Rowena and Helga both fell silent.
"Your actions don't quite match your words," Helga said, shaking her head.
Salazar might sound reasonable now, but one should not listen merely to what a person said. One had to look at what they did.
Helga felt that Salazar was still the same man he had been a thousand years ago at heart: forceful, domineering, and willing to use any means necessary.
She had not changed, and neither had he.
In truth, none of the four of them had changed.
"Look beyond appearances and understand the essence of the matter, Helga!" Rhys said in exasperation. "All I ever sought was reliability. A thousand years ago, young wizards born into magical families were simply more reliable than people whose backgrounds couldn't even be properly explained! Greater supervision is necessary for those who aren't sufficiently trustworthy!"
"Your methods were wrong. You should influence them through love," Helga retorted forcefully.
This was the disagreement between her and Salazar, and it had never changed.
"Enough!"
Seeing that Salazar clearly wanted to argue back, Rowena hurriedly interrupted them.
Once these two started debating, they could forget about accomplishing anything else today.
However, Rowena was not particularly worried that the events of a thousand years ago would repeat themselves.
Salazar had said one thing that was entirely correct.
The times were different.
The four of them had not changed, but the era had. That alone would distort the path that fate had originally laid out.
In any case, Rowena did not believe that the current Salazar would ever leave again.
"We didn't gather here today to argue. Bringing Godric back as soon as possible is what matters. I can hardly wait to call him old Godric or Headmaster Gryffindor in front of the entire school."
Rhys and Helga were immediately distracted.
Headmaster Gryffindor?
That sounded excellent!
The small disagreement they had just had was instantly forgotten.
"I believe Voldemort's plan is workable. However, I still need to ask, Rowena, how did you learn about this magic?"
"Aries's memories contained the complete process of Voldemort's resurrection."
A smile appeared at the corners of Rowena's lips.
"That girl had quite a fascinating life."
Rhys glanced at Rowena.
"Watch your image. Right now, you perfectly match the modern wizarding world's definition of a Dark witch."
Rowena laughed.
"River water is fresh, while seawater is salty. River water can be drunk, while seawater can be used to produce salt. How can the world truly be divided into Dark wizards and Light wizards? There are only wizards who are skilled at controlling power and wizards who are controlled by power.
"Take a gust of wind. If it is weak, it can turn a mill's windmill. If it is strong, it can destroy a village. Is that the wind's fault?"
Helga covered her forehead.
She truly had no way of dealing with these two.
As for Aries, whose body Rowena had possessed, Helga could not feel any sympathy for her at all.
Every member of the Mystic Society deserved death!
They were merely remnants of the gods. Helga believed she should forgive them after killing them and wish that they would become decent people in their next lives.
Rhys had no intention of defending Aries either. He merely needed to confirm that the source of the information was sufficiently reliable.
"Although Godric doesn't have a Horcrux, his current condition is somewhat similar to Voldemort's previous state, so we should still be able to adapt the method."
Rhys's words settled the matter, firmly determining how Godric would be resurrected.
"Then we should begin with the first step. Voldemort claimed that he invented a spell involving a potion brewed from unicorn blood and the venom of a special snake. It would allow a soul lingering in the mortal world to gain a weak humanlike form and move around.
"The Mystic Society ignored his suggestion. They merely supplied him with large quantities of blood and flesh to replenish the power of his Horcrux. I don't know the exact potion formula, Salazar. You'll have to handle that part."
Rhys frowned.
He vaguely had an idea, but he would need to test it first.
It would be helpful if he had a Horcrux to practise on...
"Um, do you have any of those Voldemort fragments I gave you before? I'd like to use one for practice."
Rowena spread her hands, indicating that she had already used them all.
"The remnant soul possessing Quirrell, the diary, the Resurrection Stone ring..."
Rhys began counting the treasures he had obtained from Voldemort on his fingers.
"The Voldemort you saw at the Quidditch World Cup final was also revived through a Horcrux. He used Helga's cup," Rowena added, sharing another piece of information she knew.
"He also learned the location of the diadem from your dear daughter Helena. That counterfeit diadem was probably also used... Hmm?"
Rhys noticed something interesting.
Voldemort seemed to have been collecting relics belonging to the four of them.
Following that line of reasoning, perhaps Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes had also been made from their "relics."
Rowena realised the same thing, but she felt it did not seem particularly helpful.
They had left behind far too many objects. Searching through them would be like looking for a needle in the ocean.
Rhys felt the same way.
"If necessary, we'll have to find a Dark wizard and force him to create a Horcrux."
Rhys had already devised an alternative way to obtain a test subject.
"There's no need for that. You can simply find someone, destroy their body, and preserve their soul for experimentation. It would just be slightly more troublesome."
"Ah, that's an excellent idea!"
Rhys gave Rowena an approving gesture.
Helga: "..."
No one else could be allowed to hear conversations between these two.
"It must be someone utterly wicked!" she hurriedly added.
"Of course."
Rhys waved his hand, indicating that he still had principles.
'Does it have to be unicorn blood and snake venom?'
After settling where his "test subject" would come from, Rhys began considering whether the two main potion ingredients Voldemort had chosen were appropriate.
Obviously, they were not entirely suitable.
The snake venom could probably be replaced. More accurately, it suited Voldemort extremely well, but its compatibility with Godric would be terrible.
For Godric, something related to fire would probably be better...
A light flashed in Rhys's eyes.
Dumbledore had a phoenix, didn't he?
A phoenix was born from flames and could continuously undergo rebirth. Wouldn't phoenix materials be far more suitable for brewing a resurrection potion?
As for the unicorn blood, it was naturally meant to provide a vast amount of life force.
Rhys had a more appropriate alternative.
There was still some of the Philosopher's Stone he had previously lent to Rowena. He could use it to brew the potion for Godric.
Rhys was already eager to begin.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI