Chapter 177: Voldemort's Miscalculation
"This is a very good idea. It can show Regulus's amazing courage in deciding to oppose Voldemort, and it can also hide the evil magic of the Horcrux." Professor Dumbledore's eyes lit up. He took out his wand and tapped the parchment, changing the words "Horcrux" to "treasure".
Instantly, the contents of the parchment that Regulus had hidden in the fake locket changed to:
To the Dark Lord,
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret.
I have stolen the real treasure and intend to destroy it as soon as possible.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be killed.
R.A.B.
With a glance, Professor Aisen saw the contents. In his opinion, this method of handling it was indeed a better approach.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Black looked at the changes on the parchment and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. "This way, when people learn about Regulus's life story, they will know about his courage and actions against Voldemort!"
"That's right, at Regulus's funeral, I will be very happy to read this!" Headmaster Dumbledore said with a slight smile and nod.
"Thank you—" Black sincerely thanked him. Although he had recently been acquitted by the Ministry of Magic, to make his brother's funeral more honorable, he still needed a sufficiently respected person to personally acknowledge Regulus's contribution. Undoubtedly, Headmaster Dumbledore was particularly suitable.
As the greatest Witch of his time, although Headmaster Dumbledore had been portrayed by the media as a schemer before, people clearly knew the truth behind the articles in The Daily Prophet.
In this way, with Headmaster Dumbledore's reputation as a guarantee, Regulus, who was once a Death Eater and a descendant of the Black family who disappeared without a trace, would undoubtedly become a true hero.
"So, there's one more thing, which is to find Regulus's body—" Black hesitated for a moment, then looked at Professor Aisen.
"I don't know where Regulus's body is! However—" Professor Aisen thought for a moment and then spoke about the situation at the time. "When I got it, it was placed in a stone basin covered with poison. magic was cast on it, and there was no way to reduce the poison and reveal it to get it except by drinking the poison."
"In other words, if Regulus wanted to swap the real Horcrux with the fake locket, he would have to drink the poison?" Headmaster Dumbledore seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes narrowed.
"That's right, from the last words he left, he knew he would definitely die. So I guess he wrote his last words in advance and put them in the fake locket, then drank all the poison in the stone basin, took the real Horcrux from the bottom of the basin, and put the fake locket in."
"So, Regulus didn't escape?" Headmaster Dumbledorefrowned.
"That area is a lake. Perhaps after Regulus drank the poison, he fell into the lake," Professor Aisen nodded.
In fact, the truth was pretty much like this. However, in the depths of Professor Aisen's memory, it seemed that Regulus's House-elf, Kreacher, was also present at the time.
"So, who put the Horcrux at Grimmauld Place, number 12?" Sirius Black suddenly interrupted. "Headmaster Dumbledore said earlier that you found it in the Blackfamily's old house!"
"I suspect that Regulus was not acting alone. I saw a very old House-elf in your house," Professor Aisen glanced at Black.
"Kreacher, did he just watch Regulus die?" Black showed an expression of disbelief.
"You mean, the House-elf's Apparition?" Headmaster Dumbledore showed a look of sudden understanding. "That's right, Voldemort disdains the behavior of House-elves. He wouldn't have thought that House-elves possess magic that he doesn't understand!"
"I think the real Horcrux must have been brought back by the House-elf," Professor Aisen nodded. "As for why he didn't save your brother, it must have been Regulus's order. After all, a House-elf will definitely obey his master's orders."
"I need to go home," Black put down the parchment and stood up impatiently.
After greeting Headmaster Dumbledore and nodding to Professor Aisen, he turned and left. Headmaster Dumbledore didn't say much about this. Presumably, he also understood Sirius Black's feelings.
At night, lightning and thunder sounded, and the entire Castle was suddenly hit by a heavy rain.
Early the next morning, Black visited Headmaster Dumbledore again. Professor Aisen also saw the two of them in the Headmaster's office.
Looking at the hint of melancholy between Black's eyebrows, it seemed that he had already learned the truth from Kreacher.
"It seems you learned a lot from the House-elf?" Professor Aisen was the first to speak.
Black nodded, sighed, and then slowly began to speak: "Regulus joined Voldemort's organization when he was sixteen, and he was proud of it. One day, Voldemort needed a House-elf. So, Regulus offered Kreacher.
Regulus considered this an honor, so he told Kreacher to return home only after doing what Voldemort had ordered. As a result, Voldemort took Kreacher to a seaside cave, and drank the poison from the stone basin on the island in the center of the cave..."
After finishing speaking, Black sighed again, then looked at Professor Aisen, "Professor Aisen, you are right. Regulus ordered Kreacher to take him to the cave, and after drinking the poison himself, he told Kreacher to swap the Horcrux and return home..."
"According to your description, after drinking the poison, people will feel particularly painful, especially feeling as if their internal organs are on fire, and they will be very thirsty.
It was because Regulus drank the poison and couldn't help but drink the lake water that he was dragged into the water by the Inferi in the lake."
Professor Aisen frowned slightly and brought up a strange point, "Since Regulus ordered Kreacher to leave, it means he must have known that Kreacher could Apparate away from there. So why didn't he let Kreachertake him with him? I think House-elves can also Side-Along Apparate!"
"That's right, the magic of House-elves is not the same system as the magic of Witches, and Voldemort's magiccannot trap them," Headmaster Dumbledore glanced at Black and sighed almost imperceptibly. "As for why Regulus didn't leave with Kreacher, I think it might have something to do with Sirius."
Hearing Headmaster Dumbledore's words, Black seemed to have thought of something, his expression froze, and then he murmured, "James and Lily's Secret-Keeper status?"
"Perhaps so!" Headmaster Dumbledore took off his glasses, wiped them with cashmere, and put them back on. "In 1979, Voldemort learned of that prophecy and targeted James and Lily's family. But you said that Regulus became Voldemort's subordinate when he was sixteen.
Your relationship with James and Lily is very unusual. Voldemort might have thought you were their Secret-Keeper, so he ordered Regulus to deal with you, or used Regulus as a bargaining chip to force you to reveal their hiding place—"
"You mean, Regulus was unwilling to do this, so he was willing to die?" Black's eyes became moist, and he stared blankly at Headmaster Dumbledore, not knowing what to say.
"The truth is probably like this—" Professor Aisen nodded thoughtfully. "Obviously, Voldemort miscalculated. Regulus was absolutely unwilling to fight his older brother, so he was willing to die to protect his older brother!"
Professor Aisen didn't know if the truth was really like this. However, since Regulus was already dead, it wouldn't hurt to say this in front of Sirius Black, which could add some good reputation to him.
For a moment, Sirius Black fell silent. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be immersed in past memories.
After a long while, Black calmed down and then looked at Professor Aisen with a smile: "Okay, that's it. ProfessorAisen, I want to ask you to take me to the cave. I want to find Regulus's body."
"Is that so?" Professor Aisen glanced at the other party and nodded slightly without objecting.
After all, this was not a big deal.
Chapter 178: The Operation
Only – Aisen suddenly remembered how he entered the cave last time: he used God's Perspective to directly see the scene inside, and then Apparition Without A Trace.
This time, if he were to enter the same way, wouldn't he be directly exposing his methods to Black?
