In the wizarding world, there are all sorts of spells with strange and extraordinary effects.
Naturally, among the hundreds, even thousands, of complex spells that exist, not even Nicolas Flamel, despite having lived for over a century, would dare claim to know every spell, or to understand all of their effects and side effects.
Even magic capable of bringing someone back from the dead is not entirely nonexistent.
The most famous example is probably the spell that splits the soul to ensure one can return to life in the future.
And the object created by that spell to house and preserve the soul is called a Horcrux.
Although this spell and the existence of Horcruxes were only known among those in the know and a small number of wizards, one thing had already been confirmed. The reason Voldemort was able to return was because he had used the dangerous method of creating Horcruxes, a method with unknown and terrifying side effects.
Anyone who did not understand Horcruxes could never grasp how dangerous their creation truly was.
And to keep a Horcrux from being destroyed, one had to use every method possible...
A contest of wits. A contest of courage.
Although Voldemort had never truly fought Dumbledore face to face, the two of them had already clashed in secret more times than anyone could count.
First there had been the diary at the very beginning.
Because of Draco's unexpected involvement, Dumbledore had become aware of the existence of Horcruxes, and that had let him gain the upper hand.
This time, although the Horcrux had still been destroyed, Dumbledore had been injured in the process, so Voldemort could at least be said to have gained half a step back.
After all, Voldemort had far more than just a few Horcruxes.
Trading one destroyed Horcrux for a major weakening of Dumbledore's strength was a bargain that clearly favored Voldemort...
...
As the saying went, experts saw the method, while outsiders only saw the spectacle.
Most people might not understand what a Horcrux really did, but Dumbledore's injury had spread through the entire British wizarding world in a form everyone could see with their own eyes.
Worth noting was that Draco strongly suspected the one who had leaked the news was Lockhart, wherever that man had vanished to...
In any case, every young wizard present was now focused on Dumbledore's injury, rather than wondering whether the destroyed Horcrux was still being carried on him.
Of course, most of the young wizards had no idea what a Horcrux even was, much less what it meant.
"His right hand?"
At once, every gaze fixed on Dumbledore's right hand.
Dumbledore, however, acted as though he had not noticed any of those stares. He walked openly to the head seat at the staff table, with no intention at all of hiding his right hand beneath his robes...
"You cannot be serious."
"...I think I am going to be sick."
"Does anyone know what kind of curse could do that?"
Everyone stared blankly at the right hand Dumbledore had resting against his beard.
Withered.
Blackened.
That hand looked as though it had been scorched by fire. There was none of the healthy color skin should have had, and it was so shriveled and ruined that one could almost believe it would crumble apart with the slightest touch.
At that moment, all the young wizards sucked in a breath.
None of them could imagine what kind of attack would leave a person like that.
And while they were inwardly shaken, the more timid among them could not even bear to look at the hand a second time.
Compared with something human, it looked more like part of a corpse.
In fact, if Dumbledore had not still been using that hand to stroke his long beard, people might have thought it was already completely ruined.
Even if it was not ruined, it was not far from it...
Compared with everyone else, Pansy was already fairly calm, but even she instinctively edged closer to Draco the moment she saw it.
"Draco, can you tell what kind of injury that is? Was it caused by Fiendfyre?"
"No... that does not look like the sort of wound Fiendfyre would leave. It looks more like a curse, or perhaps some kind of snake venom."
"A curse? Poison?"
"I would guess there was something especially strange about that Horcrux. It is just..."
"Just what?"
"I find it odd. Dumbledore does not seem like the sort of wizard who would blunder into a trap so easily."
A Horcrux was, after all, just an object.
Voldemort had certainly tampered with them, and with the Dark Lord's methods, those protections were undoubtedly far from ordinary. But for someone as powerful as Dumbledore, they should have been no more than something that required a bit of caution.
Yet the final result had still been this...
"So in the end, the one who understands you best is always your enemy."
That was the only explanation Draco could come up with.
Voldemort must have deliberately set things up around Dumbledore's weakness, and perhaps had already planned this possibility from the very moment he created the Horcruxes.
It was even possible that Dumbledore being able to find the location of the Horcrux had been part of Voldemort's design all along...
And the purpose, of course, had been to kill Dumbledore.
...
While Draco was still thinking, Dumbledore's voice rang out from the front, loud and resonant, without the slightest sign that his spirit had been affected.
Only, compared with previous years, this opening sounded rather different...
"I am very glad to see all of you. It seems quite a few interesting things happened during the holiday..."
As he said that, Dumbledore deliberately let his smiling gaze rest on Draco for several seconds.
What was interesting was that Draco met Dumbledore's eyes directly, and answered with a confident smile of his own, without the slightest retreat.
"...Even I very nearly died in some forgotten corner."
"..."
Dumbledore's self mockery did not draw laughter from the young wizards. If anything, it only made them more uneasy.
And at that exact moment, a hand shot up high from the Gryffindor table, like an eager student in class preparing to ask a question.
The wizard raising it was not the ever curious Hermione Granger, but Harry Potter, who looked even worse than before.
It seemed the savior whose halo had faded had something he wanted to ask...
But Dumbledore clearly had no intention of answering, because he did not spare Harry Potter even a single extra glance.
"I imagine all of you already know what is happening outside. Even your families may be going through difficult things. But please trust the professors seated here, and trust those brave fighters who have stepped forward to resist the Dark Lord. Everything will pass."
Clap.
Clap clap.
Clap clap clap.
At first only a few people started applauding, but then the sound of clapping, along with the smile on Dumbledore's face, spread through the hall and pulled the others in with it.
As for those wizards, whether they truly believed Dumbledore's words or were simply following the crowd, they joined in all the same.
At the very least, the atmosphere no longer felt as heavy as before, and for the moment they had even forgotten about the injury to Dumbledore's hand.
Only the more clear headed wizards did not view the situation with such optimism.
Harry Potter, standing there with his arm lowered and a dejected look on his face, was one of them.