章 601: 0599 Their Talks
To Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others who had unexpectedly been transported a full millennium back into Hogwarts' past, the earlier conversation between the legendary founders Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw had already been mind-bogglingly shocking in its startling intimacy and raw vulnerability.
If the academics and historians of their own time were to somehow learn of the tragic secret romance that had apparently once smoldered between two of the school's founders, who could possibly predict the shockwaves it would send rippling through the entire wizarding world?
The scandal would be earth-shattering, rewriting centuries of established lore!
But to Rowena and Helga such weighty matters seemed to be simply idle chatter regularly between the very closest of female friends.
However, as soon as the mysterious island in the North Sea and the terrible creatures lurking upon it were mentioned, Helga and Rowena's expressions turned much more solemn. The lingering power emanating from the two witches restored the legendary and formidable aura of the founders in Harry and his friends' eyes!
But what could possibly be so dire as to cause such an extreme reaction in them?
Hermione immediately had a guess. Her eyes darted sideways to Professor Watson, seeking further explanation into this, but to her great disappointment, this time Professor Watson did not kindly explain their doubts as he himself was listening with a serious expression.
Rowena Ravenclaw did not speak any further on the matter. Under everyone's gaze, a wand quietly appeared in her hand. She left her seat and walked to an open space in the office.
Then, with a single fluid motion almost too swift to follow, Ravenclaw slashed her wand through the air in a dizzyingly complex pattern. Shining silver sparks erupted from the wand's tip, swirling in the air like stardust carried on the wind.
Before their astonished eyes, the glimmering specks merged into a single glowing form - an enormous eagle of purest white.
"That's a Patronus!" Harry exclaimed at once.
The Patronus Charm was the most advanced magic Harry had learned last year from Remus in order to defend against Dementors.
"And unless I'm barking mad, it's a bleeding eagle, just like on the Ravenclaws coat of arms!" Ron chimed in with amazement as the ethereal raptor flew over their heads.
'Lady Ravenclaw had summoned her Patronus' - the light in Hermione's brown eyes condensed a little as this further confirmed her speculation.
The specific mention of the dreaded island being "in the North Sea" had already begun leading her to a single certain conclusion - the notorious Azkaban prison. And if that were true...then the horrors Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw spoke of in such dire tones must surely be none other than the Dementors!
As if to lend credibility to Hermione's silent deductions, Ravenclaw twisted her wrist in a precise flourish, causing the conjured eagle to freeze in place with its wings outstretched as if pinned to an invisible wire.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a piercing shriek that sent shivers down every spine, the Patronus raised its head and expelled a vague mass of squirming shadows enveloped in white light from its beak.
Upon hitting the air, this shadowy mass rapidly expanded, transforming into a creature as frightening as the Grim Reaper, shrouded in a black cloak. Just looking at it made one's heart fill with chill!
Clang!
Faced with the horror of his own worst fears and traumas made manifest, Harry reacted on pure instinct before his conscious mind could catch up. He hastily retreated and his back slammed heavily against the wall, but he felt no pain. Instead, he quickly grabbed his wand and aimed it at the Dementor, breathing heavily!
"Easy, mate! It's not real!" Alarmed by Harry's extreme reaction, Ron lunged forward to seize Harry's wrist, forcibly casting his wand away and said hurriedly. "You're safe! It can't hurt you!"
'Not real...of course it wasn't real', Harry realized as the ringing fog of panic began to withdraw from his overclocked brain. Protected within the protective barrier of Ravenclaw's eagle Patronus, the Dementor thrashed impotently, unable to project its aura of despair beyond the shimmering walls of its ethereal prison.
As his thundering heart rate gradually slowed and the black spots faded from his vision, Harry felt a wave of burning shame crash over him.
Dementors had too great an impact on him. In their adventure last year to rescue Sirius from the Forbidden Forest, Sirius was discovered by several dozen Dementors sent by the Ministry of Magic. At that time, both Sirius and Hermione had fallen unconscious, leaving Harry alone to face those terrifying Dementors. Harry could say with certainty that those were absolutely the most desperate two minutes of his life.
Harry nervously glanced at Professor Watson, and seeing that the professor did not cast him a displeased look for his panicked, ridiculous reaction, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching his pounding heart, he continued to watch.
