Chapter 285: Horcruxes
"An extremely evil dark magic," Dumbledore gazed at Dudley, considering whether to explain Horcruxes.
Many talented wizards pursue eternal life—true immortality, where one cannot be killed. Horcruxes offer one path to achieving this. Of course, most people, even knowing about Horcruxes, would never split their own souls to create them. For them, splitting one's soul remains unacceptable. The key issue always comes down to the person.
Looking at Dudley, Dumbledore pondered for a moment before deciding to explain. After all, Dudley had discovered this diary and clearly identified the soul fragment within it.
"A Horcrux is essentially splitting one's own soul and storing it in a container," Dumbledore explained simply, omitting the method of creation. "This way, as long as that piece of soul isn't destroyed, the wizard cannot be killed. They achieve immortality."
"Splitting one's own soul? For immortality?" Dudley frowned.
He would never do such a thing. A complete soul could barely resist the erosion of extraordinary characteristics. If he split his soul, he would either lose control repeatedly or suffer unpredictable consequences. Dudley had zero interest in such methods. He only needed to reach a higher sequence, and he wouldn't need to worry about lifespan. He would also be extremely difficult to kill.
Dumbledore carefully observed Dudley's expression. When he saw the disgust in Dudley's eyes, his heart relaxed slightly.
"I previously suspected Voldemort might have created Horcruxes, but I had no evidence," Dumbledore said. "Now I can confirm that this diary is indeed a Horcrux. It contains a fragment of Voldemort's soul."
"However..." Dumbledore paused. "This Horcrux seems to have encountered some problems. It appears to fear something."
Dudley's mouth twitched slightly. Could it fear the Trunsoest Brass Book? Since the diary returned to his hands, it had been continuously suppressed by the Brass Book. After all, it was a Sealed Artifact of the highest order—it could genuinely affect Horcruxes.
That was also why Dudley wanted to keep the diary rather than destroy it outright.
"Perhaps it simply fears we might damage it," Dudley said.
Dumbledore looked at Dudley with meaningful eyes but didn't expose his evasion.
"I'd like to keep this diary here for a while," Dumbledore said.
"No problem," Dudley agreed readily. "By the way, if you want to communicate with Voldemort, you can simply write in the diary. Of course, only if he's willing to respond."
Dumbledore spread his hands. "I'm afraid he has no desire to communicate with us now."
Dudley nodded and continued, "I suspect that when he tried to kill Harry back then, the reason the Killing Curse didn't kill him wasn't due to some protection, but because of the Horcrux."
"That appears to be the case," Dumbledore agreed.
"Then the real question is: how many Horcruxes has Voldemort created?" Dudley posed the critical question.
If Voldemort created numerous Horcruxes, he would truly be difficult to kill. However, such difficulty was only relative. Before ordinary wizards, he might indeed be hard to kill without destroying all his Horcruxes. But for Dudley, the matter wasn't difficult.
Before a true god, all Horcruxes were garbage. If the rule was that the master cannot be killed without destroying the Horcruxes, then Dudley could simply establish new rules or twist the original ones. For a high-sequence Dudley, this wouldn't be difficult.
Moreover, through mystical connections, Dudley could relatively easily locate Voldemort's Horcruxes. It would simply require time. In other words, Voldemort could continue living a while longer.
"We currently cannot determine exactly how many Horcruxes he created, but I believe the number shouldn't be too large," Dumbledore said. "Splitting one's soul is also a tremendous injury for a wizard. Even Voldemort cannot infinitely divide his soul. There is a limit."
Dudley nodded. This matched his estimation.
"Without knowing how many Horcruxes exist or what they are, Voldemort is truly difficult to kill," Dudley sighed.
"Indeed. However, I believe that whatever has been done leaves traces," Dumbledore said seriously. "Going forward, I will attempt to find clues about Voldemort. I should be able to discover some leads."
"You've worked hard," Dudley said.
"It's my responsibility," Dumbledore replied. "Also, thank you, Dudley. You brought this diary before me and allowed me to finally confirm that Voldemort created Horcruxes. Without this diary, I might have needed much longer to verify this, and by then, it could have been too late."
"Actually, we should thank Lucius Malfoy. He placed this diary in Ginny's bag, which is how it reached Hogwarts," Dudley said.
"Lucius..." Dumbledore's eyes flickered slightly. He didn't inquire about Ginny's situation.
"Do you think Voldemort commanded this?" Dudley asked. If confirmed, Lucius could be convicted.
"I don't think so," Dumbledore shook his head. "Horcruxes are extremely precious. Voldemort wouldn't expose his own Horcrux to us. That would be foolish."
Hearing this, Dudley said nothing more. The office fell silent. Among the portraits of previous headmasters on the walls, many were pretending to sleep whilst actually eavesdropping on their conversation. Among them was the headmaster during Voldemort's school years—a student leader Dumbledore once trusted, someone he'd awarded special contributions to, who would later become the infamous Dark Lord. Dudley wondered what he was thinking now.
"Professor Dumbledore, I should return now," Dudley said, taking the initiative.
"Good night, Dudley," Dumbledore replied.
"Good night, Professor," Dudley turned and walked toward the office door.
"On your way, remember to wake Professor Snape and have him come to my office," Dumbledore called after Dudley's retreating back.