I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 569 The Divinely Bestowed Tower in the Cave

Dumbledore's poetry collection has no title.

The title page has a few simple words written on it.

—Hold a romantic view of the stars.

—He has a deep love for stardust.

—If you can do this, you can reach the other side of the stars.

All living beings must learn to love.

"like?"

"Love?" Hermione glanced over and saw the poem on the title page as well.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know." Owen shook his head.

"Perhaps it's some kind of word game; the way to unlock the secret lies in the arrangement of the characters," Hermione said, planting the Gryffindor sword at her feet. Then she drew her wand and waved it gently, causing the dust in the air to condense into verses. She then began to try to rearrange the letters, attempting to find the real answer.

"Well, I must say, Albus really likes these roundabout things," Professor Sprout smirked, making a sarcastic remark. It was as if the old man were still alive.

Immediately afterwards, her expression darkened, her joy vanished quickly, and sadness emerged.

"You still have time to think about the answers he left for you."

"Children—you have already become very powerful on the path of magic." The professor looked at them gently. "We—the school can no longer teach you much more."

"You've all grown up—"

"From now on, we will no longer restrict your choices." The professor reached out and ruffled the hair of each of them, especially Owen's—her gaze was full of affection. "I hope that after all this is over, we will still be a family."

"Yes, Professor," Irving said earnestly.

"Hmm—hmm." A sudden wave of sadness brought a tear to Professor Sprout's eye. She quickly wiped it away and took a deep breath. "It's alright. It's all alright," she said, forcing a smile. "Go on with your work."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The four left the barn, facing the autumn wind of October.

Owen was well aware of the meaning behind Dumbledore's will and the belongings he left to Harry and Ron.

But Hermione and his... well, that's completely incomprehensible.

Upon returning to the castle, Hermione immediately began attempting to unravel the mystery of "Hogwarts: A History of the School."

Irving also set aside a few hours to study Dumbledore's poetry collection.

Two days later, the result was naturally far from ideal.

Neither he nor Hermione gained anything.

After Owen memorized all of Dumbledore's poems, he gave the collection to Hermione, as he didn't have time to study them himself. He had no choice but to leave it to Hermione.

Early morning—in an open space in front of the chapel.

Koyatl and Ron are saying goodbye to the others.

The two of them were leaving England for New Zealand.

From the fairy memories of that fairy brotherhood, Owen saw that Koyatl's mother's family had left the United States and gone to New Zealand.

Perhaps in an attempt to escape, the Stuart family, the magical family that once founded the Ivermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, can no longer survive in America.

The fairy sent people to New Zealand to search for descendants of the Stuart family, but they found nothing.

Before his departure, Mrs. Weasley was earnestly admonishing him to be careful. If it weren't for the fact that New Zealand was relatively safe, she would never have allowed her two children to go.

After Koyatl left, the job of her prime ministerial advisor fell to Hannah.

Hermione was actually the most suitable person present, but she had more important things to do.

Hannah, who comes from Hufflepuff, is the second most suitable candidate. There may be many things she doesn't understand, including politics and Muggle common sense, but her kind nature makes the Prime Minister's chief advisor, Ms. Dorothy Wainwright, very satisfied and fond of her.

As one of the few politicians in Downing Street with a conscience, she was willing to help Hannah advance.

Parting is sad, especially in late autumn.

Koyatl and Ron left.

The castle is functioning normally.

Two days later, Harry and Ginny also secretly left one afternoon.

He took the Invisibility Cloak with him, and Hermione prepared many things for Ginny. She told Ginny everything she could think of to be careful about. She looked just like a mother giving instructions to her child before leaving home.

Fearing that Mrs. Weasley and other members of the Order of the Phoenix would disagree, the two left quietly.

Hermione and Owen even argued about this.

She also felt that Harry should stay here and not wander around.

But Owen refused. He knew very well that Harry had to face death—going to Godric's Hollow would allow him to understand many things.

