Horcrux Sealing and Destruction! A Full Haul!

"Storage space was isolated from the outside. Once a Horcrux was placed inside, Voldemort would be unable to use it to resurrect himself. That was practically the same as destroying it!

That was... both good and bad!

If I stored all the other Horcruxes in the storage space and left only Harry outside, then if Voldemort's main soul accidentally died out there, he would have a one hundred percent chance of resurrecting on Harry. That would only harm Harry instead.

If I let Harry enter the storage space too, killed Voldemort's main soul while he had no Horcruxes available, then took Harry and the Horcruxes back out...

That wouldn't work either. It was far too risky. There was a high chance Voldemort would resurrect the moment the Horcruxes were taken out. It treated the symptoms, not the root cause!"

After putting everything away, Dudley stood in his bedroom and fell into deep thought.

After pondering for a while, he realized that if Harry did not take refuge in his personal storage space, then every additional Voldemort Horcrux he stored away would increase the chance of Voldemort resurrecting from Harry's forehead after his death.

"Damn you, Voldemort! Once I get my hands on the Diary Horcrux, just watch how I have a friendly! little! chat! with your younger self!"

Dudley cursed indignantly in his heart. He was now incomparably eager to complete the first-stage mission of the newly unlocked SS-Rank Regret Event and obtain that absurdly powerful Conceptual Spell Ascension Opportunity.

With his foreknowledge and Dumbledore acting early, barring any surprises, they would soon gather the three lost treasures.

But how could they eliminate Voldemort's soul fragments without damaging the treasures?

Every method in the original story involved violent destruction.

Piercing them with Basilisk fangs, repeatedly stabbing and slashing them with the Gryffindor Sword enchanted by Basilisk venom, using Fiendfyre, or redirecting the damage of the Killing Curse under the protection of Love Protection.

Which of those methods could offer any useful ideas?

Dudley thought for a while longer, and several vague directions gradually took shape in his mind.

He stopped lingering, left his bedroom, and went downstairs.

Seeing his parents, Harry, and Hagrid enthusiastically discussing spells, a smile appeared on his face.

Dudley called his cousin over and asked Harry to take out his Holly Wand.

Harry did not hesitate and immediately handed over his wand.

Dudley took the wand in his right hand, stretched out his left, and gave an invisible tug toward it. A white, translucent, ethereal thread was pulled out.

It was the Trace inside Harry's wand!

Gripping that Trace monitored by the Ministry of Magic, Dudley gave it a fierce shake and scattered it into nothingness.

Then Dudley released his magic and condensed four new red Traces out of thin air, all linked to his senses. He merged them respectively into Harry, his parents, and Hagrid.

"These are Traces I condensed. They let me sense everyone's whereabouts at any time, in case something unexpected happens and I can't find someone."

Dudley explained, "Just be careful not to destroy them with magic under normal circumstances. Usually, though, you won't even notice them."

Traces were inherently quite concealed. Wizards without great strength could neither detect nor remove them.

Dudley had created conspicuous red Traces for his family only to emphasize the matter. If he wanted to secretly place one on a target, he could even create a completely transparent Trace.

After Dudley introduced the Trace's function, no one, including Hagrid, objected. After their initial curiosity, everyone returned to their intense exchange on spells.

What Dudley had said earlier had clearly made a major impact. The Dursleys studied magic very seriously.

Hagrid also studied diligently, because Dumbledore, whom he revered beyond measure, had been teaching them during this time.

It was worth mentioning that Vernon had not resigned from Grunnings Drill Company. Instead, he had taken an entire month off to study intensively.

Voldemort was weak now, and ninety-nine percent of his die-hard Death Eaters were dead. The danger facing the Dursley household was not particularly high.

With the safe house, spell-resistant clothing, house-elves, and their own magic as four layers of protection, it would not be difficult for the Dursleys to maintain their former lifestyle. There was no need for them to retreat into a completely sealed-off existence too early.

Time passed quickly amid their focused studies.

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened.

It was the evening of August 13.

A travel-worn Dumbledore returned.

With a wave of his hand, Dudley sent a cup of sweet tea floating over, letting the old man moisten his throat and catch his breath.

Dumbledore accepted the tea and drained it in one gulp, then let out a satisfied little burp. Ever since forming an alliance with Dudley, he had been like an antique machine wound tight, operating at full capacity.

It had not been easy!

"Enough. You're done drinking, so hurry up and report the battle results! Did you get the items? Are the people under watch?"

Dudley urged him. This concerned the SS-Rank Regret Event and Voldemort, so he could not help but care deeply.

Dumbledore boldly wiped the tea stains from his mouth with his sleeve, shot Dudley a look, and only then pulled two items from his pocket.

One was an octagonal locket with a silver chain and silver edges. A snake was depicted within its transparent prismatic glass.

The other was an old, yellowed gray notebook, tightly bound by a magical chain flickering with yellow light.

"Your prediction was correct, Dudley! Slytherin's Locket really was in the Black Family Ancestral Home.

At first, the house-elf Kreacher was unwilling to hand it over or reveal the story behind this Horcrux. It was only when Sirius used his authority as Kreacher's master to force him that he confessed.

According to Kreacher, his master, Sirius's younger brother, the Death Eater Regulus Black, turned back from the wrong path. Afterward, he found the cave where Voldemort had hidden the locket Horcrux and sacrificed his life to retrieve it from Voldemort's anti-theft defenses.

Because of that, Regulus's corpse remained submerged in that cave to this day!"

Dumbledore recounted the news he had just learned in a tone of surprise and sorrow.

"Dumbledore, you understand now, don't you? Asking for nothing in return, with no strings attached, returning to the right path solely by his own conscience—someone like Regulus was what a true defector from darkness to light looked like. He deserved to be called a hero who turned back from the brink.

That Snape you value so highly, compared to Regulus, was nothing but trash!"

Dudley gave his heartfelt assessment. "Find a time for us to go to that cave together and bring Regulus's remains out. We can't let a hero lie in that dark cave!"

"I agree!"

Dumbledore quickly replied. As for Snape, he could only wish him luck. It was better to follow Dudley's lead and change the subject for now.

"I know the location and history of that cave. When I went to Wool's Orphanage to bring Voldemort to Hogwarts, the orphanage staff told me that Voldemort had once lured two orphan children into a seaside cave. It was the very cave where he hid the Horcrux.

Moreover, based on this and Voldemort's arrogant, conceited, and crazed personality, I believe he likely hid some Horcruxes in places that held great significance for him.

For example, that seaside cave, Hogwarts, or the Gaunt Family Ancestral Home..."