"Have you made any progress on finding a way to destroy them further, Rowena?" Helga Hufflepuff's voice rang out, shattering the silence. She had left her desk to stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside Ravenclaw. Even though this wasn't the first time Rowena had shown them, upon seeing the Dementor, Helga's expression still turned serious, and a hint of anger was subtly leaking through her tone.
"I've made many attempts -" Ravenclaw said in a voice as clear and chilling as an icy spring,
"As we've discussed in the past, these specter-like entities occupy a strange space between true life and death. They seem to operate according to their own set of rules, which makes them devilishly difficult to eradicate through conventional magical means."
She paused, her eyes flashing like chips of frozen lightning in her pale face. "I have experimented with a wide range of methods, including some ancient magics that have shown promise in suppressing their influence. Of all the techniques I have tried, the Patronus Charm was the most consistently effective. Yet even it is not a true solution, merely a stopgap measure..."
This was the expected result. Helga Hufflepuff did not seem surprised, simply saying softly, "So, the only method is the one we discussed before -"
Ravenclaw gave a slight nod in wordless consensus. But while the two legendary witches seemed to instinctively understand the unspoken words of their cryptic exchange, Bryan's brow furrowed.
During the Azkaban trip, as Bryan followed the memories of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the two founders had discussed this topic at that time. They had stated that the Dementors must be destroyed. Bryan had been puzzled by this then.
These Dementors, Bryan knew, were not natural creatures. They were the twisted byproduct of some of the darkest magic known to wizardkind – the creation of Horcruxes. When a Dark wizard tore their soul in pieces multiple times in pursuit of immortality, the split fragment or the empty shells would sometimes take on a hideous half-life of its own, becoming one of the soul-sucking abominations known as Dementors.
To complete themselves, these empty shells would absorb all positive emotions from living creatures and use those emotions as feed to create more of their own kind.
No creature possessing an independent soul would like Dementors, but Bryan never understood why the four Hogwarts founders were so determined to destroy the Dementors.
Was it simply because these creatures were evil? The truth was probably not that simple.
He thought back to the fragment of conversation he'd witnessed between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in Azkaban. They had spoken of dire warnings received by Helga Hufflepuff, hinting that she had foreseen a future in which Herpo the Foul, the twisted genius who had first discovered the secret of crafting Horcruxes, would find a way to return from beyond the veil of death. If such a thing were to happen, they feared the consequences would be beyond catastrophic.
It seemed that at least some of the precautions put in place by Merlin and the Hogwarts founders were specifically designed to prevent this scenario from unfolding. That suggested there had to be some important connection between the destruction of the Dementors and ensuring that Herpo was never able to return back to the land of the living...
Bryan's mind raced, but he always felt separated from the truth by a thin membrane he couldn't break through!
"Our only choice is to entrust this vital work to the hands of time," Rowena said softly and her gaze became distant and unfocused. "In the short term, our priority must be to find a way to limit the Dementors' numbers and constrain their movements. I had considered the possibility of erecting a soul magic-based barrier around Azkaban, but ultimately, such a ward would only hold as long as our own souls endured to power it. After we are gone, it would quickly crumble, and nothing would remain to stop the Dementors driven by the desire to absorb more emotions from spreading like a plague across the face of the earth."
Rowena's words sent a bolt of sickening dread piercing through Harry's gut. The thought of a world swarming with Dementors was almost too terrible to even think of. What hope could there be for a world like that?
"What, then, do you suggest?" Helga asked, her brow furrowed with concern.
In answer, Rowena raised her wand once more, moving it through the air in a series of intricate patterns that left shimmering patterns of light in its trail. As she chanted words in a language none of them recognized, the chill blue glow emanating from her silhouette intensified until she was barely more than a dazzlingly luminous outline.
Rustle rustle!
In the air before her, an ethereal sheet of parchment took shape, wreathed in a green radiance. Once it had fully merged, a tangled bundle of glowing chains burst forth from its surface, each one tipped with an ominous-looking padlock. The chains shot toward the captive Dementor, who thrashed and writhed within its glowing prison in a futile effort to evade them.