He couldn't stop it himself. And he couldn't tell Hermione any of this, because he couldn't let certain accidents happen.

Hermione was very unhappy about this, but the girl was very understanding and knew that there must be a deeper reason behind it, so she did not get angry with him.

A few more days passed.

Justin, Luna, Neville, and Colin also left.

They secretly infiltrated Hogsmeade Village, preparing to carry out Hermione's plan to establish contact with Hogwarts.

The new educational reforms introduced by the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts are already common knowledge.

Severus Snape became the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Death Eaters Mulce and Walton McNeil filled in the course on Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbalism.

Several Death Eaters also joined the school as professors.

Some of those names are still on the Federation's wanted list.

Furthermore, Voldemort stipulated that children aged seven to eighteen must attend Hogwarts. These were policies that Owen had already suspected.

Hogwarts now needs someone to give hope to the remaining teachers and students, otherwise some weak-willed young wizards may very well turn to the path of Death Eaters.

The news from the outside world that the resistance was still ongoing became the last straw that most people clung to.

Theseus Scamander, as the leader of the anti-Voldemort League, naturally understood this principle, so to a certain extent, he tacitly approved of Hermione's plan, even if the young wizards going to Hogwarts would lose their lives for it.

But—that's war!

war!

This word, written with cruelty and death, has remained unchanged from ancient times to the present.

Those who praise it are either madmen or ambitious people.

If it could be avoided, Theseus Scamander would have been willing to pay the price to prevent these young children from going to the battlefield, but life is difficult, and there is no choice but to accept the situation.

A few more days passed.

Many more people left the castle.

There are wizards and Muggles.

I heard that Voldemort appeared in Germany and burned, killed, and looted a Muggle town.

The Federation's special operations team and the German Auror fought fiercely against them.

As a result, the Anti-Voldemort League lost dozens of members.

Voldemort's power has grown even stronger.

The power of that magic ring far exceeded what a wizard could possess.

Bill and Lupin also participated in the battle; both escaped with severe injuries, barely clinging to life.

That day—Mrs. Weasley and Tonks cried all night.

The alliance held several more meetings.

The parties argued for a long time, but no agreement was reached.

Even Mr. Harker, the British Prime Minister who was always afraid of death, moved away from the castle. With the help of wizards, he began to appear in various cities throughout Britain.

People need encouragement, especially in this chaotic era.

Mr. Hack is now facing a situation even more difficult than during World War II.

Although Germany was powerful that year, it was not without rivals.

But now, the road ahead is shrouded in darkness, and there is not a glimmer of hope in sight.

Late October, on the eve of Halloween.

After helping Hermione build the passage connecting Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, Owen bid her farewell and headed to the cavern alone.

This is an adventure unique to him.

Only Sirocco and Bakal accompanied him.

After leaving the thick rubber tube and landing in Phantom Mode, the familiar cold sea breeze and fresh, salty air rushed towards me.

Irving could smell the ocean and hear the roar of the waves.

He ruffled the downy hair on Sirocco's neck.

The next second, the kitten led him directly to the central island of the large lake inside the cave.

Voldemort's Anti-Apparition Charm, cast inside and outside the cave, had no effect on Sirocco, making it easy to break through.

On the island, the lava and the only remaining man-made structure—the stone basin—remain unchanged from a few years ago.

It seems that Voldemort is unaware that his Horcruxes have been taken.

That's true—Voldemort is a monster now. How much of his soul still truly belongs to him?

Without hesitation, Owen waved his wand, and ancient magic connected him to the bottom of the lake.

Soon, two tall obsidian pillars emerged from the water and began to intertwine rapidly. Then, a large gate was woven together.

Irving walked through the curtained gate.

We arrived at a magnificent, golden corridor.

Walk through the corridor, go up the stairs, and enter the lobby.

The ancient puppet next to the door leading to the third floor did not come to life—and the door was open.

