I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 591 The End - For Everyone

(Previous chapter has been revised)

The year Harry enrolled, I stepped down as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts and passed the reins to my prized student, Snape.

Snape's deliberate targeting of Harry drew my attention to this young wizard.

One day I came to the school's dueling club and saw Harry and his friends arguing with the Slytherin students.

On a sudden whim, I called Harry up on stage to be my opponent and demonstrate how to duel properly.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The spells we cast intertwined in mid-air, revealing that the cores of our wands—phoenix tail feathers—came from the same phoenix.

What a coincidence!

From then on, I began to pay extra attention to this child.

Teenagers have all sorts of worries, about love, friendship, and studies.

But it's more about adventure.

I don't know why, but every year, he and his companions have all sorts of amazing adventures. I often protect them from the shadows—they're such troublesome kids.

I thought so, but a sense of melancholy and envy crept into my heart.

Many years later, Harry graduated.

Dumbledore's age is unknown.

One day, he suddenly contacted me and told me that he was going to die.

He wanted to see his deceased relatives before he died.

I did not refuse and handed the resurrection stone to him.

I may never be able to fall in love with anyone, but I will never want to leave Hogwarts.

This castle holds my entire life.

This is my ordinary life, or perhaps it is another way of living my life.

I am Tom Riddle.

---------

"Strange magic."

A cluster of stars, completely different from the surrounding stars, floated out of the pale purple sea.

Its light was so warm, a gentle orange-yellow.

Rather than the cold blue-white of most of these distant stars.

The star fell into the goddess's false hands.

If Owen were here, he would surely recognize that this magic was undoubtedly the magic of Harry's mother's love.

"It seems something new has been born in this world."

A strange magical power, which did not attract the attention of the gods.

As usual, I devoured this magical power.

Then he pointed into the void.

Suddenly, a huge hole appeared in the sea beneath our feet.

Through this void, a damp, vibrant scent wafted out.

"It is time," the deity said calmly. "It is time to complete that great unification."

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 other side.

In front of the north gate of Hogwarts.

Everyone was overjoyed to see Voldemort fall.

Everyone was laughing and chatting.

They looked at each other and wept.

The victory came too suddenly. It was something no one had anticipated.

"We won!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise as she turned around and hugged Owen.

She never expected things to end this way.

It was easier than she had expected?

But over there, Tom Riddle had already collapsed to the ground, limp and convulsing, his pale hands empty.

He was grasping at something, perhaps that elusive destiny.

But his fate was already sealed from the beginning, determined seventeen years ago.

"We won?" Harry asked.

He breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The tension that had been building for years has finally been released today.

Owen patted Hermione on the back.

He buried his head in her hair.

Feeling this warmth.

"What's wrong?" Hermione's smile froze abruptly; the boy's sudden change in mood made her uneasy.

"It's nothing," Irving said.

"it's over."

He released the girl and looked at her face with clear eyes.

"Just one last step."

"The final step? What final step!" Hermione said anxiously.

But before she could ask any further questions...

Suddenly, a chilling fear swept over her.

Hermione looked up in surprise.

The sky suddenly became 'clean'.

The original dark clouds and light snow have now completely disappeared.

She had never seen such clear stars.

The Milky Way hung upside down above her head like a ribbon, so beautiful, so eerie.

Suddenly, or perhaps it was her imagination.

The Milky Way seemed to fall from the sky like flowing water.

A silvery, misty galaxy descended, its light curtain, nine thousand feet high, converging around the fallen body of Tom Riddle.

"What happened? Didn't we just win?" Hagrid asked, panting heavily.

The surrounding temperature dropped by more than ten degrees, causing his breath to billow in white mist.

"Act Three, Act Three!" Owen said casually. "That's how Super Shadow stories are—"

He held the crystal wand in his hand and walked up to the crowd.

"The final battle in Act III, you know."

"Alright, let the professionals handle the rest. The Gryffindors who have finished filming can now step down."

He said it calmly.

"Wait—Owen, what are you doing?" Hermione said impatiently.

"Go do what I have to do," he said calmly.

He took a stone out of his pocket with his free left hand.

That is the Resurrection Stone, one of the three sacred artifacts.

He was clutching the stone.

