"So you can destroy my cup the moment I turn my back? No thank you," Oleandra said lightly. "But if you've any Horcruxes that need destroying, feel free to bring them to me… that is, if you've got any. Do you?"
The Gryffindors did not have any.
"Fine," Harry said, scowling. "Then just read us the rest of Dumbledore's diary, and we'll be on our way."
Oleandra produced The Complete Guide to the Trees of Britain, Ireland, and Northern Europe from her pouch and passed it to Harry, who then returned it to her, unlocking the hidden message Dumbledore had written on the very last page.
[…] when my mother died, I was obliged to put aside my plans to travel the world and remain at home to care for my brother and sister. Having seen the way you've cared for your own sisters these past six years, I realise this may be difficult for you to understand, yet I truly resented my family then, for burdening me so.
Yet everything changed when that boy arrived in Godric's Hollow, the place I had come to see as my gaol. Gellert Grindelwald— as brilliant and ambitious as I— became the one bright spark in an otherwise dreary summer after my graduation. Oh, how his ideas inflamed me. We traded thoughts and schemes, imagined ways we might make the world a better place, for which we would need to subjugate the Muggles— for their own good, of course. And at the heart of our plans, the Deathly Hallows, which we would have used as both a symbol of our might and the source of our invincibility.
As you have no doubt already surmised, our grand plans never came to fruition. A row broke out between Gellert, Aberforth, and myself— a quarrel that swiftly descended into a three-way duel. To this day I do not know whose spell struck her, or how it happened, but by the end of our duel, my sister Ariana lay dead upon the floor. Only then did I realise how completely ambition had blinded me to what truly mattered— but by then it was too late, and what little remained of my family lay in ruins for ever.
Gellert fled overseas to escape the consequences, and I would not see him again until years later, when we fought on opposing sides over the future of the world— a struggle that would culminate in what others would come to call our legendary duel. After a lengthy and gruelling battle, I finally defeated him and seized the Elder Wand he had obtained, becoming its new master.
Oleandra's pupils contracted.
Was Dumbledore suggesting that killing the wand's previous master wasn't necessary to earn its allegiance? He had defeated Grindelwald, but not killed him… if her somewhat patchy recollection of History of Magic was correct, the man had been imprisoned in Nurmengard, the fortress he had built to imprison his adversaries...
So you can imagine my shock, that day during our very first Alchemy lesson together, when I saw your expression upon seeing my wand. The act itself was rather innocuous— drawing my wand to demonstrate to the class a simple Alchemical principle— and I did not think twice about it, but when I did…
Though I cannot read your mind, I believe I know precisely how you felt when you recognised the Elder Wand, for I imagine the expression on your face was the very same look I wore when I first came face to face with Gellert many years after our parting, holding that very wand we had once spent hours discussing.
It was on that very day that I realised you were not a second Voldemort in the making, but something far more dangerous. You were another Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, standing at the brink of becoming either the most formidable Dark Witch the world had ever known, or the greatest Witch in the history of the British Wizarding World.
I do not know how you came to recognise the Elder Wand, but I must implore you not to repeat my mistakes. There are many things in life worth the sacrifice of all else— but the Hallows are not amongst them. I have seen you grow distant from your twin sister these past few months, but I daresay now is the time she needs you most.
Alas, I was too troubled to approach you at the time, and too busy with other important matters; by the time I had got my feelings in order and decided to share with you the truth of your sister's condition, you had already vanished…
"So?" Ron asked eagerly. "What does Dumbledore say?"
There was still more to read, but Ron was beginning to get restless watching Oleandra read quietly.
"I…" Oleandra said, troubled. "He's mostly talking about when he was about our age."
"But why would Dumbledore make this message so difficult to read if he just wanted to tell you about his youth?" Hermione said inquisitively. "Are there really no instructions for us in there? Maybe it's in code… do you have some parchment and a quill? Maybe if you transcribed the letter for us…"
"I'd rather not share," Oleandra said numbly. "It's… rather personal."
After all, Dumbledore's earlier message had made it clear that this part was for her eyes only— and quite literally so. Only someone with Mystic Eyes could read it. Oleandra wasn't sure when or how Dumbledore had deduced she had the ability to see the unseen, but it hardly mattered now; he was gone.
Oleandra continued reading the message.
But I digress.
If you are reading this hidden message, you have returned from the distant past, and I am no more. I have enchanted the final page of this notebook to unveil its secrets only when it passes from Harry Potter to Oleandra Greengrass, ensuring that this final message does not fall into the wrong hands… Harry's included.
The first thing you ought to know concerns Severus Snape. He has been— and remains— a double agent whose ultimate loyalty lies with me. Do try not to kill him if possible; he will do his best to assist you from the shadows.
The second matter you should be made aware of concerns your twin sister Daphne and Lord Voldemort. I have entrusted Harry with the task of undoing his immortality, but I have also enlisted a collaborator he does not know of, whose name I shall not reveal within this letter. Only Severus knows their identity; they have aided me in the recovery of the Horcruxes; though, unlike Severus, they cannot be wholly trusted.
If Harry should find himself uncertain how to proceed, seek out Severus through the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black. I have little doubt that Voldemort will make him Headmaster once I am gone, and so he should have access to it.