Everything Can Be Turned into Seven

Slughorn was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He didn't care about the spider venom that had paralyzed his body; all he wanted was to escape.

If what appeared before him was that ugly monster without a nose, he wouldn't be so terrified...

It had to be this young man!

Tom, sixteen years old!

That memory, deliberately buried deep in my heart for half a century, gradually resurfaced.

Slughorn's first thought was that this Tom was a fake, Polyjuice Potion imposter.

But... who can get Voldemort's hair?

Even if we take a step back and assume we get it, after consuming it, we should become that socket-wielding hero, not the sixteen-year-old him!

Could it be Human Transfiguration...? A skilled Transfiguration wizard can transform into the appearance of another person, like Grindelwald.

But such wizards are extremely rare.

As far as Slughorn knew, only Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall possessed this ability.

Even William, who can Animagus, is far from being able to freely become someone else.

But McGonagall is a noble wizard; she wouldn't do such a thing.

Dumbledore was even less likely to become Voldemort, because he loathed Tom the most.

Most importantly, that Basilisk couldn't fake it.

Aside from Tom the Parseltongue, Slughorn couldn't think of any other wizard who could control a Basilisk.

"Professor, you're wondering why I look like this, aren't you?"

Tom, standing atop the Basilisk's head, seemingly reading Slughorn's thoughts, laughed loudly:

"I have said more than once that I have gone further than anyone else on the path to immortality."

Of course, I have to thank you for that.

Tom wore a mocking smile.

"How could I have created Horcrux without your help?"

That's right, I am the sixteen-year-old Horcrux.

Tom jumped off the snake's head and landed on the ground. He walked step by step to Slughorn's side.

The shoes made a sound on the ground, but each click sounded like a stomp on Slughorn's chest.

Tom looked down at the dying old man from his elevated position.

Do you remember our conversation that night?

After the conversation, I immediately got to work and successfully created Horcrux, and more than one at that!

My immortality owes half its credit to you.

Slughorn was filled with fear.

He kept comforting himself:

Voldemort's second resurrection may not have been related to him; it may have been that the Dark Lord found another way to resurrect himself.

But at this moment, Slughorn could no longer deceive himself.

"I've been waiting for this opportunity, but I never imagined you'd actually be so foolish as to come to the Forbidden Forest," Tom said, his face beaming with excitement.

"Goodbye, Professor. With your death, those who knew my secret will be gone forever."

Tom suddenly hissed, and the Basilisk swam over.

It bit Slughorn's neck, injecting venom, and blood immediately flowed freely.

Lying in a pool of blood, Slughorn knew he was doomed.

The venom of the Acromantula combined with the venom of the Basilisk makes it impossible for anyone to concoct an antidote quickly.

This time it's not a scam, it's for real... he's really going to die!

Slughorn stared at the sky, his breathing growing weaker.

Tom quickly disappeared with the Basilisk.

Slughorn was filled with regret, not for coming to the Forbidden Forest, but for telling Tom about the Horcrux back then.

After an unknown amount of time, another noise came from afar.

William and Hagrid finally appeared, both looking quite disheveled.

William bent down, looked at Slughorn, and called out anxiously:

"Professor Slughorn, are you alright? I'll take you back to Hogwarts now, I'm sure I can save you..."

His voice was also terrifying like never before.

Hagrid, sitting on the ground, suddenly clutched his head and burst into tears.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted on holding a funeral, none of this would have happened... I'm the one who caused your death..."

Pale-faced Slughorn had no strength left. He looked at William, his lips moving as he spoke:

"Tom... Horcrux..."

"Professor, please stop talking. I'll take you back to the school now."

But Slughorn, as if in a final burst of energy, gripped William's arm tightly with one hand.

"I feel... ashamed..." he murmured, "I'm ashamed of... ashamed of what that memory shows... I caused great harm..."

Today... I've finally made up my mind... I must... destroy the Horcrux for you...

Slughorn was in tears, and what was flowing from his body was not just blood.

A silvery-blue substance, neither gas nor liquid, emerged from his mouth, ears, and eyes.

William hurriedly took out a narrow-necked bottle from his pocket and placed the long, silvery memory inside.

Slughorn's head lolled to the side, and he fell into a complete coma.

Holding the bottle and gazing at that memory, William took a breath.

"Finally got it... All that effort spent building the stage and putting on the show, it wasn't for nothing!"

Upon regaining his memories, William immediately went to share them with Dumbledore.

The two were quite adept at watching adult films.

However, it used to be Dumbledore who shared his collection of short films, but this time it was finally William's turn.

Therefore, the principal was very excited.

That's right, William's Plan B was to use Tom to intimidate Slughorn.

He thought he was going to die, so he would definitely hand over his memories before he died.

Therefore, "Sixteen-year-old Tom" is an "actor," while the lead actor is William.

He doesn't have much else, but he has tons of Tom's hair. After all, he even has Tom's corpse.

The whole plan was simple: Hermione would transform into her own appearance and take Slughorn deep into the Forbidden Forest.

Then, the Acromantula kidnapped Slughorn.

Then William reappears as Tom.

The Basilisk is also an actor; by carrying it, he can convince Slughorn that he is indeed Tom.

The whole process wasn't complicated, but finding the right actors was difficult, and William happened to have both!

The only non-actor was Hagrid, who was completely unaware of the situation, and his crying scene was exceptionally realistic.

But this also completely trapped Slughorn.

Only after all these steps was the memory finally obtained through deception.

As for Slughorn, he won't die at all.

With Fawkes's tears, William only needs a few drops to remove the spider and snake venom from Slughorn's body.

For this scene... William had already arranged security.

At this moment, within the Pensieve, the memory has reached its most crucial point.

Tom began to inquire about Slughorn's Horcrux.

"It's hard to find a book that details Horcrux at Hogwarts, Tom. They're very evil things, very evil," Slughorn said.

"To create a Horcrux, one must commit a heinous crime of murder, in order to tear the soul apart."

Then, a spell must be recited...

Slughorn didn't utter the incantation, but William knew that the incantation for creating Horcrux was:

The Soul Breaker Appears, Jones!

This spell is specifically mentioned in "Secrets of the Darkest Art".

This book was originally in the Restricted Section, but Dumbledore moved it to the Headmaster's Office after discovering that Tom was making Horcrux.

Therefore, when Tom asked about the spell to create Horcrux, he already knew it.

They may even have created Horcrux, the diary.

Because by then, Moaning Myrtle had already died.

Tom asked about the spell in order to pretend he didn't know it, so he could then ask the question he cared about most.

"Sir, my question is, how useful is a Horcrux? Can a soul only be split once? Would it be better to split it into multiple pieces, making you more powerful?"

For example, isn't seven the most magical number, seven...?

Tom's voice echoed within the Pensieve.

Especially that familiar "seven".

Everything can be made into sauce, and Tom obviously wasn't immune either.