Chapter 721: Mission (Edited)

"Is that all?" Harry asked, not understanding, as he returned to the headmaster's office, and Ron and Fish shared a similar expression.

Dumbledore had earlier said that it was the most important memory he had obtained, but they couldn't see what was so important about it.

Especially Fish, memories, not to mention fights and even conversations, were something he had no interest in at all, and Fish felt he had been deceived by the old man once again, so he looked at Dumbledore with sadness.

(?ω?)

Of course, the sudden white mist and the men's reaction to it were strange, but otherwise, nothing seemed to happen, except for Riddle asking Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes but not getting an answer.

Only Hermione guessed, not very sure, "Have they tampered with this memory?"

Although this time it was white mist that appeared, the effect was not much different from the darkness at the end of Morfin's memory, which is why Hermione guessed it.

"I have to say it again," said Dumbledore, clapping his hands, "You are undoubtedly one of the brightest students I have ever taught."

Hermione smiled smugly and shyly, and then asked, "So, who tampered with Professor Slughorn's memories? Was it Voldemort?"

Due to the precedent of Morfin, Hermione naturally also guessed Voldemort.

"No, Professor Slughorn's Occlumency is much more advanced than Morfin's, even the current Voldemort would not necessarily have the ability to manipulate his memories." Dumbledore didn't hold back, he gave a direct answer, "He manipulated it himself."

"But why would he do that?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Because, I believe, he was ashamed of the memory, so he altered it to make it presentable, erasing the parts he didn't want me to see. As you can see, the alteration was clumsy, which is good because it shows that the true memory lies beneath."

"So he really answered Voldemort's question about Horcruxes, right?"

?ω?

Asked Fish, who had already sensed that something was wrong, tilting his head.

"I think so," Dumbledore nodded, and then explained, "This memory was after Riddle released the basilisk and obtained the Gaunt ring, at which point it is most likely he had created one or even more Horcruxes, yet he approached Professor Slughorn to ask him the questions... Perhaps in this hidden memory, we can find clues about the number of Horcruxes, which is why I said this is the most important memory I have obtained."

"Uh... I should have known that Fish shouldn't have become friends with Horace nya..."

(?ω?)

Distressed, Fish scratched his head, muttering, "Isn't that a bad way to force him to tell the truth nya?"

Fish preferred a straightforward and brutal interrogation over sneaky snooping.

"As I mentioned before, Slughorn's Occlumency is very good, especially after I forced him to hand over this distorted memory. He must have been on guard," Dumbledore shook his head and said, "So, you should continue to befriend him and then find a way to make Professor Slughorn reveal his true memories, which undoubtedly will be our most crucial information."

"Not even the potion to render Severus' Occlumency useless?"

Fish remembered the tragedy of Sirius so well that he had always unconsciously believed that it couldn't be done without the Memory Loss Potion.

"I don't want to go against Horace just yet," Dumbledore said with a bitter smile, "And, don't forget, he is also the Potions professor and Severus' former teacher. Potion masters tend to carry all sorts of potions on them. So even if we drugged him, it's unclear if it would work."

Speaking of which... why doesn't Horace give you his true memories?"

Fish tilted his head, confused. "Horace shouldn't like Voldemort either, right? There's no reason for him not to help us if we directly tell him that we're looking for Horcruxes. Even with this altered memory, you still need to force it out... Isn't that strange?"

"I don't see what's strange about it..." Ron, still harboring resentment towards Professor Slughorn, muttered resentfully, "With his vanity, he doesn't want his involvement with Voldemort and the Horcruxes to be exposed. Naturally, he would want to keep it to himself."

"Mr. Weasley is right," Dumbledore nodded in approval. "Professor Slughorn values his reputation. He keeps the Slug Club alive with his reputation and skills. If it were known that Voldemort obtained his knowledge of Horcruxes from him, it would be a fatal blow. I believe that's one of the main reasons why he didn't want to reveal the truth. Also..."

He let out a long sigh and said, "I'm not sure if Voldemort had created Horcruxes at that time, or even if... he had obtained Professor Slughorn's Horcruxes, so it's understandable that Slughorn wanted to conceal this story."

"Alright..."

Fish sighed, "I always feel like things are getting troublesome, nya..."

"Can we really expect the truth from Professor Slughorn?" Harry also didn't have much faith.

If Dumbledore couldn't do it, could he really do it himself?

"Both of you are not like me," Dumbledore said confidently, "Professor Slughorn is always extraordinarily indulgent when it comes to his favorite students, like he was with Riddle, and..." he looked kindly at Harry, with a hint of apology in his voice, "He should feel guilty about what happened to your mother, I believe you can start from there."

Harry silently nodded.

Dumbledore's eyes moved back and forth between Fish and Harry, and then he said with conviction, "I believe you two are the ones who can break through his defenses. Obtaining the true memories is crucial... only then can we know the truth."

"Of course, it's highly likely that you won't be able to extract the truth from Professor Slughorn immediately, so be prepared for a long battle." Dumbledore cautioned them.

"Eh? Why is it so troublesome, nya?"

(?ω?)

"You can't solve it by fighting, you have to persist even if you fail... Fish's interest in the matter plummeted.

"That's only the worst-case scenario, perhaps if you ask, Professor Slughorn will tell the truth when you inquire." Dumbledore said calmly, "It's getting late... so, good luck... and good night."

"Good night, Professor." ×3

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up, ready to leave.

But Fish wasn't satisfied with today's storytelling session.

Even though he had been assigned a task, he had nothing to do with either of the two stories.

Although Fish's transformation power had unexpectedly increased with the black gem, Fish's transformation was meant to heal Dumbledore, so it didn't count!

"No! These two stories are not entertaining this year! You have to show Fish an interesting story, nya!"

(`н´)

Fish pouted like a frog and angrily shouted at Dumbledore.