By evening, the aftermath of the Dragon Egg snatching competition had been dealt with.
Charlie figured Dumbledore should be finished with his work, so he took Harry straight to the Headmasters Office.
Pushing open the office door, Dumbledore was sitting in his chair, holding a cup of tea.
Seeing Charlie enter, his expression froze instantly, and he sighed; one look at Charlie told him something had happened.
Dumbledore set down his teacup.
"Could you let me finish this cup of tea first?"
"I'm afraid not."
Charlie pulled up a chair and sat down, recounting Harry's scar pain and the dreams he had been having.
Dumbledore's previously relaxed expression vanished, replaced by a face that betrayed no emotion.
He put down his teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk twice.
Harry stood to the side, feeling increasingly uneasy.
"Professor, is this serious?"
Dumbledore didn't answer, but instead rose and walked over to Harry, reaching out to grasp his arm.
Those blue eyes stared straight at Harry, as if trying to see through to his soul.
Harry's breathing became rapid, and fine beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead.
That feeling of being scrutinized made him feel completely uncomfortable, as if his secrets were being peeled away layer by layer.
Finally, Dumbledore let go.
"It's nothing major." Dumbledore's tone returned to calm.
"It should just be a recurrence of magical trauma; you should go back and get some good rest."
"Are you sure it's nothing?" Harry was still a bit worried.
"I'm sure." Dumbledore patted Harry on the shoulder.
"Go on; you did very well today."
Harry looked suspiciously at Charlie, then at Dumbledore, and finally turned and left the office.
The moment the door closed, the smile on Dumbledore's face vanished.
Seeing this, Charlie's heart skipped a beat.
"Is it serious?"
"It is somewhat unexpected."
"Harry is one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes." Dumbledore's voice was low.
"A Horcrux?" Charlie was stunned for a moment.
"Are you sure? Can a person become a Horcrux?"
"I'm ninety percent certain." Dumbledore walked back to his desk and sat down.
"You should know that Harry has the ability to speak Parseltongue. I had always wondered where his ability came from, but now I am certain it comes from Lord Voldemort."
Charlie frowned.
"But, when did this happen?"
"It must have been when Lord Voldemort killed Lily; he inadvertently split his soul, and a fragment attached itself to Harry. What he sees in his dreams must be what another one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes sees."
"However, the fortunate thing is that Lord Voldemort likely does not yet know that Harry has become his Horcrux."
"Otherwise, Harry wouldn't have only had this dream once; Lord Voldemort would find a way to use this to keep influencing him."
Charlie was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly asked.
"As long as a Horcrux exists, its master cannot die. If we want to kill Lord Voldemort, doesn't that mean Harry is doomed to die?"
Dumbledore's fingers stopped on the desk, and the office was terrifyingly quiet.
"Theoretically, yes." Dumbledore's voice was very soft.
"And what about reality?" Charlie pressed.
"I don't know either." Dumbledore sighed.
"The Dark Arts involved in creating a Horcrux are too rare; it is difficult to judge based on existing experience. Perhaps there are other ways, but I haven't found one yet."
Charlie's expression grew even more grave.
"There is one more question. Can Lord Voldemort control Harry through the connection between Horcruxes?"
Dumbledore looked at Charlie with appreciation.
"You have realized the crux of the problem, but I have a way to solve it."
"What way?"
"Occlumency."
...
After leaving the Headmasters Office, Charlie walked toward his dormitory.
The corridor was quiet, with only his footsteps echoing.
Occlumency.
Dumbledore said that this magic can close off one's thoughts, block others from using magic to read one's consciousness, and protect Harry from Lord Voldemort's influence.
Dumbledore would arrange for someone to teach Harry; Charlie guessed it would likely be Professor McGonagall, as she was the Dean of Gryffindor.
Returning to the common room, Charlie pushed open the dormitory door; it was empty inside.
At this time, everyone was likely eating in the Great Hall.
He sat on the edge of the bed, his mind pondering how to break this deadlock.
What was the simplest way? Kill Harry directly, then kill Lord Voldemort, kill them all, and be done with it.
But that was not Charlie's style.
Harry had been with him for so long; although he was sometimes a bit stupid and impulsive, he was truly a good sidekick.
Sacrifice him without even trying? Charlie wasn't that cold-blooded.
Of course, if the day truly came when he had to do it, he wouldn't go soft.
However, Charlie believed that day would not come.
Another way was to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's other Horcruxes, leaving only Harry as the last one, and then kill Lord Voldemort again.
Then find a way to trap his soul, so he couldn't resurrect or escape.
When the day came for Harry to die of old age, Lord Voldemort would naturally be finished as well.
For now, the matter of the Horcruxes could be put aside; the urgent priority was to catch the Death Eater hiding in the school.
Charlie took out the marauders map and spread it out on the bed.
Dense names were moving on the parchment, with most people gathered in the Great Hall.
Charlie narrowed his eyes, scanning through the unfamiliar names one by one.
This was the problem. Even if there really were a Death Eater mixed in, it was very difficult for him to identify them.
Charlie's gaze shifted to the Professors' offices.
Professor McGonagall was in her office, and so was Snape. Professor Flitwick's name was near the Library, and Dumbledore was in the Headmasters Office.
Then he saw Moody's office. Besides Moody, Barty Crouch's name was also there.
Charlie scanned over it without giving these two names a second thought.
As a judge for the Triwizard Tournament, Barty Crouch often came to Hogwarts to inspect the situation, so his name appearing on the map was reasonable.
And since Moody was once an Auror for the Ministry of Magic, it was normal for him to have a personal friendship with Barty Crouch.
After looking through the marauders map, Charlie still had no results.
He put away the map and leaned against the headboard; it seemed he could only wait for that Death Eater to slip up again.
After the first task ended, public opinion regarding Harry completely reversed.
No one in the corridors pointed at him anymore; instead, many people took the initiative to greet him and praise his bravery.
But Harry was still distressed.
It wasn't because someone wanted to kill him; he was long used to such things.
What really gave him a headache was Colin Creevey.
This little guy, who always had a camera in his hand, was always chasing Harry to take pictures, regardless of whether Harry lived or died.
Harry was exhausted from dodging him.
Even when the weekend for Hogsmeade arrived, Harry didn't really want to go.
"Colin will definitely go to Hogsmeade to find me," Harry said.
"I'd better not go."
Charlie glanced at him from the side.
"Why don't you just take the invisibility cloak with you?"
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