But there could be no escape from Rowena Ravenclaw's magic. The chains wrapped themselves around the Dementor, sinking into its shadowy flesh like hooks into the hide of some deep-sea leviathan. The creature's struggles only seemed to make the chains constrict more tightly, until it hung motionless, paralyzed by the intense agony.
"What is that?" Unable to contain her curiosity, Hermione looked to Professor Watson. She had assumed her question would go unanswered, but after a few moments, Professor Watson hesitantly said,
"I'm not entirely certain," he said slowly, "but if I had to guess... I would say that Ravenclaw has just created some sort of binding contract filled with tremendous power, and supported by life force… perhaps of her own. If I'm right... then those chains may well represent the Dementors' prison for centuries to come."
"Stop, Rowena!" Suddenly realizing something, Hufflepuff's suddenly shouted to Ravenclaw in a unusually stern voice and her face was filled with worried alarm.
"There is a peculiar connection between the individuals and the collective of this species. This makes destroying their individuals meaningless. Fortunately, we can also exploit this - as long as the individuals are restrained, the behavior of the entire race can be restricted -"
Ravenclaw did not mind Helga's harsh tone just now. However, she did cease her actions, waving her hand to dispel the 'parchment' and 'chains'. She then turned to the anxiously caring Helga Hufflepuff, smiling as she said,
"It's a good idea, isn't it?"
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章 602: 0600 Actions
"Do you truly believe this to be a wise course of action, Rowena?" Lady Hufflepuff asked her usually warm and friendly demeanor replaced by a serious expression as she looked intently at her dear friend. "Your plan is to utilize your own precious life force as a binding shackle to control this evil creature. Have you fully considered the dire consequences of such an act, Rowena?
The insidious, corrupting magic that dwells within this evil being will undoubtedly affect you in turn. While I harbor no doubts about your ability to resist its corrosive influence, one thing remains absolutely certain - it will greatly diminish your life!"
"We made the decision long ago to prevent that bleak, hopeless future from coming to pass, even if it meant sacrificing our lives in the process, did we not, Helga?" Rowena replied with a calm smile, despite the weight of the matter at hand. "We must place strict restrictions and limitations upon these vile creatures to prevent them from one day, after our inevitable passing, freely leaving the island and devouring the emotions of the living, and use that stolen essence to strengthen and multiply their own kind.
My idea is that since we currently lack the means to destroy them completely, they must be brought under the firm control of wizards until the final, fateful moment arrives. I will use my own life force as a medium to form an unbreakable contract with this Dementor, thus making this evil species controllable. As long as this binding contract exists, even as the ages pass and we are long gone, they will have no choice but to mostly obey the commands of wizards.
I can entrust this contract to the successive headmasters of Hogwarts who come after us.
Of course, I wish to avoid resorting to such drastic measures unless there is truly no other option available to us.
I fear that the wizards of later generations will not be satisfied with merely restricting the Dementors' instinctive drive to expand and propagate their kind. They are likely to seek to exploit and harness the power of these evil creatures for their own. And regardless of whether they use these evil beings for good or ill, the very act of wielding such power is inherently evil and corrupting..."
Bryan felt his eyes tremble slightly. It seemed that in the end, Rowena Ravenclaw had not passed this contract down to the successive Hogwarts headmasters as she had originally intended, but rather to the successors of the Royal Wizard Council - the Ministry of Magic. This was a critical detail that could be easily overlooked, yet it carried immense significance.
For many long years, the terrifying Dementors have served as the guardians of the wizard prison on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. Whenever discussions arise about that place, the first thought that springs to the minds of most is those chilling, soul-sucking Dementors.
Yet curiously, no one seems to ponder the obvious question - why would Dementors, creatures of pure evil willingly obey the orders and commands of the wizarding government?
So, it would seem that the contract still remains firmly in the possession of the Ministry of Magic to this day and Whoever obtains this powerful contract will have the right to command and control the Dementors?
For Bryan, restraining the behavior of Dementors was not an especially difficult task. And unless these evil creatures gathered together in great numbers, some elite wizards could also deal with them without too much trouble.
However, this fact did not mean that Dementors were not to be greatly feared and treated with the utmost caution. For the ordinary witches and wizards of the Wizarding world, these vile beings were the stuff of nightmares, haunting their darkest dreams. After all, very few could truly master the advanced, complex magic of the "Patronus Charm" and use it to defend against their chilling aura.
