The journey back to school began smoothly. After noon, Skyl ate the sandwich Mrs. Weasley had given him. The portion was generous, almost enough to keep him from eating the Provence stew Marika had prepared, but in the end, he still forced all the food into his stomach while burping. At one o'clock, the train trolley attendant began selling snacks. Skyl spent five Knuts on a cup of fruit-and-vegetable juice to quench his thirst.
In the afternoon, he played Wizard's chess with his roommates for a while. Halfway through, drowsiness rose over him, and Skyl took a brief nap.
After forging his divine spark, he could now dream, but his dreams were no ordinary thing. Once he entered a dream, he would wander the world in spiritual form. This experience was just like the process of ascending to godhood.
Skyl called his dream state divine wandering, while astral projection was something else entirely. Astral projection meant facing the universe directly with the soul, while divine wandering meant merging and harmonizing with the universe, becoming part of the world's spirit. This was also a realm that only gods, and a few mortals favored by luck, could enter.
Skyl's consciousness during divine wandering was very clear. He could walk around, move through space, or drift through time. If he needed to know the past or foresee the future, divine wandering could accomplish it.
The river of time in the Harry Potter world had changed course seven times. The seven layers of history born from this overlapped with one another, causing divination to often go wrong. Now, Skyl could choose one layer of history on his own and travel through it. He was no longer blinded by the fog of history, and could finally hold his head high.
Of course, that was not the only use of divine wandering. In this state, Skyl could be said to be everywhere at once, so he could respond to the prayers of his believers in the current world. The members of The Tower of Tomes all counted as his believers, and they were the more closely watched kind. With the mark as a medium of communication, even if they were in different universes, Skyl could answer their prayers.
After ascending to godhood, Skyl could finally create spells of his own. However, it would not be easy for others to learn these new spells, because their essence was to borrow Skyl's power. Without his personal approval, even if a wizard learned the incantation, they would not be able to cast it properly. In that sense, they were rather similar to divine spells.
Because of this, Skyl did not need to worry about others using his spells against him, something a certain Half-Blood Prince would probably envy.
Of course, if a mage used some method to steal Skyl's power, they could also cast his divine spells. The splendor and wonder of magic lay in the fact that anything was possible. Mortals could fool gods too, as long as they were not caught. Most gods were very vengeful, and they had more than enough time to carry out revenge.
Skyl's brief nap was very steady. He wandered idly through his dream and saw Percy Weasley hiding in a small compartment near the back of the carriage with Penelope, the Ravenclaw prefect, flirting and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Then he came to the last carriage. He had thought he would see Professor Lupin there, but unexpectedly, this year's new professor was actually Gellert Grindelwald.
Although Grindelwald had disguised himself somewhat, the Tower of Tomes mark on his body was the best possible proof of identity.
After becoming a vampire, Gellert had not only returned to his peak condition, but had also become even more terrifying. Recruiting a Dark Wizard King like this into the school to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts... actually, there was nothing wrong with it. After all, no one understood dark magic better than Grindelwald. Having a professional like him guide amateurs was truly the perfect arrangement.
However, Dumbledore really was bold. Once Grindelwald's identity was exposed, the greatest wizard of the century would be utterly ruined. Perhaps the two of them truly did not care about empty fame.
The four of them spoke with the new professor, keeping their distance and remaining wary at first.
Professor Gellert bought many snacks for the children, and Ron said he was actually pretty cool. Hermione received the professor's promise that she could serve as an after-class teaching assistant, which made the little top student very happy. As for Neville, a little encouragement and help were enough to earn his trust.
In the end, only Harry remained unmoved. Professor Gellert's eyes flickered, and he developed a little more interest in this special child.
As evening approached, the train was almost at Hogwarts. The rain grew heavier, and there seemed to be an obstruction ahead on the tracks. After a whistle sounded, the train gradually slowed down.
