Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

"Bati..." Having lost his body again, he struggled to condense into the form of a human face, "I want to give you a task."

"Your will, Master."

Batti, who was extremely weak, did not hesitate, and prostrated himself on the ground respectfully with his body on the verge of collapse.

"I have to find a few people first... There is no other choice now. You have to act alone and find those disgusting beasts for me and make a deal with them." Voldemort said softly, and then handed him the black onyx ring.

After a few words, he disappeared into the night sky with no other choice, temporarily parting with his subordinates.

Chapter 463 The Secret of the Horcrux

Friday, September 10st.

The killing on the Polish-Belarusian border did not attract anyone's attention, and no one even knew it had happened.

The British wizarding world and the entire European wizarding world seemed calm. The only hot topic was the Triwizard Tournament - the European media, especially the French media, still liked to use this term to describe the new competition.

In the morning, countless important figures gathered at Beauxbatons Castle to cheer for the headmaster, Madame Maxime, and many teachers and students who were about to go on a long journey.

As the jewel of French wizarding society, Beauxbatons is about to travel to Britain, across the ocean, to compete for the championship of honor.

This is a major event, the focus of the whole society.

Outside of the tournament, French media, even more so than the Daily Prophet, dug up a lot of "old news" in an attempt to create "new hot spots."

The focus of these rehashed activities is naturally inseparable from the team leader, Professor Euphemia Fox, who has already attracted the attention of countless people with her profound magical powers and cold temperament.

Of course, there are also the predecessors who have left. After all, everyone knows that they are the best partners in ancient magic research.

The French, who are keen on gossip and tidbits, will naturally not miss such an interesting "duel".

However, few reporters dared to approach this professor who looked like an icy iceberg. In comparison, the half-blooded Veela Miss Delacour might be a better choice.

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The outside world is in constant turmoil, and even Dumbledore cannot stay out of it, but in the mountains of Scotland, he can find a piece of pure land created by the Fidelius Charm.

A small house stands alone on the top of the hill. It is two stories high and its decoration is not luxurious but definitely elegant.

And this is just its external appearance. Once you walk into it, you will find that there is another world inside.

It was a secret base that Dumbledore carefully built for the Order of the Phoenix in the early years. Although it had been abandoned for many years, it was still well maintained and stored a large amount of supplies.

Throughout the 1980s, the wizarding community was in a state of disarray, but he and his supporters were still secretly making preparations, ready to guard against a possible resurgence of Voldemort at any time.

Today, this secret base has come into play, becoming a cage and a laboratory for Lynn and Grindelwald.

There was no need to consider humanity and morality when dealing with the extremely evil Bellatrix Lestrange. This was the consensus of the two wizards standing here, as well as Dumbledore who was preparing a welcoming ceremony hundreds of kilometers away.

Death is undoubtedly a relief for her. The fragmentation of the soul itself and the countless repeated attempts to peel it off are bound to be much more painful than simply dying.

This will also be her final value - to contribute everything to the destruction of Voldemort, her most respected and beloved master.

That would be a very ironic way to die.

By the way, all the disinfection and layout work of this temporary laboratory was done by one of Dumbledore's most trusted collaborators.

Also an old acquaintance of Voldemort.

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The soul is the most mysterious part of a person.

Magic involving the soul is often the most mysterious.

Sometimes they are quite evil, like the Unforgivable Curses.

To study the soul, this subtle existence that is both invisible and completely elusive, is to dance with evil.

That's what Lynn is doing.

The breath of dark magic swirled and echoed in the laboratory, conveying a silent wail - no one knew where it came from and where it was going.

Bellatrix lay quietly on the experimental table, as if dead. All the dirt and grime on her body had been washed away by the obsessive-compulsive Snape. She looked haggard and worn.

The face that survived the fire looked to be at least fifty years old. People who were familiar with black magic knew that this was the result of a serious overdraft of vitality and even the soul.

Many people might feel sympathy, but Lin En is definitely not one of them. He just feels that it is not enough.

His calm demeanor and methodical spellcasting gave Grindelwald, who was assisting him, a slight chill.

"...Why do I feel that, in some ways, you are more suitable for studying black magic than I am?" the old man said slowly.

Lin En said without even looking up: "Magic is divided into black and white, but knowledge is not, and I will never be merciful to my enemies."

