This Encouragement Really Sounds Encouraging

Taking a sip of orange juice in an attempt to calm the unease in his heart, Harry only felt a chill flow from the tip of his tongue into his stomach. Even its fresh sweetness brought no comfort. He opened his mouth and asked softly, without much confidence:

"Before you start guessing who Voldemort might have turned into Horcruxes, can I ask whether it could be that Snake Tree at Ilvermorny?"

"That Snake Tree is indeed very special..."

Loren thought back as he spoke. "According to Ilvermorny: A History of the School, the Snake Tree had originally been a wand personally made by Slytherin. It was stolen by a distant blood relative of the Gaunt family—Isolde Sael, who later became Ilvermorny's founder—and taken to the United States. Gomley Gaunt went after it to reclaim it, and during the fight, she used Parselmouth to order the Snakewood Wand into dormancy.

"Although they defeated Gomley Gaunt afterward, Isolde Sael did not understand Parselmouth and could not awaken the wand. So she buried it in the mountain behind the school. Not long afterward, a Snake Tree grew where the wand had been buried."

Harry secretly glanced at Loren. He felt that couples really did influence each other after spending so long together. He nodded. "It has great historical significance, right? Voldemort worships Slytherin so much. If he had chosen the Gaunt family ring and Slytherin's Locket before, then faced with a Snake Tree connected to Slytherin and carrying such special meaning, there would be no reason for him to pass it up. And it fits the definition of a living thing."

"But the Snake Tree is too conspicuous." Loren shook his head slightly. "Voldemort's soul has already reached its limit. A living Horcrux is his last hope for preserving his soul. Because of