Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 118 The Ritual of the Philosopher's Stone

"I'm very curious about the person you can't mention."

Dumbledore's gaze lingered between Loren's eyes and the red birthmark between his eyebrows. "But my intuition tells me that some secrets are better left unexplored."

Loren grinned. "Perhaps you could try Legilimency; maybe you'll be able to see it."

Dumbledore looked away, took a box of biscuits from the drawer, opened the lid and ate one himself. Some small crumbs fell into his beard. "No professor at Hogwarts would intentionally use Legilimency to peer into a student's mind."

Loren remained silent, silently criticizing in his mind: Dumbledore might be like that, but Snape might not be.

He took a bite of half a cookie, and the aroma of butter instantly filled his mouth. He then sipped some tea, and the fragrance of tea and butter lingered in his mouth. The slight bitterness and sweet aftertaste of the tea neutralized the sweetness of the cookie, making it irresistible.

As he ate, he said, "Speaking of Legilimency, I need to explain something to you. Harry keeps having strange dreams, about his parents' deaths, about wandering in the forest, and before that, about wandering in the castle."

Harry had been having very frequent dreams after meeting Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest, but he usually only complained to Ron, thinking it was because he wasn't sleeping well. Loren, sitting next to him, had heard this several times.

His dream didn't subside until he had resolved Quirrell's matter.

It's always good that Dumbledore was prepared in advance regarding Harry's collusion with Voldemort.

Dumbledore slowed down his eating of the cookies. "I dreamt of strange things, um..."

The white-bearded old wizard was lost in thought, the biscuit clutched in his hand, neither eating nor putting it down. Bright sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the entire office.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses. "Oh, when you get old, you just don't have enough energy."

"You know what, I think Harry might really enjoy this summer."

"Even a fool would know that his godfather did something." Loren picked up a biscuit and fed it to Nagini.

The little snake hissed and stuck out its tongue, but didn't touch it.

Loren thought he must be seeing things; why could this snake roll its eyes?

Dumbledore chuckled. "I think that during the long summer vacation, Black can spend some time teaching Harry some useful magic."

"Occupy brain surgery? Are you sure Sirius can do that?" Loren offered his reasonable guess.

In the original story, who were the people who knew Occlumency? Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Snape, Barty Crouch Jr., Horace Slughorn—all top-tier veterans.

Sirius Black is a complete brute; how can he be compared to him? Absolutely not. He doesn't look like someone who knows this kind of magic at all.

"Compared to this," Dumbledore said, somewhat surprised, "I'm very curious about what exactly Nico is teaching you, since you're so familiar with Legilimency and Occlumency."

He even suspected that Loren might already know the truth about Horcruxes, since Horcruxes could seemingly be categorized under alchemy.

Loren didn't want to tell Dumbledore what he knew about the plot. He couldn't explain the source of the information, and bringing up Nico wouldn't fool him. Telling everything would be too suspicious.

He offered an excuse: "It's reasonable to assume that Harry's dream was too vivid, and he remembered it very clearly after waking up. The content was more like a memory. If you can put a memory into his head, you can take other things out of it."

"The techniques of Legilimency and Occlumency become absolutely necessary."

After finishing his conclusion, Loren stuffed a cookie into his mouth. "If I could, I'd like to learn too."

The Legilimency and Forgetfulness Spells are rare types of magic that involve memory.

Next school year, he might face off against Lockhart and Tom from the notebook—one a master of the Oblivion Charm, the other a Dark Lord who controls desires and manipulates minds. He must master these spells, the most important of which is Occlumency.

These spells are different from binding and knockback spells; they can't be mastered simply by increasing your skill level. You need to practice with someone.

Upon hearing Loren's words, Dumbledore was in a dilemma. "Loren, your situation is somewhat special. You must master these spells yourself."

"Because of the cursed knowledge in that book, if others practice with you and accidentally glimpse its contents..."

Dumbledore didn't finish his sentence, leaving the rest for Loren to ponder.

The title page of the Book of Abraham states that anyone who peeks into its contents will be cursed.

Seeing that Loren seemed to understand, Dumbledore continued, "Although the specifics of the curse are unclear, the fact that Nico solemnly instructed you means that he hasn't found a way to break it in six hundred years."

Loren thought to himself, "Wow!"

