Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 328 Voldemort's Purpose

Still pondering Vaughn's words, Harry instinctively asked, "Why?"

Ron, who had been trembling like a quail a moment ago, spat viciously and roared, "I ran into that guy first thing this morning, I'm definitely going to have a run of bad luck today!"

Harry chuckled, and Ron's teasing actually lifted his spirits considerably.

"Speaking of which, weren't you supposed to be seeing Old Bat? How come you're out with Vaughn?"

Harry opened his mouth, hesitated, and decided not to tell anyone what had happened in the Potions Office, even though Vaughn hadn't told him to keep it a secret and seemed not to mind if he told others what he had seen.

But recently, he's been constantly mocked for being a big mouth, and Harry is somewhat bothered by his reputation. He can't very well keep quiet, but he certainly doesn't want to be known as someone who speaks without restraint.

He planned to ask Vaughn first, and then consider whether or not to tell Ron.

So he casually brushed it off and went back to the Gryffindor Tower with Ron, who was still grumbling incessantly.

When Harry and Ron returned, Vaughn, who had left first, did not go back to Slytherin, who was also in the dungeon. Instead, he walked out of the dungeon and up the stairs to the headmaster's office.

Unlike the past when the spiral stone staircase rose up, concealing the entrance, today the stone staircase to the principal's office has fallen down, allowing clear light to shine through.

Vaughn climbed the steps, and when he was halfway up, he heard Dumbledore's voice from above: "Vaughn: Darling, is that you? Come on up, I was just about to brew a pot of good tea for you!"

Vaughn remained calm and didn't respond. He slowly went upstairs, pushed open the half-closed door of the headmaster's office, and saw Dumbledore, with disheveled hair, wearing a purple nightgown and a protruding belly, squatting by the fireplace in the spacious room. He was frantically lifting the lid of the boiling kettle, muttering something to himself, and grabbing a handful of tea leaves, preparing to throw them into the teapot.

Vaughn's eyebrows twitched, and with a flick of his fingers, the tea box that Dumbledore was holding floated up.

The sudden turn of events didn't surprise Dumbledore. He straightened up, turned to look at them, spread the tea leaves he had picked up with his fingers in his palm, and asked, "Did I brew it wrong?"

Vaughn beckoned the tea box to his side, glanced at it, and said casually, "Green tea can't be boiled."

"No wonder I always found it bitter and unpleasant to drink after trying it several times." Dumbledore smiled and stepped aside, gesturing for Vaughn to come over. "You can do it!"

Their friendly and approachable demeanor made it seem as if the two hadn't had any disagreements during this time.

Not only him, but Vaughn also seemed completely unconcerned. He skillfully took two porcelain cups from a cabinet and beckoned the boiling kettle to his side, letting it cool down slightly before starting to rinse and brew the tea.

Dumbledore watched curiously as the washed tea leaves gradually unfurled, turning the tea a vibrant green. Suddenly, he remarked, "Won't your questioning of those secret matters while Harry was here upset Severus?"

Vaughn glanced at him: "Isn't this what you wanted to see? You're just as unsure if the professor's ambitions will resurface, and only with Harry around can you ensure that the shackles on his body remain intact."

"How can you think of me as so despicable and shameless?" Dumbledore blew on his beard in displeasure, and said righteously, "I have always believed in Severus. Yes, he did do wrong things in the past, but unlike those filthy and insane Death Eaters, he has love in his heart. He—"

Before he could finish speaking, Vaughn scoffed, "Forget it. If you trusted the professor, you wouldn't have just watched me rush to find him before Harry even got there."

As we spoke, the tea was already brewed, and its rich aroma wafted out, refreshing and delightful.

Dumbledore quickly picked up a glass, sniffing the aroma as he shamelessly argued, "I was just worried that Severus might be bewitched by Tom again, but now it turns out that Severus has not disappointed me."

Vaughn ignored him, picked up a cup of tea, and sat down by the fireplace.

