Father Lockhart exited the room and headed towards the well deep within the Tribunal.
"Father Lockhart!"
A Hunter Knight Order Knight passed by him.
"The Tribunal is under attack by heretics! You'd best return to your room; we don't have the resources to protect you!"
Father Lockhart smiled, showing all eight of his teeth.
"I won't cause you any trouble. I'm just going to that ancient well now—I'm quite interested in the Folkestone Nunnery's research, and I want to take a look there."
The Knight shrugged.
"Alright then, please be careful. Just wait a little longer, and once the Knights from London arrive, the Tribunal will be safe."
Father Lockhart made the sign of the cross over his chest.
"May the Lord bless you all."
Watching Father Lockhart disappear down the corridor, the Knight scratched his head—
"Father Lockhart was specially recruited into the church for his knowledge, wasn't he? When did he become so devout?"
"Boom!"
A violent explosion occurred in the front hall. The Knight quickly cast aside irrelevant thoughts and hurried towards the battlefield.
…
Father Lockhart found the ancient well.
It was unremarkable, but a faint magical aura emanated from within.
He leaned over the well and looked down—
There wasn't a single drop of water in the well, only a pile of rubble that looked like shattered stone sculptures.
The Father frowned. This place had indeed once been a portal to Avalon; the scent of the Sea of Death hadn't completely dissipated.
But clearly, this portal had been intentionally destroyed.
Father Lockhart rubbed his brow and turned to head towards the dungeon—
Having confirmed that the ruins here were once a portal to Avalon, Dana's suspicion that the Folkestone Nunnery and the Avar Coven were connected grew stronger.
The dungeon guards lay sprawled on the ground.
Ambushed by Salazar Slytherin, one of the Four Founders, they had no chance of survival.
A clamor of voices reached him. Father Lockhart turned the corner and saw a group of young Wizards chattering together, with Slytherin comforting them.
"Sir, are we really saved?"
"We won't be burned alive anymore, right?"
"Jennifer was taken away by those Fathers and never came back, Sir. Can you save her?"
Slytherin was getting a headache from the young Wizards' noise. He secretly resolved that next time there was such a rescue, he would definitely bring Helga Hufflepuff.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. A quick glance revealed that the newcomer was neither burly nor a youth, so he decisively cast a bolt of lightning.
"Sizzle!"
The newcomer caught the lightning with one hand, and the electric light in his palm was like clay, molded at his will.
"Mr. Slytherin, it's me, Merlin."
Salazar Slytherin was skeptical and about to ask something when a blue light flew out of the Father's chest, transforming into Dana.
The Father immediately regained consciousness and, seeing the situation before him, was about to shout for help—
"Stupefy!"
One Stupefy, and the Father quieted down.
Dana dangled Father Lockhart by the collar and explained:
"This man knows a lot; he'll be useful later."
Slytherin carefully identified the Father and nodded:
"I know this man. He's a young man from the Lockhart Family in Ireland. I heard he joined the church to seek magical knowledge, which literally angered his grandfather to death."
"Did you see that? That big brother is amazing!"
"Did he just appear from the Father's chest?"
"Looks like it!"
"Wow, I wish I could do that! I wonder what it feels like to control Teryl's body?"
"Hmph!"
"Ah, Teryl, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, stop kicking! My balls are going to shatter!"
Slytherin's forehead gradually formed a "#" sign, and he began to cast a spell silently—
Two vines quickly grew from the ground, intertwining in the air to form an archway.
Spandim Gate?
Dana was a little surprised; he hadn't expected Salazar Slytherin to know this magic.
"Alright, brats, cross this gate, and you'll be safe! Hurry! One by one, don't waste time!"
Despite the noise and commotion, when it came to the crucial moment, these young Wizards who had suffered were still sensible.
They consciously lined up and entered one after another.
"Emrys—"
Once most of the young Wizards had entered, Salazar Slytherin called out to Dana.
Dana nodded, dragging Father Lockhart, and stepped into the portal.
…
Stepping out of the portal, Dana raised an eyebrow—
The familiar mountains, the familiar Black Lake, the familiar highlands, the familiar Black Forest—except for the absence of the Castle, this place was as familiar to Dana as could be.