Or, should he tell Sirius Black to just bring the House-elfand Apparition directly in? As soon as this thought popped up, Aisen felt it was very suitable.
"Sirius, since we are going to the cave to find Regulus's body, I think it would be much more convenient to have Kreacher take us there directly by Apparition," Aisen said directly as the thought turned in his mind.
"Didn't you go there last time?" Black's face showed a hint of confusion.
"That kind of place, you know, Voldemort set up a lot of magical means there. It took me a lot of energy to get in and out last time!" Aisen spread his hands, giving a very legitimate reason.
"You're right, let's go then. Let Kreacher take us in!" Blacknodded, not finding anything wrong with Aisen's words.
...
A piece of land by the sea abruptly rose, with the side facing the water revealing a Black cross-section under the erosion of the sea, forming a sheer cliff.
Waves rolled in from time to time, hitting the exposed rocks and cliffs, stirring up white foam and emitting a deafening roar.
"Bang—"
Three figures suddenly appeared on the exposed Blackrock. The two tall figures were Aisen and Sirius Black, and the smaller one was the House-elf Kreacher.
"Is this where Regulus last came?" Black squinted at the steep cliff, then said breathlessly.
"I've been here before. I entered the cave from over there. I think Kreacher must recognize this place!" Aisen nodded and glanced at the trembling figure beside him.
Black said nothing, turning his head to look at the cliff face.
On one side was the surging sea, and on the other was the winding downward mountain terrain. Continuing downwards, one could see a village halfway up the mountain.
Besides that, the surroundings were bare and desolate. Apart from the vast sea and rocks, not a single tree could be seen, nor any grass or beach.
"Kreacher, do you still remember where Regulus drank the potion? Take us in!" Black clenched his fist, then released it and reached out to the House-elf.
"Can I—really? I am just a servant who failed to complete his master's task—" Kreacher said tearfully, looking at Sirius Black from time to time, with what seemed to be a look of anticipation in his eyes.
"No, Kreacher, in some ways, you are more brilliant than Voldemort. He would never have thought you could enter that place twice," Black shook his head, his voice becoming a little hoarse. "So, Kreacher, can you do something for Regulus, take us in and bring his body out?"
"Of—of course, Young Master Sirius, Kreacher is willing!" Kreacher tremblingly extended his hand, his eyes filled with an unusual look.
Black didn't hesitate at all and directly grabbed Kreacher's hand. Then, the elderly, wrinkled House-elflooked at Aisen.
Aisen nodded slightly without saying anything, and directly reached out to grab the House-elf's other hand.
Then, the next moment, the three disappeared from the spot.
A smooth small island stood in the center of the lake. On the island, a Black stone slab stood tall, rising about a foot. A Black scratch appeared out of thin air, seemingly cutting the slab in half, making it particularly conspicuous.
The three figures flashed and appeared directly on the small island.
Since the Black stone slab had been cut by Aisen using Fiendfyre, the magic on it had lost its effect, so the potion in the stone basin embedded in the Black stone slab was also long gone.
Looking around, without the green glow of the potion, the surroundings had turned into an impenetrable darkness.
Returning to this place again seemed to remind Kreacherof the terrible things he had encountered before. So after entering, the elderly House-elf even fell to the ground.
Black helped Kreacher up, and with his other hand pulled out his wand and cast the Lumos spell.
However, although Aisen had destroyed the magic on the stone slab, the residual magic traces on the entire large lake and the small island still caused Black's magic to only illuminate a very small area.
"Is this Voldemort's heart?" The half of Black's face hidden in the darkness was not clearly visible, but there was a hint of vengeful satisfaction in his tone: "The magicseems to be restricted?"
"That's right, this is a place Voldemort went to great lengths to hide, so he would use some means to restrict magic," Aisen looked at the point of light at the tip of Black's wand and nodded.
Immediately after, soft light bloomed from Kreacher's fingertips, and then the light poured out, forming a large ball of light that illuminated the entire space.
"It seems that Voldemort's magic cannot restrict House-elves!" Black glanced at Kreacher, then withdrew his wand.
"This is where slytherin's locket was once placed. It was once filled with a basin full of potion—" Aisen stepped forward and pointed to the stone basin that seemed to be embedded in the stone slab.
"I understand—Regulus drank the potion in the stone basin," Black stepped forward, looked at the empty stone basin on top, and then couldn't help but close his eyes, seemingly thinking about the scene at the time.
"Sirius, your brother was absolutely a hero!" Aisen said softly.
"He was still young at the time and easily believed Voldemort's lies. He—he was such a fool!" Black opened his eyes, his tone somewhat heavy, and then looked at the House-elf: "Kreacher, you saw it at the time, after Regulus drank the potion, he was dragged into the water?"
"Yes—yes, Young Master Sirius, it was this large Blacklake," The light from Kreacher's fingertips rose into the air, coming to mid-air. Then the House-elf pointed to the Black lake beside them.
Following the direction Kreacher pointed, Black's pupils constricted when he looked. The seemingly boundless, mirror-smooth lake surface was particularly mysterious.
With the light shining down from above, the Black lake was calm and ripple-free, reflecting the things inside. To Black's shock, the lake water was filled with body after body.
Looking around, the nearest body to him was only three or four feet from the edge of the small island in the center of the lake, as if he could reach out and pull it up.
Those bodies, dressed in brown or blue clothes, looked like living people hidden in the dark. But their faces, pale from being soaked in the lake water, told Black that these were corpses that had long been dead.
This also made Black's face turn pale. Because he could imagine that his brother Regulus had also become like this.
Black extended his wand, seemingly about to cast a spell, but instead, he triggered an anomaly in the lake water.
"Splash—"
The smooth, Black lake surface immediately rippled.
The bodies in the lake seemed to come alive, and hands reached out of the lake towards Black.
"Be careful, Sirius, those Inferi armies created by Voldemort will drag people into the water!" Aisenstepped forward and pulled Black back a bit.
However, before Black could even extend his wand to counterattack, those Inferi all submerged back into the lake bottom. After a series of ripples, the Black lake before them returned to its original state.
"It seems they don't intend to attack us!" Black tightened his grip on his wand, slightly relieved.
"Last time I came, I didn't bother with those things. I just got the locket from the stone basin and left. Now—" Aisen raised his wand and cast a beam of light into the lake bottom.
Then, he saw those Inferi, as if they had consciousness, dodging and moving away from the beam of light.
"Fear of light—this is a characteristic of Inferi. I guess they are also very resistant to fire," After performing this action, Aisen gave a conclusion.
"Lumos Maxima—" Black held up his wand and cast the spell, but the magic here seemed to be restricted by Voldemort's magic, so the Lumos spell Black cast was far less bright than Kreacher's magic.
"Daylight—" Another spell was cast, and the tip of Black's wand shone brightly, but then the light was suppressed by the darkness again.
Chapter 179: Re-exploring the Cave
Seeing his spell effect greatly reduced, Black glanced at the illuminating spell cast by Kreacher, then looked at Aisen next to him.
After a moment of silence, Black frowned and asked, "Professor Aisen, do you have any ideas?"
