A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 201 Entering the Time Loop Again

The last time they entered the principal's office was during a nighttime patrol of the restricted area on the fourth floor, when Dumbledore had entrapped them.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. When William returned, he had a strange feeling that things had changed and it was like a different world.

There was no way around it; what happened at the Quidditch match was just too horrifying!

Under the basilisk's gaze, at least dozens of young wizards died.

Even the death of one person is a major incident, but the deaths of dozens... Merlin, this is not a teaching accident, but a shocking indiscriminate school attack that has stunned the magical world.

Free Britain, dead men every day?

Sometimes, William felt like he had traveled into the world of Conan, not the magical world.

Or maybe there really is a Sherlock Holmes in this world.

If this matter is not resolved, Hogwarts, this ancient school with a history of thousands of years, will probably be destroyed!

The person who did this is utterly depraved and inhuman. We mustn't let William catch him, or we'll beat him to a pulp.

What puzzled William the most was that Harry was also dead.

He didn't die in the arena, but was carried out of the castle by Snape, his body covered in an unhealthy golden color...

Wait…gold? William remembered that in the story Nico described, the eldest brother swallowed the Philosopher's Stone and gained the ability to turn stones into gold…

Did Harry swallow the Philosopher's Stone?

Could it be that he went to the restricted area on the fourth floor?!

William looked up, his gaze returning to the long table.

On the table lay a longsword. This was the sword Dumbledore used to kill the Basilisk, which William had brought back to his office.

The hilt of the longsword is inlaid with a dazzling egg-sized ruby, and the blade is engraved with a row of ancient magical characters.

He had studied ancient magic script on his own and recognized the meaning of the words.

—Godric Gryffindor!

William touched the inscription on the sword and could feel a strange power within it.

"I advise you to be careful, William."

Suddenly, a sound rang out.

William looked at the Sorting Hat on the shelf and asked, "What's wrong?"

The Sorting Hat grinned and said, "This is an artifact, Gryffindor's sword. If you break it, can you afford to pay for it?"

"Aren't you also a cultural relic? Every year, people touch you all over the place."

"So, a thousand years ago I was so glamorous, but now I'm covered in patches." The Sorting Hat was unhappy.

The hat's playful tone cheered William up a bit. He calmly replied, "I won't break it. Just this morning, Dumbledore was wielding this very sword, slaying the Basilisk with sparks and lightning in his wake. It was incredibly cool."

"I see," the Hat-Distributor laughed, "Then you absolutely mustn't touch it."

"Gryffindor's sword was forged by fairies and possesses extraordinary properties."

"What characteristics?" William asked curiously.

"The most remarkable feature of this sword is its ability to absorb anything that can strengthen it," the Sorting Hat explained.

"Since Dumbledore killed the basilisk with his sword, the blade was already soaked with the basilisk's venom, and it will absorb that venom as well."

If you get a small cut, you'll probably die very quickly.

William raised an eyebrow—a remarkable trait.

"If I cast Avada Kedavra on this sword, will it absorb the properties of the killing curse?"

"Hmm... I don't know either, no one has ever been this bored before." The Sorting Hat pursed its lips.

"Then I'll try it sometime."

As William spoke, he pulled another bottle of medicine from his pocket.

"This is an antidote made by boiling together fruits from the Big Mouth Flower."

During our first class this semester, Professor Sprout mentioned that even the venom of many rare snakes and venomous unicorns can be neutralized.

The basilisk is no exception, so even if I get cut, I won't be poisoned to death.

"Looks like you're doing pretty well," the Sorting Hat said happily. "That's why I made a wise decision to sort you into Ravenclaw."

"You dare bring up the branch school thing again!"

The Sorting Hat quickly changed the subject, asking, "William, did you steal the Chomper?"

I remember that for a while after the start of the semester, Sprout said that a lot of herbs had gone missing from the greenhouse.

"You can take any medicine, but you can't say anything carelessly." William rolled his eyes. "Professor Sprout even asked me to make a potion to get rid of the thorns. How could it be me who did it?"

