Chapter 301: A Head-on Blow
The trial classroom set up by Levi naturally had time changes as well.
In the blink of an eye, night shrouded the village, and a round moon shed its bright, clear glow, allowing the Werewolves to complete their transformation!
"Awoo~"
On the hillside outside the village, beneath the moonlight, the dark figures of two Werewolves appeared, while two Banshees wailed and flew in the sky!
"Another attack is coming! Everyone, get onto the walls!"
"Defend! Hurry up and defend!"
"Ah-wah-wah, Mama!"
"Where is the hero? Where is the hero who saved us?"
The appearance of the four monsters alarmed the entire village. Under the control of tower spirit no. 2, these NPC golems began to move according to the plot set up by Levi.
Harry Potter, clad in his Invisibility Cloak, watched the children crying out for their mothers with a heart full of torment.
That child's parents had already sacrificed themselves in the previous monster attacks. When he was brewing Potions before, this child had even brought him water!
But he was powerless now, only able to watch the child cry helplessly and the villagers run for their lives, preparing to resist the attack of the Werewolves and Banshees!
Even though he knew all of this was fake, Levi had crafted these villager golems far too realistically.
Especially with the simulation controlled by tower spirit no. 2, those realistic emotional reactions almost made Harry Potter forget that these people were all golems!
At this moment, Hermione and Ron's warnings suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Harley, remember, when facing attacks from Werewolves and Banshees, you must not act on impulse!
Wear your Invisibility Cloak, hide yourself well, and when the monsters launch their attack, ambushing them from the shadows is the most effective approach!"
Harry Potter suddenly woke up as if from a dream, realizing that these villagers were all fake, all golems crafted by Levi!
Even if he truly wanted to "save" them, he shouldn't act on impulse, but should instead follow Hermione's strategy and launch a sneak attack from behind!
"But the villagers are all fighting the Werewolves and Banshees, yet I can only launch sneak attacks from behind. Isn't that too cowardly?"
Harley couldn't help but wonder if this method of passing the trial was too underhanded, but he had to admit that it was indeed a highly effective strategy!
Hiding under the Invisibility Cloak indeed caused the Werewolves and Banshees to lose him as a "target," and launching a sneak attack from behind left the four monster golems completely defenseless!
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Stupefy!"
With two Spells in a row, he effortlessly resolved the attacking Werewolves through sneak attacks from the shadows!
Right after, a Langlock silenced the Banshees flying in the sky!
"Awesome! Levi, did you see that? Harley passed the second level!"
Seeing Harley being tossed into the air by the villagers like a hero on the big screen, Hermione also hugged Levi with immense excitement.
Ron grinned widely, his eyes shining with pure joy. If Harley could do it, he could do it too!
Although there were some Spells he hadn't mastered yet, this didn't stop him from fantasizing about the scene when he would break through Levi's trial!
"Levi, this is unfair! We don't have Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak, we can't get past this level at all!"
Seeing Harry Potter pass the second level, Draco Malfoyfelt deeply indignant. Believing Harry Potter was cheating, he immediately reported it to Levi!
"Why can't you get past it? Harry Potter can rely on his Invisibility Cloak, and you can rely on the Disillusionment Charm. You can also resolve the Werewolves and Banshees through invisibility. Do I really need to remind you of this?"
Levi did not take Malfoy's report seriously at all. In this level, he was mainly testing the Disillusionment Charm, testing whether the Wizards could turn invisible before the monsters.
Hearing this, Draco Malfoy fell silent. He certainly hadn't mastered the Disillusionment Charm. He looked at the Invisibility Cloak in Harry Potter's hands with envy and jealousy, thinking about asking his father to buy him one as well.
After defeating the Werewolves and Banshees, Harry Potter also received the gratitude of the villagers and set out on the path to vanquish the monster boss in the village chief's eyes—the Snake Monster.
But he was quickly defeated!
Because just as Harry Potter walked out of the village, a "large bat" flying from the sky clamped onto his head face-first. Immediately afterward, his vision went black, and he was judged to have failed the trial!
"I failed?!"
"What on earth was that thing?"
Sent out by the teleportation, Harry Potter looked at everyone in shock. He still hadn't figured out what exactly had eliminated him!
"Harley, you were eliminated by a Swooping Evil!"
Hermione looked at the utterly dazed Harley with pity and took the initiative to explain the situation to him.
No one had entered the third level before, so there was no corresponding walkthrough.
But she still hadn't expected that Harley, who was so good at combat, would be eliminated just after leaving the village and entering the third level!
The trial set up by Levi was simply too difficult!
Who could have thought that as soon as one left the village, a Swooping Evil flying down from the sky would pounce right onto their face!
A flying monster right in your face, specifically gnawing on brains—how could anyone win?!
"It's fine, look on the bright side, Harley! At least you tested out what the first monster of the third level is for everyone."
Ron also patted Harley's shoulder with a complex expression, gesturing for him to look on the bright side.
The third level started with a Swooping Evil. He could hardly imagine what kind of monsters would appear next. Surely there wouldn't be terrifying giant spiders like the Acromantula, right?
Thinking of this, Ron couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps breaking out all over his body!
"Alright, everyone, let's applaud Harry Potter's brave attempt! He is currently the first person to fully pass the second level, truly worthy of being a brave little lion of Gryffindor!"
"We must learn from him! Clap, clap, clap, clap!"
Levi naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to encourage everyone to bravely tackle the trials. He was the first to offer praise and began to applaud.
The surrounding people followed suit and applauded, making Harry Potter feel extremely embarrassed, and he secretly glanced at Cho Chang in the crowd.
"Pfft," Draco Malfoy sneered, clapping perfunctorily a few times. If it weren't to get information on the third level, he wouldn't want to stay here any longer.
Levi did not disappoint him either and continued:
"Although Harley failed after reaching the third level, he has shown everyone the intelligence of the third level!"
"That's right. What the third level tests everyone on is how to deal with the various terrifying and powerful Magical Creatures in the wizarding world!"
"The Swooping Evil is just an appetizer. To pass the test of the third level, everyone will also need to face the Nundu, Lethifold, Dementor, Mackled Malaclaw, Acromantula... and even Dragons!"
"Finally, everyone should have also obtained information from the village chief NPC. The final boss monster guarding the pass is a terrifying monster called the Snake Monster!"
"As for the details on the Snake Monster, I won't say much. Please work hard on practicing magic, studying knowledge, and passing my trials!"
"Everyone needs to put in more effort! Up until now, I haven't handed out a single reward!"
Levi said at last in a highly punchable manner.
Harley's run just now had brought him a whopping one thousand Academic Credits. Of course, he hoped for such good things to happen a few more times!
Chapter 302 Easter Holiday
If Harry Potter's clearance of the trials had tempted even more people to try their hand...
Then, the information personally leaked by Levi, combined with his extremely punchable reward declaration, completely ignited the passion of the young wizards for clearing the trials!
For several days in a row, good news kept coming from the four houses across the seven grades of Hogwarts, with young wizards from different grades successfully clearing the second stage one after another.
The only downside was that castle's key keeper, Filch, had completely set his sights on these people.
Because whether it was Harry Potter or the Wizards who cleared the second stage using the Disillusionment Charm, it was highly likely they had used invisibility to engage in night wandering, and Filch swore to catch them:
"Don't let me catch you slipping up!"
"At that time, I will definitely hang you up and whip you!"
Filch said with a gloomy expression on his ugly old face, making people feel even more annoyed by him!
The young wizards' reaction was to make faces, stick out their tongues, and then enthusiastically continue exploring the trial classroom.
Just like Harry Potter, as soon as they left the village, they died at the hands of terrifying Magical Creatures.
No matter how much they guarded against it, in the end they could only say one thing: it was impossible to guard against!
When designing this stage, Levi did not set a fixed monster appearance order.
When the young wizards cleared the second stage and skipped away from the village, what they encountered might not necessarily be the Swooping Evil.
It was also possible they would be eliminated by the invisible and intangible Toxic breath of the Nundu, or face Dementors suddenly floating out of the woods...
It could be said that the ways these people were eliminated were varied; if it were a real environment, it could be called a comprehensive guide to Wizard deaths!
To pass the third stage, unless they mastered the means to defeat all Magical Creatures, they shouldn't even think about facing the final boss—the Snake Monster!
Who knows, was it because Levi's final words were too infuriating?
