Voldemort had created more Horcruxes than just those.
Draco's conclusion left Pansy and the others momentarily speechless.
After all, they were not completely ignorant when it came to Horcruxes.
And while they were shocked by Voldemort's madness, they also began to feel a faint unease about the future of the wizarding world.
If things were really as Draco had analyzed, then wouldn't that mean...
"So until every Horcrux is destroyed, even if that person fails... he can still keep coming back to life?" Hermione voiced her thoughts, her eyes wavering.
"Though it does require paying a certain price, from a theoretical standpoint, yes."
"..."
Draco's calm tone, and the fact that he did not seem worried in the slightest, left Hermione speechless. She tapped the empty plate in front of her, clearly not treating this as a small matter.
Clink, clink.
The silver fork in her hand rang crisply against the plate.
After calming herself a little, Hermione carefully glanced at the classmates gradually filing into the Great Hall.
"Then shouldn't we first figure out which professors taught at Hogwarts during those seven years?"
She paused, then continued,
"And that person must have been very close to whichever professor it was. Otherwise, there's no way that professor would have shared something this forbidden."
"That's true. With the Dark Lord's talent for manipulating people, maybe he really did make use of some professor that way. But Granger, have you considered another possibility? Isn't it also possible the Dark Lord used some method that made..."
"You mean methods like Veritaserum or the Imperius Curse, the kind that can control or force people?"
"Since you already know..."
Interrupting Pansy once again, Hermione flatly rejected her suggestion.
"That's impossible. We're talking about the method for creating a Horcrux. The Dark Lord was certainly insane, but he wasn't some fool who never thought things through."
"..."
Well.
Even Pansy felt her own argument was not all that convincing.
Magic involving the soul was already dangerous enough. If you added methods like Veritaserum or the Imperius Curse, which only introduced even more uncertainty, that would practically be suicidal.
Not to mention that controlling a Hogwarts professor was hardly as simple as saying the words...
...
With the influence behind Draco, investigating every person a Hogwarts student had come into contact with over seven years at school might still be somewhat difficult.
But if they only wanted to find out which professors had been teaching at Hogwarts during that period, then that was actually easy enough.
After all, it was not some secret worth hiding.
If anything, to reassure parents and make them willing to send their children to Hogwarts, the school needed not only a good reputation, but also excellent professors with formidable magical ability to earn the trust of the wizarding world.
Letting those professors stand in the light was Hogwarts' best possible advertisement...
The Hogwarts Library.
Hermione was flipping through a massive tome on the table, so thick and heavy it was nearly the height of a house-elf, while explaining what she had found.
"I'm not sure which professor was especially close to the Dark Lord back then, but every wizard who taught at Hogwarts during those years is recorded here."
Pansy's expression turned rather strange as she watched Hermione pat the pages of the book.
Compared with the list of professors, Pansy was far more shocked by the huge, heavy volume in front of Hermione.
"The Hogwarts Chronicle... who would even be interested in a book like that?! A lunatic?"
In truth, Hermione not only knew that this book existed in the library, she also seemed to have read what was recorded in it before.
Otherwise, she would not have brought Draco and the others here right away, nor would she have been able to flip to the relevant section and find the key information so quickly.
She really did live up to her reputation as a know-it-all.
Even this kind of obscure knowledge was within her grasp.
As for Pansy's exaggerated remark, Hermione ignored it completely. Or rather, she was already so used to that kind of reaction that it no longer surprised her...
After casting Pansy a brief sidelong glance, Hermione continued.
"It's worth noting that Dumbledore was also teaching at Hogwarts at the time. It seems he wasn't Headmaster yet."
"Oh, so what subject was Dumbledore teaching back then? Charms?"
"That is not our focus today."
After glaring at Pansy for wandering off topic, Hermione fixed Draco with a serious look.
"Based on what you said earlier, Draco, if Dumbledore was already on guard against the Dark Lord while he was still a student..."
At that, Hermione hesitated and looked toward Draco.
"Under that assumption, I really don't think the Dark Lord would have had a chance to complete a Horcrux, unless he had already planned to make one very early on."
Hearing that, Draco took the heavy book Hermione handed him and lightly ran his fingertip over one of the names on the page.
"There's nothing wrong with the direction of your reasoning or your doubts. In fact, Dumbledore thought the same thing at the time. But you seem to have forgotten something very important."
"Something... important?"
"What if there was a hidden place, somewhere no one could find, where our classmate Tom could quietly research Horcruxes?"
"Huh? Where in Hogwarts would there be a place like that? Even the Room of Requirement wouldn't be impossible to..."
Halfway through, Hermione suddenly remembered something, and her mouth fell slightly open.
That unexpectedly adorable expression made Draco chuckle.
"Remember now... the Chamber of Secrets, said to be openable only by Slytherin's heir?"
A one-in-a-million genius.
And a madman daring enough to try and put it into practice.
The deeper they investigated and the more they learned, the more clearly Voldemort's talent and brilliance came into view.
Genius and madman.
Perhaps it was precisely because he possessed both that Voldemort became the Dark Lord who could stir the entire wizarding world into chaos.