deltrittennovels Chapter 242, Section 241: Old Deng's Mysterious Move!
Chapter 242, Section 241: Old Deng's Mysterious Move!
Chapter 242, Section 241: Old Deng's Mysterious Move!
The atmosphere in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was very subtle.
The students were either terrified or fainted. When they saw Dumbledore appear, some surrounded him, while others took the opportunity to run away as soon as they got close to the door.
no way.
They may not have heard Aurora's name for the giant serpent, but the serpent's oppressive presence was undeniable. The fact that they were able to overcome their fear and react was proof of their courage. Jormungandr's enormous golden vertical pupils, when they gazed at humans, seemed to freeze the souls of all things with their icy gaze.
of course.
Ian certainly wouldn't be affected by that. The young wizard realized the situation, and his mood was shrouded in gloom, the shadow of loan sharks haunting him like a nightmare.
He was still worried that his wand might accidentally return nine times out of ten. Nearby, having overheard Aurora's revelation, Dumbledore, facing a mythical being, merely showed a slight freeze in expression.
His reaction, however, was surprisingly calm.
Behind the crescent-shaped glasses, the old headmaster's eyes showed little emotion other than surprise. However, this did not mean he did nothing; he simply flicked his Elder Wand.
"All students, leave the classroom immediately!"
Dumbledore's words carried an unquestionable authority.
next moment.
A soft silver light flashed, and the students in the classroom disappeared one by one, like pencil drawings erased by an eraser. Of course, they were not killed by Dumbledore.
Instead, Dumbledore successfully teleported him to a safe place. Hogwarts does have restrictions on spatial magic, but these restrictions only apply to ordinary wizards. Even if the headmaster hadn't become a legendary wizard, he could have easily lifted these restrictions using his authority as headmaster.
After resolving the students' safety...
"Ian,"
Dumbledore spoke slowly, his voice unusually calm, addressing the young wizard, but his gaze never left the towering, motionless serpent.
"Can you control it?"
He had already determined that this trouble was caused by the little wizard.
Ian closed his eyes, feeling the magic flowing within him and the faint connection. To his surprise, he could indeed sense Jormungandr's thoughts—an ancient and chaotic consciousness, filled with a primal hunger, and one that exerted a strong restraint on Jormungandr.
"Can."
Ian nodded.
"It can communicate, and it can even speak human language."
The young wizard gave a brief introduction to Jormungandr.
This prompted Jormungandr to roll his eyes.
"Is that so?" Dumbledore's gaze met Jormungandr's. He suppressed the influence of the other's status and spoke to Jormungandr in his usual calm voice.
"Then, ancient and noble being, why are you here?" The old headmaster maintained his gentlemanly manners, but judging from the wand in his hand, he was ready to fight at any moment—he did not doubt Aurora's judgment; the Grindelwald family always knew information that others did not.
Jormungandr could certainly hear Dumbledore's question clearly, since Dumbledore's voice was much louder than the young wizard's. If it could hear the young wizard's words, it could certainly hear Dumbledore's as well.
only.
This mythical creature seemed to have little interest in Dumbledore, ignoring his polite inquiry and simply turning its head slowly to look at its summoner.
"Eating old men?"
It glanced at Dumbledore again.
As soon as those words were spoken...
Dumbledore's expression instantly became complicated.
Ian was also a little confused.
Then Jormungandr spoke again.
"The magic you gave me is not enough; I need more magic." The giant serpent opened its mouth, revealing its gleaming white fangs, but instead of a hiss, it emitted a deep, thunderous human voice.
have to say.
This world-devouring serpent was indeed ruthless and taciturn, as if it had to devour something as soon as it appeared. Its tone was full of contempt for Dumbledore.
Well, how should I put it?
It's not hard to understand; as a mythical being, ordinary legends are indeed insignificant in its eyes. This serpent is now only concerned with who Ian summoned it to deal with.
Its serpentine eyes kept switching between Aurora and Dumbledore.
A puzzled look crossed his face.
Then, he became somewhat impatient, as if considering whether it would be better to swallow both—which startled Ian, who keenly observed and sensed this.
"It's alright, it's alright, it was all an accident. We don't need to eat anyone for now." Ian swallowed hard, and to avoid any further accidents, he tried to sever the connection between himself and the giant snake.
immediately.
Amidst Jormungandr's bewildered expression, its body began to become transparent, its jet-black scales gradually turning into wisps of black mist, which eventually all disappeared into Ian's wand.
The little wizard's trembling didn't affect the speed at which the black mist entered. This was clearly different from the scene where a snake summoned by a normal black serpent disappears after the magic supply is withdrawn.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness, nothing worse happened." Ian looked up at the destroyed classroom; with the giant snake gone, the hole in the ceiling was particularly noticeable. It wasn't a big deal; repairs were a regular occurrence at Hogwarts Castle, and his good friend Hogwarts wouldn't hold it against him.
