"…"
After carefully inspecting every single object in the room for who knew how many times, Harry finally could not hold back a yawn, which he promptly passed on to Ron beside him.
After Avada activated the machine, the nested rings set into it had begun to rotate slowly, causing the other Horcruxes embedded in the grooves to orbit the black crystal sphere at the center in a regular pattern, almost as if it were simulating the movement of a star system. But aside from that, there had been no visible change at all…
At first, Harry and Ron had watched with great interest, hoping to discern some profound magical principle from this instrument capable of separating souls. But after the device had been running steadily for over twenty minutes, the two of them gradually began to change their minds.
And after another twenty minutes or so, they were already wondering why they had insisted on staying instead of doing as Ken had suggested and leaving the room first to kill time elsewhere in the castle.
It was not that they had not considered leaving now, but Ken, standing in front of them, seemed to be watching the dreary instrument with complete concentration, as though he could hear some wondrous melody in those sleep-inducing trajectories. Because of that, Harry and Ron did not dare open the door of the Room of Requirement rashly, nor did they dare whisper to each other to relieve the boredom…
However, just as they were considering whether they should really take a nap right then and there, the machine finally changed.
With a low, heavy hum, the black crystal sphere that had been floating steadily in midair began to tremble slightly. A great quantity of gray mist was violently dragged out of it by some invisible force and poured into the object closest to the sphere—the ornate locket. And within that gray mist, one could vaguely make out a sleeping, twisted human face…
That's—?!
Ron was merely startled, but Harry's heart was already in turmoil.
He had seen Voldemort's soul being sucked into the crystal sphere before, so he naturally recognized that the gray mist now being torn out of it was exactly the same as what had been drawn in back then!
Ken… he had really done it??
Even though he had long since received that mysterious senior's assurance, when Harry saw with his own eyes that Voldemort's soul had truly been separated out by the method Ken arranged, a flood of emotion still rose inside him like a tidal wave, nearly swallowing his heart whole—
anticipation? curiosity? shock? and… a faint trace of fear?
That was probably the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside his own mind at work, just as Ken had said.
"…It worked."
At last, after who knew how long, the gray mist inside the crystal sphere finally dispersed completely and was entirely absorbed into Slytherin's locket. Only then was Avada finally able to let out a breath of relief. He rubbed his aching eyes, then immediately summoned a cup of water and tipped his head back to drain it in one go…
"It worked?"
Harry did not even know whether the tone in which he said those words was one of joy. "Then does that mean I…"
"Not yet—I'm afraid I need to rest for a while first."
Avada summoned a chair beside him and sat down, then somewhat tiredly rolled his neck, immediately producing a string of crackling pops. After that, a cool sensation surged into his head.
"Recording all that data was far more mentally taxing than I expected, and when it comes to operating on you, I need to be especially focused… But the good news is that this spell took a bit less time than I imagined."
"It can be even shorter?"
Harry repeated the words with a hint of delight. He honestly did not know whether, if he had to remain conscious throughout such a process while also having to sit perfectly still like that crystal sphere, he would be able to endure it…
"What are you thinking? This is already the best-case timing I could have hoped for."
Avada rolled his eyes and answered, "In my original estimate, this might have taken as long as one or even two full days. But judging by how things look now, even including the time I need to rest, we should be able to settle everything before noon today."
"How long do you need to rest?"
"Half an hour first… The two of you can leave the Room of Requirement for now too. Go get a drink of water or stretch your legs or something, then come back in half an hour. I'll open the door for you when the time comes."
"All right, then we'll head out first."
After watching Harry and Ron leave the Room of Requirement and shut the door behind them, cutting off his line of sight, Avada slowly closed his eyes and began regulating his mental power, letting himself gradually relax…
…
As soon as the half-hour mark had passed, Avada opened his eyes and raised a hand, opening the door of the Room of Requirement just a crack so that it reappeared on the wall outside in the eighth-floor corridor.
Then, almost the very next second, the door was opened from outside, and Harry and Ron stepped back in.
"When do we start?"
Harry asked the moment he entered.
"Just wait a moment… I need to adjust the apparatus again. About five minutes."
Avada stood up, picked up the small bottle containing Voldemort's main soul from the side, then walked back to the experimental apparatus from earlier and removed the five Horcruxes from it. After that, he moved to the second instrument, the one that had remained untouched the whole time—an apparatus larger than the experimental one by a full ring, and with a much more complicated structure.
Larger by a ring in the most literal sense.
Compared with the experimental device beside it, this one had one extra ring, and the outermost ring was clearly made of a material completely different from the others. It was broader, and the patterns carved into it were far more intricate as well…
Waving his wand, Avada guided the six objects containing Voldemort's soul—the diary, the Resurrection Stone, Hufflepuff's Cup, Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem, and the glass bottle containing Voldemort's main soul—into place one by one. Voldemort's main soul occupied the outermost and most unusual ring.
As for the soul fragment that had originally been inside the black crystal sphere, it had already been transferred into Slytherin's locket during the earlier experiment, and the locket now rested quietly on the nearby table.
"…That should do it."
After positioning the six objects in their proper places and checking and adjusting them with his wand, Avada finally turned to Harry.
"You can carry over a chair and sit in the center of this apparatus. I'll need to put you to sleep, so that any unexpected mental fluctuations won't become an unstable factor."
"Then… what will it feel like?"
Harry's expression visibly became tense and uneasy.
"Probably nothing—the soul in question never belonged to you in the first place. Stripping it away should only make you feel lighter."
Avada answered, watching as Harry, still somewhat apprehensive, carried the chair to the center of the apparatus and sat down.
"And in any case, you'll be unconscious, so even if there is some sensation, you shouldn't feel it… Ready?"
"Y-yeah… yeah."
Harry bit his lip and nodded with his eyes tightly shut.
"Stupefy."