Serpent Bone Tree

Albania in the depths of winter is even colder than Hogwarts. As you walk along the increasingly deserted paths, snow piles up on the road and melts into the mud.

Not long after Dumbledore led Loren out of the inn, they began using magic to wander through the Dinaric Alps in eastern Albania.

The two would walk a dozen meters or so, then shrink into a ball like a vortex and disappear from the spot, accompanied by a very slight "pop," and reappear a few hundred meters away, walk another dozen meters or so, and repeat the same action.

Dumbledore's Apparition was incredibly sophisticated; Loren experienced no discomfort whatsoever during such a short-distance teleportation.

This behavior had been repeated countless times. Loren couldn't contain himself any longer and asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, what are we looking for?"

"Look for some special traces."

They stopped in front of a pine tree covered in snow; such pine trees are common in Albania forests, which are mostly coniferous.

Many icicles hung from the branches, their tips pointing towards the ground, with white snowflakes stuck to the stick-like icicles.

With a flash of light, a flame shot up from Dumbledore's palm, rising along the tree trunk without damaging the branches, only melting the ice and snow.

A light drizzle began to fall under the tree.

The icicles on the tree revealed their true form: they were snake bones with tails wrapped around the tree and heads hanging straight down to the ground.

The snake bones varied in degree of decay; some were already rotten and yellowed, appearing to have been there for several years. Others still showed bits of decayed flesh hanging between the bones, indicating they had been dead for only a few months.

They come in all sizes; the smallest are no more than an arm's length, while the largest have skulls almost the size of an adult's head.

The ice and snow that had been covering the rotting flesh melted away, and a faint stench began to permeate the air.

"Voldemort doesn't seem to have had a good ten years."

Dumbledore examined the snake remains closely, seemingly confirming something.

For ten years, Voldemort hid in this forest, possessing a snake, barely clinging to life.

Ordinary snake bodies cannot sustain Voldemort's evil soul for long. Every so often, Voldemort would change bodies, and these remains hang here, like some kind of evil ritual.

Dumbledore knew that someone as arrogant as Voldemort, who had lived here for ten years, couldn't possibly have lived without leaving some traces to prove his existence. These snake bones were the best proof.

An arrogant sense of ritual, even if only a remnant soul remains, it must prove itself.

Loren looked up at the snake bones, imagining Voldemort crawling through the branches and bushes, the scales on his belly rustling.

He knew little about Voldemort, always thinking of him as a not-so-intelligent, noseless villain. All sorts of strange thoughts popped into his head: Did Voldemort need to hunt? Would he swallow rats and rabbits whole, skin and all?

Dumbledore was unaware that Loren already knew about Voldemort, and he was wondering how much to tell Loren.

After pausing for a while, the two resumed their previous wandering.

It was such a small country that Dumbledore and Loren spent an afternoon exploring every corner of Albania.

Winter is not over yet; the mountains and forests are covered in snow and ice.

The two sat down by a vast lake, where there was no ice.

Lake Ohrid is located in eastern Albania, stretching for thousands of miles, its clear surface reflecting the clear clouds in the sky and the surrounding mountains.

Looking at the vast and clear lake, Dumbledore seemed much more relaxed.

"There's nothing special about this place."

They didn't see Werewolf, Vampire, or evil Witch who had lived for centuries all afternoon.

"An old wizard's advice is: never jump to conclusions about anything."

Dumbledore his hand and turned a stone into a tabletop, on which he placed some pastries that he had pulled out from who-knows-where.

Loren watched as Dumbledore pulled a pot of steaming black tea from his sleeve, then glanced at his own cumbersome little suitcase, inwardly questioning whether Dumbledore's Untraceable Extension Charm was legitimate.

He secretly planned to start crafting his own spatial artifact after returning home, and asked Flamel for help. He should be able to finish it by the summer vacation.

"Voldemort used an evil ritual to put his soul in a strange state..." Dumbledore a cup of tea, his voice drifting with the rising steam.

"... Harry's mother protected Harry with love, a power Voldemort couldn't understand..."

The rebounding Killing Curse destroyed Voldemort's body and Magic Power, leaving him so weak that he became a ghost, barely surviving for ten years in the forests of Albania.

Until Quirrell arrived, Voldemort easily took control of the power-hungry wizard.

Dumbledore paused here, took a sip of tea, and said, "Do not be driven by power, but control power."

Why not just expose Quirrell directly?

"Voldemort cannot be killed, and Hogwarts needs a Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor."

Dumbledore spoke with conviction, for no one knew better than him how difficult it was to find a professor willing to Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, and how they had to change professors every year.

"Harry and the others are now wary of Professor Snape, believing he intends to steal the Sorcerer's Stone," Loren said, looking at Dumbledore.

"Hmm, while there are some discrepancies, it's acceptable." Dumbledore thought, then asked, "And you, do you believe in Severus?"

Thanks to his extraordinary eyes, Loren had seen the unusual thing on Professor Quirrell's head and the Dark Mark on Severus's head. Dumbledore wanted to know Loren's thoughts.

"I think Professor Snape was very unlucky; he was the only one who got bitten by Fluffy."

This answer made Dumbledore pause. He looked at Loren with a gentle smile and said, "Perhaps I should tell Severus how to calm that grumpy little dog."

Loren's mind was still filled with thoughts of desperate souls, souls connected to this forest, the only ones being Quirrell and Voldemort.

"Are those snakes desperate souls?" Loren asked.

"I don't think so; these are just ordinary snakes."

"Who is that desperate soul, Voldemort?" Loren didn't want to accept such a choice; the plot of redeeming the villain was too cliché.

"Voldemort's soul is already shattered; he will not despair."

He will only become angrier and hateful to those who have put him in this predicament, whether they are those who rebel against him or his useless servants.

Dumbledore looked dazed. He sometimes wondered if things would have turned out differently if he had been kinder to young Tom when he visited the orphanage.

"I think your Prophecy will only come to fruition on the last day of this year, when the old and new years will truly transition."

Why did you bring me here so early?

Loren only dared to mutter these words to himself.