The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

Chapter 329 Night
As soon as he returned to the office, the ginger cat jumped over and meowed around him. Anthony sat on the chair and took the ring out of his pocket. The three pets immediately gathered around and looked at the black stone that was said to be the resurrection stone with curiosity.

Anthony knew he should write to Lynd right away and ask him to tell him all the stories about the ring, instead of sitting here staring at the cracks in the stone, but he couldn't help thinking about his conversation with Dumbledore.

The legend of the Resurrection Stone that points to death, the people who pursue it, the look on Dumbledore's face when he stares at the ring... Why did he refuse to help keep the ring? Why did the Flamels send the Resurrection Stone to Anthony instead of Dumbledore, especially considering that they even trusted Dumbledore to give the Philosopher's Stone to him? If Nicolas Flamel was unwilling to even mention the name of the Resurrection Stone in his letters, wouldn't it be better for him not to tell Lind what it was when he wrote to him? What exactly could that hint that Dumbledore was unwilling to talk about - the secret related to the soul - be?
The wicked chicken stretched its head to grab the ring, trying to snatch it away. The next moment, the cat pounced and rolled into a ball with the chicken. The ring fell on the table with a clang, and the wicked mouse took the opportunity to rush over and sniff it.

Anthony picked up the ring. The giddy joy that had made him feel came back. He dropped it into the drawer, pushing it into the back with Barrow's notes.

The dragon model staggered out. Anthony lowered his head and said to it, "You have a treasure, dragon - and I am sure it is a dark magic item. Now you can start building your castle."

He picked up the cat that was trying to climb into the drawer and closed it. The cat waved its claws in dissatisfaction, and the moment Anthony threw it to the ground, it turned around and scratched his ankles mercilessly.

"Go away," Anthony urged, "and find yourself something to do."

The cat jumped onto the table, picked up the evil mouse, broke Anthony's teacup, knocked over the ink bottle, pushed a pile of books to the ground, and then left obediently.

……

That night, Anthony dreamed that he returned home.

He lay in his own bed, listening to the sound of the pans colliding with the stove. Birds chirped outside the window, and he opened the curtains and found an owl outside. He turned around and opened the door, wanting to tell his grandparents about magic, but he couldn't find anyone. The owl flew away, and the clanging sound in the kitchen stopped, and the whole house was very quiet.

He walked out of the house and found a silent river outside the door, with broken, black stones piled up on the riverside. He saw his grandfather fishing by the river and his grandmother standing by the side, so he ran a few steps quickly. His grandfather saw him from a distance and gestured to him not to scare the fish, so Anthony slowed down his pace again, walked over quietly, and stood shoulder to shoulder with his grandmother behind his grandfather.

"Ha, this is a big fish!" his grandfather whispered, holding the bent fishing rod, his face flushed and staring at the river intently.

Grandma said, "Or a big boot."

Grandfather hissed at her a few times in dissatisfaction. Anthony sat on the ground and stared at the swaying buoy with them. The sun was shining brightly, and the river was sparkling. The dazzling sunlight was dancing, almost blinding people. Anthony closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found Dumbledore sitting beside him, staring at the river.

"The Resurrection Stone," Dumbledore said. Anthony saw that Dumbledore was sinking gradually, the black stones of the riverbank flowing over Dumbledore's legs like quicksand - like a swamp - like a tide.

He jumped up and tried to pull Dumbledore out. Dumbledore said, "I like your boots, Henry."

Anthony looked down and saw two fish tied to his feet.

He woke up. The room was dark, and the cat was standing beside the pillow, looking down at him. Anthony reached out his hand, and the cat turned away. He felt an itch on the side of his neck, and scratched it, only to find that the evil ghost mouse was curled up there sleeping.

Anthony turned over and closed his eyes. It was very quiet. He wished he could sleep a little longer.

Dumbledore's blue eyes suddenly flashed before his eyes. He seemed to hear Dumbledore say, "No matter what, even if it's just like in the story, seeing the relatives and friends who have passed away again... and saying a few words to them..."