"Perhaps, we can use the Fiendfyre Curse to burn away the traces of Black magic applied above?" Aisenpondered for a moment, then offered an idea.
"Fiendfyre can indeed burn away everything, but Regulus's remains are still below, I can't risk burning them!" Black shook his head.
Is that so? Aisen fell silent for a moment, but then his eyes lit up as if he had thought of something. His figure flashed, turning into a ray of light, and directly entered the world of light.
Instantly, the entire world completely quieted down.
Having reached the speed of light, Aisen directly entered the light emitted by the House-elf, feeling the difference between it and a Witch's spellcasting.
With a thought, Aisen flashed back to his original spot, retreating from the world of light.
All these actions were completed in an extremely short period, so Black didn't notice anything unusual about Aisen at all.
The feeling just now didn't mean that Aisen had analyzed and cracked the illuminating spell cast by the House-elfin a short time, but rather that he had deconstructed its performance effect.
This meant that although Aisen couldn't cast an identical illuminating spell, he could extract its magical effect and fix it onto a certain item.
When Aisen hadn't yet researched the ability to solidify magical effects onto his body, doing these things would have greatly tested his methods. But since he had already researched such methods, applying them to items became much simpler.
Thinking of this, Aisen looked directly at Black: "I have a method, would you like to try it?"
"Hmm—of course, no problem. Since you could take slytherin's locket from here, I believe you definitely have extraordinary means!" Black's eyes lit up, and he believed Aisen without hesitation.
After nodding, Aisen subtly extended his wand. Then, without any visible movement from him, streams of light were drawn out from the ball of light cast by Kreacher.
Like threads, the light appeared at the tip of Aisen's wand, then was directed towards Black. Those threads moved and wove around Black's body, as if transforming into a garment of light, enveloping Black.
"This—" Black immediately looked at Aisen in surprise.
"A method combining Transfiguration and Alchemy, it's quite clever. It just so happens that I've recently gained new insights into Alchemy, which is why I can do this." Aisen withdrew his wand, his tone very calm.
"Thank you, Professor Aisen!" Looking at the glowing clothes on his body, Black's face showed a smile.
"All right, you can go down and look for him now. I think Kreacher probably doesn't need my little trick like this!" Aisen waved his hand.
"No, Professor Aisen—Kreacher can take care of himself." Kreacher blinked his large eyes, then made a ball of light reappear from his fingertip.
"Do you need me to cast the Bubblehead Charm on you?" Looking at the two figures, one large and one small, Aisen suddenly asked again.
The Bubblehead Charm is a very practical Charm. Its magical effect is to place a transparent bubble over the caster's head, allowing a Witch to obtain enough oxygen to breathe in polluted environments or underwater.
Aisen hadn't deeply researched the principle of this Charm, so he currently didn't know if the oxygen provided by the Bubblehead Charm was drawn directly from the external environment or created out of thin air.
If it's created out of thin air, then this Charm can be used in outer space. If it's drawn from the external environment, then it probably wouldn't work in outer space.
Black waved his hand, and then spent a little effort to cast the Bubblehead Charm on himself and Kreacher.
"Are you sure those Inferi won't attack us?" Looking at the glowing clothes on his body and the ball of light surrounding Kreacher, Black said in a muffled voice.
"Don't worry—they're just Inferi, there are no powerful magical methods below." After opening his God's Perspective and scanning the lake bottom, Aisen didn't find anything unusual.
Black no longer wasted time, directly jumped into the lake, and swam with agile limbs. Seeing this, Kreacherbeside him also jumped down.
Jumping into the lake water, the bone-chilling cold water made Black's body stiffen slightly, but then the light emitted from his clothes dispelled the cold, making Blacksigh in relief.
Swimming to the dark part of the reef, Black saw a hidden Inferi, quietly went up to observe it, found that it wasn't Regulus, and then Black quietly left.
The whole process went rather smoothly, and Blackwasn't attacked.
The two figures wandered around the lake bottom, and things became monotonous. Looking at the large area of Inferi at the bottom of the lake, Aisen, however, frowned.
You know, this army of Inferi was a method arranged by Voldemort. But how did Voldemort get so many bodies? Could it be that they were all ordinary Muggles he had killed?
Ordinary Muggles—wait, were they the villagers from that village?
Aisen suddenly thought of the village on the mountainside, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
It seems that Voldemort being an evil villain wasn't just talk. To arrange his army of Inferi, he massacred a village.
After a while, Aisen collected his thoughts, a playing card appeared in his hand, and after falling to the ground, it turned into a lounge chair.
Aisen lay on it, quietly observing this space.
The last time he came here, Aisen took away the locket covered in poison. Although he had noticed that this space was very large at the time, he didn't pay much attention to it.
Looking again now, Aisen found that this space was larger than he had expected.
Expanding the cave space with the Undetectable Extension Charm can indeed greatly increase the size of the space. But the area currently before him, not to mention the Black Lake below which could be described as boundless, even the ceiling above was very high.
Only after opening his God's Perspective could Aisenclearly see that the boundary size of the entire space almost exceeded the range of his vision. This made Aisensuspect whether Voldemort had used the power of his subordinates when arranging this place.
Otherwise, it means that this area of space here was originally spacious enough, such that after Voldemort cast the Undetectable Extension Charm, it expanded to its current large extent.
Time slowly flowed by, and twenty minutes passed without realizing it.
Splash—
Black pulled Kreacher out from the lake surface, then gasped for breath and looked at Aisen. When he saw Aisen lying on the lounge chair, his face couldn't help but darken.
"You're actually lying on a chair sleeping, it's simply—simply—" Black felt that Aisen's actions were too outrageous. In such a gloomy environment, how could he lie there peacefully?
"Haven't you found him yet?" Looking at Black and Kreacher emerging from the lake, Aisen turned his head and looked over, "Perhaps you should replenish your energy!"
Aisen suggested this, throwing a few chocolate candies towards Black.
Black gave Aisen a resentful look, but finally took the chocolate candies. After handing two to Kreacher, Blackstuffed all the chocolate candies in his hand into his mouth.
...
One hundred, two hundred, Black and Kreacher re-entered the lake bottom to search for Regulus's remains. But this area of the Black Lake in the cave was indeed a bit too large. Moreover, they were still glowing, so when they approached the Inferi, they would always cause them to shy away, which greatly increased the difficulty of their search for Regulus.
During this time, Aisen's attention returned to the stone basin in the middle of the Black stone slab. Since the integrity of the Black stone slab was damaged, the poison inside was completely gone.
However, Aisen suddenly thought of something, which was that Voldemort was not only a top master in Blackmagic, but also a master at manipulating curses.
This was evident from the curse he placed on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class at Hogwarts.
Aisen felt that since Voldemort could manipulate curses, why couldn't they curse Voldemort?
If others were unwilling or didn't have the ability, that would be understandable, but to say Dumbledore didn't have the ability, Aisen wouldn't believe it.
As for Dumbledore being unwilling, that would be even more absurd. One must know that Dumbledore was definitely someone who wished he could utterly kill Voldemort.
But strangely, he had never thought of using curses in this way.
Chapter 180: Dumbledore Learns the Number of Horcruxes
Lying on the deckchair, Aisen quietly pondered.
