Dawn stood quietly by the window for a moment.
Though he wanted to know the exact date, he did not rush to leave. Instead, he turned back to look at the wizard lying on the ground—the experimental subject he had abducted.
Since Dawn had awakened successfully, it meant that the natural magic drawn in by the ritual had already dissipated.
The patterns within the man's body had also returned to normal. His eyelids twitched faintly, a sign that he was close to waking.
Dawn calmly added another Stunning Spell, watching the man sink back into unconscious stillness.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he examined the black lines that had once been torn open by the invading natural magic.
Blood curse carriers experienced gradual fractures in their black lines as they grew older, allowing more and more natural magic to flood into their bodies until they ultimately transformed into mindless beasts.
If the Resurrection Stone powder functioned under a similar mechanism—
Then consuming it once would fracture one section of the black lines.
Consuming it repeatedly, or in excessive quantity, would break more and more of those lines, allowing increasing amounts of natural magic to pour in.
And then what?
Would the subject remain permanently submerged in dreams, never awakening?
Yet the abrupt ending in The Study of the Resurrection Stone suggested otherwise.
Dawn was deeply curious.
But he was unwilling to let someone consume the entire stone.
Still, another idea occurred to him.
If he could determine what changes occurred to the patterns after consuming the powder, he could replicate the effect artificially.
Just as he had done with blood curse experiments, he could use a Severing Charm to manually cut the black lines and stabilize the altered state.
Unfortunately, observing the pattern changes required close proximity.
And close proximity meant being caught in the natural magic drawn in by the ritual—falling asleep himself.
It seemed like an unsolvable problem.
Dawn clicked his tongue and absently rubbed his thumb against his index finger.
Then a thought struck him.
One of the Deathly Hallows.
The Invisibility Cloak.
According to The Study of the Resurrection Stone, wearing the cloak allowed the user to ignore all curses.
Curses were intrinsically connected to natural magic.
Which meant—
Could the cloak partially block natural magic as well?
Dawn half-closed his eyes. His crimson pupils resembled thin slashes of blood.
If that were true—
Then he absolutely had to obtain it.
This was not merely greed.
After completing his magical creature transformation, Dawn's outermost layer had lost the protection of black lines.
It remained constantly immersed in natural magic and was highly susceptible to interference.
Under ordinary circumstances, natural magic merely maintained his permanent transformation.
But when special rituals were involved, he could easily become collateral damage.
Just like what had happened with the Resurrection Stone ritual.
Under such conditions, the Invisibility Cloak's value to him increased dramatically.
He had every intention of continuing his exploration of natural magic and collective consciousness. Rituals would inevitably follow.
Dawn began planning.
The ideal time to take the cloak would be during a holiday, when Harry was away from Hogwarts and distant from Dumbledore.
In the castle, Dawn could not guarantee that he could remove the cloak silently without alerting the headmaster.
But as he thought about it, dissatisfaction surfaced.
It was not merely the idea of wasting half a year. It was the realization that he always instinctively avoided Dumbledore.
In first year, that had made sense.
The gap between them had been enormous.
But after spending an entire year, enduring immense difficulty, and finally completing his magical creature transformation—
Why was he still retreating?
Yes.
Dumbledore wielding the Elder Wand was undoubtedly stronger.
But Dawn was no longer someone who would collapse at a touch.
With phoenix abilities, he now possessed the foundation to face Dumbledore directly.
So why not test it?
Otherwise, would he always retreat whenever Dumbledore was involved?
How would that make him any different from Voldemort skulking in the shadows?
Moreover, phoenix Apparition could not enter a room protected by the Fidelius Charm. As long as Dawn retreated to his hidden base, even with Fawkes' assistance, Dumbledore would not be able to follow.
With a secure escape route—
Why not test the limits of his full power?
Dawn smiled slightly.
He made his decision without hesitation.
Christmas break.
Fourteen days of absence from school would be perfectly natural.
If Dawn Richter appeared openly, he would need a reason for Leia Hickman to be absent. A holiday provided the perfect excuse.
Sunday would technically work, but Leia Hickman disappearing coincidentally on the same day would be suspicious.
Christmas was better.
After finalizing his plan, Dawn sat at the desk and lifted the Two-Way Mirror that had been lying face down. He tapped the surface.
Soon, the image rippled.
Dumbledore appeared, stroking his beard.
"Dawn, I'm afraid I haven't found much regarding world correction. If you are seeking information, I must disappoint you."
The headmaster spoke immediately.
Dawn was indeed somewhat disappointed.
But that was not his primary concern.
"Headmaster," Dawn said casually, "I heard something unusual during my investigations."
He feigned curiosity.
"I heard that in 1940, someone snuck into a Transfiguration class at Hogwarts and killed a student in front of everyone."
Dumbledore blinked.
"Goodness, my boy. That is rather outrageous. Who told you such a thing?"
"So it never happened?"
"Of course not."
Dumbledore shook his head.
In 1940, he himself had been teaching Transfiguration. Killing a student during his class? Even Tom Riddle would not have dared.
So it truly had been only a dream.
Satisfied, Dawn exchanged a few perfunctory remarks before cutting the connection abruptly, ignoring Dumbledore's attempt to continue the conversation.
The matter of the Resurrection Stone was temporarily concluded.
After sitting quietly for a while in the wooden cabin, Dawn saw no pressing matters remaining. He dealt with the captured wizard and Disapparated from the Vatican hideout.
Flames flared.
He arrived in London.
After a brief inquiry at a shop, he learned it was Sunday morning.
The time difference between dream and reality was considerable. Less than a day had passed in the dream, yet nearly two days had elapsed in reality.
It felt as if he had wasted an entire day.
After a moment's thought, Dawn did not head to Kent to use Rapid Manifestation to trace the past.
Instead, he went to the hospital.
He wanted to see whether the paternity test results were ready.
___________
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