Or was the reward promised by Levi truly too tempting?
Although the young wizards always suffered bitter defeats at the hands of Magical Creatures, they still rushed forward wave after wave, indomitably.
Some people even had wildly imaginative ideas, adopting skipping-class tactics, riding broomsticks, or using Apparition, thinking of all kinds of ways to bypass Magical Creatures.
But how could Levi, that scoundrel planner, possibly fail to think of what they could think of?
Even with the diverse abilities of Magical Creatures, the golems crafted by him, Levi, could perfectly replicate them, always easily ending the young wizards' skipping-class tactics!
Just like that, as the young wizards matched wits and courage with Levi's trials, days passed by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the second-year Easter holiday.
"Levi, what are you planning to be busy with this holiday? Are you still going to do experiments?"
Before the holiday, Hermione, holding a large stack of books, found Levi.
Needless to say, our Gryffindor top student wanted to get a head start again, preparing to review three or four months before the final exams!
"If there is nothing much, I plan to read books in the Librarywith you, but..."
Looking at the expectant little witch in front of him, Levialso wanted to stay nicely in Hogwarts Castle during the holiday, but everything feared that one "but"!
"...But I still wanted to go to the Library to read with Hermione, Headmaster!"
On the first day of the Easter holiday, Levi was once again invited into the Headmaster's office by HeadmasterDumbledore.
Headmaster Dumbledore was also quite helpless upon hearing this; the matter of investigating and destroying Horcruxes could not let more people know.
Had it not been for his old flame Grindelwald having two dreams and choosing to break out of prison, he wouldn't have known who to entrust with going abroad to investigate Horcruxes.
Over at Grindelwald's side, no useful news had been sent back yet, and young wizard Levi, who had previously proactively proposed to search for Horcruxes with him, was also starting to slack off!
"How could you bear to watch an old widower like me face the terrifying magical artifact left behind by the evil Dark Lord?"
With no other choice, Headmaster Dumbledore had no choice but to act pitiful in front of Levi like an old urchin.
Actually, Headmaster Dumbledore could also go search for Horcruxes by himself, but in his heart, he still felt that the journey to find Horcruxes was a rare opportunity to educate and nurture Levi.
In the unpredictable future, he did not know what difficult desperate situations would appear. As a remnant of the old era, Headmaster Dumbledore felt that he had to cultivate a good leader for the future era!
However, the leader in Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes was listlessly lying on a chair like Ge You, talking about accompanying the little witch to read tomorrow.
It was just that Headmaster Dumbledore had not received Chinese education, otherwise he would surely say fiercely: rotten wood cannot be carved!
"Alright, I'm afraid of you, stop acting pitiful!"
Levi was naturally only talking verbally; of course he couldn't sit back and watch Headmaster Dumbledore embark on the journey to find Horcruxes alone.
You must know, it was precisely because HeadmasterDumbledore, on the way to the Gaunt old house to search for Horcruxes, was ambushed by Marvolo Gaunt's ring (inlaid with the Resurrection Stone)—this Horcrux—that he ended up inflicted with a fatal Curse, greatly shortening his lifespan.
In the end, he had no choice but to enter the game in person, ultimately falling to his death from the tower and sacrificing himself on the way to eliminating Voldemort!
Verbose Old Dumbledore, although annoying, was genuinely good to him; how could he sit back and watch this happen?!
Furthermore, I still wanted Voldemort teacher to contribute out of familial affection once more, letting me make another tower spirit. This time, the journey to find Horcruxes—I was definitely going!
Having made up his mind, Levi outwardly maintained a lazy appearance; some things were not worth much if you rushed to offer them.
For instance, right now, sensing Levi's reluctance, Headmaster Dumbledore proactively spoke up to pique Levi's interest:
"The place we are heading to this time is the Gaunt old house located in Little Hangleton. This is where Tom's maternal grandfather's family lived, let me tell you..."
Listening to the gossip Headmaster Dumbledore proactively brought up, Levi's expression became extremely bizarre.
Old Dumbledore, oh Old Dumbledore, why are you so relishing when talking about Teacher Tom's dramatic past!
"...Tom's mother Merope Gaunt, after escaping her original family, chose to use a Love Potion to obtain the fake love of the Muggle Tom Riddle!"
"And the Voldemort they talk about, which is little Tom Riddle, is the product of the witch Merope using a Love Potion's memory!"
"Levi, Tom's birth was not because of love, but because of a Potion, and this is the source of all his tragedy!"
"We cannot abuse magic to pursue things we cannot easily obtain, otherwise it will only lead to tragedy!"
Headmaster Dumbledore said earnestly. He and Levi had already arrived outside the weed-filled Little Hangleton village, searching for the Gaunt old house buried by weeds.
"...Then Headmaster, back when Voldemort was wreaking havoc, why didn't you publish this matter in the newspaper?"
Out of Levi's plus thirty-six-degree mouth came minus seventy-two-degree words.
He was truly curious, if those so-called pure-blood wizards knew that their master was a witch who had bewitched a Muggle with a Love Potion to obtain what they had, how would they react?
Chapter 303: Gaunt Shack
Headmaster Dumbledore heard Levi's words, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He had no idea what this child was fed growing up; why was it that whenever he spoke, his mouth was as if it had been dipped in poison!
He even wanted to turn Tom Riddle's tragic life story into a tale and publish it in the newspapers?!
Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't anticipate how the Death Eaters would react by then, but the newspaper office that dared to print this news would definitely be the very first to be wiped out by Voldemort!
That's right, even if Voldemort knew about the prophecy between him and Harry Potter, he would still destroy the newspaper office first!
Seeing that Headmaster Dumbledore had stopped speaking, the ever-cheeky Levi wouldn't let go of such an interesting topic:
"Actually, it's not too late now. It just so happens that Voldemort only has a shred of a soul lingering outside, barely surviving without the power to retaliate."
"I think I could write a novel called "The Promiscuous Love Affair of You-Know-Who's Mom", or perhaps "Thirty-Three Days of Passion, I Conceived You-Know-Who, "Poor Little Tom Riddle..."
"With such explosive and thrilling titles, coupled with true yet secret content, it's bound to sell like wildfire. By then, maybe even a prison-bound plagiarist like Lockhartcouldn't compare to me!"
"Headmaster, why aren't you speaking? What do you think of my idea?"
Headmaster Dumbledore sighed in his heart, feeling a heartfelt sorrow for Levi's future enemies:
"Levi, this is not a good idea!
Voldemort will make a comeback one day, and by then, everyone who published books and periodicals for you will suffer Voldemort's cruel revenge!"
"Furthermore, behind every hateful person lies a pitiful side. As far as I know, the Muggle Tom Riddle abandoned Merope Gaunt after breaking free from the control of the Love Potion!"
"This pitiful yet hateful witch had nowhere to go and could only give birth to Tom Riddle at the doorstep of an orphanage, before dying of exhaustion herself!"
"She was not a qualified wife, but she was a respectable mother!"
As Headmaster Dumbledore spoke, a look of pity couldn't help but surface on his face, clearly lamenting Voldemort's tragic background.
Levi listened quietly on the side, not forgetting to add a sentence in his heart:
You still left out one thing!
The orphanage where Tom Riddle grew up from childhood was none other than Wool's Orphanage, where I came from!
In a sense, Voldemort and I are practically family!
"That really is quite miserable for him," Levi said, rarely putting in a good word for Teacher Tom.
He remained completely oblivious to the fact that he and Voldemort were the same kind of person, or that he should be as cynical as Voldemort.
Headmaster Dumbledore was secretly observing Levi's expression. In fact, he had always been worried that Levi, who shared the same childhood experiences as Tom, would walk down the dark path just like Tom.
But seeing Levi watching the fire from across the river and treating it just like listening to a story, Headmaster Dumbledore inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, fortunately, even though Levi didn't show much sympathy for Tom's plight and appeared a bit cold and unfeeling.
Yet he didn't show any expression of empathy, nor did he display any resentment or hatred toward the world. Fortunately, fortunately.
"I think what you said is extremely right, Headmaster! Love is truly a most miraculous power; lacking love, a person stops acting like a human!"
After speaking up for Voldemort, Levi said with immense agreement:
"Voldemort's mother used a Love Potion to toy with his father before giving birth to him! He was never the crystallization of his parents' love!"
"The environment of the orphanage can't be called good either; of that, I have deep personal experience!"
