"Horatio was way too ruthless. Ron still hasn't recovered," Harry said to Ginny as he ate breakfast. "That day, I even saw Horatio take a newspaper and a strip of white cloth into Ron's room."
Ginny, sitting beside Harry, looked at Ron, who could only mechanically shovel food into his mouth, and trembled in fear. She had mocked Horatio that day too. She had no idea how he would torment her once they got to school. She definitely did not want to suffer that kind of social death.
"Harry, help me. I offended Horatio too." Ginny shook Harry's arm as she begged him.
Harry looked at Ginny sympathetically. "There's nothing I can do either. He still has my deed of sale, and Dumbledore took him away yesterday. I don't even know where he is now."
"At this point, just eat first. We still have to go to the station later." Harry took a bite of pie. "Maybe you could ask Hermione for help. She might be able to help you, but I wouldn't count on it. She can't stop Horatio either.
"The only one who can suppress Horatio is that Beauxbatons senior who came to Hogwarts looking for him last Christmas. Her name was Pheobe, I think. Professor McGonagall even wanted her to transfer to Hogwarts to keep Horatio in line, but she refused."
Ginny's eyes lit up. She called to Molly in the kitchen, "Mum, I want to study at Beauxbatons for a year first, then transfer to Hogwarts next year."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Your new textbooks and uniform have already been bought, and our family doesn't have that kind of money to send you to Beauxbatons. Now hurry up and eat, or you'll miss the train."
Ginny slumped lifelessly over the table, a tear of despair sliding from the corner of her eye.
Harry looked at Ron, who had shut down after being struck by reality, and the despairing little fangirl. He helplessly shook his head, unable to offer any help.
Back to Horatio. He was currently studying the diary on the table with Dumbledore in the Hogwarts headmaster's office.
"Hmm... I roughly understand how this thing was made now." Horatio rubbed his chin, gaining a preliminary understanding of how Horcruxes were made.
Alarm bells rang in Dumbledore's heart, and he immediately said, "Child, Horcruxes are not good things. Don't try it."
It was truly difficult for him. The pressure Grindelwald and Tom Riddle had brought him was already great enough. He really did not want to encounter another Horatio when he was about to retire.
Horatio stared at Dumbledore in confusion. "Are you joking? If I wanted immortality, would I use such a low-grade method as a Horcrux? I have ninety-nine ways to become immortal."
He then described to Dumbledore how he could use the Heaven and Earth Furnace Alchemy Method to turn Japan into a massive alchemy furnace, refining the flesh, blood, and souls of the living within into a great pill. Consuming that pill would make his physical body eternally indestructible.
Then, by cooperating with the American government, he could strip out the souls of all those people sung about by Sunshine Rainbow White Horse, grind them into soul sand with a millstone, and use soul fire to remove the impurities. Absorbing that soul sand would make his soul eternally indestructible.
Dumbledore wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Child, perhaps you should just learn to make Horcruxes. I can apply to Fudge to provide those heinous criminals for you to experiment on. If you keep this up, I feel like Voldemort will have your face tattooed on him."
Horatio rolled his eyes at Dumbledore, ignored him, and picked up the diary from the table. "I'm leaving. See you tonight."
Then he used Kei to draw a circle in the air. A Portal with edges sparkling in golden flames appeared out of thin air, and it clearly led to the Weasley family home.
Dumbledore stared at the sight before him in shock. Where had this little devil learned this trick? This magic looked highly advanced.
While Dumbledore was still stunned, Horatio used Diffindo to shatter the display case containing the Sorting Hat, grabbed the Sorting Hat inside, and fled through the Portal.
"Help!!! Someone's kidnapping a hat!" the Sorting Hat shouted.
"Old Deng, I'm borrowing the Sorting Hat to play with. I'll return it tonight." Horatio ran into the Portal and shouted at Dumbledore before closing it.
"Horatio!!!" Dumbledore's furious voice echoed throughout Hogwarts.
If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!
Horatio arrived at the Weasley family home through the Portal. They were preparing to leave, and when they saw Horatio emerge from a Portal, their jaws dropped.
"Fred, did you pack my things?"
Fred nodded reflexively and pointed at the small cart Nut was pulling in the distance. "I packed everything according to the note you left."
Horatio nodded and sprinted toward Nut. As he swung himself onto the horse, he opened a Portal ahead of them and rode Nut straight through it.
Not long after Horatio fled, Dumbledore arrived in pursuit. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked Molly, "Where is Horatio?"
Though Molly was surprised by whatever Horatio had done to make Dumbledore this angry, she still answered, "He ran through a golden door."
Dumbledore nodded and sensed the location of the Phoenix tail feather. It was inside Horatio's cabin.
He then Apparated to Horatio's cabin, only to find that it had been completely emptied. Only a Phoenix feather and a sheet of paper with a goofy face drawn on it remained on the bed.
Dumbledore was so furious he nearly coughed up blood. It took him a long while to calm down.
After thinking for a moment, Dumbledore Apparated directly to King's Cross Station to intercept Horatio.
Horatio had gone to an apartment Wayne Stark had gifted him. A cunning rabbit needed three burrows; that was wisdom passed down by the ancestors.
With a sinister grin, Horatio threw the Sorting Hat onto the bed and began groping it all over.
"Don't, don't touch there..."
Horatio's face darkened. He was only adding a little bug to it. Did it really need to shout in such a misleading way?
An hour later, Horatio transformed Nut into Sunshine Rainbow White Horse and put him into an airline carrier beside Hathor's carrier. He then tossed the Sorting Hat in front of Isis and Nephthys's birdcage.
After opening a Portal leading to a restroom at King's Cross Station, he pushed the small cart through it and arrived at King's Cross Station.
When he reached the space between Platforms Nine and Ten, just as Horatio had expected, Dumbledore was waiting there to block him.
To avoid drawing the attention of Muggles, Dumbledore had transformed his wizard robes into ordinary Muggle clothes.
The moment Dumbledore saw Horatio, he rushed over, snatched the Sorting Hat from his cart, and inspected it. He found nothing unusual.
What a joke. Horatio had only added a tiny bug to the Sorting Hat. With his Alchemy, there was no way Dumbledore could discover it.
Dumbledore put away the Sorting Hat, punched Horatio twice on the head, and said viciously, "I'll deal with you when we get back to school."
Horatio squatted down while holding his head. Just wait, Old Deng. I'm going to make myself a reflective-damage helmet.
"Got it. By the way, aren't you going to deal with that over there?" Horatio pointed between Platforms Nine and Ten.
Dumbledore turned around and saw Harry and Ron sprawled on the ground after crashing into the barrier, while the surrounding Muggles stared at them strangely.
Dumbledore rubbed his forehead and sighed. Not a single one of them was worry-free.
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