After thinking for a long time, he suddenly realized he had entered a dead end. This was because he had always felt this was an illusory world—and he couldn't be blamed for it, after all, first impressions are hard to shake.
But in reality, he had lived in this world for so many years and deeply experienced the reality of his surroundings.
In other words, things recorded in the original work were indeed happening in this world, but how the world evolved in matters not recorded was something Aisencouldn't possibly know.
Perhaps Dumbledore had tried to curse Voldemort, but it just didn't have any effect.
Thinking this way, Aisen immediately stopped agonizing.
...
Another half an hour passed. Black surfaced from the lake as if to catch his breath, but Kreacher, still at the bottom of the lake, suddenly let out a scream: "Found him—Kreacher found Master Regulus—"
The House-elf's voice broke the current silence, echoing repeatedly throughout the cave.
Aisen's figure flashed, and he stood at the edge of the small island. The deckchair shifted and transformed back into cards, which then burned to ash.
Black, who had just surfaced from the lake, said nothing. His expression changed, and he flipped back into the water, swimming towards Kreacher's direction following the sound.
Subsequently, Black saw Kreacher dragging a familiar figure with both hands. The figure was not much different from the one in his memory, except his face was much paler.
Black muttered to himself, unclear what he was saying. It wasn't until Kreacher brought Regulus to Black's side that he came back to his senses.
He swam back to shore with Regulus's body, then gasped for air, making a 'hoarse' sound. Unconsciously, his tears had started to flow.
Seeing Black's sorrowful appearance, Aisen couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
After a long time, Black's mood calmed down. He picked up Regulus's body, walked to Aisen's side, and glanced back at the Black stone slab. The stone basin in the middle was empty, without a trace of potion.
"Sirius, what do you think of this place?" Seeing Black had calmed down, Aisen spoke indifferently.
"What are you planning to do?" Black couldn't care about anything else now; he only wanted to take Regulus's body back for proper placement and hold a funeral befitting him.
"Destroy some things, how about it?" With God's Perspective fully open, the entire cave space was reflected in his mind, and Aisen suddenly felt the urge to act.
"We'll wait for you outside!" Black said nothing, gave a shout, and then Kreacher appeared with him and Regulus's body on a reef outside the cave exposed above the sea surface.
Within a few minutes, they saw the rock walls of the secret passage beneath the cliff face beginning to peel off layer by layer. First, a layer of bright light bloomed on them, and then it quickly dimmed.
Immediately afterward, the solid rock wall seemed to turn into sand, crumbling down as fine powder. The lower half of the entire cliff face collapsed as if it were a Castlemade of sand, revealing a deep and wide opening.
Aisen walked out expressionlessly and with a flash, arrived beside Black. Black looked in the direction Aisencame from but found that he couldn't see anything inside.
"Let's go!" Aisen said calmly.
"Everything inside is destroyed?" Black seemed a little surprised.
"I don't think there's any need to keep a place like this," Aisen shrugged slightly.
Black nodded and said nothing more. Then, Aisen, pulling Kreacher and Black, along with Regulus's body, disappeared from the spot.
At Grimmauld Place, number 12, the Black family's old house, after Regulus's body was properly laid to rest, Aisen used the Black family's fireplace to return to Hogwarts.
In the Headmaster's office, Aisen and Dumbledore had a brief conversation.
"Regarding this matter, do you feel some of my actions were a bit—unfeeling?" Dumbledore's face showed a hint of helplessness and fatigue.
"Are you referring to not letting Sirius publicize Regulus's matter regarding the Horcrux?" Aisen looked at him, then shook his head slightly. "You are the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and you do need to consider many things. This isn't unfeeling; it's considering the bigger picture—"
Dumbledore looked at Aisen in surprise, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. "Alright, let's talk about something happy. I must thank you, Aisen, the horcruxes you found have helped me greatly. I have found clues about the horcruxes from Horace Professor Slughorn."
"Horace Professor Slughorn?" Aisen whispered, but there was no ripple in his heart.
"Yes, Horace. He was formerly the Head of SlytherinHouse and the Transfiguration Professor, but he retired in 1982!" Dumbledore nodded slightly.
"You mean that before Professor Slughorn retired, he had a close relationship with Voldemort and knew the secret about the horcruxes?" Aisen showed a thoughtful expression in front of Dumbledore.
"Yes, before retiring, he valued Tom greatly. At the time, I suspected he knew something, but he had always kept the secret strictly. He was afraid I would press him for those secrets, so he simply resigned and retired," Dumbledore said with considerable emotion.
"So, what about now?" Aisen frowned slightly. "He must still be very wary of you!"
"You're right, he's a cunning old fellow—"
"Then how did you learn the secret of the horcruxes from him?" Aisen was indeed a little curious.
"Yes, didn't I say before? I have to thank you for the horcruxes you found!" The smile on Dumbledore's face widened.
"What's the connection?" Aisen vaguely thought of something but remained outwardly calm.
"Horace knew what I wanted to ask, but he had always been worried that the secret being exposed would bring him trouble, until I took out those four destroyed horcruxes—He was very shocked, perhaps thinking that my hope of destroying all of Tom's horcruxes was great. So he told me about Tom's obsession with making six horcruxes."
"He believes you?" Aisen was a little surprised.
"I showed him the four destroyed horcruxes, and he knew how determined I was!" Dumbledore paused in his speech, then looked meaningfully at Aisen. "Also, I had drunk a bottle of Felix Felicis beforehand—"
"You have Felix Felicis?" Aisen's eyes lit up slightly.
"Having been Headmaster of Hogwarts for many years, one is bound to have some things on hand." Dumbledoreignored Aisen's shining eyes.
"In other words, the number of horcruxes Voldemort made is confirmed, it won't exceed six—well, not exceeding six, excluding Harry?" Aisen guided the topic.
"Exactly, this is good news for us!" Dumbledore nodded.
"So, have you found the whereabouts of hufflepuff's golden cup? It's very likely a Horcrux. Once it's found, there will only be one Horcrux left," Aisen said, feeling a bit speechless internally.
He knew that hufflepuff's golden cup seemed to have been hidden inside Gringotts by Bellatrix Lestrange, a Death Eater loyal to Voldemort.
But for such a hidden matter, Aisen had no reason to say it directly, so he could only pretend not to know.
As for how hufflepuff's golden cup was found in the original work,
"No, there are currently no clues as to where hufflepuff's golden cup is," Dumbledore said, frowning. "Now it's almost impossible to find someone who can recount Tom's life after leaving Hogwarts, so no one knows where hufflepuff's golden cup might have been placed!"
"Perhaps we could try searching in some 'safe' places—" Aisen suggested casually.
"Safe places?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
"Exactly. The diary was kept by his loyal servant Lucius, Gaunt's ring was placed in the old house protected by powerful magic, slytherin's locket was hidden in a special location from his childhood, ravenclaw's diadem was hidden in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts—"
Aisen paused in his speech, looked at Dumbledore, and continued, "Hogwarts is considered the safest place in the world. Look, Voldemort hid ravenclaw's diadem at Hogwarts, and specifically in the Room of Requirement, which few people know about.
