"What are you going to do next?"
Standing on the top of the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts Castle, Dracula asked softly.
"I'm still thinking about it." Dumbledore played with the resurrection stone ring with a deep look in his eyes. "Now it seems that compared with the power of the god of death, the threat of Voldemort himself is not that important."
"That's not the case," Dracula said. "Without the holders of those Horcruxes, the power of death would hardly affect the world... So this threat is still brought by Voldemort."
"But what we can't figure out now is what the purpose of the so-called God of Death is?" Dumbledore frowned and said slowly, "If we can't find his purpose, it will be difficult for us to take targeted countermeasures."
"It shouldn't be long before we find him." Dracula smiled casually. "As long as he's still using those Horcrux holders to cause trouble, it proves that the God of Death is not without desires."
"But the appearance of the Grim Reaper is beyond our previous plan after all." Dumbledore said in a deep voice, "The wizarding world is going to be in chaos. It's a pity that ordinary people are not ready to face the chaos..."
"Oh, there's no need to be so entangled." Dracula suddenly raised his lips, a hint of contempt in his eyes, "I've tried it, the so-called god of death is not invincible... Come to think of it, if he is really invincible, why would he use the Horcruxes to secretly hinder the magic world?"
"Besides, what does the next chaos in the wizarding world have to do with me? The more chaotic the world is, the more fun there might be to find?"
From the beginning to the end, Dracula and Dumbledore's paths were different.
He was not at all interested in Dumbledore's behavior of saving the wizarding world from danger and becoming the pillar of the wizarding world, nor was he interested in spending time and effort to quell the chaos in the wizarding world.
More than four years ago, the Mirror of Erised had already confirmed everything—Dracula has always been a person who is eager to see the world in chaos!
He was willing to fight Voldemort together with Dumbledore only because of his friendship with the headmaster and other students at Hogwarts over the years, and his previous feud with Voldemort... This did not mean that he was on the side of justice.
On the contrary, Dracula welcomes the chaos that is almost inevitable in the magical world.
He even wanted to help speed up the chaos himself, and he already had a plan, a very simple plan...
At this time, Dumbledore suddenly said: "Professor Dracula, what do you think...if we can get behind that door, can we confront Death head-on?"
He stared at the ring in his hand, his eyes became very deep.
"Then how are you going to get out of there? Unless there are special circumstances, that door is a door that you can only enter but not exit, and there is no way out." Dracula raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "Are you planning to sacrifice your life and stay there forever?"
"I was just thinking... if he wants to deal with the Horcrux fragments in Harry, maybe he needs a guide."
Dumbledore's voice was very soft, but with Dracula's hearing, he could hear it clearly.
The smile on Dracula's face disappeared instantly.
"Are you serious?" he asked seriously, looking Dumbledore straight in the eyes.
"I'm just thinking of a possibility." Dumbledore shook his head and said gently, "I couldn't think of a more suitable way before, but now, perhaps there is a better way for us to choose..."
Dumbledore took out his wand again and inserted it vertically into the ring.
"There's still one thing missing. I actually know where it is." He said softly, "It is said that if you collect all three, you can become the master of the god of death..."
Dracula stared at the wand in Dumbledore's hand.
He never imagined that the Elder Wand, one of the three legendary Deathly Hallows, had always been in Dumbledore's hands.
"You actually believe this rumor?" Dracula frowned and asked, "I don't see how these so-called Deathly Hallows are any better than normal alchemical products."
"I don't believe it either." Dumbledore chuckled, "But they may give us a chance to face Death head-on."
"I thought we should at least give it a try."
…
Dracula had no intention of staying in Hogwarts, nor did he ask where the last Deathly Hallows was, nor did he verify with Dumbledore whether synthesizing the three Deathly Hallows could make him the master of Death as the legend said.
He was not interested in these, but was vaguely worried about some of Dumbledore's ideas and trends.
Even though he just said he could give it a try, Dumbledore's tone didn't sound like he was joking... He seemed to really want to enter the realm of death himself, and was ready not to come back.
Dracula knew very well that there was a fragment of Voldemort's soul in Harry Potter's body, and unlike other Horcruxes, this fragment had completely merged with Harry's own soul.
In order to completely destroy this fragment, Harry's soul must be affected in the same way.
In other words... Harry Potter is almost certain to die!
After a wizard dies, he usually has two choices:
One option is to continue moving forward bravely, and there will no longer be any trace of the wizard's real existence in the world; the other option is that the obsession in his heart ties the wizard to the world and turns him into a ghost, just like Nearly Headless Nick and Helena.
Harry's situation is even more special.
Because his mother, Lily Potter, had used all her strength before she died, using blood magic to cast a protective spell in Harry's blood that was powerful enough to resist the great wizards.
In order to fight against this magic, Voldemort deliberately used Harry's blood when he was resurrected, allowing this protective magic to flow through his body as well.
Although he was finally able to ignore Lily's protection and touch Harry, there was another fatal flaw -
Voldemort would not be able to kill Harry.
The protection of the blood magic entered Voldemort's body, so as long as Voldemort was not dead, Harry would still be protected. The magic that was supposed to dissipate when Harry came of age was unexpectedly delayed.
In addition, Voldemort still has a soul fragment in Harry's body, so the two of them form a cycle, and neither can kill the other...
If they want to break this cycle, they can only do it themselves.
Either Harry abandons the blood protection in his body, so that Voldemort loses this protection, and then perishes together with the soul fragment in his body; or after all other Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort destroys the soul fragment in Harry's body with his own hands, and loses his immortality...
Obviously, the latter method is more feasible.
Dracula guessed that Dumbledore wanted to get there first and reach the narrow space between life and death, the Limbo.
