Voldemort's eyelids closed, and his nostrils flared. "Goyle remains alive?"

"For now." His leer sharpened, his features grotesque and inhuman. "One might say he's— sleeping. He offered little resistance when I overtook him."

Voldemort curled and uncurled his long fingers. "And before that? What do you remember?"

"It's unclear," Goyle said, his eyes glazed in memory. "I remember something like being sealed away — buried alive. It took years to become aware of myself again. The more I felt you, the more I pushed to claw my way out. But then, just weeks ago, I was abruptly cast out."

Red eyes flew open, narrowed into slits. "Where?"

Goyle's eyelids fluttered. "It was dawn in a forest. I saw a dead boy before I vanished amongst the trees."

The room was silent, apart from the pounding of Hermione's heart.

"And before then." Voldemort's voice was a whisper, almost a caress. "What is the last thing you remember before you were sealed away?"

"The death of the girl. And the baby's cry."

Hermione let out a strangled gasp. Draco jerked his head to look at her, but she was staring at Goyle in horror, her air coming quickly.

It couldn't be...

"Lucius," said Voldemort, hissing around the name. "You claim to know what Goyle is?"

He turned his gaze on Lucius, and Hermione watched him take a deep breath.

"I believe the word is… 'Horcrux,' my Lord."

Voldemort prowled a wide circle around the room. "And how did you come to know this word?"

"I found a book in my library…" He cast his eyes down. "I should not have looked into it without your permission, my Lord. Forgive me."

"Destroy that book."

Lucius nodded, his eyes still downcast.

"You're wrong, Lucius," said Voldemort, a twisted melody in his tone.

Lucius's eye twitched, but he gave away nothing.

"You see, our friend here — Goyle"—Voldemort's voice was dripping in amusement—"is not a Horcrux at all."

Lucius glanced up. "My Lord?"

"No." Voldemort halted a step away from Goyle, looking him up and down. "But he came from one."

Goyle swiveled his neck to meet him, like a hinged puppet.

Voldemort spun away and resumed his pacing. "You are aware that I have created several Horcruxes. But it seems that one was… unintentional."

He swept within a breath of them, and it took everything in Hermione not to shrink away. Her legs felt like jelly as her mind clicked, details locking into place.

Draco tugged her closer, shifting a shoulder behind her.

"Years ago, this unintended Horcrux attached itself to my enemy, marking him as my equal." His lips twisted, as if he now found the prophecy amusing. "My soul grew stronger in his body as my powers grew. And I presume he learned the truth. When he surrendered himself in the Forbidden Forest, he must have believed the Horcrux would be destroyed when I killed him. Instead, it was released." Voldemort turned his gaze on Goyle. "Until it found a new host."