Dumbledore's brow furrowed at the possibility, and he tapped his long index finger on the desk with a dull noise.
Although he did not want to believe it, his rational mind told him that Harry was most likely one of them!
Dumbledore sighed slowly, and his face seemed to age for a moment. The magic in his body dissipated unconsciously, and the space around him became somewhat oppressive…
Soon, however, the sound of singing filled the quiet office.
Fawkes, perched on Dumbledore's shoulder, had noticed Dumbledore's blackened palm and was anxiously flapping his wings as he flew to the table.
Drops of tears rolled slowly down her cheeks and onto her blackened skin…
The sizzling sound of corrosion continued, and a strange black gas escaped from his palm. It seemed to be suppressed and retracted, but the charred marks did not disappear.
Fox's grief grew, and more tears fell, but to no avail.
"It's all right, Fox!" Dumbledore soothed the golden-red phoenix with his good hand.
He had expected this to happen. The magic that Voldemort placed on the Horcrux was extraordinary and could not be removed by conventional means.
"Inform Severus and bring him to me, Fox!" Dumbledore said suddenly, his only hope now being to start with the potion and see if he could find a solution.
The golden-red phoenix nodded and disappeared from the Headmaster's office in a flash of flame.
Not long after, an explosion occurred in the empty space, and the flames rapidly expanded into a humanoid shape.
As the flames died down, a black-robed Snape appeared in the Headmaster's office.
To Dumbledore's surprise, Snape was still in the process of brewing the potion, and there were scratches on his clothes.
Snape's face was dark as he threw the remnants of the potion on the table and asked unhappily, "Why did you send this red-furred bird to me in such a hurry?"
He was brewing a very precious potion in the basement when this phoenix suddenly appeared in front of him. Without asking, it grabbed his clothes and forcefully teleported him over.
Dumbledore did not reply, but merely raised his blackened palm…
"Are you hurt?" Snape's pupils contracted.
"Yes, as you can see!" Dumbledore nodded.
Ignoring the earlier incident, Snape grabbed Dumbledore's arm and examined it closely.
"How are your injuries?" Dumbledore asked.
"It's very difficult. It's an extremely special type of Dark Magic. It can erode your magic, make it stronger, and is very difficult to eradicate… I remember a potion that might have some use, but it can only be contained!" Snape examined the potion for a while, then slowly shook his head.
"It's enough!" Dumbledore withdrew his hand, somewhat better than he had intended. "Anyway, thank you, Severus!"
Snape watched him with concern as he turned and left. Fox thought he was too slow and gave him a lift.
When Snape returned about half an hour later, he was holding a test cup filled with a rich golden liquid.
"Do I need to drink this?" Dumbledore asked, taking the potion from Snape and drinking it in one gulp.
When the thick golden liquid entered his mouth, it turned into a warm current that spread throughout his body…
At the same time, Snape took Dumbledore's charred hand and placed it on top of the wand. He cast a spell, and the black aura on his hand gradually faded, as did the abnormalities on his skin.
"Thank you, your potion is very useful, Severus! I feel much better!" said Dumbledore appreciatively, having felt some of his body's condition.
"That's just your imagination…" Snape's face was ice cold, and he had no intention of comforting the centenarian.
"I'm only temporarily suppressing the effects of this black magic. It will only get stronger day by day. After about a year, it will act up again. There will be nothing we can do to restrain it!"
Dumbledore took Snape's warning to heart, but did not react. He was staring at the charred palm, examining it as if it were something interesting.
Dumbledore's indifferent attitude discouraged Snape, and he hesitated for a moment before asking.
"How exactly did you get hit?"
He simply could not imagine anyone in the wizarding world today capable of injuring Dumbledore and leaving such powerful dark magic on his hands.
Dumbledore pointed directly at the items on the table.
Snape looked down and saw the diary, diadem, and ring on his desk.
He was familiar with the Diadem and Diadem, two Horcruxes destroyed by Ivan Hals last term, and the extra ring was easy to guess.
"This ring is the Dark Lord's third Horcrux? Is that what hurt you?" Snape could tell at a glance that the ring had been imbued with powerful dark magic, presumably a trigger.
"You should be able to see that it's bewitched, so why touch it?" Snape demanded, glaring at Dumbledore.
"This Horcrux was hidden by Tom in the Gaunt family home. It was enchanted with an ancient charm that aroused the interest of anyone who found it and triggered it… what an exquisite arrangement!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Tom had surprised him.
The more obsessed a person is, the more likely they will fall for it…
He could not refuse Ariana one more time, let alone the Triad of Death, which was his promise to his best friend…
Therefore, Tom's use of the Resurrection Stone to set up the trap was a surprise.
At the same time, Dumbledore was very glad that Tom did not randomly place a Horcrux in the ground, or throw it into a stream to go with the flow, but instead chose a specific spot, just like the vessel of a Horcrux, or else he would have been blindsided.
Snape looked at Dumbledore, who was still in the mood to admire the Dark Lord, and felt anxious and angry.
"A twelve-year-old child could destroy two Horcruxes unscathed, and yet you perished with this ring. It seems that even the greatest white wizard in the wizarding world is no better than this…"
(P.S.: Thank you very much for the one million starting coins awarded by the Silver League Master, DSF23dd! The Angel was very excited and never thought that this book would receive such a large reward!