I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 408 We just met—Death!

"What's wrong with Voldemort? What are you afraid of—this is the Illusionary Realm, we are all spirits. Come on, try casting a spell!" Owen rolled his eyes at Harry.

After being reminded by Irving, the guy finally realized that something extremely important was missing from his body.

magic.

"Finally realized it?" On the other side, Tom, who was about twenty years old, suddenly revealed a cruel smile.

He walked step by step, finally stepping out of the light and shadow and into the dark corner of the corridor.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry, just calmly watching Owen and Harry.

“Here, you’re just ordinary Muggles,” he said. “It’s unlikely you can do whatever you want.”

Harry was shocked and his face turned pale, but he did not back down. Instead, he clenched his fists.

Even if he can't cast spells, doesn't he still have this?

Are you suggesting we make him kneel and beg for mercy in front of his enemy?

"We can't cast spells, but you can?" Owen didn't seem to care at all. He maintained a relaxed expression and didn't become tense at all because of the increasingly dangerous look in the eyes of the man in front of him who was looking at the young Voldemort.

"Hmph—" Senior Tom sneered, without answering Owen's question.

In fact, he was indeed unable to cast spells.

Horcruxes are merely attached to a wisp of soul; they do not possess any magic power themselves. Only when they completely possess a wizard's body will they regain the ability to cast spells.

The only reason he can be here now is because this is a dreamlike illusion. If he were elsewhere, the soul within the Horcrux would naturally not be able to escape so easily.

"Owen—" Harry called softly, relieved to hear that the man before him was also unable to cast a spell.

"But how are we supposed to find the Horcruxes?"

"This place is so big!"

Owen glanced at Harry.

This is why Tom was so fearless.

This castle is so big, it would be incredibly easy to hide something.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were looking for a needle in a haystack.

But Owen wasn't worried; on the contrary, he tried to continue talking to Tom in a relaxed tone.

"You should be a third-year student. You are a new Horcrux created by Tom after he repaired his soul and returned to his pre-year state."

The other person looked at him and smiled noncommittally.

Irving nodded and continued to approach him. "The dreamlike realm will conjure up scenes based on a person's thoughts and feelings, the most important moments in their life."

He pointed around, "Hogwarts—perhaps you don't even realize how important this castle is to you."

Otherwise, after you opened the secret room and caused Myrtle's death the first time, you wouldn't have needed to frame Hagrid. Because you were afraid the school would close because of Myrtle's death.

Irving raised his hand, interrupting Tom's possible explanation or sarcasm, "Maybe you're thinking that you just don't want to go back to the orphanage, don't want to hang out with those stupid Muggles."

"But this only further proves how important the castle is to you."

"Actually—" Owen had already moved closer to Tom, his bright green eyes sparkling as he gazed at him, "I strongly disagree with Dumbledore's claim that Tom Riddle fell into darkness step by step because he didn't understand love."

He was busy fighting Grindelwald at the time and paid little attention to you; he was more on guard. The old headmaster only really started studying you after the First Wizarding War.

"Heh—what do you want from telling me all this?" Tom gave a cruel laugh. Perhaps it was because his soul had been repaired that this Horcrux was more rational than before, unlike the other Horcruxes, which seemed to be inhabited by a madman.

"Prove you know me well?"

"No—" Owen had already arrived in front of him.

The two stood facing each other.

Judging from his appearance, he was a head shorter than Tom.

After all, Tom is 6.3 feet (191 cm) tall.

Fifteen-year-old Irving was far inferior.

However, this did not affect the charisma between the two.

Although Tom always acted as if he was fearless, Owen was actually the one who firmly controlled the situation.

"You've lived so far from shore in your life that when you cry for help, it's like being haunted," Irving said calmly. "Some saw fear, some saw opportunity, some saw a clown."

"No one ever saw it—it was actually a distress signal."

"A distress signal?" Tom sneered. "What are you talking about? Are you out of your mind?"

"I feel a little sentimental," Irving said.

Whether it was the Death Eater experience that Merlin imposed on him, or the life experience far beyond this world, in that past world, his life experience was very similar to Tom's.

Perhaps it's because he's been so heavily influenced by the Outer God lately that he's become unlike himself.

In short, upon seeing the castle, he unconsciously wanted to say something.

Of course, you can also interpret this as his attempt to persuade Tom, the senior in front of him, to open his heart.

The Horcrux in front of me is different from the ones I've seen before.

It was created by Voldemort after he came into contact with the Outer Gods.

Although Owen cannot currently determine whether the Outer God who cooperated with Voldemort was a part of the gods in the Italian Divine Tower, or a part of something else, or whether he truly had the ability to tear open Merlin's Sea of ​​Stars to communicate with the real Outer God.

In short, Voldemort has now gained knowledge and power far exceeding what he has ever possessed before.

The saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy." This Horcrux might be the perfect breakthrough.

However, it is obvious that the enemy surrendered with just a few words. This was already demonstrated more than a thousand years ago, and the result is self-evident.

Forget it—let Dumbledore worry about these troublesome things.

Irving rubbed his head.

Her clear eyes fell on Tom's flat chest—oh! When he looked straight ahead, that was all he could see.

"It might hurt," he suddenly said out of the blue.

"But does the soul feel pain too?"

shook his head.

The next moment, with lightning speed, his hand moved like a gun.

It pierced straight through Tom's heart.

"Are you an idiot? This is just a spirit." Upon seeing this, Senior Tom was stunned for a moment, and then immediately let out a crazy, mocking laugh.

"I know—" Irving replied lazily.

Its emerald green eyes darted around mischievously, and a sinister smile curled at the corners of its mouth.

Immediately afterwards, Tom's expression suddenly froze.

Because he felt an extremely familiar and powerful magical force surging into his body.

It was as hot as lava, threatening to incinerate his body.

Wait—this power, he knew what it was—this was the ancient magic that man had mentioned!

What happened?

How could the person before me possess ancient magic?

Isn't the heir to ancient magic that mudblood girl from Gryffindor?

Could it be?

At that moment—Tom's pupils constricted; he realized he had been deceived!

He couldn't believe that the teenage wizard before him possessed such intelligence to orchestrate such a scheme and deceive him—the mastermind behind all of this could only be—Dumbledore!!!

Damn!

Damn it!!!

Suddenly, Tom's face contorted with intense resentment, twisting his handsome features.

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?!" he roared madly.

The greatest enemy of the Enchanted Realm is the inheritor of ancient magic, who knows that his secret may soon be exposed.

But he was unwilling to accept it—how could the mighty Dark Lord be defeated by an unknown brat!

"Me?" Owen used his other hand to brush the silver hair from his forehead.

It's so annoying! It's so annoying that there's no magic spell to keep his hairstyle in place.

However, he did not show any impatience on his face.

Instead, he wore a pretentious, profound expression.

He reached out his hand through Tom's, and the silvery light seemed to appear on his palm like dazzling stars.

"I am Irving Sanchez!"

"The God of Death!!!"

Irving gave a cold laugh, then suddenly smashed the dazzling star in his hand into the wall beside him.

Then—a terrifying scene unfolded.

It's like a black hole suddenly appeared!

Inside the black hole are twinkling stars.

An invisible force of gravity instantly began to erode everything around it.

Including Tom, the senior student standing in front of him.

The phantom of this Horcrux resembled ripples created when a leaf falls into a black lake.

Just a few seconds later, the ripples disappeared.

He, too, disappeared.

Then, terrifying cracks began to appear little by little in the surrounding bricks, wood, trees, and even the ground.

The cracks grew larger and larger until they became irreparable.

The world is collapsing.

Harry finally realized this.

He cried out in terror, "Owen!"

Then she rushed over and grabbed his arm.

It seems they wanted to take him away.

"What are you doing?" Owen rolled his eyes at the flustered Harry.

When Irving interrupted me, I realized that although I was standing on a vast expanse of stars, I had not sunk into the galaxy like the ruins of those castles.

"Huh? Nothing?"

"Nonsense! Of course I'm fine! Do you think I'd die together with a little Voldemort?" Owen said irritably.

This guy in front of me—he has a conscience, but he's incredibly stupid.

I won't mock him since he didn't turn around and run away in that critical moment.

"Oh!" Harry chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. "I thought—"

"Thought you were about to embark on another great adventure?" Owen scoffed. "You haven't even finished this game yet."

"So you're already thinking about the next game?"

"Look there—" he pointed to the boundless starry sky beneath his feet.

Somehow, although at first glance the stars seem to have no pattern of arrangement, as long as you concentrate, the positions of the stars seem to suddenly change—when in fact they have not changed at all.

But in your eyes, it seems as if a bridge made of brilliant stars has appeared.

Along the deep starry path, it seems boundless with no end.

