[HP] Can you be gentle with me

Dumbledore was standing by the window of his office, gazing out... The Quidditch pitch in the distance was full of noisy students not long ago, but now because the game is over, there are only a few scattered people left on the field, some Strolling on the turf, and some just sitting in the stands, chatting leisurely──

They are used to this ease.

Perhaps no one remembers—no one remembers the horror atmosphere that the magic world was covered by darkness a few years ago, and no one will think about how many lives were exchanged for the current comfortable life...

The sudden green light from the fireplace caught his attention.

And he had absolutely no memory of anyone trying to enter his office through the Floo network without notice at this time──the hand unconsciously clenched the magic wand hidden in his sleeve... While confused, he was also wary Staring at the fireplace, still throbbing with green flames.

In the next second, a person walked out of it...

Before Dumbledore could speak, the man pulled down the hood of his cloak, revealing a face that had been hidden at first.

And he hadn't seen that face for a long time.

"Long time no see, Albus," the man said.

"It's been a long time indeed." It took Dumbledore a long time to suppress his surprise, and said as calmly as possible. "It's been five years, Tahlia."

"Five years?" Tahlia said flatly. "Time flies pretty fast..." While speaking, he pointed to the armchair in front of him and asked. "Can I sit down?"

"Of course, of course... child—" Dumbledore said, waving for her to sit down.

He didn't speak until Tahlia walked over to the chair and sat down, casually asking a house-elf to bring her some tea. "Can I ask, where have you been all these years?"

"I've been to many places." Tahlia replied after taking a sip of tea slowly. "I think this should save you a lot of time."

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore froze, completely confused about what Tahlia was trying to express.

Tahlia glanced at Dumbledore and spoke. "You once said that Voldmemort's Horcrux is in your hands..."

"I did say—"

"And you haven't taken any action yet, am I right?" Tahlia looked up, looking straight at Dumbledore.

For some reason, facing Tahlia's gaze, Dumbledore actually flinched for the first time──and felt guilty.

Perhaps, even he unconsciously immersed in ease without knowing it.

"But it doesn't matter, I think you don't have to worry about the Horcrux—" Tahlia didn't say anything because of Dumbledore's expression, she just lowered her head, took out her interspatial bag from the robe, and took out A few items were thrown casually on the desk in front of him.

These few things seem to have nothing to do with each other, the only thing they have in common is the obvious charred marks on them...

A dark book, a pendant, a gold cup...and, a ring with a pure black gem on it.

"These are..." Almost in the next second, a certain term flashed into Dumbledore's mind, making his eyes widen.

"Voldemort's Horcrux, yes—" Tahlia said. "It should be said that it used to be his Horcrux." Compared to Dumbledore's astonished expression, she maintained the same expression on her face from just now, making it impossible to see her emotions at all, and she was probably the only one who moved It's just the muscles around the mouth when talking. "There's one more, I'm sure in school, I think that's the last one..."

Dumbledore swallowed unconsciously.He never thought that after Tahlia left, he would find and destroy all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which made him feel like he couldn't help at all...

"You mean, as long as you find the last Horcrux hidden in the school, Voldemort... can be killed directly?" Finally, he forced out a sentence.

The woman in front of her has unknowingly become too capable, and now she is not helping him destroy Voldemort, but he is helping her destroy the enemy──

"No." Tahlia's answer surprised him again.

"what?"

"That's why I'm back, Albus..." Tahlia leaned back in the armchair, closed her eyes, and rubbed her forehead, looking extremely tired. "I wanted to talk to you... about Harry—"

Dumbledore was even more confused, since Tahlia showed up in his office, the topic had always been so throbbing that he couldn't keep up with her thoughts. "About Harry?"

"Remember when I mentioned to you before that the night Voldemort killed James and the others, something definitely happened that we don't know?"

After thinking for a while, Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"And I've kind of guessed what happened," Tahlia continued. "At that time, his soul was already very unstable because it had been split too many times. So, after suffering the rebound of the death curse, his soul was broken again—I don't think this was his original intention—"

"You mean..." Dumbledore was shocked again. "Harry he..."

Tahlia nods. "And the fragment probably attached to the wound on Harry's forehead." Under Dumbledore's still staring in astonishment, he added. "Harry is a Parseltongue, Albus." There was a pause. "And he had nightmares, I was suspicious at first... and then—Harry said he felt like he was seeing him through the eyes of a snake in his dream—" Tahlia recounted, before taking another sip Tea. "what you think?"

Dumbledore didn't answer, lost in thought.

If the Horcrux hadn't been destroyed, Voldemort wouldn't have died.

"Then Harry?" After a long time, he asked hoarsely.