After Ian let out a long sigh of relief, wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, silently apologized to his best friend, and then turned back to look at the other two people in the classroom.
then.
The young wizard then realized that Aurora, dressed as Lockhart, and Dumbledore were both staring intently at him.
"I really don't know what happened!" Ian raised his hands in surrender, his expression and inner feelings clearly showing his grievance. "I used the standard 'Snake Emerges from Its Hole' spell!"
As the saying goes, the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" can sometimes unfold very quickly. Just now, Ian had shown a trick, and his good friend Aurora looked at him with great suspicion.
She strongly suspected that Ian had used some kind of very advanced summoning ritual; otherwise, how could he have summoned such a terrifying mythical being as Jormungandr?
Thinking about this...
Aurora couldn't help but recall several scenes she had seen when she looked at Ian, which was why she was able to recognize Jormungandr, who had shrunk many times over.
"Something's wrong with you! Something's really wrong!"
Aurora made a confident assessment of her friend.
"..."
The little wizard was speechless.
At that moment, Dumbledore nodded, expressing his belief in the young wizard, "Perhaps Ian is not wrong; he himself does not know what has happened."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Aurora.
"You need to act as a professor and calm the frightened students." Dumbledore clearly knew about Aurora's substitute teaching, since Aurora was his apprentice, not Grindelwald's.
Aurora couldn't have substituted for him without his permission. It was precisely because Dumbledore knew his apprentice's level that he agreed to let Aurora briefly impersonate Lockhart.
"Yes, Principal."
Aurora nodded, not asking anything else, but watching Dumbledore walk forward, put his hand on Ian's shoulder, and disappear into the classroom with Ian.
After a moment of contemplation, Aurora began repairing the classroom and went out to search for the frightened students who had fled—without using the Oblivion Charm, she began to fabricate a clumsy lie.
"You've only been affected by the Confusion Spell."
"Yes, Ian was very dishonest and secretly used other magic."
"I will find a way to punish him."
Aurora's lies might be clumsy for Ian, but they work very well for second-year students, especially since the person speaking is the formidable Professor Lockhart.
……
Just as Aurora was helping to quell the repercussions.
the other side.
Led by Dumbledore, Ian Apparated to the familiar Headmaster's office—it was as usual: silverware spun and emitted smoke, Fawkes the phoenix dozed on his perch, and portraits of past headmasters on the walls either snored or read. However, upon seeing the young wizard's arrival...
The portraits of the past principals hanging on the wall all seemed to react, their gazes all focused on Ian, some in amazement, others in praise.
"Merlin's beard!" Headmistress Delis exclaimed, noticing Ian's portrait for the first time. "Is this the child who will be called the youngest legend in history?"
"The moment I saw him back then, I knew he was extraordinary!" Principal Delis may have been a bit of an hindsight, but her praise for Ian was indeed heartfelt.
of course.
The premise is that the portrait was indeed painted with care.
"To be honest, I never expected Hogwarts to be so fortunate as to produce such a young legendary wizard!" A former headmaster exclaimed in amazement, his eyes filled with admiration.
"And Dumbledore! He's become a legendary wizard too! This will be the most glorious era since the Four Great Wizards!" Headmaster Armando Dippet's expression was also very delighted.
As a decisive and responsible headmaster, he always hoped to restore Hogwarts to its former glory. Of course, there are happy headmasters and there are also headmasters who are furious.
"That Sorting Hat! It should be thrown into the toilet! It should be replaced by a more accurate sorting system! How could such an excellent student not be a Slytherin?"
One principal was furious.
"Bullshit! He's a born Ravenclaw!"
The principal immediately retorted.
"Such a genius should belong to Slytherin! He's a pureblood!" Phineas Nigellus, enraged in the picture frame, knew without a doubt who this headmaster was.
If this principal were to speak out, he would inevitably be ridiculed by the other principals. As for the quarrels of the principals throughout the ages, Ian simply bowed slightly and did not get involved in the "war" between the portraits.
of course.
Regardless of the arguments among these headmasters, they were in agreement on one point—compared to most wizards, Ian no longer needed to be proud of attending Hogwarts.
Rather, Hogwarts will be honored because it produced such a legend. This is precisely the main reason why Phineas Nigellus felt Ian should belong to Slytherin.
Those who can create glory.
Slytherin is the most prominent.
This was the true selection standard for Slytherin House before the pure-blood theory became popular. Although Phineas Nigellus didn't uphold it, it didn't stop him from using it as a double standard.
"professor."
Ian watched as Dumbledore stood motionless in front of the bookshelf for a long time without making a move. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you know what's wrong with my magic?"
Upon hearing this...
Dumbledore stopped searching and turned to look at the somewhat nervous young wizard. His expression remained calm. "First, I want to know what happened to you."