Killing only the fragments of Voldemort's soul will not actually damage Harry's soul, so in addition to continuing to move forward and turning into a soul, there is a third choice - to turn back and return to the human world.
But how can one escape from the Lost Zone so easily
There must be someone with a strong enough soul to act as a guide, to reach the narrow gap between life and death first and guide Harry back.
Dracula flew on his way back to Dracula's Castle, frowning tightly.
He doesn't have many people who can be considered friends, and Dumbledore is one of them now. He can't let him treat him as a pawn and take his life into account.
But for a stubborn man like Dumbledore, the decision he made would probably be difficult to stop.
Fortunately, Dracula knew someone... If it was him, he might be able to change Dumbledore's mind.
Dracula suddenly flapped his wings and changed the direction of his flight.
…
On the other side, Harry was already waiting alone in the Hogwarts headmaster's office.
During the time when the Ministry of Magic drove Dumbledore away from here, Umbridge tried her best to enter this office but the gargoyles guarding the door let Harry in easily.
Outside the window, an elegant gray-blue color hangs in the sky, and dawn is slowly approaching.
The office was silent, and nothing moved. Only the occasional snoring from the sleeping portrait of the principal broke the tranquility.
Harry gently took out a transparent glass ball. There seemed to be a pearly white picture playing inside, but it was not clear.
This was something Voldemort had been scheming to get, and he had deliberately used the connection between himself and Harry's scar, lying to him that Sirius was in the Department of Mysteries, just so that Harry could take the prophecy off the shelf himself.
Harry felt very painful.
It was because of his mistakes that his friends and the members of the Order of the Phoenix were put in danger. If he had only considered what Hermione had said, that Voldemort might be taking advantage of his enthusiasm for being a hero...
Just then, Dumbledore's figure rose from the spiral staircase.
"I guess you have a lot of questions to ask me now, Harry." He said to Harry in a gentle tone while walking slowly.
Harry turned away, his eyes red involuntarily.
"Professor, I... it's all my fault..." When he saw Dumbledore again, the emotions he had been holding back for a long time finally came out, his voice trembling, "It's all because of my arrogance that you've fallen into danger..."
Dumbledore did not answer Harry's question right away, but walked over to the perch near the door.
Then he pulled a tiny, ugly, featherless young Fawkes from his inside robe pocket and laid it gently on the plate of fine ash beneath the gilded perch where the adult Fawkes usually stayed.
"Oh, Harry," said Dumbledore, as he finally stepped away from the young phoenix, "you will be glad to hear that none of your fellow students will suffer long-term from the events of last night."
Harry wanted to force out the word "OK", but no sound came out.
In his opinion, Dumbledore was reminding him of the terrible damage he had almost done to the students and the Order of the Phoenix.
Even though this was the only time Dumbledore's eyes were looking directly at him, and his attitude was gentle and kind, and he was by no means blaming him, Harry still couldn't bear to meet his gaze.
"Madam Pomfrey is treating them," Dumbledore continued. "Nymphadora Tonks may need to stay at St. Mungo's for a while, but it looks like she will recover soon."
Harry could only nod at the carpet, which grew brighter as it grew brighter outside.
"Please sit down." Dumbledore's tone became gentler, as if he did not blame him at all.
Harry hesitated for a moment, then walked slowly across the carpet that was golden in the sunlight and sat down opposite Dumbledore.
"professor… "
"Harry, I owe you an explanation," Dumbledore said suddenly before Harry could ask the question, "an explanation of the mistakes made by old people."
"Because I now realize that everything I did and didn't do about you has a flaw that comes with age."
"Young people don't know what old people think or feel, but it would be a mistake for old people to forget what it was like when they were young... I guess I've lost my memory lately..."
The sun had risen, and the hills were rimmed with a brilliant orange light, and the sky above was colourless and bright. The light fell on Dumbledore, on his grey eyebrows, his beard, and his deep wrinkles.
"Fifteen years ago," Dumbledore said softly, "when I saw the scar on your forehead, I wondered what it meant. I thought it might be a mark of some connection between you and Voldemort."
"You've told me this before, Professor," Harry said slowly.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded slightly, "Yes, but it is necessary to start with your scar. Because obviously, shortly after you returned to the wizarding world, my suspicions were confirmed-"
"Your scar gives you warning signs or other strong emotions whenever Voldemort appears near you."
Harry nodded.
Every time Voldemort showed any strong emotions, or his power was restored, or he appeared beside Harry, the scar on Harry's forehead would feel intense pain.
"You can sense Voldemort's presence, even when he is in disguise, and you can tell how he feels when his emotions are high... This ability of yours has become more and more pronounced since he returned to his body and regained his full strength."
Sure enough, Dumbledore's statement was completely consistent with Harry's experience.
"Recently," Dumbledore continued, "I began to worry that Voldemort might be aware of such a connection between you. Sure enough, he became aware of your presence when you penetrated deep into his mind and thoughts."
Harry raised his eyes and saw that Dumbledore now had a look of fatigue on his face.
"Yes," Harry murmured, "yes, I never realized it before."
"You see," Dumbledore went on, "Voldemort intended to gain access to your mind, to control and mislead your thoughts. I believe he had this idea some time ago..."
"As Voldemort proved tonight, his purpose in controlling you was not to destroy me, but to destroy you. Just now, when he temporarily controlled you, he hoped that I would sacrifice you in order to kill him."
Dumbledore sighed deeply.
What Harry didn't know was that if he wanted to get rid of Voldemort once and for all, he would almost certainly not survive.
And the great headmaster in front of him was thinking about how to use his own aging life to exchange for the survival of Harry...
…
…