Dumbledore was unfazed by his cold attitude and sat down opposite him, asking, "If I have any concerns, I do have some, but not about Severus, but about Harry—you're too hasty. There are some things Harry can't get involved in yet."

Vaughn scoffed. "When can they make contact? When their misunderstanding becomes irreconcilable? Or the day the professor dies?"

Old Deng sighed, "Harry is still very young, especially since he has a special connection with Tom. If Harry sees your meeting with Severus and relays it to Tom—"

"I'm sorry, I'm not like you. I trained Harry in Occlumency, and I trust his control."

'

"7

After a moment of silence, seeing the calm and collected Vaughn, Old Deng gave up trying to persuade him.

In fact, if he truly didn't trust Harry at all, he would have stopped Vaughn back in the Potions Office.

He was also present at the time, but apart from Vaughn, neither Snape nor Harry noticed.

Thinking it over, he changed the subject: "It seems the wizard Lucius brought last night must be from North America. Could it be DeSantis?"

Vaughn didn't press the matter and casually replied, "Most likely, but I'm not sure which one."

"Sigh, when we came back empty-handed from our previous pursuit, I knew we would see them again someday, but I didn't expect it to be so soon—now it seems that those guys are more eager and rampant than we anticipated, even trying to recruit a madman like Tom."

Dumbledore's sigh was very soft.

But the content of his words suddenly made the atmosphere heavy.

In fact, after noticing the abnormality of the "DeSantis" in North America a few months ago, the two became wary, one wary of Grindelwald, and the other wary of Voldemort.

Unfortunately, neither of them had a good way to intervene in either of these situations.

Grindelwald's background is complicated. He stays in Nurmengard and doesn't move. Even without considering his relationship with Dumbledore, as long as he pretends to be dying and doesn't leave Nurmengard, certain people in Europe, and even the International Wizarding Federation, will not allow anyone to cause him trouble.

As for Voldemort—a shadowy figure, neither human nor ghost, he was impossible to find if he tried to hide.

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore spoke again: "Judging from Severus's response, it seems that DeSantis was commissioned by Tom to help him collect Horcruxes."

Earlier in the Potions office, Vaughn took out his diary. Snape knew what it meant, and Dumbledore naturally knew as well.

Vaughn also told them about the origin of the diary.

For many years, it had been kept by Lucius Malfoy until the summer holidays, when Vaughn instructed his father Arthur and Amelia to cooperate in a crackdown on illegal dark magical items. Lucius went along with it and gave it to Arthur. After some twists and turns, it was brought to Hogwarts by Harry.

Beside the fireplace, Vaughn stared at the firelight, the flickering flames casting shifting shadows on his face.

To be fair, while Vaughn did bring the notebook into Hogwarts to complete a system task, part of the reason was also to separate the diary from Lucius and avoid the worst-case scenario.

If he hadn't intervened then, the diary might already be in DeSantis's possession by now.

"Um?"

Vaughn suddenly frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Perhaps the cooperation between DeSantis and Tom isn't as close as we think."

"Oh?"

Dumbledore looked on with curiosity.

Vaughn asked, "You know Tom best. Do you think he would feel comfortable entrusting his Horcrux to another legendary wizard?"

Upon hearing this, Old Deng paused, then suddenly realized: "Of course not, he—has never trusted anyone!"

"Yes, Tom doesn't trust anyone. Even if they have a cooperative relationship, he would never let DeSantis know his most important lifeline—so it doesn't make sense that DeSantis would help Tom retrieve the Horcrux."

Vaughn spoke slowly, the firelight reflected in his eyes leaping wildly.

Dumbledore, standing nearby, frowned deeply: "If it weren't for collecting Horcruxes, why would he have Lucius and Severus search for the diary?"

Yes, why is that?

Half his body sank into the soft sofa, Vaughn pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Perhaps he just wants to re-establish contact with his Horcrux?"

"Contact?"

