Chapter 159:You are confident
"Dumbledore, don't think that saying these things can lessen your guilt. You've put Hogwarts in danger! That's a fact!"
Lucius's face was grim. "And Aurors don't have the authority to reinstate you at Hogwarts! It seems when I go back, I'll have to write a letter to the Ministry of Magic, explaining about those audacious Aurors. They must be severely punished!"
Dumbledore's expression was calm: "To my knowledge, Vera is the Auror captain sent by the Ministry of Magic this time. Of course, she has the right to do things that benefit Hogwarts."
"But the Board of Governors has suspended your duties! How dare an Auror do this?" Lucius's eyes widened. "Last night, eleven Board members, excluding you, contacted me."
"Owls flew in one after another, and letters fell like snowflakes—Arthur Weasley's daughter was harmed at Hogwarts; news of a murder at Hogwarts is rampant outside!"
"They all believe that you are too old to continue as Headmaster of Hogwarts. At the same time, they nominated me to replace you. If I were here, none of these things would have happened at Hogwarts!" Lucius's voice was sharp.
Dumbledore listened, then nodded slightly: "And then?"
Lucius paused, his eyelid twitching: "Then! I hope you understand that you are old!"
Dumbledore nodded again: "So what?"
Lucius: (⊙д⊙)!
"What a tasteless remark! You should voluntarily resign as Headmaster of Hogwarts!"
Suddenly, Dylan noticed another figure at the doorway, stealthily peeking into the room. Dylan glanced over and saw it was a house-elf. Hearing Lucius's angry voice, it seemed hesitant to enter.
"Is that so?" Dumbledore chuckled. "This morning, I also received letters from the Board members. They feel they should invite me back."
"The strange thing is, Lucius, several Board members seem to believe that if they didn't agree to expel me, you would curse their families."
Lucius's face twitched, his already pale complexion becoming even paler. —He looked like a bloodless corpse. Only his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. —But he still chose to avoid Dumbledore's topic.
"What? How could you do such a thing?" Vera on the side looked shocked.
"This has nothing to do with you, Miss Auror. And what evidence do you have to say such a thing about me?" Lucius glared fiercely at Vera. "Someone with Muggle blood, how dare you question my loyalty to this school?"
Dylan interjected: "You're wrong there, Mummy Uncle."
"What? What did you call me?!" Lucius snapped his head back.
"Huh? Your face is as white as a mummy, so I just—" Dylan blinked. "Maybe I shouldn't say that? Is it impolite?"
"Stop pretending to be ignorant and innocent here! It's sickening!" Lucius hissed, his voice low and grim.
Dumbledore frowned for the first time: "Lucius, how can you speak to a student like that..."
"Sir, if I offended you, I apologize. It's just, I feel you're very much like my old dog back home, easy to get along with, not shy at all."
Dumbledore pulled back, a tactical retreat, his face showing disbelief as he looked at Dylan. —He had heard from Severus that this little fellow's mouth was even more venomous than his own. But he had never experienced Dylan speaking so... beautifully before.
"You scoundrel!" Lucius's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Look! He couldn't keep up the act anymore! That disgusting, childish facade, he couldn't maintain it! This damned Mudblood!
Watching Lucius's chest heave up and down, Dylan tilted his head. "Oh, sir, what's that on your nose? An ant's leg sticking out?"
Lucius glared, quickly pulled out a small mirror from his person, but looked left and right, seeing nothing.
"Oh, my apologies, I seem to have misseen it. But you always give me the impression of being shrewd but also confused, and for a moment, I thought an ant was crawling in your nose."
"Ha!" Lucius was so angry he laughed. Was there any connection between those two statements? This Mudblood was just insulting him for the sake of insulting him!
The house-elf, hiding at the door, wanting to come in but not daring, froze in shock upon hearing Dylan's words. Vera also hadn't expected Dylan, who seemed like such a polite junior, to have such a venomous tongue.
His words seemed unfocused, yet when they truly registered, they could make a person's blood pressure skyrocket. As for Harry, he stood to one side, covering his mouth to stifle his laughter.
Dylan usually didn't curse people, but once he opened his mouth, he could literally make someone die of anger! Even Malfoy usually avoided Dylan; now, was his father about to follow in his son's footsteps?
"You seem very angry, quite frightening, like a monster, sir. When you're alone, you must walk on all fours, right?"
