A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Harry curiously examined the frighteningly old house-elf, and couldn't help but compare him to Dobby. Although their appearances and clothes were completely different, their demeanor was surprisingly similar, and they both looked like the butlers he had seen in Muggle TV shows.

Dobby's butler-like demeanor was more pronounced, as he was wearing a little suit, unlike the house-elf in front of him.

"Hello, what's your name?" Harry greeted him in a friendly manner.

Kreacher pouted and muttered something under his breath, but Harry didn't hear him. He straightened the clean white cloth strips on his body, bowed respectfully, and said, "You may call me Kreacher, distinguished guest, welcome to the Black family home."

Harry was a little embarrassed, unaccustomed to the house-elf's welcoming words: "I actually, cough cough, wait, Black's ancestral home? This is Sirius's house?"

“That’s right,” Kreacher said. “The young master was born and raised here, and although he ran away from home when he was young and didn’t know any better…” He gave a sly look, “but when he was in danger, this was still the first place he thought of.”

Harry inquired about the details with great interest, wanting to know more about his godfather. When he learned that Harry was Sirius Black's godson, Kreacher's attitude became more respectful, and he was willing to reveal more secrets.

"Young Master has been crying for the past few days, Kreacher has heard it, but Young Master refuses to admit it..."

"Kreacher! Shut up!" The fireplace flickered again, and Sirius Black emerged. He was furious to hear Kreacher badmouthing him. He strode over, grabbed Kreacher from the floor, and shouted, "Don't you dare mention this to anyone again!"

Kreacher said respectfully, "But Mr. Potter is the master's godson, and as your heir, he has the right to know..."

"I said, no!" Sirius's lips trembled. "Go make some tea."

"Yes, sir." Kreacher's figure flickered and disappeared.

Felix watched for a while, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. "So, your relationship has improved?"

"Which eye did you see that? He's still so annoying..." Sirius muttered.

Harry blinked. He thought he should tell Ron what he had seen. Ron had always thought that house-elves were servants of nobles who only knew how to obey orders, but the two house-elves he had met, Dobby and Kreacher, both had their own personalities.

They entered the living room. It was Harry's first time there, and he was curious about everything, feeling a strange sense of liking for it. Although the house was a bit dark, perhaps the lights weren't on? After all, it was evening, and Sirius lived alone; there was no need to waste time...

The air was a bit damp and had a musty smell, but that wasn't a big deal; a quick clean would fix it, and Harry felt he could help.

Upon entering the living room, it was slightly brighter, with candles burning quietly along the walls and an exquisite golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which Harry suspected was made of solid gold.

"Just do whatever you like, the room's a bit messy." Sirius gathered up the scattered comic books and piled them aside. He stood there for a moment, then said, "Oh, right, I'm going to get something."

Sirius left, and the creaking sound of footsteps on wooden planks could be heard in the distance. Soon he reappeared, carrying a heavy gold pendant box.

Kreacher served hot tea at the opportune moment, standing in the doorway.

"This is it... Master Regulus gave it to Kreacher, instructing him to destroy it. But the box is covered in so much magic, poor Kreacher tried everything, but couldn't leave a single trace..."

“Kreacher guessed that it should be opened from the inside, but I couldn’t do it.”

Harry watched Kreacher sobbing and worried that he might suddenly jump up and punish him at any moment. But then a thought struck him: open it from the inside? He vaguely realized something.

Felix leaned closer to examine the locket closely. It looked very clean, probably cleaned by Sirius Black. The surface was inlaid with a gorgeous S-shaped snake, made up of many small emeralds, which emitted a faint glow.

"The letter S. A snake?"

Felix and Harry spoke at the same time, looking at each other. Felix laughed, "We're both right." He tapped the gold locket with his index finger, and his perspective began to change. The colors seemed to have been washed away by rain, turning a hazy gray. In his vision were dazzling magical radiance, layer upon layer, densely packed. In the innermost layer of these protective magics lurked an extremely evil dark power, writhing like a monster.

It was definitely a Horcrux, and... Felix discovered that this Horcrux was more active than any he had seen before, as if it were about to jump out at any moment.

Felix pondered. It seemed that Voldemort had arranged each Horcrux differently. The diary Horcrux was also active, but what was active was the memory of the young Voldemort hidden within, rather than the fragments of his soul.

As for the crown, it was even more secretive. He couldn't see any flaws at all. Considering the characteristics of the Ravenclaw crown itself, perhaps this was part of a trick to make the person who received the crown fall for it silently.

Sirius Black stared at Felix and Harry, who suddenly fell silent. "What did you two figure out?"

