Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1722: A New Great Journey

Regarding the fragment of Voldemort’s soul in the Resurrection Stone, the fifteen-year-old Tom Riddle, it was indeed extremely abnormal.

This was also something that Evan cared about very much; and it raised many questions for him.

From a magical perspective, that thing was a Horcrux, and to defeat Voldemort, it had to be destroyed.

Yet judging by the story Riddle told and by what they had observed, it seemed far more likely that it was a special soul fragment formed from all of Voldemort’s remaining goodness. For reasons Evan and his companions did not yet understand, it had been torn from Voldemort’s primary soul by some mysterious force. It differed greatly from the other Horcruxes and therefore had to be treated with extreme caution.

After discovering Riddle’s unusual nature, Dumbledore had not destroyed it, but kept it for study. Whether he had uncovered anything was unknown. As for how the Resurrection Stone should ultimately be dealt with, Evan had yet to make up his mind — he had always wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.

Even if Dumbledore had not brought it up, Evan would have asked about it himself. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Professor, was the Riddle within the Resurrection Stone deliberately left there by Herpo?”

Dumbledore shook his head and remained silent for a moment.

“Herpo had already been sealed away by Salazar Slytherin at the time. He would have had neither the inclination nor the ability to do such a thing. A fifteen-year-old Riddle held no special meaning for him. What he needed was death — death that could restore his strength and allow him to break free of his seal.”

“So Riddle was…”

“He was most likely left behind by Salazar Slytherin. Riddle held special significance for Slytherin. We all know that the first owner of the Resurrection Stone was Cadmus Peverell, the second of the Peverell brothers, but when it was discovered, it was already set in Slytherin’s ring, passed down through generations of the Gaunt family. It is very likely that Salazar Slytherin found it, and after your first return to Hogwarts a thousand years ago, he left some kind of magic within the Resurrection Stone, leaving one final opportunity for his last descendant.”

“If Slytherin was the one who stripped Voldemort’s goodness away to form the fifteen-year-old Riddle, then what kind of opportunity was he leaving behind?”

“I suspect it’s an opportunity for redemption, a chance to restore the Slytherin family’s honor,” Dumbledore said. “There is no doubt that Salazar Slytherin placed great importance on bloodline and family honor, which has always been a tradition of Slytherin House.”

“What did he want the fifteen-year-old Riddle to do?” Evan pressed.

“He might have hoped that Riddle would continue down the path of death!”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Evan said. What Dumbledore was saying now was simply inconceivable.

Slytherin had stripped Voldemort of his goodness and part of his soul — just so that he could die?!   

“This is rather complicated to explain. To begin with, it involves the Resurrection Stone itself,” Dumbledore said. “As we just speculated, like the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone is also a weapon. Every person who has ever possessed it has met the same end — death. That is because it cannot truly bring the dead back to life. Instead, it summons back certain spirits steeped in despair… That is the only word I can use to describe those revived by the Stone. They are neither ghosts, nor living beings of flesh and blood, nor some kind of illusion. They possess the memories of the dead and are capable of responding, yet they are strange entities that retain the memories of the deceased and are capable of responding. For lack of a better term, I call them spirits of the dead. In any case, this is an exceedingly rare form of magic — one that only the Resurrection Stone can achieve.”

Indeed, as far as Evan knew, no other magic besides the Resurrection Stone, including Dark magic, could bring back the dead. Even if those summoned by the Resurrection Stone were not truly alive, it was still utterly astonishing.

But what did all this have to do with Slytherin leaving behind the fifteen-year-old Riddle?

“The Resurrection Stone does not belong to the magical system as we understand it,” Dumbledore continued. “It possesses a unique power to summon the dead. This magic does not arise from nothing; it comes from the world to which humans go after death.”

“Power that comes from the world humans go to after death…”

Evan’s heart skipped a beat. Could this be the power of the Shadow Realm that Salazar Slytherin had spoken of before?

Slytherin had said that Herpo the Foul created this space in order to steal power from the Shadow Realm and make himself stronger. In other words, the magic of the Resurrection Stone came from the Shadow Realm!

“Professor, is the world you’re referring to the Shadow Realm?” Evan asked. “Slytherin mentioned it to me before.”

“I do not know its exact name, but it clearly exists. For a long time, there have been many legends in the Wizarding world, and many ghosts have spoken of similar things. They saw a completely new world when they died. In some very ancient documents, you can also find scattered references to that world; only the dead can go there,” Dumbledore said. “I have long harbored suspicions, and while researching the Deathly Hallows, I came across many such accounts. That world does exist, and the power of the Resurrection Stone comes from it. It is connected to that place, which is why it can bring back the dead, even if it is not a true resurrection, but just an incomplete summoning of the deceased’s soul.”

“The Resurrection Stone is connected to the Shadow Realm…” Evan paused for a moment, processing the information he had received from Dumbledore, fitting it together with what he already knew. “Slytherin wanted fifteen-year-old Riddle to continue down the path of death; he wanted Riddle to go to the Shadow Realm! But why? What is there? What special significance does it hold for him? Oh, and Slytherin told me that Herpo was trying to steal power from the Shadow Realm…”

“These are all speculations; after all, no wizard who has ever gone there has ever returned,” Dumbledore said calmly. “We can only speculate based on the fragments of evidence we’ve uncovered. It is very likely that place is a battlefield.”

“A battlefield?” Evan looked at Dumbledore in astonishment; his words were increasingly shocking.

“An ancient battlefield left behind by a war that lasted for thousands of years, a war that likely led to the destruction of the previous magical era. Ancient spellcasters, wizards of the past millennia, and all Muggles went to that world after death, where they continue to fight against the evil gods you’ve encountered, those incredibly powerful monsters. This protracted war is far beyond human imagination, and it is waged in ways utterly unlike anything we know. But one thing is certain: only true heroes can persevere and embark on this new and great journey! For all who have died, it is the highest honor!”

Translating_Wizard

The novel is officially complete!! 🥳🥳 Thank you for being part of this journey—it really means a lot. You can binge the full story now on Patreon (50% off!) + unlock 200+ extra chapters 👀

•