Does that child have to die too?

"I think that now you should send your patron saint to the cellar and find the school's Potions professor." Tahlia didn't answer the question directly, but said something that seemed irrelevant at first glance.

This time, Dumbledore didn't ask any more questions. Tahlia must have had her reasons for saying this, so the silver phoenix jumped out of the window and flew straight to the ground, while the two people in the room were silent for a moment.

And he suddenly discovered something.

He'd never seen Tahlia cast the Patronus Charm.

Just as he was about to ask something, Tahlia spoke out first. "You're probably wondering why we had to get someone who was good at Potions," she continued after Dumbledore paused for a moment before nodding. "Because I couldn't find a spell that could destroy the soul fragments residing in Harry without hurting him." She said flatly. "I think only potions can do that at the moment—" There was a pause. "Who is the Potions Professor now?"

"It's always been the same person—"

"Really..." Tahlia was expressionless. "So he's still here—"

Dumbledore instantly confirmed his previous guess. Tahlia had indeed left because of Snape, and she must have cast an Oblivion Curse on him herself. He hesitated for a while before speaking. "You...and Severus—?"

"That's not what I'm here to discuss today, Albus."

Tahlia's one short word made Dumbledore shut up.

Then there was this awkward silence.

While waiting for Snape to appear, every time Dumbledore tried to start any topic that had nothing to do with Voldemort, Tahlia ended it with a short sentence or two.

Tahlia has changed.

And he couldn't even tell whether the change should be called good or bad.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open unceremoniously, and Snape strode in, looking menacing...

Tahlia turned her head slowly, and spoke slowly. "Just in time, Snape."

Snape stood straight, looking at the black-haired woman who seemed to have matured a lot in front of her, she gave off a more stable look, her hair became longer, and she casually tied it into a ponytail on the back of her head. Although the cloak he was wearing looked shabby, it was clean and would not make people think that she looked embarrassed. He was thinking about what to say to her all the way over, but after he actually saw Tahlia, just now The countless conversations he had imagined disappeared from his mind in an instant.

It is impossible for Tahlia to speak to Voldemort in such a cold and dispensable tone now that Voldemort has disappeared, and it is impossible for Tahlia to glance at him casually and then look away with such unemotional eyes, let alone look away. Calling him by his last name so unfamiliarly... Especially when he asked her to change her name on the grounds that he didn't like being associated with his father.

"Who are you?" He had already uttered the question before he could respond.

To Snape's surprise, Tahlia's expression didn't seem to want to answer the question at all, and she turned her head and spoke to Dumbledore. "Is it up to you to explain, or to me?"

"What?" Snape asked abruptly, still in disbelief at Tahlia's attitude.

"We need you to develop a potion," Tahlia said, without looking back. "Potency must be sufficient to completely destroy a thing, but not harm the human body—"

"There is no such potion in this world." Snape couldn't help interrupting.

"That's why I said I need you to develop it." Tahlia finally turned her head and looked at Snape coldly. "The potion has to be able to get rid of anything that isn't its own."

"May I ask you exactly what you want to destroy? Who can't be hurt?" Snape asked.He was already caught up in the question Tahlia threw at him right away, and he didn't have time to think about what to say to her.

"Destroy Voldemort's soul and make sure Harry doesn't get hurt." Tahlia replied, expressionless.

Snape froze for a moment.

"The...soul of the Dark Lord?" he repeated in a murmur, not quite sure if that was the word he had heard earlier. "What do you mean? What does this have to do with Lily's children?"

Tahlia frowned, obviously very impatient, and then she stood up, ignoring Snape's question, and addressed Dumbledore directly. "I think it would be better for you to explain this matter, Albus──" Before Dumbledore could answer, he turned around and walked to the door. "I'm going to get the crown now, you don't mind?"

"What the hell are you talking about!" Snape growled, this was the second time he was ignored by Tahlia, which made him unconsciously angry. "These things have absolutely nothing to do with—"

Tahlia still didn't answer, just dropped a word lightly. "I don't want him to be like this when I come back, Albus." After saying that, before Snape could react, he slammed the door behind him.

Then Snape realized that he hadn't been able to have a good word with Tahlia just now, not at all.

All the ignored grievances disappeared in an instant, replaced by a deep sense of frustration, he sat down on one of the chairs in a daze, and murmured. "I failed, didn't I?" Looking up, Dmbledore nodded slowly, not surprisingly.

With a low sigh, he buried his face in his palms.

He had no idea how to deal with the strange Tahlia in front of him.

"So, what did she want you to explain to me?" Snape asked after raising his head again after being silent for an unknown amount of time.