"But you're certainly much better than Fudge!" Harry said without thinking.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Really?" he raised his hand to wipe his eyes, "I'm not so sure. My actions as a young man have taught me that power is my weakness, my temptation. I'm safer to be a teacher, and I think I'm teaching well—"

"You're the best!" Harry interjected again.

"Thanks, Harry, you're kind. Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes brightened from the tears, "People say he's afraid of me, but I think I'm more afraid of him." Oh, not in death, of course, but in fear of the truth - I'm afraid that it wasn't just my stupidity and hubris that forged Ariana's death, but that I shot that deadly spell at her.

"I've been avoiding him and I think he should know why. Until the end, more and more people are dying, and I have to stand up and put an end to this. You know the rest of the story. ”

There was silence in the kitchen. Harry pondered, understanding why the Mirror of Eris was attractive to Dumbledore, and why Dumbledore understood how he felt about it. But when he spoke again, he didn't ask about Ariana's death, or what he thought he might have done wrong. "If only I could take out the Soul Stone Ring......"

Dumbledore shook his head before Harry could finish. "I haven't used the Resoul Stone myself, but there's no real thing in this world that brings the dead back to life. He affirmed, tears still glistening on his crooked nose, "No matter what magic is used, no one who has died will ever return to us again." ”

Harry was silent for a moment. "Don't you want to try?"

This time, Dumbledore paused before answering. "Actually, I doubt that if it was in front of me, I would still want to wear it. Even if there is a trap on it, I will ignore it......" he said and shook his head, heavy and sad. "Confirm once again what I told you, Harry. ”

Harry couldn't blame Dumbledore for that. Because he asked himself, he couldn't resist the attraction of seeing his parents in person: whether it was true or not, as long as possible. "Then ......," he carefully went through the matter from beginning to end, "what should I do? If Grindelwald wants to create an army of corpses out of the Regency Stone, then ......" he paused to think about the question of the title, "Tom might be the same." ”

"Don't you blame me, Harry?" Dumbledore replied.

"Why should I blame you?" said Harry, looking at the slightly crooked half-moon glasses, "You did something wrong when you were younger, but you've done your best to make up for it!"

Dumbledore let out a sound that was somewhere between crying and laughing. "You might think I'm not trustworthy, because that's not a mistake that ordinary people can make. If you despise me for that, I deserve it. ”

Harry shook his head immediately, and something suddenly occurred to him. "Who else knows that?" he asked, "my mom and dad ......."

"I think they know," Dumbledore nodded, "old Bassato often walks around your house. ”

Bagat Sr., also known as Bathilda Basshat, Grindelwald's aunt, also lived in Godric's Valley. As the author of Hogwarts history of magic and wizardry textbooks, she has a pretty good memory.

"Sirius......" Harry asked again, and the bad feeling that had just emerged began to grow stronger.

Dumbledore nodded again. "Lily, or James, probably mentioned it to Sirius. He candidly admitted, "It's normal for him to suspect me about it." ”

Harry read something deeper from that. "He doesn't trust your judgment in the matter of Tom and me, because you've made a similar mistake?"

Dumbledore didn't speak, but his expression of self-reproach answered everything.

This made Harry hesitate for a moment. "What you said to me last time here," he finally asked, "do you still think so?"

Hearing the slight shake in it, Dumbledore's expression became serious. "I don't want you to doubt yourself, Harry. ”

"I just ......," Harry struggled to choose his words, "and I always wondered if I was doing it right. ”

"Although I was worried that you would make a mistake and that you would follow my old path, in fact, you and I are different. Dumbledore looked at him with a gentle gaze, "Like the attitude towards the Rehoming Stone—if I could get it, I'd want to bring the dead back, and you, at once, thought of how to stop Tom from doing the wrong thing with it." I have no doubt that you are the most suitable owner of the Soul Stone. ”

Harry thought of his parents, of his godfather, and of Voldemort. "When did Tom discover the Soul Stone?" he suddenly discovered, "If he had known that the ring was a deathly artifact, would he have made it a Horcrux?"

