"Come on! Damon!"
Harry roared, closing his eyes. He didn't want to witness his own death; he fought against his reluctance.
As if sensing its own impending death, the fragment of Voldemort's soul stirred Harry's heart. He felt himself trembling, his throat quivering. He wanted to beg for mercy, but he wouldn't!
Harry heard Damon chanting a spell and wondered what kind of magic he would use to kill him.
If possible, he hoped it would be the God's Gun. He and Ron had long coveted this unique skill, but even if Damon taught them the secret, they could never learn even a single bit. Their magical skills were still far from the best in the world.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body shaking.
In this overwhelming fear, he heard the name of the spell.
"Legilimens!"
A sudden gust of wind blew up, nearly knocking Harry off his feet. It was his mind that felt more buoyant than his body. With his eyes closed, Harry felt as if an invisible hand had grasped his head from thin air. His cerebral cortex trembled, as if something transparent was being grasped and snatched away.
Then came a powerful sense of detachment.
"..." Harry was about to fall when a hand caught him. He opened his eyes to see Dumbledore, his expression incredibly gentle.
"I wish your parents had seen what you just did. You were so brave. You far exceeded my expectations.
Harry, the courage you displayed is on par with those wizards who fought Voldemort to the death during his heyday!"
"Thank you, Professor."
Harry hadn't expected Dumbledore to say that, but he also realized he wasn't as excited as he'd imagined. To be recognized by the most powerful White wizard, by the respected Dumbledore, had been something he'd only dreamed of, and even now, Harry considered it the greatest honor.
But why was the throbbing in his heart not even one percent of what it had been before?
Harry turned his head and saw that Damon had put away his wand.
"Well, now Voldemort can't eavesdrop on our conversation."
"What did you do to me—I mean, won't you kill me, Damon?"
"Brother, you're my good friend, how could I bear to kill you?"
Damon patted Harry's shoulder—the expression on Harry's face didn't soften.
"What about Voldemort? What did you do with Legilimency?"
It had to be said that although the scene just now had made him very excited, it also made his heart cold. He realized that sooner or later, he would die at the hands of his own people.
The feeling was too painful. Before Harry could fully process this matter, his heart had completely gone numb.
"Something must have happened to Voldemort that neither Dumbledore nor I quite understand—it's caused the fragment of your soul to become more active, almost awakening—in my perception, it's as if you have two souls within you.
Just now, I seized the moment when your emotions were at their strongest and completely shut down your mind—for a minimum of two weeks, a maximum of a month. Your thoughts will become extremely restrained, and the evil side will be completely suppressed by me—I'm sorry, I don't really want to do this, but it's the only way."
"It's okay, but what do we do next?"
"Come with me."
He led Harry and Dumbledore to the Room of Requirement—Harry was even more confused.
'I need a place to hide the tiara, I need a place to hide the tiara,'
Damon muttered to himself, pacing back and forth three times before opening the Room of Requirement.
The three of them entered a room as vast as a church. The surroundings looked like a city—made up of the hidden possessions of thousands of students long dead.
Even the most obtuse of minds could sense that Damon had something important to do.
Harry and Dumbledore followed him quietly.
They passed the stuffed troll, the huge black cabinet, and surveyed the passages between the garbage heaps. Damon quickly lost his patience, pulled out his wand, and waved it. Countless tiles lifted up, transforming into a dense swarm of hamsters crawling in all directions.
A flood of information flashed before Damon's eyes—bottles, hats, trunks, chairs, books, weapons, brooms, bats.
Then, he spotted an old, blistered cabinet. Atop it, a pockmarked bust of a wizard, wearing a dusty, worn wig, and what looked like an old, faded crown.
Bingo, found it.
Dumbledore exclaimed almost the moment he saw the crown.
"Ravenclaw's Diadem? It's been gone for centuries, and here it is! How did you find it?"
"It's a long story."
Damon ignored the question—this was the last known location of a Horcrux, and he hadn't dealt with it.
But honestly, he felt he should get serious now—the plot had shifted beyond his comprehension. Harry's influence by Voldemort's soul fragments happened later in the story, and they were only in their second year.
Damon decided that after dealing with the crown, he would use the Pensieve to access his original memories, locate the remaining Horcruxes, and destroy them all—the very thought of it gave him a headache.
The Horcrux fragments in Harry's body can only be destroyed by Voldemort himself using the Killing Curse; no one else can do it. If something were to happen to Voldemort, achieving this would be quite a hassle.
However, we could only take it one step at a time—if things didn't work out, he wouldn't actually kill Harry; at worst, Voldemort would just let him live.
All seven soul fragments were intact, and he hadn't caused any trouble. At worst, he'd kill Harry each time he came.
It was time to get started on teaching Harry Occlumency.
Damon picked up the ancient diadem and blew gently—his breath transformed into a gust of wind, blowing away all the dust on it, revealing the diadem's original beauty—a gem in the center, and engraved on its base with Ravenclaw's famous motto:
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
After confirming that it was indeed the diadem, Damon casually tossed it to the ground. Seeing such a legendary treasure being treated in this way, Harry's eyes twitched, and a subconscious look of heartache appeared.
Ravenclaw's diadem, a treasure said to grant extraordinary wisdom when worn. What was Damon bringing him here for? Borrowing the diadem's power to find a way to resolve the fragments of Voldemort's soul?
Then, he heard Damon's spell again, wand in hand, expression serious.
"Sagitta Divinus - Dispello!"
Read 20+ chapters ahead at p4treon
And support me for my semester fee...
[email protected]/Horizons685
(End of chapter)