Chapter 120
Albert finally woke up, finding himself in the infirmary with bandages wrapped around his head.
His head was covered in wounds after he had been slamming it against the ground while under the influence of the mind-control.
He slowly rose from the bed, though his head still ached terribly.
But then, in that moment, he remembered something.
Albert: "No!!! Where's Hermione?!"
He jumped to his feet and quickly opened the door of his small room, which was rather modest compared to the main section of the infirmary.
The ward for patients was a large hall filled with many rooms, and Albert happened to be in one of them.
As soon as he opened his door, he was startled to see a group of familiar people crowding around Hermione's bed.
Naturally, among them were Harry, Ron, Neville, the twins Fred and George, and Professor McGonagall.
When Albert saw that Hermione was still alive and unharmed, he finally felt some relief.
He approached them slowly, holding his head as the pain still lingered.
Professor McGonagall noticed him and immediately told him not to move around, as his wounds hadn't healed fully and moving could worsen them.
Albert ignored the pain and asked Hermione if she was alright after the incident.
Hermione reassured him, saying she was in the best condition possible and had been healed in time.
Albert apologized afterward for what had happened, remembering clearly that it was his spell that had hit Hermione.
Hermione: "There's no need to apologize. I understand. I know you were under someone's manipulation, and you made the right choice by escaping."
She didn't take the matter too seriously, but she was surprised by how deeply Albert seemed to care for her. The night before, when he had been carrying her on his back, she had been fully conscious and heard everything he said in his hysterical state.
Hermione then spoke again:
"Albert, last night when we were leaving that place, I heard you say: 'I don't want you to die because of me too.' What did you mean by that??"
Albert froze when he heard those words.
He didn't know what to say now, so he told her he had just been speaking nonsense without thinking.
But his expression betrayed him—his face revealed otherwise.
After a while, Albert returned to his room, comforted by the fact that Hermione was safe.
He sat on his bed, lost in thought over what Hermione had said.
Albert: "Damn it, Albert!! What were you thinking, saying something like that so easily?! What if they found out I've lived two lives??!"
He leaned back against the bed, finally closing his eyes as his mind replayed the entire incident.
He knew well that someone had placed powerful enchantments on those walls.
And Albert was certain that the one responsible for that dark magic wasn't Tom Riddle.
When Riddle was still a student at Hogwarts, he hadn't yet reached such a level of mastery in the Dark Arts. Albert knew that Tom only delved deeply into dark magic after graduating, when he began traveling the world.
Thus, Albert concluded at last: the one responsible must be the master of dark magic before Voldemort himself—Salazar Slytherin.
Only he possessed such a vast knowledge of the Dark Arts, surpassing even Voldemort in that regard.
It made perfect sense that the runes and curses belonged to him.
But what puzzled Albert was this: why would Salazar do such a thing?
Was he hiding something so important in that place that no one else should ever enter?
Of course, it wouldn't have been logical to keep out people like Dumbledore, Professor Snape, or even McGonagall.
If any of them had truly wanted to enter, they could have done so easily without suffering as Albert had.
And so, after long thought, Albert finally found a possible answer—one that shocked him so much he opened his eyes wide and jumped to his feet.
Albert: "Wait… could this be connected only to me?! … But hold on… what's my connection to Salazar?!"
To be contined ...