The mastermind behind Hogwarts

"A Horcrux!?"

"8?"

"Ron Weasley!!!"

Moriarty's words were like a stone thrown into a lake; the effect was immediate.

Meeting the shocked and puzzled looks of his companions, Moriarty nodded slightly.

The common room suddenly fell silent, as if there was no one inside.

After a long while, Lilith was the first to react.

"That explains it! The secret to Voldemort's immortality lies here: Horcruxes!"

Lilith was a frequent visitor to the library's restricted section, so she naturally knew what Horcruxes were.

"Isn't the point Ron Weasley?" Jericho clutched his head in astonishment. "Oh my Merlin! What's wrong with this kid? I suspect he's offended the god of misfortune!"

"Stop fooling around," Soldaya shoved Jericho, saying seriously, "The key is why Ron became a Horcrux!"

"That's right. If we don't find the reason, will Voldemort's soul keep splitting apart and turning all the students at Hogwarts into Horcruxes?" Jericho also became serious.

However, everyone felt that he was exaggerating.

Lilith couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Are Horcruxes goblins? They appear so easily, and they even split?"

"I told you you weren't meticulous enough," Soldaya laughed. "Embarrassing, truly embarrassing!"

"At least I dare to call Voldemort by name, do you dare?" Jericho said nonchalantly.

Seeing the group arguing, Moriarty shook his head. "Stop it, listen to me."

"Ron has a fragment of Voldemort's soul inside him; it's the soul that split off from someone Voldemort recently killed."

"Ah, I remember now!" Lilith's eyes lit up with excitement.

“That’s right,” Moriarty exchanged a glance with her and explained, “Remember Sirius Black, who was killed at the end of August?”

Jericho and the other two realized what was happening: "Oh, you mean—"

"Yes, Voldemort realized at that time that he had split off another part of his soul, and this time, he left the soul to Ron."

Moriarty's voice became ethereal, and in his eyes seemed to appear Voldemort planting the eighth fragment of his soul into Ron's body, as if Voldemort had planted a seed in it.

"Ron's situation is somewhat similar to Harry's, but? Ron's body is more susceptible to Voldemort's possession than Harry's, and his soul is also more prone to corruption."

Lilith immediately stood up. "I'll go find Percy right now."

"It's no use," Moriarty said, looking at her. "No one can save Ron now. I can't, Dumbledore can't, the Four, Merlin can't either. In terms of the soul, Voldemort has surpassed everyone else."

"Ron himself was unaware of the changes in him; Voldemort's fragment of soul was deeply hidden within Ron's soul."

"The only way to deal with Horcrux #8 is for Voldemort to show himself. That's the best solution."

After listening, Lilith sat back down with a sense of relief. "Okay, I'll do whatever you say. Anyway, you killed Voldemort, so what's the harm in killing him again, right?"

"That's right, we have Mr. Voldemort. He'll die every time Voldemort comes."

Soldaya stammered out Voldemort's name.

Jericho patted him on the shoulder: "Congratulations, you said the name that shouldn't be said. What happened to Voldemort?"

He raised his chin, bobbing it up and down: "I knew it, Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort! No nose, no nose, nose!"

Soldaya burst into laughter.

"Next," Moriarty pondered, "keep a close watch on Ron. Voldemort's thoughts will subtly influence him. What will he do?"

As it turned out, Moriarty's concerns were not unfounded.

A week after Ron was discharged from the hospital, he had the biggest fight to date with Draco in the Gryffindor common room.

It's said that they even used a magic wand this time.

As a result, Ron was knocked down by Draco, who then placed a boot—whose owner was unknown—over Ron's mouth.

The remaining two roommates, Seamus and Dean, laughed heartily. Afterwards, Ron discovered that the shoes belonged to Seamus and harbored resentment, believing that Seamus had deliberately handed the boots to Draco.

After this incident, Ron became estranged from his three roommates, and Voldemort's split soul took advantage of the situation to provoke Ron.

"I'll become stronger! Stronger!" Ron gritted his teeth, determined. "I'll make you all pay! Malfoy, Seamus, Dean!"

"And... Moriarty Slytherin!"

Ron also harbored a grudge against Moriarty.

