The Desire for Immortality

Barton didn't think too much about Dobby.

Or rather, he valued Li Wei's opinion more than his own thoughts.

Even if he felt sympathy for his own kind and intended to continue interacting with Dobby, he wouldn't do so as long as Li Wei didn't permit it.

Even though there was no contractual relationship between him and Li Wei.

After completing the mission, Barton silently returned to his office. He only reappeared after Hermione and the others had left and reported everything that had happened to Li Wei, word for word.

"A house-elf who avoids contracts through self-harm? Lucius is connected to the Basilisk?"

Li Wei felt a flicker of displeasure upon hearing the name Lucius Malfoy. During the war Voldemort had instigated, he had evaded search parties from the Death Eaters multiple times, and Lucius was one of them.

However, this name did gradually remind him of who Dobby was.

A house-elf frequently abused by Lucius (a common occurrence in pure-blood families). Unlike ordinary house-elves, this one understood right from wrong.

When Harry was first born, he had 'defeated' Voldemort, causing widespread panic among the Death Eaters. Harry had indirectly improved the treatment of house-elves in all pure-blood families.

Hearing that "The Chosen One," Harry Potter, might be in danger, Dobby decisively appeared to warn him. He was one of the very few house-elves who viewed "freedom" as the highest ideal and yearned for it.

With Harry's help, it would eventually gain freedom from Lucius and even play a crucial role in certain future events.

"Master, he seems to intend to interact further with me--"

Barton quietly asked for Li Wei's opinion.

"Do as you see fit. If you want to interact, do so. If not, refuse. It won't affect anything."

Li Wei understood the deeper meaning behind Barton's words and waved his hand.

Just a house-elf. Li Wei wasn't so base as to scheme for its friendship.

"Yes."

With Li Wei's approval, Barton left with peace of mind.

Li Wei sat at his desk, contemplating quietly.

With "Moaning Myrtle" as a clear marker, he had already found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

After confirming that the Chamber had not yet been opened and the Basilisk within could not yet emerge, he didn't rush to the next step.

Whatever Lucius had left behind at the school was most likely a Horcrux.

Without addressing the impact of the Horcrux, simply eliminating the Basilisk wouldn't solve the problem and would leave endless trouble.

Horcruxes.

Evil artifacts that carried Voldemort's fragmented soul, similar in effect to a Lich's phylactery.

As long as not all Horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort's soul would never die. This was something Dumbledore greatly feared.

In the coming years, Dumbledore's focus would be on destroying all the Horcruxes and completely eradicating Voldemort.

"Creating Horcruxes..."

Li Wei sighed softly.

This reminded him of his ultimate goal—immortality.

Creating Horcruxes was one of the backup plans in Li Wei's longevity plan.

By splitting his soul, he could extend his own life.

However, this method had too many unknown drawbacks, and its known flaws were quite fatal. As long as Li Wei had other options, he would not resort to this.

Splitting the soul caused immense damage to it, with extremely adverse effects on both body and mind.

Voldemort, who possessed both intelligence and talent, and in Li Wei's view had the potential to surpass the heights of the four founders, became somewhat deranged after splitting his soul.

His appearance became increasingly grotesque as his soul fragmented, but the more terrifying aspect was the impact on his mind.

Otherwise, a normal person wouldn't commit the absurd act of dividing their soul countless times and then carelessly misplacing crucial Horcruxes.

Information about Horcruxes could be found in Hogwarts' restricted section, in "Moste Potente Potions." It detailed these evil magical artifacts but lacked specific creation methods.

Li Wei picked up his quill and wrote two lines.

[Currently Known Methods of Immortality]

[Philosopher's Stone] [Horcrux]

And his own age [32 years old].

Both methods of eternal life were extremely demanding.

The Philosopher's Stone, capable of brewing the Elixir of Life, had only ever been successfully created by Nicolas Flamel in the entire history of the magical world. Li Wei didn't believe his talent in alchemy could compare to the man's.

Besides, he didn't even know the recipe. Considering this now seemed like self-humiliation.

What about Horcruxes then?

Although Li Wei knew the method to create a Horcrux was murder, he also knew that simple murder wouldn't work.

It would require torturing a soul through evil means. If necessary, Li Wei wouldn't mind doing such a thing to some escaped death row convicts.

So, were there any ways to obtain the method for creating Horcruxes through trade with Voldemort without attracting anyone's attention?

Although Li Wei believed he could live for at least three hundred years and didn't need to worry about his lifespan for the time being, opportunities were always rare.

Once Voldemort was completely dead, if he wanted to obtain the method for creating Horcruxes, he would probably have to find Horace Slughorn, a person more slippery than a loach.

Moreover, Li Wei had once refused the other party's invitation to the Slug Club, and their relationship was extremely shallow. It would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens to build a connection with him later.

While hiding from Death Eaters during the war, Li Wei had even encountered Slughorn in a Muggle house. As a result, Slughorn didn't even have the courage to talk and immediately fled.

For a moment, Li Wei regretted telling Dumbledore about the Basilisk.

Once the other party decided to act, the entire incident would be resolved cleanly and efficiently in a very short time, leaving him no opportunity at all.

However, did he really have a choice?

If he didn't tell Dumbledore now, and waited until the matter was resolved and the other party found out everything, his own position would be rather precarious.

In the end, it was still a lack of power.

Li Wei flicked his palm, and the paper in front of him quickly ignited and vanished, the flames briefly reddening his face.

The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's figure suddenly appeared in the office.

"Caw—"

"A letter for me? Thank you for the reminder, Fawkes."

Dumbledore took the letter from his pet.

"Li Wei?" he asked, a little confused.

Since both of them were within the school, was there a need for them to communicate in this manner?

He opened the letter and scanned its contents. The body that had just sat down gradually straightened, and his expression became subtle.

He had just left the Ministry of Magic and had stopped by to check on Li Wei's students.

Not only Li Wei, but all twenty-four of his students were also very dangerous in Dumbledore's eyes.

Most of them were no less skilled than outstanding Hogwarts graduates, and they were far more proficient and experienced.

Even more terrifying was that these people gathered together every day, researching how to obtain greater power.

Dumbledore had also experienced such times.

He knew what kind of sparks and power could be ignited when two like-minded individuals came together.

And there were 24 such people with Li Wei.

But this brief observation made Dumbledore realize that things had changed.

Those people had truly stopped their research into Dark Arts and shifted their focus elsewhere.

Dumbledore could feel the power of curses from them—it was likely that Li Wei had reached some kind of agreement with them.

Was it through malicious curses or oaths?

Dumbledore couldn't figure it out.

But the contents of this letter made him lean more towards the latter.

"Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, huh."

Dumbledore looked at the letter in his hand and recalled a distant event.

In that incident, a Hogwarts student had lost their precious life, and Hagrid was 'caught' on the spot by the Voldemort of that time, Tom Riddle.

The Headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, did not listen to Hagrid's defense and immediately found Hagrid guilty.

And within Hogwarts, a ghost was added—Moaning Myrtle.

If Slytherin were to have an heir, without a doubt, that person would be Tom.

Therefore, Tom was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets back then, and Hagrid was indeed innocent.

Dumbledore put down the letter and walked out of the office.