Dumbledore paused, then asked, "What's the use of establishing contact with Horcruxes?"

Horcruxes are not tools for resurrection; more accurately, they are containers for the soul, anchors that prevent the main soul from truly "dying" when the original body dies, allowing it to remain in the world. (In the original stories, Voldemort resurrected using dark magic, not Horcruxes.)

They are only useful at the moment of the original body's death—the original body's consciousness can "awaken" on the soul fragments preserved in the Horcrux.

Therefore, in a practical sense, each Horcrux is a Voldemort, except that they only have the memory of the time period in which they were "born" and have no intrinsic consciousness. According to the theory of the Ship of Theseus, those soul fragments are both Voldemort and not Voldemort.

This also means that any wizard who uses a Horcrux would probably not allow it to escape control.

Dumbledore thought that even if Voldemort had really gone mad, he couldn't possibly contact his Horcrux before his resurrection—what if that Horcrux also wanted to become the master consciousness?

Not to mention, he has studied the Gaunt ring extensively since he acquired it.

Voldemort was clearly also wary of his Horcruxes; the soul fragment in that ring was heavily enchanted, devoid of any intelligence, let alone the ability to act on its own.

To his surprise, after hearing his words, Vaughn slowly shook his head: "The diary is different—remember when I told you? The diary was Tom's first work. Back then, he didn't have the meticulous thinking and vigilance he would later develop. He was like—no, back then he was just a child, naive and reckless."

As he spoke, he got up from the sofa. "Can I borrow the Pensieve for a moment?"

Knowing that Vaughn wouldn't speak without reason, Dumbledore didn't hesitate. He drew his wand and waved it, and a cabinet in the corner was jaggedly opened, revealing a stone pillar floating out.

A shallow, round basin floats on the stone pillar, its contents shimmering with a metallic luster, yet upon closer inspection, it appears to be filled with clear, transparent water.

Vaughn walked to the round basin, pressed his wand against his forehead, pulled out a strand of silver thread, and threw it down.

The silver threads fell into the basin, but it looked as if a blob of ink had dissolved into it.

Dumbledore also came over, and the consciousnesses of the two fell into the basin, continuously falling in the vast white space.

The surrounding "ink" billowed like dark clouds, rapidly sweeping down like a waterfall.

Before long, the pure white space was completely covered, and the surroundings became dark. The two landed in a room where candlelight flickered.

In the dim light, Vaughn and Dumbledore saw Harry, who was hunched over a desk, writing something enthusiastically in an open diary.

Gradually, a spiritual light began to emanate from his body. In the vision of magic, it was the light that naturally emanated from the life cycle of a living being. Conceptually, it was similar to infrared radiation, but its actual meaning was more complex.

However, it can accurately reflect the life activities of a living organism.

At this moment, in Vaughn and Dumbledore's eyes, the aura emanating from Harry was "flowing" into the diary as he wrote.

Seeing this, a flicker of realization flashed in Old Deng's azure eyes: "This is—the diary absorbing Harry's life force?"

"Yes, I told you about it when we last met at the beginning of the semester."

At the time, Dumbledore was still grinning and asked Vaughn to give him the backup of Harry's memories so he could get a better look at Harry's private life.

However, because the diary escaped and was no longer in Harry's hands, and because their cooperative relationship became increasingly turbulent, the two of them intentionally or unintentionally forgot about it.

Of course, it is more likely that————

"destiny!"

As he watched the aura slowly fading from Harry's body in this memory, Dumbledore uttered the word repeatedly. He subconsciously rubbed his forehead, but found it unreal, realizing he was currently in the Pensieve: "We both overlooked this. Fortunately, your situation isn't as serious as mine; you can still remember, while I completely forgot we had ever talked before seeing this memory."

Vaughn's expression wasn't too good either.

