Chapter 128: Man and Horcrux
"This child... he isn't human. Not completely human," Nicolas Flamel said, his tone grave.
"Not human?" Dumbledore, Gellert, and Flitwick were all confused.
The statement itself was difficult to comprehend. Harry was a living, breathing young wizard. If he wasn't human, what was he? As for the latter part, "not completely human," whether that could be interpreted as "completely not human" was another matter entirely.
Nicolas Flamel didn't elaborate. He simply pointed a finger toward a corner of the room. A small alchemical ritual circle instantly formed, and a tiny alchemical flame shot from it, traveling along a rope-like extension out the door.
At the same time, he called out in a loud voice, "Ryan, your Extendable Ears are far too obvious. I hope you'll have an improved version to show me the next time you come for a lesson."
"Ah, alright!" Ryan's voice came from just outside the door, muffled. The flame on the Extendable Ears sizzled as it burned back from the corner of the room to the doorway with a soft pop.
"A shame. We got caught eavesdropping," he said, letting the scorched device go as the small flame died out.
"I told you it wasn't appropriate to listen in on the Headmaster and professors," said Harry, who had been trying to persuade Ryan against it. "We should have just gone straight to the kitchens to get something for them."
"Alright, to the kitchens it is," Ryan said, giving the door one last, deep look before turning and walking away.
He had already guessed at an unbelievable truth, something that had likely never happened before in the entire history of magic.
Ryan led the way, afraid that if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to control his expression and Harry might notice something was wrong. The chance was small, but it was better not to complicate things.
It was simply absurd. Absurd in every sense of the word.
No wonder Harry's the protagonist, Ryan thought, his mind racing with the implications of his new theory. If things like luck or destiny truly existed, then all you had to do was send in your most capable general, Harry Potter, and he would solve everything. At least, from his birth until now—while Harry himself probably felt he was incredibly unfortunate—from Ryan's perspective, the boy might as well have had pure Felix Felicis flowing through his veins.
Unfortunately, luck always has a price. His gaze shifted to the thin figure beside him. He felt that if given the choice, Harry would not have wanted this kind of luck.
Harry, for his part, had no idea what was happening. He was a good student and a good kid; he wouldn't eavesdrop on his teachers. He just thought they should take advantage of the break to bring them some food and drink to help them recharge.
The two walked toward the kitchens below, not another word passing between them.
"Why did you say Harry is not completely human?" Dumbledore asked, his brow furrowed so deeply that the ends of his long, trembling beard quivered with his inner turmoil.
As the architect and executor of the "Chosen One" plan, he had placed immense hope in Harry Potter. He had once believed that Harry was the one who, after him, could finally put an end to Voldemort. But now, someone—and someone whose words carried enormous weight—was saying that Harry Potter wasn't entirely human.
This statement was, in a way, a negation of his entire plan, indirectly suggesting that Dumbledore, as an educator, was a spectacular failure. If someone called him a crazy old man, he might just chuckle. But if someone said he was a failure at teaching, having failed to guide two successive Dark Lords from their path, Dumbledore was liable to become very angry.
"Correct. Aside from the part of him that is a wizard, Harry Potter also serves as a living vessel," Nicolas Flamel said, his face a perfect mask of "I've lived for six hundred years and I've never seen anything like this."
"Inside Harry Potter's soul, there is another soul fragment, one that originates from someone else."
"That's impossible!" Flitwick immediately objected. Two souls coexisting in one body would inevitably drive the person insane. It would certainly not produce a respectful, studious boy like Harry Potter.
(If Ryan had been there, he would have surely rebutted his professor: "Any object can be a vessel for a soul and become a Horcrux, so why not a person? Is that not discrimination against humans? It's not fair, it's speciesism! I'm shaking—when will humans finally stand up for themselves!")
"There is no precedent for such a thing in magical history," Dumbledore said after a moment, searching through his long years of experience and reading. He knew Nicolas Flamel wouldn't make such a claim without basis, but his concern and affection for Harry had become an instinct, compelling him to speak.
"We'll know for sure when the boy comes back and we check," Gellert sneered. "You are simply too cautious, Albus. Sending him away for something like this... perhaps because you haven't had to make excuses for a few hundred years, you've gotten rusty. Even a boy like Ryan could tell something was off with that flimsy pretext."
"Actually, there's no need to check. It's a fragment of Voldemort's soul, isn't it?" Dumbledore said, his gaze fixed on the Path from Eden seal floating above the complex alchemical apparatus in the center of the room.
He continued, "The creation of a Horcrux requires three conditions: a murder, a vessel, and intense malice. And on that night, Voldemort happened to meet all three conditions..."
"...and Harry became a living Horcrux."
As he finished the sentence, the black mist within the seal stirred, as if it had sensed something.
Silence descended upon the room. After a long moment, Gellert broke it, chuckling in amazement. "Herpo the Foul himself probably never imagined the method he created could split a soul into so many pieces, let alone embed one in a living person."
"Based on that alone, the boy Tom Riddle has created a school of magic all his own. When this is recorded in history, no one will be able to say he was just copying others."
Hearing his old friend's words, Dumbledore's heavy heart lifted slightly, though his face remained grim. "Gellert, this is hardly the time to be praising Voldemort. His magic is now arrayed against us. This development raises the level of danger Harry is in. We will need to completely re-evaluate the influence Voldemort might have over him."
"No, Albus, you are ignoring the most important point. This is about far more than the safety of your student. The safety of one Harry Potter is nothing," Gellert said, his voice rising as he looked directly at Dumbledore. "Think, man! The reason a Horcrux allows its creator to evade death is that their soul is no longer whole. Every single fragment can serve as a vessel for resurrection!"
"Merlin only knows how many Horcruxes your student Tom Riddle has made! Creating just one would not cause this kind of irreversible damage to a wizard's mental state, nor would it cause their physical appearance and even their bloodline to collapse before stabilizing in a new form!"
"And don't forget," Gellert's voice was low and intense, "the Dagger we brought back from the Great Lakes. With an enemy like that lurking in the shadows, you can be certain he will think of using a valuable pawn like Voldemort!"
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