Where the Castle used to be in his memory, there was now only a row of crude bungalows, simply surrounded by a wooden "city wall."
Hogwarts Fort.
Ignoring the chattering, excited youngsters, Dana turned around and saw Slytherin also emerge from the archway, casually closing the portal.
They crossed the drawbridge and arrived at the fort gate.
Standing in the fort gate's watchtower were two teenagers, about fourteen or fifteen years old. Seeing that the newcomer was Salazar Slytherin, they quickly pushed open the gate.
"Teacher, you're back!"
Slytherin nodded and instructed:
"Yaxley, take these brats to wash up first;
Bost, go quickly and inform Rowena and Helga that we have guests and ask them to wait for me in the sitting room, then lock this Father in the woodshed—remember to put Mantle of Turin handcuffs on him!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
One of the teenagers led the young Wizards to wash up, while the other hoisted Father Lockhart onto his shoulder and ran quickly towards the center of the fort.
Slytherin then looked at Dana:
"Emrys, follow me."
Dana nodded and followed behind Slytherin.
Hogwarts Fort was very simple, but its sanitary conditions were much better than those in London!
Dana saw young Wizards pouring collected waste into a large pool, and the area around the pool was enchanted with a scent-blocking spell.
Other young Wizards used the Levitation Charm to carry fermented fertilizer to the fields outside the fort.
The fort was full of life: clothes, sheets, and bed covers hung everywhere to dry.
Noticing Dana curiously staring at the sheets, Slytherin explained expressionlessly:
"There are many children here now. You know, it's common for children to wet the bed before they're fifteen."
Dana: …
This sentence, coming from the mouth of "the greatest of the Four Founders," felt particularly jarring!
The two arrived at a house that was taller than the other buildings in the fort.
At the entrance stood a House-elf, wearing dirty rags.
"Master, you're back! Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff are already inside."
Slytherin nodded and said,
"Good Egg, go prepare a separate guest room, then go to the kitchen and make some grand dishes."
"Yes, Master!"
The House-elf Good Egg vanished with a "whoosh."
Slytherin nodded to Dana,
"Alright, let's go in. I want to introduce you to my other two good friends."
Pushing open the large door, the two walked in.
The decoration inside the fort's sitting room was completely out of place with the simple exterior of the houses—luxurious furnishings, soaring ceilings, which gave Dana the illusion of being back in the Hogwarts Great Hall.
Two beautiful young ladies stood in the center of the sitting room, nodding to Slytherin.
"Let me introduce you. This is Rowena Ravenclaw, and this is Helga Hufflepuff,"
Slytherin said, pointing to Dana,
"This is Merlin Emrys, a genius from the Emrys Family. He helped us rescue the young Wizards from the London Heresy Tribunal."
"Merlin?"
Hufflepuff exclaimed, while Ravenclaw merely tilted her head slightly.
"Bang!"
The large door was pushed open, and Godric Gryffindor walked in, laughing loudly,
"Hahahaha, Salazar, you left too early, otherwise you would have seen how I beat those bastards until they were pissing themselves!"
Slytherin rolled his eyes:
"If I hadn't set the duration for the magic array, I don't think you would have returned at this time, would you?"
"Ah, hahahaha,"
Gryffindor scratched his head, making his hat tilt. He looked at Dana,
"Yo, Emrys, you're here! You've already met Rowena and Helga, right?"
Gryffindor then looked at Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff:
"You didn't see it, but this kid's methods are really strong; he has at least eighty percent of my strength!"
Ravenclaw sighed, supporting her forehead, and her clear, ethereal voice pierced Gryffindor's heart:
"Godric, can't you see? The magic in this young man's body is almost dozens of times yours! I didn't think you'd become so arrogant that you'd lose all sense of shame."
Ravenclaw's magical prowess was the strongest among the four; she could see things the other three couldn't, so they all trusted her words.
But now—
All three of them widened their eyes, looking at Dana in disbelief.
Dozens of times Godric's magic?
Good heavens, Godric's total magic was the highest among the four of them!
Could this kid truly be the legendary Merlin?
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