Silence fell.
It was not just Draco and the others who had stopped speaking.
Faced with Voldemort's question, Professor Horace did not give an immediate answer either.
The hand resting on the dessert box idly played with the red satin ribbon tied around it.
He looked absentminded.
His expression was hesitant.
His gaze was conflicted.
The easy, relaxed look that had been on Horace's face only moments ago had long since disappeared....
Clearly, even though the wizard asking the question was his favorite student, Horace still found it difficult to answer when faced with something so forbidden.
No one knew how much time passed.
Tossing a piece of pastry into his mouth, Horace kept his eyes off Tom and said, "Mm.... It probably would not do any harm to give you a simple explanation, just so you understand what this magic is."
He paused again.
That long pause seemed to be him trying to decide how best to explain it.
Just as Draco stared suspiciously at the dessert box, Horace slowly began to speak...
"A Horcrux... is an object that contains part of a person's soul."
"But I don't really understand how that works, sir." Whether it was just an illusion or not, Voldemort's voice sounded faint and almost unreal, tinged with barely concealed excitement.
"It means you split your soul... and hide part of it inside an object outside your body. That way, even if your body is attacked or destroyed, you will not die, because part of your soul remains in the world, intact and unharmed."
"You won't die..."
"Yes, but existing in that form..." Draco noticed that Horace suddenly shuddered halfway through the sentence. "Very few people would want to live that way, Tom. Very few. I assure you, death is far preferable to living in that manner."
Draco suddenly recalled that conversation in the Chamber of Secrets. Back then, Voldemort had once said:
I have been stripped of my body, less than a ghost, less than the lowliest wandering spirit... but I am still alive!!
And that was what a Horcrux was!!
...
Although Hermione had once learned about Horcruxes from Draco, after hearing Professor Horace explain them, she still found herself drawn in by the conversation.
But unlike the greed and desire on Voldemort's face, Hermione's interest was nothing more than pure curiosity about the unknown...
By this point, Voldemort's face seemed unable to hide his hunger and desire any longer.
Strangely, Horace, slumped deep in his chair, seemed not to have noticed any of it.
The way he looked now was almost as if... he were being controlled by someone.
"So how do I split my soul, sir?"
"...You must understand that the soul is meant to remain whole and complete. To split it is an act against nature, something unnatural."
"But how do I split it?" As though he had not heard Horace's warning at all, Voldemort repeated the same question.
"Through an evil act... through murder. Killing tears the soul apart, and the wizard who wants to make a Horcrux takes advantage of that damage and seals away the torn fragment."
"Seal it away? How is that done?"
"There is a spell. Don't ask me, I don't know! Do I look like a wizard who has tried it? Do I look like some evil murderer?!"
By now, Pansy and Hermione had also realized that something was wrong with Professor Horace.
Or rather, Horace's emotions seemed to be spiraling out of control.
Realizing that, Hermione and the others turned to look at Draco, whose expression had become serious. "Professor Horace, he...."
"Don't forget, this is Horace's memory. What we are seeing now may only be what someone wanted him to see."
"...."
"But yes, something is definitely off."
Although Draco's explanation sounded a little roundabout, Hermione and the others still understood one thing.
Voldemort had most likely done something to Professor Horace...
Just as Hermione was secretly speculating and trying to make something out from Voldemort's now somewhat blurred figure, the topic went even deeper.
"Yes, sir. But what I don't understand, and I am only asking out of curiosity, is whether one Horcrux is really useful enough. Can the soul only be split once? Wouldn't splitting it into several pieces be better? Wouldn't that make you more powerful? For example, seven. Isn't seven the most powerfully magical number?"
"By Merlin, Tom! Seven! Isn't it evil enough to kill one person? Splitting the soul is evil enough already, and splitting it into seven pieces..."
At that, Draco abruptly lifted his head.
After hearing this much, Pansy and the others no longer had any interest in listening to the rest of the conversation.
Because by this point, Draco and the others had already obtained the information they truly wanted.
They had achieved the real goal of this trip.
The number of Horcruxes.
Seven.
If there were no surprises, then aside from Voldemort himself, who had already been resurrected, it was highly likely that somewhere in the wizarding world, there were still six Horcruxes belonging to Voldemort.
Even counting the diary that had already been destroyed, as well as the Horcrux that had injured Dumbledore, there were still four Horcruxes waiting for them to find and destroy...