Chapter 60: The Bonus Mission
Neville's interruption at lunch had been a welcome escape, but it had also triggered something far more significant: a new prompt from the Supreme Mage System.
[The Supreme Mage does not fear the darkness. Where darkness stirs, opportunity for insight arises.]
[Bonus Mission: Aid Albus Dumbledore in confirming the truth of Voldemort's fragmented soul.]
[Reward: One use of the Eye of Agamotto. (Note: A single activation of the Time Stone.)]
When Elian processed the reward, his heart nearly stopped. One use of the Time Stone. Even a single activation was a power beyond comprehension—a chance to undo a catastrophe, to trap an enemy in an endless loop, to glimpse countless futures. It was the ultimate strategic weapon.
That reward was worth any risk. It was why he had been so frank with Dumbledore earlier, laying the groundwork, hinting at powers beyond standard magic. He needed the old wizard to be prepared, to be open to impossible explanations.
His plan had been to find a gradual way to lead Dumbledore to the horrifying truth about Horcruxes. But how do you tell the greatest wizard alive that his darkest enemy had splintered his soul seven times, and that one fragment lived inside the Boy Who Lived? You couldn't. Not directly. He'd be seen as a liar or, worse, a servant of Voldemort.
Then, like a gift, Harry and Professor McGonagall had burst in with news of Arthur Weasley's attack. Harry's vivid, serpentine vision. The link was active, raw, and screaming for interpretation.
The perfect opportunity had literally walked through the door.
Elian watched as Dumbledore, with impressive calm, used the portraits in his office to send messages, to mobilize help. He watched the Weasley children gather, terrified, around a black kettle—a Portkey. He saw the profound worry in Dumbledore's eyes, warring with his innate composure.
As Dumbledore began the countdown to transport them to safety, Elian acted.
"Headmaster," he said, his voice cutting through the tension. He put down his biscuit. "I suggest I bring Harry along afterward. There's something crucial you need to see. Harry needs to be here for it."
Dumbledore paused, his sharp blue eyes locking onto Elian's. He saw no mischief, only deadly seriousness. After a brief hesitation, he nodded. "Harry, remove your hand."
Confused and angry, Harry let go of the kettle. "One… two…" Dumbledore counted.
In that suspended moment, Harry looked up at the Headmaster. Their eyes met. A bolt of white-hot agony seared through Harry's scar, and a wave of pure, irrational hatred—not his own—washed over him. He flinched.
"THREE!"
The Weasleys vanished with a swish. The office was suddenly quiet, occupied only by Dumbledore, a trembling Harry, and Elian.
Elian stood, brushing crumbs from his robes. He walked toward them, his demeanor shifting from casual observer to focused intensity. "Headmaster, Harry… what you're about to see may defy your understanding of magic. Do not be alarmed."
Dumbledore watched him, every sense alert. Harry just looked bewildered and in pain.
Elian stopped before Dumbledore. A faint, golden light began to emanate from his hands. "This," he said, his voice resonating with a strange power, "is not wandwork. This is the art of the mystic."
He raised his hands, intricate, fiery mandalas of light spinning into existence at his fingertips. The air hummed with energy that felt ancient and structured, utterly foreign to the wild, wand-based magic of their world.
"What I will show you is called Astral Projection. I will walk in the realm of spirit, and I will follow the thread that binds Harry to the monster who seeks to kill him. I will show you the stain on his soul… and the fragments of another."
With a final, decisive motion, Elian brought his hands together. There was a sound like a shattering crystal, and his physical form seemed to blur. A spectral, glowing version of Elian stepped out of his own body, connected by a silvery cord of light.
The astral Elian looked at the stunned Headmaster and the terrified Boy Who Lived.
"Now," the projection said, its voice echoing slightly in the quiet room. "Let us go and see what the snake has seen."
(End of Chapter)
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