Lucius took a deep breath, his gaze sinister, and let out a cold laugh, suppressing his anger. This foolish Mudblood, wasn't he just trying to deliberately provoke him? It was the same in the bookstore! But he wouldn't lower himself to exchange insults with such a Mudblood! Let him talk all he wants!
Lucius looked disdainfully at Dylan, then turned back to Dumbledore. "What I'm about to say, he doesn't need to stay here and listen, does he?"
Dumbledore snapped out of his daze, clicked his tongue slightly, and raised an eyebrow: "Of course. I've also clarified it; unfortunately, he knows nothing about the Chamber of Secrets." Then, he also looked at Dylan: "My boy, go back for now. Tell everyone not to worry; the trouble has been resolved."
Dylan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the wand in Dumbledore's hand. The Elder Wand, huh? I want to break it open and see what materials are inside.
"By the way, come to my office again in the evening."
Dylan paused: "Understood, Headmaster."
Vera nodded to Dylan. Dylan gave a slight nod and exited the office.
As he left, he finally saw Dobby's entire body. Dobby flinched, looking at Dylan with a mix of fear and admiration. Dylan returned a friendly smile. "If you ever want to change masters, come find me. I'll curse back anyone who bullies you—or even use magic to hit them back."
Dobby's face looked somewhat stunned and didn't respond.
"Don't even think about coveting my servant!" A voice came from the office.
Dylan ignored it, just waved his hand: "Goodbye."
Leaving Dumbledore's office, Dylan returned to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny and the others were still in the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was observing them. Hermione, however, had already recovered. Dylan immediately saw her talking with Neville.
"Hey, Dylan!"
Seeing Hermione, Dylan nodded: "I'm glad to see you've recovered your vitality."
Hermione leaned in and asked: "I heard you were called to Professor Dumbledore's office. Was Harry there too?"
Dylan nodded gently: "Yes, they might be discussing some issues regarding the Headmaster's reinstatement, so I came back."
A hint of worry flashed across Hermione's face: "I hope our Headmaster remains Professor Dumbledore."
Dylan smiled: "Don't worry, he will be. Are you still feeling any discomfort?"
Hermione shook her head: "None anymore, but Professor Snape's restorative potion was very bitter. One of the people who woke up with me immediately threw up."
Dylan raised an eyebrow: "Did they throw up in front of Professor Snape?"
Hermione pursed her lips, struggling to keep her smile contained: "Yes."
Dylan chuckled: "That must have been quite interesting then."
Hermione's canines subtly appeared between her lips: "Professor Snape was so angry he turned and left, but it's strange, I didn't feel it was that bitter."
Dylan clicked his tongue: "Perhaps the potion you drank was one I brewed."
Hermione looked over in surprise: "I knew it! No wonder Professor Snape's face was so black then!"
"I'm glad you're okay. Harry and Ron were very worried about you. How's Ginny? Is she alright too?"
Neville also walked over: "She's fine. The Weasley brothers went to look after her."
"They went to look after Ginny?" Dylan pouted. "I feel like Ginny won't be able to rest properly now."
"Madam Pomfrey isn't letting them get close to Ginny, so it should be fine," Hermione said.
"That's good then," Dylan shrugged. "You wait a bit; Harry should be back soon. I'll go back to my dorm for now."
Hermione nodded.
Neville was about to follow Dylan back, but Dylan said, "I'm going back to read. You do whatever you want—like reviewing. From the looks of it, the final exams are definitely going to be canceled."
"Oh! Right! I almost forgot about that!" Neville almost jumped. "I'm going back to the dorm to read too!"
Hermione stood still, her expression rigid: "Right, the final exams... Um, Dylan, have you learned any new knowledge recently?"
Neville spoke first: "Loads! And it all feels really hard to learn."
Hermione: (oェ｀o)...
"Everyone said I was petrified for a long time, right? But in a flash, it's already time for final exams."
"Don't worry. I think the professors will have other ways to test you, for those of you in special circumstances—after all, you've missed a lot of content," Dylan assured Hermione. However, Hermione felt even worse after hearing that.
"You wait for Harry to come back. He's been reviewing quite well lately. If you want to catch up on the knowledge you've missed, reviewing with him is a good choice."
Hermione opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing, just nodded slightly. She had originally thought about asking Dylan to review with her, but his words had preemptively blocked that path. Helpless, she could only first gather the textbooks from this period and go over them herself.
