Harry returns from Hogwarts Legacy

Chapter 402 Voldemort's Curse
Vivi's face darkened upon hearing Gellert's words.

What do you mean I'm not some white wizard?

“I’m clearly a harmless little witch!” Vivi retorted, her face darkening. “I’m so innocent and kind…”

"Hehehe..." Gellert laughed as if he had a toothache. "Innocent? Kind? Peaceful? I hope the mud monsters and fairies would agree with you... Good heavens, I don't know if you've ever heard this saying, sister? It's called 'The more a person lacks something, the more they like to flaunt it'..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gellert's mouth was sealed shut as if by a zipper.

“You need to shut up, my dear Gail,” Vivi said with a gentle smile. “If I hear another word of slander against me from your mouth, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Gellert immediately lowered his head. He had been thinking of putting up a little resistance, but Vivi's words completely extinguished his will to resist.

Only a fool would resist! Bastard!

Life is so wonderful, Gellert hasn't had enough of it yet.

“Harry!” Vivi suddenly called on Harry’s name. “Do you think Gellert has a point?”

“I think he’s talking nonsense!” Harry stated his position without hesitation. “In my heart, you will always be that gentle, lovely, and kind little witch who doesn’t fight with the world.”

Cassandra rolled her eyes and gagged.

But Vivi chose to automatically filter out her movements.

“That’s my good boy.” Vivi gently patted Harry’s head, just like she would pat her son.

Is this right?
Harry felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

“Oh, right,” Harry said again, “this time I’ve discovered a secret—a secret about Voldemort and Lanlock.”

"Oh?" Vivi asked with interest, "How did you know? Did Riddle tell you on his own initiative?"

“No, I used Legilimency,” Harry said with a smile. “He got three things from Hepzba Smith: Hufflepuff’s cup, Slytherin’s pendant, and a fragment of Lanlock’s Horcrux.”

“A fragment of a Soul Weapon?” Vivi frowned. “Lanlock also made a Soul Weapon?”

“It was probably just an accident. After he died, a part of his soul attached itself to a crystal shard,” Harry shrugged. “I think this resurrection of Lanlock was something Voldemort did using Horcruxes.”

Dumbledore, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"You mean, Tom got two of the Four Greats' relics from Hepzibah Smith, and a fragment of Lanlock, right?"

“Yes,” Harry nodded.

Dumbledore sighed.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Harry asked with concern.

“Nothing,” Dumbledore said, shaking his head. “I was just thinking about something—the Ministry of Magic has always believed that Hepzba Smith’s death was caused by her house-elf’s carelessness—based on the investigation of the house-elf Hodge, it was concluded that Hodge accidentally put poison in her mistress’s evening cocoa tea, which led to Hepzba Smith’s death…”

"Haoqi admitted it?" Harry asked, frowning.

Dumbledore nodded, a glint of light flashing in his crescent-shaped glasses.

"She only remembered putting something in the hostess's cocoa tea, but it turned out to be not sugar, but a rare and deadly poison... However, the verdict said that she did not commit premeditated murder, but was due to her failing eyesight."

“It seems…” Harry thought of what he saw in Morfin’s memories when the Riddles died, “This has something in common with the Riddles’ deaths—the scapegoats all have a clear memory of the murders, which must be because Tom altered the memories…that inherently evil Riddle brat!”

“He is indeed very evil.” Dumbledore nodded, agreeing with Harry’s words.

“Now that we know how Lanlock was resurrected, what should we do next?” Cassandra asked. “We killed him once a hundred years ago, and I don’t mind doing it a second time.”

“If the Magical Congress of the United States doesn’t give in, we won’t be able to enter the United States,” Vivi said with deep regret. “No matter who this Lanlock is.”

But when Vivi said those words, Harry could clearly see a hint of schadenfreude flashing in her eyes.

This woman... isn't actually very magnanimous, but she holds grudges very much.

Moreover, it is the Magical Congress of the United States that is courting disaster. They have angered Vivi first, and they are not allowing the Grindelwald family, or anyone related to them, to enter the United States.

Think about it, there are only a handful of powerful wizards in the world.

Of the wizards who were able to defeat Voldemort, Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald were closer than brothers, Harry Potter was Vivi's old flame, and Vivi... well, Vivi himself was surnamed Grindelwald.

Now that this ban has been issued, it has to be said that the Americans have truly shot themselves in the foot.

They don't deserve any sympathy, really.

“However, we must always take precautions,” Vivi said again. “We cannot sit idly by. Although the Magical Congress of the United States does not allow us to enter its territory, we need to take some precautions against Lanlock and Riddle… I will have a protective and surveillance network set up across the European continent. As soon as they enter European territory, we can lock onto and strike them.”

“What about America?” Harry asked.

"Hahahaha..." Vivi laughed and pinched Harry's little face. "You're so cute."

Fine……

Since the US has brought this upon itself, Harry feels there's really no need to save them.

"By the way," Dumbledore suddenly said, "since you were able to remove the curse from Miss Saru, then... could you remove the curse from the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts?"

“Sure,” Harry shrugged. “But I’m curious why Riddle cursed the position. Was it simply because you rejected his application?”

"The matter is rather complicated."

Dumbledore sighed and said to Harry, "If you want to know, I can give you the memories so you can see for yourself."

"Need not."

Harry walked to the cup containing Voldemort's Soul Orb, picked up his wand, and violently tore a strand of silver thread from the orb, placing it in the Pensieve.

“…Alright.” Dumbledore clicked his tongue, unsure whether this was the right or wrong thing to do.

