I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 433 recounts a piece of history from the past.

It was about two weeks after the events in the United States.

News from the magical world had just reached Downing Street.

Mr. Hack sat in his office with a long briefing in his hand.

It wasn't a briefing from MI6, but rather something the Treasury Department had delivered to his office this morning.

US stocks triggered a circuit breaker.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1885 points, and the S&P 500 dropped 7% intraday, triggering a Level 1 market circuit breaker and halting trading in the U.S. stock market for 15 minutes.

The index continued to fall by 550 points after the market opened.

The New York Stock Exchange was in chaos.

This is unusual news. After all, the bear market has only been down for a few years. How could a market that was thriving suddenly collapse overnight?

Until ten minutes ago, a black-robed wizard claiming to be from the Ministry of Magic barged into his office and talked to him for ten minutes, bringing only bad news, each one more serious than the last.

In fact, Mr. Hack was quite disgusted with these Ministry of Magic officials.

They're just like those civil servants; they only cause him trouble.

When the Death Eaters escaped from prison, they came to him once, asking him to cooperate in their nationwide manhunt.

They came to Italy once before, asking me to command Muggles—oh, that's what they called me—to command the Muggle fleet to cooperate with wizards, and so on.

Mr. Harker certainly knew that the Muggle fleet the wizards were referring to was the NATO Combined Fleet, but—perhaps these wizards hiding in the shadows were still living in the last century, or the century before that, and still thought that the British Empire was the world's most powerful force!

The UK today is just a US missile launch base; what influence does it have to command the NATO fleet?

Then came this time.

"The Magical Congress of the United States is currently in a state of shutdown. In the coming days, a large number of foreign wizards may enter the United Kingdom, either legally or illegally, which will have an impact on the Muggle world. You should be prepared."

God—listen to this.

Don't make me clean up the mess you've made.

However, Mr. Hack must admit that he was actually a little excited when he first heard the news.

I never expected this!

You, America, have finally met your match.

This is an opportunity.

He keenly sensed that if that damned Ministry of Magic obeyed his orders, they could definitely reap huge profits from the other side of the sea this time.

Of course—it's not bad now either. It has declined, and even if we haven't made any progress, it's still a kind of progress.

Ideally, this turmoil would cause that country to disintegrate along with its previous rival, which would be an absolute boon to the British Empire.

With that thought in mind, Mr. Huck put away the memo in his hand.

Then he dialed the internal phone number he had on hand.

He needs to personally oversee the task of strengthening surveillance of foreign nationals.

On the other side of the ocean, far from Downing Street, even far from London, far from Britain.

A huge cargo ship is cutting through the sea.

However—if you look at it from a higher perspective, you'll find that the cargo ship seems to be just circling on the sea, without a specific destination.

This is a Muggle cargo ship chartered by the Federation, which is now serving as a wartime command center for North America.

Besides that, it has other uses.

That involves arranging refugees and the wounded, as well as identifying suspects—so the rescued wizards cannot leave to return to their own countries, but must board a cargo ship to undergo several days of observation and interrogation by the Federation to confirm that you are not a fraudster whose brain has been stolen by the [Imitators].

Ron, Koyatl, and Bill Fleur all stayed on the ship for quite some time.

Bill did not return to the UK after his identity was confirmed.

Perhaps it was the cruelty of war that ignited his desire for revenge, and he chose to join the Allied forces on the spot to suppress the enemy.

Hibiscus was forced to stay on the ship as a healer, responsible for brewing potions.

Owen also arrived here after clearing out the Tower of Divine Gifts and participating in ancient magic.

When he met Koyatl on the ship, he was actually quite surprised. It was a real surprise that the other man was still alive.

As for Ron—he was even more surprised.

He knew Ron's skill level; it was a miracle that he escaped from Voldemort.

This made Irving suspect that someone was helping him behind the scenes.

"How much longer will we have to stay on the ship?"

Looking at the unchanging sea surface with utter boredom, Ron said in a gloomy mood.

"A few more days!"

Irving said calmly.

Because Ron had faced the Outer Gods and had been possessed by someone during the battle, although Dumbledore and Grindelwald believed Ron and Coyatt's story, rules are rules, and if no one follows them, they become nothing but empty words.

He himself consented to the surveillance and interrogation.

"It's been so long—it feels like ages," Ron remarked.

"It has been a long time indeed," Irving said. "It's been three months."

"Yes," Ron sighed.

Koyatl's men also came over from the deck.

She had just finished her interrogation for the day—she, like Ron, had been under long-term surveillance.

In fact, Owen himself was one of the wizards monitoring them.

As the heir, there are certain things that only he can see. Coupled with the current reputation of Rosier Hospital for the Magical Injuries and Dumbledore's permission, it is not difficult for him to obtain such an identity.

He had reviewed all of their memories of the battle in the Brazilian Divine Tower, including everything from that night, more than once.

"I don't know what else you want to know!" Koyatl said curtly. She had just broken free from all her restraints and hadn't had a single second of freedom before being imprisoned by the Federation again, which infuriated her.

"Those who know already know. The point is, they can't believe it," Owen shrugged.

The ancient mysteries of Outer Gods, Heirs, and Ancient Magic are too fantastical to be easily accepted.

"If they never believe it their whole lives, does that mean we'll be imprisoned for life?"

“No—” Owen looked at her and said, “Dumbledore wouldn’t allow it.”

"Then I really have to thank him," Koyatl said stiffly.

Then she looked up again, meeting Owen's gaze. "You should have seen my memories of Ron and me in that hazy, dreamlike state, right? Do you know what Ms. Shani was talking about—about me, my family, that so-called love?"