The thought of Moriarty ignited a burning jealousy in Ron's eyes.

He always had a large following, while I was always alone, no matter what I did.

He has so much wealth but won't share a single bit with me! I can only use my brother's hand-me-down books, wands, and clothes!

He's always surrounded by female classmates, while I'm being deprived of even the right to be a man!

Ron was insanely jealous!

Voldemort also played a part in this.

"Kill Moriarty and take everything from him!"

Ron secretly set a goal for himself and worked hard, going to and from the library every day.

Harry, who was also spending time in the library, ignored Ron this time. He was determined to stay away from Ron so that he wouldn't be affected if Ron did something stupid again.

Ron saw it all and kept it in mind.

"Harry Potter? Hmph, snob, petty, traitor..."

Harry had no idea that Ron was cursing him a hundred times in his mind.

Ron thought he had hidden it well, but Lupin still noticed the change in his mindset.

Lupin went through a mental journey from inferiority to confidence, and his werewolf identity allowed him to walk between black and white.

Ron's clues did not escape the keen observation of Lupin.

Lupin immediately reported this to Dumbledore.

"My dear Remus, what you say is very insightful," Dumbledore said, examining an earring. Mrs. Weasley had already sent him the Egyptian princess's earring. "We've discovered something strange about it."

At this moment, in the headmaster's office, Dumbledore and the four heads of the house were sitting in a circle, with the earrings on the table.

"The curse did indeed originate from the mummy of the Egyptian princess, and it was indeed triggered because Ron stole the earring."

"I've looked into it. This curse works through blood ties, affecting everyone in the same family."

Lupin's face turned deathly pale. "Principal, what do you mean?"

He glanced uneasily at Professor McGonagall, whose face was equally pale, as were the other three heads of the house, with Professor Snape showing a rare look of reluctance.

Dumbledore frowned deeply: "So, Ron brought the curse to the entire Weasley family!"

Lupin was dumbfounded. What could be more cruel to a family than this?

"It's alright, the Weasley family will be fine in less than a hundred years," Dumbledore said calmly. "What I find strange is that I've looked into it, and this kind of curse takes a very long time to take effect. There was once an Egyptian family whose curse took a thousand years to take effect."

"Only in the Weasley family has the curse's duration shortened to a hundred years! We find this very puzzling!"

"I asked Moriarty, and he said it might be related to the Weasley family legend."

The Weasley family is rumored to have the blood of a red dragon. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

Dumbledore leaned back in his armchair, his hands clasped together, his face grim.

Lupin rarely saw Dumbledore like this, and couldn't help but ask, "What about Ron? And the Weasley family..."

"Don't tell them yet," Dumbledore glanced at the professors present. "As for Ron, the boy's mind is affected by the curse, so take good care of him."

Dumbledore did not connect Sirius's death with the Horcruxes; at this point, he only suspected that Voldemort had created the Horcruxes without confirmation.

Professor McGonagall began, "I was just about to mention Ron's punishment—Professor Polly could forgive him, but in my opinion, it should be a deduction of points, extra work, and a week of confinement."

"Let's do it that way," Dumbledore nodded.

The next day, the punishment for Ron's flattery was announced.

During his confinement, Ron always pretended to be repentant, but in reality, he didn't care.

That day, Ron accompanied the Weasley twins to watch a Quidditch match, and Voldemort took the opportunity to influence him: "Centaurs are such inferior creatures that they deserve to be ruled. Once I rule the wizarding world, centaurs can do whatever they want."

Ron thought it was his own inner voice and unconsciously nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, that's what I think too."

"What are you thinking?"

George glanced at Ron, puzzled.

"I..." Ron stammered, unsure how to answer, when Fred joked, "You want to be a Quidditch player too? My little brother, wait until you're a bit older!"

Ron immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes, I want to be a Quidditch player."

George then turned his head back to watch the game.

This morning's match is Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw.

It was already late October, and the weather was getting colder, so the players put on thick coats.

"The players are a highlight today, and the commentators are something to look forward to too!" George said excitedly.

Tonks, a seventh-grader, doesn't usually participate in school activities anymore, and the commentator was changed this time.

(Chapter 55 has been unblocked, of course, it's been edited out. Look forward to the extra chapter, hehehe.)