Horcrux

A few weeks later, Harry was summoned again to the headmaster's office. Upon entering, Harry saw that the Pensieve was already out. The headmaster was going to show him more memories. After declining the usual lemon drop that Dumbledore offered at every meeting, he asked to get straight to the point.

The director seemed to comply reluctantly. He didn't seem eager to address the reason for his visit. This slightly worried Harry. Had Snape finally talked to him about (..). One minute. Harry raised his occlumency shields to the maximum and glared at the director.

You are trying to read my mind.

Good. Your shields have reached a sufficient level. I congratulate you. To be honest, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to work with Professor Snape.

It's more him who has trouble working with me.

Dumbledore smiled.

He made almost the same remark to me last night when I asked you about your level in Occlumency. Afterwards, he nevertheless said what most resembles a compliment since he has been a professor at Hogwarts. Few students can boast of such an achievement.

Then he became darker before continuing

To be honest, I was hoping that my little test would reveal that your progress was not as rapid as Professor Snape's reaction suggested. Now I have no excuses to delay this session. It's time for me to start explaining certain things to you. Starting with what really happened the day Voldemort attacked your parents.

He invited Harry to approach the stone basin.

I had a lot of trouble obtaining the memory I am going to show you. And whatever happens, you must not speak to anyone about what you will learn tonight. If Voldemort gets wind of what I know, it will become considerably more difficult to defeat him.

I understand, Professor. I promise not to tell anyone. Not even my parents.

Good. The memory you are going to see is not mine but that of Professor Slughorn. He was the head of Slytherin House when Tom was a student at Hogwarts. Tom was close to him. After your interview last year with my predecessor, you must suspect that he took care to charm all the school staff except me.

At the mention of his nocturnal escapade from last year, Harry lowered his eyes, but Dumbledore gave him an indulgent smile and continued.

However, he had done everything to create a special bond with Slughorn. Everyone saw it as the endearing behavior of an unfortunate orphan searching for a father figure. Even I began to doubt. Until a meeting of the Slug Club took place - It's a club where he gathered the most promising students of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, all the members of this year's Slug Club would become future Death Eaters. But that's another matter.After this meeting, Slughorn's behavior towards Riddle changed completely. He had become suspicious and now refused to spend more time than necessary in his company. So I did everything to find out what had happened, but it was only after convincing him that Voldemort had crossed the veil that he agreed to provide me with this memory:

Harry returned with Dumbledore into the Pensieve and saw Slughorn agree to explain to Tom Riddle what a Horcrux was, who in turn asked him what would happen if he split his soul into seven pieces.

Harry came out of the Pensieve horrified.

He created six Horcruxes? He asked, nauseated at the mere idea of creating just one.

Almost. I think he only had time to create five.

So that means that as long as we haven't found and destroyed them, he can come back?

Yes. That's correct.

But we'll never get there. It could be anything. We can't test every can of food or every stone in the country. And that's assuming he hid them all in the United Kingdom.

Harry automatically started to stroke Scabbers, who had poked his head out of his pocket to calm down. In vain.

There, on the other hand, you will be happy to learn that you are wrong. To begin with, you have already managed to destroy one.

Harry was so angry that he had trouble thinking. But after 5 minutes, he understood what the old man was getting at.

Obviously. The diary was a Horcrux. But there are still four left and it could be anything.

Remember the last memory I showed you and your too numerous meetings with Voldemort. Do you really think he would have hidden his soul in just any object? That would be forgetting his high self-esteem, his constant quest for greatness, and his obsession with collecting trophies. Voldemort will have used objects that hold particular significance to him. Objects associated with power and prestige. And thanks to the memory I am now going to show you and the deep attachment he showed to Hogwarts throughout his life, I have a good idea of the nature of these objects.

He then showed Harry the interview between Tom Riddle and Hepzibah Smith. He came out of this memory much calmer.

Just after this interview, Hepzibah Smith was found poisoned. Her house-elf was found guilty of manslaughter. Because of her old age, she supposedly confused sugar with a deadly poison. But the heirs had the unpleasant surprise of finding that the locket and the cup had disappeared. However, they concluded that Hepzibah Smith had hidden it too well. Tom, for his part, left the country that very evening and did not return until years later under the alias of Voldemort.

Do you think he turned the necklace and the cup into Horcruxes?

Yes. And I think it reasonable to assume that he set out in search of an object belonging to Ravenclaw and another belonging to Gryffindor. I think he would not have resisted the symbolic power of such a collection. However, the founders' objects are not numerous. The only object associated with Rowena Ravenclaw is her diadem, which according to legend was lost in Albania. And that is precisely the country he first went to. However, I do not know if he succeeded in finding it. But knowing him, I think he would have continued the search until satisfied. If he had not achieved his goal, he would never have returned to the United Kingdom.

And the object of Gryffindor?

Dumbledore darkened

For historians, there is no object related to Gryffindor. However, according to legend, there is one: the Sword of Gryffindor. Nevertheless, this oneWill only appear to a Gryffindor who shows exceptional bravery in a desperate situation. But as you pointed out to me last year, Voldemort did not attack your parents at just any time. He attacked them on a date suitable for a particularly complex dark magic ritual. But there is something else you do not know.

It darkened even more.

Your parents knew that Voldemort was after them. They had decided to hide. So they used a spell called the Fidelius Charm. It's a spell of great complexity. It involves a magical process intended to hide a secret within the heart of a single being. The information is concealed within the chosen person, called the Secret Keeper. The secret then becomes impossible to discover, unless of course the Keeper decides to reveal it. Thus, as long as the Secret Keeper refused to speak, Voldemort could search the village where James and Lily Potter had lived for years, but it was impossible for him to find them, even if he pressed his nose against their living room window!

However, the guardian they had chosen was actually a traitor who had been working for Voldemort for several years. He immediately betrayed them to Voldemort. Yet, he only attacked them several months later. In the meantime, he engaged in a true massacre of Gryffindors. He tried by all means to locate Gryffindors known for their combat skills and forced them to accept duels at one against ten. In his murderous madness, he even targeted Gryffindors who had joined him and served him faithfully.

Until the death of your friend Ginny Weasley's uncles: Fabian and Gideon Prewett. It is said that they resisted with a heroism that impressed even the Death Eaters. And after that, the hunt for Gryffindors ceased. Of course, the killings continued, but the Gryffindors were no longer the only targets. Nevertheless, this short period of the war was so significant that it is now considered that the Gryffindors were Voldemort's main enemies. To the point of forgetting those who had joined him. And the many orphans from that period inadvertently contributed to maintaining this legend.

So you think he obtained the Sword of Gryffindor and tried to sacrifice me in a dark magic ritual to turn it into a Horcrux.

Given the elements at my disposal, it is very likely. It was not a simple Avada Kedavra that clashed with the protection from your mother's sacrifice and love, but a much darker magic. A magic composed of the exact opposite: pure hatred and indifference. The confrontation between these diametrically opposed magics caused a violent explosion of magical energy that destroyed the house and Voldemort's body. But his Horcruxes will prevent him from dying until a failed resurrection ritual causes his soul to disappear to the other side of the veil.

In that case, you must have found the sword in the rubble?

Unfortunately not. According to the legend, it disappeared after the death of the last person who won it in battle. It now waits for another Gryffindor to prove themselves worthy of it.

In short, there is no evidence. It is very speculative. But extremely coherent. So we still need to find the cup, the necklace, and a mysterious object of great value. Do you have any leads on their locations?

All I know is that he probably placed them in extremely prestigious places or places that have meaning to him. And of course, he will have made sure that they are very well protected.But I have no other information. All the places I thought of turned out to be empty or difficult to locate.

Obviously. Otherwise, you would have already solved the problem. But in a way, it's reassuring. The probability of him coming back is extremely slim, actually. Given how he must have protected his Horcruxes, it will probably be centuries before someone stumbles upon one by mistake and experiences the same thing as Ginny did last year. In fact, it's just a huge coincidence if (...). But he thought about it. Obviously. He informed his most loyal Death Eaters about the existence of the Horcruxes and told them how to use it to bring about his return.

Yes. Death Eaters like Sirius Black. I think it's no coincidence that he escaped only now. I think Voldemort indicated to each of his closest Death Eaters the location of a Horcrux. Maybe they even think they hold Voldemort's only Horcrux. Or maybe he didn't even tell them what it was. Maybe he just entrusted it to them, telling them how to use it if he were to disappear. I think that's at least the case with Lucius Malfoy. Otherwise, he would have treated the diary with much more reverence.

Harry panicked.

So he can come back any day now.

No need to be alarmed. For one thing, we don't know if Black has already managed to seize the Horcrux. It must be extremely well protected, and Black is wanted and very weakened by several years in Azkaban. Moreover, it took nearly a year for the Horcrux to draw enough energy from young Ginny Weasley to hope to be reborn. We still have time ahead of us, but we cannot afford to waste it.

Harry was not very reassured by this news. Once again, his end of the year promised to be eventful. As he was about to leave, Dumbledore stopped him:

Before you go enjoy a well-deserved rest, I must remind you not to tell anyone about it. And to continue working on your shields. For now, apart from me and of course Voldemort, I think you are the only person aware of this secret.

Why did you tell me? I mean, I know I asked you, but why me? I'm nothing special. I just had the misfortune that he chose my family to try to create his Horcrux. I'm not the one who can help you find or destroy them.

It darkens.

I fear I cannot answer this question at such a late hour. It will be for next time. But I can already tell you that he did not choose you at random to create this Horcrux. He also chose victims of great significance to create these abominations.