Harry Potter and the Ambitious Girl

A few days after rescuing the Malfoy mother and son, Harry finally succeeded in obtaining Slughorn's memory.

What he witnessed through the Pensieve was a memory filled with regret—one in which a young Tom Riddle had extracted knowledge of Horcruxes from Slughorn.

However, it wasn't entirely Slughorn's fault. At the time, Tom Riddle was the very picture of an exemplary student, showing no signs of harboring malicious intentions. Even Slughorn had been deceived.

By obtaining this memory, Dumbledore and Harry were able to uncover the secret behind Voldemort's immortality.

As expected, the secret was Horcruxes. By destroying all of them, Voldemort could be killed.

The memory also provided the critical number.

The young Tom Riddle had declared that seven was the most powerful magical number.

This meant there were six Horcruxes, with Voldemort's own soul as the seventh fragment.

Of these, three Horcruxes had already been confirmed destroyed.

First was the diary Harry had destroyed in his second year.

Second, the ring destroyed by Dumbledore.

And third, the Horcrux hidden in the vault Mirabelle had presumably destroyed.

However, doubts remained about the destruction of two of these Horcruxes, apart from the ring destroyed by Dumbledore.

The diary, for instance—Harry had indeed slashed the phantom of Tom Riddle with the sword.

But the true Horcrux was the diary itself, and unless it had been physically damaged, it couldn't be considered destroyed.

This raises the question: when Riddle fled from Harry and the others, was the diary still intact?

If so, why had it released Ginny Weasley's soul?

Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that Mirabelle dealt with it afterward.

Then there was the Malfoy family vault that had been raided recently. The idea that a Horcrux was hidden there was merely a conjecture—no one had actually seen it.

It was possible there had been no Horcrux at all, or that Mirabelle hadn't known how to destroy one.

Moreover, Mirabelle's purpose in raiding the vault might not have been the Horcrux at all.

Considering this, assuming it had been destroyed seemed overly optimistic.

Regardless, the course of action was clear.

To defeat Voldemort, they needed to locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.

Though Mirabelle was also an immortal threat, it was unlikely she had created multiple Horcruxes as Voldemort had.

For now, eliminating Voldemort's Horcruxes had to take priority.

Fortunately, it appeared Dumbledore had already identified potential locations for the remaining Horcruxes.

Wasting no time, he and Harry set off for a cave believed to conceal one of them.

But their journey proved fruitless.

When they arrived, the cave had already been reduced to ruins, a grim scene of total destruction and piles of corpses.

"P-Professor, what… what happened here?" Harry's voice trembled.

Dumbledore groaned in response, his tone grim. "Mirabelle. There can be no other explanation."

This cave had been used by Voldemort to safeguard a piece of his soul.

Naturally, it would have been riddled with traps, the pinnacle of his dark magic.

Only someone incredibly powerful could have overcome such defenses and left the site in such utter ruin.

It was almost certain—this was Mirabelle's doing.

"That terrifying girl… she has already uncovered the method to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes and acted on it," Dumbledore muttered.

If Mirabelle was actively disposing of Voldemort's Horcruxes, so much the better.

It might sound cruel, but if two villains were destroying each other, that was a problem solved.

However, neither Mirabelle nor Voldemort himself seemed to realize that there were seven fragments of Voldemort's soul.

Seven is the most powerful magical number. Voldemort had created six Horcruxes, making seven pieces of his soul in total, including the fragment within himself.

Yet, when Voldemort tried to kill the infant Harry, he unintentionally transferred a piece of his soul into the boy.

In other words, Harry was the final Horcrux—a creation Voldemort never intended.

This explained why Harry could speak Parseltongue and had a connection to Voldemort's thoughts and emotions.

And if… if Mirabelle ever discovered this truth…

That girl, without hesitation, without the slightest pang of conscience, would come to kill Harry.

Voldemort will probably never notice.

Whether it was because he had unintentionally absorbed Harry's protective magic or because their connection had become so natural, he was blind to it.