However, he had already been "tricked" by fate once when the diary "ran away" before, so he didn't dwell on it too much this time. He just looked at the life force flowing from Harry's body as he wrote in his memory and said, "When this Horcrux was made, Tom was only 16 years old. At that time, he even killed people by accident. He was far less mature than he would be later. His understanding of Horcruxes was probably also very shallow. But shallowness means unrestrained imagination."

He looked at Dumbledore beside him. "What do you think he's trying to do by preserving the consciousness of the soul fragment within the Horcrux in the diary and allowing it to absorb life force?"

Dumbledore pressed his lips together, and after a long pause, he replied heavily, "He wants to create another version of himself!"

Dark magic that absorbs life force is not uncommon in the magical world, but relatively speaking, the scope of life force is very narrow. Life force is dynamic and is an abstract concept based on cellular activity. In a sense, it is inexhaustible, and there is no question of more or less, because the total number of cells and the metabolic basis are there. Too much is meaningless, and too little is a natural phenomenon.

Therefore, living people don't need this.

Only when wizards attempt to create a life form without the concept of "living" will they draw life force from other life forms, using this abstract but real concept to create something real through something fake.

Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh: "Why did Tom do that? Was it just because he was young, naive, and fearless?"

"There must also be a real need for it."

Vaughn replied, "The background to creating the Horcrux in the diary was the first opening of the Chamber of Secrets 50 years ago. Tom was still a student then, and he didn't have much time to frequently control the Basilisk to attack Muggle wizards in the castle. He needed a helper—of course, as you later know, after Myrtle's death, Hogwarts was on the verge of closing down. Without Hogwarts, Tom would be homeless, so he hastily abandoned his plan and framed Hagrid to help Hogwarts overcome the crisis."

Dumbledore's brow furrowed even more: "Could it be that his contact with the Horcrux in the diary this time is to continue his old plan?"

Upon hearing Old Deng's guess, Vaughn neither agreed nor disagreed.

Because he didn't know what Voldemort was thinking either. After all, he was a madman who dared to tear his own soul into pieces. How could a normal person understand the thoughts of a madman?

However, compared to the speculation that the plan to continue killing Mudbloods would continue, Vaughn had another idea: "Perhaps it's still about collecting Horcruxes, only Tom will choose to collect them from another version of himself."

"—Would he trust another version of himself? Would another Voldemort obey the original's commands?" Dumbledore asked.

Vaughn hesitated slightly. If it were him, he would most likely trust him. He was a time traveler and already had a mature mindset and worldview. No matter what point in time he was in this world, even if he was just born, he would have the same core ideas.

But for Voldemort, a native who grew up step by step and now has a mental disability, it's hard to say—

As their thoughts churned, the memories finished playing. Dumbledore waved his hand, and the two consciousnesses separated, returning to the black-and-white Pensieve.

The two sat down in front of the fireplace again, bathed in the warm glow of the fire.

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then asked Vaughn, "You know the location of the Horcruxes. Assuming, as you think, Tom chooses the diary to help him collect the Horcruxes, which one would be the easiest to obtain?"

Vaughn has always used the Horcrux information with great restraint.

This was his most effective bargaining chip before he possessed absolute power, enabling him to maintain equal status with Dumbledore.

As long as he didn't get all the Horcruxes, Old Dumbledore, the White Lord, wouldn't dare to really turn against Vaughn. Even though Vaughn was sometimes very presumptuous and outrageous, and Old Dumbledore was very angry, after a while, he still had to pretend that nothing had happened and act as if everyone was harmonious and friendly.

This situation was inevitable when he discovered that Vaughn possessed the powerful Occlumency technique (at max level).

Unless Dumbledore is willing to cross his own bottom line and use dark magic to torture him.

But in that case, Dumbledore, having gone against his own beliefs, would be no different from dead.

Four months ago, even in an emergency, Vaughn would probably have hesitated. After all, no matter how great the threat Voldemort posed to him, he wasn't Voldemort's first priority. Dumbledore and Harry were still ahead of him. As for Horcruxes, if he "confessed" to one, he would lose one bargaining chip.