"If one grows up without receiving proper education, in an environment where the strong prey on the weak, full of oppression and exclusion, emphasizing nobility and inferiority, extreme feelings of inferiority are very likely to transform into extreme hatred towards others!"
"I suppose this is the origin of Voldemort!
No one loved him, and he loved no one. In his eyes, everyone should just be a stepping stone under his feet to elevate him higher!"
Levi wasn't a fool. After learning about the two prophetic dreams from Headmaster Dumbledore's mouth, he understood that Headmaster Dumbledore taking him along was meant to secretly observe and cultivate him through the journey of finding and destroying Horcruxes.
At the same time, he had to admit that Headmaster Dumbledore's words about the power of love were indeed extremely correct.
magic in the Harry Potter world had to be driven by intense emotions.
If a spell was filled with the emotion of love, even if that spell was the Killing Curse, when cast upon someone, it could potentially turn into a healing and protective Spell.
A person devoid of love, whose heart was filled with hatred for the world, the pursuit of power and might, and the worship of slaughter, would also see their magic turn dark. Voldemort was the most vivid example.
Sure enough, hearing Levi's words, a trace of gratification flashed in Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes.
Although Levi hadn't stated how he would act in the future, as long as he still knew the importance of love and as long as love still existed in his heart, there was no need to worry about Levi walking down the path of darkness in the future.
The two of them climbed up a weed-grown hillside, and on the northern side of the slope, in a gloomy depression, they found a dilapidated house buried by weeds and vines.
"Headmaster, is this the Gaunt Shack you mentioned?"
"It's really hard to imagine that the descendant of Slytherin, one of the the Four Founders, actually lived in a place like this!"
"It's simply two completely different worlds compared to the low-profile yet luxurious Slytherin House at school!"
Gazing at the Gaunt Shack, which was covered in moss, severely rotted, and seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment, Levi said with a hint of shock on his face.
"The Gaunt Family practiced so-called blood purity, intermarrying within the family, which created many idiots and madmen. The family declined day by day, and in the end, they could only live in a place like this!"
Headmaster Dumbledore explained to Levi, and without even seeing him wave his wand, the grass and vines in front of the two of them were blown away.
Gazing at the old and decayed Gaunt Shack, both of them hesitated. Could one really go into a house like this?
What if after going in, the house collapsed and buried both of them inside!
Of course Levi was going to go in. He knew that Marvolo Gaunt's ring—which was the Horcrux known as the Resurrection Stone—was hidden right beneath the floorboards of this old shack.
Still extremely curious, he asked Headmaster Dumbledore:
"Headmaster, just now when we climbed up, according to the story you told, wouldn't the Riddle House on the southern side of the slope also likely become a place where Voldemort hid his magical artifacts?"
"Why aren't we going to look in that old house instead of going through all this trouble to search here?"
Hearing Levi's question, Headmaster Dumbledore spoke up, and right from the start, he sounded like an expert on Voldemort:
"Levi, do you think someone like Tom, who worships so-called bloodline glory?"
"Would he hide his magical artifact in his Muggle father's home, or in the home of Slytherin's bloodline descendants?"
Voldemort's trajectory in this world had reached many places, but for Headmaster Dumbledore, the most likely place to find a Horcrux was this very Gaunt Shack.
Because this was the source of Voldemort's magical bloodline, and also the root of what Voldemort considered to be the glory of the Slytherin bloodline.
If there must be a place in this world to hide a Horcrux, then without a doubt, it was right here!
Hearing Headmaster Dumbledore say this, Levi could only sigh inwardly:
Headmaster, you win!
Having a teacher like you who understands him so well is truly Voldemort's blessing!
Only Headmaster, you too have your own obsession!
I hope that when facing the Resurrection Stone later, you can remain calm enough!
Chapter 304: Finally Seeing the Horcrux
Levi showed off his skills in front of Headmaster Dumbledore. Without even using a wand, he just pointed his finger and used the Open/Close Spell to unlock the rusted chain!
"Bang!"
He was just about to push open the door of the Gaunt Shack, but the dilapidated door, long out of repair, seemed eager to finish its last shift. With a bang, it collapsed inward.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!"
Dust swirled in the air, choking them. Levi quickly waved his wand and cast Scourgify, clearing the dust flying around the doorway!
"Headmaster, you..."
Just after cleaning up the dust, Levi wanted to ask Headmaster Dumbledore why he wasn't casting magic.
But he saw Old Dumbledore standing far behind him, keeping Levi in front of him as a shield, with a mischievous grin like an old prankster!
My goodness, are you really Old Dumbledore? You aren't Albus Han Li Dumbledore, are you?
"Headmaster, your conscience is terribly bad!"
Levi was utterly speechless and rolled his eyes resentfully at the grinning Dumbledore.
"Am I not giving you an opportunity to practice?"
"Levi, this Headmaster is old after all. The future belongs to you, you need to step up!"
Headmaster Dumbledore had gone bad too; he had actually learned to gaslight Levi!
"Sorry, I'm not buying into your empty promises!"
Levi said crossly, casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself. With a large bubble of air wrapping around his head, he walked into the Gaunt Shack.
The dilapidated old shack had become even more decayed with the passage of time. Levi took a glance and couldn't help but frown.
All the furniture and furnishings in the house had rotted away over time, some even decaying into a pile of black soil!
Fortunately, he was wearing the Bubble-Head Charm; otherwise, the house, filled with the stench of decay, would have definitely knocked him off his feet!
Looking down at his feet, Levi rubbed the sole of his sneaker against the floor, instantly carving a deep groove into the ground.
This was no longer just being covered in dust; the dust on the floor had actually compacted into a layer of soil!
If he and Old Dumbledore had come in a few years later, grass might have started growing inside the house!
Headmaster Dumbledore followed Levi into the Gaunt Shack. With his tall stature, he had to bend half-double just to enter.
When he clearly saw the Gaunt Shack, which was nearly buried in dust, he also frowned. In such an environment, searching for a tiny Horcrux without being able to use Spells to locate it was indeed quite difficult for an old man and a child!
"Levi, do you have any way to find the magical artifact Voldemort hid here?"
Even now, Headmaster Dumbledore still refused to admit that what they were looking for was Voldemort's Horcrux.
"Why search? Headmaster, why don't we just burn this place down with Fiendfyre?"
Levi suggested that setting fire to the mountain would solve everything once and for all!
Hearing this, Headmaster Dumbledore gave Levi a disgruntled glare. Why did this child always come up with such terrible ideas?
Not to mention the dry, wild grass outside; once a fire was lit, it would spread like wildfire, and Little Hangletonwould be burned to ashes.
"Do you think I'm Grindelwald, starting a massive gas-stove fire in Britain too?"
Just the fact that they couldn't confirm whether the Horcrux existed or if it had been destroyed meant Headmaster Dumbledore could never agree.
He had to find the Horcrux first, confirm its existence, and then destroy it, rather than deceiving himself and settling it with a blast of Fiendfyre!
"Then you'll have to wait a moment!"
"I need to cast a brand-new magic that I've researched!"
Levi, of course, knew that Headmaster Dumbledore would not agree. He immediately prepared to cast Detect Magicon the entire room.
Although a Horcrux cannot be prophesied or divined, nor can it be easily summoned using the Summoning Charm, it is undeniable that the Horcrux itself, and even the Dark Arts upon it, carry a strong magical reaction.
And Levi's Zero-circle Cantrip—Detect Magic—was simply too convenient for finding a Horcrux within a certain range!
However, that was only because the Gaunt Shack was small, old, and dilapidated, with no magical items. If they were in an environment like the Room of Requirement, a single Detect Magic from Levi would produce enough feedback of magical auras to blind him!
With that, Levi began to chant the incantation, casting the Ancient Magic modified from Detect Magic!
In front of Headmaster Dumbledore, he couldn't just easily find the Horcrux with a simple spell; that would make it look too effortless.
Although Levi also knew that no matter how strong he was, Headmaster Dumbledore would not view him as a threat.
However, there were too many spells in this world that could peer into memories. Levi felt that the fewer of his trump cards he revealed, the better.
As the chanting finished, Levi's wand completed the drawing of Ancient Runes in the air. An invisible force suddenly poured out from the tip of Levi's wand like ripples of water, spreading across the entire Gaunt Shack like spilled mercury!
A moment later, under the watchful eyes of Levi and Headmaster Dumbledore, this force tracing magical signatures converged at a spot on the floor beneath their feet, emitting bursts of bright fluorescence.
