Chapter 1156: Dumbledore’s Quests - Seven Horcruxes!

As March came to an end, a thrill washed over Hogwarts and the Schools and Communities camped in its surroundings.

The gathered forces had reached such a number that camps, houses, shops, and other structures had not only become a town around Hogwarts itself, but they had also covered all the grounds between the School and Hogsmeade.

The definition between the School grounds and the town area had blurred so much that if one were to look from space, the once scarcely occupied part of the Scottish Highlands, carrying only an ancient castle, would now look like a massive city; a city entirely populated by wizards and witches.

But the thrill wasn’t because of their growing numbers.

It was because the second stage of the Intercontinental Tournament of Magic was going to be held at the end of the first week of April.

The first stage had given all the students, participating and non-participating, a grand surprise.

Lord Black Phoenix had taken that stage as a stepping stone to introduce Muggles and their technology into the wizarding world, effectively showing how far they could grow by working together.

Ever since then, the wizarding communities, especially the Schools and Academies, had been working with Muggle scientists to advance their offensive and defensive capabilities, holding nothing back.

Meanwhile, regular classes and Battle Workshops had continued for the students.

However, instead of focusing purely on studies, they were being taught to survive... were being trained as soldiers.

The upcoming week was going to be not only a much-needed break, but also an opportunity to see what unhinged second-stage Lord Black Phoenix would come up with.

There were even rumors of Muggle-based Magical Artifacts being the center of attention.

But, unlike almost all the other students, some had no choice but to dedicate their time to more... crucial tasks.

In the Hogwarts library, drowned in books, was Darcie.

After lunch, like every day, she had come straight here to resume the quest Dumbledore had given her.

Hermione and Daphne were near her, their eyes glued to the books as well.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried steps rang in their ears, making them look up.

It was Harry, followed by Draco, Ron, and... Black.

"I..." Harry gasped, holding his sides. "I found it."

The girls’ eyes lit up.

In response, Harry reached into his pocket and took out an empty vial, placing it on the table.

"You drank all of it?" Darcie asked. "Well, it doesn’t matter. How many?"

The boys exchanged a troubled glance before Harry replied by holding up his fingers.

Seven.

"Yes..." Darcie mumbled, getting up. "Yes. Seven would make sense."

Seven.

Not one less.

Not one more.

That was the number of Horcruxes housing a piece of Voldemort’s soul.

After taking care of inviting Muggle scientists to Hogwarts, Dumbledore had given two tasks to the girls and boys.

The quest for Darcie’s group was to find the identities of Voldemort’s potential Horcruxes.

For the last few weeks, all they had done was scour through the historical records and books, hoping to find any relation between the destroyed Horcruxes and Voldemort, and what else he could have chosen to turn into a Horcrux.

With Darcie having other responsibilities, especially the Potioneering Department’s experiments related to Muggles, this quest had been progressing extremely slowly.

Still, the boys’ quest had turned out to be much slower and much more difficult.

Dumbledore had already shown Harry his intentions regarding Horace Slughorn.

So, along with the first quest, he had finally told the boys about Horcruxes and what role Horace Slughorn might have played in them, trusting them with finding it all out from the man himself.

Despite the involvement of all of them, they knew that only Harry stood a chance of getting something out of Horace Slughorn.

Weeks had passed, but even after multiple attempts, Harry wasn’t getting anywhere, only irritating Slughorn with every time.

It was then that Darcie had stepped in, giving him a solution.

Felix Felicis — the vial of liquid luck she had received as a reward from Dumbledore last semester for her Battle Workshop’s students getting the highest points.

Last night, she had given this vial to Harry, asking him to use it before meeting Slughorn during today’s lecture.

Presently, Darcie had no time to feel proud of her decision.

Holding her chin, she rapidly walked left and right, her pupils shifting as if she were reading within her mind.

"It’s impossible to say how many Horcruxes Voldemort created," she said, talking more to herself and less to the others. "But if he intended to create seven, then we must assume there were seven."

"... were?" Draco asked.

"Tom Riddle’s Diary and the Cursed Ring..." Darcie said, stopping far from the girls and boys and looking at all of them. "These two are already destroyed. Which leaves us with five..."

"But they could be anything!" Ron complained, paling. "How..."

Darcie raised her hand. "Not anything..." she said, glancing at the books. "From the diary, we can tell he preferred personal items. From the ring, we can tell he also preferred items of momentous significance."

Black, who was looking up at the ceiling as if looking at something extremely far away, suddenly brought his gaze down. "You talk like you have already found the rest of the Horcruxes..."

Darcie shook her head. "Not the exact items..."

"...but we have made a list of potential items," Daphne said, as Hermione opened a scroll next to her. "From everything we have found... or guessed... only eight items. With only five Horcruxes remaining, a few of them must be items from this list, I hope."

The boys hurriedly stepped toward Hermione and read the items mentioned.

Old lost items that once belonged to the four founders of Hogwarts. Voldemort’s snake. Voldemort’s wand. Voldemort’s Head Boy badge. Bones of Voldemort’s mother.

"These..." Harry said, astonished. "... do make sense."

"Let’s take it to Professor Dumbledore," Ron suggested, all the girls and boys nodding at that.

Darcie shook her head. "He has gone outside," she told them. "We can report it to him in the evening..."

Before she could say more, someone else appeared in that corner of the library.

It was Madam Villanelle.

"Darcie..." she said, sounding urgent. "Come with me!"

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