Memories tainted with poison, seeing them will kill you—this isn't knowledge, it's meme contamination.

Once he learns Legilimency and extracts his memories to make a blockbuster movie, wouldn't that be a nuclear bomb in the magical world?

Just thinking about it is horrifying.

"So if you want to learn Legilimency and Occlumency, you have to practice on your own," Dumbledore said.

There was no other way; Loren couldn't spar with anyone, otherwise he would be harming others.

"Sigh!" Loren sighed heavily. "Getting back to the point, how do we turn Nagini back?"

"This brings us to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for next year, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart," Dumbledore said, seemingly pleased with himself.

"Professor Lockhart is an adventurer and bestselling author; he once..."

The rest of the introduction sounded like nonsense to Loren; he didn't believe that Dumbledore, a top-tier wizard, hadn't seen through Lockhart's true nature.

Loren ate his biscuit expressionlessly, indicating that he didn't want to listen to his nonsense.

Dumbledore loosely clenched his fist and feigned a cough. "Although some of the sources are difficult to verify, we can still glean some insights from them..."

Dumbledore happened to know two wizards whose credit had been stolen by Gilderoy Lockhart. He already knew Lockhart's true colors and was certain that Lockhart only needed to return to an ordinary school environment to expose him as an imposter and a liar.

Students can also learn a lot from this: what kind of things they shouldn't do, and what kind of people they shouldn't become.

In addition, Lockhart had good grades in his student days, and Dumbledore believed that he was at least capable of teaching by rote.

If Loren heard Dumbledore's thoughts, he would probably complain that Hogwarts is getting worse with each generation.

An old Armenian wizard traveled to Vauga Vauga, Australia, and successfully helped the local residents subdue a terrifying and ferocious werewolf. During the battle, he used a very complex Restoration Charm. However, this story did not become widely known.

Lockhart found the old wizard and listened to his detailed account of the entire incident. After learning how he had defeated the werewolf Vorga Vorga, Lockhart cast a forgetting spell on the old wizard, making him forget that he was the one who truly defeated the werewolf. Afterward, Lockhart stole the old wizard's credit, claiming the story of defeating the werewolf as his own, and even included it in his book, *Wandering with the Werewolf*.

"...After Lockhart wrote 'Wandering with the Werewolf,' he gave many interviews related to werewolves. In one issue of the Daily Prophet, he mentioned the 'Restore to Humanity Charm,' which, when cast perfectly, can permanently turn a werewolf back into a human..." Dumbledore's voice echoed in the bright office.

Most werewolf researchers consider this a joke, but given that Lockhart's method of weaving lies involves stealing others' work rather than creating something out of nothing, Dumbledore examined the curse closely.

Following the clues, a valuable record was left in an 80s file by an agent named Cecil Lee from the Ministry of Magic's Werewolf Capture Division, or the Division for the Management and Control of Magical Creatures.

Cecil Lee once used a Restoration Charm on a full moon night to forcibly turn a werewolf back into a human.

In his record, Cecil Lee wrote: "[The Restoration Charm only forces the werewolf to temporarily revert to human form, rather than permanently curing him. This may be because I was unable to cast the charm perfectly...]"

The relevant records only comprised a small part of this file. Cecil Lee and the Restoration Charm were not given much attention, and the file was sealed in a file folder until Dumbledore brought it to light.

Dumbledore went to great lengths to find the spell and, based on his profound skill in Transfiguration, studied its principles in detail.

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is that the Restoration Charm isn't limited to werewolves; it works on any creature transformed from a human. The bad news is that even I can't cast this spell perfectly."

"Why?" Loren asked in surprise.

"Transfiguration is a very rigorous discipline. The caster needs to understand the specific characteristics of the target being transfigured, rather than the vague idea of ​​restoring human form."

"Clearly, no one can fully understand a person except themselves, and this incompleteness can cause the spell to fail."

"Theoretically, a perfect spell can only be cast if the person casts the spell on themselves. This is impossible."

Flammel also mentioned a similar idea: transformations imposed by outsiders can lead to a mismatch between the body and soul due to deviations, resulting in the breakdown of the physical body. Voldemort and Quirrell are examples of this.

Casting spells on oneself is even more impossible, as wizards lose their magical abilities when they transform into other forms. This is true for conscious Animagus, and even more so for mindless Blood Curse Orcs and Werewolves.