Soon, a familiar voice reached my ears.

Irving saw a lot of people walking towards him.

Those figures, with illusory bodies, neither like ghosts nor like living people, each wore a smile on their face.

Dumbledore was still wearing his purple robe, smiling, his gaze resolute behind his crescent-shaped eyes.

Grindelwald stood beside him, no longer young, but aged and frail, dressed in a wide black robe, his gaze equally gentle.

Grandma Wenda Rocher was as elegant as ever, wearing a dark green silk dress, waving to him.

Next was a man who was a complete stranger to him; Irving had only seen a photograph of him—his father, McCowan Hunter. He was dressed in a sharp, black uniform, like military training attire.

Irving knew nothing about his father, but since his exceptionally talented mother chose this man, he must have something special about him.

The last one to appear was, of course, his mother, Gabriel Rozier.

They did not speak.

Because everything is beyond words.

Owen clenched his fists and, under the watchful eyes of his loved ones, faced the corpse of Voldemort on the stone bridge, now invaded by stars.

Time passed little by little.

The stars grew brighter and brighter.

Gradually, at its source, a false golden sun formed.

Like the halo of a dying world.

All the stars fell to the ground.

And that sun cast countless black threads as if fishing.

It pierced into the earth like a blood vessel.

A rumbling sound erupted, as if it were the end of the world.

As this false golden sun grew ever brighter, all other light was suppressed and dimmed.

The sun, unlike the warmth and gentleness of natural objects, carries an indescribable eeriness and oppression, as if it were an ancient and powerful being slowly unveiling its slumbering veil.

Black veins extended from the depths of the sun, growing more numerous and denser, weaving together in the air to form a vast net that slowly covered the entire continent.

Each thread that touched the ground triggered a violent earthquake, sending dust flying and cracks spreading, as if the earth itself was being torn apart by this force. Plants withered, rivers dried up, and the cries of creatures rose and fell, a scene of utter devastation.

People were terrified.

The joy of victory vanished in a few breaths.

"finally."

"I'm back."

All the stars on the stone bridge disappeared into Tom's corpse.

Perhaps there are too many.

His body swelled up rapidly like a balloon.

But at the very moment of the tearing, it suddenly collapsed inwards again.

Tom's body was like clay being kneaded at will. After a few breaths, a tall woman with a face that looked exactly like Owen appeared in front of everyone.

"So, you're Merlin's backup plan?"

The deity glanced at Owen.

I immediately lost interest.

Compared to her, the ancient magic that Owen possessed was like the difference between the ocean and a river.

You really don't think you can defeat the spirit just by obtaining some of its scattered magic power!

Moreover, Owen is currently just a mortal and has not truly mastered the power of the gods. A bug is still a bug and has no possibility of harming the gods in the slightest.

"I don't like to put it that way," Irving shrugged, "but that's just how it is."

"Then how will you defeat me?" the goddess said calmly, as if they were not mortal enemies.

"I don't need to defeat you, Ionia Samothrace, the goddess of corruption." Owen picked up his crystal wand. When he first acquired the wand, Ollivander had said that it contained terrible dark power.

Although the dark power it contained suddenly disappeared in the end, Owen now knows that it did not disappear, but rather merged into his body.

The so-called dark power is actually star magic, which is ancient magic.

It is the magic contained within the first star to fall to Earth.

Irving gently ran his wand across his palms.

Two wounds appeared.

The magic of the stars is not about the magic itself.

Instead, they are stars.

"I don't need to defeat you," he repeated.

Reaching out, I grasped the vein that seemed to be fishing down from the sun.

A strange connection was suddenly formed.

"Every vein, every ominous monster, visible to the naked eye, the entire star system is a part of you."

"Defeat?"

Merlin never intended to defeat you.

Irving smiled slightly, looking at the face that resembled his own. He suddenly laughed, unsure whether he was laughing at the other person's overconfidence or at himself, at how heavy his fate was.

The sky and earth collapsed around him.

The mountains and rivers before our eyes have collapsed.

Living beings are hanging upside down.

The gods want to merge the world into a single star. And only they can stop it.

He will step forward.

Just as anyone with the ability to stop the world from collapsing stood up.

He believed that the person standing here was Harry.

If it's Hermione.

If it's Ron.

