Archaeologists at Hogwarts

Chapter 207 The Devil and the Lightning Scar

Office of Ancient Magic.

Toby was in the thick red smoke, trying to find the only bright star, but in the end he found nothing.

He tapped the scepter on the floor to let the smoke dissipate slowly, and there was an unwilling roar from it.

"Still can't find the magic ball"

He ignored the "devil" who accompanied the smoke dissipating, and murmured in a low voice.

According to the clues of the magic circle left by Lockhart in the phone booth, plus the lost magic ball at No. 12 Grimmauld Place, Toby can roughly determine that Lockhart, Regulus, and perhaps Sirius , they are all in one group, and they are the ones leading all this.

He was also one of the few people who paid attention to ancient magic besides himself.

Not to mention Regulus.

The reason why he was able to escape under Toby's hand was because there were traces of the plant Animagus on him at that time-a section of a branch that was about to wither, which allowed Regulus to escape in a clever way, which could not be like a door. Take Toby with him like the key, and it doesn't leave traces like Apparation.

From this point of view, the coffin in Azkaban is also in the hands of those people.

As for the clues that Regulus deliberately revealed.
【Prevent the Dark Lord from killing all the prisoners in Azkaban. 】

This is simply nonsense.

For so many days, there has been no relevant report in the "Daily Prophet", and it is impossible to conceal such a major news, even if Fudge wants to stop it.

There is no doubt that this is a trap.

But what is their purpose?

And where did Voldemort escape to?

And
Shall I tell Dumbledore about this?

Yes, Toby kept the news under wraps.

There are many reasons: I don't want the headmaster to find out the existence of the locket, lest he forcefully take it away.The headmaster couldn't help with matters of ancient magic, and he couldn't help him find the magic ball.

Plus the most important point: Toby already knew that there was a trap in Azkaban, how could he ask the principal to risk himself?

Toby would not be so eager to take over the position of the next headmaster.

Well, at the very least, we have to get the magic ball back.

Al, who came back from the Room of Requirement, looked at the ever-changing expression on Toby's face, and said "Yahah" anxiously and worriedly, fearing that Toby was affected by the "devil" summoned by the scepter.

"It's not that exaggerated." Toby reached out and pulled Al, who was pulling his hair, forcefully, tossed it casually, and landed firmly on the small flying carpet.

"I was just thinking—forget it, it's getting late, you go to bed first. I'll try to check the locket again to see if I can get some clues. Let me think about it, the magic circle is probably It's useless, the mysterious person must have made the locket before absorbing the magic ball. What if ritual magic is used?"

Toby seemed to be discussing, but also seemed to be talking to himself.

Al yawned slowly, put on the nightcap silently, then he hesitated for a while, thinking that the noise caused by the ritual magic tonight would definitely be serious, so he put the earplugs in his ears again.

"ah!"

It said goodnight, got into bed, and finally put on the blindfold, which was still a half-moon blindfold.

What Al didn't hear or see was that shortly after it lay down, the only skeleton with a head left behind the desk suddenly moved.

Toby put down the locket and looked over, Harry's voice came from the skull's mouth, sounding excited and happy:

"Professor! I succeeded! I successfully summoned the demon - I don't know what to call it! Come on, professor, I don't know if I can leave the classroom now, it will be bad if it disappears -"

"Stay there, Mr. Potter." Toby replied loudly, "I'm going to find you now."

It's amazing to say it, but today is Harry Potter's birthday, and I didn't expect him to succeed at this time.

Toby hurried to the Room of Requirement. He pushed open the door and saw Harry holding a skull, standing blankly in front of the Mirror of Erised, not daring to move for fear of disturbing the animals on the floor.

It was a snake with three heads, and its body looked like it was made of black smoke, which was the exact opposite of the patron saint, and would splash around from time to time, like an uncontrollable silence.

"Don't move," Toby reminded, "don't let it go away so quickly, remember, hate, hate for Sirius Black, hold on, Harry."