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be Salazar Slytherin’s locket, which Voldemort used to…” Felix stopped talking, the locket trembling slightly, appearing restless.

“I’ve never seen it like this before.” Sirius stood up in surprise and doubt, pulled Harry aside, and stared at it warily. The gold chain holding the locket in its hand twisted wildly, as if trying to strangle one of them.

“Sirius, Professor…” Harry swallowed hard, “I…I want to do something.”

“What are you saying, Harry?” Sirius asked, looking at his godson with concern, worried that Harry was affected by the locket. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no,” Harry was also incredulous at his sudden idea, “It’s Parseltongue, I want to speak in Parseltongue!” Sirius looked at Harry blankly, completely unaware that Harry had this ability.

“Go ahead and do it, let’s see what changes,” Felix said calmly.

So Harry stared at the locket and imagined the pattern on it as a little snake. It was easy, especially since the locket was buzzing and rustling. He opened his mouth and hissed.

Felix was familiar with the word; he had heard it several times in the secret room last year, and it should mean...

“Open it,” Ha said in a snake-like voice.

Chapter 306 The Story of the Horcrux and Hao Qi

The gold pendant box suddenly stopped vibrating, and the wildly twisting gold chain lost all its strength, slamming onto the table. Then, with a crisp "click," its small gold lid popped open.

They saw the locket's interior; behind each of the two small glass windows was a living eye blinking, dark, bright, and clear. Harry thought that if it weren't sealed inside the box, the eye's owner should be a living person.

A black mist was spreading. From within came a hoarse, chilling voice, "I see your heart..." the locket said to Felix, who was closest to it.

"Oh? Is that so?" Felix activated his brain-blocking technique.

“…Felix Heap, I know you. I can sense everything around me. What was in that book you read on your first day here? Don’t deny it, I saw your most fervent desire: power, immortality, transcendence of death—you want to be the next me.”

“Who is this?” Harry exclaimed. Sirius pulled him back a few steps and said with a complicated expression, “It’s Voldemort. I never expected him to hide himself in a box the size of an egg.”

Harry's mouth dropped open. Was this the same guy he'd encountered in his first year? His life was far worse now than being stuck to Quirrell's head.

The owner of the eyes inside the locket was still whispering: "You have this potential, why don't we cooperate? To rule wizards and Muggles together... And I, the greatest wizard of all time, am willing to share with you the secret of my immortality—Hordeal."

Something like a soap bubble appeared, twisting and turning. A human figure rose from above the locket. It was a rather handsome young man with thin cheeks, shiny black hair, and a tall stature. He smiled kindly and opened his arms, as if he wanted to embrace Felix.

But his feet were still inside the locket, unable to get out. He smiled even more warmly and said in a gentle tone, "How about we start now, from this moment on, on the path to immortality... Just a gentle wave of the wand, and there are two insignificant sacrifices over there."

However, Felix calmly said, "I thought you would offer a more insightful opinion, Tom. Turn it off, Harry."

"What?" A flash of red light appeared in the young Voldemort's eyes, so intense that one might mistake it for an illusion if they weren't staring intently. He raised his voice, still calmly trying to persuade him: "You don't know what you've missed. I've gone further down the path to immortality than anyone else. Join forces..."

But Harry had already hissed, and the next second, the locket lid closed, the hateful black mist surged and dissipated, and Voldemort's image disappeared abruptly.

Harry's heart pounded, and he was panting. He really thought Voldemort was going to jump out and fight them.

Felix picked up the locket, tapped on it for a long time, and finally put it in his pocket. "I'll give it to Dumbledore," he said with a sigh. "The headmaster hasn't even touched one yet, and I've already seen three."

They sat back down on the sofa, neither of them speaking. Kreacher clung to the door, trembling, and said, "Mr. Hyp, will you destroy it? This is the last order that young Master Regulus left for old Kreacher."

“I assure you, Kreacher, the locket will be destroyed,” Felix said.

"Thank you, thank you—" Kreacher sobbed and then disappeared with a "bang."

Harry calmed himself down and asked curiously, "Voldemort just mentioned Horcruxes. What are those?" His gaze darted between Sirius and Felix, hoping for an answer. His intuition told him that he had already delved very deeply into Voldemort's secrets.

Sirius was also looking at Felix.

“Hordeals…a very evil form of dark magic, created by splitting the soul and storing the fragments in an object called a Horcrux.” Felix explained simply, “As long as the Horcrux exists, Voldemort will not die, though he will suffer greatly, but he will eventually return.”

"Is this the secret to Voldemort's immortality?" Harry said in shock. "No wonder he said he had transcended death, by splitting his soul. What an evil thing to do."