Dylan, meanwhile, returned to the dorm with Neville. After exchanging greetings, Dylan slipped into his trunk. There had been no commotion all night yesterday, and although Dumbledore had called him over today, judging by the Headmaster's attitude, he didn't seem to genuinely suspect anything. Dylan decided to use this time to research Little Voldemort's diary.
Speaking of which—who in their right mind keeps a diary anyway? Little Voldemort must have written too many shocking statements in his diary and was worried about someone seeing them, so he simply turned it into his Horcrux, right?
After dropping food for Norberta and Coal, Dylan walked straight into the house at the edge of the forest. One of the biggest benefits of the self-sustaining ecosystem was that creatures Dylan put in would always have various prey appearing for them.
However, perhaps because Norberta and Coal were his pets, or rather, the pet space considered the creatures Dylan threw in as their food, there were no creatures that could prey on them.
Of course, the small animals in the forest could essentially be hunted by them, but with Dylan feeding them, they wouldn't touch the small animals in the forest.
"When I have a break, I need to go to Diagon Alley again to sign for my house and exchange some Galleons to expand this space. Otherwise, if I throw the Basilisk in, the space will be too small, and larger creatures won't be able to grow properly."
Before entering the house, Dylan had already changed into his gear, his face completely hidden beneath his black robe and mask. He approached the diary. The diary was thrown in a corner, piled with scattered Miscellaneous.
Perhaps because it had endured several of Dylan's Avada Kedavra spells, the life force the diary had stolen from Ginny was not only returned, but Dylan had also severed its connection with Ginny. Now, lying there, Dylan even felt a sense of weakness emanating from the diary itself.
Dylan's lips curled into a cold arc, and he sharply waved his wand. In an instant, a dazzling light flashed. The ceiling above Dylan's head cracked open with a roar, and a skylight leading outside suddenly appeared.
At the same time, a sharp cry came from the forest not far away. Before long, a few small animals, carried by the wind, stumbled into the house, fluttering frantically in mid-air. Dylan lightly tapped his wand, and instantly, silver light ribbons slowly drew out from these animals, then submerged into the diary.
As life force was injected, the diary's weak appearance gradually receded—the paper and cover even felt a bit harder. Dylan could clearly feel that the diary had absorbed a lot of life force. However, at this moment, it lay there quietly, unmoving.
Dylan scoffed, his voice filled with coldness, deep and oppressive: "What, after becoming a Horcrux, you can't be killed by the Killing Curse, so you've grown to like the taste of being attacked by Avada Kedavra?"
"If so, I don't mind a few more times, until you obediently comply."
His words cut through the air, and the diary visibly trembled slightly.
"You are truly an evil fellow. Who exactly are you?"
The next moment, a blurry outline slowly floated out of the diary. Gradually, as life force was injected, the outline became clearer.
First, the head, with its carefully combed golden hair gradually becoming distinct, a high-bridged nose, and questioning eyes appearing. Then, the figure, a straight black robe fluttering slightly as the ethereal body gradually solidified.
Tom's face held resentment: "How do I not remember such a person in the wizarding world?"
Dylan looked at Tom, who was floating in the corner like he was being punished to stand, and sneered coldly.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Kael'thas, the Fool of the world, a guide between life and death. I heard the echo of the scorned, and thus found you."
"An—inelegant fellow."
Upon hearing Dylan's words, Tom froze instantly, his expression rigid.
"Me? Do you know who I am? Do you know what power I possess? How dare you judge whether I am elegant?"
"You're truly a confident one." Tom secretly gritted his teeth. He seemed to be communicating with Dylan, but in reality, he was stalling for time, trying to probe the situation here. However, what this guy said was simply too infuriating!
"I am Voldemort! My power is enough to support my confidence!"
"You are confident enough because you are foolish enough." Dylan scoffed: "A candle burning out, yet afraid to embrace a beautiful death. Voldemort? Do you truly think you can escape death?"
He walked step by step towards Tom. The sound of his height-boosting boots hitting the wooden floor was exceptionally clear in the cabin, like a heavy hammer striking Tom's heart.
"Don't try to probe your surroundings. This is my world. You've fallen into my hands, and you can't escape."
Tom's face changed: "You can sense my magic?"
Dylan chuckled eerily: "I told you, this is my world of death. The moment your eyes, like two slits, glance left or right, I know what you're thinking." He subtly pointed the tip of his wand, hidden beneath his sleeve.
