great-warnovel Chapter 372 A Gift from 5 Years Ago
Chapter 372 A Gift from 5 Years Ago
Chapter 372 A Gift from Fifty Years Ago
A month passed quickly. The people from Malfoy Castle had barely adapted to life at Hogsmeade, but Dumbledore's condition was deteriorating.
Previously, they could occasionally make an appearance in the outside world and make their presence known, but now they can only stay in the underground greenhouse.
"Once I leave the radiance of the lily of the valley, I feel a great sense of loneliness and alienation. I want to fall asleep like crazy, I want to be quiet. The world is as noisy as a hundred alarm clocks that no one can turn off. I am aware of my own thoughts. I am not being controlled. I just think like that from the bottom of my heart."
The old ghost asked Hermione to record her condition in detail, which was extremely valuable research material on ghosts who had witnessed death.
Hermione had wanted to pick some lilies of the valley for Dumbledore to wear, but he refused, saying there was no need to pay any more price for the inevitable end.
"Millera did a great job. She's a better principal than I am, isn't she?" he said.
"She mentioned to me that after I leave, she will apply to the school board to have you succeed her as vice-principal." In fact, the position of vice-principal has been vacant for the past two years. When Dumbledore was around, McGonagall always played this role, even though she was effectively the headmaster.
Hermione was taken aback: "From teaching assistant to vice principal directly? Isn't that against the rules?"
"I don't think anyone would refuse," the White Wizard said.
The wizards on the school board aren't blind. Hermione's strength and personality have already been recognized by everyone, so they will only raise both hands in approval.
"Next year's freshmen are in luck; you'll be the ones carrying their sorting hats and assigning them to their respective houses." That's the vice-principal's job.
Part of the freshman orientation ceremony.
"Oh dear, in a few months, a new batch of children will be starting school," Dumbledore said wistfully.
"It's a pity I can't see it."
"Hogwarts can't be moved now, and the professors have to travel a long way to recruit students, so you need to keep an eye on their safety. However, the Green Flame Party has been wiped out, and although Tom isn't dead, he's too weak to cause any trouble for the time being, and there are also the children's wands to worry about."
Mikhail's expedition to the Forbidden Forest went well, but you have to keep an eye on him and not let him get too carried away. I heard he's planning to test the toes of the five-legged monster—"
He kept talking on and on, and Hermione didn't interrupt, just listened quietly to the old man's arrangements. He wanted to eliminate all the potential problems he could think of before leaving.
"What am I worrying about?" He chuckled self-deprecatingly, as if realizing he had been rambling.
"You guys can handle everything since you've already let go of all your obsessions."
The girl shook her head: "We still need you, your experience, your wisdom, your heart—"
"No, even setting all that aside, just the companionship of a loved one is enough for us."
Dumbledore stroked her head, just like a grandfather doting on his granddaughter.
"Ha, let's not talk about these depressing topics anymore." He pulled the girl to the table.
"Look at this. Over the past few days, I've deduced this magic based on Lucius's Great Runes." The parchment on the table was covered with symbols.
The Great Runes are the embodiment of the laws, and even Dumbledore, who had lost all interest in the world, couldn't resist his curiosity and wanted to study them.
Hermione simply left her staff in the greenhouse, since she could cast spells without a staff on a daily basis anyway.
The runes of the purebloods represent half of the world's order. With them, Lucius can single-handedly build a blood city that is both real and illusory, and even conjure up a monster familiar with consciousness.
This is only because his skill level is not up to par and his application of the rules is half-baked.
"Hasn't Gonuk been complaining about not being able to finish the project on time and that the deadline is too tight?" Dumbledore pointed out the magic on the paper to Hermione like a boastful child.
"I modified this spell based on Lucius's magic at the time, and I call it One City Emerges."
Hermione carefully read the spell, understanding the white wizard's thought process: "This requires extremely strong transfiguration skills. Unlike Lucius's crude method of filling illusions with magic to achieve reality, this truly constructs a city that will never disappear."
"But—this requires far too much magic power. Even if you, Hilmi, and I were to work together, I'm afraid it would be too much—"
"You mean using a pyroxene core?" Hermione immediately realized.
"No, I also have experience using it. Although the energy of the pyroxene core has almost no upper limit, the output channels are fixed, so I'm afraid it can't support that."
Achieving permanent transformation through metamorphosis, even with inanimate objects, is far more costly than transforming ordinary animals.
"I can't find any fault with this magic in theory, but how to realize it is difficult." Perfectly utilizing the sun's energy to allow Earthlings to completely break free from their dependence on energy is theoretically sound, but how to achieve it is fraught with difficulties.
Dumbledore shook his head: "You're only talking about the current Philosopher's Stone." He called it by the name the core of the Brilliant Stone once had.
"These past few days, I've been thinking about the noble assistants. The memories of the nobles are crystallized into unique treasures. Does this mean that the great wizards of the past also had their own memories?"
Did the beliefs that permeated their legendary lives simply vanish after their deaths, or did they transform into something else and endure through the ages?
"Are the Resurrection Stone, the Elder Wand, and the Invisibility Cloak—the stories of Death and the Three Brothers—representations of the Peverell brothers' memories?"
The old man's conjecture sparked Hermione's imagination. Although, generally speaking, in the absence of interference, the memories of the powerful will most likely depart with the soul or slowly dissipate in the world.
However, it cannot be ruled out that in special circumstances, even without knowing how to utilize memories, treasures may spontaneously form.
"The warlike eldest brother created the Elder Wand, the second brother, longing for his lover, created the Resurrection Stone, and the cautious third brother created the Invisibility Cloak. Doesn't this fit the characteristics of Remembrance?"
"Although it was forged out of thin air with magic, the Noble Arm cannot be seen to be an illusion at all. It is no different from the Potter family's invisibility cloak, and similarly, it is no different from the Philosopher's Stone."
Hermione was startled: "You mean, the essence of the Philosopher's Stone is Nicolas Flamel's—Remembrance?"
"This explains why, even now, Beauxbatons, who inherited all of his knowledge, has been unable to replicate the Philosopher's Stone," Dumbledore added.
"I know what you're trying to say. Nick wasn't dead when the Philosopher's Stone appeared," he interrupted Hermione's rebuttal.
"But he is a great wizard who rose to power through alchemy. His greatest skill is turning fantasy into reality. It's normal that the most powerful person among the great wizards who rose to power through alchemy is not him."
Dumbledore pondered his friend: "The Philosopher's Stone can be mass-produced, but only one possesses the power to grant immortality and endless magic. Perhaps what truly sustains all of this is Nick's memories..."
The crimson clay that Beauxbatons replicated could turn lead into gold or be used to concoct healing potions, but none of them could match Flamel's effects. They could not form gem crystals, nor could they last long.
He came to his senses: "I've gone off on a tangent. The magic stone you've seen is actually the magic stone that has been supporting my existence all along. The upper limit of the power of the Radiant Stone core that you've sensed is actually the extra power it can provide in addition to supporting my existence."
Hermione snapped out of her shock: "So, you mean..."
"Now that it no longer needs to sustain my existence, its power is sufficient to support you in completing this magic—this is Nicolas Flamel's gift after fifty years." Sometime later, the old man teleported the core of the brilliance stone into the greenhouse, and the fluorescent blue light fell on the parchment, as if silently telling a story.