Dumbledore's gaze became gentle. "That's a good question, Harry. In fact, I don't think he found out the truth until after his resurrection. Met Harry's surprised gaze, he continued, "The story of the Deathly Hallows is a household name in the wizarding world, but not in the Muggle world. ”

Harry kind of understood. "And how do you know that he made the Soul Stone Ring into a Horcrux? Is it still a Horcrux?"

"Oh, I guess, Harry, but my guesses are never far off. Dumbledore replied, "As for the latter question, I think the answer is no - he hasn't worn the ring since he made it a Horcrux, but I've seen him wear it recently, twice. ”

"Twice?" Harry hurriedly asked, "When?"

"The first time, when he applied for a professorship last year. Dumbledore said, sighing softly, "As soon as I saw the ring, I knew everything. ”

Harry thought about how Voldemort would react when he unearthed Dumbledore's past. "Uh......" He didn't know what to say.

"But it's not downright bad. Dumbledore added, "Tom never cared about what he didn't value. He feared the dead, didn't know how to love, and didn't know how powerful a whole soul was. At first, he did approach you for the Horcruxes, but when you told me about his actions at the end of fifth grade, I noticed that you had inadvertently enlightened him about his greatest flaws. ”

Harry now understood exactly why Dumbledore had agreed to let Voldemort into Hogwarts. "'Realizing your mistake is the first step to repentance'?" he repeated what Dumbledore had told him.

Dumbledore bowed approvingly. "I don't know where he's going to go, but if he says that, I should give him a chance. ”

Harry couldn't help but remember that he had been too soft-hearted about Dumbledore. It was then that he realized that they were actually about the same. "And what about the second time?"

"The second time was the first time I told you, Christmas Eve. Dumbledore said, "That day, the three of you set out to catch Peter, and I'm still looking for the swamp you mentioned. I'll admit I'm not really reassured, I want to see what Tom is up to......" his voice lowered, "and I found out." ”

Harry was keen to hear something bad in it. "What did you find?"

"An army of corpses. Dumbledore's brow furrowed, clearly disgusted, "Tom sealed them under the swamp. ”

So, Voldemort had already taken the next step? Harry almost jumped. "So he ...... it"

"Yes. "I'm sure Dumbledore has a new pet—" he grows serious, "far more numerous and dangerous than the original." But considering that few Death Eaters are capable of becoming Ghost Knights, he does think that he needs some dark creature to increase his power. ”

Voldemort took the dark arts to the next level...... But when he came back to his senses, he realized something: "Where did the body come from? I haven't heard of anyone who died?"

"Oh, I suppose he could find a lot of them ready to use if he wanted to. Dumbledore explained, "And his possession of the Resoulstone means that most species with souls can be controlled by him after death, though to an unknown extent." ”

That didn't sound good, and Harry shuddered. "My Mom and Dad ......"

Dumbledore wasn't worried. "As I said earlier, he fears the dead, especially those who die at his hands. Unless necessary, he probably didn't want to use those Yin Corpses at all. So, I have reason to believe that your parents are not among them. They've always been strong-willed, and—" He looked at Harry, his eyes full of understanding.

Harry had never been so stunned that he almost choked on his breath. He didn't mention Sirius to Voldemort again, but it wasn't unusual for the other party to be able to guess it.

"You just said that you want to know if everything you are doing is right. Dumbledore continued, staring deeply at Harry, "I don't have the authority to judge you or ask you to do anything, but you can think about what you want—I think you know it in your heart—

"Don't have mercy on the dead, Harry. Have mercy on the living, and most importantly, on those who have no love in their lives. Let there be fewer souls in the world that are mutilated, and fewer families and wives who are separated...... If you think it's a worthwhile goal, move on. ”

After Dumbledore left, Harry sat in the kitchen for a while. He felt that he should need some time to really digest what he had heard, but it didn't seem like much to think about. Dumbledore was right, the past could not be changed, and now he just had to move on. For a better future for more people......

