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Chapter 1065: Night Talk
🕑 Added 2024-03-31 11:48:33 +0000 UTCJudging from the current situation, this was their best way to break the deadlock and force Voldemort to show up.
They couldn't hide endlessly as wanted criminals. After settling the trouble in Norway, they had to come back and completely deal with Voldemort and the evil god. Whichever way you looked at it, the British Wizarding World and Hogwarts were the main battlefields.
In a sense, Harry going to the Ministry of Magic was not an event they hadn't expected to happen.
Voldemort would definitely try his best to lure Harry to get the prophecy orb, but then things would become passive.
Instead of that, it was better to, as Evan had suggested, take the initiative and devise a plan to trick Voldemort out.
It was easy. The prophecy orb had infinite temptation for him. He needed to know the complete prophecy.
As long as he thought Dumbledore was not in Britain, he would be easy to hook.
"You know what, Evan? The prophecy orb is not the most important thing. What I am worried about now is that Voldemort enters Harry's mind, controls and misleads his thoughts. I believe that after the last encounter in Norway, he will definitely have such thoughts; he has already discovered how simple it is to control Harry. What is even more frightening is that I am afraid that he knows the relationship between Harry and me. In a way, our relationship has always been much closer than that of a headmaster and a student. If he notices this, he will seize this opportunity and use Harry to spy on me," said Dumbledore softly. "I'm worried he'll exploit Harry, worried he'll find a way to control him."
"Yes, Professor, what's worse is that he discovers the secret hidden in Harry's body," said Evan seriously.
The secret was that Harry himself was a Horcrux. Until now, Voldemort had not realized this. Like everyone else, he attributed the connection between him and Harry to his past failed Avada Kedavra.
Hermione and Elaine didn't understand what Evan said, but they didn't interrupt.
In the flickering light, Evan looked into Dumbledore's eyes and could be sure that Dumbledore blinked and avoided his gaze for a moment.
"Yes, this is also what I am afraid of," said Dumbledore softly, not wanting to continue talking about the Horcruxes. "But what I am most worried about is that Voldemort will destroy Harry, just like last time, he controlled Harry to jump off the highest platform. He is very likely to destroy Harry in this way. In my few meetings with Harry, I think I've seen Voldemort's shadow flickering behind his eyes. Once he controls Harry, everything will be unimaginable."
"So we must act decisively and stop this from happening, Professor!" said Evan. "According to my plan, even if we can't solve Voldemort, we can severely weaken him, making him dare not recklessly enter Harry's mind."
"Solve Voldemort?!" Dumbledore began to ponder again, seemingly not hearing what Evan was saying afterward. He said slowly, "To thoroughly defeat Voldemort, we still have some issues that need to be clarified. As far as I know, an old friend of mine knows this information. Yes, you are right, Evan, we need to be more proactive. I will tell Sirius and the Order of the Phoenix about this, and we'll quickly develop a combat plan."
The old friend he was talking about must be Horace Slughorn. When Voldemort was young, he obtained the information about making Horcruxes from Slughorn.
After mentioning Slughorn, Dumbledore seemed determined and stood back up.
"Alright, it's time. You three should go to bed now," he said. "Anything else can wait until tomorrow."
Evan looked at Dumbledore by the fireplace. At this moment, he looked like an ordinary old man.
For the first time, weariness appeared on his face, deep wrinkles dancing in the firelight. He was no longer the great wizard in control of everything.
Unless death was conquered by magic, even the most powerful wizard would eventually age.
Dumbledore had reached the end of his life, and Evan had a feeling that the unfortunate day was approaching...
"Professor, are you staying here tonight?"
"Oh, no, I have other things to do," said Dumbledore calmly. "The three of you will stay in this house tonight. Sirius will probably come back tomorrow morning. During this time, I hope you will not think too much and will not leave here."
He waved his hand, and Fawkes the phoenix flew up again, golden light flashed, and Dumbledore disappeared.
"Alright, let's go upstairs to bed!" said Evan, forcing a smile, not wanting Hermione and Elaine to worry.
"Yeah!" Hermione nodded.
The three of them walked up the stairs in the dark; no one spoke, only the sound of footsteps echoed in the house.
This old house had never seemed so scary. Darkness and fear had taken over the place.
Evan was thinking about the current situation. Hermione was also thinking about the conversation between Evan and Dumbledore just now. It was unknown what Elaine was thinking about. She seemed to be interested in the house-elf heads hanging on the wall, staring at them for a long time.
"Hermione, don't you have anything to ask me?" Evan couldn't help but say as they reached the third-floor landing.
"A lot, but I'm not sure if these things need to be kept secret." In the darkness, Hermione's voice sounded beside Evan, trembling, "If it is a secret between you and Dumbledore, I..."
"Hermione, there are no secrets between you and me," said Evan.
Hearing these words, Hermione's face suddenly turned red. Fortunately, the surroundings were so dark.
When a girl was extremely worried and afraid about the future, it was also the most vulnerable time for her heart.
Although Hermione usually appeared very strong, she was still no exception. What she needed most now was Evan’s embrace.
But there was a technical issue here, could Elaine stop staring at them all the time!
With such a curious baby-like appearance, how could Evan continue to comfort and soothe Hermione's heart?!
"Come on, Hermione, I'll talk to you alone about these things and the current situation. Well, you can come to my room," said Evan. Hermione didn't say anything, obviously acquiescing. He then turned to Elaine, "By the way, Elaine, are you interested in these matters?"
"Not really," said Elaine. She had never cared much about the Order of the Phoenix.
"Alright," Evan knew it would be like this. "Well, if you're tired, you can go back to sleep first. Tonight, it's just the three of us here. Hermione and I are next door to you. If anything happens, just shout, I'll definitely hear it."
"But I'm not sleepy either. I might as well come and listen," said Elaine slowly. "Besides, there's something I want to talk to you about..."
