HP/LOTM: Visionary - 384

Chapter 384: Contingencies, A Author’s Ritual, Plans Set

"Hu!" Harry pulled his head out of the Pensieve.

"Sir—" Harry began, but Dumbledore raised a hand to stop him.

"Seven… I did not expect that. Where are the two we have not accounted for?" Dumbledore asked, sounding tired as he sat on the stone steps.

"You mean he made more than one Horcrux?" Harry looked at him.

"Yes." Dumbledore opened a drawer and took out a pierced diary, a ring, a locket, and a diadem.

"Three of his Horcruxes were destroyed by Aiden, one by you, and that leaves three," Dumbledore said, watching Harry’s face.

"So we have to find them all and destroy them, or we will never truly…" Harry said.

"…truly defeat Voldemort," Dumbledore finished for him.

"But how are we supposed to find them? They could be anywhere in the world," Harry said, glancing at the ring on the desk.

"Yes, but connections exist between all things…" Dumbledore opened his hand, and a cloud of grey mist formed in his palm.

"The collective unconscious sea!" Harry brightened. "Aiden—"

"No, Harry," Dumbledore stopped him gently. "This is our task. We must exert ourselves first, and only then will we earn his help."

He pressed a pendant engraved with strange runes into Harry’s palm.

As Harry took it, Dumbledore’s words echoed in his ears. "And I believe, through an old friend’s message, I have found where another of his Horcruxes is hidden. But this time, I cannot destroy it alone. May I ask for your help, Harry?"

A smile creased the corners of Dumbledore’s eyes, his face kind yet shadowed with worry.

"Always."

........

Elsewhere, in Knockturn Alley, Aiden pushed open the door to Arthursi’s office.

"What is it? Coming by so late?" Arthursi set down her quill.

Firelight from the hearth lit both their faces. Aiden’s expression was very grave.

"I do not know why, but I cannot shake this bad feeling. I need to leave a contingency with you."

He drew out a small box and set it in Arthursi’s hand.

"If anything happens, this box will protect you, even if I fa..." Arthursi clamped a firm hand over his mouth and refused to let him finish.

"Do not say it. Whatever comes, we will face it together."

She looked into Aiden’s eyes until she saw acceptance there and then let go.

The two of them sat in silence together.

"How is the rollout of the personal terminals going?" Aiden asked at last.

"We have taken the market across Europe. We are now expanding into several other continents. Their wizarding customs offices say they will conduct strict teardown inspections, but they are only coveting the technology inside," Arthursi said simply.

"Good." Aiden stood, took up his coat, and prepared to leave. "And do not work so late. Get some rest," he added, then hurried out.

"Hmph. So prickly," Arthursi said, but the smile on her face gave her mood away.

On the street in Knockturn Alley, Aiden touched the gem at his throat.

"System."

"Here. Missed me?" the system replied.

"How do I obtain the Author Beyonder characteristic?" Aiden asked, getting straight to his advancement.

Lately, to keep Tom from slipping into Britain with fragments of Chaos, Aiden had raised a colossal dream labyrinth over the isles, with Hogwarts at its heart and the Second Project as conduit. The Discerner extended his insight into every corner of thought across Britain. The intense acting had sent his progress soaring; he felt he would soon be able to hold the ritual.

"The Author characteristic, hm? We could drag a code-monkey down and carve out a portion," the system said, amused.

"He is probably not qualified," Aiden said, perfectly serious.

"All right, enough teasing. With the personal terminals’ coverage high enough, I will extract the Author characteristic for you now."

The gem gleamed. A wave beyond magic, a ripple that bent reality, swept outward from Britain and washed over the globe.

"This system has reserves. Do not underestimate me," the system’s roar echoed in Aiden’s mind.

Millions of converted wizards across Europe felt nothing as a minute fraction of a certain narrative. Uniqueness tied to their stories was quietly skimmed away. Those from whom a sliver was taken drifted into a contemplative calm. That night, Europe’s wizarding world was unusually peaceful.

"So that is why you had me push the personal terminals?" Aiden said.

He stood at the seam of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, half in light and half in shadow. Inside the gem at his throat, three wisps of grey mist floated in the inner space.

"Ding… Ritual: stage three productions and write three stories, influencing no fewer than one million people…"

"Hey, system? System?" Aiden felt it go quiet.

"Too loud. I just finished working. Am I not allowed a moment’s rest?" the voice grumbled in his head.

"Ah… thought you had crashed. Rest, rest," Aiden said.

He tucked the gem back beneath his collar and Apparated out of Diagon Alley.

Back at Hogwarts, he stepped into the Headmaster’s office. Dumbledore sat by the fire, warming his hands.

"Up this late without going to bed?" Dumbledore said, seeing Aiden in the glass of the display case.

"Rare. You are not drinking or eating sweets?" Aiden tilted his head.

"Hmph. The future you sketched for an old man is so beautiful. I am reluctant to leave too early. How is that for a reason?" Dumbledore stroked his beard.

"But should we really let Tom go quite so wild? I am uneasy," a flicker of worry glinted in Dumbledore’s eyes.

"If we are both on the board, Tom will never step from the shadows. Have you not noticed she grows stronger by the day?" Aiden said, and without ceremony pulled a bottle of mead from Dumbledore’s cabinet, uncorked it, and took a taste.

"Ah… fate, then?" Dumbledore’s eyes shone with sorrow. He eyed the dragon draining his bottle, took a glass, and poured away half the mead.

"Let us hope there are no unforeseen twists," Dumbledore said, and downed it.

"I have laid many contingencies. Even if the two of us fall, Harry and the others will receive the support of all my forces. With that, and the thing you mean to give him, it should be enough to stand against Tom," Aiden said, raising his glass.

Dumbledore clinked it. By the fire, the two finalized their plan.