So, there is another place that is very safe, where Voldemort might have hidden one of his horcruxes—"
Chapter 181: Before the End of the Term
Upon hearing Aisen's words, Dumbledore paused slightly, then seemed to recall something and slowly uttered three words: "Gringotts!"
"Obviously, everyone in the Wizarding World knows that if you want to find a safe and reliable place to store things, then besides Hogwarts, it's Gringotts," Aisen said, shrugging.
"That is indeed Tom's style—" Dumbledore frowned, lost in thought.
"I've looked into Gringotts; its anti-theft measures are incredibly strong. If I were Lord Voldemort, I'd also store Horcruxes there," Aisen nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll investigate," Dumbledore said slowly, his brow relaxing.
"Leaving Hufflepuff's Golden Cup aside for now, we can confirm it's our next target. But Harry—how's that new magic progressing?" Aisen nodded slightly, changing the subject.
"Astral Projection?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, his tone somewhat heavy: "There's been some progress, but not much."
Aisen nodded, falling silent for a moment.
Aisen had been constantly attempting operations that touched the soul during this period. Starting with the Dream World created by the Dream God Spell, he continuously delved into his own memories.
However, it was regrettable that he still hadn't touched the soul.
Although Aisen believed that the Charm he created and the Horcrux creation involving the soul had gone in different directions, he still felt that starting from memory could build a bridge to the soul.
By then, as Aisen's Dream World grew stronger, it should unearth the body's potential, thereby reaching the soul level.
As for now, Aisen felt it was a matter of time.
After leaving the Principal's office, Aisen began his own affairs.
Ever since creating the Dream World with the Dream God Spell, Aisen's life had suddenly become slow-paced.
Practicing Charms, studying Alchemy, and exploring knowledge in Ancient Runes, Potions, and other areas were no longer burdens for Aisen.
After all, the flow of time in the Dream World was controlled by Aisen's will. This meant that when learning some knowledge, he could completely master it in the Dream World. When practicing a Charm, he could perfect it in the Dream World.
Of course, in his life at Hogwarts, besides teaching students, Aisen also used the Dream World to add a time buff to Hermione every day.
This not only gave her more time to study but also allowed her to have more fun.
As for the Trio's practical training, under the time buff of Aisen's Dream World, their skill level advanced by leaps and bounds. By the end of November, the Trio had completely mastered practical spells such as Barrier Charm, Stopping Charm, Patronus Charm, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, Shield Charm, and Expelliarmus.
Although in class, Professor Snape still challenged the entire class, and Trelawney still made some cryptic prophecies, which made all the Young Wizards extremely depressed.
But the Trio were all in good spirits. Especially Harry, ever since Sirius Black was completely free and planned to live with him, his heart had been very relaxed.
Of course, one more thing significantly lifted Harry's spirits: the Ravenclaw team defeated the Hufflepuffteam.
This meant that if Gryffindor could win against Ravenclaw in the upcoming match, they would still have a chance to win the House Cup.
However, Gryffindor had already lost to Hufflepuff once. Although it was due to Harry's bad luck, being affected by the Dementors, they had still lost. So, they couldn't afford to lose again.
The weather at this time had become bitterly cold, but it generally had little effect on Wizards.
Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, it was December.
During this period, Aisen spent a lot of time every day practicing the Dream God Spell. Each time he cast the Dream God Spell, it was a reinforcement of memory and self-awareness. Therefore, Aisen's Dream World also became increasingly stable.
Recently, Aisen had a faint feeling that his Dream Worldseemed to be accumulating a certain power.
This power seemed capable of causing a qualitative change in the Dream World. However, Aisen couldn't sense when enough power would accumulate.
In addition, besides the daily practice of the Dream God Spell, Aisen also made some progress in solidifying magic effects, but the progress was not significant and still did not meet Aisen's expectations.
In the second week of December, the Dean of each house began to record the names of students who would stay at Hogwarts for Christmas instead of going home.
In the past, Harry would definitely not go home and would stay at Hogwarts. But this year, because of Sirius Black, Harry had already agreed to spend Christmas with him.
Based on this, Ron had no choice but to bid farewell to his friends and also go home for Christmas. As for Hermione's choice, it surprised Aisen; she planned to stay at school, claiming it was to look up some information in the Library.
Although it wasn't Christmas yet, the Christmasatmosphere had already begun to spread throughout Hogwarts Castle.
Professor Flitwick, the Charms Class teacher, even conjured some shimmering fairies with magic, constantly fluttering their wings around the classroom, decorating the entire room.
As for Professor Snape of Potion Class, he scoffed at this. But perhaps his heart was hurt by the Peter Pettigrewincident, as he seemed even colder during this period.
In the last week of the term, Wizards from third year and above could visit Hogsmeade again.
On Friday evening, while Aisen was eating in the Great Hall, the Young Wizards were all discussing something, and everyone was in high spirits.
"You can buy everything for Christmas there, it's truly wonderful," Hermione said. "My mom and dad love the Fizzing Whizbees from Honeydukes. I'm going to buy some more to send to them this time!"
"Isn't Harry going with you?" Aisen sat beside him, looking at Harry's gloomy expression, and couldn't help but ask.
"Harry's going to be alone at school again—" Ron said, his mouth full of bread rolls, swallowing as he spoke.
"I said before that Sirius is your godfather. As your guardian, I think if you write him a letter, he'll be happy to sign it and agree for you to go to Hogsmeade," Aisengestured to Harry. "After all, that Hogsmeade trip wasn't the real Hogsmeade, right!"
"I forgot, thank you, Professor Aisen!" Harry's slow eating motion paused, as if stunned, then he quickly sprang from his seat, thanked Aisen, and hurried away.
"Hey—where did Harry go?" Seeing Harry's actions, Ron, who was beside him, was startled and asked.
"To write a letter to Sirius, perhaps he can go to Hogsmeade with you all tomorrow," Aisen said calmly after swallowing the last piece of chicken.
"Professor Aisen, are you going home for Christmas?" Hermione looked at Aisen with wide eyes.
"I might go out to do some things, but otherwise, I'll probably stay at Hogwarts. Is there something?" Aisenhesitated, then asked Hermione.
"That's wonderful! I'll be staying at school for Christmas; I want more time to study!" Hermione's face could no longer hide her joy; this was her true purpose.
"No problem! I just love students who are so eager to learn!" Aisen was startled, then gave Hermione a meaningful look, smiling and nodding.
"Thank you, Professor Aisen!" Hermione's face flushed, and she turned her head away from Aisen.
Watching this scene, Aisen shook his head. Although Hermione's studious nature had been greatly enhanced under the time buff of Aisen's Dream World, her entertainment and gaming attributes had also been developed quite a bit.
If Aisen hadn't intentionally controlled it, he even thought Hermione might have been led astray by his game.
Every night, Aisen used the Dream World to give Hermione dozens of times more study time, so even if Hermione took all her classes using the time-turner, she still had plenty of time to rest.
Visibly, Hermione's condition had rapidly recovered during this period. This even made Aisen think she hadn't chosen so many courses at all.
Chapter 182: Buckbeak's Punishment Notice
"Professor Aisen, are you going to Hogsmeadetomorrow?" Ron suddenly asked.