"That's just my temper, but this research is not easy, otherwise Albus wouldn't have hidden himself in the back and let us take the lead for him."

"Of course I know his little calculations, but it doesn't matter. The biggest difference between the three of us is that there are some questions that you can't find the answers to, but I can."

Grindelwald raised his eyebrows. "I can't pretend I didn't hear that. Tell me why."

"There is no reason. You can understand that I have some innate ability similar to your prophecy."

Lin En stopped casting the spell and looked away, "It is an ability to find direction in the unknown."

The amber eyes are like a deep pool, the bottom of which can never be forgotten.

The rows of words and numbers that only he could see appeared before his eyes, sometimes still and sometimes jumping slightly.

“Finding direction in the unknown?”

"It's just like the experimental black magic you cast on the unicorn cub. The difference is that I can verify my guesses faster than you can. Give me the cup of water."

Grindelwald subconsciously took the cups filled with wakefulness and vitality potions from the table next to him and handed them to Lynn, one on the left and one on the right.

After taking a few bites, his relaxed brows slightly frowned.

"It tastes terrible."

After giving a pointed comment on his fat man's pharmaceutical technology, Lin En's complexion returned to normal.

"I have destroyed several Horcruxes. Although I was unable to touch their essence every time, I have always had an inference about souls and magic."

"It seems you have the answer. Tell me about it." Grindelwald looked at Bella, who was half dead. "I can't tell what kind of magic you just used on her."

"I don't think you have really looked into Harry's mental world. Dumbledore wouldn't allow that."

Lynn asked instead of answering, and Grindelwald nodded silently.

Although he had secretly protected Harry for a few days, he had never made such a test or investigation.

Dumbledore was one thing, but on the other hand, this kind of secretive behavior was not in line with his character.

Lynn didn't care. He pointed his magic wand at Bella, and the lush green light immediately enveloped her and roughly repaired her soul.

"The soul cannot be observed, but it can be felt, especially whether it is broken or not. The more broken it is, the more fragile it is. This has little to do with tolerance, but more like the number of flaws."

Grindelwald agreed, "I have a feeling about this. This woman's brain is almost defenseless. Although she is good at brain occlumency, her incomplete soul is not enough to support it. But I don't understand. Her soul should be intact."

"Her soul is not incomplete. What is incomplete are the fragments of Voldemort's soul. They are just embedded together." Lynn motioned for him to look down. "Voldemort is very good at soul magic, but his advantage is one-sided. He is only good at destruction."

Following Lynn's gaze, Grindelwald calmed down and placed his hand on Bella's forehead, sensing the healing and deeper secrets of the ancient magic.

Under the stimulation of the spiritual healing magic, both souls resisted instinctively, but to no avail, and only exposed each other's existence and differences.

One is weak but stable, the other is strong but fragile, just like two balls of fire, one big and one small, in the night sky.

One of them was shrouded in the aura of dark magic, a fluctuation that Grindelwald was most familiar with.

Because he had also used the magic that Lin En mentioned against the dead Qilin cub.

Chapter 464 Black Magic

"It uses the spiritual energy that erupts from the destructive process of death, disguised as a soul under the infection of black magic. It turns out that this is the reason why it can maintain its existence despite being broken..."

Several ideas flashed through the mind of the old wizard who had been studying black magic for nearly a hundred years - for a master of black magic like him, this idea was indeed very inspiring.

Just like he had inspired Lynn with his own understanding.

One starts from the perspective of black magic, the other starts from the perspective of the nature of the soul, and they eventually reach each other.

But he still had a question.

"How did you find this answer? Was it really a flash of inspiration?" Disbelief was clearly written on his face.

"I never believe in flashes of inspiration, Gellert." Lynn had expected this question and said softly, "My research philosophy is different from yours. I value things that can be firmly grasped - such as repeated hypotheses and arguments."

"This is a huge amount of work, and it is likely to be futile. Can you really keep your composure?"

“It may seem futile to you, but nothing is truly futile to me—proving a hypothesis wrong can also gain valuable knowledge and experience.”

Lynn looked at Bella with a smile, as if he was carefully examining an experimental material that could not be more precious, or a mountain of treasure.

The corners of Grindelwald's eyes twitched, and he looked him up and down as if he were a monster, and only let out a breath after a long while.

"You are really... different from normal people. At least Albus and I certainly can't do it."