So, the question remained - was this contract currently in the hands of Cornelius Fudge, the clumsy and often foolish Minister of Magic?
The thought skimmed through Bryan's mind, but he immediately dismissed it, silently reproaching himself. Allowing any single individual to hold such a contract would be far too dangerous and risky.
No, it was much more likely that the contract was currently stored securely within the Department of Mysteries, guarded and kept under lock and key. Such an artifact would only be entrusted to the ruling body and organization of wizardkind as a whole, never to any one person, no matter how powerful or influential.
The Minister of Magic probably did not know about it, and the secret of the origin and effectiveness of this contract was in the hands of one of the Unspeakables of the Department of Mysteries, passed down as secret carefully through generations.
'Using one's own life force to form an unbreakable shackle, thereby constraining the normally uncontrollable and vicious Dementors, and forcing them to obey commands?'
Harry stared blankly ahead, his mind racing as he tried to process the enormity of what he had just learned about Rowena Ravenclaw, the witch renowned to all for her unparalleled wisdom and power.
Harry was not clear about the level of difficulty involved in this matter or the depth of magic required to accomplish it all. But one thing he knew for certain was that to achieve this, Lady Ravenclaw would have to pay a terrible price. It was hard not to be moved by this great self-sacrifice.
But even Lady Ravenclaw's solemn words and unwavering resolve were not enough to completely dispel Lady Hufflepuff's concerns and put her troubled mind fully at ease. If anything, her normally kind and gentle gaze only grew heavier and more somber as she listened.
"I do understand your reasoning, Rowena... but your child..." Helga said and her voice was tinged with sadness.
"I will not do this before she is born," Lady Ravenclaw said calmly.
"You know very well that's not what I meant," Hufflepuff said softly. She raised a trembling hand and sadly brushed Ravenclaw's temple, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "This child will already be forced to grow up without her father by her side. Do you truly wish for her to lose her mother as well?"
"Her father will accompany her as she grows and teach her the ways of magic. It is simply that they will not know the true nature of their bond," Ravenclaw replied, a faint smile gracing her lips, achingly beautiful in its tragedy. "Even for ones such as us, there will always come a day when we must pass beyond the veil, Helga. I firmly believe that my child has the strength and fortitude to bear the burdens that life will surely place upon her shoulders."
Harry felt his fists clench tightly at his sides. Bearing the burdens of one's own life, facing the hardships of the world alone. When his own parents had died bravely resisting Voldemort, had they too held this unwavering belief before their sacrifice?
'Exactly who or what were they trying to deal with?' Hermione pondered, a sense of deep confusion welling up within her. It was clear, based on their ominous conversation, that they were not referring to the Royal Wizard Association or Council that had been mentioned before.
Dementors. From the somber words that had passed between Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff, it was clear to see that they were doing everything within their power to destroy these creatures once and for all.
But were mere Dementors, as terrible as they undoubtedly were, truly worth Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four great founders of Hogwarts herself, sacrificing her very life in such a heartbreaking manner?
"The future is a vast river with countless branching forks and tributaries, impossible to fully glimpse or predict with certainty. I hope that it will ultimately flow toward the brightest one I have foreseen..." Helga chanted, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears of pity and sorrow.
"That is what we are all striving for," Lady Ravenclaw affirmed with quiet conviction. Her eagle Patronus, shining with a silver radiance, came to rest upon her shoulder, swallowing the captured Dementor once again.
Bryan had initially thought that the memory would conclude at this point. However, after Lady Ravenclaw had waved her hand to dispel her Patronus, she turned to gaze intently at Lady Hufflepuff. "Have you made any significant discoveries regarding that door I brought back from the island, Helga?"
'Was it the "Door of Death" in the last starry chamber of the underground ruins of Azkaban?' Bryan immediately recalled it. It was a mysterious and evil magical object, enveloped by an ancient aura. It was hard to imagine what it had been created for.
Rather than answering Ravenclaw's question directly, Lady Hufflepuff smiled mysteriously and beckoned for her friend to follow. She led her over to the valley landscape painting that was on the far wall with a stunningly lifelike depiction of a lush sunny valley.
