The Return to Hogwarts

At the bottom of the ramp lies a wide passageway, at the end of which is a dark wooden door, inscribed with defensive magic.

Unlike wizards' spells, this is a solution of various magically potent substances collected from nature, blended together using ancient methods passed down by centaurs. The resulting solution is used as ink to create patterns with extraordinary power.

In short, the patterns on the door are real magical runes, the original way magic was expressed.

Amostella stood before the door, observing the glowing runes for a while. Suddenly, she raised her chin at the runes and asked,

"Do you still possess a complete system of true magical runes?"

The answer to this question is obvious: if centaurs possessed such abilities, those young centaurs wouldn't need to be wielding swords and spears.

The pattern appears simple, but it left traces in many dimensions of space during its creation. The pattern before him was merely a projection of those traces onto the real world. The power of the ancient magic runes should not be underestimated; violently dismantling them could very well blow the temple above them to the sky. So, Amosta stepped aside from the doorway and glanced at Horn.

Old Ma's expression changed, clearly still unwilling, but at his age, he had long understood the principle that circumstances were beyond his control.

"Please do not damage anything inside--"

After a long sigh, Horn stepped forward and placed his withered hand on the door.

The wooden door emitted a resounding clang like steel, and with a fleeting glimmer of light, the world outside the door appeared before Amosta's eyes.

The oppressive atmosphere that greeted him caused Amosta to involuntarily squint his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and stared at the room behind the door, a slight look of surprise on his face.

Behind the door was a room about the same size as Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. The torches on the walls lit up automatically after they noticed someone opening the door, and the bright golden flames illuminated the spacious room in every detail.

Amostra faced hundreds of stone centaur sculptures, each one imposing and lifelike, wielding rusty spears or nearly decayed bows, each with a different expression—some glaring angrily, others charging forward fearlessly—all exuding extraordinary presence.

"This is--"

“The centaurs are not like wizards, who believe in the tradition of being buried deep underground after death. We come from nature, so we should return to nature after death.”

Horn gazed at the sculptures and spoke in a reverent tone,

"But in remembrance, we will take away their weapons and create sculptures to record what they looked like in life. Only heroes deserve such treatment; they were all warriors who helped their tribe through difficult times!"

Amosta nodded slightly.

"I understand, this is the centaur's 'Hall of Heroes'."

Amostella felt no particular attachment to the centaur spirits, though he roughly understood the significance of this place to the centaurs. Upon entering, Amostella did not walk among the centaur sculptures, but instead followed the gaps in the walls through the solemn and dignified Valhalla, arriving at another door opposite the main hall.

This behavior undoubtedly made Horn feel some goodwill towards this great magician from the human world. So, when faced with the second closed wooden door, it took the initiative to open it without waiting for Amosta's signal.

The second room still gave Amosta some shock.

This was also a huge stone chamber, completely empty. The four walls were covered with stone slabs, each about two feet in size, and each slab was engraved with a different constellation, making it look incredibly mysterious.

If Aurora saw this, she would probably be very excited.

A fleeting thought crossed Amosta's mind. He glanced at the star patterns on the stone slabs, moving quickly forward, but suddenly, Amosta stopped at the back of the room—

Amosta's astronomical knowledge was only average, limited to common sense, so he wasn't particularly interested in these star charts. However, he was somewhat surprised that he hadn't recognized a single one of the hundreds of celestial bodies recorded on them along the way.

"These stone tablets don't record the positions of planets?"

Amosta suddenly asked.

Horn was surprised that Amosta had discovered this, and it said in surprise,

“You’re right, Mr. Blaine, these stone tablets don’t record planetary positions, they record writing—”

"Word?"

Amosta's brow twitched, and he spoke with a slightly admiring tone.

"The centaurs created a unique writing system using celestial phenomena? That's amazing, incredibly creative and imaginative."

Amosta stopped looking and went to the opposite side of the room, next to the third wooden door, to a stone wall that occupied the entire wall area.

Unlike the other stone slabs in the room, the stone wall wasn't inscribed with any special writing. Instead, it bore a simple stone painting: on a vast, desolate land, countless creatures had gathered together, not in war, but prostrating themselves on the earth, kneeling before the sky. Above the sky was an irregular, closed shape filled with many messy lines that seemed to represent 'wind,' resembling the outline of a jellyfish swimming in water!

Amosta stared intently at the stone painting, his face expressionless, his emotions churning. He truly hadn't expected to see a similar picture again in another place one day.

"what is this?"

Despite his turbulent thoughts, Amosta asked calmly.

Horn seemed to have anticipated Blaine's question; it wasn't surprised, but it also gazed at the patterns on the stone wall with a complex expression.

"The wizards have lost their records of that history, Mr. Blaine, but the centaurs know. It was countless ages ago, when magic first descended upon our world."

Meeting the unfathomable gaze cast by Amosta Blaine, the centaur elder Horn spoke in a hoarse voice.

Chapter 643 Saints

2023-12-11

The shockingly absurd claim that magic descended from outer space and was not originally part of this world would undoubtedly have drawn fierce criticism if uttered in the academic world of magic.