"Go wherever you want, and you can be reincarnated directly," Owen said casually.

"."

"What's at the end of that road?" Harry suddenly became curious.

"Hmm—you will meet Anubis, who will open his heart to you and place your heart on a scale. If your heart weighs more than the Feather of Truth, you will go to hell; if it weighs less, you will go to heaven; if it is equal, you will remain in the underworld."

"Then I..." Harry hesitated, unsure—he had done his fair share of bad things at the Dursleys' house, a small act of revenge against his cousin.

"I stole Dudley's chocolates, and I even cut his pants. When I was eight, I deliberately smashed Uncle Vernon's car window and framed a kid from another block for bullying me with Dudley. I..."

"Stop, stop, stop—you're not dead yet! No need to confess to me!" Owen slapped Harry on the back of the head. "Besides, you're a wizard, and a British wizard at that. You believe that you're more likely to see Merlin than Anubis. Then why don't you believe that I'm actually your grandfather reincarnated? When you get back, remember to hand over all the Potter family's wealth!"

"."

Owen's slap brought Harry back to his senses.

He suddenly woke up.

My soul was pulled away from the strange vision of death beneath my feet.

Then—an awkward feeling began to overwhelm him, making him restless and wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground. But that was one thing; his current crack in the ground was a reincarnation.

Harry, who had just died, fell silent.

Meanwhile, Irving was secretly chuckling to himself.

Then, in a comforting tone, he said, "With your reputation as a savior, you can't be bad—who knows, Death might even want you as his deputy."

"You've done your best."

"You're much better than me," Harry said, turning his head away to ease the awkwardness.

"So!" Owen said cheerfully, "You'll be Death's right-hand man, and I'll go down there and take him down. Then you'll work for me!"

"."

Harry wanted to say with conviction that he couldn't work when he was working, but he was under someone else's roof and this godforsaken place made him uneasy, so he decided against it.

"Okay," he said.

Upon hearing this, Irving nodded in satisfaction.

-

And during the free time the two were chatting.

The entire illusionary realm has completely collapsed.

"We will go back after the illusion shatters. And—no matter where the Horcrux is hidden, it will definitely appear once the entire illusion collapses."

"So that's why you've been so fearless?" Harry's expression revealed a hint of realization.

"Of course—I've always been this composed." The man proudly raised his head, but the stray hairs on his forehead suddenly obscured his eyes, forcing him to raise his head even higher and let his hair fall to the sides as much as possible, which made him look somewhat arrogant.

"Composed." Harry's cheek twitched slightly.

You don't fit this word at all!

However, he did not refute it further, but instead quietly observed his surroundings.

The castle crumbled little by little, like broken building blocks.

The corridors, classrooms, and lounges he knew so well crumbled into nothingness in this apocalyptic catastrophe.

He felt a little sad—as if something most precious was disappearing.

If Irving is right.

Each person's dreamlike illusion is a manifestation of the most important scenes from their own life.

So perhaps for him, his fantasy is also a castle.

That's probably why Harry is so upset.

On the other side, the surrounding buildings became fewer and fewer.

There are only a few scattered ruins.

The surroundings were filled with stars, with only a few bricks remaining.

Just as the last fragment of Tom's memory of the castle was about to vanish, a silver, stake-like object suddenly appeared—it was exactly the same as the stakes the goblins had used for sacrifices and the one the priest had used, the only difference perhaps being its size.

The one in front of me is only the size of a palm.

Owen used ancient magic to bind it.

"As expected—" he muttered to himself. This should be called a staff—a magical weapon used by ancient wizards and sorcerers.

It was exactly the same as what he had seen before, even the statue at the top was very similar.

It's a pity it's too small. If it were a little bigger, people would notice that the statue looks like him.

"Is this Voldemort's Horcrux?" Harry stared intently at the staff in Owen's hand.

"Yes." He nodded.

Then came the announcement of the end of this adventure.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the starry sky.

The light was so bright that before he and Harry could close their eyes, everything went white.

In a daze, Irving thought he heard someone calling him.

It was a girl—her voice sounded familiar.

But just as he was about to listen carefully, a sudden, intense feeling of fullness overwhelmed his entire body.

Then he opened his eyes.

Owen found himself lying on the stone steps of the archway, surrounded by a large crowd, including Dumbledore, Barty Crouch, and a host of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic.

His clarity of mind seemed to be a signal, and suddenly everyone's eyes were on him.

