Dumbledore inquiringly. "You haven't told me this, Dumbledore."

"After I learned of it, Harry had already destroyed Voldemort's soul fragment," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So theoretically, two of Voldemort's seven Horcruxes have been removed..."

"Wait a minute," Sirius suddenly asked, "How are you so certain that Voldemort only had seven Horcruxes, and not seventy?"

“First, he couldn’t cut the soul into such pieces,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “Second, seven is a magical number, as I’ve told you before.”

"So what about these things?" Sirius asked. "What do you plan to do with them? I know these things have historical value, but this involves Voldemort's Horcruxes, so some sacrifices are inevitable..."

“That’s where Harry comes in.” Dumbledore looked intently at Harry. “I have a somewhat immature idea that might be worth a try.”

(End of this chapter)