DEAL
Harry's heart pounded in his chest. He swallowed, his voice measured but laced with anticipation.
"So, I get a free wish, right? Since my last wish was just to prove your ability?"
Nova leaned back, his lips curling into an amused smirk. "That's right. Clever boy."
Harry hesitated, his mind racing through the possibilities. A wish without consequence? A chance to gain something valuable without losing anything—or anyone? He had learned the hard way that power always came at a price. But this… this was different.
He studied Nova carefully. The man seemed confident, unfazed, as if granting wishes was no more troublesome than breathing. That alone made Harry wary.
Still, if this was real, he had to choose wisely.
His eyes narrowed. "What's considered 'small'?"
Nova's smirk deepened. "A minor magical artifact, a useful skill, or a piece of knowledge that isn't game-breaking. No asking for immortality, unlimited power, or a way to defeat your greatest enemy in one move."
Harry exhaled slowly. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could wish his problems away, but that didn't mean he couldn't gain something meaningful.
Strength? Protection? A way out?
His mind flickered back to Dumbledore. The Order. The Ministry. All the times they had kept him in the dark, forcing him to stumble through dangers he barely understood. He was tired of feeling blind. Helpless.
His jaw tightened.
"I want information," he said carefully. "Something the world doesn't want me to know. Something that can help me."
Nova's expression shifted, intrigued. "That's a broad request. Do you want knowledge about magic? Your enemies? A hidden truth?"
Harry inhaled sharply. There was one thing he needed to know more than anything. Something that had haunted him since that night in the graveyard.
Why hadn't Voldemort died?
A suspicion had lingered at the edge of his mind, something he could never quite grasp. But now, standing here with a chance to uncover the truth, he refused to hesitate.
His voice came out quiet but firm. "I want to know everything about Voldemort's immortality. Why didn't he die back then?"
For the first time, Nova's smirk faded. His expression became unreadable as he lifted his hand, fingers gliding across a floating interface only he could see.
A moment later, the system flickered. A notification appeared before them.
---
[PROCESSING REQUEST...]
[ANALYZING TRANSACTION PARAMETERS...]
[DETECTED: GRANTED FREE WISH PRIVILEGE TO REQUESTOR]
[CATEGORY: MINOR WISH]
[SYSTEM UTILIZING HOST'S ABILITY: WISH]
[KNOWLEDGE REQUESTED ALREADY KNOWN TO HOST—COST REDUCED]
[RESTRICTIONS ACTIVATED — LIMITING ACCESS TO HIGHER-LEVEL INFORMATION]
[SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE DATA MATCH...]
[RELEVANT INFORMATION IDENTIFIED: HORCRUX]
[ACCESS GRANTED]
---
Harry's breath caught. Horcrux?
Nova tapped a command, and a screen materialized in front of Harry, filled with lines of text.
A cold sensation crawled down his spine as he read:
Fragments of a soul… bound to objects… making the creator effectively immortal… unless all pieces are destroyed.
His stomach twisted into knots. A faint ringing filled his ears as memories flashed in his mind—Tom Riddle's diary.
--
Ginny, pale and lifeless in the Chamber of Secrets.
The ink spilling from the diary like blood as he stabbed it.
Riddle's twisted smirk before he vanished.
Dumbledore's piercing gaze when he had handed over the destroyed book.
"But it was just a memory… just a piece of him..."
--
Except it hadn't been. It had thought, spoken, manipulated. It had lived. And if that one fragment had been enough to act on its own…
His fingers clenched into fists.
There had to be more.
A hollow, sick feeling spread through his chest as realization struck like a hammer.
Voldemort hadn't survived by chance. He had planned for it. He had anchored himself—split himself.
"Bloody hell," he whispered, barely aware that he had spoken.
Nova leaned forward slightly, watching his reaction. "That's your freebie. I'd say you got your money's worth."
Harry barely heard him. The weight of the revelation pressed down like lead.
Dumbledore knew. He had always known.
That's why he had taken the diary so seriously. That's why he had been so careful with what he told Harry.
He had been kept in the dark. Again.
His breathing quickened. The war—this entire fight—was even worse than he had imagined. Voldemort wasn't just a powerful Dark Lord. He was immortal.
And Dumbledore had never told him.
His gaze snapped up, sharp with determination.
"I need more."
Nova smiled, his amusement returning. "Indeed. But knowledge comes at a price."
Harry forced himself to steady his breathing. "I'm not selling my soul."
Nova chuckled. "I'm not a devil, kid. I'm human, just like you. The only difference is that you have magic, while I have my mutant ability and this special power of trade."
Harry studied him warily. Nova felt human, but the way he spoke—so casually about power, about knowledge—made him seem beyond that. Still, he had bigger concerns.
"So what's the price?" Harry asked. "What would I need to pay for more information—or any other service?"
Nova's eyes gleamed faintly. "The system itself determines the price based on the service requested and the payment. Payment can take many forms—money, memories, items, skills. It all depends on the value of what you seek."
Harry exhaled sharply, his mind already calculating. He needed to know more. But what was he willing to give?
As if sensing his thoughts, Nova's expression became serious. "There's one thing you should understand," he said, his tone calm but firm. "The system deals in equal fairness. No unfair trades, on either side. You will never be cheated, nor will you ever cheat the system."
Harry stared at him, feeling the weight of those words.
Equal fairness.
That meant the price would always match the worth of the wish. No shortcuts. No easy answers.
And that also meant… if he wanted something truly valuable, he would have to pay something just as valuable in return.
He swallowed. "I want full information about Horcruxes. Tell me what I need to pay."
Nova swiped his hand through the floating interface, causing the system to process Harry's request.
---
[REQUEST: FULL INFORMATION ON HORCRUXES]
[ANALYZING VALUE...]
[CALCULATING PRICE...]
[SYSTEM UTILIZING HOST'S ABILITY: WISH]
[KNOWLEDGE REQUESTED ALREADY KNOWN TO HOST—COST REDUCED]
[OFFER GENERATED]
[PRICE: NOT FIXED. CUSTOMER MUST OFFER A TRADE FOR THIS WAR-CHANGING INFORMATION.]
---
Reading the information that appeared infront of his screen, Harry quickly declared"I have money."
Nova swiped his hand again, prompting the system to evaluate.
[EQUIVALENT PAYMENT REQUIRED: 987,000,000 GALLEONS]
Harry's stomach dropped.
"What?"
Nova let out a low whistle. "Nearly a billion Galleons. That's… steep. Afterall you are asking value of information that can change the entire course of war. It may save countless lives or may doom them all."
Harry's hands clenched at his sides. He had expected a high price, but this? This was impossible.
Nova smirked. "Money isn't the only currency. Knowledge, power, even memories… The system values them all." He leaned forward slightly, his voice smooth.
"What are you willing to part with?"
X-X-X-X
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