A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 313 Dumbledore's International Network

William's meaning is very simple.

Even if Old Tom is defeated, he will not die because of Little Tom's existence and will continue to live and wait to be resurrected... Conversely, the same applies to Little Tom!

What is a Horcrux?

A part of the soul resides in an object outside the body. This way, even if your body is attacked or destroyed, you will not die, because a part of your soul remains unharmed in the world.

For both Little Tom and Old Tom, the other is a part of the soul that exists in the world.

The two thus became each other's Horcruxes, forming a true... immortal duo!

"William, your concerns are very likely... and they have already come true."

Dumbledore remarked, "No one has ever created more than one Horcrux. The tearing of the soul is enough to drive a normal person insane."

But Voldemort may have made multiple.

No one's Horcrux has ever been resurrected, possessing a body while still in a soul state.

But Tom did it.

Voldemort has entered a magical realm previously unknown and unexplored. I believe that Little Tom and Old Tom have indeed formed a bizarre Horcrux symbiote.

"Does this mean we'll never be able to kill them?" William exclaimed in horror.

"Son, have you noticed something? When Tom talks to you, he keeps reminding you that he is a part of Voldemort's soul?"

"Yes."

"To a wizard like me, he was implying... no, almost explicitly stating that he was a Horcrux... Voldemort's secret to immortality is the Horcruxes!"

"Why would he do that?" William asked, puzzled.

"Tom is just a piece of soul, and because he was the first to split, he may have a larger share than the other fragments."

And because Voldemort wanted someone else to open the secret chamber... he was even more independent.

These two unique characteristics led to his successful resurrection.

The problem is, he is just a soul. No matter how big it is, it is still just a soul and can never be compared with a complete soul.

His growth potential will forever remain fixed at sixteen.

Why did he go to such lengths to sacrifice his own soul to escape from the diary, instead of simply killing other people to complete the sacrifice?

As he said, the greatest power is gained by sacrificing one's beloved.

That kind of sacrifice would bring him incredibly close to his sixteen-year-old self's strength... sacrificing others wouldn't achieve this.

"Even so, his strength after his resurrection was only that of a sixteen-year-old."

At sixteen, he is not yet an adult, and his magic will not continue to grow... In fact, his magic is not even as much as yours.

In this state, Tom Riddle's strength is naturally limited, and apart from one immortal being, many people can defeat him.

This is not what Tom wants. He is ambitious, he wants unparalleled strength, he wants to return to his peak, or even stronger.

Rather than being satisfied with just immortality.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then said seriously, "So he also needs to find the Horcrux and find a way to extract the soul from it so that his soul can continue to grow stronger."

His true purpose is the integrity of the soul!

"Now, what's blocking his path isn't us, but those Horcruxes, or even Voldemort himself."

I dare say Tom can't wait for us to kill Voldemort!

"In a way, Tom now shares the same goal as us!" Dumbledore chuckled. "To kill Voldemort."

William was momentarily stunned; this world really was crazy.

The little snakes are now working as henchmen for the old phoenix. Are the two planning to team up and kill the old snake king?!

Dumbledore said dismissively, "If one day we are able to completely eliminate Tom, it will be due to his excessive greed."

"But the same problem remains," William hesitated. "Because of Tom's presence, the two are Horcrux symbiotes; how do we kill Voldemort?"

"William, I think Tom may have found a way," Dumbledore said calmly. "He knows how to sever that special connection of souls."

"What?" William asked, bewildered.

"The guidance of Slytherin!" said Dumbledore. "Tom mentioned the guidance of Slytherin."

As far as I know, the four leaders have different focuses in their research on prehistoric mysteries... Slytherin is best at the study of the soul.

Since Tom has records of Slytherin, he'll definitely go looking for anything Slytherin left behind.

"Slytherin's wand!" William exclaimed suddenly, startled.

"Oh, it seems Nico already told you," Dumbledore said calmly. "It is indeed Slytherin's wand, the only thing he left behind besides the Chamber of Secrets."

"Besides that wand, I really can't think of anything else that could guide him."

“Nicole told me that the wand was stolen by Aesop Thale from her aunt, Gomley Gaunt. After Aesop Thale died, the trail went cold.” William frowned.

"The trail has indeed gone cold, but we should still return to the end of the story and try to savor the little details," Dumbledore said softly.

"The last time the wand appeared was when Aesop and her husband James Stewart buried it in the ground outside the school."

Within a year, some unknown snakewood grew at the site where the wand was buried, and it could not be cut down or destroyed.

"Is the wand still under the tree?"

"It's not there... Everyone checked, the wand has disappeared... But since that's where the wand was last seen, Tom must be at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"If you were Tom, what would you do?"

"Resurrect...or possess a minor wizard and secretly investigate at Ilvermorny Academy," William said.

"Indeed." Dumbledore smiled. "Both Tom and Voldemort have done this; it's one of his specialties."

Dumbledore stood up and took a locked book down from the shelf. A phoenix was printed on the raised part of the book.

He touched the lock, and the bullet opened.

Dumbledore was turning the pages of the book; each page had a photograph with a name on it. He turned the pages, but all the people in the photographs had disappeared.

"This is a very small international network that I established a long time ago to counter—"

Dumbledore paused for a moment.

"Gellert... Grindelwald."

William noticed that Dumbledore's voice seemed to tremble slightly.

"Later, he agreed to go to Nurmengard, and the network of communication was not interrupted, even during Voldemort's time... it continued to function."

Dumbledore turned to a certain page:

An elderly man with white hair appeared in the photo.

— Yurali Hicks.

"Eulalli is the headmaster of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When I met him, he was a very young professor, not much older than Newt," Dumbledore explained.

"What happened, Albus?" Yurali asked in the photo.

"Tom Riddle has come back to life... I need to remind you that his target might be that snake tree."

Yurali in the photo hurriedly left, apparently to inform me.

Dumbledore closed the thick book, put his fingers together, and said softly, "I can't leave here. We still need a reliable wizard to go to America to keep an eye on Tom."

"Any advice, William?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes fixed on the boy.

"America?" William replied without hesitation. "I think Old Man Newt would be willing to go..."

"Indeed, Newt loves America the most," Dumbledore smiled. "He has vivid memories of it."

"Rita said in the newspaper... that Serafina Picqueli still misses him? He can go and visit Ms. Picqueli."

On the banks of the Seine, in a café on the Left Bank, Newt couldn't help but sneeze.

"The wind is picking up."

Newt tightened the collar of his trench coat. He had a feeling that a sense of malice was hanging over him.

The last time it was this intense was when he went to the United States.

At that time, Grindelwald transformed into Percival and infiltrated the Magical Congress of the United States.

Then, Grindelwald sentenced him to... death!

The old man picked up a cappuccino and muttered softly:

"I hate America!"

……

……

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(End of this chapter)