HP: Wizardry’s a Hassle, Wand in the Right Hand, Gun in the Left

"Swish, swish, swish..."

The sound of something slicing through the air and cutting into flesh echoed in the space.

Glenn performed the most basic battle sorcery, channeling a blade of condensed magical energy onto her dagger. The faint black glow shimmered in the air as Glenn swung her arm, slicing the Basilisk's massive body into smaller pieces.

Nearby, Norbert crouched low, feasting happily.

It felt a bit like being a chef serving an insatiable customer.

Though, to be fair, all she was doing was cutting meat.

"Glenn~ Hagrid and I have decided on a new name for Norbert!"

Turning around, Glenn saw Hagrid approaching from a distance, with the young girl already running toward her in quick, light steps.

"It's Norberta! Although it sounds similar, it's definitely a girl's name."

It seemed that, even in this world, Norbert's name was destined to remain unchanged.

"Good name," Glenn replied immediately, though she wasn't entirely sure what made it good.

"...That's so perfunctory... Never mind, someone like you who's bad at naming wouldn't understand these things."

"But that aside, I've been curious... Are those chunks of meat from the Basilisk?"

Hermione wrinkled her delicate nose as she watched Norbert devour the meat ravenously.

"Have you checked whether Basilisk meat is toxic? What if Norberta gets sick from eating it?"

"I believe Nor...berta can discern for herself what's edible and what isn't. I only started feeding her the Basilisk meat because she seemed eager to eat it."

Glenn's hands didn't stop moving. The dagger continued to slice, producing evenly-sized, neatly cut pieces of meat that flew toward Norberta.

Even while processing the Basilisk's body, Glenn maintained an exceptional level of precision, as if she were merely chopping vegetables or meat in the kitchen.

Well, come to think of it, she was processing ingredients, wasn't she?

"Besides, dragons naturally possess some level of toxicity, poison resistance, and a robust physique. As one of the top predators in the magical creature hierarchy, even if the Basilisk's meat is poisonous, Norberta should be able to handle it until Professor Snape and I can intervene to treat her."

"So you're still not entirely sure!"

Hermione looked at Glenn, exasperated, then glanced at Norberta behind her. The little dragon was eating with great relish, a look of pure enjoyment on her face.

Putting aside the question of how a dragon could even show such an expression, Hermione felt slightly reassured seeing Norberta's apparent satisfaction with the meal.

After announcing Norberta's new name, Hagrid stayed only briefly to greet Glenn before going back to bond with the dragon.

"Glenn, Hermione."

Just as Hermione was contemplating whether to join Hagrid in petting the dragon, Dumbledore's voice came from the side.

"I've finished studying this diary. Here it is."

In the old man's hand floated Tom's diary, which he now addressed to the two young wizards.

With a wave of her hand, Glenn summoned the small black box previously used to store the diary. With a flick of her left hand, she took control of the diary from Dumbledore, guiding it into the box and sealing it shut.

"Do you remember what I mentioned to you last year? I believe you might have some guesses by now," Dumbledore asked, his expression unreadable.

"...The method Voldemort used to escape death?" Glenn replied.

Dumbledore nodded, sighed softly, and continued, "That's correct. If last year I was merely suspicious, now, having seen this diary with my own eyes, I can confirm it."

"That... unspeakably evil method involves magical artifacts known as 'Horcruxes.'"

"As the name suggests, a Horcrux is an 'object' that contains a part of its creator's soul."

"Soul may not be the most accurate term—yes, as you've guessed, it should be called a fragment of the soul."

Glenn nodded, signaling for Dumbledore to continue.

"I can now confirm that this diary is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes..."

"...One of them."

Glenn nodded again, unsurprised by Dumbledore's statement. Since the diary housed a fragment of Tom's soul, it was hard not to connect it to the extreme method of immortality Dumbledore had previously mentioned.

It seemed her assumptions were correct.

This meant that the soul fragment of "Tom Marvolo Riddle" within the diary could not be allowed to remain.

And the fact that it was "one of them" was also within Glenn's expectations.

As the saying goes, don't put all your eggs in one basket. For someone as fanatical—bordering on insane—as Voldemort in his pursuit of immortality, it was inevitable that he would have multiple means of evading death.

Even if those methods involved splitting his soul in defiance of natural laws, Voldemort, likely already consumed by obsession, would undoubtedly create as many "soul fragments"—backups of his consciousness—as he could within his acceptable limits. These fragments, of course, were the Horcruxes.

"So, Professor Dumbledore, do you know the exact number of these Horcruxes?" Glenn asked. To him, there were currently only two known objects with the effects Dumbledore described: Tom Riddle's diary, now sealed in the black box, and Harry Potter.

"I don't know the exact number, but I'm certain there aren't more than seven," Dumbledore replied, shaking his head slowly.

"In the magical world, seven is a magical number. Moreover, the books that guide the creation of Horcruxes explicitly state this limitation."

"If the number of Horcruxes exceeds seven, all of them will lose their original effects."

"Excessive soul splitting will cause the original consciousness to collapse rapidly. In other words, these Horcruxes would no longer anchor the creator's existence in this world, and the creator would lose their self due to the severe trauma inflicted on their soul."

While Glenn appeared deep in thought, Hermione, quietly processing Dumbledore's words, posed her own question.

"Professor, since a Horcrux contains a fragment of its creator's soul, and there's a connection between the fragment and the original, does that mean we could use this known Horcrux to trace the others?"

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