I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 387 Let's Make a Deal

"Irving."

The incessant screams around her finally became unbearable for Hermione.

During the war with the sea god, she felt compassion for those ominous signs transformed from sea monsters. During her time in Egypt, although she destroyed many black wizard strongholds, whenever she personally took action, she mainly used non-lethal spells.

It's still too difficult for her to endure watching a wizard be burned to death.

"Oh, okay." Owen noticed Hermione's furrowed brow out of the corner of his eye.

Then, he waved his wand, stopping the fire spell.

The blue and white fire dragon roared, then fell silent.

The flames gradually died down.

The rising heat blew through their long hair.

Hermione instinctively reached out and pressed her hand against the stray hairs in front of her eyes to prevent them from getting in.

Meanwhile, Irving seized the opportunity to unleash a Cruciatus Curse at the old man.

Then came a series of spells, including the Binding Spell and the Petrification Spell.

At this point, the old man, already scorched by the flames and reeking of burnt flesh, had no strength left to resist.

The moment the Cruciatus Curse struck him, he began to convulse.

Then, before he could even utter a sound, the petrification spell followed immediately.

That shut him up completely.

Irving glared at the guy, but his heart wasn't really stirred.

Perhaps in the past, cruel thoughts might have arisen in his heart.

Casting the Cruciatus Curse now is nothing more than a bland punishment.

The old man must be punished; this is punishment for setting his sights on Hermione.

It's not for my own venting, but to make these kinds of people remember the pain so that they can truly learn their lesson.

"It's a pity that the old priestess seems to have been burned to ashes. She definitely knew far more than this guy. We should have spared her life."

Irving said it was a great pity.

Even if Hermione hadn't spoken, he would have spared that old man's life.

After all, he was the only one left alive. If he wanted to find the others who were hiding, he had to leave him behind.

At this moment, the folded space was completely unrecognizable; cracks had begun to appear in the strange kaleidoscope space, as if a mirror had been shattered.

Perhaps it was because the old man stopped supplying magic, or perhaps it was because the high temperature generated by the fire shield spell exceeded the capacity of this small space.

In short, the broken branches, like growing twigs, inevitably and quickly unfurl their winding forms.

Then—"bang!"

Owen, Hermione, and the old wizard who was barely breathing returned to the real world.

"Hey? There's a mouse."

Irving smiled.

When they return to reality.

Looking up, I saw a trembling body moving towards the stairwell.

The man was wearing a familiar, colorful, tattered robe, and he had a limp, making him appear small and thin.

"Oh dear! I thought you'd already gone to hell," Owen mocked. "Where are you headed?"

The mocking voices behind him made the figure tremble slightly.

However, the priest did not turn back, but quickened his pace and fled towards the stairwell.

She was no match for the little wizard who could cast such a powerful spell.

Just now—through the sacrifice of flesh and blood to the gods, she escaped that space with only one leg of her soul. She originally thought she had plenty of time to escape, but unexpectedly, that good-for-nothing Harland Martinez only lasted for a few dozen seconds.

Damn!

Damn it.

How could these wizards be so useless!

The old priest ran while inwardly grumbling.

"Uh—" Looking at High Priest Lavieu, who showed no sign of stopping, Owen gradually dropped the sarcasm on his face. "Are you looking down on me? You managed to get away from here. I'll take Miss Granger's surname."

After saying that, Irving raised his hand and unleashed several spells.

High Priest Lavieu had been silently watching behind him. Upon noticing the attack, he quickly turned around, raised his wand, and barely managed to cast a spell to block the attack that was already upon him.

"Huh? They changed players?" Irving said in surprise.

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed even more directly, startled.

The appearance and demeanor of this High Priest Lavieu are truly terrifying.

At this moment, half of her face was covered with wrinkles, her skin was aged and her flesh was sagging, and her hair was dry and gray. Various strange ribbons were tied around her head like hairbands.

