The atmosphere in the corridor shifted as Dumbledore's expression transford from gentle lancholy to serious.
"There's one more matter we must discuss, Professor Westeros," Dumbledore said softly. "I've received intelligence from sources I consider reliable concerning Voldemort's current whereabouts."
Upon hearing this, Adrian imdiately beca alert.
Dumbledore's face showed concern as he continued. "Voldemort's main soul has taken refuge in the forests of Albania. The intelligence says he's been there for so ti."
Adrian's mind raced as this revelation settled into place like the final piece of a complex puzzle. Albania—of course. The location aligned perfectly with his own theories about Voldemort's movents and preferences. That place was also probably special and familiar to Voldemort.
"However," Dumbledore continued, his voice growing even more serious, "knowing his location brings us little comfort. The Horcruxes make him essentially invulnerable. As long as the Horcruxes aren't all destroyed, even if he temporarily dies, he will eventually return."
Dumbledore shook his head, "What makes this situation even more dire is that the number of Horcruxes he created may far exceed our most pessimistic estimates."
"How should we deal with this, Professor Dumbledore?" Adrian asked.
Dumbledore's deep gaze looked directly into Adrian's eyes. "I will find a way to locate and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, But Adrian, I need your solemn promise on this matter—if you encounter another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, you must bring it to imdiately to handle, rather than acting on your own like this ti."
Adrian shrugged—this was a promise he probably couldn't keep.
The Horcruxes, and more specifically the soul fragnts they contained, held a value that went far beyond their role in Voldemort's immortality for him.
"If I encounter them, I'll certainly do that," Adrian replied carefully. "Though I should point out that this ti was entirely accidental. I had no idea the diary contained a piece of Voldemort's soul until it was too late to simply hand it over."
"I understand that," Dumbledore said, though his expression said he wasn't entirely convinced. "But these objects are extrely dangerous."
"Understood," Adrian agreed, giving what he hoped was a reassuring nod. "I'll be more cautious in the future."
Dumbledore studied him for a mont, as if trying to read the truth behind Adrian's expression. Then, apparently satisfied—or perhaps simply choosing to accept what he had been told, he nodded once and turned to leave.
Adrian was sowhat puzzled.
He didn't know why Dumbledore would warn him not to handle Horcruxes on his own.
Did Dumbledore know that he would encounter Voldemort's Horcruxes again in the future?
However, even if Adrian didn't hand over Horcruxes to Dumbledore in the future, he would treat them with much more caution. This diary incident had already cost him dearly.
Indeed, anything related to Voldemort should be treated with utmost caution.
Making his way back to his office, Adrian sealed the door behind him with several layers of privacy charms before approaching his desk. From a locked drawer that required both a key and a specific wand movent to open, he took out a notebook that appeared utterly ordinary but humd with subtle protective enchantnts.
Opening to a fresh page, Adrian began to write in his precise script:
Second Year - Post-Term Summary:
- Diary Horcrux destroyed (Tom Riddle's mory eliminated)
- Ravenclaw's Diadem located and neutralized (details in separate secure file)
- Dumbledore confirms Voldemort's main soul hiding in Albanian forests- Warning issued regarding future Horcrux encounters
- suggests D. may suspect non-accidental involvent
He paused, quill hovering over the parchnt as he tried to dredge up more details from the increasingly hazy mories of his previous life.
Remaining Horcruxes (estimated):-
Gaunt Ring - recalled as being in family ruins, possibly cursed, D. likely to find this one
- Slytherin's Locket - mories suggest connection to Black family, house-elf nad Kreacher involved
- Hufflepuff's Cup - location completely unclear, may require additional research
- Nagini - not yet created as Horcrux, tiline suggests years before this occurs
- Harry Potter - unintentional Horcrux, most problematic to address
Although he couldn't completely rember many details, he roughly knew the original story's plot.
Unfortunately, due to the passage of ti, those mories had been sleeping deep in his mind.
He could only recall bit by bit, gradually organizing the mories.
Recently, his mories had beco sowhat clearer.
Two of Voldemort's Horcruxes had now been dealt with. the diary and Ravenclaw's diadem.
As for the rest—Gaunt's ring seed to be found by Dumbledore later, Slytherin's locket was apparently with a house-elf nad Kreacher, and as for Hufflepuff's cup, he really couldn't rember where it was.
And Nagini—during this period, she probably hadn't beco a Horcrux yet.
Oh, and finally there was Harry Potter, who had been by his side all along.
Thinking of this, Adrian sighed.
One could only say the task ahead was arduous.
Today was the second day of sumr holiday. Adrian woke up in the second-floor bedroom of his own shop, he was still not quite used to it.
