Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

Either the entire castle itself is a product of ancient magic, or Hogwarts has a huge source of magic.

or--

Both?

Cyrus didn't know, but he knew that the secret of ancient magic was right before his eyes, and this time, no one would suddenly appear to interrupt him.

"The guardians went to great lengths to set up so many trials; surely it wasn't just to protect a memory that has no value whatsoever."

Cyrus picked up the delicate little bottle that was floating above the Pensieve and poured a wisp of silvery, mercury-like liquid into it. The water in the Pensieve immediately swirled.

"Let me see your secret."

Chapter 134 Voldemort in Action

"Show me your secret!"

In the shadows of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, a young wizard cruelly extends his wand and forcefully opens the brain of a goblin.

Not long ago, Voldemort arrived at Knockturn Alley first.

This is where the highest concentration of dark wizards in the entire British wizarding world resides. Separated from the famous Diagon Alley by only a wall, they are as distinctly different as midday and night. Diagon Alley is bustling, but Knockturn Alley is filthy and reeks of foul odors.

The wizards who mingle here are not even worthy of being called black wizards. They are more like a flock of carrion vultures, fighting and tearing each other apart among the rotting corpses than wizards.

However, this only refers to those who are homeless. On the contrary, some wizards who can occupy a place in Knockturn Alley are quite extraordinary.

The most famous one is Borgin Burke, the owner of Borgin Burke's Shop. His real name is Karaktakus Burke, and he is one of the Twenty-Eight Purebloods. He appears to be slovenly and unkempt, but even if Malfoy comes, he has to respectfully call him "Sir".

Even when the Ministry of Magic was cracking down on dark magic items, he could still accept prohibited magical items sold by Malfoy without any scruples.

Not to mention, even Tom Riddle was his apprentice.

Of course, Riddle's motives were not pure; he was actually selecting some valuable items worthy of being made into Horcruxes.

However, Voldemort's destination this time wasn't Borginbury's magic shop. He needed some dragon blood, preferably unicorn blood, so that this poor body could live a little longer.

There are many potion shops similar to Knockturn Alley, but the most famous is Travers' Potions Shop. The Travers family, also one of the Twenty-Eight Purebloods, is perhaps the only family capable of standing as firmly as a rock in a turbulent river.

The owner of the potions shop was an elderly, hunched witch with layers of age spots on her face, and drooping eyelids that made her pupils almost invisible.

Just standing there, she seemed to exude the aura of death.

In fact, this was exactly what Voldemort remembered Travers to look like about fifty years ago.

He didn't find it strange at all; in the magical world, there were many people who had the ability to extend their lifespan. While it was rare to see someone like Nicolas Flamel who had lived for six hundred years, wizards around two hundred years old were still occasionally seen.

Otherwise, Snape wouldn't have boasted in class that potions could make people refuse to die.

Voldemort himself looked down on these methods of "immortality," seeing aging as just another form of death. He wanted not only eternal life, but also eternal power!

"What would you like?" the elderly Mrs. Travers asked unhurriedly as she saw a customer enter her shop.

Her movements were slow and unsteady, as if she were about to fall apart at any moment: "Polyhydral potions? Felix Felicis? And some other forbidden potions can also be bought, but the price—"

“I want an ounce of dragon’s blood,” Voldemort said hoarsely.

"Dragon blood?" Mrs. Travers' eyelids seemed to lift slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on her wrinkled face. She hadn't expected someone to come all the way to a place like this just to buy a little bit of raw material.

She gave Voldemort a strange look, and after a moment said, "You look somewhat familiar. What's your last name, child?"

“Wols,” Riddle said casually.

“Wols?” Travers pondered for a moment, seemingly unable to dig out any person or thing related to the name from her memory, and finally gave up.

Whatever the name represents, it doesn't matter since we're customers.

"Only dragon blood?"

"If possible, unicorn blood would be best," Voldemort said slowly.

Lady Frost seemed even more surprised than before; she lifted her eyelids and revealed a pair of cloudy eyes.

"Unicorn blood? Sir, don't tell me you're planning to drink that stuff?"

"Judging from your tone, it seems so?" Voldemort's eyes lit up.

“There weren’t any originally, but you’re lucky. Not long ago, a young smuggled unicorn fell into my hands. A beautiful creature, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be saved. I drained its blood and tore off all its fur.” Mrs. Travers laughed eerily.

"Give it to me!" Voldemort shouted urgently.

Ms. Travers slowly took out a large bottle of silvery blood.

"Look how beautiful it is. But the blood of a unicorn that died with hatred is cursed; it will turn a person into a half-dead creature. I was originally planning to use it to make some poison, but... if you'd like, it'll cost you two hundred and fifty-eight Galleons."

Ms. Travers didn't care what Voldemort planned to do with the unicorn's blood; she was only giving him a heads-up because he looked familiar.

As for Voldemort, he didn't care at all, since Galon wasn't his, and he wasn't the one who was cursed.