Then Harry went over and put his face into the Pensieve.

Alongside him were Cassandra and Vivi, both equally curious about the matter. What exactly drove Voldemort to curse this position?
Harry spun around and landed in the headmaster's office. When he opened his eyes, he found his two girlfriends standing next to him.

"Why are you all here too?" Harry asked curiously.

“Curious.” Cassandra remained concise and aloof.

Harry surveyed the Headmaster's office. Fawkes was fast asleep on the perch, and Dumbledore sat behind the desk, looking much like the Dumbledore from the memories, perhaps with slightly fewer wrinkles. Snow was falling outside the office; pale blue snowflakes drifted past the window in the darkness, accumulating on the windowsill.

The younger Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for something, and sure enough, a knock came at the door a moment later.

“Come in,” he said.

Voldemort entered, his face strange and distorted, completely different from the ghost Riddle Harry had seen—his eyes weren't as red, but his face was no longer as handsome. His face seemed burned, his features blurred, like wax, and strangely twisted.

His eyes now seemed permanently bloodshot, but not too distorted. He wore a long black cloak, and his face was as white as the snowflakes on his shoulders.

“So ugly,” Cassandra said with disgust. “How could he have become so… repulsive?”

"This is the price of power, isn't it?" Harry glanced at Voldemort's bald, egg-shaped head. "I've gone bald, and I've become stronger?"

"Ha." Cassandra curled her lip in disdain. "I haven't seen either of you, or Grindelwald, become so ugly—"

“If I had to choose, I would rather live an ordinary life than become so ugly,” Vivi said firmly.

For girls, beauty seems to be more precious.

But Harry felt that Vivi was being hypocritical. If given a choice at the age of twelve, Harry guessed that Vivi might choose to pursue power and never turn back down that path.

After all, only those who have truly experienced it can understand how precious power really is.

Cassandra seemed to think the same way Harry did; she also believed that Vivi wouldn't be the kind of person who would choose beauty over power.

Dumbledore, behind the table, showed no surprise; this visit was clearly pre-arranged.

“Good evening, Tom,” Dumbledore said casually.

"Thank you." Voldemort sat down in the chair Dumbledore pointed to.

“I heard you became the principal,” his voice was higher and colder than in his spirit form, “a respectable choice.”

“I’m glad you agree,” Dumbledore smiled. “May I buy you a drink?”

“Thank you very much,” Voldemort said. “I’ve traveled a long way.”

Dumbledore stood up and strode to the cabinet where the Pensieve was now kept, but it was now filled with bottles of wine.

He handed Voldemort a glass of wine, poured one for himself, and then returned to his desk.

"So, Tom... what brought you here?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Voldemort did not answer immediately; he simply sipped his wine, and after a while, he finally spoke.

They no longer call me 'Tom'; now I'm called—

“I know what you are called,” Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile, “but to me, you will probably always be Tom Riddle. That’s probably one of the annoying things about being a teacher; they never completely forget what their students were like at the beginning.”

Harry could notice that Voldemort's eyes clearly showed displeasure after hearing Dumbledore's words.

It's not surprising, considering Voldemort's arrogance and his hatred of his Muggle heritage. Of course, he also loathed his Muggle father's name and surname.

He desperately wanted people to forget this name, which he considered utterly "shameful," and instead call him by another name.

This is also why Voldemort quickly changed his name after gaining power—he didn't want others to know that he had Muggle blood.

After speaking, Dumbledore raised his glass as if to toast Voldemort.

Voldemort remained expressionless.

"Did you see that?" Vivi said softly. "Dumbledore's refusal to use the title chosen by Voldemort is a way of refusing to let Voldemort dominate the conversation."

That's true, otherwise Voldemort wouldn't have been so unhappy.

“I also think this is a clash between the two,” Cassandra said softly. “Perhaps… this is one of the reasons why Voldemort came to Hogwarts?”

“Probably not,” Harry said. “Or rather, more than that. I remember seeing in Voldemort’s memories that when he returned to Hogwarts, he also put the Ravenclaw tiara, which had already been made into a Horcrux, into the Room of Requirement—”

As soon as she finished speaking, Vivi stomped her foot heavily.

"No wonder, no wonder I smelled the Horcruxes in the Room of Requirement!" she said angrily. "It was Voldemort who was behind it all... Good for him!"

It's clear that Vivi is genuinely angry—after all, the Room of Requirement was originally the meeting room of the first Order of the Phoenix.

It's also the place where Vivi and Harry left behind countless sweet memories.

So he was corrupted by Voldemort's Horcruxes?

Simply unforgivable!
Cassandra subtly moved to the side, slowly shifting from Vivi's side to the other side, separated by Harry.

"Calm down, Vivi," Harry said, touching Vivi's conscience.

While Vivi was still furious, Voldemort and Dumbledore's conversation resumed.

“I’m surprised you’ve been here so long,” Voldemort said after a pause. “I’ve always wondered why a wizard like you never wants to leave the school.”

“Oh,” said Dumbledore, still smiling, “for a wizard like me, nothing is more important than passing on ancient skills and training young minds. If I remember correctly, you have also seen the appeal of the teaching profession.”

“I can still see it now,” Voldemort said. “I’m just wondering why you—the one who’s frequently consulted by the Ministry of Magic and seems to have been nominated for Minister of Magic twice—”

“Actually, it’s happened three times, but a career in the Ministry of Magic has never appealed to me. That’s where we have in common, I think,” Dumbledore corrected.

(End of this chapter)