The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 573 The Last Memory
After Harry opened the door of the principal's office, Ryan looked around the office and found that everything was the same as before. The black night sky full of stars outside the window added a sense of tranquility to the house.

Dumbledore was now sitting behind his desk reviewing a pile of documents. Ryan felt that the headmaster was in good spirits, but he looked a little tired. Come to think of it, even if Professor Dumbledore was powerful, he was already a hundred-year-old man. If he didn't know magic, it would be a miracle for a person of this age to be able to take care of himself.

Even though the life span of people in the magic world has been greatly enhanced, some natural laws cannot be violated. In such a tense situation, as the greatest white wizard, there are too many things to deal with every day. As an old man over 100 years old, it is normal for Dumbledore to look a little tired.

"Ah, it's you!" Dumbledore raised his head and moved his gaze from the documents to Ryan and the others. "What's the matter with you coming so late?"

"Sir - I got it. I got Slughorn's memory with the help of Ryan and others." Harry took out the small glass bottle and showed it to Dumbledore. The headmaster was stunned for a moment, and then a smile broke out on his face. "Harry, this is exciting news! It's great! I know you can do it!"

After saying that, Dumbledore stood up, walked behind his chair, took out the Pensieve from the cabinet and placed it on the table. Then he poured all the memories in Harry's bottle into it. "Now, we are finally going to see..."

Then Dumbledore waved to the three people standing in front of the desk. "By the way, come and take a look. This is very important to all of us..."

It was the first time for Ryan and Hermione to use the Pensieve. Fortunately, Harry had described to them his own methods and feelings when using the Pensieve. So Ryan took Hermione's hand and leaned forward together. Then they took a deep breath at the same time and plunged into the silver substance.

They felt as if they were floating, just like the random space teleportation before, falling through the rotating darkness to somewhere. The only difference was that there was no feeling of being squeezed or even oppressed. Suddenly, they found themselves in a room.

Soon, Dumbledore and Harry also appeared beside the two. They looked at Slughorn, who was much younger than he was now in this house, with thick and shiny straw-yellow hair and a ginger mustache. He sat in a comfortable winged armchair, his feet resting on a large velvet cushion, holding a small glass of wine in one hand and picking through a box of pineapple preserves with the other. Six or seven teenage boys sat around Slughorn, including Voldemort, who was still called Tom at the time. Ryan recognized the gold ring with the resurrection stone shining on his hand.

It can be seen that Slughorn was very optimistic about Voldemort, because Ryan saw him swear to Voldemort. "-I believe you will be promoted to Minister of Magic in twenty years. Maybe in just fifteen years, if you often send me pineapple candied fruit. I have a strong relationship in the Ministry."

"What a disgusting reality." Ryan heard Hermione muttering beside him. For someone like her who has a bit of idealism, seeing such naked transactions always makes her feel uncomfortable.

The young Voldemort, who was also somewhat dissatisfied with this situation, said when the other boys' laughter died down, "I don't know if politics is suitable for me, sir. First of all, I have no background."

The two boys next to them smiled at each other. Ryan felt that by this time Tom Riddle had spread the news that his ancestor was Salazar Slytherin through some means, and there was no doubt that the boys who were laughing knew that their leader had a distinguished ancestor.

"What are you talking about?" Slughorn said cheerfully. As a member of one of the 28 pure-blood families, he could tell the family background of a student from his habits. Tom Riddle's heartfelt recognition of pure-bloodism after knowing that he was a descendant of Slytherin, as well as the pure-blood family's behavior learned from his Slytherin classmates, obviously made Slughorn think that he was of noble birth. "With your talent, you must come from a respectable wizard family. This is obvious. You have a bright future, Tom. I have never misjudged a student."

Just then, the golden clock on Slughorn's desk struck eleven, and he began to drive the students away. "Goodness, is it time already? Time to go, kids, or we'll be in trouble. Lestrange, turn in your paper tomorrow or you'll be in detention. Same with you, Avery."

The boys began to file out of the office, and Slughorn stood up to pack up, but there was a noise behind him, and he turned around to find Riddle still standing there.

"Come on, Tom, you don't want to be caught out at lights-out, you're a prefect..." "Sir, I want to ask you something."

"Then ask quickly, child, ask quickly..."

"Sir, I want to ask you if you know...Horcruxes."

After hearing this, Ryan and the others were all excited at the same time. Because they knew that the content they needed most was about to appear, everyone adjusted their state and concentrated on listening to every word that followed.

Slughorn stared at the young Voldemort, his fat fingers absentmindedly stroking the stem of the cup. "Defence Against the Dark Arts, eh?" But all four of them could see that Slughorn knew it wasn't a school assignment.

"No, sir, I read it in a book and don't quite understand it." Riddle perfectly portrayed the image of a man who knew nothing about this evil magic prop but was extremely eager to learn.

Slughorn was deceived by this illusion, and he said to Riddle earnestly, "Well... yes... it's hard to find a book that details Horcruxes at Hogwarts, Tom. They are very evil things, very evil."

"But you obviously know, sir? I mean, a wizard like you - sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously - I just know that if anyone can tell me, it's you - so I just want to ask -"

"You really know how to grasp people's hearts." Ryan sighed. Slughorn was a person who liked to be flattered, and this unintentional compliment just scratched Slughorn's itch. From Riddle's well-placed question, Ryan could feel that he might have been planning this for a long time, and might even have spent several weeks practicing repeatedly in front of the mirror. From this aspect, it can also be seen that this question is very important to him.

"Well," said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle but playing with the ribbon on the box of preserved pineapple fruit that Riddle had given him, "of course, it wouldn't hurt to give you a brief introduction, just so you understand the term. A Horcrux is an object that contains part of a person's soul."

"But I don't quite understand what that means, sir," Riddle said, but the four people who were watching this memory at the same time felt the excitement beneath Riddle's calm surface.

"So you split your soul," said Slughorn, "and you put one part in some object outside your body. Then, if your body is attacked or destroyed, you can't die, because part of it remains intact. But, of course, it's a terrible way to exist, and few people want it, Tom. Very few. It's easier to die."

Professor Slughorn's warning was absolutely heartfelt and very correct. While traveling to so many worlds, Ryan also asked countless powerful people about various knowledge about cultivation. The path of cultivation of each powerful person is different, but without exception, they all emphasize the importance of soul integrity.

However, Voldemort may not know this at this time, or he may think that he is the most special person and will not be affected by the negative effects of the Horcrux. So after hearing Slughorn talking about the Horcrux, he showed a greedy expression and could no longer hide his desire.

"Humans should be the masters of power, rather than being enslaved by it. At the same time, one must remain humble on the road to seeking power, and never think that he is the chosen one." Ryan whispered to himself in his heart that the lesson taught by Voldemort's negative example was too profound. He felt that he could learn a lot of experience and lessons from this matter.

(End of this chapter)