Of course, he wouldn't drink it right away. Drinking unicorn blood is painful, and he wouldn't show his vulnerable side to a stranger.

Voldemort didn't even trust his own men.

Having acquired the blood he needed, Voldemort was about to find a secluded spot to drink it. But as soon as he left Knockturn Alley, he sensed something was wrong—the goblins seemed unusually tense.

The changes were evident from Gringotts' exterior; the guards had been significantly strengthened. Although Gringotts' defenses had been improved considerably after the attack two years ago, Voldemort had never seen such a formidable presence, seemingly unwilling to allow wizards to enter.

This is probably the first time in hundreds of years that Gringotts has been closed to the public. Several wizards who intended to go to Gringotts to conduct business were turned away, and even a few goblins secretly left and quietly turned into a secluded corner.

He immediately realized that something significant had happened inside Gringotts. Recalling the conflict that had occurred in the Scottish Highlands not long ago, Voldemort figured out what it was without much effort.

Ancient magic.

It seems the person he's been searching for is right in front of him.

His vertical pupils were filled with desire and bloodthirsty killing intent, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey, not only ready to deliver a fatal blow but also to swallow its opponent whole!

Chapter 135 The Guardian of Ancient Magic

In my memory, it is still this exquisite and gorgeous house, only now it is covered with a layer of gray gauze.

Two more anciently dressed wizards were constantly changing spells, filling the details of the house with intricate spires that seemed to rise like spirals, making them appear like gods.

The two wizards were of different heights and builds, one fat and one thin, the other short and stout. The fat one was Lukwood's ancestor, and the other's name was Percival Rackham. Cyrus had never heard of this surname before, but Percival was the same middle name as Dumbledore.

Moreover, this name also belongs to King Arthur's second Knight of the Round Table.

In his memory, Lukewood expressed concern about the complex and challenging obstacles Percival had set up, but his hands did not stop moving as he cast a series of hidden spells.

"You're worried no one will be able to get through? There's no need to worry. This was originally prepared for those who, like us, can see ancient magic," Percival said softly as he stored his memories in the bottle.

As Cyrus listened to their conversation, he watched them cast spells, which appeared to him to be predictable.

He just hasn't figured out where the advantage of ancient magic lies yet. It seems that ordinary transformation spells can achieve the same effect as transformation spells.

Just as he was wondering, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"The key lies in greater strength and longer survival."

Cyrus quickly turned around, only to see the two wizards from his memory suddenly come to life and speak to him.

"And it also needs to be more mysterious."

The two wizards were no longer just memories; they seemed more like the states Cyrus had described in his diary. This immediately put Cyrus on alert.

Who knows what kind of world this is? Perhaps these guardians are wicked villains who do all sorts of evil.

“Don’t worry, we are just a thought,” Bosivar seemed to see Cyrus’s concern and immediately answered, “like a portrait.”

“I’ve never heard of memories in the Pensieve possessing a certain level of cognitive ability, just like images.” Cyrus, of course, wouldn’t let his guard down based on a single sentence.

Now he even regrets using the Pensieve. If he had used his ability to view memories directly, he would have had more room to maneuver.

'I was still a bit careless.'

Fortunately, Bosiva and Lukewood didn't do anything out of line, but continued to explain.

“Ancient magic possesses immense power, enabling us to do things that ordinary wizards cannot,” Percival said.

In fact, he could even be described as very humble.

Wizards with ancient magical talents view ordinary wizards no differently than they would Muggles. Ordinary wizards can't even see ancient magic, let alone decipher it.

The differences are significant.

It's like how a Muggle can build an exquisite castle on the beach, but for a wizard, it only takes a simple wave of their wand.

In other words, ancient magic can do everything that ordinary magic can do, and it can also do things that ordinary magic cannot do!

"Don't tell me you went to all that trouble to leave behind so many trials just to preserve a memory?" Cyrus asked.

In fact, according to the plot of "The Legacy", Vault 12 contained almost nothing but a bunch of trials, and the memories they left behind only proved the existence of ancient magic.

“Of course, that’s not all.” Lukewood shook his head and said, “Ancient magic is extremely dangerous, which is why we need to keep it safe. We need to confirm whether, in addition to your abilities, your heart can become a guardian.”

When the topic of qualifications came up, both Bosiva and Lukewood revealed an indescribable emotion, as if they had made a mistake because of it.

Cyrus wasn't too worried about this. As for his character, while he wasn't exactly a saint, at least he wouldn't be gossiping about 500 juicy gossips every day.

“Moreover, such protection is clearly necessary,” Bosiva said. “Because more than a hundred years ago, a goblin attempted to plunder the power of ancient magic. He even reached this secret vault, but ultimately returned empty-handed.”

"Lanlock? Where did he go?"

"I don't know. Perhaps they died from the giant sword guarding the statue. Our consciousness only exists within the Pensieve, so we're not so clear about anything else," Bosival said uncertainly.