However, Mirabel would likely notice eventually.

She would probably destroy all the Horcruxes, thinking she had finished them, only to realize that one still remained.

When that happened, that dreadful being would inevitably be drawn to Harry.

"Well, well, what to do now…"

Dumbledore sighed heavily, stroking his long beard with a troubled expression.

The end of another year had arrived.

As always, the closing ceremony was held, and Dumbledore delivered his usual cautionary address. This marked the third year in a row.

The peace of the wizarding world was gradually crumbling under the activities of the Death Eaters.

There were already casualties, some of whom were related to students or parents of those present at Hogwarts.

Though the Ministry of Magic, under Scrimgeour's leadership, was doing its best, the situation was far from hopeful.

A collapse seemed only a matter of time.

Dumbledore believed the wizarding world was now facing its greatest trial.

Grindelwald, Voldemort, and Mirabel.

Each of them was a tremendous evil capable of shaking the wizarding world to its core alone.

By some cruel twist of fate, they had all converged in the same era.

And yet, the forces of justice standing against them were painfully inadequate.

Although this year had been unnervingly quiet, Dumbledore knew it was merely the calm before the storm.

Next year, the entire wizarding world would likely be swept into chaos.

Sadly, surviving the coming storm unscathed was close to impossible.

Countless lives would be lost, and innumerable tragedies would unfold.

Even so, Dumbledore couldn't help but wish.

That he might see everyone here safe and sound again next year.

"Grindelwald, you are quite the man with peculiar ideas."

Walking through the halls of Durmstrang, Mirabel spoke with a tone of amusement.

Beside her walked none other than Gellert Grindelwald, the wizard who had once plunged the magical world into fear.

Among the students at Durmstrang, many had lost relatives to him.

For instance, Viktor Krum had lost his grandfather to Grindelwald's actions.

And yet, not a single person in the school dared to reproach him.

"Turning the entire Durmstrang castle into a mobile fortress... Even I didn't think of such a ludicrous and extravagant idea."

Before his final battle, Grindelwald had undertaken a massive renovation of the Durmstrang castle.

For reasons known only to him, he had transformed the school into a flying fortress.

Back during the Triwizard Tournament, Beauxbatons had arrived in a carriage as large as a house. This was essentially a scaled-up version of that concept.

Of course, no magical creature, no matter how powerful, could pull a massive castle.

Instead, Grindelwald had turned the castle itself into an enchanted artifact, imbued with the effects of a Levitation Charm.

While difficult, it was far from impossible.

The Weasley twins, for instance, had created hats with the effects of Shield Charms.

It was merely a difference in scale.

Such ingenuity was, of course, typical of the great wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

"But if you just wanted a mobile base, a ghost ship would suffice. Even something on the scale of Beauxbatons' carriage could be arranged.

Yet, you specifically chose a castle... or rather, a school. You must be very eager to settle things with Dumbledore, no?"

"..."

As Mirabel pointed out, remodeling a castle was an unnecessary extravagance.

There were countless simpler ways to secure a mobile base.

The fact that Grindelwald insisted on a school was likely because he wanted to match Dumbledore.

To stand as equals, both as headmasters and as possessors of a "school" fortress.

Grindelwald had evidently decided that this was the only way to level the playing field.

"But isn't this all rather half-hearted? You could have driven out all the students and staff, replacing them with brainwashed Dark wizards and undead."

"Spare me. Children who haven't even completed their education are of no use in battle."

"My, how benevolent of you."

Mirabel spoke with a sarcastic edge, mocking him.

But Grindelwald simply smiled, unfazed.

He was well accustomed to this girl's habit of teasing others for amusement.

"By the way, how are your preparations coming along? According to your predictions, Voldemort should seize control of the Ministry of Magic soon."

"Everything's ready. I can start a war at any time.

We have 1,500 Aurors from France, Germany, and Ireland.

Six hundred vampires, about a thousand ghouls resurrected from local cemeteries, and several hundred golems created with the Philosopher's Stone.