Hannah, Justin, Luna, and all his friends would make the same choice as him.

Courage, the courage to face death.

Unbeknownst to them, it had long been deeply embedded in the souls of every wizard who remained in this castle and had not left.

The gods did not underestimate Merlin's wisdom.

Rather, it was her rebellious will, which she looked down upon as a mere mortal.

From tens of thousands of years ago, before the gods had faded away, until yesterday, and to this day, this resistance has never disappeared.

God's defeat was already destined; for her, those acts of resistance were nothing more than a few hardships.

But she never imagined that this very wind and frost, these flakes of frost as light as cotton, would one day accumulate into snow powerful enough to destroy even the gods.

"We're not trying to defeat you," Irving said calmly.

"What we want is replacement. I'll replace you."

After saying that, he suddenly reached out and merged the blood vessels in his hand with his own magic power.

The next second, a blurry figure floated out from Irving's body.

It's surreal, but it doesn't seem like a ghost.

"That's—Dean Bridget!"

Behind Owen, Hermione immediately recognized the true identity of the illusory figure.

Yes, that was Dean Bridged.

She was like a flame, igniting that blood vessel.

Irving then reached out and grabbed other blood vessels that were hanging from the sky.

Each time he merges with himself, the figure of an ancient rebel emerges from his body. Then, without hesitation, he transforms into flames that ignite his blood vessels.

More and more people.

Bridget Morgan Weasley

Shani Maeve Weasley

Galahad Wesley

Chronos Stewart

Many more were rebels whom the public did not even know.

They were like fireflies, rushing headlong into those veins without hesitation.

Among them, the people of Hogwarts even saw the four founders of Hogwarts.

The Sorting Hat appeared out of nowhere.

It landed on Irving's head, singing a distant song.

—Brave Gryffindors, from the desolate swamp,

—Beautiful Ravenclaw, from the tranquil riverbanks,

—The merciful Hufflepuff, from the open valley,

—The shrewd Slytherin came from that quagmire.

—Right now, right now.

—We are united, we are fearless.

—We raised our wands, drew our swords, and swung them toward the sky.

— Wizards never compromise.

"You"

At this point, the goddess of corruption, Ionia Samothrace, finally discovered the problem.

As Irving said, this physical body is not her true self.

This was nothing more than her body when she was a human being.

Her true form was the entire pale purple sea.

All the deformed creatures in the ocean are part of her.

That's why she didn't believe that human wizards could harm her.

That's impossible.

You can block a stream, but can you block an ocean?

But now—she finds that a part of her body is out of her control.

This greatly surprised Ionia Samothrace.

The boy before her was exactly the same as her in soul, flesh, and magic.

But this was originally her plan.

She needs a physical body, a body in the mortal realm that can connect her to her external divine essence.

Voldemort was definitely not her first choice.

That was a last resort, born of desperation.

"You'll probably be very confused." Owen said as he walked toward the god, connecting the countless blood vessels in his body.

"I am what you created. Half of my soul comes from you. My body, this ancient magic, all of this was planned by you."

"As I continue to enter the Tower of Divine Power and acquire a portion of your power, I will become more and more like you. Eventually, I will become the most suitable vessel for you."

"Whatever you do after that, you're guaranteed to win," Irving said slowly.

"I always overestimated Merlin. I thought it was all part of his plan. But in the end, I finally understood. No matter how powerful Merlin is, he can't fight against a god."

"He only did one thing." He approached the goddess step by step, "He gave me love, and he gave you love too!"

"How does Voldemort's soul taste? Did you feel that mysterious warmth?"

"Now we're finally exactly the same!"

The goddess remained silent.

She couldn't speak.

Because at some point, her divine nature became beyond her control.

"Is it strange? No matter how similar I am to you, I shouldn't have the ability to turn against your inner self. Rivers and seas are both flowing water, but how can a river resist the sea?"

As Owen spoke, he walked up to Ionia Samothrace, the goddess of corruption.

His body was now connected by countless blood vessels. Countless burning blood vessels.

Flames reached the sky and touched the earth, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings.

The phoenix is ​​pulling at the sky and dragging the sun.

"【Stars - Magic】." Owen gave the goddess a bitter smile.