"Wondrous magic! Levi, your exploration of magic is almost surpassing us old folks!"
"It's a pity this isn't the castle, otherwise I would definitely award you ten points!"
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled at Levi with a face full of admiration.
He had not expected that Levi's exploration and study of magic had already penetrated deep into the field of Ancient Magic, and even yielded innovations.
Just like the magic Levi had cast to detect the Horcrux, Dumbledore was certain, given his understanding of Horcruxes, that Voldemort had absolutely never expected there to be a magic in this world capable of detecting a Horcrux's location!
"With such a young wizard leading the future wizarding world, I can put my mind at ease!"
Headmaster Dumbledore thought with deep gratification. With a wave of his wand, he lifted the floorboard where the mark was, looking down at the Horcrux hidden beneath.
But in that very instant, he lost himself!
Before him appeared a ring made of heavy gold, crude and clumsy in craftsmanship, looking less like fine jewelry and more like a crudely handmade old gold ring!
Even though Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes were dim with age, he recognized at a single glance the large black stone set into it!
It was indeed the Resurrection Stone he had once dreamed of!
The Resurrection Stone! I have finally found you!
How many times in his midnight dreams had Headmaster Dumbledore wished to obtain the Resurrection Stone to summon his sister's soul back from the world of the dead!
How he longed to see his lovely sister one more time, how he yearned for his sister to call him brother once again!
Even though it was too late, Headmaster Dumbledore still wanted to apologize to his sister in person, to hear her either forgive him or scold him with her own voice!
But once a person dies, they are gone like an extinguished lamp—it was all too late!
Levi stood right next to Headmaster Dumbledore. He had originally thought Headmaster Dumbledore would smile or show a look of sadness upon seeing the Horcrux.
But why was he actually frozen in place?
"Headmaster, you..." Levi hesitated to speak, but at that moment, he noticed that the Resurrection Stone on Marvolo Gaunt's ring was actually shimmering with a dark luster!
As the luster flickered, his mind actually began to drift unconsciously as well!
"Oh no!"
Levi cried out in his heart, but the old wooden shack before him seemed to collapse, falling down around him!
Chapter 305 The Person I Most Want to See
Hey, is that Xiao Wei? I'm your dad!"
On the other end of the phone, a voice both familiar and strange rang out—it was a call from that man.
"It's me, what is it?"
Levi was somewhat dazed, thinking it was just because he had just woken up, but he still instinctively kept a cold face and replied flatly.
"It's nothing much. Didn't you just graduate from college? Learn to be self-reliant from now on, and don't come looking for me for no reason. If worse comes to worst, isn't there still someone on your mom's side!"
On the other end of the line, the man's voice carried a sense of ease and relief, as if he had just shaken off some burden.
"Alright, I get it. We won't contact each other again in the future. I'm hanging up!"
A wave of sadness welled up unprovoked in Levi's heart, but he quickly and ruthlessly pressed it down.
Without waiting for the man to say anything more, he hung up the phone and then deleted the number from his phone.
His finger hovered over the phone screen, unconsciously opening another Green Bubble social app. Sure enough, that woman had also blocked him and deleted him as a friend.
"Heh~ I really am such a hateful person!"
Levi let out a self-deprecating sneer. Even though he still felt something was a bit off, the intense feeling of loss and abandonment made him consciously cast that oddity to the back of his mind.
His grandparents had passed away, and his parents no longer acknowledged him as their son. In this world, he was left all alone!
"Clang, clang," a knock suddenly sounded, and a familiar voice appeared outside the door: "Xiao Wei, who are you talking to? Come out and eat!"
"Coming, Grandma!" Levi couldn't help wiping the corner of his eye and replied subconsciously.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, he froze, because this voice was precisely Grandma's voice, but wasn't Grandma...
An emotional Levi didn't think too much, nor did he feel fear. He yanked open the bedroom door and looked towards the dining table placed in the living room:
Beside the steaming dining table sat two elderly people—precisely his deceased grandparents. At this moment, they were smiling with full benevolence, watching him walk out of the room.
"Come eat quickly, Xiao Wei. Your grandma made your favorite stewed pig trotters. If you don't eat them soon, they'll get cold!"
Levi's grandfather was all smiles, urging Levi to hurry up and eat.
"Grandpa, Grandma, aren't you guys..."
Everything before his eyes made Levi feel utterly incredulous. He clearly remembered that his grandparents had already...
But now the two elders had actually come back from the dead; this was simply a miracle!
Did he remember incorrectly?
Or was it some kind of resurrection immortal arts, resurrection magic?
Hmm, magic?
Levi suddenly felt that the word "magic" had a special resonance for him.
But he couldn't be bothered to think that much anymore; sitting back down beside his grandparents was the most important thing to him.
Even if it was just like this, getting to see them again once more, it was already good!
"Grandpa, Grandma, Xiao Wei misses you both so much!"
Levi arrived beside the dining table. The rising steam made his nose sting, and his tears couldn't stop flowing down!
"Why are you still crying, child?"
Levi's grandmother placed the last dish on the table, quickly wiped her hands with her scarf, and smoothed away the tears on Levi's cheeks.
The familiar feeling struck once again. It was these aged and rough hands that had raised him, a child unloved by his father and uncared for by his mother.
But ever since Grandma passed away, Levi had never felt the warmth of these hands again!
"Grandma, I..." Levi wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. He could only choke back his voice and let his tears blur his vision.
"Xiao Wei, don't cry. Did your dad say something to you again?"
Seeing this, Levi's grandfather put down his chopsticks and asked Levi with a gloomy expression.
"No, Grandpa, no, I'm doing great. Seeing you both again, I'm really doing great. I'm just too happy, I..."
Levi rambled incoherently, tears making the appearance of the two elders gradually blur in his eyes...
Everything drifted away under the scouring of tears, replaced by the decaying and ruined Gaunt Shack.
Having snapped back to reality, Levi couldn't help wiping his face with the back of his hand. The dampness brought by the tears made his mood exceptionally complex.
He looked towards the ground once more, looking at the Horcrux that appeared after pulling up the floorboards—the ring of Marvolo Gaunt, looking at the Resurrection Stone inlaid upon the ring.
"Thank you, Voldemort, thank you for letting me see my grandparents once again!"
"I know that the fundamental purpose of dragging me into the illusion was to make me impatiently pick up this ring and pick up the Resurrection Stone, but I still want to thank you!"
Levi said with a complex expression and a slightly hoarse voice.
As his voice fell, he raised his wand, preparing to use Soul Extraction Technique to forcibly pull Teacher Voldemort's lingering soul out from within the Resurrection Stone!
"Ariana, don't go!"
Headmaster Dumbledore, who was also immersed in the illusion beside him, suddenly cried out loudly!
His silver-white beard trembled, tears streaming down his old face, and his hands instinctively raised outward to make a plea to stay!
Yet he retained nothing at all; there were only his aged eyes blankly surveying the decaying wooden house, seeming still immersed in memories, unwilling to turn back.
"The Resurrection Stone, right, there's also the Resurrection Stone!"
Headmaster Dumbledore snapped out of his daze as if his mind had been bewitched, stumbling forward as he wanted to grab the Horcrux Resurrection Stone.
"Professor, wait, have you gone mad? This thing is covered in Dark Arts and fatal Curses!"
Seeing this, Levi was greatly startled. Having emerged from his immersion in memories, he quickly waved his wand, conjuring a low wall to block Headmaster Dumbledore's path.
"Bang!"
The low wall had just been conjured by Levi when Headmaster Dumbledore, acting like he had lost his mind, waved his wand and instantly turned it back into dust filling the sky!
"Headmaster, snap out of it! The Resurrection Stone has already been crafted into a magical artifact by Voldemort; it can no longer summon the lingering souls of the deceased!"
"Furthermore, even if the Resurrection Stone could summon lingering souls, have you forgotten the tragedy of the second brother among the three brothers in The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"
"The returning souls are cold and sorrowful, and do not belong to the mortal realm. Even if you summon back the person you miss, it will only torment each other!"
Levi spoke with earnest and persuasive words. While trying to dissuade him, he even used Transfiguration to conjure all sorts of obstacles, blocking Headmaster Dumbledore from approaching the Resurrection Stone.