"Hmm—" Irving nodded. "I know."

"You know?" The girl seemed quite surprised.

“I always knew,” he said. “At first I just didn’t realize it. Stewart sounds like a Muggle surname, so it didn’t catch my attention. Then I remembered that the descendants of Isolde Thayer, the founder of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and her husband James Stewart all had the surname Stewart.”

"And then?" Koyatl raised an eyebrow; she knew the answer to that.

She is a blood descendant of the two founders.

She is half Stuart.

"What you may not know is that Isolde Thayer is a direct descendant of the Gaunt family, one of the oldest pure-blood families in England. In short, you are a descendant of Salazar Slytherin and related to Voldemort by blood."

"What?" Ron was taken aback.

This—this surprised him greatly.

Ron never doubted Owen. He turned his head to look at Koyatl and found that the other man's face was also full of doubt.

"Are you sure?" Koyatel said indifferently. What Owen had just said made no sense, and in her opinion, it seemed to be a dig at Iphamoni Magic Academy. It was hard for her to believe.

"Let me tell you a story," Owen said, not in a hurry to explain, but instead changing the subject.

"I guarantee that no one else in the world will know this story this week except me."

"I'm listening," Koyatl nodded.

Irving withdrew his gaze and instead looked out at the distant sea.

The sunset over the sea is breathtaking. As the sun gradually sets, its afterglow spreads across the entire sea, the golden light intertwining with the deep blue, creating a beautiful scene.

The waves swayed gently in the breeze, as if paying homage to the setting sun. The sea was calm and tranquil, as if the whole world was immersed in this warm and soft light.

Irving's voice rose gently with the sound of the waves, "Our story begins in 1603."

"Isolde Thayer's mother, Leona Thayer, was born into the Gaunt family, a pure-blood family and a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, Leona did not share the majority of her family's support for pure-blood views, choosing instead to be friendly to Muggles."

"And her father, William Thayer, was a direct descendant of the infamous Irish witch, Morrigan. Their marriage was one of the most celebrated pure-blood marriages among pure-bloods."

Isolde's early childhood was peaceful and happy, filled with the love of her parents, and her family often quietly helped their Muggle neighbors, using magic to heal humans and livestock. However, all of this attracted the hatred of her aunt, Gomley Gaunt, a mad witch who had pure-blood superiority ingrained in her blood and believed that Hogwarts should close down the other three houses besides Slytherin. She found Isolde's family, killed her parents, and took young Isolde away to raise her alone.

Gormley believed her sister's affinity for Muggles stemmed from their family's prolonged contact with them, which she felt had corrupted them. Therefore, she forbade her niece from interacting with anyone and locked her up.

In the distance, as the sun gradually sank below the horizon, the color of the sky began to change.

From its initial golden hue, it gradually transformed into orange, red, and finally deep purple. These colors intertwined to create a beautiful sunset, adorning the entire sky with a dreamlike glow.

"Twelve years passed in this way. In order to get rid of her aunt completely and prevent her from finding her, Isolde stole her aunt's wand and boarded the Mayflower to the Americas in 1620."

In the years that followed, Isolde, now free, wandered the North American continent. There she met a Pukkaki and they embarked on many adventures together. During her years of adventure, she rescued two wizard boys from a cloaked monster and met a Muggle young man named James Stewart.

She built her own little house on this land and named it "Ilfamoni," after her parents' room, in their memory. Later, she fell in love with James Stewart and began teaching magic to the two young boys (her adopted sons). As time went on, many local wizards began to contact Ilfamoni because the wand magic used in Europe was considered more "advanced" and easier to master than the hand gestures of the native wizards. They sent their children to Ilfamoni, hoping she could teach them European magic.

As Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry grew in reputation, Isolde drew inspiration from the stories her aunt had told her about Hogwarts when she was a child, and divided the school into four houses: Thunderbird, Cat-and-Leopard, Pukcher, and Longhorn-and-Water Serpent.

"The year is 1634. By this time, the Ilvermony School of Magic has taken shape and its reputation is spreading far and wide. Isolde and Jaime have children of their own, and they named their twin daughters after their mother: Leona and Martha."

Unfortunately, fame brought them both honor and disaster.

Gormley Gaunt came to them.

She used a spell to put Isolde and Jaime into a coma and planned to take their twin daughters away and start raising them again.

During the attack, Isolde's two adopted sons discovered the plot and engaged Gormley Gaunt in a duel. Although the two brothers were exceptionally powerful, they were still somewhat outmatched by the dark wizard Gormley. Just as Gormley was about to use the Killing Curse to resolve the trouble before her...

A miracle occurred—the twin daughters, Leona and Martha, were awakened by the aftershocks of the battle and began to scream. Meanwhile, the curse on Isolde and Jaime was broken by the power of love aroused by their daughters, and they regained consciousness.

"ha?"

Irving paused at this point, and Koyatl responded with a short, questioning sound.

"Two babies?"

"How is this possible!"

She always believed that the magic of love must be an ancient spell, and the price of activating it could be one's own life.

But now Owen is telling her that babies can also evoke the magic of love, which means that you don't need any spells or anything else to unleash this magic.

Owen didn't explain, but paused and continued, "Isolde is no match for her aunt. After all, she hasn't received systematic magical education. Although she has a wealth of combat experience, accumulated from years of adventures, Gormley can easily crush her compared to spells."

Most importantly, the wand in Isolde's hand was her aunt's wand, the wand that belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. It could be controlled by Parseltongue, and although Isolde was of pure blood, she had not inherited Salazar's Parseltongue.

When Gormley commanded the wand to sleep, Isolde held nothing more than a fire poker.

(End of this chapter)