Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 345 The Night Before the New Moon

While Hogwarts in the north was covered in snow, a light drizzle was still falling in Somerset in the south.

The rain is cold, and it inexplicably makes people irritable. Apart from the hurried vehicles, there are hardly any pedestrians on the street. After all, this kind of weather is more suitable for staying at home.

Therefore, even during the Christmas holidays, there isn't much of a festive atmosphere here; you can only see some in the decorations and lights in the shops and squares.

Ike didn't care. Since leaving Hogwarts, holidays had lost their meaning for him, and he had little free time to think about these things. His research into magic and Voldemort's career took up too much of his time.

If it were last year or the year before, this bleak atmosphere wouldn't have affected his emotions, but this year is different.

Perhaps it was because of what he saw in Gloucester?

Perhaps...

Ike raised his head and looked at the thin lines of rain in the sky for a while, listening to the sound of raindrops falling to the ground, before finally snapping out of his reverie at the sound of the shop next door closing.

It was a man wearing a long coat, holding an umbrella, and carrying a box wrapped in pink paper. Judging from his hurried manner, he must have forgotten to buy a gift for his child beforehand.

The man walked briskly past Ike, fumbling in his pocket as he went. He finally found the car keys next to a Prius.

Then they opened the door, got in the car, and drove off in a hurry.

"Oh……"

Ike smiled, his fingers twitched slightly, and his soaked clothes instantly dried, the dense raindrops no longer able to fall on him. With a turn of his body, he disappeared from the spot.

Apple Isle, God's Blessed Isle, and Avalon all refer to the same place, a mysterious land even older than the Tower of Babel. According to wizarding accounts, only Merlin and King Arthur truly reached it.

Apart from them, no one else has definitively set foot there; at least, there is no record of it in surviving documents and historical texts.

Therefore, for many years, some people in the magical world have doubted the authenticity of Avalon, just as they have doubted the existence of the Druids in the ancient magical world.

In the skeptic's logic, since Avalon is false, then the Druids, as the inheritors of Avalon, naturally do not exist either. This equation also holds true in their reverse logic.

For supporters, Merlin is the best proof of Avalon's existence, which is also a common understanding in the wizarding world today.

This understanding is undeniably unscientific, yet magical.

Ike knew even more; he was certain that Avalon was a real place, since it was clearly recorded in the manuscripts of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

"...On the eve of the new moon, the fog outside the island will dissipate..."

"...We didn't see all nine goddesses. In fact, apart from the endless dense forests and muddy swamps, there was no other scenery here..."

"...Godrick wanted to challenge the legendary Green Knight, but during our stay, he could only fight against those ferocious thorns with his sword..."

This is part mentioned in the Ravenclaw manuscript; as for Slytherin, there's only a short sentence about them.

"That's a place cursed by magic."

It was a nonsensical explanation, without specifying the exact method of entry, but it was enough for Ike.

There are two locations for Avalon that are currently believed to exist. Ike had already searched for the one in France when he escorted the giants back, and he went there again a few months ago just in case, so it can be ruled out.

So, only Somerset remains.

Unfortunately, he would have to wait here for another two weeks. Yesterday, he saw a full moon in the clear night sky over Gloucester.

However, we cannot relax. After all, it is the legendary Gensokyo, far removed from the world, and the place cursed by magic in the words of Slytherin. It will not appear in front of Ike so suddenly.

Therefore, necessary preparations still need to be made.

So, for the next ten days or so, Ike walked through the wilderness, dropping a round glass ball every so often. It was a gadget he had specially crafted for this trip, inspired by a spyglass. It was inexpensive to make and had only one function: to sense nearby magical fluctuations.

Hundreds of small balls were dropped in, but they sank like stones into the sea, barely making a ripple. However, it was enough. The rest was just a matter of checking them one by one.

After dozens of false alarms, Ike finally arrived at the eve of the new moon mentioned in the Ravenclaw manuscript.

He stood quietly on the sea, holding an open parchment covered with countless green dots. These were the reflections of the glass marble he had dropped earlier, now unusually devoid of any red.

Slowly, midnight arrived.

Suddenly, several closely spaced green dots disappeared, and the ring of lights around them instantly turned from green to red. Although it was only for a blink of an eye, and the red turned back to green, it was enough!

Without hesitation, Ike instantly Apparated to a red dot. Upon closer inspection, he noticed something strange.

The dark sea in the distance was too calm!

He put away the parchment, gripped his wand, and cautiously moved forward. As he went deeper, the surrounding sounds grew fainter until there was complete silence, except for his own breathing.

The sea was as calm as a mirror, dark as an abyss that could swallow everything. Ike cast a light spell, but the ball of light could only illuminate a distance of two or three meters around him.

After walking forward for a while, Ike suddenly stopped and then took a few steps back.

He threw out another dazzling ball of light, but it only floated forward to the spot where he had just stood.

Then, it suddenly disappeared!

It was as if there was an invisible barrier there.

"Giants have appeared!"

Ike chanted an incantation, pointed his wand downwards, then raised it upwards, and the calm seawater beneath his feet began to churn violently in the next second. Then, a giant hand made of water suddenly reached out and pressed directly onto the surface of the water.

Next came the other hand, then the head, until finally, a water giant over ten meters tall appeared before Ike. The massive body moved with a single, swift motion, like a sudden downpour.

With another flick of the wand, the water giant strode forward, carrying the rain of seawater with it. With yet another flick, the water giant stopped abruptly.

It's just right, half inside and half outside.

Ike took two steps forward and looked through the water giant's transparent body. The weight in his heart finally lifted.

It turned out to be just an ordinary barrier, quite similar to the one Gloucester had seen.

Without further hesitation, Ike took a step forward and flicked his wand in the right hand. The next second, he vanished from his spot.

Behind them, the enormous water giant vanished with a deafening roar.

(End of this chapter)