"The Big Mouth Flower Fruit was just a fair trade between us."

William picked up the sword and asked again, "You just said that this is Gryffindor's sword?"

I recall that in "A History of Hogwarts," Gryffindor's sword was lost during the goblin rebellion, right?

"This is just to fool those goblins, otherwise they would keep demanding Gryffindor's sword!" the Sorting Hat scoffed. "Do you know what kind of people those goblins are?"

William nodded.

In the fairy's value system, the rightful owner of an item is always its creator, not the subsequent buyer.

The buyer should return the item to the maker upon their death.

Legnack I was a goblin king during the time of Godric Gryffindor, and this sword was commissioned by Gryffindor to be forged by him.

The goblins believed that the sword belonged to King Legnak I, not Hogwarts, which was one of the important triggers for the goblin rebellion later on.

The Fairy Rebellion can be considered an important chapter in the history of magic.

This rebellion lasted intermittently for nearly two centuries, first occurring near Hogsmeade in 1612.

At that time, the goblins led the stormtroopers and, taking advantage of the president of the Wizarding Council, the predecessor of the Ministry of Magic, launched a coup while a banquet was being held at a beer hall in Hogsmeade.

Known in magical history as the Beer Hall Riot!

Within those two hundred years, Gryffindor's sword was lost.

The Sorting Hat chuckled smugly, "How could it possibly be lost? This sword has always been kept in the Headmaster's office; the official story is that it's missing..."

William stroked the sword, wanting to ask the Sorting Hat if it knew where Ravenclaw's crown was.

Just then, the door to the principal's office opened.

Dumbledore walked in wearily, sat down in a chair, crossed his arms, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Professor, how is it?" William asked anxiously.

He had been locked in his office all day and had no idea what was happening outside.

"It's terrible, forty-five students have died," Dumbledore said sadly.

The portraits of the principals in the office immediately panicked, and many of them left their frames to check the news.

William paused for a moment, then asked, "Where's Harry?"

"Harry is dead too. Professor Snape found him in the restricted area on the fourth floor."

He must have swallowed the Philosopher's Stone during his battle with Voldemort.

"Voldemort didn't leave? He stayed at Hogwarts after Quirrell's death?" William asked in surprise.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded gravely, "I anticipated this, but I didn't expect him to try and attract my attention by releasing the Basilisk!"

William then asked, "Why did Harry go to the penalty area? I remember he was watching the game."

"Not only Harry, but Weasley and Hermione went too." Dumbledore stared at William. "But neither of them...died."

William wanted to ask something else, but Dumbledore waved his hand.

"William, I know the general outline of what happened, but I can't tell you... you know what I mean. Is the Ravenclaw ring still there?"

William took the ring off his neck.

"What should I do? Should I just wear it like this?"

William casually put on the time loop the first time, unsure if putting it on again would trigger a second loop.

If it cannot be triggered, tomorrow will arrive on time, and everything today will be irreversible.

Dumbledore said seriously:

"I can only guess... that Ravenclaw's heirs, when they have a strong desire, can enter a cycle by wearing the bronze ring until they have enough power to fulfill their desire."

William thought for a moment: "So I need to catch Voldemort?"

Dumbledore shook his head and said seriously, "William, Voldemort is in a very special state right now. You can't catch him, so this wish can never be fulfilled."

If you have this kind of thinking, after putting on the ring, you'll probably be trapped in a cycle forever... until you die.

William was horrified; he had never imagined that he could be trapped in a time loop forever.

"So what should I do?"

Dumbledore grasped William's hand, his blue pupils meeting his eyes.

"William, investigate this whole incident thoroughly and save all the students, including Harry... You must do it! You are our only hope!"

William nodded slightly and unfastened the chain on the ring.

Dumbledore closed his eyes wearily, his voice echoing through the office.

"William, I must remind you that saving lives is important, but don't forget the greater goal."

……

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(End of this chapter)