If we're talking about magic, the ancient magic within him is naturally no match for that of the goddess.

but--

He has a star.

A huge fragment of a star left behind after a planet fell to the ground.

That was given to him by Dean Bridged through Merlin.

At that moment, that star replaced his heart.

This is the last divinely ordained tower.

Dumbledore and a group of warriors who fought against God helped him replace him.

"The law of regression! You idiot!"

Irving roared, raised his hand, and pierced the goddess's heart.

All magic in the world will eventually return to the magic of antiquity.

And the ancient magic would eventually flow to the stars.

Stars were the carriers of ancient magic.

The gods are also constructed from stars, which is their essence.

At this moment, the star inside Owen's body was exceptionally bright, emitting a dazzling light that completely obscured the goddess.

next second.

The billions of meteors that made up the goddess's body suddenly flew out of Voldemort's body and entered his body.

The immense magical power, like an inflating balloon, slammed into his body, making it appear exceptionally ferocious.

As magic was poured in, countless burning blood vessels on his body emitted a purple glow.

The light shone from the earth all the way up to the sky.

Irving stood there, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light, a profound light that seemed to penetrate the mysteries of the universe, a light where stars and darkness intertwined.

He was surrounded by a purple halo, a perfect fusion of ancient magic and stellar power, which endowed him with unprecedented strength and majesty.

"Time's up," he murmured.

Then he suddenly turned around and his gaze fell on Hermione.

As Irving turned around, a crack appeared in the sky.

The blood vessels are separated on both sides, and starlight paves the way.

All the unspeakable, inexpressible, and destined-to-be-separated emotions shine brightly here.

"No--"

"No--"

Hermione ran toward him in grief.

Her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face like broken pearls.

She threw herself into Irving's arms, a strong sense of crisis rising within her.

It's as if something precious is about to leave.

"I can't keep my partner in check for too long," Irving said with difficulty. "This is the end."

He was originally part of the goddess of corruption, Ionia Samothrace, which is why he was able to achieve such a feat through the vessel of the stars. However, in turn, the will of the goddess of corruption was also assimilating him.

Given his short lifespan, it was impossible for him to last five minutes.

"No, there's still a way! There must be a way!" Her voice was filled with despair and pleading as she reached into the pocket at her waist, frantically searching for something.

Harry and Hagrid came to his side.

Ron and Koyatl followed closely behind. They persuaded the Muggle army to turn back and attack the Omens, but immediately returned after noticing something amiss in the sky.

Soon after, more and more wizards gathered around.

Hannah, Justin, Luna.

Ginny, Neville, and Seymour.

Qiu Zhang, Senegal, Ernie, Susan.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and Lupin.

Countless people, like a torrent, stopped at Irving's side.

Hermione was already crying as she pulled out the book of poems that Dumbledore had left for Owen from her pocket.

She has read the book countless times. She still hasn't discovered the secrets it contains.

Now, this is her last hope; she hopes the secrets in this book can save Irving.

"Splash—"

The little witch opened the cover.

Tears fell onto the title page, onto the poem written by Dumbledore.

—Hold romantic thoughts about the stars and love stardust.

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

All living beings must learn to love.

Hermione wiped away the tears from her eyes, the mist obscuring her vision.

But when she looked at the book in her hands again...

The words, dampened by tears, suddenly began to distort and rearrange themselves.

【Star Blade】

A broken dagger shaped like a candlestick.

The blade burned with an eternal flame of soul fire, invisible to mortals.

That was the first flame that fell with the falling stars, possessing the power to dispel all darkness.

But it needs a soul imbued with the magic of stars as kindling to reignite it.

Legend has it that using this flame to ignite stars can allow fallen objects to fly back to the other side of the stars.

Beyond the Stars—in the infinitely distant Milky Way, a pure energy. It is like a mirror; whatever the person looking in it looks like, it will respond accordingly.

Dumbledore circled the words "Beyond the Stars".

The stars are like water; throw in dry twigs and leaves, and you'll reap a swamp. Throw in a seed, and you'll harvest a vibrant flower.

Ionia did not understand this principle; she mistakenly believed it to be some kind of terrifying external will, referring to the other side as the supreme will.

So what the other side responded to her was endless madness and hideous flesh and blood.

