"Audrey! Why is he teaching the lower years?"
Isaline looked dejected,
but Audrey simply shrugged and took it as a matter of course:
"Isn't it normal? Remus Lupin was the one injured, and since he was responsible for the lower-year courses, the classes Edmond is substituting for are naturally for the lower years as well."
"But it's only for half a month! If he doesn't handle our classes, I'll only see him in the Great Hall during meals!"
Audrey burst out laughing, a heartless and carefree sound.
"Haven't you seen him enough times this summer? Guess what he said about you?"
Isaline immediately sat up straight and asked expectantly:
"What did he say about me?"
"He said that in Germany, girls have to be eighteen before they can marry. As for you, wanting to be my aunt is still a long way off!"
Isaline flew into a mortified rage and lunged to hit her,
but her small fists hitting Audrey—who possessed the physical strength of a Category XXXXX Fantastic Beast—didn't even count as scratching an itch.
"Hahaha, I'm out of here, I'm out! I'm thick-skinned, so don't go hurting yourself by trying to punch me!"
Swoosh!
Audrey disappeared from the room. Isaline's punch hit empty air.
Her face was flushed as she panted heavily.
After standing still for a moment,
she suddenly stomped her foot and turned to leave Audrey's dormitory.
When Audrey reappeared, she was inside her suitcase.
The scenery inside the suitcase was now vastly different.
The lake rippled and the mountains rose in layers.
As soon as Audrey appeared, Norberta flew toward her from the distant dragon's nest.
Ao and Jin, the mother-daughter phoenix pair, also chirped and came out to greet her. Dumbledore had been very busy lately, and Fawkes had been summoned for duty...
Audrey had let them out while they were in Ukraine.
Having grown accustomed to the vast world, they would certainly find it difficult to live in the cramped suitcase again.
So, Audrey had expanded the suitcase's capacity once more. She even moved an entire prairie inside, raising countless cattle, horses, camels, and sheep just to satisfy Norberta's growing appetite.
In the European Muggle world, a large patch of prairie had turned bald overnight, becoming a major mystery for a time.
Some experts insisted it was aliens coming to Earth to collect biological samples;
terrorist organizations also publicly claimed responsibility for the disappearance of the prairie...
Of course, Audrey wouldn't favor one over the other. For the phoenixes' healthy diet, she also set up a large medicinal herb plantation.
"Norberta, have you been feeding the little snake well?"
Norberta's large head gently rubbed against Audrey, making a "whooshing" sound.
"Good girl, then take me to see it!"
"Roar!"
Norberta flapped her wings and soared into the sky. Now that she had grown, she looked quite imposing.
Audrey smoothed her hair, which had been ruffled by the strong wind, and lightly lifted off the ground to follow.
Arriving at Norberta's nest,
in the corner of a massive mountain cave, a large snake lay coiled.
It was four or five meters long, coiled into a circle over a meter in diameter.
This was the body Tom Riddle had reconstructed using Basilisk flesh last school year. From a bloodline perspective, it could be considered a Basilisk,
but since the Horcrux had been destroyed and the soul dissipated, this body was merely a shell, devoid of any spirit.
—So, this was a vegetative snake.
The body was alive, but there was no consciousness.
Audrey had casually collected the little snake back then and had been raising it ever since.
She didn't even know why she was doing it; she just felt like doing it, so she did.
...
...
Norway.
Inside a certain underground ruin.
The golden-haired Magni smashed a stone door over ten meters thick with one punch. Ignoring the billowing dust, he strode into the stone chamber emitting a faint glow.
He was heavily muscled and bare-chested, with only a pair of armbands on his arms engraved with shining runic characters.
With a face full of rough features, he looked upon the layout of the stone chamber with disdain.
"Hmph, the wizards' fragile seals—"
He had probably forgotten that it was exactly those "fragile seals" he spoke of that had imprisoned gods like them for thousands of years!
Magni stepped on the ground, and with him as the center, cracks quickly spread across the entire stone chamber.
The originally smooth flow of magic lines was cut off, and the stone chamber instantly fell into darkness.
"Awaken, Modi! Grandson of Odin, son of Thor, my dear brother!!"
"Ugh..."
A voice sounded.
"Is that you, Magni?"
Magni shouted: "It's me!"
He shouted loudly, his voice filled with anger: "My son Dalton rescued me from the seal, only to be murdered by those wizards! I want revenge! Modi, I need you to join me and make those lowly creatures remember the glory of our Northern Gods once again!"
Magni gritted his teeth, saying each word with conviction: "Locked up for over a thousand years, and then they killed my child—I am at odds with wizards! Come, Modi, I need your wisdom and courage!"
In the dark stone chamber, only two pairs of eyes emitting magical light could be seen.
One pair of eyes slowly closed.
"Magni, my brother, thousands of years ago, wizards already possessed the power to rival us. Since we have been unsealed, why not just enjoy life? Why must we fight? Children can be born again; don't let hatred blind your eyes."
The stone chamber fell silent, with only Magni's heavy breathing audible.
After a while,
perhaps sensing Magni's unquenchable rage, Modi reopened his eyes: "Dalton was but a product of a single moment of pleasure; is he really worth risking your life against the wizards?"
Magni's voice was like a booming bell, "The wizards today are a bunch of useless trash! They can't stop our pace at all! As long as we join forces, we can surely restore the glory of our Asgardian Aesir!"
Modi sighed: "If the wizards are all useless trash, then what happened to the injuries on your body?"
Magni snapped: "That was just my carelessness! That witch was also severely injured!"
Modi shook his head: "Can you guarantee that witch is the peak combat power of today's wizards? We've been sealed for so many years; the power of faith has long since become dangerously thin. Take my advice, good brother, do not make an enemy of wizards."
Magni was furious: "Is this still my brother? The God of Courage? Where has your courage gone?"
He strode away, "Since you are unwilling to help, then rot away in this crypt!"
Listening to the sound of Magni's receding footsteps, Modi shook his head.
Go then, go. Although Magni might lose, he wouldn't be killed. Otherwise, the ancient wizards would have long since slaughtered all of us—the defeated gods—instead of merely sealing them away.
The reason Dalton died was that he was still young and hadn't accumulated the power of faith.
More importantly, he was a half-blood.
...
Emerging from the ruins, Magni had a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent, so he let out a roar toward the mountains.
The snow-capped mountains vibrated with his voice, triggering a massive avalanche extending for dozens of miles.
"Revenge! I want revenge!"
Magni threw a punch. Using only physical strength, he generated a powerful shockwave, blasting a huge crater into the mountainside with a single strike.
"Hmm? A wizard trying to escape the barrier I set up?"
Magni's eyes lit up.
"Those spineless wizards have already surrendered to me. The only one trying to flee here must be that witch!"
"Excellent, excellent!"
Magni's mouth curled into a fierce grin.
"This time, I will definitely tear your head off and turn it into a drinking cup! Dalton, watch as your Father God avenges you!"
He looked back at the bottomless ruins.
"I'll also show you the fragility of modern wizards, my dear brother!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]