Harry stared straight at the Mirror of Erised, not knowing why he did this, but the expression on his face gradually became resentful.

"very good."

Toby approached the two little by little, and finally stood in front of the black devil. He said, "This is a rune snake with three heads. It looks really good. And it can be seen that your I have a lot of thoughts, which is why I summoned the devil with three heads. Now, listen to me carefully, Harry—”

He repeated the characteristics of the rune snake.

According to the written records of Parseltongue, the three heads of the rune snake have different functions.

The head on the left is a planner who decides where the rune snake should go and what to do afterwards; the head in the middle is the visionary (the rune snake will often stay motionless in one place for days at a time, wallowing in splendor brilliant longings and fantasies), the head on the right is a critic whose teeth are poisonous.

The right head of the rune snake will constantly comment on the actions of the left and middle heads, making an impatient hissing sound.

There are often runes that don't have the right side of the head, because the two remaining heads often join forces to bite off the right head when it keeps criticizing them.

It is precisely because the three heads will attack each other that the lifespan of the rune snake is not long.

"Look here," said Toby, holding out a finger. "Look at that head on the right, the one with the poisonous teeth, look at its forehead—see that?"

Harry glanced at it from the corner of his eye, and nodded intently.

The other two heads of this rune snake are no different from ordinary rune snakes, except that the one on the far right has a lightning scar on it, which is exactly the same as the mark on Harry's forehead.

"This needs to be studied, and we need to know why the scars appear on the most annoying and dangerous heads."

"Professor, I... I can't seem to hold on anymore."

"Then rest for a while." Toby said in a gentle voice, which sounded creepy: "We have plenty of time to study this devil. You are very talented, Harry, more talented than I thought."

He even changed the name of Harry Potter.

Harry didn't notice this, he was exhausted long ago, summoning the devil was not as easy as the ancient magic exam last semester, and it would inevitably make him feel bad—maintaining resentment is not an easy task thing.

After a short break, Harry told the story of his success.

It turned out that this was thanks to the Mirror of Erised brought by Toby.

"I saw my parents in the mirror."

Harry said intermittently, feeling very depressed: "It was fine at first, but when I think that they can only accompany me in this way, I can't help but hate Sirius Black. Then..."

His voice faded a little bit: "And then there was Parseltongue. Instead of trying to blow the flute, I controlled it with Parseltongue, like controlling control"

"Control the basilisk in the secret room?" Toby said with a smile; "Attack Black like you once wanted to attack me?"

Somehow, the incredibly kind Professor Highmore made Harry feel more terrifying than when he was angry.

"Yes." He replied weakly.

"What a genius idea!" said Toby, clapping his hands, startling Harry.

"I should have thought of that. Now, tell me, Harry, what exactly are you using? Is it just Parseltongue manipulation?"

"Not quite, Professor. To be precise, I blew out the tune of "Wedding March" in Parseltongue, and then successfully summoned the demon—well, the rune snake."

Toby stared at Harry oddly.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little weird.

"The Wedding March?" demanded Toby aloud. "Really the Wedding March? Used for summoning the devil? It's really bad—oh no, it's just freaking out, it has to be the Funeral March." ", which is more in line with the atmosphere."

"But the first thing I wanted to do was "Symphony of Destiny"" Harry couldn't help muttering in a low voice, but when he saw Professor Highmore's unfriendly eyes, he immediately said in a hurry: "I will change it. , Professor, but is this okay?"

"No problem." Toby waved his hand and said, "It won't affect the devil, just treat it as your extra homework, and I'll check it when school starts."

Harry, who was assigned homework inexplicably, could only choose to accept it.

Otherwise, he will see the real devil.

After that, Harry tried to activate the flute several times, but unfortunately, due to his ups and downs, he failed again. He could only summon a thin layer of black condensation, with a part of it in the middle. Like the veins of blood vessels, it doesn't look as good as the silver smoke of the Patronus Charm.