Magic is such a common thing, like air, soil, and water. Few people would bother to investigate its existence or origin. But if someone said that magic is a gift from heaven and not something native to the earth, many people would probably find that hard to accept.

Horn had expected Amostra Blaine to be utterly shocked and even fiercely refute his claims. After all, every great mage has profound insights into their own magical path and would not readily believe unverified history.

However, Blaine's reaction was far less intense than Horn had imagined; he simply said politely,

"Can you tell me more about it?"

Horn pondered for a moment, then turned and walked to a celestial stone slab on the side wall, speaking in a voice tinged with a faint sense of vicissitude.

“A long, long time ago. The exact time is uncertain, Mr. Blaine, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years ago. The land was desolate, nature had no magical creatures, and human civilization and even wisdom had not yet been enlightened. Then, one day, without any warning, a magical world suddenly descended from the stars.”

No one knows why it came here. Perhaps it was just drifting in the starry sky, accidentally came into contact with the star we live on, and stopped here.

The magical world cannot be directly seen; it does not exist in the real world. However, any living being can sense its existence and feel it pouring a mysterious power into our world.

In the years that followed, our world underwent tremendous changes because of this mysterious power. Humans, the most intelligent beings on earth, were the first to learn how to control this power, and animals, nourished by it, also experienced miraculous transformations, with wondrous creatures appearing all over the land.

Horn was pleased to find that Blaine was listening attentively and didn't show any signs of absurdity, so he continued...

"--It is regrettable that this magical world is destined to drift in the starry sky; it will not stay in one place forever."

After a long period of time, it began to distance itself from this once barren land. Its departure was a devastating blow to the creatures who had grown accustomed to the power of magic. The creatures gradually lost their magical abilities; only the most gifted could retain them. But losing all of this was only a matter of time.

Mythological Era – Ancient Era – Medieval Era – Modern Era

These words flashed through Amosta's mind.

As the magical world receded into the distance, ordinary people gradually came to dominate the land, and Muggle civilization began to flourish.

"Do you know the Saints, Mr. Blaine?"

Horn interrupted his narration and asked Amosta an abrupt question.

"The title 'saint' has many layers of meaning. What you're trying to express is probably the respectful title given to people with powerful magic in the Middle Ages and some earlier historical periods, right?"

Amosta said calmly.

That's certainly true—

Horn nodded slightly.

"After the magical world began to drift away from our world, ordinary people gradually lost the ability to perceive its existence. However, some gifted beings used the magic that existed on earth to nourish their souls. These powerful souls nurtured spiritual power and established a connection with the magical world. From then on, they possessed almost limitless magic."

Horn looked at Amosta Blaine, who seemed lost in thought.

"At some point, the magical world accelerated its distance from our world, and now it is incredibly far away. Therefore, becoming a saint is probably impossible now, Mr. Blaine—"

"The period you're referring to—"

Amosta looked at the mural and then said.

"It must have been the great war in which King Arthur and Merlin joined forces to drive out Morgan le Fay. This earth-shattering war caused drastic changes in the magic on earth, which led to the magical world moving further and further away from our world?"

There was a moment of silence. Amosta, who hadn't received a reply, looked at Horn and saw a dumbfounded horse face.

"hehe--"

Amosta chuckled in a low voice.

"What's wrong? You seem surprised?"

“You know—” Horn said in surprise, “I thought I had read the history of wizarding magic, Mr. Blaine, but there is no record of this history at all. How come you…”

Horn was truly surprised by the young Amosta Blaine standing before him.

He knew that the centaurs were protecting the druids because he had followed Clay, and that he had seen through Miss Clona's disguise because he had discovered some clues. He just didn't want to hurt the little wizard, so he didn't choose to start a war in the castle. But how did he learn about that secret history?

It's important to know that there are no records of this period of history in either wizarding or Muggle history!

But Amosta, true to form, made another startling remark, casually asking...

"So, after the collapse of Avalon Island, it was Merlin who settled you in this Forbidden Forest?"

Merlin was the only wizard to survive after that decisive battle.

King Arthur died in that final battle, and the Queen of Avalon, Morgan le Fay, met the same fate. The dark figure lurking within Morgan le Fay, who is now confirmed to be the most evil and powerful dark wizard in the verifiable history of magic, the despicable Helbo, has disappeared without a trace and may not be dead.

In the period following that war, before Merlin completely disappeared, according to Amosta's current investigation, he made some preparations.

He found Helbo's lair, the temple of Azkaban in the North Sea, and moved the temple, along with the double serpent staff that Helbo had thrown, to Avalon Island, which had been contaminated by 'death' during the war. He then created a secret realm to seal Avalon Island and the temple away.

The underworld of Knockturn Alley and the Black Stone Tower within it were likely built during that period. According to rumors in the underworld, the reason for building the Black Stone Tower was that it was the place where Merlin was finally buried, and that opening it would grant him superhuman power.

This is clearly nonsense, but Amosta has his own speculation about Merlin's reasons for building it, though his speculation still has problems.

The old man was so surprised he was terrified.