From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 200 Galloping
The flames wrapped around Snape and Dumbledore's hands gradually died down. Ivy put away his wand and watched the two men stand up again.

"The oath has been established, and we can tell you everything about Voldemort." Dumbledore sat back in his chair with a relaxed look on his face.

He rested his elbows on the table, put his ten long and strong fingers together, and said, "Remember what I told you last year, Severus? Voldemort returned in the form of a residual soul, attached to Quirinus's body. But when he was killing a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest, he accidentally ran into Ivy. So he met another failure."

"Although Quirrell, who was possessed by him, is dead, Voldemort is not so easily defeated. He escaped from Hogwarts and is hiding in some gutter."

Snape glanced at Ivy out of the corner of his eye, and didn't seem surprised that he had killed Quirrell.

"So, the so-called Professor Victor is really Mr. Doom?" Snape complimented without any emotion. "He is already the youngest professor in the history of Hogwarts."

Ever since Ivy had promised him that he would resurrect Lily, Snape had been trying to please him, intentionally or unintentionally, in certain ways, including but not limited to opening up his own private potion material library to Ivy, providing him with the latest potion journals, and compliments that didn't sound like compliments.

Dumbledore laughed, seeming to like Snape's humor very much: "Ivy is not the youngest professor. He is a few years older than me."

"We found out that the reason Voldemort was able to return from death several times was because he used a very evil black magic." Ivy didn't like being talked about in person, so he continued where Dumbledore had left off. "That was the magic he learned from the restricted area of Hogwarts when he was a student. "Advanced Black Magic Revealed", I remember the name of the book. He described in detail how to make a Horcrux - by murdering to remove a piece of one's soul and using black magic to seal it on an object. Therefore, when the body is destroyed, the owner of the Horcrux can return to the world with the undestroyed fragment in the Horcrux."

"Your account is too detailed, Ivy." Dumbledore stared at Ivy with an inquiring look. Every time they met, this young-looking wizard could give him something different. "How did you know all this?"

"Because of the first Horcrux he made, the diary that Lucius gave me." Ivy reminded.

"I remember it, and I remember you saying that Voldemort used it as a weapon, a weapon that could open the Chamber of Secrets and create chaos in the school." Dumbledore recalled the black notebook that Ivy threw in front of him.

Since he had never seen it in person, Dumbledore's knowledge of the diary was limited to the Horcruxes.

"In order to allow the Horcrux to open the Chamber of Secrets, he sealed his memories of studying at Hogwarts inside it, and set up very vicious black magic to help his Horcrux gain the ability to move. If a wizard touches it for a long time without any precautions, the diary will absorb the wizard's vitality and magic power, and eventually Voldemort's memories will be materialized." Ivy explained the magic that Voldemort set for the diary.

"If the Horcrux diary was really placed in Hogwarts, the most likely person to pick it up would be an unsuspecting student..." Dumbledore shook his head. "I can't imagine how many casualties would be caused if the basilisk really wreaked havoc in the castle... Fortunately, it met you, Ivy."

"Lucius handed over the Dark Lord's Horcrux? Why did he do that?" Snape asked, "Since the Dark Lord has entrusted him with the most important thing..."

"This is the important part." Dumbledore sighed, "The Horcrux is not a top priority for him, Severus. Indeed, after a dark wizard creates a Horcrux, he will try every means to protect it and prevent others from knowing its existence, just to be able to resurrect himself safely. But Voldemort used it as a weapon, a prop to kill students."

"Lucius didn't know it was a Horcrux, nor did he know it was important to Voldemort." Ivy said with a smile, "He only knew it was a tool that could open the Chamber of Secrets. And I happened to be a suitable investment target. Slytherin's nature... So it was natural that Lucius became one of our companions. If he didn't want the Malfoy family to turn to dust because of Voldemort's return, he had to do his best to help prevent Voldemort from resurrecting."

"Everyone who is familiar with Voldemort's ways will increase our chances of winning." Although Dumbledore did not like Lucius Malfoy's pure-blood ways, he would not refuse the opportunity to increase his own strength.

"And we are sure that Voldemort has made multiple Horcruxes." Dumbledore continued, "In addition to his diary when he was in school, there is also the Ravenclaw diadem and Marvolo Gaunt's gold ring. These three Horcruxes have been destroyed by us. In addition, among the relics of the Big Four, only Gryffindor's sword has not been contaminated by Voldemort. Hufflepuff's gold cup and Slytherin's locket are both speculated by us to be one of the Horcruxes."

"He put the Ravenclaw diadem in the castle?" Snape's eyes flickered over Ivy's head. It seemed that he also remembered Professor Victor who wore the golden eagle crown on his head last year.

"Yes, I found it in the Room of Requirement." Ivy nodded slightly, unceremoniously taking the credit for the work of the contract magician Cassandra. "And after my repair, the originally damaged crown was reborn as a magical prop. If you can find the golden cup or the locket, remember to bring them to me."

Snape nodded to show that he understood.

"So our most important task is to find all of his Horcruxes before the Dark Lord returns?" Snape had begun to understand how to defeat Voldemort.

"So how many Horcruxes does he have?" Snape asked again, "If we don't know the exact number, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to do this."

"That's exactly what I'm working on." Dumbledore said softly, "Since he learned how to make Horcruxes when he was studying at Hogwarts, we should start with his teachers at school. I think Horace Sgraughhorn is someone who might know something."

"He does know." Ivy confirmed Dumbledore's speculation. He was tired of playing dumb. The sooner he could catch the rat in the gutter, the sooner he could start his journey to another world. As the final boss of the series, Voldemort could bring him a huge amount of experience points, enough for him to learn spells that could teleport to other planes. There was also endless magical knowledge waiting for Ivy.

