This time when Louis returned home, he brought back everything he could—including the three Dark Assassin cannon fodder and Ravenclaw's diadem.
He stationed them around his house as guards against anything foolish enough to show up.
Chuan, however, did not come back with him. As the only subordinate with real brains, Louis had sent her to search for Horcruxes.
There were still two Horcruxes whose exact whereabouts were unclear:
One was Slytherin's locket, and the other was Marvolo Gaunt's ring, which held the Resurrection Stone.
The first priority was the ring with the Resurrection Stone.
It was essentially a buy-one-get-one-free deal, with a defined search area, making it the easiest Horcrux to claim now.
The ring was hidden in the Gaunt family's ancestral shack near Little Hangleton—about four or five miles away from the village—fairly easy to locate.
But at this moment, Louis was already regretting sending Chuan away.
"Should've known better than to let her leave. Now if I want to buy something, I have to go myself."
Tidying himself up, Louis put on a top hat and prepared to head out.
He needed magical materials for his research on the Tala Mask. He planned to ask Garrick Ollivander first—if they couldn't be purchased through official channels, he would consider other options.
Although it had been proven that his wand was fake and couldn't open the door to Diagon Alley, Louis still carried it. He intended to replace it with a proper one.
"Dad, Mom, I'm heading out." At the door, Louis finally greeted the indifferent Wilson couple.
"Go on, go on. Will you be back tonight to sleep?" Mr. Wilson didn't respond at all, only Mrs. Wilson offered a vague show of concern.
"Back to sleep? Shouldn't you be asking whether I'll be back to eat?" Louis felt obliged to educate his parents—underage wizards were still minors, after all. They shouldn't be so unconcerned.
"Oh, then will you be back for dinner?" Mrs. Wilson smiled from the living room.
"Yes, of course I'll be back!" Louis sighed. "I'm leaving now!"
Sigh… growing up too fast means losing the warmth of being spoiled too soon.
――――
It was the peak of summer. The scorching sun seemed intent on blinding passersby.
Louis tilted his hat to catch the shade of the brim, glancing up at the blazing sun. His lips curled as he licked them.
Hungry.
Though he had swallowed phoenix fire, that was only a stopgap. It couldn't truly satisfy him. A Fire Demon didn't crave purifying flames.
Now, whenever he saw anything related to fire, his mouth watered.
"Maybe only Fiendfyre would suit me—and not just any Fiendfyre, but the kind that's grown powerful enough to take shape."
Fiendfyre was a terrifying magical blaze that consumed both matter and magic, growing endlessly until it manifested as beasts that attacked indiscriminately.
Its infamy came from how hard it was to control. More often than not, it turned on its caster. And apart from the Killing Curse, few spells could affect it at all.
Left unchecked, Fiendfyre could engulf the entire world. Hence, it was also known as Demonfire.
This was exactly the sort of fire Louis longed for. Just the thought made him drool.
Unfortunately, Fiendfyre was rare, and truly powerful Fiendfyre even rarer. Louis couldn't conjure it himself, but maybe Garrick could.
After all, even a sixth-year like Crabbe had managed it in the original story. Surely a grown wizard like Ollivander wouldn't be incapable?
――――
"Don't look at me. I don't know the Fiendfyre Curse."
At the back of his wand shop, Garrick Ollivander shook his head as he continued crafting a wand, having just heard Louis's request.
"You don't? How old are you now, and you still don't know Fiendfyre?" Louis mocked.
"I could live a hundred years and I still wouldn't know something I've never studied." Ollivander shook his head again. "Fiendfyre is purely destructive. I have no use for such a spell. I've never touched it."
"But you can ask among the pure-blood families. Some of them, reckless as they are, dare to study Fiendfyre as soon as they come of age—sometimes even before. If you want, I can make introductions."
Louis realized then that he'd made a rookie mistake—he had asked the wrong person.
The Ollivanders had always been upright, obsessed with wandcraft, caring little for destructive curses.
The Crabbe family, on the other hand, were pure-bloods and staunchly pro-Voldemort. Crabbe's ability to use Fiendfyre in sixth year was due to his family background, not his own brilliance.
In truth, the Fiendfyre Curse wasn't difficult to learn. All it took was a heart full of destruction. The difficulty lay in controlling it.
"But if you want to approach the pure-blood families, you'd better hurry," Ollivander added. "There's unrest in the markets. Lots of Dark artifacts are flowing around. Rumor is, the Ministry's planning a crackdown."
"If you wait too long, they won't risk talking about something as dangerous as Fiendfyre."
"Forget it. I don't trust them." Louis shook his head in regret.
Ollivander looked up from his wand, giving Louis a measured glance. "What do you want Fiendfyre for? To destroy something nearly indestructible?"
The strongest thing about Fiendfyre was that it burned everything. It was the ultimate method of erasure—perfect for keeping secrets. Even Horcruxes couldn't survive it.
"No. I need Fiendfyre because I want to eat it." Louis said bluntly.
Ollivander froze mid-movement, staring at him as though he'd misheard. He rubbed his ear. "What did you just say?"
"I want… to devour Fiendfyre." Louis's pupils turned golden and slit like a dragon's. His aura of draconic dominance swept through the shop. "Understand now?"
Ollivander shivered and immediately averted his eyes.
"You've grown even more terrifying than before," he muttered. "I'll ask around for you. Hopefully I can find something."
Just then, the shop bell jingled—a customer had entered.
"Handle them for me," Ollivander said, resuming his work. "I can't step away right now."
"Oi, remember I'm the master here. Since when do you order me around?" Louis rolled his eyes. "And I don't even know how to fit someone to a wand."
"Just stall them a little. Don't let them leave. I'll be done soon," Ollivander said offhandedly.
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