From Hogwarts to Sturhaven

There were no traces of a path underfoot, but the direction Dumbledore pointed was much better than the uneven snow, at least it was relatively flat.

This is undoubtedly difficult terrain, which halved my mobility.

Ivy thought with a slight smile.

Before long, the two arrived at a dark forest. Although the snow had stopped, the dark clouds covering the sky had not yet dissipated, but the snow on the ground reflected the light, so the visibility in the forest was still passable.

“We’ve arrived.” Dumbledore stared at a snow-white protrusion in the woods. “The old Gaunt house is now completely in ruins.”

The neglected wooden cabin certainly deserved its fate, especially considering it was already in a state of decay fifty years ago.

It's already quite remarkable that the old Gaunt house has left any traces after being eroded by rain and snow, and eaten by insects and ants.

Dumbledore used magic to push aside the snow, revealing a messy, dark pile of wooden ruins.

"The ring flew here," Dumbledore read.

However, nothing happened.

“I should have known,” Dumbledore said, seemingly unsurprised. “Voldemort cast an Anti-Summoning Charm on the ring.”

"Snapped!"

Ivy snapped his fingers, and a magical light spread out from him, quickly sweeping across the entire ruins.

The ring's magical light shone in the ruins, like tiny fireflies responding to their companions' call.

“There.” Ivy cast a spell to move the clutter covering the ring, then lifted it up with her mage hand.

The gold ring lying on the mage's hand was not very eye-catching, and the golden band was covered with a lot of dark brown mud.

However, at this distance, Dumbledore could already see its entirety. The gold ring had a black facet, which did not appear to be a gemstone, but rather a black stone engraved with the Peverell coat of arms.

"Ivy..." Dumbledore's voice was almost a dream, "May I see her?"

Chapter 187 Resurrection Stone

Dumbledore was so distraught.

Although Ivy had long known that Dumbledore was obsessed with the Resurrection Stone, she never expected him to show such an attitude that was so out of character.

“These are Horcruxes, Dumbledore.” Ivy noticed that the wrinkles on Dumbledore’s face, which had smoothed out after confirming the five Horcruxes, had reappeared and appeared particularly deep.

Like being bitten by a snake, Dumbledore withdrew his outstretched finger in bewilderment: "You're right...you're right! Ivy...this is a Horcrux..."

Through the crescent-shaped glasses on his crooked nose, Ivy could tell that Dumbledore's gaze had never left the Resurrection Stone on the gold ring.

"Have you heard of it?" Dumbledore suddenly asked. "The Resurrection Stone? The Peverell brothers? The Deathly Hallows?"

Before Ivy could figure out how to answer, Dumbledore started telling his story.

"Legend has it that the three Peverell brothers conquered Death, and as a result, Death bestowed three treasures upon each of them. Those three treasures are the Deathly Hallows."

"Our leader, Antioch Peverell, has obtained a wand made of elderwood, which possesses invincible magic."

"The second son, Cadmus Peverell, obtained a stone with the power to bring the dead back to life."

"The third brother, Ignatius Peverell, obtained the Grim Reaper's invisibility cloak, and from then on, even the Grim Reaper could not find him until he took off the cloak himself."

"The stone on the Horcrux is the resurrection stone."

Another silence followed.

Ivy spoke up and asked, "You only mentioned the fate of Ignotus Peverell, I suppose the other two didn't fare so well?"

“That’s right. The Elder Wand’s lineage is fraught with intrigue and assassination; Antioch-Peverell died a violent death not long after. As for the Resurrection Stone…” Dumbledore took a deep breath, “It is said that Cadmus-Peverell used the Resurrection Stone to bring back his deceased fiancée, but only a resentful spirit returned from the dead. She was forced to return to the world of the living from the peace of death, but no longer belonged here, and therefore suffered greatly.”

"It seems the resurrection stone can't really give people back their lives," Ivy commented.

"..." Dumbledore didn't respond, but continued to tell the story of Peverell's second son's fate, "Cadmus finally realized that the Resurrection Stone couldn't give him what he wanted, and that he and his lover could only be reunited in death. Therefore, he abandoned the Resurrection Stone and committed suicide."

"You know very well what the Resurrection Stone can bring you, right?" Ivy asked softly.

“Yes…” Dumbledore first acknowledged Ivy’s question, then immediately denied it, “No… considering that the story of the Deathly Hallows is just a legend, it’s hard for me to be sure what kind of power the Resurrection Stone actually possesses until I have it in person… even if it can only summon the spirits of deceased relatives, I would be pleasantly surprised… I still have so much to say…”

“Thank you, Ivy… thank you for stopping me.” Dumbledore grabbed a handful of snow from a nearby dry branch and rubbed his face vigorously, making his crooked nose turn bright red. “If I were alone here, I’d probably have fallen into Voldemort’s trap.”

"The curse on the ring is powerful enough to kill." Even a master of black magic like Ivy wouldn't choose to wear this ring without any precautions.

It can be said that in the original book, Dumbledore wore the ring due to a moment of carelessness, which forced him to drastically adjust his plans, causing Harry to be forced to destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in the seventh year.

He originally planned to spend more time training Harry so that he could have more time to grow, but after being cursed, Dumbledore had no choice but to leave Harry to fate and prophecy.

“Come, Ivy. You destroy this Horcrux.” Dumbledore stepped back slightly, making room for Ivy to cast her spell.

Ivy had no intention of keeping Marvolo's gold ring, nor did she covet the Resurrection Stone itself.

