Croaker smirked and said, "You mean, get total control of Harry Potter in order to shape him into your personal weapon to point at Tom Riddle and have them fight each other until one of them dies?"
Dumbledore was stunned silent. He was at a loss for words.
Knowing he'd just shocked the old man to his hospital slippers Croaker continued, "The reason you are here is because we don't want Amelia Bones killing you before the answers to our questions are eventually dragged out of you. We're better at it than she is."
That immediately put the old man on his guard. "I'm sure I do not know what you mean."
Suddenly his vision turned a slightly reddish haze. Looking down he could see he was glowing with a red glow.
His eyes snapped up to look at Croaker in shock.
"Yes, Albus," smirked Croaker. "That's a Truth Chair."
"They're banned!" cried Dumbledore.
"We're the Unspeakables," retorted Croaker.
When Dumbledore again appeared at a loss, Croaker chuckled. "My, how the mighty have fallen.
"The muggles have a saying, Dumbledore. It's quite apt, here. 'Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely'. You are corrupted absolutely, old man. You have no redemption within you. It's why Bones was able to confirm with magic you are a Dark Lord."
"But... you don't understand," tried Dumbledore. "Harry Potter must face Voldemort. It's the only chance our world has. Surely, you must know that."
"I know a great deal more than you think I know, old man," he shot back. "I know a great deal more about this situation than even you know."
When Dumbledore appeared confused, trying to work out what Croaker could know that he didn't, Croaker just grinned at him.
"For instance," he said, "You believe Harry Potter must die in order to defeat Riddle, right? Because you believe he has a Horcrux behind that scar of his?"
The old man, trying to use his Occlumency to show no sign of recognition of the Unspeakable's words, had no idea how badly he was failing at that. Croaker was very well versed in the muggle expertise of reading micro-expressions. Even expert Occlumencers couldn't completely hide those.
Croaker chuckled and said, "I can see by your expression I'm correct." Still carefully watching he could see the old man was trying to figure out how he, Croaker, was able to 'read' him so well.
Dumbledore actually thought it was some form of subtle Legilimency.
Croaker decided to throw him a bone. "Well, it'll interest you to know he does not. Only a couple weeks ago, Andromeda Tonks - already knowing there was a soul fragment behind the young Lord's scar - took the boy to a muggle hospital. There, they excised all the corrupt tissue out, unknowingly together with the actual Horcrux, and healed the boy back up again.
"I've already had my experts on soul magics check the boy out and they confirm the Horcrux is gone.
"So, how about that, Albus? The muggles have a way to fix the problem where the magical world didn't. Master Healer Tonks is about to release a paper to the International Healer Collegiate on using muggle surgery to excise magically corrupt tissue from patients with wounds that cannot be healed magically - which removes that which is blocking the magical healing - then apply the magical healing.
"Our healers have already read the drafts of the paper and concur. Further, they've already adopted her recommendations into their procedures for all such curse wounds in future."
Croaker leaned forward a little and, with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, said, "So, Albus, with the Horcrux gone from within the boy, the boy does not have to die in order to defeat Tom Riddle for good. You... were hell-bent on seeing young Lord Potter... a child... practically commit suicide because of a falsehood you believed to be the truth."
Again sitting back as he watched Dumbledore's eyes as he clearly tried to work through what he'd just been told.
While the old man was thinking, somewhat lost in his thoughts, Croaker suddenly demanded, "Albus, how many other of Riddle's Horcruxes do you know of?"
Again, Dumbledore's eyes snapped to his in shock.
"Well?" demanded Croaker.
"Errr..." stuttered the old man. "I'm not sure―" As his vision started to develop a red haze again, he shut up.
"Come on, Albus," snapped Croaker. "Your verbal manipulations are not going to work. How many of them are there?"
With his Occlumency up to as strong as he could get, Dumbledore replied, "I'm sorry; but, for the security of the magical world, I cannot give you that information."
"Well, how about a bargain before we get serious," suggested Croaker. "You tell us how many you think he made, and we'll tell you how many we've already collected."
Again, Dumbledore's Occlumency wasn't enough for him not to give a slight change to his expression.
Croaker chuckled back, but it wasn't of humour. To Dumbledore, it sounded almost evil.
"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked.
With his smirk not changing one whit, Croaker said, "You get nothing back until you answer my question. Tell me how many you think he made, first."
The old man firmed his lips in defiance and refused to answer. Then, his first sign something was going to happen was when Croaker flicked a finger.
Then he felt incredible pain in his mind. A Legilimencer had attacked. A blink of an eye later and he realised it wasn't one Legilimencer, but multiple. Three.
While his Occlumency, unharmed, could withstand the attack of even Riddle, it was not prepared to withstand the attack of three... no, four... Legilimencers working in concert.
"How many Horcruxes!?" demanded Croaker, loud and firm enough for the old man to hear, even through the almost blinding pain he was feeling in his mind.
Suddenly, the pain stopped as the Legilimencers, clearly standing behind him, all suddenly withdrew.
"He believes six," replied a new voice. "Six parts of the soul and the remaining prime."
"Interesting," said Croaker.
It took Dumbledore a few long moments before he could properly see again. When he could again focus on Croaker it appeared the man's smirk back hadn't changed a jot from before the attack.
"As we now have that information, Albus," said Croaker. "I can tell you we have already found three. That, together with the diary young Lord Potter destroyed in June, 1993, tells me four of the six have been dealt with.
"Five," said another voice from behind. "He believes the soul fragment that was in the young Lord Potter's head was one created accidentally."
Croaker gave a snort of amusement and said, "You cannot create an accidental Horcrux. What nonsense. It was a soul fragment, yes; but not a Horcrux. That's why the muggle Healers were able to successfully remove it."
"He believes it was one of the six, though," said the second voice.
"Hmmm..." Croaker non-committally muttered. "Which just goes to show why you, Dumbledore, should have brought this to our attention back when you first learned of it. Anyone with expertise in soul magics would have been able to tell you it was impossible to create an accidental Horcrux.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/gokublack444🎉