“It’s not just that, Harry. Splitting the soul is the result, but the process requires completing a ritual, killing, using murder to separate the soul. Don’t let my words fool you; it’s actually far more complicated than that,” Felix said.

"So the locket only contains a fragment of Voldemort?" Harry realized that the two Voldemors he had met were not the same soul.

"Yes."

"If we destroy the locket now, will Voldemort die quietly in some dark corner?" Harry said, his mind racing, particularly excited about the idea.

“Unlikely, Harry. He made more than one Horcrux; I’ve seen and destroyed two of them myself, and Dumbledore is still gathering more information,” Felix said.

Harry was stunned. "You've been doing this all along? Fighting Voldemort?" He had no idea.

“It was Dumbledore who was doing this all along; he was actively pursuing the past that Voldemort was trying to hide,” Felix said. “And I just happened to be there.”

“Harry, the world keeps turning even when you’re sleeping, you just don’t see it.”

Harry nodded. He understood what the professor meant. There was no need to take the blame upon himself. He was just a little impulsive, not stupid. The professor had already told him about the function of the Horcruxes; he wouldn't be so foolish as to try to confront Voldemort before all the Horcruxes were destroyed.

He felt a surge of excitement, realizing he had gained a new mission in his life: if Voldemort's Horcruxes still existed when he graduated, he could dedicate his entire life to their pursuit.

Thinking about that future, it's not so bad, especially since this path isn't lonely. There's Dumbledore, Professor Hyp... and maybe many more people. One by one, Harry's mind was filled with images of them.

He asked a crucial question: "If there isn't just one Horcrux, well... it looks like there are at least three, or four, then could there be more, like seventeen or eighteen?"

Felix chuckled. "Do you think of souls like cookies, which you can break apart at will and leave crumbs?" He thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "Actually, I can't be sure either. The book 'Unveiling the Secrets of Advanced Black Magic' doesn't mention any limit on the number of Horcruxes. Maybe the author didn't expect future generations to be so crazy."

"Does it hurt to have your soul ripped off?" Harry asked.

“Hmm, strange question,” Felix tilted his head. “But the book says it hurts a lot. I haven’t tried it myself, so maybe Voldemort doesn’t care much?”

“Alright,” he stood up, “that’s enough for today, Harry, we should head back.” He then looked at Sirius, “Our agreed time remains the same.”

The two returned to Hogwarts. Felix saw off Harry, who was asking all sorts of questions, and went to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was still flipping through the documents when Felix finished explaining his purpose. He then carefully examined the locket.

After looking at it for a long time, he wearily took off his glasses and wiped them with a small piece of velvet: "This just confirms the conjecture I got from Hao Qi."

"Hao Qi?"

"I told you about that poor house-elf."

"You came back so late today, it means you went to..."

“Azkaban, that’s right.”

Dumbledore told him the story he had heard from Hodge. The story itself was very simple: about fifty years ago, Voldemort, who was working as a clerk at Borginborough at the time, visited a very wealthy witch—Hepzb. Smith, who was Hodge's master. Two days later, she suddenly died.

"Two points are noteworthy in this matter. First, with Hepzba's death, her two most treasured possessions also disappeared. These happened to be the relics of the four founders of Hogwarts—Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup."

“Voldemort did it,” Felix said with absolute certainty.

“That’s right. It took Hepziba’s family a long time to confirm this because she had many secret hiding places and always kept a very tight watch on her collection.”

"You just said... Hao Qi is in Azkaban?"

"Yes, a scapegoat, of course. But Hao Qi herself admitted that she put something in the hostess's cocoa tea, which was later discovered to be not sugar, but a rare and deadly poison. The verdict said she didn't commit premeditated murder, but rather that she was blind due to old age—"

"Her memories have been altered?"

“I’m glad we’ve reached an agreement,” Dumbledore said. “Hacky isn’t in good shape right now, and I’m planning to request a reinvestigation into this old case.”

"However, after so many years, Hao Qi's memory has become a jumbled mess, making it difficult to determine whether she was tampered with at the time. I can only point out the doubts about the case itself..."

Felix also felt it was difficult. There was no evidence at the moment, and everything was based on logical deduction. However, Fudge had just been terrified, and it was uncertain whether he would have the courage to refuse Dumbledore again.

The two then turned to discuss other matters—

"Headmaster Dumbledore, how many Horcruxes do you think Voldemort actually created?"

"This is a real headache. Knowing him as I do, Voldemort will look for a meaningful number. Three, seven, nine, thirteen—it's all possible. I need to ascertain his intentions and find some corroborating evidence. Besides, we don't know whether he actually achieved his intended goal that night he went to the Potters' house..."