The Return to Hogwarts

The door, exuding an aura of death, is incomplete; it lacks crucial coordinates. Without these coordinates, recklessly entering the world beyond the door could very well result in being banished to a void filled with chaotic spatial forces, or even finding oneself in the cold outer space.

Helga Hufflepuff is undoubtedly a very powerful witch, but even she would find it difficult to escape unscathed in the two environments she anticipated.

“What did you see, Helga?” Ravenclaw asked.

Unexpectedly, Hufflepuff didn't speak immediately. Instead, she pointed to the crystal balls on the left wall, and Ravenclaw turned her head to look as well. Then, she understood.

"Most of the time, I die in dangerous space storms; occasionally, I also perish in a completely unfamiliar, desolate starry sky devoid of magic—"

Lady Hufflepuff's answer surprised people throughout history, including Amosta.

What does that mean? That Lady Hufflepuff has the ability to come back to life?!

There is absolutely no record of such a thing in history, and even in the world of magic, such an ability is too unscientific.

But then, Amosta quickly composed himself, his gaze fixed on the stone archway with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

Your journey home is in the starry sky.

Amostah recalled Merlin's revelation in the secret chamber of the Centaur Sanctuary, a revelation that had been troubling him lately. So much so that when Lady Hufflepuff explicitly stated that she could use this door to travel to the stars, he immediately connected the two.

The temple at the center of Avalon Island was moved there by Merlin from Azkaban to imprison the Twin Serpents Staff. The stone pillars that sealed the entrance to the underground secret realm of Azkaban were also placed there by Merlin, which means that Merlin must have explored Helbo's lair and entered several secret chambers under the lava.

Perhaps it was that exploration that prompted Merlin's determination to leave some contingency plans.

Merlin had seen this mysterious stone archway, but he didn't take the coordinates on it.

"Godric intercepted the aura of the sealed stone pillar we found on that island in the North Sea, hoping to locate the legendary Avalon Island that the young man from Salazar Academy, whom you saw, would be heading to. Salazar himself is also investigating the remaining coordinates."

Avalon Island?!

The three wizards' stiff bodies trembled in unison. Whether in the Muggle world or the wizarding world, the myths of King Arthur are equally famous.

Amosta's face darkened—that young man from Salazar Academy, was he being referred to?

"--And regarding the one he has already found--"

Rowena raised her slender, delicate hand, and a black stone with a crack in the middle appeared in her palm.

“During this time, I studied the coordinates he found, and I guessed that this was probably the so-called ‘Deathly Hallows’.”

The Deathly Hallows?!

Amosta's brow furrowed suddenly. Could such a thing really exist?

The Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak, and the Resurrection Stone—these three magical items appearing in Beedle the Bard's Tales are hailed by wizards as the Deathly Hallows. Legends about the Deathly Hallows are very popular in Northern Europe, and many sorcerers and dark wizards have tried to find these three magical items, hoping to become the master of death.

And these three things are actually the coordinates to open this gate of death?

“A petrified stone that can trace the traces of vanished souls in the world,” Lady Hufflepuff exclaimed, gazing at the black stone in Rowena’s palm. “It’s hard to imagine how it was made—”

"I have an idea about this—"

Rowena approached the stone archway with the black stone in her hand, and the curtains on the archway seemed to sense the presence of a similar object, their fluttering in the air suddenly quickening, as if they were eagerly welcoming back their complete selves.

"This stone, which exudes the same essence as the stone gate, possesses incredible power. I've been thinking lately, perhaps they don't belong to our world—"

"You believe they come from that world, Rowena?"

Ms. Hufflepuff pressed on.

"This is the most likely guess. In ancient times, that world wasn't as far away from us as it is today. Someone might have had the ability to enter that world in person. They brought back things from that world and forged them into a portal that could connect the two worlds. This would ensure that even after that world is completely far removed from us, they could still utilize its magic. If one day they grew tired of our world, which is constantly declining, then they could use that world as a springboard to travel to different star systems—"

Ravenclaw spoke in a cool voice, pinching the black stone that had drawn everyone's attention, and brushed the curtain aside to reveal three irregular dents on the archway.