Anthony rolled over again.

Snape's voice was full of malice and inquiry: "I'm really curious...why did you never think of resurrecting him after you became a necromancer?"

Anthony sat up, sighed, and reached for his wand from the bedside table. The chickens sleeping there made a low, half-asleep clucking sound.

"It's all right," Anthony said.

He stood up, put his wand in his pocket, put on a light coat, put on his shoes, and prepared to feed the giant squid.

……

Although the weather was getting warmer, the Black Lake was still cool at night. The path along the lake was wet with water vapor, and the long grass blades kept brushing against Anthony's legs. A few insects chirped tremblingly in the distance, and fell silent as he approached, leaving only the sound of waves gently hitting the shore.

Anthony broke the bread into pieces and threw them away bit by bit.

Curfew had long passed, and it was still a long way from dawn. There was no moon in sight, only a few stars occasionally leaking out from between the clouds. The lake was dark, with only the crests of the waves reflecting the light. After the bread was thrown into the water, it floated up and down on the water and soon disappeared.

It had to be a Dark Artifact, Anthony thought. He couldn't see how it couldn't be otherwise.

Compared to Inferi or Skeletons, calling back some souls would undoubtedly go further in disturbing the dead; and even if it was not a soul that was called back, but just a reflection or fantasy, which could only bring pain and unwillingness to the living, and ultimately - as the legend said - tempt them towards death, it would be just as evil.

With a splash, the giant squid's tentacles reached the surface of the lake and swept away the bread. Anthony smiled and squatted down.

“Not because death is evil,” he told the giant squid, “but because death—you know, neutral death—never needs to deliberately seduce anyone.”

He would not try to resurrect his relatives, because he knew they would not be happy with him doing so. He would not easily try to kill himself, because he quite liked the life he had left.

Although it is unknown why he failed to die successfully, perhaps - as Dumbledore and the Flamels said when talking about what would happen if the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed - "death is but a great adventure", and the experiences of life will probably become the supplies in the bag. In any case, according to the "Lockhart and the Dark Creatures Series", it is never a bad thing to be well prepared before embarking on a journey.

Without waiting for the bread, the giant squid lazily raised its tentacles and tentatively groped the shore a few times.

Anthony reached out and touched the slippery, shimmering end of the bread. The giant squid withdrew its tentacles suddenly, but when Anthony threw another piece down, it floated up again and quickly swept up the bread piece that was swaying with the waves.

Anthony picked out a raisin and stuffed it into his mouth, then threw the rest of the bread to the giant squid.

"Goodbye," he said, standing up.

The giant squid still stretched out its tentacles, waiting for more bread. If he learned the merman language, maybe the giant squid would be able to understand what he was saying more easily. But Anthony didn't think he would enjoy being in the lake. Standing on the shore was nice, but even if he was unlikely to die a second time, he would rather avoid the feeling of being engulfed by too much water.

He walked slowly towards the castle, thinking about insignificant things. The sky was still dark, and the castle's spires and attics were almost invisible. Only a few windows were lit. Suddenly, he heard a hoarse cat cry. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Norris poking her head out from the bushes beside her, looking around with her eyes like bulging light bulbs. Anthony smiled at it.

Mrs. Norris looked up at him and continued to howl loudly.

"Hey, what's up, Mrs. Norris?" Anthony bent down in confusion and stretched out his hand. "It's me."

Mrs. Norris arched her back, hissed at him, and then, with her tail hanging down, she dashed past his legs and ran straight to a tree behind Anthony, where she howled unpleasantly. As Anthony watched, a figure walked out. Mrs. Norris continued to make triumphant, shrill cries.

"Well," Anthony said, "good evening, Miss Davis."

Tracy said calmly, "Good evening, Professor Anthony."

At this moment, Filch came running over panting with a lantern in his hand. Mrs. Norris immediately ran to meet him with her tail held high.

