A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 1033 Everything Can Be Seven Sauce

Slughorn was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He didn't care about the spider venom that had paralyzed his body; all he wanted was to escape.

If what appeared before him was that ugly monster without a nose, he wouldn't be so terrified...

It had to be this young man!

Tom, sixteen years old!

That memory, which had been deliberately buried deep in my heart for half a century, gradually surfaced.

Slughorn's first thought was that this Tom was a fake, a Compound Herbal Potion imposter.

But... who can get Voldemort's hair?

Even if we take a step back and assume we get it, after consuming it, we should become that Socket Hero, not the sixteen-year-old him!

Could it be Transfiguration...? A skilled Transfiguration wizard can transform into the appearance of another person, like Grindelwald.

But such wizards are extremely rare.

As far as Slughorn knew, only Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall possessed this ability.

Even William, who can become an Animagus, is still far from being able to freely transform into someone else.

But McGonagall is a noble wizard and would not do such a thing.

Dumbledore was even less likely to become Voldemort, because he loathed Tom the most.

Most importantly, that snake monster couldn't be faked.

Aside from Tom the Parseltongue, Slughorn couldn't think of any other wizard who could control a basilisk.

"Professor, you're curious about why I look like this, aren't you?"

Tom, standing atop the basilisk's head, seemingly reading Slughorn's thoughts, laughed loudly:

"I have said more than once that I have gone further than anyone else on the path to immortality."

"Of course, I have to thank you for that."

Tom wore a mocking smile.

"How could I have created a Horcrux without your help?"

That's right, I am the sixteen-year-old Horcrux.

Tom jumped off the snake's head and landed on the ground. He walked step by step to Slughorn's side.

The shoes made a sound on the ground, but each thud sounded like a footstep on Slughorn's chest.

Tom looked down at the dying old man from his elevated position.

Do you remember? Our conversation that night?

After the conversation ended, I immediately went to do it and successfully created Horcruxes, and more than one at that!

My immortality is half thanks to you.

Slughorn was filled with fear.

He kept comforting himself:

Voldemort's second resurrection may not have been related to himself; it may have been that the Dark Lord found another way to resurrect himself.

But at this moment, Slughorn could no longer deceive himself.

"I've been waiting for this opportunity, and I never imagined you'd actually be so foolish as to come to the Forbidden Forest," Tom said, his face beaming with excitement.

"Goodbye, Professor. With your death, those who knew my secret will be gone forever."

Tom suddenly hissed, and the basilisk swam over.

It bit Slughorn's neck, injecting venom, and blood immediately flowed freely.

Lying in a pool of blood, Slughorn knew he was doomed.

The venom of the eight-eyed giant spider combined with the venom of the basilisk monster makes it impossible for anyone to concoct an antidote quickly.

This time it's not a hoax, it's for real... he's really going to die!

Slughorn stared at the sky, his breathing growing weaker.

Tom quickly disappeared with the basilisk.

Slughorn was filled with regret, not for coming to the Forbidden Forest, but for telling Tom about the Horcruxes back then.

After an unknown amount of time, another commotion was heard in the distance.

William and Hagrid finally appeared, both looking quite disheveled.

William bent down, looked at Slughorn, and called out anxiously:

"Professor Slughorn, are you alright? I'll take you back to Hogwarts now, I'm sure I can save you..."

His voice was also terrifying like never before.

Hagrid sat on the ground, then suddenly clutched his head and burst into tears.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted on holding the funeral, none of this would have happened... I'm the one who caused your death..."

Pale-faced Slughorn had no strength left. He looked at William, his lips moving as he spoke:

"Tom... Horcrux..."

"Professor, please stop talking. I'll take you back to the school now."

But Slughorn, as if experiencing a final burst of energy before death, gripped William's arm tightly with one hand.

"I feel...ashamed..." he murmured. "I'm ashamed of...ashamed of what that memory shows...I caused a lot of harm..."

Today... I've finally made up my mind... I must... destroy the Horcrux for you...

Slughorn was in tears, and what was flowing from his body was not just blood.

A silvery-blue substance, neither gas nor liquid, emerged from his mouth, ears, and eyes.

William hurriedly took out a narrow-necked bottle from his pocket and put that long, silvery memory into it.

Slughorn's head lolled to the side, and he fell into a complete coma.

Holding the bottle and gazing at that memory, William took a breath.

"Finally got it... All that effort spent building the stage for the opera, it wasn't for nothing!"

……

……

Upon regaining his memories, William immediately went to share them with Dumbledore.

The two were quite adept at watching adult films.

However, it used to be Dumbledore who shared his collection of short films, but this time it was finally William's turn.

Therefore, the principal was very excited.

That's right, William's Plan B was to use Tom to intimidate Slughorn.

He thought he was going to die, so he would definitely hand over his memories before he died.

Therefore, "Sixteen-year-old Tom" is the "actor," while the lead actor is William.

He may not have much else, but he has tons of Tom's hair. After all, he even has Tom's corpse.

The whole plan was simple: Hermione would transform into her own appearance and take Slughorn deep into the Forbidden Forest.

Then, the eight-eyed giant spider kidnapped Slughorn.

Then William reappears as Tom.

The basilisk is also an actor; by carrying it, he can convince Slughorn that he is indeed Tom.

The whole process wasn't complicated, but it was hard to find actors, and William happened to have both!

The only non-actor was Hagrid, who was completely unaware of the situation, and his crying scene was exceptionally realistic.

But this also completely trapped Slughorn.

Only after all these steps was the memory finally obtained through deception.

As for Slughorn, he will not die at all.

With Fox's tears, William only needs a few drops to remove the spider venom and snake venom from Slughorn's body.

William had already arranged security for this scene.

At this moment, within the Pensieve, the memory has reached its most crucial point.

Tom began to inquire about Slughorn's Horcruxes.

"It's hard to find a book that details Horcruxes at Hogwarts, Tom. They're very evil things, very evil," Slughorn said.

"To create a Horcrux, one must commit a heinous crime—murder, to tear the soul apart."

Then, you must also recite a spell…

Slughorn didn't utter the incantation, but William knew that the incantation for creating a Horcrux was:

Soul Breaker Appears, Anda Jones!

This spell is specifically mentioned in "Deciphering the Secrets of Cutting-Edge Black Magic".

This book was originally in the restricted area, but Dumbledore moved it to the headmaster's office after he discovered that Tom was making Horcruxes.

So, when Tom asked about the spell to create Horcruxes, he already knew it.

They may even have created the Horcrux, the diary.

Because by then, Myrtle had already died.

Tom asked about the spell in order to pretend he didn't know it so he could ask the question he cared about most.

"Sir, I'd like to ask, is a Horcrux really that useful? Can a soul only be split once? Would it be better to split it into multiple pieces to make you stronger?"

For example, isn't seven the most magical number, seven...?

Tom's voice echoed within the Pensieve.

Especially that familiar "seven".

Everything can be made into sauce, and Tom obviously couldn't escape it either.

……

……

(End of this chapter)