If its overall appearance isn't quite that of a white-haired demon, it could certainly be described as a witch's corpse crawling out of a graveyard.

Her other half of her face had smooth skin, a firm complexion, blue eyes, and stray strands of gritty blonde hair peeking out from her forehead.

Such an incongruous face is the source of fear.

"You're shameless!" Owen said, his eyes wide and his expression strange.

"I"

They saw two young wizards in the distance, both looking shocked.

The high priest hurriedly reached out and touched his face.

The two different tactile sensations told her that her disguise had been shattered.

This immediately added a touch of gloom to her eyes.

"Phew—" She took a deep breath.

He stared at the little wizard over there.

I might as well stop pretending.

High Priest Lavieu held onto the stair railing with one hand and raised his wand in the other, chanting a spell towards his own face.

Then, Owen and the others saw the high priest in the distance, as if he had peeled off his own skin.

She peeled off half of the old man's face and threw it on the ground.

Something seemed to be wriggling beneath the hunched body.

Slowly, her body underwent a tremendous change.

He straightened up after bending over.

Her withered arms looked like a snake shedding its skin, and the new skin was like that of a young girl.

The shriveled chest suddenly stood up, as if inflating a balloon.

The magnitude of the movement caused Miss Granger, who was standing next to Owen, to frown repeatedly.

A few seconds later.

The person before me seemed reborn.

Her delicate and exquisite features resembled those of a finely crafted porcelain piece.

Her clear, bright eyes were like pools of water.

She has a straight nose and thin, moist lips.

Her long, dirty blonde hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

She has a curvaceous figure and exudes youthful energy.

She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old.

"You," Hermione thought immediately popped into her mind.

That is—that so-called High Priest of Lavyu—could it just be a title?

This is common in Africa.

The strongest person in a tribe will inherit the title of high priest.

The title itself originated from the name of a great hero of an ancient tribe.

The title of High Priestess of Lavieu is merely a name; it has always been impersonated by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

This was the most reasonable explanation she could think of.

There can't possibly be a drug that reverses aging in this world, right?

Will it happen?

With that thought in mind, Hermione looked at Owen beside her.

He will always find the answer.

Owen, of course, noticed the girl's confused look.

"I don't think now is the time for you, Miss Granger, to consider reversing aging. You should wait at least twenty or thirty years," Owen said with a smile. After receiving a glare from Hermione, he continued, "Well—there is indeed a potion that reverses aging, but it's an extremely, extremely precious potion. It's ten times more difficult to brew than a potion of luck. Most importantly, this potion requires a certain herb that only grows in one country, and the herb is prohibited from leaving that country. Wizards from other countries basically can't brew this potion."

"However, there are also lesser potions that can slow down aging and restore youth. But those potions will cause a mutation in the body. For example, our senior Tom fused his body with a snake. He does look young, but he doesn't look human anymore."

"However, the High Priest Lavieu before us is not someone who has become young again."

Owen turned to look at her intently. "If you hadn't just said something about taking Miss Granger's body, I probably would have thought that 'High Priestess Lavieu' was just a title, currently being impersonated by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old witch."

But—actually, that's not the case, right?

You must be two hundred or even three hundred years old!

By possessing the bodies of others, they devour their souls to replenish themselves.

Upon hearing this, Hermione, standing next to Owen, twitched her eyelids slightly.

He quickly reached out and grabbed Irving's left hand.

—To take over someone else's body?

To devour the souls of others.

Was she trying to take over my body and soul?

A chill ran down Hermione's spine and quickly spread throughout her body.

This is terrifying.

The thought of her body being taken over by someone else motivates her to maintain her relationships, continue going to school, graduating, and even getting married and having children.

But I was already dead.

She was terrified just thinking about such a future.

How could such magic exist?

On the other hand, feeling the warmth from his palm, Irving gripped it even tighter.

He then continued, "Such magical technology could never have originated in Africa."

