After confirming that no one would be passing by, the two figures—each disguised under a Disillusionment Charm—silently summoned the door to the Room of Requirement. They slipped quickly into the Room of Hidden Things before lifting their enchantments.
"Hoo…"
The moment the familiar sight unfolded before them, both Avada and Baron released a long, synchronous sigh of relief.
Even with their solid skills, their meticulous planning, and their experience sneaking into the Forbidden Forest, this was still the first time either of them had infiltrated a professor's office. No matter how prepared they were, the nerves were unavoidable.
If this got out, losing a hundred points for their House would be the lightest possible punishment—if things were taken seriously, a direct one-way trip to Azkaban wasn't entirely impossible.
"I feel like just this one experience has given us more practical knowledge than the entirety of Gryffindor combined…" Baron muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"That's prejudice against Gryffindor," Avada said sternly.
"Fine, fine, gossiping behind people's backs is a bit unbecoming, but—"
"What I mean is, who says Gryffindors can't successfully sneak into a professor's office—pff, hahaha…"Avada tried his best to finish the line with a straight face, but the moment the words left his mouth he cracked. Baron burst into laughter with him—until an awkward cough cut them both off.
"Ahem… for the record, I was in Gryffindor."
Professor Baker's faint voice drifted out from within the black crystal orb.
"..."
"Ahem—Professor Baker, we've brought everything you asked for."
Avada quickly composed his expression, hurried over with two large bundles sewn from wizarding robes, and opened them beside the orb, revealing an array of jars and vials packed inside.
Though to be honest, that earlier joke wasn't entirely unfair—who was it that once snuck into Snape's office to steal African tree snake skins again?
"You've done well. Thank you."
Professor Baker's tone softened at last. "But these fake ingredients will only deceive my fragmented consciousness for a short time. If too much time passes, it will notice something wrong and grow wary… meaning we no longer have much time left."
Avada and Baron stiffened at once.
"Fortunately, over the past several months, your excellent performance has accelerated the progress dramatically. The consciousness magic has reached its final stage and can be completed tonight. All the traps and defenses for the battle are already set, and your combat skills have improved at remarkable speed… To be honest, I'm not worried about your success at all.
"And I'm grateful that you trusted me. Only because of that trust could I regain my freedom from this failed experiment. I shudder to imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come—me, trapped alone in this container, unable to move, unable to speak to anyone… I would've gone mad before long."
"I owe you my life."
"No need to say that, Professor," Baron said with a shake of his head. "Helping others is my duty as a pure-blood."
Avada smiled in approval but chose not to add anything aloud.
"All right, all right, enough of that," Professor Baker said, amusement entering his voice. "Before the dust settles, it's better not to talk about what comes afterward—we'll only attract bad luck…"
"Now then—let's finish the final step."
"Right."
Avada and Baron nodded softly. They placed each magical ingredient in its precise, designated location, then drew their wands. Pointing upward, they began chanting a long, archaic incantation while moving their wands in intricate, almost hypnotic patterns.
As their motions continued, the magical materials placed around the room began to react. Some burst into radiant light, some emitted strange sounds, and some evaporated directly into the air… For a moment, the Room of Requirement resembled a dreamlike garden—colorful trails of magic drifting everywhere, weaving through the air, forming patterns full of beauty despite their complete lack of meaning.
Through Magical Perception, the magic formed by the previous six steps began, at last, to converge and merge. The magical environment of the entire room shook violently—almost enough to affect the Room of Requirement itself. Meanwhile, the magic from the seventh step smoothed the turbulence bit by bit, like a slow but steady current urging the six magical constructs toward fusion.
Finally—With a resounding note that existed only in the world of magic—the six constructs slid perfectly into alignment, merging into something vast, intricate, magnificent… a structure so wondrous Avada nearly lost himself in it.
It was related to mental power, yet far beyond mental power. In a sense, it resembled Horcrux magic—yet where Horcrux structures felt tangled and chaotic, this structure radiated breathtaking elegance, as though it were the opposite of a Horcrux entirely.
"This magic… did you really create it yourself, Professor?" Avada murmured, his mind drifting.
"I never said that."
Professor Baker replied lightly, "How could I, alone, create something so complex and marvelous? It's the crystallization of wisdom and effort from countless generations. I merely dug their fragments out from history's dust and assembled them."
"Does it have a name? This magic?"
"Hmm… not yet."
After a moment of thought, Professor Baker said, "But if you truly want to call it something…"
"Why not call it Repentance?"
Penitence?!
Baron only blinked, puzzled by the name—but Avada felt as if lightning had struck him, barely managing to keep a straight face.
Penitence—the only method in the original canon capable of reuniting a shattered soul!
And Baker had given this magic the same name… What did that imply? Could this spell not only extract a soul, but forcibly restore a broken soul—rendering Horcruxes completely useless?!
If that were true—
"All right, it's getting late. You should head back," Professor Baker said, interrupting Avada's spiraling thoughts. "Rest for the next few days—recover well. Then prepare yourselves for the final battle.
"Relax. Don't pressure yourselves. Defeating the 'other me' is actually the easiest part of everything you've accomplished these past months. Think of the traps you've set, the weaknesses I've taught you, and this spatial magic… I daresay even Professor Dumbledore would be caught off guard if he walked in unsuspecting!"
Well then—what could easily take out an Auror was suddenly downgraded to a mere prank-level "surprise" when compared to Dumbledore…
"Let's schedule the operation for this Sunday. That gives us three days to rest, and it shouldn't be long enough for the fake Baker to notice anything," Baron said, clapping his hands before glancing toward Avada.
"No problem."
(End of Chapter)