"Owen?" Dumbledore immediately stopped his entanglement with the Ministry of Magic and strode over.

"I'm fine!" Owen immediately raised his arm to indicate that he was alright, and as he raised his arm, he noticed that his left hand was holding a silver staff.

It is the one in the hazy illusion.

"I brought it out." He did so without leaving a trace—Dumbledore happened to reach out and help him up, and just like that, Owen quietly slipped the staff into the old headmaster's sleeve.

Dumbledore's expression paused noticeably.

But it returned to normal in an instant.

There's no way around it. The Ministry of Magic is teeming with Voldemort's spies these days. It's practically a den of traitors. There are trustworthy wizards, but who knows if there aren't any traitors among the people gathered here? If Owen were to openly display that thing, it would likely reach Voldemort's ears immediately.

From an outsider's perspective, it would appear as if he and Harry had simply fainted after touching the curtain.

Most of the wizards present were Kingsley and his men, trustworthy wizards who wouldn't gossip.

"Are you alright, Harry?" the old headmaster asked Harry, who was standing next to Owen.

"It's alright." Harry stood up, looking refreshed. He hadn't done anything this time and was quite relaxed.

"Dumbledore!" Behind them, Barty Crouch glared angrily, his face flushed with rage. "You sent two junior wizards here, and..."

Owen guessed he was trying to say that he and Harry's coma was caused by the headmaster, blah blah blah, but Dumbledore didn't give him that chance. He interrupted Crouch and said, "We'll talk properly when we get back to Hogwarts."

He spoke in a notification-like tone, showing no intention of discussing it further.

He turned and left with Harry and Owen.

Crouch behind him was trembling with rage.

He was thoroughly enraged by Dumbledore's arrogant attitude.

His reason was gradually consumed by anger, but he never said a word to stop it.

This Crouch is more like a snake lurking in the shadows, quietly waiting for his fatal plan.

Meanwhile, after the three left the Ministry of Magic, Owen retrieved his wand and package, while Harry got his wand back.

In the hall, the professor Apparated and brought the two back to the castle.

In the principal's office.

The dark water in the meditation basin shimmered with light.

The scenes inside were exactly what he and Harry had just experienced.

Dumbledore watched their journey from a third-person perspective.

Especially the dialogue between Owen and Tom.

This left the professor with many thoughts.

He sat silently in the chair next to his desk, as if all his energy had been drained.

He only smiled when he and Harry finally talked about Death.

This only made Harry more embarrassed.

It's already embarrassing enough to lose face once, but to have to repeat his embarrassing moment in front of him is simply cruel.

Irving had secretly taken out his commemorative pocket watch to preserve this precious moment.

Waiting for Harry Potter's wedding—the baby's full moon.

In short, every important milestone in his life was used to thoroughly ridicule him.

Haha.

Finally, all the images in the Pensieve returned to the water. It became calm and still again.

Dumbledore took out his staff from his pocket and carefully picked it up.

It took him a while to put it down.

"Oh! You can go now. I don't provide lunch here," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"."

Both of them stared at the old rascal with a speechless expression.

Why didn't you speak up sooner?

And—is it already noon?

Irving clutched his stomach, briefly sensing the contents inside—hmm—it really was noon, time for lunch!

Then, the two of them fled the principal's office without stopping and rushed towards the cafeteria.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, they saw a large group of young wizards heading to Hogsmeade Station in twos and threes.

The Hogwarts Express has arrived.

It should depart in a few tens of minutes.

Oh—at that moment, Owen and Harry remembered that Dumbledore had said he was going to close the school—because Harry's dream had made him cautious.

Clearly, Professor Dumbledore had no intention of retracting the order.

After all, a school principal can't go back on their word.

And it's not necessarily a bad thing for the little wizards to go home.

However, to Owen and Harry's dismay, lunch service had already ended!

*Knock*—Because of the Hogwarts Express, dinner is served an hour earlier than usual today, and by now—the elves have probably already washed the pots clean!

"Owen, Harry!"

Suddenly, Hermione's voice came from the crowd.

She ran from the top of the spiral staircase.

He wore a simple, dark green thick coat, a white embroidered sweater, a gray scarf and beanie, and black trousers and brown travel boots.

"Where have you been?" She walked through the crowd and stood in front of the two.

"Nowhere," Harry said, unsure how to explain.

Irving, on the other hand, was much more direct. He opened his mouth and said, "We just met—death!"

(End of this chapter)