Chapter 65: The Summon (3)

Nero leaned back in his chair, arms crossed as he studied the flickering firelight dancing across Dumbledore's face. The wizard, usually calm and measured, carried a rare tension in his posture, as if the weight of the revelations regarding Voldemort's Horcruxes pressed heavily upon him.

"Grandpa, if my visions are correct, Voldemort created his seven Horcruxes around the following timeline:

First Horcrux: the Diary in 1943

Second Horcrux: Marvolo Gaunt's ring, also in 1943

Third Horcrux: the Hufflepuff Cup in 1946

Fourth Horcrux: the Slytherin Locket in 1949

Fifth Horcrux: the Ravenclaw Diadem in 1952

Sixth Horcrux: Harry Potter in 1981

Seventh Horcrux: Nagini, in 1994, which shouldn't have happened yet, as we are in 1983."

Dumbledore stroked his beard, his piercing blue eyes scanning Nero's expression. "Your recollection remains precise, as expected."

Nero tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair. "He reached out to Slughorn in 1947, feeling that something was going wrong. We can assume that his first, second, and third Horcruxes should have contained only one soul each."

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "A reasonable assumption."

Nero continued, "Then, we have reason to believe that something changed when he made the fourth Horcrux in 1949. We can hypothesize that he developed a new ritual from that point onward."

The silence that followed was thick with unspoken understanding. Nero knew the implications of this. The moment Tom Riddle had delved even deeper into the darkness, tampering with his own soul in ways no wizard had dared before.

"Grandpa, as Owle Bullock wrote Secrets of the Darkest Arts, it's obvious that someone else before Voldemort developed the Horcrux. Do we know who he was? And… have other wizards successfully wielded this magic?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, though there was an unmistakable weight behind them. He leaned back, stroking his beard in thought. Then, with a slight chuckle, he asked, "Nero, do you collect Chocolate Frog cards?"

Nero blinked at the unexpected question. "I know you love sweets, Grandpa, but this might not be the best time to talk about candy."

"On the contrary," Dumbledore said, his smile deepening, "it is precisely the time."

With a flick of his wrist, a thick binder floated toward him from one of the high bookshelves. It landed gracefully in front of Nero, who recognized it immediately: it was a collector's album, the kind dedicated Chocolate Frog enthusiasts kept to store their rarest finds.

"A complete collection can offer unexpected knowledge, Nero," Dumbledore mused, flipping through the pages with the ease of someone well-acquainted with the set. He paused, plucked a specific card from the album, and held it between two fingers before passing it to Nero.

Nero glanced down at the familiar glossy surface.

Herpo the Foul.

He read the description aloud. "Herpo the Foul was a Greek Dark wizard and Parselmouth. He was the first known wizard to breed a Basilisk." Nero raised an eyebrow. "That sounds a lot like a Slytherin."

"Indeed," Dumbledore acknowledged, folding his hands before him. "Though Herpo the Foul predates Salazar Slytherin by many centuries. Some believe him to be an ancestor of the Slytherin line, though there is no confirmed genealogy."

Nero examined the card more closely, feeling a strange chill at the sight of the wizard's eerie, sneering face. "And you're telling me he was the one who created the first Horcrux?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "According to Secrets of the Darkest Arts, Owle Bullock attributes the creation of the Horcrux to Herpo the Foul himself."

Nero sat back, exhaling. "So Tom wasn't indeed the first to split his soul… but he might have been the first to modify the method."

Dumbledore's expression darkened. "Yes. And that is where our concerns truly begin."

Nero frowned. "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore tapped the binder, his fingers drumming softly. "Herpo was known to have created a single Horcrux, one, Nero. A single fragmentation of his soul. Even he, the father of this abominable practice, understood that the act of severing one's soul was no small feat. His records indicate that after creating his Horcrux, he became… diminished."

Nero's gaze sharpened. "Diminished? As in, weaker?"

"In every way," Dumbledore confirmed. "Physically, magically, even mentally. His cruelty deepened, his emotions became volatile, his grasp on reality… unsteady."

Nero nodded slowly, connecting the dots. "And yet, Voldemort decided to push the limits beyond what even Herpo dared. Seven pieces."

"Indeed." Dumbledore's voice was quiet but carried the weight of old fears. "The question that has long haunted me, Nero, is not merely why Tom would attempt such a reckless endeavor, but how he came to believe it was even possible."

Nero's thoughts raced. "You think someone, something, gave him that knowledge? That it didn't come just from Secrets of the Darkest Arts?"

"I suspect," Dumbledore admitted, "that three pivotal moments further shaped Tom's descent into the darkest depths of magic. We can only theorize, but the first likely occurred in the years following 1943, after he had created his second Horcrux. According to the known lore within Secrets of the Darkest Arts, a wizard was only ever meant to create one. Yet, Tom had already made two in the span of a year. That realization must have unsettled him. If he had already broken this supposed limit, were there unforeseen consequences? Was there a risk he had not accounted for? He must have sought some reassurance that the path he had chosen was not as perilous as it seemed."

"He waited a full three years before creating his next Horcrux in 1946. Perhaps there were no side effects, or perhaps he discovered something, or someone, that assured him he was on the right path, compelling him to continue his dark endeavors. I believe this was the second crucial turning point."

"Finally, there must have been a third, far more significant event. This would have taken place between his conversation with Horace Slughorn in 1947 and the forging of his fourth Horcrux in 1949. By then, he understood that Horcruxes were not as straightforward as he had once thought. Yet, something transpired during those years, Nero, something that gave him the conviction to push further where even Herpo the Foul hesitated."

"Between these defining moments, Tom acquired knowledge that changed everything. The way he created Horcruxes evolved. No longer was he simply following in the footsteps of dark wizards before him, he was refining, innovating, perfecting. And the sheer number of souls bound within the Horcruxes he created suggests that whatever he learned emboldened him beyond reason."

A shiver ran down Nero's spine. "And you think that something might be tied to the Bullock family?"

Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, his piercing blue eyes locked onto Nero's. "There is a reason I have been seeking out their name, Nero. 

Owle Bullock was a scholar of the darkest magics, yet his personal history is murky. What little I have found suggests that his knowledge was not entirely his own."

Nero raised an eyebrow. "You mean he… stole it?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not necessarily. I mean that his knowledge may have been given to him… or perhaps, whispered to him."

The room seemed to grow colder at those words.

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