After Dumbledore finished speaking, he looked at Loren and said, "Now, it is up to you to find an answer, a right path."

"Me?" Loren was a little confused. You can't even do it yourself, why are you asking me?

Dumbledore nodded. "From the moment you found Nagini, you were qualified to use the Philosopher's Stone."

He discussed this issue with Nico, and the qualification does not refer to the magic power of the Philosopher's Stone.

The magic is there, and anyone can use it through the right means. But Loren is different from others; he can unleash miracles beyond anything possible from the Philosopher's Stone.

Magic is a wondrous thing; it defies objective laws yet follows certain higher-order laws. And the Philosopher's Stone possesses the miracle of defying even higher-order laws.

The power of a Philosopher's Stone is determined by the will of its creator. Nico's will determined that his Philosopher's Stone would be able to turn lead into gold and create elixirs of immortality.

Once Loren is qualified, he may be able to use Nico's Philosopher's Stone for another purpose.

"I don't know, Headmaster." Loren was somewhat confused; he didn't know what to do.

Dumbledore looked thoughtfully at the red birthmark between his eyebrows. "Think carefully, Loren. The answer may lie within your own heart."

Loren blankly took out the magic stone, held it up next to Nagini, and examined it carefully in thought.

The image of the red, amber-shaped magic stone gradually filled his right eye, while Nagini's figure filled his left. The red birthmark between his eyebrows dissolved like liquid.

Loren watched as the office furnishings flashed before him, their colors shifting between vibrant hues and black, white, and gray. Dumbledore remained motionless, and time seemed to stand still.

The smooth surface of the metal candlestick, the glass partition in the portrait frame, the windows on the exterior wall, and all the reflective objects in the office faintly revealed Mary's face: pale skin and blood-red lips.

"Hehehe!" The girl's shrill laughter echoed in his ears. "The contract is complete."

A flood of completely unfamiliar knowledge poured into his mind.

"Loren, Loren?" Dumbledore's voice rang out.

A cool sensation flowed into Loren's mind, and all the illusions gradually disappeared.

He opened his eyes to find Dumbledore's wand pressed against his forehead, a constant stream of coolness flowing from the tip of the wand into his brain.

Loren paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, I think I've just learned about a ritual."

Dumbledore paid no attention to the ceremony. He put away his wand, his expression serious. "Your teaching seems to be quite different from what I expected."

Loren understood that this was out of concern for him, and he shook his head. "It's nothing."

Compared to the previous illusions where he was directly pulled into another world, this time even though the colors in the illusion hadn't completely faded, Dumbledore was still able to pull himself out.

I don't know if it's because the book wasn't with me, or if Dumbledore is powerful enough to influence the mysterious Book of Abraham.

"Loren, remember, as a student, your own safety is the most important thing," Dumbledore said solemnly.

"Don't worry, I'll contact you immediately if there are any problems." Loren smiled.

As analyzed before, although his interpretation of the Book of Abraham was somewhat unusual, the other party should not have had any malicious intent.

"Let's talk about the ritual," Loren said. "Using a two-horned beast's horn as a link..."

This Philosopher's Stone is, after all, Nico's Philosopher's Stone; its miracles are turning lead into gold and creating elixirs of immortality. Loren, as the user rather than the creator, cannot perform any new miracles.

Mary's ritual for him was a limited use of the Philosopher's Stone, using the horn of a two-horned beast as a link, along with two-eared grass, to connect Dumbledore with another person. This broke the paradox that the Restoration Charm could not be perfectly cast, transforming the spell cast by Dumbledore into one cast by another.

After hearing Loren's explanation, Dumbledore looked at the Philosopher's Stone and exclaimed, "Truly, an incredible ritual."

At first glance, it may seem like a simple ritual with a very straightforward purpose. But a magical master like Dumbledore understood that it was another kind of miracle that defied the norms of magic.

Generally speaking, a spell is a combination of a wizard's will and magic, which is unique and irreplaceable.

Spell conversion not only changes the location where the spell is cast, but also changes the initiator of the spell before it is cast, replacing one person's will with that of another.

The information about Cecil Lee comes from "Harry Potter and the Mystery of Hogwarts".

The idea that Dumbledore knew Lockhart's true nature was written by J.K. Rowling herself in Pottermore.

(End of this chapter)