Chapter 171: Horcrux

Deng Buliduo came faster than Harry imagined, or rather, the time Hedwig took to deliver the letter was shorter than Harry imagined. Early the next morning, Harry found Deng Buliduo waiting for him at the breakfast table. According to Bates, "this old man arrived in the middle of the night, and Carson arranged for him to rest for a night first."

Luo En and Eve both liked to sleep in, so there were only the two of them in the dining room at this time. Harry nodded to Deng Buliduo and then said: "Sorry to disturb you for this kind of thing, but I think the situation has reached the point where I have to tell you."

Deng Buliduo's expression was a bit complex. After a moment of hesitation, he said to Harry: "It seems the situation is worse than I imagined. Actually, I also have some things that I can't tell you anymore if I don't tell you now."

Harry's heart tightened suddenly.

"It doesn't matter, you tell me first, what happened that made you write to this old man in the middle of the night." Deng Buliduo put on the kind and kind smile again. He had this expression almost all the time at school, but Harry today seemed to read a hint of fatigue behind that smile.

"At the beginning of this summer vacation," Harry hesitated, but decided to tell it exactly as it was. "I found that I would dream of Fu Di Mo's vision at noon, and actually not just at noon, I tried falling asleep at other times, and occasionally I would see a little bit of his situation."

Deng Buliduo frowned.

"I suspect this is related to the scar, perhaps also related to the soul," Harry said, handing over the diary he recorded the dream content in. "I have recorded everything I saw, except for the time at noon yesterday."

Deng Buliduo browsed the diary and said softly: "Very good..."

"At noon yesterday, I found that this dream suddenly had voices," Harry said cautiously. "Fu Di Mo ordered a very powerful wand from a foreigner, which he intends to use against you."

Deng Buliduo closed the diary. His gaze was hidden behind the lenses, and Harry couldn't see what kind of look it was.

"Being able to see Fu Di Mo's vision is a very magical thing; no known spell has this effect." Deng Buliduo said slowly. "So, I think I have roughly understood these situations, but I don't know if Fu Di Mo knows."

"Right, Professor." Harry said anxiously. "I'm worried that Fu Di Mo uses the same method to peep at me."

"You can rest assured, his soul is too fragmented, so this kind of induction is already very weak." Deng Buliduo said in a low voice. "But we'd better find a more private place to talk about these things."

Harry glanced behind him. Luo En and Eve might come down for breakfast at any time. These things were not convenient for them to know, which was also a kind of protection for them. Harry had a premonition that what Deng Buliduo was about to say might be Fu Di Mo's deepest secret.

After sitting down in the study with the door locked, Deng Buliduo organized his language and then said slowly: "Let me think about where to start, Harry. Perhaps, start with the reason why you see the phantom."

"On that night fourteen years ago, when Fu Di Mo intended to kill you, he failed. The killing curse rebounded and hit himself, so a fragment of Fu Di Mo's soul split off and attached to you." Deng Buliduo let out a long breath. "I'm afraid even he himself didn't notice that you unintentionally became his Horcrux."

"Soul fragment, I also had this conjecture." Harry nodded. "But what is a Horcrux?"

"An evil ritual, splitting the soul through murder, and tearing off the split soul and attaching it to an object. The split soul does not die, the main soul does not perish; this is the reason why Fu Di Mo was able to resurrect." Deng Buliduo said. "If you want to kill Fu Di Mo, you must kill all his split souls; in other words, you must destroy all Horcruxes."

"But Horcrux, you just said I am also one?" Harry was a bit uncertain.

"Perhaps, perhaps not, it depends on whether Fu Di Mo has made new Horcruxes." Deng Buliduo said. "Seven is also just my conjecture, because seven is a magical number, and Fu Di Mo is always superstitious."

Harry couldn't help but ask: "Then do you know how many Horcruxes he has made?"

"There are four that can be confirmed." Deng Buliduo said. "In the second year, Tang Nade showed me Ravenclaw's diadem; it has already been made into a Horcrux and hidden in the Room of Requirement."

Harry suddenly understood why Tang Nade wanted to stop Luna from touching the diadem. Perhaps this rich second generation, besides having a strange orientation, was still righteous at other times.

"I soon discovered that Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket were stolen. I think they were probably stolen by Fu Di Mo to be made into Horcruxes." Deng Buliduo sighed. "Gryffindor's sword he couldn't steal, because only a true Gryffindor can hold it."