In fact, the other side is like the Mirror of Erised, reflecting people's most urgent needs.

"Return to the other side of the stars?" Hermione's eyes widened as she uttered the words with tears in her eyes.

"This is my glorious mission." Owen smiled as he looked at Hermione and then at everyone behind her.

Those eyes, like the brightest stars in the deep night sky, were gently shrouded in a thin mist at this moment, revealing endless complex emotions.

Reluctance, like the last leaf falling in autumn, slowly drifts down, carrying endless longing for the branch and the sorrow of parting.

"I know what I want."

Pain also quietly spread in those eyes, like dewdrops that hadn't yet dispersed in the morning light, crystal clear yet bearing the weight of the night.

They trembled slightly, each blink seeming as if they were trying their best to suppress the torrent of emotions about to burst forth.

"I know what kind of god I must be."

He lowered his head, his forehead lightly touching Hermione's.

He said with deep affection, "For you."

"For you."

"For everyone."

Hermione couldn't stop her tears.

She knew what she should do, but she couldn't.

She couldn't just watch him leave, much less act as his executioner.

Owen reached out and took the little witch's hand.

He could already sense that thing in the pocket at her waist.

As the two gripped each other tightly, the [Star Blade] immediately appeared in their hands.

A broken dagger shaped like a candlestick.

He held her hand and aimed the Star Blade at his heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The girl sobbed uncontrollably, each "I'm sorry" seeming to be squeezed out from the deepest part of her heart, filled with pain and reluctance. Her fingers trembled slightly from the overwhelming emotions, but were still tightly held in Owen's warm and firm hand.

"Hermione—" Owen suddenly said.

The little witch was somewhat dazed, then suddenly looked up.

"Look at me."

In an instant, the Star Blade pierced his heart.

There was no resistance, no bloodstains, and no strange noises.

It's like stabbing a dagger into water.

"I'm here."

Hermione stared wide-eyed at the scene before her, tears welling in her eyes, yet time seemed to stand still. The Starblade in her hand remained in the stabbing position, but Owen's expression was unusually calm, even carrying a hint of gentle smile.

But a second later.

Irving's body suddenly burst forth with unprecedented, dazzling starlight.

It's like a container that can never be filled with stars again.

Those stars that wanted to return to the universe, like fireworks, flowed upstream from Irving's body.

Hermione's gasp was drowned out by the sudden, magnificent sight; she could only watch helplessly as Owen's body gradually became transparent, as if it were a dreamlike bubble woven from stars.

The starlight emanating from his body, each beam carrying boundless tenderness and power, intertwined and swirled in the air, eventually transforming into a dazzling galaxy that enveloped the two of them.

"Owen..." Hermione's voice trembled. She wanted to reach out and touch the light, but she was afraid that it would shatter if she touched it.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Owen's voice whispered in her ear, like a gentle whisper in a summer breeze, warm and peaceful: "Sweet dreams."

As Irving spoke, the light around him grew brighter and brighter until it illuminated the surroundings as if it were daytime.

The veins connecting him to his body burned even more intensely. This included all the [Ominous] Legion, and the Death Eaters who had received the power of the Outer Gods.

The burning phenomenon was not fire.

It was burned by countless pink flowers.

The Spirit Flower Blooms!

"Look there—" Irving said.

The sky full of blooming spirit flowers are the souls of all the lives that the goddess Ionia Samothrace has devoured over the past tens of thousands of years.

It is death, and it is also rebirth.

The Spirit Blossom that falls into the mortal world will replenish the world with the demonic energy it has devoured over the years.

Perhaps in the future, everyone in this world will become a wizard, and everyone will possess magic.

"Winter is about to end." The boy's voice had become distant and indistinct, but the gentleness and determination were still clearly discernible.

He was born of love, and he died of love.

From which stars do we come, we will eventually return to those stars.

Hermione reached out to catch a Spirit Blossom, but the moment her fingertips touched the soft petals, the flower turned into a wisp of smoke and merged into her body. She felt a warm and powerful force surging within her, a gift from the universe, and Owen's final gift to her.

The girl let out a wail and collapsed into Harry's arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto the ground.

This is exactly what Irving saw in Nick Lemaître's prophetic crystal years ago.

(End of this chapter)