"I do know people and places that have similar technology. I'm just curious, how did you obtain it?"

"This has nothing to do with you." The voice was different from the previous hoarse one.

This time, the girl's clear voice was exceptionally loud.

"Now that you've found out," she said.

"What? Are you going to be foolish enough to become our enemy too?" Owen raised an eyebrow, his gaze seemingly casually falling on the fist-sized hole in High Priest Lavieu's right leg and abdomen.

Speaking of the priest in front of us, he may not actually be human (in a biological sense).

That hole was just created by Hermione. No normal person—no—even a magical creature, could be alive and kicking after having a hole blasted into their body.

And yet she still survived.

Furthermore, in the empty space on his chest, countless pieces of flesh wriggled, intertwined, and multiplied like worms, rapidly repairing the wound.

Irving had only seen this kind of scene in one place.

That is the part of the Outer God that is controlled by the divine essence in the giant.

During that great battle, the giant's body was repaired in this way by the damage caused by his spell.

The only difference is the speed.

Tsk tsk—come to think of it, if Hermione had aimed for her head with that attack, she might not be alive today.

The little witch is kind-hearted.

"No—why fight?" High Priest Lavieu leaned against the stair railing.

A smile graced his young face.

"You've probably guessed my abilities by now," she said.

"You two are British, and young wizards at Hogwarts, so have you ever heard of the Dark Lord's resurrection?"

"Huh?" Owen was taken aback. "How come you were involved in his resurrection?"

"Of course!" she continued calmly. "Three years ago, God guided him to meet me on the Greek island of Mothrace. At that time, the infamous Dark Lord was nothing more than a wandering soul, not even as good as an animal. His soul was probably inferior to that of a pig or a dog, and he could only possess the body of a snake, which was even more pathetic."

"And then?" She narrowed her eyes, her smile widening. "I rejuvenated him, I repaired his soul, and I single-handedly created his second period of glory."

"So it was you." Owen was taken aback, but immediately understood. Voldemort, a third-year student, had suddenly resurrected and become younger, invading Hogwarts in the form of a teenager.

It turns out that all of this was the work of the priest in front of us.

"That's right, it's me," High Priest Lavieu said smugly. "You should no longer doubt my skills, right?"

"Yes—I must admit, I was previously attracted to the body and soul of that girl, Hermione Granger, the great heir of ancient magic, a descendant of Gryffindor, destined to become a legendary wizard."

But after all, she didn't suffer any real harm, did she?

Moreover, she also benefited; she received most of the soul essence I used to replenish the soul essence lost during the transfer. Perhaps she can't feel it yet, but soon, the feeling of lightness and abundant energy will manifest itself.

"So?" Irving interrupted, "After saying all that, what do you want?"

"It's very simple." High Priest Lavieu smiled slightly. "How about we make a deal?"

"Spare me and keep this a secret. As for that old man Harland Martinez, do with him as you please, but don't spread the information he knows."

"Heh—quite a few people died here, and such a serious battle took place; the Ministry of Magic probably noticed it a long time ago."

"It's alright," High Priest Lavieu continued. "Quite by chance, a group of monsters escaped from the Ikul Magical Disability Hospital and attacked this place. All the wizards' deaths were caused by those monsters, and no one will suspect you."

"Wow! Perfect plan, but the problem—why should we let you go?" Owen stared at her. "Give me a reason you can't refuse."

"For Miss Granger," High Priest Lavieu replied. "Leaving aside the fact that as the inheritor of ancient magic, she is destined for a terrible end, she has already offended so many dark wizards in Egypt. Do you think she can easily escape every single time she goes on in her life?"

"Moreover—wizards always have a limited lifespan. How long can you live? Two hundred years? Three hundred years?"

"If you spare me, we'll be companions. As long as I live, you'll stay young forever, forever in the age of teenagers."

I still feel terrible. I tried my best and got four thousand.

(End of this chapter)