"Hogsmeade? Hmm—" Aisen immediately hesitated.
To be honest, Aisen really didn't have much to do during this time. After all, whether it was learning knowledge or practicing Charms, he could complete them in the Dream World. Therefore, his time in the real world suddenly became abundant.
However, going to Hogsmeade with the Little Wizardsdidn't seem like a big deal.
Thinking this, Aisen glanced at Hermione, saw her expectant look, and simply nodded, replying, "Going for a stroll in Hogsmeade is fine too!"
Normally, during Hogsmeade week, when students go, Professors will accompany them to prevent any accidents.
Just like last time, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall both went along.
However, unlike the students who happily wandered around Hogsmeade, the Professors didn't have that idea. After all, Professors could go to Hogsmeade whenever they wanted.
For them, Hogsmeade was like their own backyard, already more familiar than familiar. So, who would deliberately stroll around in their own yard?
On Saturday morning, snowflakes drifted down at Hogwarts Castle, and it was unusually quiet outside.
Passing through the entrance hall, Aisen met Harry, Hermione, Ron, and others, who were wearing cloaks and scarves. The few of them were chattering and discussing something. It was clear that Harry's mood was particularly high.
Last night, Harry wrote a letter to Black, and it seemed he had already gotten his signature agreeing to go to Hogsmeade.
Led by a group of Professors, the Little Wizards arrived at Hogsmeade.
Unlike a modern commercial street, people coming and going wore strange clothes, the shops on both sides of the street were irregularly arranged, the signs at the entrances glittered with colorful light, and the text and paintings were enchanted to float in the air.
Of course, the most noticeable thing was that each shop's door had a wreath of holly, and enchanted candles were hung in strings on the trees.
Aisen had been here before, so his curiosity about Hogsmeade wasn't that strong.
Professor McGonagall and others went directly to The Three Broomsticks Bar. Aisen volunteered to take on the patrol duty. The Little Wizards were overjoyed, rushing into Dervish and Banges, Zonko's Joke Shop...
From the outside, this year's Christmas atmosphere was very strong, and Hogsmeade was the same. Whether it was the small cottages or the shops, they were covered with a layer of crisp snow.
For Aisen, patrolling the entire Hogsmeade was just a matter of an instant.
After transforming into light, the entire world became still in Aisen's eyes. Then, Aisen spent one ten-thousandth of a second touring the entire Hogsmeade.
When Aisen returned to normal, the world became noisy again.
The Trio entered Honeydukes. Aisen noticed that they stopped under a sign labeled "Unusual Flavors" at the far end of the shop.
Looking around, there were Bloody Lollipops and clusters of cockroach skewers. Ron was excitedly saying something, but both Hermione and Harry showed disgusted expressions.
Aisen turned and arrived at The Three Broomsticks Bar, where he saw Professor McGonagall and others sitting by the window. A nearby Christmas tree obscured their figures. However, Hagrid's figure was too tall, exposing the upper half of his body.
"Professor Aisen, finished patrolling?" Professor Flitwickpicked up a glass of red wine, gulped it down, and then let out a burp.
"I'm relatively fast," Aisen said expressionlessly, asking the owner, Madam Rosmerta, for a glass of cherry juice.
After a glance, Aisen found that Hagrid's mood was a bit low. He was holding hot mead, taking sips from time to time, and only nodded at Aisen's arrival.
"Merry Christmas!" Aisen gestured towards Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, then looked at Hagrid: "Hagrid, what's wrong?"
"Bad news!" Hearing Aisen ask this, Hagrid's eyes seemed a little red, and then he handed an envelope to Aisen.
After taking the envelope, Aisen opened it and saw some content written on it:
"Dear Mr. Hagrid, we have further investigated the incident of the Hippogriff attacking a student in your class, and we accept Professor Dumbledore's assurance that you are not responsible for this regrettable incident—"
"However, we must express our concern regarding this problematic Hippogriff. We have decided to support Mr. Lucius Malfoy's formal complaint, and therefore this matter will be handled by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures..."
"...We will hold a hearing at the Committee's Londonoffice on April 20th, and we require you and your Hippogriff to attend on that day. In the meantime, the Hippogriff should be restrained and isolated. Your colleagues..."
"It can't be, everyone knows that your Buckbeak isn't a malicious Hippogriff!" Aisen said comfortingly, slapping the letter on the table.
"You don't understand those weirdos on the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures!" Hagrid said, tears seemingly about to fall: "They're going to go after these interesting animals, they'll kill it!"
Uh—
Hagrid's emotions were indeed a bit rich, but thinking of Hagrid calling them interesting animals, Aisen felt a little unable to watch.
For others, they were somewhat scary animals, but for Hagrid, they were either interesting or cute. It could only be said that Hagrid was indeed uniquely gifted.
Before Aisen could say anything, the door of The Three Broomsticks Bar suddenly opened, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron walked in briskly, rubbing their hands.
Following Aisen's gaze, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Hagrid all looked at the Trio. The Trio, who had originally intended to come in for a few Butterbeers, froze for a moment.
The Trio quietly sat in the empty seats nearby. The fire rising from the fireplace next to them brought them a lot of warmth. Noticing Aisen's words, Harry and Hermionepricked up their ears to listen.
"That's Madam Rosmerta, I'll go get the drinks!" Ron said, his face a little red as he looked at a graceful woman with a striking face behind the bar.
After speaking, Ron eagerly darted over.
There were quite a few Little Wizards in The Three Broomsticks Bar, so the Professors didn't pay too much attention to the Trio's arrival and withdrew their gazes.
Aisen smiled and nodded towards the Trio, then turned to look at Hagrid: "Don't worry, look, there are still four months until the hearing on April 20th. I think you need to prepare some strong arguments to prove that Buckbeak is innocent!"
"That's useless!" Hagrid grumbled, taking a large gulp of his drink: "Those devils on the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, they've all been bribed by Lucius Malfoy. If I lose the case, Buckbeak—"
Aisen nodded slightly, showing a thoughtful expression. Actually, this kind of thing wasn't originally a big deal. But Lucius insisted on not letting go.
After Lucius failed to remove Dumbledore from the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts last year, he was removed from the School Board. Naturally, the Malfoy family's reputation was not as good as before.
Therefore, in order to boost the family's reputation again, Lucius seized an opportunity. As long as he could make a breakthrough with Hagrid and Buckbeak, it would mean he had won a round in his contest with Dumbledore.
This way, he could regain the reputation the family had lost.
Clearly, so much time had passed since Draco Malfoy was injured, and the Ministry of Magic and the School Board had already had discussions.
Aisen guessed that those guys on the Hogwarts School Board probably didn't want to offend Dumbledore, but they also couldn't bear to give up the gold Galleons sent by the Malfoy family.
Therefore, Dumbledore guaranteed that Hagrid would not bear any responsibility, but Buckbeak the Hippogriff was to be executed.
This was the result of a trade-off of interests. As for the hearing, Aisen felt it was just an unnecessary procedure. It could be said that, without other accidents, Buckbeak's execution was a foregone conclusion.
Chapter 183: Professor Aisen's Method
Looking at the dejected Hagrid, Professor Aisen couldn't help but sigh.