"Are we there?" The students were startled and uncertain. The first years carried both excitement and the exhaustion of a long journey, looking forward to stepping into the most famous magic school in the world. The older students, however, frowned, sensing that something was not right. They should still have had about another hour before arriving.
The sky was very dark. Outside the windows, heaven and earth were black, wet, and vast like the deep ocean. Every carriage had its lights on, and the warm orange glow carried a comforting warmth. At this point, the students were still quite calm.
But as the train came to a complete stop, all the lights went out at once, and everyone fell into panic.
In the darkness where no one could see their own hand in front of their face, students moved between compartments, calling out to friends and companions.
Carriage doors opened one after another. Amid the roar of wind and rain, several Dementors entered the train. They had come to search for Sirius.
Dementors were a special kind of magical creature that lived by feeding on human happiness, and they were not fooled by invisibility or magical tricks. Wherever they appeared, darkness often gathered, filth festered, and despair filled the air.
The notorious Azkaban was guarded by these creatures. They drained prisoners of joy, forcing them to sink into pain. Many inmates were driven mad by that emptiness born from the soul itself. The Dementor's Kiss was also one of the most terrifying forms of execution in the magical world. After a person's soul was sucked away, they would become a walking corpse, with only a living shell remaining while the inside was left completely hollow.
Skyl woke from his nap. The temperature of the air had not dropped, yet everyone felt a bone-deep chill. Dementors wandered through the corridors, and the fear and pressure they brought made the young witches and wizards scream.
"Lumos." A ball of light shone from Skyl's hand, illuminating the carriage. After a brief pause, he chanted a new spell. "Purify the Unclean."
The pleasant glow released by the Wand-Lighting Charm suddenly became aggressive, spreading outward like a shield of light. The Dementors touched by the strong light often did not even have time to flee before their bodies began to burn.
These things looked like floating black cloaks from the outside, while within they resembled corpses bloated and rotted by seawater. When they were ignited, they trembled violently, as if screaming without a sound.
Aside from a small number of Dementors farther from Skyl's carriage that escaped in time, the remaining monsters were all purified by the holy, piercing light. They burned until only a pool of bone-white ash remained, completely free of evil aura.
"Skyl... what were those?" his roommate asked, trembling.
"Dementors. The incompetent bureaucrats at the Ministry of Magic are using these dangerous creatures to search for an escaped prisoner." Skyl gave a brief explanation. The chaos on the train soon settled down, and the lights that had gone out because of the Dementors lit up again.
He stepped into the corridor. Percy, whose face still bore lipstick marks, forced himself to remain calm. Along with the other prefects, he inspected each carriage one by one, doing his best to maintain order and urging the students to return to their seats.
"Mr. Skyl." Harry appeared behind Skyl. Everyone else had gone to comfort their classmates, while Harry had come to find Skyl immediately. Clearly, he had something to say.
In the original story, Dementors could be considered Harry's natural counter. Because this child had suffered severe childhood trauma and had almost no joyful emotions to begin with, if a Dementor absorbed even a little from him, he would fall into overwhelming despair.
"You look quite all right." Skyl looked Harry up and down. The young wizard was extremely calm, and his gaze was cold. He gripped his wand tightly, like a dangerous wolf facing a threat.
"Was that magic cast by you just now, sir? It was very powerful."
"Yes. That spell is mainly aimed at undead and other unclean beings. You can learn it too."
Harry hesitated for a moment, then quietly reported what he had discovered to Skyl.
"I met the new professor. Just now, he Disapparated out of the carriage. He seemed to be afraid of your magic."
"He should be afraid." Skyl nodded. "After all, he is a... well, that has to remain secret."
"Mr. Skyl, can we trust this new professor?" Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Even if you do not trust him, you should trust Professor Dumbledore." Skyl waved a hand, then looked toward Grindelwald as he walked over from the end of the carriage. He smiled and said, "Wouldn't you agree, Professor... Gellert?"
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