"Yeah."
Harry sighed along with him.
As someone who had been burdened from birth with the title of the one destined to defeat Voldemort, and who had personally lived through two crises caused by Voldemort, Harry could vaguely guess that the reason Voldemort had been able to build such an enormous force was not simply because of his terrifying personal strength. The powers silently supporting him behind the scenes had been the real key to his rise.
At the very least, during the Chamber of Secrets crisis in his second year, Harry had witnessed with his own eyes how those stubborn pure-blood factions had worked together in close coordination, step by step nearly devouring Hogwarts whole. The malice they harbored toward Muggle-borns had also been laid bare at that time…
"So when do you and Dumbledore plan to get rid of him for good?"
Seeing that Avada was gradually regaining his strength and trying to stand up again, Harry could not help asking one more question.
"It won't be long."
Avada paused for a moment before answering, "If everything goes smoothly, it'll probably be made public sometime next year. And if things don't go smoothly… then it'll probably be even sooner."
"Even sooner?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then very tacitly fell silent, asking nothing more.
They might still be students, but they had seen enough storms to hear a great deal hidden in that one short sentence.
Seeing them go quiet, Avada did not reveal anything else. In any case, he had already confirmed that this time, Moody was really Peter Pettigrew in disguise. No matter what, Pettigrew would not harm Harry—not because of his so-called personal feelings, nor because of any vow binding him.
At the end of the day, Harry and Ron had nothing to do with this matter.
After recovering a bit more strength, Avada finally managed to climb back to his feet. Under Harry and Ron's still somewhat reluctant gazes, he carefully put away the precious objects that were no longer Horcruxes, as well as the crystal sphere on the table. Then he tapped the two instruments with his wand, making them fold themselves up and slip into a suitcase nearby. Finally, with another wave of his wand, he moved the piled-up furniture and clutter out of the corner again, restoring his laboratory to its original state…
Once all that was done, he put away his wand, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a crimson feather, gripping it in his hand.
"All right. Now that everything's settled, I should head back too."
He shook the feather in his hand.
It was a Portkey specially made by Dumbledore using one of Fawkes's feathers. Phoenix fire apparition could already bypass the vast majority of spatial barriers, and when one of those feathers was turned into a Portkey by a wizard at the very pinnacle of the world—using decades of research data and techniques concerning phoenixes—it probably meant that almost no protection in the world could block it, including Durmstrang, and including the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.
"Merry Christmas. I came back in a bit of a hurry this time, so I didn't prepare any Christmas presents. But I think removing Voldemort's soul and getting to see the relics of Hogwarts's founders should count as a pretty good experience too, right?"
"Of course!"
Harry nodded with a smile. "This is definitely one of the best Christmases I've ever had…"
"Oh, right—I nearly forgot, Harry and I prepared a present for you too!"
At that, Ron suddenly smacked his forehead, remembering the conversation he and Harry had had that morning.
"But back then you were still at Durmstrang, and the owls couldn't get there… Could you wait a few more minutes?"
"I have a Christmas present too?"
After being so busy these past few days, Avada had almost forgotten that he could receive Christmas presents as well. He could not help looking a little surprised.
"Thanks. I do still have time, but actually, I can just go with you under an invisibility charm. There's no need for me to stand around here waiting."
"That's even better!"
Harry and Ron brightened at once and ran toward the door of the Room of Requirement one after the other, not forgetting to turn back and wave at him.
"Then we'll have to go back to the dormitory first. If you finally make it back for Christmas but don't even get your present, that'd be way too much of a shame!"
"All right… just slow down a little."
Amused, Avada tapped himself lightly and cast a Disillusionment Charm. But just as he was about to step forward, he still felt his whole body tingling with numbness—after all, he had spent well over two hours nearly motionless.
So it was about five minutes later that he finally saw the Christmas gift Harry and Ron had prepared for him—
a model of a Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon.
It was about the size of his palm. The finer details were not handled especially well, but at the very least, anyone could tell at a glance that it was a Ukrainian Ironbelly. And the model would make little movements just like a real dragon. Right now, for example, it seemed to be dozing, its wings tucked in as its body gently rose and fell…
"We made it ourselves!"
Harry pointed at the dragon model and grinned. "After watching your second task, we had the idea right away. Beating a fire dragon is definitely the kind of thing that deserves a souvenir. That golden egg is probably just a competition prop that'll be taken back, right?"
Avada suppressed the urge to complain and instead accepted the little dragon, examining it carefully.
Who would have thought that the dragon models from the original story would take this roundabout route into his hands…
Should he get one made for Fleur and Krum too?
"You made this with your own hands?"
While grumbling inwardly, Avada did not forget to praise it quite sincerely. "This dragon could practically be put on display in a model shop! And it really does seem to be the exact one I faced—look, that scar on the wing membrane is exactly the same as the one I remember…"
"Ha, you noticed that!"
Harry and Ron were delighted that Avada had spotted the little detail they had hidden in it.
"We studied the pictures in the Daily Prophet for days!"
"Thanks. This really is an excellent Christmas present."
Avada played with the little dragon for a while longer before putting it away, then clasped the feather Dumbledore had given him.
"Then I really should be going back now—Merry Christmas!"
"Yeah, Merry Christmas!"
Harry nodded with a smile. "And good luck in the rest of the tournament!"
"And good luck with all the things you and Dumbledore are working on too,"
Ron added with a blessing.
"With your good wishes, I'm sure it will go well. See you."
Avada gave them one final wave, then focused his mind on the feather in his hand and triggered the hidden mark placed on it. At once, crimson flames burst into existence around him, instantly swallowing him whole. Then, as the flames went out, he disappeared with them into thin air…
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, at Durmstrang—
Inside Avada's compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express, a burst of fire suddenly ignited out of nowhere. Then Avada himself stumbled out of it. After staggering a few steps and glancing around to make sure he had not been transported to the wrong place, he could not help smiling happily.
"This trip went far more smoothly than I expected…"
"I wonder how Dumbledore's talk with that mysterious person went. From here on, as long as I just hand Voldemort and those relics over to Dumbledore, I basically won't have any other tasks left…"
Thinking this, he cast another Disillusionment Charm on himself before stepping out of the compartment and heading toward Dumbledore's office.
Because the plan had gone too smoothly, the person playing his role should still be at Durmstrang right now. He could not afford to let anyone spot a flaw.