I've also borrowed about a thousand Muggle soldiers.

Then there are 60 dragons, 10 mass-produced basilisks, and 300 trolls that Quirrell somehow rounded up.

Plus countless other magical creatures and beings—it's too much trouble to tally them all."

"That's a terrifying force. Truly chilling."

"And yet, it's still small. Compared to Muggle wars, where armies of tens of thousands are common, this is nothing more than a skirmish between small nations."

Naturally, the wizarding population was vastly outnumbered by Muggles.

Though the exact number was uncertain, it was unlikely to exceed a billion worldwide.

Even optimistically, there were likely only tens of millions at most.

In terms of the Earth's total population, magical people might amount to just one in several thousand.

"Speaking of which, I believe this country has a few hundred Dementors as well. Aren't you planning to use them?"

"Hmm? Oh, those? I exterminated them all. There's no place for such trash in the country I'm building."

"…I would think they could serve as a decent force, though."

"Don't make me repeat myself. I have no use for trash."

Grindelwald fell silent at Mirabel's firm and commanding tone. It was clear she harbored a deep disdain for Dementors. This wasn't merely about their usefulness in battle; it seemed she loathed their very existence. Sensing this, Grindelwald thought it wise not to press further.

Just then, one of Mirabel's vampire subordinates came running toward them, looking flustered.

"Lady Mirabel!"

"What is it? Stop shouting."

"I-I must report! At 2 a.m. today, Voldemort launched an attack on the Beresford estate in England! The estate was destroyed, but fortunately, Lady Mavis and her siblings seem to have been rescued by Dumbledore and are unharmed!"

Hearing this, Grindelwald's expression grew grim. This was an anticipated development. After causing such a commotion and destroying Horcruxes, it was only natural that Voldemort would retaliate. And targeting one's family was an entirely predictable choice.

However, despite knowing this, Mirabel had left her mother, Mavis, and her other siblings in their ancestral home, only taking her loyal followers Holger and Sidney with her when she left England.

The logic for leaving them behind the previous year was clear enough. By keeping her family in place, she ensured Dumbledore and Voldemort's focus remained on her decoy. Moving them at that time would have raised suspicion.

But now, the decoy was gone, her true identity revealed. This was the time she should have immediately evacuated her family.

As Grindelwald cast a reproachful glance at her, Mirabel remained utterly unbothered, merely muttering, "I see."

"And? Is that all?"

"…Pardon?"

"I asked if that's all there is to the report."

Her tone was detached, as if she were hearing about some unrelated crime committed by strangers. There wasn't a shred of concern in her voice.

This was no act of bravado or feigned indifference. Mirabel truly regarded the attack on her family as nothing more than "that's all."

There was no love, no anger, no grief for the destruction of her childhood home—just chilling indifference.

"Y-yes! That is all!"

"Very well. Continue gathering information."

"Understood!"

As the messenger hurried away, Mirabel turned her gaze to Grindelwald. His expression reflected a mix of frustration and disapproval.

"What's the matter? You look rather displeased."

"…Not particularly."

"Hmm. You've never met my family, have you? Is there some issue?"

Even now, Mirabel's main concern was whether Grindelwald's plans had been jeopardized. Mavis Beresford, her mother and a former deputy headmistress of Durmstrang, could have been a useful pawn if needed. If Grindelwald had any designs involving her, that might indeed pose a problem.

Faced with this utterly inhuman reasoning, Grindelwald shook his head.

"No… it's nothing, Beresford."

"Is that so? Well, if you say so, I won't press further."

As he watched the girl walking ahead of him, Grindelwald felt a chill run through him at the emptiness she radiated.

This girl had no trace of humanity in her.

Even Voldemort himself had felt some love for his mother. But Mirabel lacked even that.

She loved nothing. She cared for nothing.

Could someone like that truly build an ideal magical nation?

Grindelwald shook off the thought with a small shake of his head.

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