Though Parseltongue is a mark of Slytherin and his heirs, it doesn't mean that it's impossible for others to learn it.
In the original book, Dumbledore successfully learned Parseltongue later in life, becoming a Parselmouth—though such a talent is not hereditary.
Fortunately, in terms of intelligence and linguistic talent, Alaric was not inferior to Dumbledore and might even surpass him.
Thus, in addition to languages of various magical creatures such as Merfolk, Centaurs, and Giants, he had also learned Parseltongue with ease.
Now was the time for him to use this skill.
He began his second attempt.
Holding the sword, he looked at the locket, taking a deep breath and preparing to act.
The exact danger of the locket when opened was unknown, so the sooner they destroyed it, the safer they would be.
Prepared, Alaric spoke to the locket.
"Open—"
To Hermione and Fleur's ears, it sounded like a hissing roar.
In the next moment, the small gold lid of the locket clicked open.
Behind the two small glass windows were two living eyes blinking, dark and vivid, like Tom Riddle's eyes before they turned red with slit pupils.
These terrifying eyes immediately fixed on Hermione, who was holding the locket in place, startling her.
"I see—"
Before the tempting words could be fully spoken, a flash of silver streaked by.
Alaric watched the locket with a cold expression, completely ignoring its temptations and mental magic.
The Infinity Blade came down instantly.
Although the sword didn't harm Hermione, she was still intimidated by its sharpness and involuntarily sat down on the floor.
A metallic clang was followed by a long, piercing scream.
As with the previous two destroyed Horcruxes, a fearsome black wraith emerged from the locket, struggling in the air before vanishing into dust.
Ultimately, the precious Slytherin relic was completely destroyed by the Infinity Blade, reduced to scraps.
Both small glass windows were shattered, Riddle's eyes were gone, and the colorful silk lining of the locket emitted wisps of smoke.
The entity within the Horcrux disappeared.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
This was their third Horcrux destroyed—fourth if counting Harry himself.
Next, three more Horcruxes awaited them.
In fact, while Alaric, Hermione, and Fleur were destroying two Horcruxes in quick succession, Cho Chang and Penelope also made significant progress in their own quest.
Their task was to find Hufflepuff's Cup, which was no simple feat.
The four relics of the founders of Hogwarts were legendary items that appeared occasionally in history but quickly vanished again, making people doubt their existence as mere rumors.
However, just as Alaric's team started by investigating Slytherin's relic through his descendants, Cho Chang and Penelope also quickly determined their direction: start by finding Hufflepuff's descendants.
Though the chances of the relic being lost through generations were high, it was still a more reliable approach than searching randomly.
Through Alaric's connections, the two girls were able to search the Ministry's archives for Hufflepuff's descendants.
Unfortunately, the Ministry's records were not as easy to search as modern computer databases.
Cho Chang and Penelope spent several days sifting through old records before finding relevant information.
In the early 20th century, there was indeed a witch named Hepzibah Smith who claimed to be a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff.
What excited them further was that this witch was very wealthy and a fervent collector of magical antiques.
Compared to ordinary witches and wizards, a wealthy one—especially a collector—was more likely to possess Hufflepuff's relic, and the likelihood of this collector being a descendant (even if self-proclaimed) was greatly increased.
After all, ordinary wizards might be tempted to sell their ancestors' antiques due to poverty—a common practice among many declining pure-blood families.
Even now, many pure-blood families sell their antiques to maintain their luxurious lifestyles.
However, a wealthy collector would be less likely to part with such items.
On the contrary, a wealthy collector would go to great lengths to acquire antiques, and a witch claiming to be a Hufflepuff descendant would be especially driven to find such relics.
Thus, targeting her seemed to be the most promising approach to find Hufflepuff's Cup.
At the very least, it might lead them to clues about the Cup.
However, when they prepared to proceed further, aiming to approach Hepzibah Smith herself or her descendants, they discovered with disappointment that Hepzibah Smith had passed away in 1946.
According to Ministry records, Hepzibah Smith's death was caused by her house-elf, Hokey, accidentally putting a rare and deadly poison into her cocoa instead of sugar due to old age and poor eyesight.
The house-elf even admitted to this.
Fortunately, while Hepzibah Smith had no direct heirs, she did have family members.
Her siblings and their descendants inherited her estate.
Thus, they began searching for Hepzibah Smith's surviving relatives.
If there were any news about Hufflepuff's Cup, it would be in their hands.
Soon, they identified a target: Hepzibah Smith's sister, Manasseh Smith.
The Smith family was indeed a large one, with Hepzibah having four siblings, and she was the second oldest.
Manasseh Smith, being much younger than Hepzibah, was the youngest of the five siblings but had a close relationship with Hepzibah.
Consequently, Manasseh inherited Hepzibah's estate and much of her wealth.
Most fortuitously, Manasseh Smith was still alive.
Thus, through Bones's introduction, Cho Chang and Penelope visited Manasseh.
Manasseh's home was a Victorian-style estate in the suburbs of London, where she had always lived.
Upon arriving at the estate, the girls were greeted by a house-elf.
This was perhaps the thinnest and oldest house-elf Cho Chang and Penelope had ever seen, with a head barely reaching their waists, its paper-thin skin hanging on its skeleton like a fine linen robe.
Guided by the house-elf, the girls entered the estate.
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