"I admire your courage, Mr. Hart." Diana Greengrass frowned.
"But arrogance is hardly a virtue... This dreadful Curse has tormented the Greengrass family for centuries. Every member of our house has exhausted every effort to resolve it. I hardly believe a child not yet sixteen could devise a suitable solution."
"Perhaps you should hear me out, Madam." Jon smiled. "Though it might sound boastful, I'm no ordinary sixteen-year-old..."
Mrs. Greengrass's brown eyes studied Jon intently. After a moment of thought, she spoke slowly, "Indeed, you are not ordinary."
"Thank you for the compliment, and thank you for telling me all this... Though I haven't heard any good news from what you've shared." Jon said calmly. "But I really have thought of a way. It's dangerous, but at least it's a solution!"
As he spoke, Jon opened his briefcase. After rummaging for a long moment, he finally pulled out a book.
Mrs. Greengrass watched him expressionlessly. She might have felt some curiosity, perhaps even a touch of hope, but she forced all such emotions down.
Fawkes poked his head out from beneath his wings in annoyance, glaring at Jon as if accusing him of interrupting her rest... but when he ignored her, she shrank back into her wings again.
The book in Jon's hands had pages browned with age. Its cover was pure black, radiating a faint, eerie aura.
At last, he found the page he was looking for and spread it open on his lap.
"The Blood Curse targets a witch's soul, correct?" he asked softly.
"You seem quite knowledgeable about it?" Mrs. Greengrass asked.
"Because after learning Astoria was cursed, I researched every scrap of information about the Blood Curse I could find." Jon answered calmly. "I hope you'll answer accurately."
"Yes." Mrs. Greengrass nodded. "The Blood Curse acts upon a witch's soul. While they are still in the womb, the soul of the curse nourishes alongside theirs, growing together until it consumes their soul."
"Hmm, almost identical to Professor Moody's explanation," Jon said. "Suppose I split Astoria's soul, sealed the cursed portion into a vessel, then destroyed the vessel. Would that resolve the Curse?"
"Split a soul..." Mrs. Greengrass froze, then quickly shook her head. "No spell can split a soul. The Fifth Law of Gamp's Transfiguration Rules clearly states that a soul cannot be altered."
"Ordinary magic can't achieve that... but there is one rare dark magic that can." Jon said solemnly. "After all, the best way to counter dark magic is often with dark magic."
He handed her the open page of Secrets of the Darkest Art.
...
"Horcrux..." Mrs. Greengrass's voice trembled. "I've never heard of such a thing..."
It truly was rare—otherwise, the great Dark Lord would not have adopted it... Jon thought silently.
Diana Greengrass put on her gold-rimmed spectacles, bowed her head, and read the entire chapter with deep concentration.
Jon sat patiently beside her, quietly thinking.
"This is extremely wicked dark magic..." Mrs. Greengrass said as she lifted her head.
"For ordinary people, yes. Splitting the soul makes it dangerously unstable. But for a Bloodcurse carrier, separating the cursed soul from the normal one might actually be beneficial." Jon replied gravely.
"Are you certain?"
"No. It's a guess..." Jon admitted. "But my guesses tend to be accurate."
He did not mention one thing: this copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art had been a gift from Dumbledore long ago. Jon strongly suspected Dumbledore had already thought of this method and had been hinting at it through the book.
"Creating a Horcrux requires deliberate murder..."
"Conveniently, quite a few despicable Death Eaters are still on the loose.... If we kill one of them, I doubt the Ministry would trouble us." Jon said calmly.
"Do you know the specific steps for creating a Horcrux? The description here is very brief."
"Honestly, no. But I currently possess four Horcruxes—though their souls and functions have been destroyed... Still, from the residual magical traces, I can infer a little." Jon answered.
"How can you ensure the cursed soul and Astoria's soul are completely separated?"
"I can't. Which is why I said it isn't a wise method." Jon sighed. "It's dangerous, foolish... but it's at least a method."
"How confident are you?" Mrs. Greengrass asked—the most important question.
"Before today, I'd have said around thirty percent..." Jon gave a bitter smile. "But after hearing everything you've told me, that's probably dropped to twenty percent. Maybe lower..."
"If it were an ordinary curse-tainted soul, sealing it into a vessel wouldn't be too difficult. But a powerful bloodbound soul nourished for centuries? Honestly, it may be far more difficult than imagined."
"But I have no choice. I can't think of another way."
"Mr. Hart, you truly are even more exceptional than I expected..." Mrs. Greengrass said with a faint, sad smile. "Astoria is fortunate to have met you..."
"You agree to my proposal?" Jon asked.
"I have no choice, do I?" Diana Greengrass nodded. "But I must warn you: if Astoria shows any sign of transforming under the curse... you must kill her, before she harms you."
"I understand..." Jon nodded bitterly.