Elphias Doge turned the empty glass upside down and pushed it toward Aberforth.
Now it's time to get down to business.
"Albus Dumbledore, what kind of magic is that?"
Dumbledore, "Tom is very fixated on his bloodline, especially after he learned about his origins."
He stared blankly as Aberforth put away his glass. "He also possessed the talent for Parseltongue and also raised Basilisk."
Elphias Doge's jaw dropped. "That Herpo the Foul?"
"I didn't believe it at first." Dumbledore's gaze refocused on his dislocated jaw.
"I met with Horace Slughorn yesterday."
The only sound in the entire Hog's Head Pub was Aberforth wiping glasses.
Dumbledore and Elphias Doge became friends because they were both ostracized by almost all the students at the time.
One is the son of Muggle- hate person, and the other unfortunately contracted Dragon Pox before starting school.
Apart from one Slytherin student, none of the students had any interaction with the two.
Horace Slughorn was born into the Slughorn Family, one of the later Sacred Twenty-Eight.
During his time at school, he made several outstanding friends who Muggle-born.
Although the Slughorn Family were not Pure-blood Supremacy supremacists, his parents hoped that he would make friends with some more "outstanding" students.
He knew all those outstanding students with prominent backgrounds at that time.
Dumbledore and Elphias Doge were rejected as soon as they entered school, clearly not fitting the definition of "excellent".
But Horace Slughorn Slughorn, perhaps because of his keen insight or his kind nature, took the initiative to befriend the two students whom their parents considered "bad."
This proved to be true.
Dumbledore was not overshadowed by his father and quickly demonstrated his excellence in all aspects.
Even if Elphias Doge didn't reach that level, he was still far more outstanding than his peers.
Although Slughorn didn't have a deep relationship with either of them, they could still be considered friends.
"No wonder he resigned from his position Slytherin Head of House," Elphias Doge's quiet remark broke the silence.
Dumbledore smiled wryly and said, "I used to think he couldn't face his prized student, but I never imagined the truth would be so cruel."
They met yesterday evening.
After briefly revealing that the diary contained the soul of Tom when he was sixteen, Slughorn's expression became very complicated.
I feel a little relieved, but also a little uneasy.
At that time, only the most evil and terrible Dark Magic remained in Dumbledore's mind.
A part of the complete soul is split off and hidden inside an object. Even if the body is completely destroyed, the soul of the original body will not be harmed.
Even such evil and terrifying magic has its flaws.
After losing their physical body and magical power, they become so weak that they are even weaker than a wandering ghost.
Voldemort's state when he escaped right under Dumbledore's nose last year was exactly the same as described.
"Horace Slughorn, is the real reason you resigned from your position as dean that you found out Tom created Horcrux?"
Slughorn did not refute this, which can be considered an indirect admission of the fact.
Dumbledore and Grindelwald had previously pursued powerful Dark Magic, and although they had come into contact with this type of magic related to the soul, their understanding of it was not very deep.
As dawn approached, after appealing to emotions and repeatedly assuring Dumbledore that one Horcrux had been destroyed, Dumbledore finally managed to get Slughorn to talk.
"The pain caused by simply splitting one's soul is something even a dark wizard would find difficult to endure."
Before Tom, only one person had successfully created a soul suitable to be contained within Horcrux.
Two thousand years ago, Herpo the Foul of ancient Greece not only bred the Basilisk, but was also the first dark wizard to create Horcrux.
A forcibly split soul will weaken over time and eventually disappear along with the Horcrux.
Through more unnatural and evil acts, the original soul is cursed and shattered, becoming a unique and independent entity.
There is no broad definition of evil.
It can be a targeted murder or a senseless killing.
Horcrux, like Portkey, contain fragments of souls and can be anything in the world.
"Twelve years ago, when Lily's magic reflected the Killing Curse back at Tom, I knew he had successfully created Horcrux."
Dumbledore neither blamed nor complained about Slughorn.
Tom was exceptionally talented during his school years, and his perfect appearance was extremely deceptive.
"Horace Slughorn, I have one last question."
"I don't know, Albus Dumbledore, I really don't know."
Once Horcrux is destroyed, even if the original body is far away, it will feel the pain of its soul being destroyed.
According to certain secret sources, Dumbledore learned that Tom's true form— Voldemort —who is even less than a ghost, is still in the Black Forest of Albanian Black Forest of dark wizards.
As the number of splits increases, the soul becomes increasingly unstable.
There is only one reason why they did not run away: because the instability had reached a point where they could no longer feel the pain of their soul being destroyed.
"Horace Slughorn, are you willing—"
"No, if I had known he made more than one Horcrux, you wouldn't be here today."
Slughorn packed his bags and ran away overnight, but he left one thing behind before he left.
Dumbledore did not ask what the memories in the bottle were, nor did he ask where he could be found.
There have always been very few wizards who have the courage to confront Voldemort.
A ruthless and insane killing spree, with an extremely mad and brutal personality.
If the original soul were to be resurrected, Lucius, who failed to safeguard the diary, would die, as would Slughorn, who revealed the secret of the Horcrux.
After hearing all this, Elphias Doge sighed helplessly.
"It's only a matter of time. Even if Horace Slughorn hides earlier, where can he hide in the end?"
"He's a coward." Aberforth carefully placed the gleaming glass down.
"Instead of hiding somewhere undiscovered, let's find all the Horcrux and end this."
"No, he is very brave." Dumbledore met his equally deep blue eyes.
"He gave me all his memories of Tom, even the most trivial chatter."
Aberforth didn't say anything more, but simply picked up another cup and silently wiped it.
Elphias Doge, unfazed by such occurrences, quietly observed the two brothers who had fallen silent.
Since Ariana's unexpected death, her best friend has been living in a hell called regret.
His brother Aberforth was the other extreme.
Never regrets, never reflects.
The two brothers had a very bad relationship when they were young, to the point that they would fight whenever they met.
Only after the Aurelius incident did they finally sit down and calm down a bit.
After Grindelwald was defeated, Voldemort's shadow began to loom over the British Isles, and the two brothers of the Dumbledore family had actually reconciled.
But some things, once they've happened, are gone forever, and you can never go back to the beginning.