Chapter 317 — The Unspoken Farewell (Part 1)
Perhaps Salazar had not translated the entire manuscript. Maybe the experiments that followed became even more cruel, causing him to abandon the work out of disgust.
Or perhaps the despicable Herpo simply stopped writing at that point.
Either way, there were no more clues.
But that was enough.
As it turned out, the despicable Herpo had failed.
He disappeared without a trace for several hundred years. Otherwise, given the personality revealed in these records, he would undoubtedly have continued causing trouble, and there would have been far more information about him.
Perhaps something had gone wrong with the Horcruxes.
He might still have been conscious, yet effectively imprisoned within them, unable to break free from the shackles he had created himself.
To prevent deliberate destruction, Horcruxes had to be hidden carefully.
But that might also have been a miscalculation.
Lord Voldemort's example demonstrated that a Horcrux was extremely weak when deprived of a source of power. It needed to influence people and draw strength from them, using that power as the foundation for resurrection.
Otherwise, it became an unbreakable shackle.
If Voldemort's Horcruxes had never been destroyed, perhaps he would still be alive now.
But death might be more pleasant than being trapped forever inside an inescapable illusion.
Who would want such immortality?
After quickly scanning the information on the parchment, Malfoy casually tossed it onto one of the burning candles.
It remained completely undamaged.
"They're really stubborn."
Malfoy shook his head.
He decided to try another method.
He would use Fiendfyre to burn it before throwing it into the sea.
"Guardian!"
Malfoy raised his wand.
A black stone suddenly detached itself from the stone wall. It rolled across the ground, bounced several times, then rapidly expanded and transformed into the shape of a guard holding a shield.
The stone guardian knelt on one knee beside Fleur, faithfully protecting her.
Malfoy was about to leave the cave with this troublesome object and hunt for some food while he was at it.
He had grown rather tired of eating fish over the past few days.
It was time for a change.
"What a surprise."
Malfoy clicked his tongue as he looked at Fleur, who had fallen into a deep sleep.
Then he touched the souvenir left on his own body.
To him, it was merely a minor wound, one that wouldn't even affect his movements.
But in Fleur's dream, everything was completely different.
Bright-red blood splattered beneath the purple candlelight, tracing an elegant arc.
Malfoy lay motionless before the coffin, as though the scene had been deliberately arranged for him.
The scarlet light in the girl's eyes suddenly blossomed like a vivid flower opening in full bloom.
Then, just as quickly, the blood-red glow weakened and withered.
Her eyes gradually regained their clarity.
She looked at the person she had stabbed lying motionless on the ground.
Panic and regret instantly overwhelmed her.
Fleur stared blankly at the blade in her hand for several seconds, completely at a loss.
Her mind was in utter chaos.
For some reason, she could only stare at one of the candles.
A purple light flickered across its surface.
Her mind suddenly went blank.
And then, inexplicably, she lunged toward the person before her.
A morbid yet seductive voice whispered in her mind:
Kill him, and you can be with him forever.
On this deserted island, there will only be the two of you.
You won't have to worry about the outside world anymore.
No responsibilities. No obligations.
To an ordinary person with sound judgment, these words would have sounded like the ravings of a madman.
But to Fleur, they were almost irresistible.
She had almost completely lost her ability to distinguish right from wrong.
"Revive quickly! Revive quickly!"
She finally regained a fragment of consciousness and frantically waved her wand at the fallen Malfoy.
"This must be a dream."
Looking at Malfoy lying in a pool of blood, Fleur shook her head in disbelief.
She took a deep breath, knelt on the hard ground, and tried to shake him awake.
Then she suddenly realized that doing so might reopen his wounds.
"Healed completely!"
Only then did she manage to calm herself and concentrate on treating him.
Fleur tore open Malfoy's sleeve and decisively pointed her wand at the deep, gruesome wound.
Under the milky-white healing light, the cuts rapidly closed and fresh flesh began to grow.
Yet after the wounds healed, they immediately split open again, blood oozing from them.
Fleur's face briefly lit up with joy.
Then it sank back into an abyss of despair.
She watched helplessly as the person before her gradually lost his vitality, unable to do anything.
Fortunately…
It really was only a dream.
Fleur suddenly jolted awake.
Her real memories slowly resurfaced, like silken threads being peeled away layer by layer.
Her consciousness could remember only the moment she had slashed Malfoy before he had swiftly and decisively knocked her unconscious.
Fleur tried to sit up.
Only then did she realize that she was covered with a thick blanket.
She quickly pushed it aside and saw a campfire burning nearby.
The flames were probably sustained by magic, and their light could be seen even at the poorly ventilated entrance of the cave.
The warmth brought with it a sense of reality.
Not far away, the enormous coffin and the eerie candles had been completely destroyed.
They were the culprits that had driven her into madness.
Nearby, the somewhat ugly stone guardian knelt on one knee with its shield raised. Its stiff stone head creaked as it slowly turned, faithfully carrying out its duty.
Fleur looked around at the empty space, uncertain of how much time had passed.
She straightened and reached for a piece of parchment.
Written on it were a few simple words:
> I'll go get some food. We might have to spend the night here. Stay here once you're awake, and don't move around.
She stared blankly at the note.
Lost in thought.
She really was holding him back.
Malfoy might still be injured, yet he had to leave and find food for her.
Scenes from her dream continued flashing through her mind, repeating themselves again and again.
Her promises seemed so ridiculous now.
She had been completely manipulated by something as simple as an object belonging to another person.
Fleur hesitated briefly.
Then she made a difficult decision.
She turned the parchment over and quickly began writing on the blank back.
Draco:
> "We spent several months alone together this time. Although it felt like it passed in the blink of an eye, it was actually quite a long time, wasn't it?"
That was how she began.
> "I'm sorry. Perhaps I don't even have the courage to apologize to you in person anymore. The scars must hurt terribly, right?"
Fleur continued writing apologetically.
> "The first time I saw you was in Gringotts in Diagon Alley, wasn't it? You were still a little boy then. Well, you still are now, but you've always seemed so mature."
> "Back then, you calmly dealt with those troublesome Dementors and saved quite a few people. I still remember your rooster-like Patronus."
> "Even now, I'm still not very good at using that spell."