"Then," Harry took a deep breath, "what is the fourth Horcrux you mentioned?"

"It's the Resurrection Stone." Deng Buliduo stretched out his right hand that he had been hiding in his sleeve. Harry discovered with horror that his little finger had completely turned black and withered.

"Fu Di Mo's ancestral ring, he recognized that what was inlaid on it was exactly the Resurrection Stone, so he gladly made it into a Horcrux." Deng Buliduo took off a cracked ring from his withered black little finger, on which a round stone was inlaid.

"Professor, your hand—" Harry asked worriedly.

"It's fine, the curse is suppressed within my little finger; there is at least two years before it begins to spread," Dumbledore said calmly. "I still have at least two years to live."

For Harry, whose life had just started, it was hard for him to imagine what "three years left to live" meant, but he knew he probably couldn't be as calm as Deng Buliduo.

"Four relics of the founders, plus three Deathly Hallows, I am sure Fu Di Mo intends to make these seven Horcruxes." Deng Buliduo blinked. "But he didn't collect them all. I'm not sure if he made other Horcruxes to fill up to seven, and I don't even know if he only intends to make seven."

Harry looked at Deng Buliduo's hand with a solemn face. He couldn't figure out why Deng Buliduo would be hurt. Thinking about it, Fu Di Mo must have cast a curse on the ring. Why did he—unless he lost his head as soon as he found the Resurrection Stone and couldn't wait to see someone.

Harry thought of the girl who kept drifting further away in the Realm of Life and Death. Perhaps Dumbledore was not as strong as everyone imagined; his heart also harbored some kind of flaw, an obsession he could not let go of. Dumbledore was so calm when his deadline approached, perhaps because he no longer had much attachment to this world.

Deng Buliduo put his hand back into his sleeve, and the two looked at each other in silence. After a long while, Deng Buliduo continued: "We have a chance to capture Fu Di Mo this year, but if we fail, I'm afraid you are the only one who can lead everyone to continue fighting him. So Harry, whether it is for this plan or for possible follow-ups, you must win the Triwizard Tournament, and you must win beautifully."

"If, I mean, in case, we fail, and Fu Di Mo hides again, then I can at most win another two years for you, maybe shorter, you must grow up and continue to explore the secrets of his Horcruxes." Deng Buliduo's tone carried a hint of determination. "You must be psychologically prepared."

"Can't Fu Di Mo beat you?" Harry hesitated for a moment, but still asked this question.

"Not necessarily." Deng Buliduo said helplessly. "His attainments in Dark Magic exceed anyone, although I am still more learned than him, my magic power is not as good as when I was young."

"If we fight to the death, I have the confidence to kill him, although I will probably not survive either," Deng Buliduo said slowly. "But if Fu Di Mo decides to run away, then I have no way to track him."

Harry pursed his lips tightly and nodded with a very small range. This definitely couldn't be considered good news for him. Fu Di Mo only needs to wait, wait until Deng Buliduo is defeated by time, and he can be invincible in the world, which is very terrifying. And what is even more desperate is that even if Deng Buliduo retains almost all his strength now, he cannot truly eliminate Fu Di Mo.

The worst situation is that even if Deng Buliduo kills Fu Di Mo at the cost of his life, he turns around and makes a comeback with the help of Horcruxes, and Hogwarts will never have a second Deng Buliduo again.

Perhaps seeing Harry's fear, Deng Buliduo comforted him: "Don't worry too much, Harry. We at least have the plan formulated by the Department of Mysteries. If we can succeed this year, everything will get better."

"But the key to the plan is that I duel with him," Harry couldn't help but say. "Now Fu Di Mo's target is you."

"Yes, according to the situation you saw in the dream, things suddenly became troublesome." Deng Buliduo also sighed. "But don't worry, Harry, there will always be a way. We still have a year to think carefully and adjust our plan."

"And, if I am also one of the Horcruxes," Harry hesitated. "Does it mean I still have to find some kind of stripping spell to take the soul fragment off me."

"Before determining the situation of the Horcrux, the best way is to imprison Fu Di Mo." Deng Buliduo said. "With the main soul still present, he cannot resurrect using the split soul."

"But Azkaban doesn't work on him, Dementors are even afraid of him." Deng Buliduo added. "This is hard to handle, perhaps we have to think of some other way..." ===== CHAPTER 172 =====