Chapter 25
Regarding Dobby, Barton didn't think too much about it or rather, compared to his own thoughts, he respected Lucian's opinion far more.
Even if he felt some sympathy for a fellow house-elf and wanted to maintain contact with Dobby, as long as Lucian did not permit it, he still wouldn't do so. Even though he and Lucian did not have a contractual bond between them.
After completing the task, Barton quietly returned to the office. Only after Hermione and the others had left did he appear, reporting everything that had happened to Lucian without missing a single detail.
"A house-elf that avoids the contract through self-harm? And Lucius is connected to the basilisk?" Lucian felt some distaste upon hearing the name Lucius Malfoy — during the war Voldemort had started, he had evaded multiple Death Eater searches, and Lucius had been one of those hunting him.
Still, the name did gradually remind him who Dobby was.
A house-elf frequently abused by Lucius, yet different from ordinary house-elves — this one understood right and wrong.
When Harry was just a baby and "defeated" Voldemort, the Death Eaters were thrown into panic, and as a side effect, the treatment of house-elves in pure-blood families improved noticeably across the board.
Upon hearing that the "Boy Who Lived", Harry Potter, might be in danger, Dobby had resolutely appeared to warn him. He was also one of the very few house-elves who considered "freedom" the highest ideal and truly yearned for it.
With Harry's help, Dobby would successfully gain his freedom from Lucius in the future, and apparently even play a key role in certain events later on.
"Master, it seems he intends to have further contact with me—" Barton asked quietly for Lucian's opinion.
"Do whatever you feel is right. If you want to keep in contact, do so. If you don't, refuse. It won't affect anything." Lucian caught the deeper meaning behind Barton's words and waved his hand dismissively.
Just one house-elf. Lucian wasn't so petty that he would scheme over its friendship too.
"Yes, sir." With Lucian's approval, Barton left with peace of mind.
Lucian sat at his desk, thinking quietly. Thanks to the very obvious landmark of "Moaning Myrtle", he had already located the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
After confirming that the Chamber had not yet been opened and the basilisk inside still couldn't come out, he was in no hurry to take the next step.
The item Lucius had planted in the school was very likely a Horcrux. If he only eliminated the basilisk without dealing with the influence of the Horcrux, the problem would never truly be solved — on the contrary, it would create endless future troubles.
Horcrux.
An evil object that carried fragments of Voldemort's split soul, functioning similarly to a lich's phylactery.
As long as not all Horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort's soul would never truly die — this was also the thing Dumbledore feared most. In the coming years, Dumbledore's primary focus would be destroying every single Horcrux, completely annihilating Voldemort.
"Creating a Horcrux, huh…" Lucian let out a soft sigh, it reminded him of his own ultimate goal — immortality; creating a Horcrux was actually one of the backup options in Lucian's plan.
By splitting the soul, one could extend their own life, but this method had far too many unknown drawbacks, and even the known flaws were extremely fatal. As long as Lucian had any other choice, he would never take this path.
Splitting the soul inflicts tremendous damage. Both body and mind suffer terribly.
Voldemort — a man who originally possessed both intelligence and talent, someone Lucian believed could have completely surpassed even the four founders — had become mentally unhinged after splitting his soul.
Not only did his appearance grow increasingly hideous with each division, far more terrifying were the effects on his mind.
Otherwise, no normal person would commit the absurd act of splitting their soul countless times, then carelessly scattering the most crucial Horcruxes all over the place.
Information about Horcruxes could be found in the Restricted Section of Hogwarts. [Secrets of the Darkest Art] gave a detailed introduction to this evil magical device, though it did not provide the specific method of creation.
Lucian picked up his quill and wrote two lines [Currently Known Methods of Immortality] [Philosopher's Stone] [Horcrux] And below that, his own age.
Both methods of achieving immortality were extremely demanding.
The Philosopher's Stone, capable of brewing the Elixir of Life, had — throughout the entire history of the magical world — only been successfully created by one person, Nicolas Flamel. Lucian didn't believe his talent in alchemy could compare to that man's.
Moreover… he didn't even know the formula yet. Thinking about it now felt almost like self-humiliation.
So what about Horcruxes?
Although Lucian knew that creating a Horcrux required murder, he also understood that simply killing someone wouldn't suffice. If it involved using evil means to torture a soul… when necessary, Lucian wouldn't mind doing such things to certain wanted death-row fugitives who had escaped justice.
Then — was there any way to obtain the method of creating a Horcrux through a transaction with Voldemort, without attracting anyone's attention? Although Lucian believed he could live at least three hundred years and didn't need to worry about lifespan for the time being, opportunities like this were once-in-a-lifetime.
By the time Voldemort was completely dead, the only person left who might know how to make a Horcrux would probably be Horace Slughorn — a man even more slippery than an eel.
Moreover, Lucian had once rejected Slughorn's invitation to the Slug Club. Their relationship was extremely shallow. Trying to build a connection with him later would be nearly impossible.
During the time he spent evading Death Eaters in the war, Lucian had even crossed paths with Slughorn once in a Muggle house — only for Slughorn to flee immediately without even daring to speak; thinking about all of this for a moment, Lucian actually felt a twinge of regret for telling Dumbledore about the basilisk.
Once Dumbledore decided to act, the entire matter would be cleanly and swiftly resolved in a very short time. There was no way Lucian could find any opportunity.
But then again — what choice did he really have?
If he didn't tell Dumbledore now, and the matter was resolved later, once Dumbledore learned everything… his own position would become quite awkward.
In the end, it all came down to one thing 'I'm still not strong enough.' Lucian flicked his palm lightly. The paper in front of him burst into flame and quickly turned to ashes. The brief firelight illuminated his face.
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Dumbledore's figure suddenly appeared within the room.
"Gaa—"
"A letter for me? Thank you for the reminder, Fawkes." Dumbledore took the letter from his phoenix.
"Lucian?" He sounded puzzled; both of them were in the school. Was it really necessary for the other to communicate this way?
He opened the letter and skimmed the contents. The body that had just settled into the chair gradually straightened, and his expression became subtle. He had just come back from the Ministry of Magic and had stopped by to check on the group of students Lucian was in charge of.
Not just Lucian — in Dumbledore's eyes, those twenty-four students were also extremely dangerous. Most of them were no less skilled than Hogwarts' outstanding graduates, and far more seasoned and ruthless.
Even more frightening, these fellows gathered together every day, researching how to obtain even greater power.Dumbledore himself had once gone through such a phase.
He knew very well what kind of spark and power could be created when two like-minded people came together, and Lucian had twenty-four such individuals. But this brief observation had made Dumbledore realize that something had changed.
Those people had truly stopped their dark magic research and shifted their focus elsewhere. From them, Dumbledore could sense the power of curses — it seemed Lucian had reached some sort of agreement with them.
'A vicious curse? Or an Unbreakable Vow?' Dumbledore couldn't quite tell; but the contents of this letter made him lean toward the latter.
"The Chamber of Secrets left by Slytherin, is it…" Dumbledore looked at the letter in his hand and recalled a very old incident.
In that event, a Hogwarts student had lost her precious life, and Hagrid had been caught red-handed by Tom Riddle — who would later become Voldemort. The then-headmaster, Armando Dippet, hadn't listened to Hagrid's defense at all and had directly declared him guilty.
And within Hogwarts, a new ghost had appeared — Moaning Myrtle. If Slytherin were to have an heir, there was no doubt it would have been Tom.
Therefore, the one who opened the Chamber back then was Tom. Hagrid had indeed been innocent. Dumbledore set the letter down and walked out of the office door.
Note : Drop Powerstones.
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