"Did you see this from his memory as well?" Dumbledore's tone was full of surprise. Searching for useful memories was a very tiring task. Not only did he have to endure mental fatigue like watching a boring movie, but he also had to keep sticking his head in the meditation basin. This was indeed not an easy task for an elderly man, and it also put great pressure on his lumbar spine.

"That's right," Ivy nodded, "He envisioned dividing his soul into seven parts, that is, creating six Horcruxes."

"Great!" Dumbledore said excitedly, "We have destroyed half of them. Together with the golden cup and the locket, there is only one Horcrux left and we don't know what it is."

"But there is another person who needs our special attention." Ivy reminded softly.

"Yes..." Dumbledore stopped talking and fell into silent thinking.

Snape waited for a moment, then could not help asking, "Who is it? A Death Eater who keeps a Horcrux?"

"No," said Dumbledore slowly. "You know. You have always known, Severus."

The silence lasted for a while, and Snape said through gritted teeth: "Potter?" Dumbledore nodded.

"He is just an arrogant, reckless, mediocre, arrogant person who loves to break discipline, likes to be in the spotlight, attract attention, and is rude--" Snape never used the same words when scolding Harry.

Dumbledore had to interrupt him: "I still say the same thing, Severus - you see the Harry you imagined, instead of really understanding this child."

"Don't even think about it!" Snape growled, panting. "He's just relying on Lily's magic to survive under the power of the Dark Arts - that prophecy, that prophecy is bullshit!"

"That's exactly what I'm going to say," Dumbledore waited until Snape calmed down a little before continuing, "The prophecy linked Harry and Voldemort together, and he personally marked this half-blood boy... So under Lily's love magic, he blew his body to pieces with a killing curse, and at the same time, a piece of his soul was separated from his body..."

"Potter..." Snape was horrified. The strangeness of reality was beyond his imagination. "He is a living Horcrux?"

"That's absolutely right." Dumbledore agreed.

"No wonder he's a Parseltongue... No wonder he can open the Chamber of Secrets..." Snape muttered to himself, "So... we have to kill him too?"

"No, that's not right... We have the magic of resurrection..." Snape began to understand everything gradually, "Is that why you told me the truth? You found a way to prevent the boy's death? After I was resurrected that day?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I prefer to call it that, after you gave your life for him - it was a noble sacrifice, Severus."

He smiled affirmatively: "This is the best part of your humanity, and it is also what distinguishes you from Voldemort. To be honest, if you could change your teaching methods..."

"Hmph!" Snape interrupted the conversation that made him feel uncomfortable with a cold snort. He was always too shy to talk about "love", and even when he regretted missing out, it didn't change his character.

If he had taken the initiative, maybe the person studying at Hogwarts now would not be Harry Potter, but Harry Snape.

"When do we start?" Snape asked suddenly.

"...Do it?" Dumbledore asked in confusion, then his eyes widened in sudden realization, "What do you want to do?"

"I can do this for you personally," Snape said sarcastically, "so as not to dirty the hands of the greatest white wizard in the wizarding world."

Dumbledore frowned and said, "Although Ivy has the magic of resurrection, we cannot suddenly kill him without informing Harry."

"So you called us all here that day just to tell us this?" Snape asked rudely, "Then why did you tell me alone? I can only guess that you intend to let me be the villain. Fortunately, I have no reason to refuse."

Snape looked eager to kill the son of his enemy, after all, he had a completely legitimate and noble reason to do so.

"With just a Killing Curse or some poison, he can die painlessly. But I personally recommend a more creative way of death. I believe that prolonging the death process will help him remember it. At least it can help Gryffindor lose some points. Minerva has complained about Gryffindor's scores in the staff room more than once." Snape began to describe his murder plan, as if he wanted to cover up all the positive impressions of himself in Dumbledore's mind.

"Oh! That's enough, Severus." Dumbledore frowned with a headache, "Please don't describe your murder plan in front of me, and I forbid you to act on your own. We must tell Harry the truth of the matter."

"You're going to push a choice that has no other options on him?" Snape sneered, and then said sarcastically, "Letting a second-year student choose suicide is much more noble than me! No wonder you can be the greatest white wizard in the wizarding world."

Ever since Snape started talking, the smile on Ivy's face never stopped. After knowing everything, the old bat began to let himself go, completely leaving Dumbledore speechless.

"Ivy--" Dumbledore tried to ask Ivy for help. He had been using his eyes to send signals, but Ivy pretended not to see him.

Ivy still pretended not to hear. He was even planning to learn a few swear words from Snape.

So Dumbledore had to take action himself: "I plan to train him, Severus."

"Who to train? Potter?" Snape was still firing on all cylinders. "You expect a second-year student to become a Dark Lord killer? You might as well expect him to choke to death on his own spit."

"At least we have to block the connection between Harry and Voldemort." Dumbledore tried not to notice the sarcasm in Snape's words. "As the only living Horcrux, Harry can sometimes sense some of Voldemort's conditions. We have reason to believe that Voldemort may also learn about what happened in Hogwarts from Harry. If we can't cut off this connection, it means that our plan will be exposed!"

"Are you going to tell him everything?" Snape asked.

"No, no one said we would tell him the whole truth... We just plan to have you start training him and teach him the art of Occlumency." Dumbledore closed his eyes in pain. This was the first time he lost to Snape in a verbal battle. Even a wizard like Dumbledore looked very embarrassed after losing the information gap.

"The possibility that Potter has learned Occlumency is zero." Snape pretended to take Dumbledore's feelings into consideration and changed his words, "Almost zero. I think you might as well take out his brain and put it separately. Anyway, when you open his skull, you will find that Potter has nothing that can be called a brain."

(End of this chapter)