The longer he spent with Hagrid, the more ProfessorAisen realized how different Hagrid was from others when it came to magical creatures. His emotions were too rich; he truly treated all magical creatures as his family.
It's no wonder Hagrid could get along with Centaurs, could get along with Unicorns...
"Listen, Hagrid!" Professor Aisen's expression turned serious. "You can't give up because of this. You must prepare your defense. Many people can prove that Buckbeak is innocent. Also, you can write down the whole story and send it to the newspaper—"
"Newspaper?" Hagrid looked at Professor Aisen with a strange expression.
"Yes, for example, tell The Daily Prophet and use the power of public opinion to pressure Lucius and the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures to give up on disposing of Buckbeak," Professor Aisen said, his mouth twitching slightly.
"Professor Aisen, I don't think your method will work!" Professor McGonagall, who was nearby, couldn't help but speak up. "Since the date for the hearing has been set, it means The Daily Prophet has likely already sided with them."
Hearing Professor McGonagall's statement, ProfessorAisen couldn't help but frown. But upon careful thought, she was right.
It's important to know that although The Daily Prophet is the mainstream media in the Wizarding World, it is not immune to outside interference. Just like in the original story, it was controlled by both the Ministry of Magic and Voldemort.
In other words, if they wrote an article about Buckbeak's situation and sent it to The Daily Prophet, there's an eighty percent chance they would directly refuse to publish it. Because this is indeed a small matter that happened at Hogwarts, and no one would care about the life or death of a Hippogriff.
However, if this matter involved a big scoop, would The Daily Prophet still stand firmly with Lucius?
For example, what if they also exposed the struggle between Lucius and Dumbledore to The Daily Prophet? Then, would The Daily Prophet prioritize sales or Lucius's interests?
On this point, Professor Aisen couldn't be sure.
"Perhaps you could try other newspapers!" After a moment of contemplation, Professor Aisen's brow relaxed. "For example, The Quibbler and Witch Weekly!"
"The influence of these two newspapers is far less than The Daily Prophet, and they might not have any impact on the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures!" Professor McGonagall retorted again.
"Then is Buckbeak definitely going to die?" ProfessorAisen spread his hands, feeling a bit speechless.
Upon hearing Professor Aisen's words, Hagridimmediately began to sob, tears streaming down onto the front of his leather waistcoat.
"Does Dumbledore know about this? Hagrid—" Professor Flitwick patted Hagrid's thick forearm.
Hagrid wiped his tears and shook his head, saying, "No, but he's already done enough!"
Ron came back from the bar, holding three large mugs of frothy Hot Butterbeer, and placed them on the table.
"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Ron pushed two large mugs of beer towards Harry and Hermione, then glanced at Hagrid's appearance and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"It's about Buckbeak. He's going to be killed—" Harryreplied softly, his face also looking gloomy.
"Buckbeak, that's the Hippogriff that injured Malfoy, but Malfoy brought that on himself!" Ron took a sip of Hot Butterbeer, a confused expression on his face.
"Hagrid said that Lucius is causing trouble behind the scenes, so there's a high possibility that Buckbeak will be executed," Hermione explained softly.
"Cheer up, Hagrid. There are still four months until the hearing. You and Buckbeak will attend as usual, and I'll find a way to save him afterward." Glancing at the whispering Trio, Professor Aisen comforted him again.
Hearing Professor Aisen's words, Hagrid's body trembled, and his emotions gradually calmed down. After taking a large gulp of Hot Mead, he said, "Thank you, Professor Aisen! You're right, I need to cheer up..."
Professor Aisen smiled and said nothing, drinking all the cherry juice in his mug.
As for how to save Buckbeak, after thinking about it, Professor Aisen still felt there was no need to make it so complicated. There was no need for testimonies or public opinion.
Just like in the original story, since Buckbeak's execution was destined, Professor Aisen could just rescue him directly when the time came.
In the original plot, Hermione and Harry used a time-turner to rescue Buckbeak just before he was executed. For Professor Aisen, it wouldn't be that troublesome. He just needed to take Buckbeak away after the hearing ended but before he was executed.
As for where to place him, Professor Aisen thought it should be fine to hand him over to Sirius Black directly.
"I've been feeling off lately," Hagrid said, pulling out a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth from his pocket to wipe his eyes. "Worrying about Buckbeak, and no one likes my class..."
"No, Hagrid, we do!" Hermione nearby couldn't help but say.
"That's right, Hagrid, your class is great—" Ron also leaned his head over, pretending not to be lying. "By the way, how are the Flobberworms?"
Hagrid heard Hermione and Ron's words and turned to look at the Trio, but upon hearing Ron's question, his face immediately fell. "Dead. Ate too much lettuce!"
"Oh, no!" Ron pulled his head back, took a big gulp of Hot Butterbeer, and shivered slightly.
The Trio sat up straight and fell silent for a moment.
"Hagrid, did you ever think about just letting that Hippogriff go?" Professor Flitwick suddenly interrupted.
"I thought about that—" Hagrid's tone was calm. "But Hippogriffs aren't that smart. I couldn't explain to him that he should hide."
A while later, the Professors left The Three Broomsticks Bar, and Professor Aisen also patrolled Hogsmeadeagain. As for the Trio, they wandered around the various shops.
In the evening, the Little Wizards returned to Hogwartsfrom Hogsmeade. Many people were still discussing the wonderful day until dinner time.
George and Fred, who had restocked a lot of prank items from Zonko's Joke Shop, even set up some Dungbombs in the corridor.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Professor Aisen, as usual, took the Trio into the Dream World and began combat training once again.
"Petrificus Totalus—"
"Incarcerous—"
"Armor—"
"Armor—"
Rays of light were cast from the tips of their wands, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved and dodged within the fenced-off area. Clearly, the rhythm of their combat had taken on a strange beauty.
With Professor Aisen's guidance, the Trio's progress could be described as rapid. Especially the combat training in the Dream World, where they weren't afraid of getting hurt, the intensity of their training reached an exaggerated level.
Sitting on the roof of a house at the edge of the area, watching Harry and Ron take turns attacking Hermione, Professor Aisen believed their strength was already comparable to Seven Grade students.
In fact, the power of certain specific Charms had already reached the level of adult Witches.
After the training ended, the Trio talked to ProfessorAisen about Hagrid's situation.
Hermione and Harry vowed to help Hagrid prepare a strong defense, and even decided to be Hagrid's witnesses together.
Although Professor Aisen already understood that these actions would be futile, he didn't dampen their enthusiasm. After all, this was the Trio's good intention.
However, Professor Aisen temporarily put these matters out of his mind.
This school year, the major events that were originally supposed to happen at Hogwarts School revolved around Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.
But with Professor Aisen's involvement, less than half of this school year had passed, and the major events had been completely resolved.
Sirius Black was acquitted and could live openly in the Wizarding World. Professor Aisen didn't want to consider the impact of this for now, but Peter Pettigrewbeing directly imprisoned in Azkaban had a particularly far-reaching impact.
However, Professor Aisen didn't want to think about that much either.
But, since the major events that were originally supposed to happen this school year had been resolved, ProfessorAisen now planned to consider his own affairs.
What affairs? It was time to personally attempt Time Travel!