Stretching muscles still stiff from sleep, Adrian made his way to the washbasin and began his morning routine.
After dressing in comfortable Muggle clothing, Adrian made his way downstairs to the shop and found that Remus had already arrived early for work.
Remus stood behind the main counter. Scattered across the counter were five or six unopened letters. A copy of the Daily Prophet lay open beside them, and its headline was visible even from Adrian's position on the stairs.
"Good morning, Adrian," Hearing footsteps, Remus looked up and smiled wearily. "I hope you slept well."
"Well enough," Adrian replied, making his way to the counter and taking note of the signs of distress. "You seem to have had quite a busy morning already."
Adrian's eyes swept across the letters, taking in the unfamiliar nas on the return addresses all apparently directed to Remus. This was quite unusual; in all the ti Lupin had worked at the shop, the letters he had been receiving were rarely more than a letter or two per month.
"Having so difficulties?" Adrian asked with concern, reaching for the copy of the Daily Prophet.
Remus folded the letter he had been reading and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
Remus folded the letter in his hand and put it in his pocket, forcing a smile. "Nothing serious, just... so letters from old friends."
Adrian glanced again at the letters on the table. "Oh, seems you have quite a few friends."
Remus smiled awkwardly.
Adrian didn't ask further questions. He waved his wand to prepare an automatically brewed cup of coffee for himself and sat down to read the newspaper.
What Adrian found in the Daily Prophet's headlines made everything suddenly clear.
"MINISTRY DRAFTS ANTI-WEREWOLF LEGISLATION," the bold text stated, followed by a subtitle that: "Undersecretary Umbridge Proposes Complete Employnt Ban for Lycanthropes."
The article, written in the Prophet's typically sensationalized style, detailed proposed legislation that would make it illegal for werewolves to hold any form of employnt within the Magical Britain.
The bill, drafted by Umbridge, was being presented as a "public safety asure" designed to "protect law-abiding wizarding families from the inherent dangers posed by those afflicted with lycanthropy."
The article concluded with a brief statent from "concerned werewolf community leaders" expressing their "strong objections" to the proposed legislation, though Adrian suspected their actual words had been far more violent than the sanitized quote said.
Setting down the newspaper, Adrian muttered under his breath, "How interesting... Umbridge certainly doesn't waste ti making enemies."
He looked toward Remus, who was standing nervously nearby, watching him with a complex expression. It was no wonder Remus was so nervous.
Adrian's practical mind imdiately began calculating the implications. If the legislation passed which seed unlikely, given the potential for violent backlash from desperate werewolves, it would create a precedent for further discriminatory laws. Even if it failed, the very fact that it had been proposed would worsen the already difficult situation faced by Britain's lycanthropic population.
But this didn't matter much to Adrian, since he only had one werewolf employee—Remus—so it wouldn't affect him.
Therefore, Adrian scanned a few other sections of the Daily Prophet and set it aside.
"I have so news, Remus," Adrian said suddenly, setting aside the newspaper and focusing his attention on him.
Remus had been sowhat relieved, but hearing Adrian call his na, his heart rose to his throat again.
"What... what is it?" Remus asked trying to appear calm.
"I've hired a new employee," Adrian took a light sip of coffee. "It's a..."
"What?!"
Remus's eyes widened slightly, his face instantly turning pale, and he said sowhat incredulously. "Am I being fired?"
Seeing his reaction, Adrian was montarily stunned.
Then Adrian couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Remus. I didn't an that. You know I don't discriminate against werewolves—otherwise I wouldn't have let you work here for so long."
Remus imdiately felt relieved.
However, he quickly realized sothing and looked at Adrian with shock. "Wait, you've known I'm a werewolf all along?"
Adrian raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question.
"I thought it was fairly obvious," He said with a casual shrug. "Taking exactly one day off every month, always on the sa lunar schedule. Returning to work completely exhausted, often with unexplained injuries. Looking like you haven't slept for days after each absence."
He spread his hands in a gesture of obvious logic. "I may be many things, Remus, but I'm not blind and certainly not an idiot."
Remus's expression gradually shifted from shock to bitterness. He smiled remorsefully and shook his head. "This is also why I was so destitute before. Werewolves are like this—we have great difficulty finding decent work. Most employers won't even consider us, and those who do usually change their minds the mont they learn the truth."
He gestured helplessly at the pile of letters on the counter. "These are from werewolf friends of mine. They've all lost their jobs since Umbridge's bill was announced. So of them were dismissed imdiately, others were given 'convenient' excuses, but the result is the sa. They're all unemployed now, and with this legislation pending, they're unlikely to find work anywhere else. It's such a pity—they're all really good people."
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