"Oh, dear, you are so capable." Filch shone the lantern on their faces. "Good evening, Professor Anthony... Let's see what we have caught... Oh, a student who sneaked out of the castle in the middle of the night. What do you want to do? The Black Lake? The Forbidden Forest? Hogsmeade?"

"I just couldn't sleep."

"Can't sleep!" Filch said with spit flying, "Can't sleep! Miss, this won't work with me! Ms. Umbridge is right, students should abide by the rules. Curfew means curfew." He squinted his eyes and looked at Tracy again. "Slytherin, huh? Come with me. Professor Snape will deal with you. Believe me, you are in trouble."

……

"Good evening, Filch," Snape said coldly, standing in the doorway of his office.

Filch said cheerfully, "I hate to bother you so late at night, Professor Snape, but..." He stepped back a little, revealing Tracy, "I caught a student wandering around at night. He's not sleeping at all and wandering around late at night. He must be planning to do something bad..."

Snape glanced at Tracy, then turned his gaze to Anthony's face: "Good evening, Professor Anthony."

"Good evening," said Anthony.

Why did you become a necromancer...

Anthony shook his head to get rid of Snape's voice. Snape raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not make any comment. He turned to Filch and said, "Where did you find Miss Davis, Filch?"

"Outside the castle, outside the gates," said Filch. "Mrs. Norris found her, or she would have thought she could slip into the forest unnoticed... These students, Professor Snape, don't take the rules seriously at all."

"Cleaning the Potions classroom next Wednesday, Miss Davis," said Snape. "Well, good night, Filch. I have some potions to brew, if you don't mind."

Filch said: "But, Professor Snape, she's wandering around outside the castle..."

"Yes, that's why there is detention." Snape said politely, "Good night, Professor Anthony."

Bang, the door closed in front of the three people.

"I guess he's really busy," Anthony said.

Filch stared at the door in front of him unwillingly, then turned sharply to Tracy.

"If Madam Umbridge knew, she would not be happy. She might even expel you from her Inquisitorial Unit," he whispered viciously. "She would not like this news. Someone from the Inquisitorial Unit being -" he glanced at Anthony, "caught wandering at night - I know she would not do that."

"That's right," said Tracy. "Can I go back to my dormitory now, Mr. Filch?"

Filch looked at her, and finally said nothing, nodding rudely. Tracy turned around and walked to the other end of the cellar. Anthony thought about it and decided to walk her to the door of the common room.

What he didn't expect was that Tracy was standing at the corner. She smiled helplessly the moment he came over: "I expected it, Professor Anthony."

"Professor's duty," Anthony said. "Why are you there tonight, Miss Davis?"

"I can't sleep," Tracy repeated.

"Well... I guess I've said it many times, but Madam Pomfrey is very helpful and a professional," Anthony said. "Not that I encourage it, but - is there anything missing for your potion?"

Tracy stopped walking suddenly and looked at him in surprise. Anthony then remembered that although he would go to the abandoned bathroom every time he made night patrol, he had never taken the initiative to talk to Tracy about this topic. However, on the other hand, he had been there so many times and had never bothered to cover his whereabouts. He thought Tracy had already known that it was not a secret base.

Anthony said seriously, "Honestly, I suggest you steal Professor Snape's materials rather than go to the Forbidden Forest - I'll state again that I'm not encouraging this behavior." But compared to Hagrid's pets living in the Forbidden Forest, Snape is 200% a safer choice. At least he is not a XXXXX-level creature - not yet.

Tracy breathed a sigh of relief and seemed to relax again.

"No, I'm not lacking any potion ingredients," she said. "I'm lacking a cauldron."

"what?"

"One day, my cauldron went missing. Later I heard that Potter was knocked unconscious by the cauldron. Now I can only use the public second-hand cauldrons in the Potions classroom, and Professor Snape will count them."

Anthony restrained himself from suggesting that she steal one while cleaning the classroom next Wednesday.

"Go find Madam Pomfrey, Miss Davis," he said.

(End of this chapter)