Chapter 184: Prophecy at the Dinner Table
Time Travel, though only four simple words, represents an extraordinary practical significance.
Ever since Aisen integrated the Time Travel characteristic, he had suppressed the urge to return to the past. It wasn't that Aisen didn't want to perform Time Travel, but rather that he had been considering whether or not to do it.
Because time in this world was a little too fragile, Aisenhad to be cautious.
However, thinking of Hermione playing with the time-turner every day, Aisen finally made up his mind. After all, he had to take this step eventually.
Fortunately, half of this school year had passed, and nothing major was about to happen.
Therefore, Aisen planned to conduct Time Travelexperiments in the coming time. Just in time, Christmaswas approaching, and Hogwarts Castle would be empty then.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was ChristmasEve.
The magnificent decorations inside Hogwarts Castle were already complete, and although there were very few students staying at school, the corridors throughout the Castle were hung with garlands made of holly and mistletoe.
In the Great Hall, the usual twelve Christmas trees were set up, their branches sparkling with golden stars. The scent of cooking food drifted out, even reaching the corridors.
The Little Wizards had all gone home for Christmas. Among the Trio, Ron had left Hogwarts to go home, and Harry had also left school because of Sirius Black. Only Hermione had chosen to stay at school.
On the morning of Christmas Day, Aisen saw Hermione in the Great Hall. Although the entire Great Hall was decorated with a strong Christmas atmosphere, it was empty and looked very deserted.
Hermione sat at a long table, with a few plates of food in front of her, but more prominent were several long pages of parchment. The parchment was folded and placed to the side, titled "An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Arithmancy."
Besides this, Hermione was also diligently studying Ancient Runes translation. It was clear that as a top student, even on Christmas Day, Hermione was still willing to bury herself in the ocean of knowledge.
"It's the Christmas holiday, and you're still working so hard?" Aisen came over to Hermione's side, picked up a numerical chart to look at, finding it exceptionally complex.
"Yes, I plan to finish all my homework today!" Hermionesaid unconsciously, then looked up and smiled when she saw it was Aisen.
The Christmas holiday at Hogwarts School lasts for about two weeks in total, with one week remaining until the start of the next term.
Therefore, it was not unusual for Hermione to want to finish all her homework on Christmas Day.
"So, is there enough time?" After glancing around and seeing no one else, Aisen asked softly.
"Professor, do you mean using the time-turner?" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Aisen.
"That's right, you can go back a few hours to write your homework. That way, won't you have a few extra hours?" Aisen nodded, egging Hermione on.
Hermione's eyes lit up, suddenly looking as if she had discovered a new continent. Previously, Hermione would always use the time-turner during classes. She had never thought of using it for homework. Now, after ProfessorAisen's reminder, she realized it was indeed a fantastic idea.
"Thank you, Professor, I'll go right away—" Hermionequickly tidied up the plates in front of her, picked up her manuscripts and quill, and was about to leave.
"Don't rush, wait for me, I'll also be—" Aisen reached out and gently patted Hermione's head, giving her a meaningful look.
"You're going to use the time-turner too?" Hermione's eyes widened even further, and she leaned closer to Aisen, asking in a low voice.
"That's right, Time Travel, I want to experience what it's like as well." Aisen nodded calmly.
In fact, this was exactly Aisen's plan.
He had considered conducting Time Travel experiments earlier, and although he had made up his mind, he still planned to have Hermione take him on a Time Travel trip using her time-turner first.
After all, in the first half of this school year, Hermione had used the time-turner many times and had accumulated rich experience. Given this, Aisen thought it wouldn't hurt to have Hermione take him on a trip to see what Time Travel felt like.
This way, perhaps when Aisen used his own Time Travelcharacteristic to perform Time Travel, it would be a little more natural.
"So, Professor Aisen, when shall we start?" Hermioneclosed her textbook, her interest piqued as she looked at Aisen.
"Hmm—, five o'clock this afternoon, we'll start in the Library, how about that?" After a moment of thought, Aisen winked at Hermione.
"Okay, Professor Aisen!" Hermione's brow furrowed, then smoothed out, and she reopened her manuscript.
...
At lunchtime, Aisen went to the Great Hall and found that the four long tables had been moved against the walls. Only a table capable of seating twelve people was placed in the center.
Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Sprout, and Professor Flitwick were all there. Besides these five, Hagrid and the caretaker Filchwere also present.
Aisen noticed that besides Hermione, a third-year student, there were also two first-year students and a sixth-year Slytherin student.
In total, there were twelve people, just enough to fill the table.
"Aisen, Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore said with a smile. "There aren't many of us, so using the House tables would be a bit silly—please sit!"
As Aisen approached the table and sat down next to Hermione, Dumbledore waved his hand, and immediately the plates on the table were filled with exceptionally rich food, including roast chicken, fried sausages, steak, and more.
"Thank you, you too!" Aisen said after sitting down, taking some fried sausages to eat.
"Cracker! Severus—" Dumbledore enthusiastically looked at Snape and offered him the tail end of a large silver cracker.
Snape accepted it expressionlessly, seeming somewhat reluctant. Then he pulled it, the cracker exploded with a bang, bursting open to reveal a pointed Witch's hat with a specimen of a golden eagle on top.
Seeing this scene, Aisen inwardly exclaimed 'Good heavens'. He glanced over and saw that Snape's face was even darker.
Clearly, Professor Dumbledore had long known about the incident in Professor Lupin's class where the Boggartturned into Snape wearing women's clothes and a Witch's hat. At this moment, Dumbledore was definitely deliberately causing mischief.
Snape, his face dark, directly handed the Witch's hat to Dumbledore. Dumbledore didn't show any change in expression, took the hat, and put it on his head.
Just then, the door to the hall suddenly opened. Looking up, Aisen saw that it was the Divination Professor, Sybill Trelawney, who had entered.
To celebrate Christmas, she was wearing a green dress decorated with small metal sequins. She looked very much like a large, shimmering dragonfly.
"Sybill, how delightful that you've come!" Dumbledorestood up and welcomed Professor Trelawney.
"Headmaster, I have been gazing into my crystal ball," Professor Trelawney said, rubbing her spectacles, in her misty, distant voice. "To my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary lunch to join your gathering.
Who am I? How could I refuse the urging of fate? I immediately left my tower, and I sincerely beg your pardon for my lateness..."
"Of course, of course!" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled, and then he took out his wand and pointed it to the side. "Let me get you a chair—"
As Dumbledore moved, a chair was pulled over out of thin air, then landed between Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall with a dull thud.
However, Professor Trelawney did not sit down. After scanning the people around the table, she suddenly shrieked.
"I would not dare! Headmaster! If I sit down, there will be thirteen of us at the table. There is nothing more unlucky than thirteen. Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"
"We are willing to take the risk, Sybill," Professor McGonagall said impatiently. "Sit down, the turkey will be as cold as stone."
Professor Trelawney hesitated, but then sat down in the empty chair. However, seeing her lips pressed together and eyes tightly shut, Aisen felt as though a meteorite was about to crash directly onto their table.
But, such a prophecy? Aisen looked around and saw that including himself and the newly arrived ProfessorTrelawney, there were exactly thirteen people in total.