"If I remember correctly, your magic didn't malfunction like this when you demonstrated it in Charms class this morning." It's clear that Dumbledore has been keeping a close eye on Ian's situation.
"Forehead……"
Ian nodded.
It's a bit embarrassing to talk about.
However, seeing Dumbledore's gaze, he sighed and decided to tell the truth, revealing that he had tried to borrow money from his wand during his lunch break.
"As you know, I met Merlin in the past. He told me that there is a power hidden in the core of my wand that even he couldn't help but exclaim was awesome."
"So... during my lunch break, I planned to talk to my wand and ask it to lend me that special power, which seems to belong to the gods."
"I didn't expect... my wand to be so honest." Because of what happened in the lounge earlier, Ian could only put what Merlin had told him not long ago into the time travel time.
of course.
The young wizard was never stingy with adjectives when appropriate. Ian didn't hide anything about borrowing power, but he also inquired about it with Dumbledore with some concern.
"You mean, with this kind of loan, my wand won't give me nine out of twenty-eight returns?" He was still worried about this issue. There was no way around it; after all, the little wizard's greatest strength was judging others by his own standards.
"..."
Dumbledore had his own suspicions, and he even wondered if Ian had received some kind of blessing in the past. But what the little wizard said really made his eyes twitch.
I can understand every single word.
But when these words were put together... Dumbledore found it utterly absurd. Borrowing power from one's own wand? What kind of madness would lead to such a sudden, bizarre idea?!
Most importantly, he actually managed to borrow it... Could it be that a wizard's wand is just as good as his? Dumbledore couldn't help but glance at Ian's wand several times.
He observed carefully but didn't detect the special power Ian had mentioned. However, the wand's core was indeed somewhat unusual. Everyone had previously assumed it was a unicorn feather, but now it seemed Mr. Ollivander might have been mistaken. The reason for that mistake wasn't important at this point.
"Perhaps your wand is indeed special, Ian, just as special as you are," Dumbledore remarked at first, then suddenly changed the subject.
"However, I must say that a wand alone is not enough for you to summon mythical creatures. A wand is merely an extension of a wizard's body, a portable key."
The old principal's theory belongs to the mainstream theory today.
but.
However, this contradicts and differs from Merlin's previous views—logically speaking, Merlin's words are more credible, but Ian feels that we cannot think according to common sense at this time.
A sudden inspiration struck him.
He thought of the raven corpse he had used to complete his Animagus form.
perhaps.
This is the key.
And is the magic wand really a key?
A startling idea struck the young wizard—what if...what if the true power of the gods was contained within the raven's corpse? Perhaps the wand really was just a key!
Merlin is certainly unlikely to make a mistake!
but!
He might not be immune to being deceived! Ian thought that if it were him, he certainly wouldn't miss the chance to trick Merlin, and as Merlin's mentor, he would definitely know best how to fool Merlin.
Thinking about this...
Ian suddenly felt enlightened.
but.
He still had one question.
"Professor, even if you're right, now that I've opened a door, my magic shouldn't be affected by just this one 'Snake Emerging from its Hole' thing, right?"
Ian carefully considered his words before speaking.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Did you use any other magic just now?"
He looked at the little wizard.
"Um."
The young wizard responded quite frankly.
"I used the Killing Curse briefly... I also used a variant of the Illumination Charm for color concealment, but neither of these spells caused any particular problems."
Ian had long since abandoned any habit of hiding the use of the three Unforgivable Curses.
of course.
Upon hearing that the young wizard had used this magic in class, Dumbledore's eye twitched noticeably again. He took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm himself down.
"I think I might know the reason."
Indeed, he was the wisest man of this century. After a moment's thought, Dumbledore seemed to have discovered some clue and walked back to his private bookshelf.
"The magic of the serpent emerging from its hole is very ancient," Dumbledore's voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet office, "'Serpens' is Latin for snake, and in many grimoires, snakes are deeply associated with demons."
His fingers suddenly stopped on a thick, black book, and he gently pulled it out. The gold lettering on the cover gleamed in the sunlight: "Dark Powers: Spell Conversion".
When Dumbledore turned around.
Ian noticed a complex emotion flash across the old man's eyes.
"So some versions of this spell can even be used to summon demons—of course, that's just a legend." Dumbledore's blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles gleamed with inquiry. "However, I think your situation might be related to the spell's unique ability to connect with demons."
"Perhaps if you present your other magic in another form, we will be able to find the answer to your problem." Dumbledore gazed at the book in his hands.
His eyes were even more expressive than when he had faced the mythical creatures before.
After a long while.
He then handed the book to Ian.
"Okay, Professor."
Ian took the book, and the moment his fingertips touched the cover, a strange sensation spread up his fingers. His pupils contracted sharply when he saw all the words on the title page.
All I saw was...
Below the book's title, there was a small line of text.
Dark Forces: Spell Conversion
—Tom Riddle
(End of this chapter)