This silence was quickly broken by the sound of rustling from the staircase. As soon as Harry looked up, he saw the house-elf poking into his large, sparsely haired head, his cloudy eyes staring at him. "Just in time, Kreacher," he began, "may I ask you something?"

Kreacher walked into the kitchen and bowed deeply to Harry. Because of Andrew, he was much more respectful than when they first met. "Of course, you can tell Kreacher whatever you want, young master. ”

Harry shifted unnaturally in his chair. In the summer after fifth grade, Sirius announced that he would leave everything to him, but so far he had not adjusted to his new status as heir to House Black. "Sirius," he said of his godfather, feeling a little weak, "how is he doing?"

"You ask the young master?" Kreacher blinked, "except that he began to like to keep himself in the room with the beast, Kreacher saw no difference in him. ”

"Uh......" The house-elves were clearly still holding a grudge against Sirius, and Harry was helpless. "You say he's staying with Buckbeak?"

Kreacher nodded in disgust, apparently having no affection for the Hippogriff.

Harry thought for a moment. "What about the others?" he tried to continue, "I heard I'm not the only one who wants to see him?"

The wrinkles on Kreacher's face seemed to be about to squeeze together. As an elf who had served the Brotherhood family for many years, his dislike of the Order of the Phoenix was hard to change, but he answered Harry's question anyway. They all thought that the young master was in a bad mood, but the young master refused to explain. ”

Harry snapped into his senses. Sirius locked himself in his room to avoid being cross-examined, both as a passive response and as a kind of protection for him - if he was Voldemort's Horcrux, it would do him no harm.

Thinking of this, Harry felt even more guilty. "I went up to see him. ”

He was about to get up, but Kreacher disagreed. "Forget it, little master. If you go up, the young master may not open the door for you. ”

It was exactly what Harry had guessed. But Harry couldn't explain to the house-elves that he had the cause of the incident, and he had to face it anyway. "I see," he said vaguely, walking briskly to the stairs, "thanks for the reminder, Kreacher." ”

Sirius's room was on the top floor of the old mansion. Harry climbed the stairs, slowing down as he ascended the final steps, then stopped apprehensively outside the door with Sirius' name tag on it. "Sirius?" he tapped lightly, "I'm Harry." ”

There was no reaction inside.

Harry's heart sank, but he knocked a second time.

There was still no sound, but there was a movement of talons rubbing against the ground through the door, and it was apparently the Hippogriff who recognized him.

Harry had been ready to be yelled at, but for now, he would rather be yelled at than left out. "Sirius?" he insisted, "I know you're in there, and you're awake...... Can we talk?"

Suddenly, there were two heavy slippers falling to the ground. "Nothing to talk about. Sirius replied angrily, "Dumbledore told me to calm down, I don't think I did." ”

There was some resentment in it, and Harry was getting more and more worried. "Dumbledore told me everything. He said it carefully.

There was silence in the door. "I don't see you blaming him. Sirius said, a little gloomy.

Harry wanted to repeat what he had just said to Dumbledore, but realized that even if Dumbledore hadn't explained his intentions to Sirius, he must have hinted at it. And no matter how much you express it, you can't change the truth, will Sirius listen to him?

The future, the predicament, and the soul stone fought fiercely in his head, and Jin Ge rattled. But it didn't take long for Harry to make up his mind. "Maybe no matter what I say, you think I'm confused. He inhaled silently, "But I'll do what I have to do, even if you and I may not agree on what is supposed to be done." ”

With that, Harry scurried downstairs. If words pale in the end, then the only way to do it is to act. He's got to talk to someone, he's got to fix it--- there's a soul of the Dark Lord in his body, he's got to get it out!

Aside from Albus Dumbledore, Harry knew only one person who might do him a favor.

