Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 737 Clues to the Living Horcrux

The boy, who had miraculously survived, slowly regained consciousness. His pale cheeks returned to color, like the flush after strenuous exercise. The eerie aura that had lingered around him completely dissipated. Despite the many small changes, he looked inexplicably more pleasing to the eye.

"Um……"

Harry's expression was still somewhat dazed. When he came to his senses, he realized that he was leaning back slightly, with Hagrid's large palm gently pressing against his back, the warmth supporting him.

Loren stood to the right, holding a slender wand. Beside him was Hermione, who was frowning slightly. To his left were Ginny and Ron, who were holding his arms and clutching his sleeves, their eyes full of worry.

Seeing Harry's unfocused gaze return to focus, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Loren waved his hand in front of his eyes: "Do you remember who you are?"

At this moment, Harry's brain was rebooting. The fragments of Voldemort's soul, along with heavy memories, were causing him an unprecedented shock. His gaze fell upon the inscriptions on the Mirror of Erised, as if touching some nerves, and the hazy memories surfaced bit by bit.

Harry paused, staring at his reflection in the mirror: "I think... I'm seeing Voldemort's memories."

Ginny clenched her fists tighter, her gaze concerned.

"Any clues about living Horcruxes?" Hermione tilted her head to look at the mirror. To onlookers, the scene in the mirror was no different from the outside.

"Not now." Harry shook his head, the veins near his forehead scar throbbing and itching. "I want to try again."

Loren quietly examined the scar on his forehead, where the magical energy was weak yet active, like a moth fixated on its body, flapping its wings and making a fluttering sound: "Are you confident?"

"No, I definitely won't get lost this time."

Harry slowly came to a stop, took out his wand again, and looked at himself in the Mirror of Erised. As his thoughts shifted, the green-eyed, black-haired, bespectacled face gradually transformed into a sinister man with a snake-like face and no nose. Looking at those vertical pupils, he silently recited in his mind:

"Capturing thoughts and ideas."

Ripples began to spread across the mirror's surface, like waves spreading across a lake. The reflections in the secret chamber swayed and disappeared, and the figures gradually faded away. The Mirror of Eris presented an image unlike any it had ever seen before.

As night deepened, the world gradually quieted down.

In the courtyard of a detached house in a Brooklyn neighborhood, New York, a figure lies on a deck chair, eyes half-open, gazing at the night sky through a slit, it's unclear whether he's resting or deep in thought.

Three people were sitting on the sofa in the room behind the courtyard: Lucius Malfoy, August Lukwood, and Rodolphus Lestrange, the core figure of this group of Death Eaters.

The whole house was quiet and oppressive...

Loren pondered for a moment, then gently tapped the mirror with his wand, producing a faint sound. It wasn't some profound magic; the Mirror of Erised simply reflected Harry's perceptions. Harry could hear sounds in his mind; Loren was merely reinforcing that connection.

In the mirror image, Death Eaters would occasionally knock on the door to report things, but they would all lower their voices and keep their reports brief, not daring to disturb Voldemort who was recuperating from his injuries.

On Easter night, the traitor Snape and Dumbledore conspired to frame the Dark Lord, whose injuries were more severe than expected. The flames burned his flesh and left a curse. Healing spells were ineffective, and potions were only weakly effective. The Dark Lord had to painstakingly remove the stubborn magic attached to his wounds. From then on, the Death Eaters began to lie in wait and flee, waiting for the Dark Lord to heal his injuries.

Having witnessed that even the Dark Lord could be defeated head-on and suffer incurable injuries, some Death Eaters harbored inappropriate thoughts. While passing through Albania, they were captured by the Dark Lord and fed to snakes. Living people were entangled and devoured by countless venomous snakes before their very eyes, their flesh and blood sucked out and their brains drained. The agonizing screams of those people silenced all doubters, even to this day.

Those remaining in this house now are all devout and loyal Death Eaters, or rather, clever and sensible Death Eaters. Lucius glanced at the two beside him and whispered, "We infiltrated this country using Muggle methods, so we won't be noticed by the Magical Congress of the United States. However, Dumbledore has already arrived in Ivermony, so he must have obtained clues through other channels. There are no signs of exposure yet, but we can't wait for them to come knocking on our door. Master's injuries haven't healed yet, so we must think of a way."

"A solution?" Rodolphs asked expressionlessly. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Not yet, but we must be prepared, at least we should discuss it together." Lucius said calmly, as if he were just asking casually. "Speaking of which, where is Bellatrix? I haven't seen her in ages."

Lukwood's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at him discreetly, then remained silent.

"She has other tasks, which will be kept secret for now."

"..."

"Harry, do you know where they are?" Ron asked in a low voice, knowing that the people in the mirror were at least thousands of miles apart and he couldn't hear them, but he still subconsciously held his breath and lowered his voice.

Harry lowered his voice and replied, "I don't know."

Loren and the others were not surprised.

This was a prying through Voldemort's senses. He had just found the passage with the help of those things, and thus glimpsed some past memories. Harry dared not delve into Voldemort's memories now. For a legendary dark wizard who was proficient in Legilimency and Occlumency, this was just a petty, stealthy prying. If he were to rashly touch upon the memories, it would be like a robber breaking in.

We've already made some progress; at least we know that Bellatrix is ​​on a secret mission.

Hermione squinted, carefully examining the room reflected in the mirror, searching for any signs with text, and looking for the shape of the building that appeared at the end of the courtyard.

"What about Horcruxes? What about living Horcruxes?" Ron continued to ask.

Harry shook his head, looking somewhat helpless.

Loren gently nudged his arm, his voice soft, influenced by the two of them: "Finding the Horcruxes doesn't require prying into Voldemort's memories. The other Horcruxes have all been destroyed. You just need to connect to the remaining fragment of his soul..."

Loren pointed to the scar on his forehead, then to the Mirror of Eris in front of him.

Harry looked enlightened, waved away the image in the Magic Mirror, stared intently at his own reappearing eyes, tried to search his mind, and activated Legilimency.

The reflection in the mirror rippled again, transforming into a hazy, dim silver mist that swayed continuously, and the image changed once more.

The people in front of the mirror waited for a long time, but this time the mirror did not show any new image. It was pitch black, even darker than the interior of the secret room they were in. There were no outlines or colors of anything, just pure darkness.

"Is there something wrong with the mirror?" Ron turned to Harry. "Or is there something wrong with your Legilimency?"

"I feel like I succeeded," Harry blinked.

Just as the group was exchanging bewildered glances, a sound suddenly emanated from the dark mirror. It sounded slightly distorted, as if blocked by a thick wall, but the tone was still clear. Two of the voices were very familiar—

It was Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape.