The Return to Hogwarts

"It originated from the story of the three brothers in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. But Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are much older than Beedle, right? Holy Relic!"

Sirius suddenly cried out in surprise.

"The legend of the three brothers... Could the Grim Reaper in it be referring to Herpo?!"

“Stories and the truth are often very different, but at present, the sacred artifact is inseparable from Helpo, and the sacred artifact may actually exist.”

Amosta's eyes gleamed as he spoke thoughtfully.

A few more minutes passed, and Ravenclaw seemed to have memorized everything on the stack of parchment. She looked up, surveying the surrounding bookshelves, a hint of regret in her eyes. If given enough time, she could have memorized all the books and manuscripts in the library, but unfortunately, she clearly didn't have the time to stay here and copy these magical books.

“Let’s go, Godric, let’s go check out the room behind the library, that’s the last stone chamber.”

Chapter 438 Door

2023-08-24

The legend of the Deathly Hallows is not exactly a public, widely circulated story, but it is certainly not a secret either.

Amostella had heard of *The Tales of Beedle the Bard*, the famous children's book in the wizarding world, when he was studying at Hogwarts. He wasn't particularly interested in the stories; he simply wanted to deepen his understanding of the magical world. The legend of the three brothers, however, failed to resonate with him on his first reading of the book.

There are too many similar stories.

Years later, while carrying out a commission in Germany, he unexpectedly discovered that this story was very popular in that region. The Elder Wand, with its immense magical power; the Cloak of Invisibility, which can evade the gaze of the gods; and the Resurrection Stone, which can bring the dead back to life—to this day, many people there are still trying to find these three 'artifacts'.

It may not be without cause.

Amosta had always known this. But after learning the origins of the rumors about the Deathly Hallows and that they were very likely real, Amosta chose not to join the fray.

The reason is that the pursuit of these powerful alchemical tools is different from the magical path he believes in. To him, all the Deathly Hallows combined are not as valuable as a magic book that can deeply analyze the configuration and evolution of spells.

But this thing actually appeared during the time when Helbo was active, and it even appeared in the memories that Ravenclaw and Gryffindor deliberately showed him.

Amosta took a deep look at the manuscript on the table, and then followed the two founders into the last room.

Hey!

As they filed into the last of the series of secret rooms, Sirius exclaimed in surprise.

They were not in a room in the traditional sense, but rather as if they had been suddenly transported to the boundless starry sky. The ground beneath their feet was not solid bricks and stones, but an unfathomable void.

Amosta raised his head, gazing at the distant, dreamlike Milky Way, squinting at the fleeting, brilliant stars, and said thoughtfully,

"This starry sky doesn't seem fake?"

"What do you mean, Amosta?" Sirius pressed urgently. "You mean we've been transported to space?!"

"No, what I mean is, this house seems to reflect the real starry sky outside. There's no mistake, the positions and trajectories of the stars are real."

Amosta pondered.

"But why would Helbo do this? What's the point?"

This place truly resembled the real outer space of the universe. Apart from the ground beneath her feet, special magic even allowed people to 'walk into the sky.' Ravenclaw quickly realized this, and with a clear purpose, she strode towards the upper right of Amosta.

"What did you find, Rowena?"

Gryffindor was clearly a little confused as well, but he immediately followed.

The glittering Milky Way lies light-years away, while nearby, there is only cold darkness.

This place is exactly like the real universe. Without any reference points, Amosta felt like he was standing still as he moved forward. Even after walking for a long time, the darkness around him remained unchanged.

If the path they are walking on is not an illusion, then the actual space of this house has been expanded to an unimaginable extent.

"There's something there!"

The monotonous darkness was meant to lull one to sleep, but the cold, boundless universe instilled an unparalleled sense of oppression in the soul, which, over time, could drive one mad. Sirius had been suppressing his anxiety, trying to find something real in the eternal darkness, so when something reflecting starlight appeared in the distance, he immediately cried out excitedly.

Amosta was also exhausted by this seemingly endless road. After Sirius reminded him, he quickly locked his gaze on the object and breathed a sigh of relief.

Standing alone in the void is an altar.

After a quick glance, Amosta confirmed that this altar was in the same style as the one in the central temple of Avalon Island, where he had enshrined the double serpent staff. It was simple and exuded a sense of historical vicissitude. Apart from that, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the altar. What truly aroused curiosity was the object standing on it.

A doorway. To be precise, an archway.

The archway appears to have been carved from a single large stone, with no seams on its rough rock surface, giving it a very simple and ancient look.

Several tattered curtains hung on the archway bridge. Despite the windless environment, these curtains floated eerily in mid-air, as if a pair of invisible, gentle hands were supporting the black curtains.

A strange chill lingered in everyone's hearts. Even the Gryffindor, who were very confident and reckless in their abilities, showed caution on Fang Kuo's face as he walked up the stone steps.

Gryffindor stood before the door, his brow furrowed, staring intently at the opening.

The gaze passed over the empty doorway, but the distant Milky Way was nowhere to be seen; a dense aura of death shrouded the space within the archway in pitch black.

After a moment's thought, Gryffindor drew his sword, the tip slowly touching the darkness within the doorway.

“Don’t do that, Godric,” Ravenclaw said suddenly. “Unless you want to lose your sword.”

"Hmph—" The impetuous Gryffindor actually heeded Ravenclaw's advice and sheathed his sword. "A very interesting feeling, Rowena. Nothing has ever given me this feeling before, as if I were facing—"

"die--"

Ravenclaw stood beside Gryffindor, gazing into the darkness within the doorway, and softly uttered the words Gryffindor had not finished speaking.

"Ha, death--"

The wariness in Gryffindor's eyes vanished, replaced by intense interest.

"Death is a wonderful adventure worth looking forward to."

"This door gives me a bad feeling—"

Sirius stood on the stone steps, unwilling to take the last step. He looked at the stone door with a grim expression.

Amosta nodded; he understood what Sirius was talking about.

Since it's a door, it should lead to a space. So, where does this door lead?

“This door is very unusual; there must have been some record of it. Rowena, have you seen any mention of it in any books?”

Ravenclaw shook her head. She stepped forward and slowly approached the door, her slender wrists parting the floating curtains to expose the entrance to everyone's view.

Only then did they notice that there were three shallow dents on the lintel, all of which were irregular in shape, size, and depth.

"This is--"

Gryffindor leaned closer, squinting as he examined the area closely.

"It should be coordinates—"

Ravenclaw spoke calmly, as if she had known all along.

"Clearly, only by finding the coordinates and embedding ourselves in them will this door truly open, and the world behind the door will be open to us."

"What if we just barge in?"

Sirius Black asked the question, and the only person present who could answer him was Amosta.

"It's hard to say—"

Amosta's gaze never left the archway; when he heard the question, his eyes flickered.

"According to Ravenclaw, this is a door. You can think of it as a key to a door. Without coordinates, if you accidentally fall into the world behind the door, you will most likely be banished to the void. It could be a cold and desolate outer universe, or a world filled with spatial turbulence. It is full of uncertainty. In short, if you accidentally fall in, you will most likely die."

Sirius shuddered and stepped back down from the stone steps. He made up his mind that if he ever encountered this thing again, he would stay far away from it.

"I'm going to take this door back with me—"

Rowena Ravenclaw suddenly made a startling decision; she looked at Gryffindor,

“I have a feeling that this door is just as important to us as destroying the evil creatures on the island. Since we can’t destroy those creatures for the time being, we must at least make sure that this door is safe until those creatures are destroyed.”

Chapter 439 The End of Memory

2023-08-24

Gryffindor did not stop Ravenclaw from taking the seemingly ominous archway. They retraced their steps, passing through the library and the hall where Dementors were born, and returned to the Upper Dimension via the terrifying path formed by the hands and heads of house-elves.

When they returned to the island from the original stone chamber, the gloomy sky on Azkaban had turned pitch black.

The Dementors paced anxiously around, perhaps out of fear of the enormous stone pillar still floating in mid-air; they dared not approach it.

Even though he knew perfectly well that he wouldn't encounter any danger in the world of memories, Sirius still instinctively breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped onto the scorched earth again. Perhaps because his experience below had shattered his worldview, Sirius finally overcame some of his fear. He gazed at the eerie yet towering stone tower standing against the darkness, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

This cold, spiraling tower imprisoned what was perhaps the most important decade of his life. It was his own choice, and just six months ago, he still believed he would never regret his decision. But seeing the tower again today, Sirius was filled with complex emotions.

What changed his thinking was not the cruel reality, but rather the beautiful and ordinary life.

He met this incredibly talented young wizard beside him, regained Remus's friendship and innocence, and during his months at Hogwarts, he met many kind-hearted young wizards. Of course, most importantly, he finally fulfilled some of the responsibilities he was supposed to bear.

Sirius no longer wants to consider whether his decision back then was right or wrong; he now only wants to cherish the good things he has now.

“I’m thinking about a problem, Godric—”

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor seemed uninterested in the towering spiral tower; after glancing at it, neither of them suggested going inside.

Ravenclaw stood beneath the tall, rough stone pillar, gazing up at the faintly visible magical nodes on its surface, and suddenly spoke.

"In order to hatch those embryos, these creatures have been killing life in the nearby sea, but they will not be satisfied sooner or later. In order to hatch more companions, they will leave this sea and enter human society. These creatures have lost the ability to judge good and evil, and they do not know how to restrain themselves. That will cause a disaster to break out in advance. Godric and the Muggles can only wait to be killed, and the wizards also lack the means to punish them."

This is indeed a very likely scenario, unless they can eliminate all the Dementors before they go out of control, which is precisely where the difficulty lies.