Perhaps it's because he has already passed the test once, so there won't be a second test.

The third-floor Sphinx was fast asleep, paying no attention to Irving.

And the gate behind it was also open.

He went inside, listening to the snoring.

In that hall, which resembled a flower bud, Irving stepped onto the sapphire floor, facing the stars, and stood before that familiar, enormous mirror.

"I was just wondering when you would arrive." The elderly wizard slowly appeared in the mirror.

Principal Dexter smiled and looked down at Owen: "It's neither too early nor too late."

"Good day, Principal Dexter," Irving said.

"Good day, child," said Principal Dexter. "I hope you are happy, but the weather is getting colder."

"I want to take on the challenge of this divinely inspired tower," Irving said.

"Oh—of course. That's why you're here," said Principal Dexter.

"Us? Were there many people who came here before me?"

“Of course.” Headmaster Dexter nodded. “Many people came here before you—the great wizard Merlin, Shani Maeve Weasley, Galahad Weasley, Bridged Morgan Weasley, Gabriel Wendy Rosier, Chronos Stewart, Regulus Black—I am not the heir to ancient magic—and I do not know the truth about the world.”

"But I am certain that the wizard who asked me to stay here told me the absolute truth."

"the truth?"

"Yes—" Principal Dexter's face showed a look of reminiscence, "Do you remember the first time you came here? I told you that this was a connecting station, and what you needed to do was to defeat the tentacles of evil from beyond the realm. Outer gods cannot enter this universe, but the minions of the Zh can. They provide the Zh with souls day after day, and every now and then, the Zh's power becomes strong enough to invade the Divine Tower."

"Now I can tell you, this is indeed a connection station."

"A connecting station?" Owen frowned slightly, but after a moment's thought, he suddenly understood: "You mean—someone hid the real Divine Tower and then built a connecting station outside, which is here. To enter the real Divine Tower, one must pass through here?"

"Yes—" Principal Dexter replied with a smile.

Owen was somewhat puzzled, because none of the other divinely inspired towers had such protective measures. Why was this one so heavily fortified?

What makes it different?

What will I face next?

"You just mentioned that Gabriel Wendy Rozier, Chronos Stewart, and Regulus Black have all been here." He changed the subject, "As far as I know, none of them are heirs of ancient magic, yet they were able to go to the Tower of Divine Gifts?"

"What matters is not the heir, but the possession of ancient magic," Principal Dexter said. "Not all the heroes who stopped the spread of Outer Gods' power were heirs."

"On the road to saving the world, there are people who are willing to sacrifice themselves one after another."

"This includes the four founders of Hogwarts."

"The founder?" Irving asked in surprise.

"The Connecting Station has stood for thousands of years. Even the hardest stone will weather, let alone a Connecting Station. More than a thousand years ago, the four founders discovered this place, fortified it, and fought against the darkness behind it. Before her death, Lady Hufflepuff entrusted me with storing her portrait here, hoping that I could guide those who come after her to continue the fight against the darkness."

"Later, the Archmage Merlin came here. The trials you see now are all left behind by him."

"Merlin." Owen repeated it several times, then asked, "Is Galahad Weasley the heir? I have no recollection of that name."

"Yes, he is the heir," Headmaster Dexter said with a look of regret. "He came here and told me some ominous news: the previous heir, Shani, was killed by a goblin. She died too young. The new heir hasn't come of age yet—he's a sixteen-year-old lad from Gryffindor. He passed the test and went to the Tower of Divinity."

"I never saw him again after that."

"Bridged later went to the Tower of Divine Gifts twice. I asked her about Galahad, but she knew nothing about it. After entering the Tower of Divine Gifts a second time, Bridged never returned."

"Headmother Bridget." Owen's face was grave. None of the portraits of Headmother Bridget in Hogwarts contained any memory of her after she left Hogwarts.

(End of this chapter)