The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 6 The Final Hand

Lin Qi's hand, which was holding the teacup to his lips, froze for a moment. He then continued to drink the tea, put the teacup on the table, and looked up at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sat steadily on the sofa, his azure eyes calmly meeting his gaze.

The old man's hands, which had been resting on his abdomen, stopped the leisurely rubbing of his thumbs and now overlapped, remaining completely still.

He straightened his body slightly, almost imperceptibly, which made his gaze, which pierced through the crescent-shaped lenses, seem even more penetrating.

The delicate aroma of green tea still lingered in the air, and only the faint crackling of burning firewood in the fireplace remained in the stone house.

Lynch's lips curled slightly, his gaze meeting Dumbledore's without wavering. He raised his right hand, palm facing himself, and pointed his index finger lightly behind him.

It was as if an invisible barrier had been touched, causing small ripples to appear in the air.

Lin Qi gently pulled forward with his index finger, and a similar huge ripple appeared on the top of the bookshelf behind him. A huge book with a pitch-black cover slowly emerged from the ripple.

The book flew between the two of them and landed between two teacups on the small square table.

Dumbledore leaned forward to look him over.

This is a very ordinary-looking book; apart from being extremely large, there's nothing particularly eye-catching about it.

It was almost four times the size of a regular book put together. The cover was pure black, and I didn't know what material it was, but it was probably not the dragon skin commonly used in the magical world. There were no patterns on the surface, only the words "The Complete History of the Development of Black Magic" written in recessed light silver letters in the middle.

Dumbledore frowned. "I thought locking you up here would cut off your chance to continue studying dark magic, but it seems you've bypassed my restrictions with the help of your friends."

Lynch pointed to the enormous magic book and explained, "This book was originally a precious collection of books from an ancient pure-blood family, containing almost all the powerful dark magic that has appeared in history, including... the most forbidden knowledge."

"Don't worry, Headmaster Dumbledore. I only learned about dark magic to better deal with those dark wizards, because only by understanding yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. I never wanted to become a dark wizard."

Lynch continued, "Ten years ago, when you found me, I was indeed studying dark magic, but that was because Voldemort messed with my mind during the battle in Glencoe Valley. He was a master of manipulating thoughts, and I fell for his tricks during the battle, which distorted my thinking. I only discovered this when you locked me up."

He continued, "This will no longer be a weakness for me, Headmaster Dumbledore. No one in the world hates dark wizards more than I do, and I will never become one of them."

He stopped and saw Dumbledore's brow relax slightly.

He then extended his right hand in a gesture of invitation. "Now, please allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of dark magic invented by the despicable ancient Greek dark wizard Helbo, and also the ultimate secret that makes Voldemort invincible—the Horcruxes!"

The huge black book moved on its own without any wind, its pages turning rapidly before suddenly stopping.

On the open pages, a dark, half-figure was about to scream when Lin Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, pointed, and the pages fell silent.

Looking at the nauseating words and illustrations on the open pages, Dumbledore took a deep breath, his azure eyes gleaming, his voice slow and heavy: "You mean... Horcruxes, are the root cause of Voldemort's inability to be destroyed?"

"Yes," Lynch replied. "I know that you, Principal, have also been searching for the reason why Voldemort could refuse death, and I believe that you must have vaguely guessed the secret behind it, but you have been struggling to find evidence to prove your guess."

"Now, I can provide you with that proof."

"How can you prove it?" Dumbledore pressed.

Lynch looked into Dumbledore's eyes. "You know, back when Voldemort's forces were still rampant, I started hunting down those dark wizards everywhere. Sometimes, I was lucky enough to save some people from them. Among them was one person who had seen Voldemort's Horcruxes."

Dumbledore leaned forward, staring intently at Lynch. "Tell me this man's name and when and where he saw the Horcrux."

Lynch looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes, his dark pupils revealing nothing. "For that man's safety, I cannot tell you his name."