Yet even though his Transfiguration had reached LV.7 or higher, before Headmaster Dumbledore, a master of Transfiguration, he was still showing off his meager skills before an expert, completely inadequate!
Even though Headmaster Dumbledore was immersed in memories and his heart was full of the Resurrection Stone, he merely waved his wand and easily lifted Levi's transformation, clearing away the obstacles.
Watching Headmaster Dumbledore with a face full of desire and staggering steps, getting closer and closer to the Resurrection Stone ring Horcrux.
Feeling a surge of anxiety, Levi waved his wand and directly made a move against Headmaster Dumbledore:
"Stupefy!"
Chapter 306: Battle Against the White Wizard
Facing Levi's Stupefy, Headmaster Dumbledore didn't even deign to look, flicking his hand to deflect the Spellaway.
The obsession in his heart had been completely drawn out by the Dark Arts on the Resurrection Stone, leaving him entirely trapped in confusion.
The specific manifestation of this was that in Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes, there was only the Resurrection Stone!
This was also the purpose that Voldemort wanted to achieve with the Dark Arts set upon the Resurrection Stone.
Leveraging the ability of the Resurrection Stone, Voldemort had set up an illusion; everyone who saw the luster of the Resurrection Stone would see the people who had already died, yet whom they desired most to see, within the illusion!
Once the obsession was triggered, an infinite craving for the Resurrection Stone would arise within their hearts!
However, on the Resurrection Stone, Voldemort had also placed a Curse sufficient to cause death; the moment anyone picked up the Resurrection Stone and touched it, they would be infected with a lethal Curse and march toward death!
There was only one reason why Levi was able to break free from the influence of the illusion and overcome the obsession in his heart:
He knew he was a Transmigrator!
He knew that the Resurrection Stone of the Harry Potter world could never let him see his grandparents from his past life!
A sword from a past dynasty cannot be used to execute officials of the current one!
Yet unlike Levi, Headmaster Dumbledore's obsession with his sister Ariana was simply far too heavy!
So heavy that no matter how profound one's magical attainments or how kind one's true nature, it could not be exempted, instead making the obsession grow ever deeper and heavier!
So heavy that this White Wizard, possessing profound magical attainments and a sufficiently clear mind, had fallen into the maze meticulously set by Voldemort and was unable to extricate himself!
Seeing the Stupefy he cast casually deflected away by Headmaster Dumbledore, Levi couldn't help taking a deep breath.
He certainly had more powerful means to deal with Headmaster Dumbledore, and simpler, more brutal methods of using stronger magic to forcibly awaken Old Dumbledore!
But whether to use them on Headmaster Dumbledore, whom he deeply respected and admired, truly made Levisomewhat hesitant.
Watching Headmaster Dumbledore get closer and closer to the Horcrux, the situation no longer allowed him to think too much.
Levi couldn't help sighing in his heart, waving his hand to summon an Invisible Servant, and having it grab the Horcrux and hide far away!
Headmaster Dumbledore, whose mind had been bewitched, immediately wanted to snatch the Horcruxback the moment he saw it fly far away.
With a wave of the Elder Wand, the surrounding vines came alive, slithering like venomous snakes toward the Invisible Servant and the Horcrux in its grasp to bind and entangle them!
"Revelio!" x3
Levi hastily used triple casting, performing the Reversal Charm three times in succession, before breaking Headmaster Dumbledore's Transfiguration.
Fortunately, his magical power, after being forged by the dragon heart and multiple perks, was no longer what it used to be; otherwise, he truly would not have been confident in being able to stop Headmaster Dumbledore's Transfiguration.
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Having already decided to stop Headmaster Dumbledore, Levi once again executed a triple combo, flicking his wandto cast three Spells simultaneously.
To ensure the magic's effect, Levi even actively used the perk obtained from the Whomping Willow—Lethal Strike!
This perk, which Levi had kept toggled off ever since acquiring it, caused every one of Levi's spells to carry 30% physical damage.
Fearing that he might accidentally injure others during normal spellcasting, Levi had never dared to rashly use the Lethal Strike perk; now, in order to defeat Headmaster Dumbledore and knock out this White Wizard, he could no longer worry about all that!
At worst, after knocking the Headmaster unconscious, he could just heal him afterwards. Anyway, physical damage couldn't be all that fatal to a Wizard, and Levi was already prepared to purchase healing Potions in the Shop.
Unfortunately, he still underestimated Headmaster Dumbledore.
Facing three Spells attacking simultaneously, along with three invisible instances of physical damage,
Headmaster Dumbledore merely gave his Elder Wand a wave, using a Shield Charm to firmly protect himself, completely ignoring the three Spells cast by Levi and the attached physical damage.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The invisible shield rippled in the air, and immediately shattered with a crash under the onslaught of physical damage.
Headmaster Dumbledore didn't take the shattering of the Shield Charm to heart at all, his aged eyes still gazing infatuatedly at the Resurrection Stone taken far away by the Invisible Servant.
Just as he prepared to wave his wand once more and forcibly snatch the Resurrection Stone into his hands, Levi's long-prepared ultimate move followed closely behind!
1st-circle arcane spell—Sleep!
Without needing to wave a wand, without needing to chant incantations, a thought stirred in Levi's heart, and the magical power within his body instantly activated the Spell Template of a 1st-circle arcane spell!
In an instant, with Levi as the center, all life within a 50-meter radius fell into a deep sleep!
Against such a large-area attack, having lost the protection of the Shield Charm, unable to dodge, and with his mind not even focused enough, Headmaster Dumbledore could only helplessly be hit, falling to the ground with a thump and sleeping soundly!
"Phew~ You're finally asleep, Old Dumbledore!"
Levi let out a soft breath. He finally understood why Headmaster Dumbledore in the original work had been so rash as to use his hand to pick up the Horcrux, resulting in him being infected with a lethal Curse and having very little lifespan remaining.
"Oh Old Dumbledore, Old Dumbledore, you really should be thankful you called me over today; otherwise, you'd already have fallen victim to it by now!"
Waving his wand to conjure a bed and placing Old Dumbledore onto it, Levi said with a face full of relief.
Headmaster Dumbledore was fast asleep, leaving Levi to put on a one-man show. Looking at the relaxed-looking Old Dumbledore, he muttered to himself:
"Forget it, while you're asleep, let me deal with the Resurrection Stone first!"
Without any more rambling, Levi directly took out a large cup of golden liquid from his Storage Space!
Inside the dim wooden cabin, this large cup of golden liquid still emitted a faint milky-white glow, appearing sacred and warm!
Earlier when dealing with Ravenclaw's Diadem, Levi had utilized Unicorn hair, horn, and blood to create something resembling holy water, which was used to purify the Dark Arts and Curse on the diadem.
Now he was ready to repeat the previous process: first purifying the Dark Arts and Curse on the Resurrection Stone ring, then extracting the fragmented soul of teacher Voldemort to make a soul crystal.
"Thump!"
Under Levi's direction, the Invisible Servant tossed Marvolo Gaunt's ring into the beaker.
The ring was instantly purified; a ghost-like black mist struggled and howled as it flew out from the ring, destroyed by the holy water in the beaker!
"Soul Extraction Technique!"
Levi directly cast Soul Extraction Technique on the Resurrection Stone. A terrifying soul fragment, resembling a dead infant mixed with a snake, was extracted and compressed into a blood-red soul crystal.
Meanwhile, the master mod reacted once more, exploited for a bug by Levi yet again, yielding a reward!
Chapter 307: Fish Eyes Mixed with Pearls
In the outskirts of Little Hangleton, there were two completely different old houses on the hill.
The north side was cut off from sunlight all year round, buried by weeds, covered with vines, rotting to the point of collapse, rarely visited, and belonged to the mysterious Gaunt Family old house.
The south side was warm, pleasant, and sunny, an uninhabited two-story luxury villa. An arrogant wealthy family had once lived here, so it was called Riddle House.
"Oh?"
In a living room of Riddle House, Headmaster Dumbledoregrunted, opened his eyes, and stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.
He found himself lying on a sofa in a sparsely decorated living room, with no memory of how he got there.
As for the previous memories...
As a Legilimency master on par with Voldemort, Headmaster Dumbledore easily retrieved his memories of previously falling into the obsession trap.
Horcrux, Resurrection Stone, obsession, getting caught, and the battle with Levi...
The memories were easily flicked out by Headmaster Dumbledore like a short video, making his expression extremely complex:
"Ariana, my sister..."