After a familiar journey of vague scenery and howling wind, Harry's feet touched the ground again. The Forbidden Forest is always oppressive--- not at all like any upgraded Forest.

Rains have set foot on this uninhabited area, as evidenced by the fact that the frozen ground has turned into slimy mud. But other than that, there was no grass, the eyes were gray, and everything was silent.

Harry had noticed this oddity earlier, and Andrew had been studying magic here, but Harry had never regarded Andrew as a wizard of the same level as Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, or even Voldemort or Dumbledore--- he regarded Andrew as a friend and a child.

It was only now that Harry realized that Andrew had mastered far more magic than the average seventh-year graduate, and even more than the professors at Hogwarts--- and that Andrew was competing with the Dark Lord, and he seemed to be catching up.

This scared Harry, even though he didn't know what he was afraid of.

Andrew's is like a black sun rising rapidly, and when Harry recalled everything between the two, he couldn't help but take a deep breath----- Andrew didn't have a place in his secret laboratory--- except for Andrew, only Hermione, and maybe Autumn, knew the spell of operation, and Harry didn't know at all.

Harry had never realized before, and this might mean that Andrew didn't fully trust him, and in such a situation, out of politeness, Harry should leave, but today Harry was very upset, he felt that he was polluted, he felt like the godfather was looking at him from behind--- Harry couldn't wait, he wanted to see Andrew now!

Harry looked around for ---- perfect magic, the hut didn't seem to have anything abnormal--- it was so anomalous, even the last time Harry came to see that the huge test bench was gone---- Andrew stirred a potion on that test bench, it took seven days and seven nights---- now the ground was empty, there was no anomaly in front of him.

"It must have been Andrew who used transfiguration magic, I'll have to find out...," Harry muttered.

Harry set the bookshelf as a starting point for his research, but he soon realized that it was a bad decision - they were almost all written in ancient scripts (maybe he should have found a camera or something to shoot it back for Hermione to translate). He didn't dare touch anything else, so he could only poke it with his wand one by one, and then muttered a manifestation charm.

But this is certainly impossible...... Could it be that it would take a wizard of Dumbledore's level to discover the dark magic that might be hidden behind him?

Harry was a little irritable, and a little stupid. But he still didn't want to give up, and continued to search. The chair with two legs standing firmly, the strange magic pattern everywhere--- Muggles looked like just boring wood patterns, Harry was glad that he had copied a few answers from Hermione's homework, telling him that these were actually crystal balls that were still illusory ---- high magic patterns, and ......

Staring at the familiar silver ring of the two-headed serpent, Harry blinked---- Andrew had only shown a kind of treasure, the easy disk he had with him. He hadn't seen Andrew wear any rings, and it was in the shape of a snake, and Ravenclaw's totem was an eagle! But if something was either on the table or in the first drawer, Andrew would no doubt want to reach for it.

So what is it for?

Harry muttered inwardly, trying to poke with his holly wand. The ring didn't show any change, but it jumped on its own. He thought he was using too much strength, so he poked again. The ring jumped again, very little, like a heartbeat and like a resonance, with a subtle hum.

That's a bit weird......

Harry looked around, and there was no sign that Andrew was coming back. He lowered his head again, and the silver ring was still there. After two seconds of hesitation, he held out his hand.

The ring is designed to be open, and when flattened, it should be a two-headed snake, carved vividly from the scales to the eyes. Other than that, it doesn't feel any different from regular silver.

Harry looked back and forth twice, but couldn't see anything wrong, so he tried to put it on. But unexpectedly, he had just put in half a finger when the ring came to life—

The two triangular heads at the head and tail were swiftly wound forward at the same time, and the roots of his fingers were clamped several times, and then they snapped into each other tightly.

It was all done in almost half a second, and Harry didn't have time to react, and suddenly screamed badly. And as he tried to take off the ring, he had already begun to hear some strange, metallic resonant humming sounds, and they were getting louder and louder—