"Ah!" Tom instantly screamed. —His outward-extending mental energy was directly crushed by an unknown force! This was the pet space ability Dylan had unlocked by spending a full one hundred thousand Galleons—Space Control!
However, this ability even had subsequent levels, two, three... In short, it wouldn't stop draining Dylan's money until he was completely broke. But even just Level 1 Space Control was enough for Dylan to detect mental energy fluctuations right under his nose.
"What spell are you using now..." Tom's handsome face twisted, turning even paler. That last attack, if he hadn't had a Horcrux on him, he felt like his soul would have been directly obliterated!
"Foolish mortal, do you still have time to converse with death?" Dylan raised his wand, and the diary slowly floated up.
"What do you want to do?!" For the first time, Tom felt terrified. The person before him... even with his sanity largely intact, he seemed utterly unable to find any breakthrough point in this self-proclaimed Fool to escape!
He felt that many things were no longer under his control! He didn't want to try to contact the Basilisk. But all his sounds seemed completely unable to penetrate this room. And this person in front of him controlled his life and death!
"No, no, calm down! How could I be afraid? I am Voldemort! This person cannot destroy a Horcrux; I am immortal!"
The young Voldemort, though retaining almost complete sanity, was at this stage of his soul extremely arrogant, ambitious, and cunning, yet also prone to reckless behavior due to his overconfidence.
For example, fifty years ago, when he was still at Hogwarts, he secretly explored the secrets of the Chamber of Secrets and released the Basilisk, which was itself a reckless act. Fortunately, some idiot took the blame for him back then, otherwise, it was still unknown if he could have developed to his later stage.
"Don't struggle. I am writing your name into my Black Grimoire. Don't worry, your song of life won't end here. You will become my most cherished experimental subject."
What could be more intimately entwined with death than a Horcrux? Dylan lightly hooked his wand back, and the diary floated before him.
"On the night of the waning moon, I can first use a bronze probe steeped in Acromantula venom to create an improved magic spectrum. Then I'll capture some Inferi, preferably werewolves or vampires. At that time, I'll be able to explore the resonance point between Horcrux energy and dark magical creatures."
"But before that, I can use Tom to experiment with the penetrability of mental contamination."
"Furthermore, if I can get a Troll, and use the Basilisk's fangs to damage a part of the diary, taking off a remnant page, there might be a chance to break through the experiment of consciousness grafting."
These were all researches Dylan desperately wanted to conduct, especially the last one. Dylan could test the limits of Tom's consciousness control over composite creatures and observe whether creatures grafted with the diary could develop new personalities.
These experiments would advance Dylan's research and help him achieve plans he had long been brewing in his mind.
—Pseudo-Horcrux Mass Production Plan! —Anti-Horcrux Project! —Conceptual Parasitic Metamorphosis!
However, such forbidden research, even just starting it, was quite difficult. Dylan had a lot of preparatory work to do. For now, everything was still at the very beginning.
"Let's start with the simplest thing."
Like... first using the diary to complete a spell refinement task for an Unforgivable Curse!
[Spell to be Refined]: Avada Kedavra (Killing Curse)
[Spell Trait to be Unlocked]: Corridor of the Dead
[Refinement Task Activated]: In your presence, death is absolutely fair! Cast the Killing Curse 444 times on the target. You will unlock this spell trait and complete the spell refinement!
Dylan felt no trouble at all upon seeing this spell refinement task. Because for Avada Kedavra, he had already unlocked a trait—Slaughtering Intent Burning the Sky! When Dylan used the Killing Curse, he could completely use this trait to directly open a four-second destruction domain. This meant that each use of Avada Kedavra counted as two uses. So, 444 times would be directly halved.
Time to get to work.
"Pain is the developer of the soul, dear Tom." Dylan's voice, altered by a voice-changing spell, sounded like grinding rusty gears, sometimes magnetic, sometimes hoarse. He raised his wand, and the scales on his mask glowed with a sickly light.
"Avada Kedavra!"
In an instant, extremely evil power erupted. Yet, the light emanating from the tip of his wand was as pure as the dawn. At first glance, this light seemed holy and pure, but upon closer inspection, it faintly revealed a hint of evil. Holy and evil auras blended together without any sense of discord.
Tom's sinister smile froze: "What spell are you using..."
.....
For 70 advanced chapters:
p_treon.com/Chaos_God
Thank you so much for your support and for reading