I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 448 Island

(Previous chapter has been revised)

That was a fierce fire.

It is the most powerful fire magic.

The nimble hunting dogs leaped across the sea, igniting the blooming spirit flowers.

In an instant, those who had perished were engulfed in flames.

In the flames, they had no time to say goodbye, they could only wave, like sculptures frozen in time, watching their loved ones walk further and further away.

Cries and shouts echoed through the crowd, one after another. They were reluctant to part. Another farewell was like tearing open a wound that had not yet healed. The memories that were originally blurry became clearer and clearer. People always forget the joys and sorrows of life. When they recall the past, all they can think of are the happy days spent with their loved ones.

The pain made it even harder to stop the tears, but the raging fire didn't give them much time to express their farewell.

In the blink of an eye, the sea was transformed, darkness descended, and the purple light vanished.

Sirius put away his wand, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Mr. Basil took out a handkerchief embroidered with blue lotus from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Xiaolin, who was silently gazing at the sea.

"Hi—" He was a little unsure of what to say.

Miss Zhang, regaining her senses, immediately snatched the handkerchief away, then turned her head, leaving Mr. Basil with her back turned.

Unable to find a single word of comfort, Mr. Basil could only recall the words of a shaman he had met in South America: "They haven't really left; they live on in our memories."

The girl remained unmoved for a moment before speaking angrily, "Do I need your comfort?"

"Hmph—" She turned around, her face as usual, with no trace of tears on her cheeks.

"You should tell Winston the comforting words you've prepared; he's almost cried his eyes out!"

After saying that, the two looked at Winston, whose face was covered in tears.

He looks nothing like his former lovable, simple-minded self now.

Because of his inexplicable tendency to gain weight no matter what he eats, Winston has always been chubby. He seems to have accepted his comedic persona, always cheerful and smiling at everyone. It's quite something to see him crying like this now.

"Have you cried enough?!" Miss Zhang strode over and gave Winston a heavy slap on the back. "Should we have Basil go find a metal bucket?"

"Hey—" Mr. Basil glanced gently at the girl who was trying so hard to comfort him, "Can't you say something nice?"

"What nice things are you saying?" Miss Zhang turned to look at him.

"For example... say something that will make people feel better." Mr. Basil touched his nose, somewhat helplessly.

Miss Zhang pursed her lips, looking at Winston's swollen, red eyes, and suddenly her heart softened. She went over and gently hugged Winston, her voice much gentler: "If you cry again, I'm going to hit you."

"."

The emotions that Mr. Basil had been building up vanished instantly.

He rubbed his eyes, then drawled, "Um...actually, I'm feeling pretty down too. Why don't you give me a hug to comfort me?"

"puff--"

He had barely finished speaking.

The girl in front of him had already opened her folding fan. With a gentle wave, a jet of water as tall as a person shot out. Mr. Basil, caught off guard, was instantly knocked down by the water.

The cold floodwaters poured haphazardly over him.

After a chilling sensation, he felt a shiver run through his body.

"Are you feeling any better?" Zhang Xiaolin asked, tilting her chin up and looking down at him.

"Much better, much better." Mr. Basil casually cast a few spells on himself, and his clothes were dry in the blink of an eye.

Winston witnessed all of this.

He finally smiled.

He looked at his two companions.

The three of them smiled at each other; at this moment, they had never been so closely connected.

On the other side, as the ship continued its voyage, the dark sea once again lit up with faint purple lights.

The Blooming Spirit Flowers, seemingly appearing from nowhere, seemed endless.

This time, however, both Sirius Black and the trio over there were quickly cleaning up the flowers.

Leave only a small number of them to guide them.

And so, things gradually calmed down on the Camelot.

Although some wizards couldn't resist jumping off the ship to pick up a blooming flower, such behavior was immediately stopped by their companions.

Everyone began to focus on their own tasks: some were responsible for inspecting the ship, some were responsible for continuing to cast spells to contact the Federation, and some were flipping through the Federation's publication, "Countermeasures to a Thousand Magical Traps," looking for a way to leave this place.

In short, everyone got busy; they put themselves in a busy state.

Only in this way can those restless thoughts be calmed down.

Camelot continued its journey—about an hour later, at the end of the sea filled with blooming spirit flowers, a touch of green suddenly appeared.

As the ship drew closer, a small island came into view.

It was a small island full of spiritual energy, with lush and sprawling forests, colorful and vibrant leaves, and all the tree trunks had veins that emitted a blue light, like blood vessels.

Radiant and full of magic, one glance reveals that this land holds miracles beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

On the deck, Zhang Xiaolin frowned slightly.

I felt a little worried about the suddenly appearing island.

Immediately, her gaze turned cold, and she slowly opened the folding fan in her hand.

And there it was—two fish swimming on the painted fan, which was made of water and jade.

That was a fan made of water!

"Back off!" Mr. Basil raised his voice and shouted.