Obsessions were not things so easily let go of; the more open-minded and optimistic a person was, the harder it was to untie the obsession in their heart!
Headmaster Dumbledore was just like this. Every time he looked into the Mirror of Erised, it was a review and deepening of his obsession!
"Sigh~" Headmaster Dumbledore sighed inwardly, barely suppressing the obsession in his heart while feeling incomparably grateful.
He was grateful that he had persuaded Levi to come with him to find and destroy the Horcrux.
Otherwise, if it were just him alone, he probably would have fallen into the trap set by Voldemort on the Horcrux, hit by a fatal Curse, and his days would be numbered by now!
Dumbledore certainly wasn't reluctant to die; their attitude towards death was very calm, viewing it as another great adventure!
But he couldn't die yet; he hadn't nurtured Harry Potter yet to let Harry Potter and Voldemort complete their destined duel and deal with this Dark Lord who had grown up under his hands!
Especially after knowing Grindelwald's two prophecies, Dumbledore dared not die at all!
After he died, no one could control Grindelwald. Facing a dangerous and complex future, no one knew what his old friend would do, and Levi, who had not yet grown up, would also be unsupported!
"Tom, it seems today is this old man's lucky day. For me, the great adventure of death is not yet time to set sail!"
Headmaster Dumbledore squeezed out a grateful smile and walked out of the two-story villa. He had already guessed that it must have been Levi who put him here to rest.
But where was Levi now?
Could he handle the Horcrux well?
This child still didn't know about the Horcrux up to now; hopefully he wasn't seduced by the Dark Arts on the Resurrection Stone?
Thinking of this, Headmaster Dumbledore hurriedly searched for Levi's traces, only to see that Levi was repairing Riddle family's ancestral grave!
"Levi, you... what are you doing?"
Headmaster Dumbledore felt that he was really getting old, and his thinking could no longer keep up with modern young wizards!
For no reason, why would Levi repair Riddle family's ancestral grave?
Could he be engaged in some tomb robbing or archaeological work?
"It's nothing, nothing. I just thought Voldemort might have used a magic artifact as a burial object and buried it in his family's ancestral grave, so I'm looking for it!"
"This is inspiration I got from a book called Tomb Robbing Notes!"
"But unfortunately, I guessed wrong. There are no magicartifacts here!"
Levi lied without even lifting his head, almost claiming to be a tomb raider.
In fact, knowing Voldemort's resurrection method in the original work, how could he miss the opportunity to dig a pit for Voldemort? He directly replaced Voldemort's father's skeleton with a dog's bones!
"I simply don't believe it! Voldemort, let's see if this can resurrect you!"
Thinking viciously in his heart, Levi couldn't help showing a smile of conspiracy succeeding on his face.
"I thought what you were smiling about? Where is Voldemort's dark aura, how did you handle it?"
Hearing Levi's explanation, Headmaster Dumbledoredidn't take this matter to heart. What he cared about most now was the Horcrux the two had found.
"Here, Headmaster, I have already handled it!"
"The Dark Arts on it and the remnant soul of Voldemorthidden inside have all been cleaned up by me!"
"However, I hope Headmaster understands that the Resurrection Stone cannot truly resurrect people; it will only create tragedies and brew bitter fruits as the story says!"
Levi handed over the ring of Marvolo Gaunt and earnestly admonished Headmaster Dumbledore.
At this moment, it seemed as if he was the Headmasterimparting earnest teachings, while Old Dumbledore was just an inexperienced child.
Headmaster Dumbledore's old face blushed, but he dared not take Marvolo Gaunt's ring with his hand, even though he had already recognized that the gem embedded on it was precisely the Resurrection Stone:
"Levi, you keep it!"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and can't help using it!"
"Now that things have come to this, and you have also handled such an item, I suppose you have already guessed what this thing is, right?"
Seeing that Headmaster Dumbledore would not take the Resurrection Stone ring, Levi put it back on his own hand and nodded, saying:
"That's right, I recognized it! This is an extremely cutting-edge, extremely terrifying, and extremely evil Dark Artsitem — a Horcrux!"
"Headmaster, was the diary I gave you earlier also a Horcrux made by Voldemort?"
"Is the root of Voldemort's immortality that he made Horcruxes? How terrifying, how dare he split his own soul? Wasn't he afraid of becoming a madman?"
When it comes to asking questions while knowing the answer and playing dumb, Levi was practically standing at the peak!
Hearing Levi say this, especially feeling that Levi's heart was full of disgust and resistance toward the Horcrux, Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief and said in a heavy voice:
"This is the terrifying thing about Voldemort. In pursuit of power, he could no longer turn back, and no one could save him, including himself!"
As Voldemort's former teacher, Headmaster Dumbledorehad naturally tried to redeem Voldemort, but obviously, Voldemort was already beyond cure!
"Let's not talk about this, Levi, how did you handle this Horcrux?"
Headmaster Dumbledore still cared most about this question.
He wasn't surprised that Levi had the ability to destroy the Horcrux; whether it was a powerful flame Curse, like Fiendfyre, or a powerful magic item, it was possible to destroy the Horcrux.
The most terrifying part of a Horcrux was still the evilness of its creation process and the immortal mechanism of its creator after hiding it.
If one really wanted to destroy a Horcrux, Headmaster Dumbledore could find several ways just by thinking about it!
But no matter which method, it couldn't keep the item used to make the Horcrux completely intact like this now.
Chapter 308: The Unfulfilled Prophecy
"Actually, Headmaster, there is something I have kept from you for a long time!"
Hearing Headmaster Dumbledore ask this, Levi had an embarrassed, awkward smile on his face.
With a flip of his hand, under the shocked gaze of Headmaster Dumbledore, he took out Ravenclaw's Diadem:
"Voldemort turned Lady Ravenclaws diadem into a Horcrux and hid it inside the Room of Requirement."
"However, crafty as he is, he still has to drink my foot-washing water, and in the end, he was still found by me when I was cleaning the Room of Requirement!"
"I used a Unicorns hair to make holy water, purifying the Dark Arts and Curse attached to the Horcrux."
Then, using soul-type magic, I extracted his remnant soul, completely destroyed it, and successfully preserved the relics of the the Four Founders!"
"The Resurrection Stone was only the second Horcrux I destroyed; the first one was this Ravenclaw's Diadem!"
Hearing Levi's account, Headmaster Dumbledore's face inevitably showed a look of surprise and joy.
Although he was surprised that Levi discovered the existence of the Horcrux so early, Levi being able to destroy a Horcrux outside of the plan really made him feel pleasantly surprised!
Another Horcrux had been destroyed, and he couldn't even be bothered to care about when Levi had known about such things as Horcruxes!
Headmaster Dumbledore remembered the conversation between him and Gellert Grindelwald back then:
If Voldemort had no special circumstances, after his soul split five times, he could no longer make Horcruxes!
Now, he and Levi had already destroyed Marvolo Gaunts ring and Ravenclaw's Diadem, and had tom riddles diaryin their hands as a Horcrux.
And they had already identified Slytherins locket and Hufflepuffs golden cup; these two relics of the the Four Founders had also been made into Horcruxes.
Calculated this way, didn't it mean that all of Voldemort's Horcruxes had been identified by them, and they were just missing finding them all!
Thinking of this, even with Headmaster Dumbledore's elderly body, passionate blood inevitably surged in his heart!
As long as all the Horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort's immortal body was stripped away, and Harry Potter was cultivated, wouldn't Harley have a huge chance of winning in their fateful duel?!
Wrong, wrong! I am truly muddled!
Without an immortal body, what need was there for a fateful duel in the prophecy? Couldn't I just strike him down and kill him directly?!
Killing a Voldemort who could not turn back held not the slightest psychological burden for Headmaster Dumbledore.
To protect the wizarding world and for the greater good, Headmaster Dumbledore would definitely not shy away from having blood on his hands!
Headmaster Dumbledore, whose heart was wild with joy, thought of this; although he was extremely excited, he still had a slight reservation.
The prophecy he had once heard from Trelawney—Voldemort had chosen to believe it, personally creating Harry Potter as his fateful enemy.
Headmaster Dumbledore had also chosen to believe it, so he had always secretly cultivated Harley, pushing the prophecy to be realized on a favorable side.
Two of the most powerful Wizards in the wizarding worldchose to believe a prophecy, so the power of belief would inevitably push this prophecy to be realized!
