Chapter 306

Harry spent most of the week in high spirits, thrilled at the thought of Lucius suffering a humiliating blow over Torchwood.

On Thursday night, as he returned to the castle from the Quidditch pitch, the portrait of Fat Lady reminded him that Snape was waiting for him in the Headmaster's office.

"Weird," Ron muttered. "What could the old bat possibly want with you now?"

Harry instantly thought of Spire—he guessed Snape intended to propose something at Sunday's meeting and needed Holf's support. It was almost good news on two fronts, so he smiled and bid his companions farewell before striding up the staircase.

"Sit down, Mr. Potter," Snape said, seated behind his desk, his expression grim.

"Why did you call me here?" Harry asked, slightly hopeful.

"The diary has been exposed—or will be soon," Snape said coldly. "Because of your own cleverness."

"What?" Harry blinked, confused. How did Snape know about the diary?

"You never considered how determined Bellatrix is," Snape placed both hands on the desk. "Lucius and I silently concealed the diary's existence because we understand Bellatrix."

"No matter what excuses you prepare, you cannot stop Bellatrix—once she learns the whereabouts of all the Horcruxes, she will act immediately, and no one can dissuade her," Snape tapped the desk. "We may have enough power to halt her madness, but once casualties occur, the situation spirals out of control. Do you understand that?"

Harry fell silent, still wondering how Snape knew about the diary. Could the Headmaster monitor every corner of the school? Had he overheard Harry's conversation with Draco?

"Until now, I never had much time to pay attention to you, but clearly, you're not too busy to be running around, instead finding leisure to provoke young Malfoy," Snape sneered. "Too bad, as the saying goes, like father, like son."

Harry gasped sharply—he suddenly realized something terrifying. What if Draco and Lucius had already reconciled? What if even Pansy and Lucius's feud had been resolved?

He should have realized this the moment he saw Greengrass appointed Seeker, Harry realized with frustration. The diary's exposure came from Draco and Pansy telling Lucius, who then told Snape.

"Lucius contacted the Order long before you imagined," Snape stated coolly. "And Draco—interesting—he didn't know his father's actions, yet made the same choice."

"You and Lucius have been cooperating all along?" Harry asked, astonished.

"Clearly, war serves neither of our interests," Snape said lightly. "So we've suppressed news of the diary within both the Order and the Death Eaters. As long as one Horcrux remains unaccounted for, we still have an excuse to dissuade Bellatrix."

"But after you dissuaded her, you just let her go?" Harry snapped. "You've been planning this from the start—why is she still so brazen now?"

"To dismantle her influence without casualties, the Order can only apply pressure through the Horcruxes; the real work falls to Lucius's divisions and inducements," Snape said with faint disappointment. "But Bellatrix has one advantage that binds most of her followers to her with unwavering loyalty: Delphine."

"What?" Harry felt he'd heard that name before.

"Delphine Riddle, the Dark Lord's daughter—or you may call her the Dark Princess," Snape said slowly. "So now you understand? The most fanatical, brutal Death Eaters still rally under Bellatrix's banner, ready to unleash bloodshed at any moment."

"When you think you're playing politics well, remember—not everyone wants to play your games," Snape sighed. "I hope this teaches you a lesson."

Harry wondered again why Sirius and Lupin had never told him these things. Perhaps they didn't want him to know too much—but more likely, Snape had kept them in the dark too, given their bitter history as students.

"Of course, Lucius knew the diary couldn't stay hidden forever, and Holf's appearance threw him into panic," Snape said, voice flat. "So he anticipated this situation—and proposed a solution that isn't one."

"Dumbledore's Horcrux??" Harry blurted out.

"Inside the Golden Snitch he left you as a legacy lies a Horcrux he created," Snape said coldly. "This should be a secret known only to you—but we need a way to leak it to Bellatrix."