The group of wizards immediately left the ship's side.

All eyes were fixed on the black-haired girl.

Zhang Xiaolin gently waved her fan.

The two fish in the water swung their tails and jumped into the sea.

As it landed.

Its volume is also expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it is hundreds of feet in size.

"It's a Kunpeng!" Winston exclaimed. "I never thought I'd see it again."

"I remember last time she used the Kunpeng to flood an African city," Mr. Basil continued. "To be able to use magic to flood a city of 50,000 people in a place without water, under the scorching heat and dryness of 40 degrees Celsius."

"The impact was comparable to that of Miss Granger last year, who looked stunning under the stars."

"What you're saying makes me feel like I'm getting old," Winston said, shaking his head. "I have to say, the power of this kind of Origin Magic is truly outrageous."

"It's the people who are exaggerating, not the magic," Mr. Basil said with a wry smile. "I've tried practicing a few war spells, and blowing up a street is my limit."

"The same curse, which Ms. Rozier could flatten a mountain?"

"Your mentor is a legendary wizard, not much weaker than Dumbledore or Mr. Grindelwald. Your comparison is really too ambitious." Winston glared at Mr. Basil.

"Goals—of course, should be set high!"

Mr. Basil shook his head and said with considerable pride.

And where the gazes of the two people in front of them converged.

The girl had already floated up into the air.

The folding fan in her hand seemed like a conductor's baton. She quickly raised her right hand.

The sea roared in fury.

A terrifying tide, visible to the naked eye, surged forth, and the seawater receded dozens of meters from the island's coastline in an instant.

"Prepare for the assault!" Mr. Basil shouted.

The next second, the folding fan in the girl's hand fell to the ground.

A gigantic sea monster, hundreds of feet tall, leaped out of the water, then violently pounded the seawater.

In an instant, the waves, tens of feet high, became like an insurmountable wall of water, a city wall.

With a bit of horizontal force, it rushed straight up to the coastline.

"Bang!" A huge wave crashed towards the Camelot.

Just then, another Kunpeng leaped out of the water, its wingspan of countless miles firmly holding back the waves.

The Camelot only shook slightly before the impact dissipated.

Meanwhile, on the island...

The tide instantly submerged it, turning it into a vast swamp.

The immense force even carried the seawater and hurled it to a distance invisible to the naked eye.

Under such an attack, all magical traps and mechanisms along the coast and within a few hundred meters inland will be destroyed.

Zhang Xiaolin, with the help of her folding fan, was able to clearly sense all the areas where the seawater had reached.

"No problem?" A strange look appeared on her face. Then she waved her folding fan again, and the Kunpeng in the sea flapped its wings, transformed into a bird, and returned to her folding fan.

"strangeness--"

"It's not surprising, after all, this place can't be judged by common sense." Winston, standing to the side, spoke with a complex look in his eyes.

"This place is somewhat like the virtual realm where the Imperial Academy of Chang'an is located," Zhang Xiaolin continued, "but it shouldn't be this perfect—it's like an iron box without a single gap, which is abnormal. No magic can be flawless."

"If even gods are appearing, what's impossible?"

He chuckled softly, then waited for the tide to recede from the coastline.

A dozen minutes later, the land was exposed again.

He then Apparated and appeared directly on the shore.

After that, many wizards came to the island.

Sirius ordered the remaining crew to hold the Camelot, while the rest went ashore.

"What kind of trees are these?" Basil asked, looking at the plants around him that were emitting a blue light.

"I don't know, it looks like some kind of willow tree," Winston said, grabbing a drooping branch with his prosthetic left arm, breaking off a section, and examining it closely.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but there seemed to be a faint, almost imperceptible trace of ancient magic within this leaf.

"The true form will be revealed." He stretched out his left arm, and a golden stream of light surged out.

Then everything around it lit up in response with blue light.

"Magic is everywhere."

"The Mantra of Revealing True Form is no longer needed."

This spell can detect traces of magic in the surroundings, but since there are already traces of magic everywhere, it's naturally useless now.

"Be smarter." Zhang Xiaolin rolled her eyes at him, then strode towards a tree. "An isolated island, its plants couldn't have come from anywhere else, so—"

"So these plants must have an ancestor?"

"It's the source," Ms. Zhang said proudly.

"Traces appear instantly!" A wondrous magic seeped into the earth, as if it had entered a complex network of pipes.

What Ms. Zhang was looking for was the thickest and longest pipe among these pipes.

"Tracing the source!" Her folding fan burst forth with golden light, which, like dominoes, lit up some trees in the forest one by one.

"Brain!" Zhang Xiaolin said, then swaggered into the forest following the direction indicated by the light.

After a moment of surprise, the others followed.

Sirius, leading the Aurors of the Alliance, scattered to protect the three in the center. An ominous premonition rose in his heart. The unfamiliar things around him reminded him of the caves beneath Ionia, with their strange moss and crystalline minerals.