As it drew closer, the stone in Ravenclaw's hand became unstable, its hard surface surging like flowing water, and finally, it completely turned into a drop of black liquid stone!

Snapped!

Under the tense gaze of several people a thousand years later, the attracted black liquid stone splashed into a dent, filled it, and then quickly solidified!

Buzz--

The pitch-black space beneath the stone archway visibly trembled, and the restless magic caused a strong wind to ripple through the entire room. At this moment, the mysterious magical runes on the ground were stimulated and lit up one after another, firmly imprisoning the magical storm within its range.

At this moment, Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw finally revealed their legendary power. Each of them was enveloped in a cool blue light and a soft yellow light, and in the midst of the intense storm, they stood as still as rocks in a raging sea. The pressure they exuded silently even distorted the surrounding space!

Where the black stone was embedded, dense fine lines gradually spread outwards, resembling magical runes, but more like naturally formed patterns representing rules.

Harry, his two companions, and the two house-elves were startled by the commotion. They even forgot that it was just an illusion and instinctively retreated to the corner of the wall, looking at the stone door with fear.

Suddenly, the trembling black curtain beneath the stone archway stabilized, but the commotion did not cease; instead, it intensified. The chilling black curtain unleashed a powerful attraction, devouring the surrounding magic at an alarming rate. One by one, the shimmering runes on the ground were drained of their magic and became dim. As the anomaly continued, a luminous 'path' faintly appeared behind the black curtain!

Amosta gazed at the path of light behind the darkness, his eyes unconsciously revealing a longing.

“Control it, Rowena, I’m going in to check again—”

"Ms. Hufflepuff said in a deep voice."

Chapter 663 The Road After the Peak

2023-12-25

Is Ms. Hufflepuff about to enter through this turbulent door?

Not only Harry and his friends thought it was a very reckless move, but even Amosta thought it was a bit too risky. However, Ravenclaw, as a close friend, did not stop them. Instead, she nodded slightly and said in a cool voice,

“Watch the time, Helga. I can’t control this force for long. You must end it before it affects Hogwarts—”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ms. Ravenclaw suddenly unleashed a powerful aura. Her icy blue pupils shone with a star-like brilliance, and the blue radiance surrounding her became incredibly intense, rapidly expanding outwards and quickly enveloping the entire room.

Everything in the field of vision was filled with a pure sky blue. Amosta's fingertips brushed over the stars that adorned the space, which was shrouded in a blue veil. The isolation of a thousand years made it difficult for him to see many things clearly, but he could still tell that these star-like points of light were magical nodes.

These magical nodes are embedded in the void, seemingly connected in some mysterious way. This connection seems to redefine space and magic, because while the stone archway continues to exert its suction force, the turmoil inside the room has subsided.

The scene before them was not merely Ravenclaw unleashing powerful magic to imprison the void, but rather resembled a domain.

A realm with its own independent world rules, governed by the will of its creator?

That's all Amosta can guess!

Is this the path after the peak? Is this the path of a saint? Horn once said that saints need to entrust their spiritual imprint to the magical world!

Amosta's understanding of this is that the wizard and that magical world signed a contract through the medium of their souls. Through the contract, they could borrow magic regardless of spatial distance. However, with the disappearance of the magical world, people in later generations could no longer connect with that world using their spiritual power.

He had assumed that the four founders of Hogwarts, with their unparalleled power, would still be able to sense the magical world. However, from the conversations he had just experienced, he realized that this was not the case. The four founders of Hogwarts were not saints in the true sense, but they were not necessarily weaker than saints because they had forged their own paths!

Based on their understanding of magic, they created a world of their own. Perhaps this is the secret to how the four giants were able to transcend the ordinary and dominate an entire era!

"Finding a different path, huh?"