"At the same time, I cannot tell you when and where he saw the Horcrux."

Before Dumbledore could ask further, Lynch continued, "What I can tell you is that the Horcrux is still where my friend last saw it, but unfortunately we cannot go and retrieve and destroy it."

Is that place dangerous?

"Yes," Lynch replied. "Voldemort has set up a large number of powerful spells to ensure the safety of his Horcruxes, so getting close to there is not an easy task."

He continued, "But the main reason we can't go is that we can't alert them."

"Based on our understanding of Voldemort, he was extremely resistant to death. I think, no, I'm sure, Voldemort must have created multiple Horcruxes!"

"So before we know how many Horcruxes Voldemort possesses and where they are hidden, simply acquiring one of them will only make Voldemort more vigilant. He will then move the remaining Horcruxes to more concealed locations, making it even more difficult for us to eliminate him."

"Our advantage now is that Voldemort is unaware that we have uncovered the secret to his escape from death. We should maintain this advantage, secretly find out exactly how many Horcruxes he made and their locations, and then launch a surprise attack to seize them all."

Looking into Lynch's dark eyes, Dumbledore's rich life experience of over a hundred years told him that he had not lied about the Horcruxes, and Lynch's lynching of many dark wizards ten years ago indicated that he could never stand on the side of the dark wizards.

Dumbledore gently pressed the fingertips of his hands together, forming a shape that resembled a spire, and rested his chin slightly on his fingertips as he began to think.

The firewood in the fireplace was almost burned out. After waving a few more pieces of firewood to add, Lynch sat on the sofa, twirling a Galleon between his fingers, and began to wait quietly.

A long time has passed.

Finally, Dumbledore let out a long sigh of relief, snapping out of his reverie.

He looked at Lynch.

Lin Qi looked up and met his gaze.

"You are right, Mr. Lynch. To defeat Voldemort, we do need to be patient and thorough in our preparations. The idea of ​​confirming the Horcrux information before taking action is reasonable. However, the task of fighting against and confusing Voldemort while secretly searching for his Horcruxes is something I cannot accomplish alone."

Dumbledore continued, "Now we can discuss the contents of the Unbreakable Oath."

Holding the Galleons in his palm again, Lynch smiled and said, "I need a legitimate reason to operate at Hogwarts. Coincidentally, I have some magical theories that need to be tested in practice, and I think I'll need some truly practical methods to save my life in the coming years. So, before the Unbreakable Oath, I have one request—I want to open a new course at Hogwarts, and I will personally teach it."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes, but all the content of your courses must be approved by me before they can proceed."

"Of course." Lin Qi's smile grew even warmer.

......

When the sun moves to the exact center of the sky.

With a creak, the wooden door of the stone house opened from the inside, and Dumbledore and Lynch came out.

As he reached the edge of the white brickwork, Dumbledore drew his wand from the sleeve of his robe, held it upright in front of him, then drew a line in the air from top to bottom before tucking it back into his sleeve.

Lynch sensed that, along the path of Dumbledore's wand, an invisible yet deadly crack appeared on the boundary line of the brickwork.

Dumbledore nodded to Lynch, then stepped across the white brick boundary.

After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly turned around and said to Lynch, who was standing on the edge of the white brickwork, "I will bring a witness tomorrow morning to complete the oath and completely lift the restrictions on you here. But in the meantime, I think you can visit your friends and see the outside world. You come from Muggle society, and I've heard they've changed a lot in the last ten years. Perhaps you'd be interested in seeing for yourself?"

After saying that, he turned and left.

That invisible crack remained on the edge of the white brickwork.

Lynch stood there, watching Dumbledore's figure disappear into the Forbidden Forest.

He clenched his left hand into a fist behind his back, his neatly trimmed nails digging into the flesh of his palm, but he didn't take a single step.

After waiting a while longer and suppressing his surging emotions, he turned to the bushes not far away and said, "You can come out now."