In his view, the so-called resurrection stone was nothing more than a stone imbued with the third-circle necromancy spell "Communicate with the Dead," and was no big deal.

The only useful aspect is that the resurrection stone doesn't require a corpse when recalling a soul.

However, considering the scene Harry saw after using the Resurrection Stone in the original book, the magic on this stone could also be illusion magic.

Because the spirits Harry summoned (including his parents, Sirius Black, and Lupin) said, "We are all part of you."

If we take into account that very famous saying: death is also a new beginning.

Perhaps the purpose of the Resurrection Stone was to give its holder the courage to face death.

At least Harry, who used the Resurrection Stone, and Cadmus Peverell both met the same fate, willingly choosing death.

"Do you want to keep this stone?" Ivy asked.

Dumbledore didn't answer directly, but instead said, "It is said that whoever collects all three Deathly Hallows can conquer death..."

“I don’t think so,” Ivy replied succinctly.

“Ha ha.” Dumbledore laughed. “People always say I’m a wise old man, but much of my wisdom comes from the experience of a long life. When I do something stupid, it’s terribly stupid. You can handle it, Ivy. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll break the Elder Wand and leave it in my grave.”

“Very good.” Ivy nodded, and shot out a jet-black tentacle from her fingertip.

Ivy started with the 5th-circle spell Drain Power, greedily seizing the magic from the Horcrux. Even though Voldemort had placed a powerful curse on the ring, an item without legs could not pass the Dexterity saving throw for Drain Power, and thus could only obediently become a meal.

Before the energy-draining spell had even lasted a minute, the gold ring emitted a sharp howl and fell from mid-air.

Immediately afterward, a green light flashed through the air; it was Ivy's 6th-circle spell, Disintegrate.

The powerful alteration magic struck it, and the gold ring, along with the resurrection stone engraved with the Peverell emblem, turned into a handful of fine dust.

With a gentle gust of cold wind, one of the Deathly Hallows blended into the white snow in the forest.

“I must admit I never thought dark magic could have this effect.” Dumbledore pursed his lips. In his view, the jet-black tentacles extending from Ivy’s fingertips were indeed dark magic. “I was even thinking of trying to see if Gryffindor’s sword would work.”

Ivy felt that she had gained another batch of experience points. Just as she was about to open the Grimoire of Destruction to check her character panel, she felt a tremor.

"We must go back to Hogwarts; the Basilisk has awakened."

Chapter 188 Open

Harry strolled happily through the castle.

Harry always felt a deep sense of joy whenever he was in this castle.

Perhaps we should exclude potions class.

Hmm... this year, I also have to add the time when Professor Lockhart dragged me to take photos together.

Over the past twelve years, Hogwarts has been the place he remembers most as home.

He got everything at this school: family, friends, adoration, and most importantly, magic.

This morning, Harry opened his Christmas presents, and even Uncle Vernon's gift of a toothpick couldn't spoil his good mood.

Hagrid gave him a bag of hard, pebble-like fudge; Ron gave him a book called "Flying with the Cannons," about his favorite Quidditch team, which had been at the bottom of the league for a long time, and Ron had plastered his room with posters of the players; Hermione bought him a fancy quill pen, perhaps because she thought using a mechanical quill pen for homework didn't count as studying, even though she knew he already had one from Ivy; Mrs. Weasley gave him a brand-new hand-knitted sweater and a large raisin cake, which Harry was wearing under his robes!

In addition, Harry also received Ivy's master key, so he could stay in his room and do his homework next summer instead of worrying about being expelled.

After breakfast, Harry ran to the square to play in the snow with the Gryffindor students who stayed at school, and of course he didn't forget his two friends, Ron and Hermione.

Hermione has been in a low mood lately, especially since she hasn't finished the homework Professor Lockhart assigned her.

Harry and Ron both thought they should avoid offending Hermione, so they've been trying to avoid saying the word "homework" lately, since neither of them likes it anyway.

To help Hermione cope with her emotions, Harry and his two friends built a snowman together in the square.

He really wanted to join the other snowball fight, especially after Ron was shoved into a snowball by his two older brothers. That snowball was supposed to be a snowman's head, but Ron angrily used it to get revenge.

As a result, the snowman's prepared head failed to hit Ron's twin brother. Instead, they manipulated it to smash into Percy, the Weasley's oldest student at Hogwarts and also the Gryffindor prefect.

Percy's counterattack accidentally hit Professor McGonagall, and in the end, all the Gryffindor students who participated in the snowball fight were easily dealt with by Professor McGonagall alone.

Moreover, Professor McGonagall used the snowman that Harry and Hermione had built. Although Professor McGonagall later gave them another one, it started snowing again, so the students gradually returned to the castle.

Professor McGonagall asked everyone involved in the snowball fight to report to the school hospital and take a small sip of a stimulant to avoid catching a cold during the Christmas holidays.

Harry was supposed to go with them, but Ginny, the Weasleys' youngest daughter, made him feel uncomfortable, so he made an excuse to leave the group.

While admiring the paintings in the corridor and strolling around waiting for dinner, Harry unknowingly arrived outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts office on the third floor.

Harry instinctively wanted to leave, and even though Professor Lockhart exempted him from a semester's worth of assignments, Harry didn't really want to have anything to do with him.

However, the office door was ajar, and Lockhart could be heard humming inside. This piqued Harry's curiosity again. After all, this professor, who always concealed his true abilities, had defeated the terrifying Chamber of Secrets monster; what kind of person was he when he was alone?

People don't lie to themselves, right?