Chapter 899 - 361: The New Minister of Magic (2)

Chapter 899: Chapter 361: The New Minister of Magic (2)

"Yes." Harry said.

"You call this a minor issue?!" Phineas asked excitedly, pacing back and forth in the portrait: "Oh, my dear great-great-grandson has become the Minister of Magic, what a delightful thing — you know? Since my time, the Black Clan hasn’t produced anyone outstanding, and now finally, there is one... Ha! My great-great-grandson is the Minister of Magic!"

His voice was loud enough to wake all the portraits of the headmasters.

"What are you shouting about so early in the morning?" Principal Daisi Deviant was clearly grumpy, glaring at Phineas angrily; if looks could kill, Phineas’ portrait might already be in tatters.

"Ha, Daisi!" Phineas said cheerfully, "How did you know that my great-great-grandson became the Minister of Magic?"

Daisi was clearly momentarily startled.

Wait, did I just ask him that question?

"I know you all want to congratulate me." Phineas said smugly, "But this is nothing worth celebrating; my great-great-grandson, he’s merely returned to a position where he belongs..."

Principal Deviant’s fists hardened.

She screamed, lunging at Phineas, along with the other portraits.

In no time, Phineas was tied to the chair.

Just then, Dumbledore walked in from outside.

"Looks really lively, doesn’t it?" Dumbledore said with a smile, stroking his beard, and watched Phineas being tied up with great interest.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry turned his head.

"Good morning, Harry." Dumbledore extended his hand, greeting Harry with a wiggle of his fingers.

Harry also greeted him: "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore — where on earth have you been all these days? Or rather, this past half year..."

"Oh, a little matter." Dumbledore said merrily, "But nothing major, I’ve been tracking Voldemort’s whereabouts."

"And the result?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore didn’t speak; instead, he pulled out a snake.

"This snake." Dumbledore placed the snake on the ground, looking somewhat dazed as he said, "I have this feeling of familiarity with it... hmm, as if I know it, but... it has already been made into a Horcrux by Voldemort."

Harry nodded and said: "Since the professor finds it familiar, we should figure out a way to extract Voldemort’s soul fragment without harming it, instead of killing it crudely."

Upon hearing Harry’s words, the big snake hissed at Harry.

It exhaled in annoyance.

Without thinking, Harry took out his magic wand and tapped the snake’s head.

"Don’t hiss at me!" he said in Serpent Tongue, hissing.

The snake was clearly taken aback.

"You can speak the snake language?" it asked.

"Not just me, he can too." Harry pointed to Dumbledore.

The snake raised its body and looked at Dumbledore.

"I find him familiar, but I can’t remember who he is... ah... hiss hiss..."

Before it could finish, it began to writhe violently on the ground.

"Kill! Kill!" it hissed, wriggling its body trying to move away from Harry and Dumbledore: "You... back off... I can’t control it... hiss hiss..."

"Professor, do you recognize the snake?" Harry turned his head to ask Dumbledore, casually using a Binding Spell to tie up the snake.

Dumbledore felt the answer was just at the tip of his tongue, but every time he tried to grasp it, it slipped away.

Where have I seen it before?

He felt he was about to find the answer.

"It seems that its nature isn’t bad." Dumbledore nodded, "Voldemort’s soul fragment is distorting its character, causing it to become like this... I must find the answer, what exactly is it..."

"It’s a snake." Harry answered, and then asked Dumbledore: "We’ve found six Horcruxes now, right? Hufflepuff’s Golden Cup, Slytherin’s Pendant, Ravenclaw’s Crown, Riddle’s Diary, Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring, and this snake."

"To be precise, it’s seven." Dumbledore said with a laugh, pointing to Harry, "Did you forget? You yourself are an unintended Horcrux created by Voldemort."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Harry smacked his forehead and said, "Professor, how many Horcruxes do you think Voldemort would make in total?"

"I mentioned before that seven is a number of magical power." Dumbledore nodded, "Though you were a Horcrux made unintentionally by him, I believe his limit would stop at seven Horcruxes. After all, if he rips his soul further, there would be no sanity left in his main body."

"I think he’s already out of his mind." Harry shrugged, "So, do you have any clues about where Voldemort’s main body is, Professor?"

"I don’t know." Dumbledore answered truthfully, "The last time I heard of his whereabouts was in Canada, but as for his exact location, I am unsure. After tracking him for half a year, all I found was this snake Horcrux."

"That’s still some progress." Harry said with a smile, "At least now Voldemort is like a stray dog, and if we can capture his main body, we can completely destroy him."

"Not so easy." Dumbledore mused, "Optimism is a good thing, yet you mustn’t forget these days there are two Voldemorts — one is Riddle from the Diary, and the other is the Voldemort — and the prisoners of Azkaban have already broken out, and where they’ve gone, I too do not know."

Harry glanced suspiciously at Dumbledore, and in return, Dumbledore gave a meaningful smile.

Alright, did you do this intentionally or accidentally?

There’s no need to guess where those Death Eaters would go — most likely they’ve gone to the United States to join that little man Tom Riddle.

And it seems Dumbledore also held a grudge against the American Magic Congress, as he heard from Vivi a few times, where he not once wanted to enter the United States to track Voldemort, but was sternly refused by the Magic Congress.

The reason being an inappropriate relationship with Gellert Grindelwald — Harry didn’t even know why the American Magic Congress would use this reason, since it was quite unseemly.

It seems, the Americans will pay for their arrogance.

Boring, I want to see rivers of blood!

"Of course," Dumbledore spoke again, "I also want to thank you, Harry, for stepping up to protect the students and professors of Hogwarts at such a critical time."

"It was my duty." Harry nodded, "Don’t tell me you weren’t holding back, Professor Dumbledore, did you plan to just let Umbridge, that pink toad, wreak havoc at Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment, then nodded: "You were my backup plan, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath.

You make it sound so logical, I am actually speechless.

Dumbledore laughed, his eyes twinkling beneath his half-moon glasses, not clear if it was reflected light, or if they naturally shone.

About the backup being Harry, Dumbledore didn’t think anything of it.

Although Dumbledore was the headmaster of Hogwarts, but on another note, despite Harry’s young age, he was actually Dumbledore’s old senior!

If not relying on your elder now, when will you?

Trust your old senior, right.

Harry clearly hadn’t anticipated that at just sixteen, he’d be relied upon by an old man like Dumbledore.

"By the way." Harry asked, "Do you have a suitable candidate for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?"

"I haven’t considered this matter yet." Dumbledore replied honestly, "But I think we can rehire Lupin, what do you think?"