Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

“Did Voldemort know that the diary was destroyed?” Evan asked. He thought Lucius Malfoy had kept it a secret.

In this way, the impossible task that Draco was doing could be explained. Voldemort was punishing the Malfoys.

Of course, Evan still stuck to his original belief.

In addition to punishing Malfoy, Voldemort was also testing Dumbledore.

What would Dumbledore do when faced with a student who was ready to kill him at any time?

It seemed that neither preventing the exposure nor letting things develop was a good choice.

Having said that, if Evan could contact Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban later, he felt that he could have a talk with him.

The cunning Malfoy was not a fool or a blindly loyal Death Eater. He would not follow Voldemort all the way to the end, especially not if Voldemort asked him and his family to die for him. He would only do so willingly if their interests aligned. The Malfoy family could still be won over.

Even if Voldemort no longer trusted him, Malfoy was very important due to his family’s status and influence…

“Voldemort knew that the diary had been destroyed, but he thought it was an isolated case and hadn’t realized that other Horcruxes had also been destroyed,” said Dumbledore. “In fact, when Voldemort discovered that the diary had been mutilated and robbed of all its powers, I am told that his anger was terrible to behold.”

He was told, most likely from Snape — this information seemed accurate.

Now, if Evan could just make Lucius understand what the diary truly was, he believed Lucius would start to waver.

Knowing that he had caused the destruction of one of Voldemort’s most vital Horcruxes, Lucius Malfoy would likely be terrified if he knew the truth. Voldemort wasn’t the kind of master to let things go just because someone apologized.

“It was Lucius Malfoy who decided on his own to put the diary in Hogwarts?” said Harry in surprise. “I thought Voldemort meant Lucius Malfoy to smuggle it into the school?”

“Yes, as we analyzed before, the soul fragment in the diary was very aggressive, hoping a student would find it, so it could control them and open the Chamber of Secrets. I think that was years ago, when Voldemort was sure that he would be able to create more Horcruxes. He planned to secretly send the diary to Hogwarts to cause chaos,” said Dumbledore. “He must have had this idea, but still Lucius was supposed to wait for Voldemort’s say-so, and he never received it, for Voldemort vanished shortly after giving him the diary. He fled after his defeat, and was gone for a long time. No doubt he thought that Lucius would not dare do anything with the Horcrux other than guard it carefully, but he was counting too much upon Lucius’s fear of his master.

“You have to understand, this master had been gone for years and Lucius believed he was dead. You can’t expect him to have much loyalty left. Of course, Lucius did not know what the diary really was. I understand that Voldemort had told him the diary would cause the Chamber of Secrets to reopen because it was cleverly enchanted. Had Lucius known he held a portion of his master’s soul in his hands, he would undoubtedly have treated it with more reverence — but instead he went ahead and carried out the old plan for his own ends: By planting the diary upon Arthur Weasley’s son, he hoped to discredit Arthur, drive me out of Hogwarts, and get rid of a highly incriminating magical object in one stroke. Ah, poor Lucius… poor, poor man … what with Voldemort’s fury about the fact that he threw away the Horcrux for his own gain, and the fiasco at the Ministry last year, I would not be surprised if he is not secretly glad to be safe in Azkaban at the moment.”

“If he knew the destroyed diary was actually a Horcrux, he might even want to die,” said Evan.

“Perhaps. After all, Voldemort is not a merciful man,” said Dumbledore. “Now then, it’s very late. I believe it’s time to end our conversation for the night. Do either of you have any final questions?”

Evan and Harry pondered for a while. Dumbledore’s words tonight had cleared many mysteries, and things were starting to connect. Evan didn’t have any more questions. If anything, he wished he could get to Azkaban as soon as possible.

Harry sat in thought for a moment, then asked, “So if all of his Horcruxes are destroyed, Voldemort could be killed?”

“Destroying the Horcruxes is only the first step,” said Dumbledore. “After destroying all the Horcruxes, we may face two situations. The first is that if the dangerous magic he is performing does not succeed, then without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical powers remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort even without his Horcruxes.

“As for the second, what we have to face may be even more troublesome and dangerous. If the magic he is performing is successful, he will transform himself into a terrifying being — something like an evil god. With the strength we currently possess, we would no longer be able to kill him. But I believe the treasure left behind by the Four Founders of Hogwarts must contain something capable of dealing with such a threat. At that point, our main task will be to help Evan unlock that treasure and see what lies within — then make our choice. Of course, this too will require extraordinary skill and power. Especially you, Harry. You are the one who must kill Voldemort…”

“But I haven’t got uncommon skill and power,” Harry blurted out, a little flustered.

No matter which scenario played out, the end result seemed the same: Harry would have to kill Voldemort.

What he would rely on wasn’t some overwhelming force — but love!

Love could overcome everything. Love could destroy Voldemort.

Love was the greatest magic of all. Evan had known that all along.

If possible, Evan wished even the evil god could be defeated by love — no matter who you loved, as long as it was love…

“I can’t kill Voldemort, I don’t have such strong abilities and…”

“No, Harry, you do,” said Dumbledore firmly. “You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can —”

At this time, Harry also knew what Dumbledore wanted to say, he said impatiently, “I know! I can love!” It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, “Big deal!”

He could love, but he hadn’t even found a girlfriend until now. What use was love by itself?

Was it just to defeat Voldemort with love?

If Voldemort could be vanquished that easily, then maybe he should be forced to attend one of Hogwarts’ holiday celebrations or Valentine’s Day events. The entire castle would be brimming with love — an overwhelming display sure to emotionally devastate anyone without love or a date. …

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