They were all blue lights, all unlike anything I'd ever seen before, and all related to the external body.

He was genuinely afraid that an invisible messenger of the gods would suddenly rush out of the forest.

So he kept directing the Aurors around him, pairing them up, to cast the Prototype Spell on the surrounding area every minute to prevent any invisible monsters from hiding in the shade.

In the dead of night, no light came from the sea, but the surrounding trees emitted an even brighter blue glow, replacing torches and streetlights to illuminate the area.

After walking for half an hour, the forest gradually receded, but the seawater that had been washed up was still all around.

Farmland began to appear around us. Although it was submerged, we could still vaguely see that the fields were full of various crops, and cattle and sheep were standing in water that was deep enough to reach our knees, with their mouths sticking into the seawater, grazing leisurely.

A small town suddenly appeared in the distance.

It lies before distant mountains. The area is small, with fewer than a hundred households and a diameter of only half a mile.

The town is situated on high ground, and the sea has reached its limit in submerging this endless farmland.

"On alert!" Sirius commanded.

The surrounding Aurors all gathered together.

"A small town suddenly appeared—" Zhang Xiaolin exclaimed, "Could it be that the people living here are really all ghosts?!"

"..." Winston shook his head noncommittally. "It would be better if they were undead."

He said, "I'm afraid it might be some kind of demon that creates the dead. It's not like we haven't encountered them before."

"Stop talking!" Zhang Xiaolin shouted angrily, "I don't want to recall that experience at all!"

The surrounding wizards responded with silence.

For a fleeting moment, everyone sincerely hoped that their loved ones would appear on that distant island, allowing them to reunite briefly.

Although this possibility is not high, after all, according to the explanation of the great Ming Dynasty wizard Zhang Xiaolin, they all know that those undead were actually seen by the Spirit Blossom Flower. If no wizard gets close, like the Boggart, they will not change in any way.

"Thomas, you and your men stay here," Sirius said in a deep voice. "I allow you to use any spells, but remember that protecting your own lives is the highest priority. Don't worry about whether the enemy can attack you."

"clear!"

"OK!"

"Yes." Everyone nodded.

Sirius almost blurted out the words "unrestricted killing." But he had no choice; after all, in this unfamiliar and dangerous place, anything could happen, just like the deceased who had just appeared—he had to make the most cautious plans.

"Stay alert—let's go check it out." Sirius ordered two-thirds of the group to stay put, then led the trio along the man-made stone path that had appeared beneath their feet, slowly making their way towards the eerie town.

quiet--

It was too quiet all around.

There seemed to be no wind on the island. The surrounding trees and weeds were lush and abundant, but you could not hear any rustling of leaves in the wind.

There were no insects to be heard in the fields, and not even a shadow of birds or beasts could be seen.

The cattle and sheep in the fields kept their heads down and grazed. The four of them passed by without responding at all, completely indifferent.

It's as if their sole purpose in life is to eat grass, and they don't care about anything else.

In the group, Zhang Xiaolin's gaze suddenly fell on the stones on the ridge of the field.

These stones seem to be ornaments; they can be seen everywhere along the road, almost every few steps.

Each stone was covered in moss, clearly indicating that these things had been there for some time.

At first glance, it appears to be ordinary granite, with an uneven, layered surface. There are graffiti on the rock wall made of simple limestone paintings—a strange image of a figure with outstretched arms, completely white, resembling a demon.

So what exactly is it?

She didn't know, but suddenly felt a headache.

It felt like being pricked by a needle—but the sensation disappeared in an instant.

Shaking her head, Zhang Xiaolin frowned slightly. She didn't say anything and continued walking.

Less than half a mile from the town, the faint sound of soothing singing could be heard.

As they drew closer, their voices grew louder with each step.

It was a chorus of many people, the sound coming from the building in the very center of the town.

All four of them took out their wands and held them tightly in their hands.

"If a battle breaks out, don't get entangled, just Apparate away, understand?" Sirius said seriously, staring at the three of them.

"Hey—I think you look down on us a bit." Miss Zhang appeared calm on the surface, but her tone was arrogant, though her dark eyes were fixed on the center of the town in the distance.

"It's none of your business."

The girl's attitude reminded Sirius of someone, a boy who always acted this way. "You have no experience facing Outer Gods, and you don't know the proper way to kill the creations of the gods. Most of the gods' creations cannot be killed directly even by killing spells."

He explained, "Many of these methods were summarized from the battles fought by our predecessors."

"Alright, alright, we'll be careful, Uncle!" Zhang Xiaolin shrugged, seemingly not taking Sirius's words to heart at all, but the expression in her eyes became even more cautious.

Seeing this, Sirius stopped trying to persuade them. The little ones were always fearless and wouldn't change their mindset until they personally experienced setbacks.

"Well then, be careful."

He immediately said no more.

(End of this chapter)