After fiddling with a delicately carved bundle of wheat on the golden frame, the previously docile and picturesque scene within the painting abruptly began to swirl and churn with dizzying speed. Without a moment's hesitation, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stepped through the now-rippling surface one after another, vanishing from sight.
"Quickly now, follow me," Bryan urged, beckoning urgently to the trio. Not willing to risk losing sight of the two founders, he hurried after them without a second thought.
"Hold on, are we going back the way we came? Through there?" Ron asked, his voice thick with unease as he stared uneasily at the weird door like thing that had formed within the painted landscape.
If given the choice, he hoped that they could find a different route back to the castle. The scenes he had witnessed in that corridor had indeed given him an overwhelming mental shock.
"I don't believe it's time for us to return just yet," Bryan replied, his words concise and clipped. Without waiting for further comment or complaint, his body shimmered and disappeared, swallowed up by the swirling vortex of light and color.
The three young wizards exchanged uneasy glances, their faces mirroring the uneasiness they all felt. Beside them, the two little house-elves fidgeted nervously, clearly just as unsettled by the strange turn of events. For a long moment they hesitated, each wrestling with their own turbulent thoughts and emotions.
But in the end, they knew they had no real choice but to press forward, to see this incredible journey through to its conclusion. One by one, they stepped forward and allowed themselves to be pulled into the frame, and their bodies shimmered and distorted as they passed through the ethereal barrier before the mesmerizing swirl of magic finally began to subside.
"This is... where are we now?" Harry wondered aloud, his eyes wide with amazement as he took in their new surroundings.
Rather than returning to the oppressive chill of the secret corridor as they had half-feared, they were now standing in a spacious, well-furnished room.
The room was clean and tidy, possessing the same appealing warmth as Hufflepuff's private office they had visited just now. Soft sunlight streamed in through a floor-to-ceiling window that dominated one wall, presenting a breathtaking view of the dense Forbidden Forest stretching out to the horizon.
Unlike in their own era, Harry noted with some surprise that Hagrid's wooden hut was noticeably absent from its usual place at the boundary between the ancient forest and the castle grounds.
Despite its cozy homey atmosphere, it quickly became apparent that this chamber was not one of the castle's many hidden secrets, but rather a private room, a place for Helga Hufflepuff to slip away from the cares and responsibilities of the school and simply enjoy a few precious moments of peace and privacy.
The room fairly emanated a sense of tranquility and comfort, from the lovingly tended plants and colorful fruits on the shelves near the window - not the magical plants Professor Sprout carefully cultivated in the school greenhouses, but edible plants and fruits and the little stove tucked away in a corner, no doubt used by Hufflepuff for her whimsical culinary experiments and perfect new recipes.
But for all its warmth and coziness, the room was not entirely lacking of obvious magical accessories. To the left of the entrance, the wall was lined with a neat row of glittering crystal balls, their flawless surfaces were even throwing back the light in dazzling rainbow hues.
Yet unlike the fakes and cheap trinkets sold by unscrupulous charlatans, the cores of most of these orbs were filled with swirling, hazy mist, while one or two seemed to enclose entire miniature galaxies, their countless stars twinkling and winking in the depths like captured fireflies.
"Lady Hufflepuff is..." Hermione breathed, her eyes widening with sudden realization. She turned to the two boys and her voice was tinged with astonishment. "She's just like Professor Trelawney!"
"There are probably some rather significant differences between the two," Bryan said looking at the "Door of Death" located directly opposite them, surrounded by a complex web of ancient runic magic carved into the stone floor.
"I cannot say with certainty how much true skill or talent our Divination professor actually has, but Lady Hufflepuff was a witch with the rare ability to divine and capture real, meaningful glimpses of the future from amid the ever-shifting, elusive threads of fate."
"Has anything ever emerged from this door, Helga?" Lady Ravenclaw inquired, her eyes darting over the patterns etched into the ground. It took her only a moment to deduce their purpose - a powerful binding seal, placed by Helga to prevent any anomalies with the door.
"Fortunately, the worrisome situation has not appeared so far." Lady Hufflepuff gracefully came to the rough arch. Her fingertips brushed the curtains that swayed strangely in the air without wind. Then she turned her head and smiled at Lady Ravenclaw. "However, I have been inside..."
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