Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 702 Cleaning Up the Battlefield

The messy site was restored to its original state, except for the loss of a few lush bushes.

The clear moonlight once again bathed the lawn, its pale silver glow reflecting on the emerald green blades. A gentle evening breeze blew, and all was still.

Loren, still feeling unsatisfied, stopped casting the spell and finally had time to examine the old wand in his hand closely—the infamous Deathly Hallows.

The first impression of the antique wand is its length. At 15 inches, it exceeds the length of most wands and is comparable to some exquisite swords. It is straight and slender, with a brown body and five evenly spaced knots of wood from the end to the tip, ranging from large to small, and is entirely black.

The surface wood, after thousands of years of oxidation and polishing by successive wizards, gleams with a warm, slightly shiny sheen.

It is said to be made of elderwood and has the core of a Thestral tail feather.

After rubbing the wand from tip to handle a few times, Loren compared them and still felt that his applewood wand felt better. This elderwood wand was good to use, but it had too many knots, making it rough and not smooth to handle, and it was also a bit uncomfortable.

Holding the wand in his hand, he twirled it around his knuckles a few times like a pen, then stepped to Dumbledore's side, paused, and asked, "Respected Headmaster Dumbledore, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Dumbledore replied unhurriedly.

"hiss……"

Loren began to ponder.

Dumbledore smiled, his azure eyes scanning the surroundings to make sure all traces were concealed and nothing was missed, before turning and walking toward the woods.

Loren followed silently behind, carefully processing the events of the night in his mind, tracing back his memories, trying to analyze why things had developed this way, what were the accidents, and what was part of Dumbledore's plan...

First, he noticed Harry was out at night and Dumbledore was following behind him, so he took the initiative to follow.

After arriving at the meadow, they received a warning message from Draco, and then Voldemort appeared with the Death Eaters.

Finally, he was brought out in a moment of crisis and used the Elder Wand with ease.

A series of unexpected events and coincidences—is Dumbledore the mastermind behind all of these things?

The more Loren tried to sort things out, the more confused he became. He simply shook his head and asked directly:

"Professor, you seem to have never paid attention to the resurrection ritual. Did you know from the beginning that the ritual would definitely fail? Did you foresee Voldemort leading the Death Eaters to sabotage the ritual?"

"Don't think so badly of me, Loren."

Dumbledore's voice was calm and gentle. "My respect for the laws of nature, for the order of life and death, does not mean that I reject Lily's resurrection. In fact, I would be delighted to see mother and son reunited. Lily and Harry deserve this beautiful bond."

"And what about Professor Snape?"

"Since Lily's death, Severus has never lived for himself. For more than a decade, he has been suffocated by guilt. If he could use his own life to resurrect Lily, it would be a relief for him."

"..."

Loren sighed with a complicated expression, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

Thinking along Dumbledore's lines of thought, it does seem to make some sense.

"But the ceremony failed."

"Yes, the ritual failed. Perhaps it was just an accident, or perhaps the outcome was already predetermined. Magic has given us a revelation: perhaps the order of life and death is more rigid than we imagined."

Entering the dense forest, the stars and moon were obscured, making visibility even darker, but the path was very clear. The woodland, untouched for decades, was covered with fallen leaves, and the soft ground was etched with deep and shallow footprints, making it easy to discern the direction they had been fleeing in without even thinking. Dumbledore was in no hurry, and neither was Loren.

The two followed the footprints, their steps light.

Setting aside the matter of resurrection for the moment, Loren then thought of the "mastermind" behind that battle, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Why was I sent to deal with Voldemort?"

Dumbledore replied calmly, "It was just a sudden thought; I thought you could give it a try."

"..."

Merlin's sudden inspiration.

Loren silently cursed in his heart, but the scene of competing with Dumbledore in fire skills in the headmaster's office flashed through his mind... Now that he thought about it, the Elder Wand was transferred at that time, no wonder he felt something was wrong at the time, and Grindelwald looked at him strangely.

He frowned. "But how do you explain the Elder Wand thing? This wasn't a sudden whim; you've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"

The old headmaster, dressed in a grey and white robe, didn't answer directly. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, "How did it feel to defeat Voldemort with the Elder Wand?"

"……not bad."

Loren's answer was very frank. He paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, glanced at the old headmaster, and said somewhat hesitantly, "Why don't you take the Elder Wand back?"

Symbolizing unparalleled magic and the glory of conquering death, from Antioch Peverell, the first owner of the Elder Wand, every transfer of power has been accompanied by bloodshed and slaughter, with greed and desire constantly entangled around it...

And now, this teenager, who has wielded immense power since his early teens, is willing to relinquish the Elder Wand.

Dumbledore's smile softened, his wrinkles smoothing out, a pleasure that even surpassed witnessing Loren defeat Voldemort.

"Loren, your eyes are too direct. I can understand what you're thinking even without Legilimency."

Loren paused for a moment, then subtly looked away. Old people, after all, care about their reputation.

"Do you think that without the Elder Wand's help, I can no longer deal with Voldemort, so you have no choice but to push underage students out?"

"That's the idea."

"Then you underestimate the old wizard's experience. Voldemort's skill just now was indeed astonishing. I've never seen such a tightly sealed deadly green light before, but that green light shouldn't be enough to put me to sleep..."

Dumbledore said softly, "Loren, I want you to understand that the Elder Wand and new spells are all external enhancements, like adding scales to a lion or limbs to a snake; they can only bring temporary advantages."

"It could also be adding wings to a lion, or giving a snake a few heads."

"What decides the outcome is still the lion's sharp teeth and claws, and the viper's deadly venom." Dumbledore smiled. "The real reason you were able to defeat Voldemort was not the Elder Wand, but your abundant and powerful magic, your skillful Apparition technique, and your confidence in the Penetrating Charm."

"I still think the Elder Wand is crucial..."

"Then practice diligently. Once you're truly familiar with the Elder Wand, you'll understand what I mean."

(End of this chapter)