Amostah gazed with intense longing at the 'stars' that drifted in the void yet resonated with Lady Ravenclaw, an unprecedented surge of emotion coursing through his soul!

The fog that had been blocking his path to further improvement finally dissipated, and Amosta finally saw the road beyond the peak!

"Four great founders, four extraordinary founders!"

The usually composed Amosta could no longer suppress the corners of his mouth. His remaining rationality prevented him from laughing out loud. This was indeed a path worth trying. Of course, this did not mean that Amosta's strength would immediately experience an explosive increase, but with a clear direction, everything that followed would become clear.

If he could truly reach the level of the four founders back then, at least in his era, no one would be a trouble for him anymore, not even Voldemort with Horcruxes!

"What's wrong with Professor Blaine?"

Amosta trembled slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth—a smile of relief after the path of magic had become clear. But his unusual behavior was quickly noticed by the three little ones standing by the wall. What was happening before their eyes was enough to frighten them, and Professor Blaine's strange behavior only made them more apprehensive.

Ron asked, trembling.

Was he struck by Ravenclaw's magic?

“Don’t be silly, Ron—” Hermione retorted instinctively, “What we saw was all an illusion. Lady Ravenclaw’s magic couldn’t possibly have affected Professor Blaine across a thousand years—”

Despite saying that, Hermione's eyes still showed intense worry. After taking a few deep breaths, she left Harry's side, trembling as she approached Professor Blaine, and mustered up the courage to gently tug at his robe.

"Ok?"

Lady Hufflepuff may have intended to leave this memory to tell him more about the Dementors and the importance of the Door and the Deathly Hallows, but Amosta felt that the unintentional reminder given to him by Lady Ravenclaw's outburst of power was the greatest gain of the journey. While Amosta was immersed in joy, he suddenly realized that someone was tugging at him. He turned his head and saw the panic in the eyes of Harry, the other two as they looked at him.

"Oh, don't worry--"

Amosta smiled at them and explained simply.

"I've just figured some things out. Now, let's see what happens next—"

Since Hermione met Professor Blaine at the university hospital, she had never seen him so out of control. Things were definitely not as simple as Professor Blaine made them out to be. Hermione pursed her lips, feeling a little dissatisfied, but she was even more annoyed by her own ignorance.

This unexpected adventure shattered too much of her confidence.

Aside from showing off her knowledge beyond her years in front of Harry, Ron, and her few Weasley friends, Hermione didn't genuinely enjoy flaunting it. Of course, she was proud of her knowledge, after all, it was the result of her hard work. She thought she had already grasped the basics of magic, but this adventure showed her that wasn't the case at all; she was still far from understanding the world through magic!

In a fleeting moment of consciousness, Hermione recalled the night Dom was born, when she and Angelina had briefly discussed 'love' with Professor Blaine.

Professor Blaine said that rather than spending time searching for a soulmate with whom he could only stumble upon by chance, he would rather spend his time improving his magical abilities—a statement that struck her like a bolt of lightning, dispelling her emotional confusion that had been building for some time.

The experience I'm going through now makes the insights I gained that night even more profound!

She wasn't as outstanding as Harry and Ron thought. She was still quite ignorant about the path of magic. She should focus more on studying magic, just like Professor Blaine. The reason he was called the most powerful wizard of his time at such a young age was because he had always been studying magic with the pure desire to keep improving.

"This is."

Hermione, who had been daydreaming, suddenly heard Professor Blaine's whisper. She immediately realized that the illusion before her was also extremely valuable, and she couldn't miss a single detail. The moment her gaze refocused, Hermione understood what Professor Blaine was wondering about.

It's Ms. Helga Hufflepuff!

Under the radiance of Lady Ravenclaw, the magic displayed by Lady Hufflepuff was equally extraordinary.

Just now, Lady Hufflepuff said she was going to enter this mysterious stone archway. Visitors from a thousand years later, including Amostella, all thought she would just walk straight in. However, things didn't turn out that way.