If all Horcruxes were found and destroyed, then any Wizard who mastered lethal Spells could possibly kill Voldemort.
In that case, wouldn't a prophecy that had already taken effect halfway be abandoned halfway?!
No, impossible!
How could a prophecy that had already taken effect be abandoned halfway? This was not magical at all!
Headmaster Dumbledore's heart sank uncontrollably. He already had a guess: his upcoming journey to find and destroy Horcruxes would definitely not go smoothly.
Even, it was highly likely that he would die halfway through finding and destroying Horcruxes, and could only hand the clues over to Harley.
In the end, Harley would find the remaining Horcruxes, destroy them, and kill Voldemort!
"...Only one of them can live!"
When Trelawney prophesied, that indifferent and crazed voice of prophecy echoed in Headmaster Dumbledore's heart.
"Headmaster, what is wrong with you? Have you thought of something?"
Levi looked with strange eyes as Headmaster Dumbledore's face showed a look that was both happy and nervous, mixed with a trace of relief, standing blankly in place without speaking for a long time.
"It's nothing, I'm just happy," Headmaster Dumbledoresmiled casually and took the initiative to explain:
"Levi, I once chatted with an old friend about how many times Voldemort could split his soul and how many Horcruxes he could make."
"According to speculation, there are about five Horcruxes. We have already found the diary, the ring, and the diadem, and have identified the locket and the cup."
"As long as we find these two Horcruxes again, Voldemortwill no longer have an immortal body!"
"I am truly happy; the dawn of defeating Voldemort has finally appeared!"
Headmaster Dumbledore did not voice his guess about the prophecy, but instead earnestly requested:
"Levi, promise me, if one day I am no longer here, you must offer a help to Harley to find the remaining Horcruxes, destroy them all, and defeat Voldemort together with him!"
Hearing this, Levi was full of incomprehension and asked strangely:
"Headmaster, what are you talking about?"
"With the magic accumulated in your body and your attainment in magic, you can live to be over three hundred years old. By that time, you should have solved Voldemortanyway!"
He said it like this and truly thought so, rather than being false and polite flattery.
In the original work, Headmaster Dumbledore's fatal tribulation lay in him being bewitched by the Dark Arts on the Resurrection Stone, controlled by his obsession, thus falling for the trick, picking up the Resurrection Stone, suffering a fatal Curse, and not having long to live.
Now with Levi following along, this fatal tribulation had been successfully resolved. With Headmaster Dumbledore's strength, living for over three hundred years was completely unproblematic.
At Headmaster Dumbledore's current age, he was actually in his prime, just the time to forge ahead; how could he die so early?
It was impossible for him to be like teacher Nicolas Flamel, having lived enough, voluntarily giving up life, and embarking on this great adventure of death, right?
Besides, Voldemort had not yet been resolved, and Grindelwald would have no one to keep him in check after Headmaster Dumbledore's death. In such a situation, how could Headmaster Dumbledore die, how dare he die?
However, facing Levi's inquiry, Headmaster Dumbledore's heart had already made plans for death, and he only requested once more:
"Promise me, Levi, promise me!"
"All right, I'm afraid of you, I promise you!"
Headmaster Dumbledore's request was close to being tough, and Levi could only helplessly agree, but at the same time he demanded:
"Headmaster, I promise your request, and in the future I will help Harley destroy the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort!"
"However, don't you trust the wisdom of future generations too much?"
"In a moment, I will help you destroy tom riddles diary, and then we can also use the Resurrection Stone to summon the departed souls of the dead and ask for clues about Horcruxes."
"I think this is also the reason why Voldemort made the Resurrection Stone into a Horcrux."
"As long as we use the Resurrection Stone to ask the departed souls, we will definitely be able to find the remaining locket and cup!"
"In this way, the Horcruxes should almost all be destroyed!"
"Without an immortal body, Voldemort's remnant soul can only linger on in some unknown corner; we just need to find it and end it all once and for all, can't we?"
Speaking up to here, Levi truly did not understand why Headmaster Dumbledore still wanted him to promise to offer a help to Harley to find Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort.
Even if this world was called Harry Potter, wasn't he, Levi, a Transmigrator with a Cheat, alright?!
Chapter 309: Bound by Fate
Headmaster Dumbledore heard Levi's words with complete clarity, but unusually, he neither refuted nor explained.
The power of prophecy was far too uncanny. Whether one believed it or not, one could end up becoming the driving force that brought it to fulfillment.
Just as Levi had said, it seemed that by relying on the Resurrection Stone to question dead souls, they could find the location of the remaining two Horcruxes.
As long as they found and destroyed the locket and the golden cup, Voldemort would lose his immortality, and they could easily finish him off!
It sounded not difficult at all, with no need to consider any prophecy whatsoever!
Yet Headmaster Dumbledore understood that Voldemort, who had swept through the entire wizarding world at the height of his power back then, had thought the exact same way.
Before Voldemort was hit by the rebound of his own Killing Curse, he probably felt that killing a newborn baby couldn't be simpler!
With his terrifying strength as the Dark Lord, coupled with Wormtail Peter's betrayal, finding Harry Potter and casting a single Spell would solve the problem and end the prophecy!
Yet things turned out to be so dramatic. Voldemort first believed the prophecy, then chose to resist it, and in the end, inadvertently became the single greatest force driving the prophecy to fulfillment!
The current Levi was just like that; he believed that relying solely on himself and Dumbledore, they could find all the Horcruxes, strip Voldemort of his immortality, and destroy him completely.
But how was this any different from the supremely confident Voldemort back then?
Headmaster Dumbledore no longer felt like speaking. He was even prepared to stop taking Levi along to find and destroy Horcruxes, to prevent him from unwittingly walking toward a tragic end due to the power of the prophecy.
The only question left for Headmaster Dumbledore now was: at what time, in what place, and in what manner would he himself meet his death because he sought Horcruxes to fight the prophecy?
"I hope my old life dies with enough value to gain more secret information about Voldemort!"
"Oh Death, to think that my meeting with you is a preordained appointment!"
Dumbledore thought to himself with deep emotion. He did not answer Levi's question, but instead said somewhat tiredly:
"Levi, let's head back to the castle!"
Seeing Headmaster Dumbledore acting like a riddle-speaker again, Levi felt speechlessly amused. He didn't know what had gotten into Old Dumbledore.
In any case, untying Old Dumbledore's knot today had already satisfied him. Returning to the castle was fine—once back at the castle, he would ask for the diary back and craft another soul crystal.
That way, with two soul crystals in hand, he could construct Tower Spirit No. 3 and No. 4.
Doubling his computing power would greatly increase efficiency, whether for optimizing Spell Templates, deducing meditation methods, or aiding him in completing bloodline analysis to transfer into a Sorcerer!
Inside the Headmaster's Office, Levi asked Headmaster Dumbledore for Tom Riddle's diary back, intending to destroy it under his witness.
As the first Horcrux made by Voldemort, the diary was not imbued with terrible Dark Arts or Curses. In the original storyline, the method of draining Ginny Weasley's life force relied entirely on Tom Riddle's young soul remnant.
When Levi used Soul Extraction Technique to pull Tom Riddle's young soul remnant out of the diary and compress it into a soul crystal, Headmaster Dumbledore's gaze grew exceedingly complex.
This reminded him of an old case he had personally experienced years ago—Myrtle's bizarre petrified death, Hagrid being framed, the released Eight-Eyed Troll...
...as well as the Basilisk still hidden somewhere in the castle. Case after case resurfaced before his eyes!
"Levi, is this magic that extracts a soul and compresses it into a gemstone something Nicolas Flamel taught you?"
Headmaster Dumbledore kept the matter of the Basilisk in mind, resolving to deal with it before he passed away.
Sensing that Levi's Soul Extraction Technique felt a bit like Dark Arts that toyed with souls, he couldn't help asking Levi.
Extracting a soul to create a crystal felt somewhat like a precursor magic for creating the Philosopher's Stone, and it was easy to evoke bad associations.
"It's a spell I developed myself, primarily targeted at evil and abnormally powerful souls like Voldemort's!"
Levi stated without reservation, having no intention of hiding anything.
An ordinary living creature's soul wasn't worth him using Soul Extraction Technique on; such souls couldn't create a soul crystal at all, yielding nothing but tiny scraps.
Headmaster Dumbledore nodded, his heart easing slightly. Since it was a spell designed specifically against Voldemort, there was nothing more to say.