"But that Snitch is empty—and how could Dumbledore have made a Horcrux?" Harry's shock and doubt began shifting to understanding. "Oh—right. Dumbledore never made a Horcrux. But you want me to pretend he did."

"For Bellatrix, it's easy to believe—Voldemort made Horcruxes, so of course Dumbledore did too," Harry gradually grasped Snape's logic. "Then Bellatrix won't dare launch war rashly—she'll fear the Order destroying the painting and immediately resurrecting Dumbledore."

"This will also help significantly against foreign wizards you wish to deter," Snape added, raising one eyebrow slightly.

"Then we can persuade Bellatrix to prioritize stealing Dumbledore's Horcrux before considering Voldemort's resurrection," Harry realized. "We could say: Bellatrix, you don't want Voldemort resurrected only to be defeated again, do you?" He paused. "And she can't steal something that doesn't exist—so before she loses patience, we gain a little time to devise another plan."

"Lucius has considerable experience maintaining Bellatrix's patience," Snape said indifferently. "But more importantly—how do we leak this information to her without drawing attention? We have only three days."

"If we can't think of a way, will you or Lucius have to tell her outright?" Harry mused. "I think your word carries weight—Death Eaters know Dumbledore trusted you deeply."

"Yes—but if I'd known all along, why didn't I speak up sooner?" Snape shook his head. "You should have noticed that."

"Ah…" Harry fell silent for a moment, then suddenly realized—Snape must have already had a plan. Today was just to scold him.

If he openly admitted he had no idea, perhaps the matter would still be resolved somehow, and Snape calling him here would merely be a heads-up. But it would also mean Snape saw Harry as a child who hadn't grown at all—no further information would be shared, and Harry might even be barred from meddling in "adult affairs."

The adolescent urge to prove himself surged within Harry. He strained to think: Who could Bellatrix trust, and who would plausibly have just learned this secret?

Harry recalled Death Eater meeting attendees. Perhaps Regulus or Holf fit—but how to explain how they learned this "secret known only to Harry Potter"? It had to be a secret known only to Harry himself or his most trusted Order members. Sirius slipping up to Regulus was the weakest, most contrived excuse—but it was barely usable.

Or there was another figure among the Death Eaters: elusive, yet highly influential and credible—William, the Bai Gong liaison. If Tang Nade could use the Order to subtly pass information to Hermione, Harry could use him to pass information to the Death Eaters. "Dak" was a Ministry mole—he'd stolen this critical intelligence, and the Death Eaters would unquestioningly believe it, since Dak's defection to the Order was recent. But Tang Nade's patience was limited; if Harry kept bothering him, even their old teacher-student bond or Cassandra's leverage wouldn't last. Harry instinctively filed this as a last resort and turned to other options.

He quickly thought of another direction: since the Fourth-Year battle, Bondarev—who had appeared before the Death Eaters multiple times—had vanished, and the Death Eaters had completely severed ties with Su Fang. If someone impersonated the KGB and presented this intelligence to the Death Eaters, it would be a solid plan. After all, the KGB didn't need to explain their actions to Death Eaters—so long as they could provoke suspicion and investigation, the outcome depended entirely on Harry's manipulation, and the Death Eaters would trust their own findings more.

After considering this, Harry thought further: What would Snape's plan be?

Perhaps—it was the Ministry. The Ministry had thoroughly examined Dumbledore's belongings and could have discovered this secret, which was likely sealed along with the Doctor Project by Leslie.

They've known the secret all along. Now that they sense Bellatrix stirring, they'd immediately want to curb her actions—so they'd leak this secret to scare the Death Eaters. Bellatrix would assume the Ministry was bluffing to prevent war—but as long as she began investigating, even half-heartedly, Snape's goal would be achieved.

Harry looked up at Snape. Perhaps this Headmaster and double agent's cunning ran deeper than he'd imagined. Or perhaps he was just too slow—Arnold Abelson couldn't possibly have come to Hogwarts just to retire. He should've noticed that long ago, just as he should've noticed Greengrass.