"We all have our own strengths, which is normal. And it is far from enough to just find the essence of the Horcrux. I need your wisdom and experience in this area, which I don't have."

"…What else do you need me to do for you?"

Grindelwald seemed somewhat pleased, but he also felt that something sounded wrong. After a long while of trying to figure it out, he asked in a muffled voice.

"Help me analyze the way to crack this magic." Lynn said, "Break down the complex problem into several parts."

“Dismantle…?”

"If we want to destroy a Horcrux, then the easiest way is to cast a Killing Curse. After all, although Horcruxes made by humans have magical powers, they are not like those extremely strong and sturdy magic props."

Lynn took out the golden cup and gestured twice, "But since we want to save each other's lives, we need to destroy the Horcrux. I think we must first make Voldemort's soul fragment lose its basis for existence, then sever the connection between it and its host, and finally destroy it."

"So that's how it's broken down. Your three-step approach is theoretically feasible," Grindelwald said, "although there will be difficulties in each step during implementation."

"So I need you to give me some advice."

"I think you have a way to deal with the next two steps, just use Igor's mental healing magic. The first step is what really gives you a headache, right?" Grindelwald asked with a smile.

Lin En made no secret of his shortcomings: "You are much more knowledgeable than me in this area, so I need a practical countermeasure - how can I break the fusion relationship between the soul fragments and the black magic that imitates the soul?"

"This is indeed a difficult problem for you." Grindelwald straightened his neat silver hair, spoke in a leisurely tone, and moved his slender fingers gently. The faint magic power emanated from his fingertips without passing through a wand, and penetrated into Bellatrix's body.

Judging from his tone, this is not a difficult problem, or it is a typical case of "it's easy for those who know how to do it, but difficult for those who don't know how to do it."

It was a rare opportunity for Lin En to listen to his teachings. He said slowly, "You have studied and mastered the black magic very deeply, but you still cannot fully understand its connotations. It's not your fault, because you are still very young and have not put in too much effort."

He looked just like he did when he taught his followers seventy years ago, elegant and calm. He didn't look like he was studying black magic at all, but rather like he was teaching some kind of art to his students and juniors.

Lynn did not object, but instead seemed to enjoy it.

This made the old man, who had been competitive all his life, very proud.

He finally finished his preparations, still without taking out his wand, but instead gently pressed his more trusted hands on Bella's head - the dark magic completely covered her entire head, like a motorcycle rider's helmet.

This was a magic that Lin En couldn't quite understand, and it was a very advanced black magic with an eerie aura that made people feel cold all over.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Probe that..." Grindelwald thought for a moment, "What did you call him?"

"Old man without a nose?"

"Oh yeah, let's find out the bottom line of that noseless kid." The handsome old man showed a malicious smile, "I can't guarantee it, but I believe he is still not as good as me in these aspects. After all, that kid's black magic has gone astray."

“…Excuse me for being blunt, but since you’re all practicing black magic, why not talk about the so-called right path or wrong path?” Lin En didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

As soon as these words were spoken, Grindelwald immediately puffed out his beard and glared, completely losing sight of the mischievous smile he had just had.

"What are you talking about?" He glared at Lin En in dissatisfaction. "Black magic does have its evil side, but it is not just that. It can also bring many positive lessons. You are an alchemist, so you should be able to understand the positive significance of this kind of magic the best."

"That's not what you said two years ago. I still remember what you said to me in Nurmengard."

"At that time, I only said the first half of the sentence - Dark Magic is indeed a very tempting and dangerous type of magic, but that doesn't mean we can't remove the dross and retain the essence, and carry forward the precious parts." Grindelwald raised his chin slightly and said complacently, "You were not yet ready to understand and master these things, but now it's almost time."

"Okay, okay, I don't want to hear you preach these truths. Since you said Voldemort went astray, then explain it to me."

"This is not the attitude of asking for advice humbly... But never mind, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll tell you about it."

Clearing his throat, Grindelwald's hands did not slow down at all. Before he could finish a few words, his dark intent became even darker and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead - he did not appear so relaxed.

"The level of the noseless kid is very high. If we really fight, I may not be able to defeat him now. But he only pays attention to the effects of magic, especially the positive effects of fighting and prolonging life, but ignores the true meaning of these magics. This makes it easy for him to make basic mistakes."