Through long-term observation and spending so many days together alone, he and Levi had long established deep mutual trust.
Headmaster Dumbledore was already certain that Leviwould not step into the darkness beyond redemption like Voldemort.
"Levi," seeing the diary destroyed with his own eyes, Headmaster Dumbledore's lips twitched as he hesitated before speaking:
"There is something I didn't get to tell you in time. Regarding Voldemort and Harley, I once received a prophecy."
"The content of the prophecy goes: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...
Born to those who have thrice defied him...
Born as the seventh month dies...
And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,
But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...
And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'"
After so many honest conversations, Dumbledore had hesitated for a long time on the way back, and finally decided to tell the prophecy to Levi.
"To be honest, Levi, I am a bit confused now. If this prophecy is destined to come true, then our process of finding and destroying Horcruxes must be extremely fraught with difficulty."
"Yet just as you said, we have already destroyed three Horcruxes and know what the remaining two are."
"It seems resolving Voldemort is not a difficult matter, nor does it strictly require Mr. Potter. I am a bit bewildered and can't figure it out."
"Could it be that fate is already sealed, and unless Harleyacts personally, we are destined to fail in finding all the Horcruxes?"
"Or that for anyone other than Mr. Potter, searching for Horcruxes will encounter endless twists and turns and ultimately fail?"
Headmaster Dumbledore looked puzzled as he discussed this with Levi.
But in truth, he merely wanted to use this conversation to reveal the prophecy to Levi, giving Levi advance expectations so that he could accept the fact that his old headmaster was destined to die.
Dumbledore naturally knew that if he gave up searching for Horcruxes, perhaps he could escape death's pursuit and fate's mockery, without having to die early.
However, asking him to give up searching for Horcruxes and give up destroying Voldemort's immortality was impossible!
At the same time, Headmaster Dumbledore wondered in his heart: was the power of prophecy truly so formidable?
Could it disregard his and Levi's actions, orchestrate a series of coincidences, and only allow Harry Potter to destroy Voldemort's final Horcrux, and only allow Harleyto kill Voldemort once his immortality was gone?
Chapter 310 Deciphering the Prophecy
The time had finally come to this step, and Old Dumbledore had finally relented to tell me the prophecy!
Listening to Headmaster Dumbledore's words, Levithought with joy in his heart.
He did not know that Headmaster Dumbledore, because of his speculations about the prophecy, had already prepared to "accidentally" die on the way to finding and destroying the Horcrux.
He only felt that precisely because a Horcrux had been destroyed, and Headmaster Dumbledore felt that victory was in sight, he had told him the prophecy about the fated duel between Voldemort and Harley.
And he had expressed the doubt in his heart to him: since the two of them could find and destroy the Horcrux, then why did Harry Potter still need to engage in a fated life-or-death duel with Voldemort?
Levi, who had long known the answer, wore an ugly expression and used only a single sentence to resolve Headmaster Dumbledore's lingering doubts:
"Headmaster, you might not know this, but Harley can speak Parseltongue!"
Rumble!
Levi's sentence was no less than a thunderclap exploding in Headmaster Dumbledore's ears!
As an old Wizard with profound knowledge and a deep understanding of the bloodline factions of various families in the Wizarding World.
Headmaster Dumbledore only recalled slightly and knew that neither the Potter Family nor the Evans family had a hereditary history of Parseltongue.
Perhaps, perhaps among Harry Potter's paternal or maternal family lines, there was a history of intermarriage with Slytherin blood descendants?
Headmaster Dumbledore could only comfort himself like this in his heart, even though he knew this was impossible!
Although he did not understand what dominant inheritance meant, the Gaunt Family, the bloodline descendants of Slytherin, had always inherited Parseltongue!
In other words, unless Harry Potter was a person of the Gaunt Family, otherwise he should not have suddenly mastered Parseltongue!
"Levi, what do you mean?"
Headmaster Dumbledore asked Levi cautiously, greatly reluctant to hear that answer.
But Levi still spoke the answer out: "I suspect that on the night when Voldemort's Killing Curse rebounded, he unintentionally created a Horcrux at the cost of his own life."
"And that Horcrux is Harry Potter!"
Having finally said it, Levi secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. In this way, except for the Horcrux that Voldemort had not yet created—Nagini, all the Horcruxes had been found!
Speaking of which, Nagini, this Maledictus beast-person, indeed possessed great research value. Her special state was different from an Animagus, and perhaps it could provide ideas for his own research and transition into a Bloodline Warlock.
Of course, Levi also harbored some thoughts of rescuing this poor young lady, but he temporarily had no time to go to Albania to find her.
After hearing Levi's words, Headmaster Dumbledore sat in the Headmaster's chair, completely stunned. He now finally understood the full meaning of the prophecy!
On Harry Potter's body was the magic of love left by his mother, which could rebound the Killing Curse. Voldemortcould not approach Harley at all, let alone harm Harley!
And Harley was also one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Even if Voldemort was killed, Voldemort could still resurrect once again!
The two fated enemies could neither kill each other, and their lives were bound to each other. It was truly... truly...
"What should be done?"
Headmaster Dumbledore was also somewhat out of options, unless he could harden his heart, just like destroying the other Horcruxes, and chop off Harry Potter's head, but this was simply impossible.
However, when he noticed Levi sitting across from him, he suddenly asked with full hope:
"Levi, that magic you used can destroy a Horcrux while preserving the original object. Can you extract Voldemort's soul fragment from Harley's body without harming Harley?"
After listening to Headmaster Dumbledore's words, Levifelt deeply helpless and said with a dry laugh:
"Headmaster, Harley is a person. He also has his own soul; he is not an object."
"My magic doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Who can guarantee that when I cast a Spell, the soul extracted will be Harley's or Voldemort's?"
"However, I am currently only a second-year young wizard, and my magic level is still very limited. I can continue to study this magic, and perhaps one day I will finally be able to strip away Voldemort's soul fragment without harming Harley's soul."
He was still only a First Circle Arcanist right now, and his involvement in magic research in the realm of the soul was extremely shallow.
Levi estimated that when he promoted to an Arcanist of a higher circle and mastered more profound soul arcana, solving the small problem on Harry Potter's body would just be a matter of a Spell.
But as for time, that was hard to say. The higher the circle, the longer the time consumed needed for promotion, especially when he still had to divide his attention to transition into the other three classes.
After Headmaster Dumbledore heard Levi's words, the worried expression on his face did not ease in the slightest; instead, it made people feel that he had grown even older.
Because he had also thought of a method, which was to let Voldemort find a way to bypass the magic of love on Harley's body, enabling Voldemort to harm Harley.
Relying on the magical connection, let Voldemortpersonally destroy his own Horcrux. Without an immortal body, Voldemort and Harley could carry out the fated duel just like in the prophecy.
But if so, Harley would be too dangerous—he might even have to die once!
Moreover, if this untested hypothesis failed, then Harleywould really die!
Entrusting hope to Levi's unknown magic was certainly wonderful.
There was no need to care about any prophecy; one only needed to resolve Harley as a Horcrux. Voldemort, having lost his immortal body and left with only a remnant soul, might just die directly!
But could this hope really turn into reality?
If he implemented his own terrifying conception and it failed, although Harley as a Horcrux would also be gone and Voldemort would inevitably be defeated, Harleywould also die!
On one side was the unknown magic with slim hopes, and on the other side was Harley's uncertain life or death, or even the extremely high possibility of sacrifice. Headmaster Dumbledore found it difficult to choose, and his worries made him grow even older!
But Levi did not worry like him. In his view, all problems were problems of insufficient strength.
Rather than sitting here trapped in anxiety and distress with time to spare, it was better to go back and conduct magic research, so he asked Headmaster Dumbledore:
"Headmaster, do you want me to teach Soul Extraction Technique to you?"
"If the two of us research together, perhaps there is hope to resolve the problem of Voldemort's remnant soul on Harley's body!"
"If we can extract and destroy the remnant soul on Harley's body, and then destroy the locket and cup, I estimate Voldemort will have no Horcruxes left!"
"By then, that remnant soul of Voldemort, who was lingering on its last breath somewhere unknown, will probably also completely dissipate and die in some unknown corner!"
Hearing these words, Headmaster Dumbledore naturally would not refuse. If magic could truly solve the problem on Harley's body, how could he possibly be willing to try taking risks?