"That's silence." Toby said surprisingly: "At least it's similar to silence, so it looks extremely unstable, symbolizing chaos, and the biggest feature of ritual magic."

"It's strange, isn't it? The magical animal-like Momoran, the tangible Momoran, is like a tangible patron saint."

"About the difference between Patronuses and devils: Patronuses have very few examples of magical animals, and are generally normal animals with no magical blood. But among devils, magical animals are very common, which is not bad, the most terrifying It's about summoning something never seen before, only the most evil dark wizard can summon."

"So, you don't have to worry about it at all, Harry, it's not black magic, it's just ancient magic."

Harry thought that Professor Highmore would comfort him that he was not a dark wizard, but he didn't expect him to be so stubborn about the attributes of ancient magic.

He tried to ask: "Can you summon the devil too, Professor?"

Harry asked out of the heat of his head, because he already knew that Professor Highmore's "scepter" was a magic ball, so Professor Highmore should have his own devil.

But when he saw the change in Professor Highmore's expression, Harry immediately regretted it. He really wished he hadn't asked this question.

If it weren't for the birthday gift, it's unlikely that he would—

"Yes."

Toby said suddenly, with an unusually calm tone: "I can also summon my own devil, which is very strange and must be unique, but I haven't used it for a long, long time. Unless it is an extremely critical moment, I hope not There will be a day like that."

"I hope so, Professor." Harry said honestly, not daring to ask any more questions.

The smile reappeared on Toby's face, and it was rare that he didn't continue to blame Harry.

"In that case, let's call it a day," he said, which caught Harry off guard.

"It's over?" Harry asked confusedly, "Is it the end of tutoring, professor? I'm leaving Hogwarts, can't I stay here?"

"Don't say that, Harry." Toby shook his head: "School will start sooner or later anyway, and there is only one month left. Besides, you should be able to see that I didn't tutor you for no reason."

Harry nodded silently, still reminiscing about the good times during this time, and he had no desire to go back to the Dursleys.

"Is it because of the bounty for helping you lure Sirius Black?"

"Not all." Toby said frankly: "It's more of a personal grievance. Like you, Harry, I also want to take his life with my own hands. But this is wrong!"

He suddenly became stern, and the stunned Harry was taken aback again.

"Because taking life taints our souls, which is terrible for wizards, some safe extremes must be employed—such as—"

Harry simply covered his ears, and at the same time said in shock: "It turns out that you are such a professor."

He absolutely didn't dare to listen any more.

Well, if it was the beginning, Harry wanted to listen to it, but after all, the Mirror of Erised was right in front of him, and his parents were still smiling and greeting him.

It's just that I don't know if it's an illusion, James' expression became a little hostile and helpless, and Lily's hands were slightly protruding with blue veins, which seemed to have increased a lot of strength.

"Listen, I'm not kidding."

Toby suddenly pressed Harry's shoulder hard, and he said seriously: "So, when you find Black, you must come to me, even if it's too late, you must notify me in time, and you must not act without authorization, you understand ?"

Harry was frightened by Professor Highmore's expression, and at the same time he became a little moved: "It's because you are worried that I will kill—"

"Oh, no no no," interrupted Toby, laughing. "What are you thinking, your devil alone can't beat Black unless he doesn't have a wand and puts his hands behind his back. That The weak little snake can only delay for a while at most, and if he is lucky, he may hurt Black. Don't forget, he blew up a street and killed many Muggle criminals."

The emotion that was originally moved was completely crushed in an instant, Harry opened his mouth wide, his face turned blue and white, ashamed and angry.

At this moment, he heard Professor Haimer continue slowly in a calm voice: "But even if you can do it, I will stop you."

"Your mother helped me selflessly. She is very kind, so I will help you too."

"Don't let Lily down, she lives in you, Harry."

"She lives on you."

Harry stared blankly at Professor Highmore, his eyes turning red a little.

Perhaps it was because Harry successfully summoned the devil that made Toby more satisfied. He turned his head considerately, but the big hand was obviously holding a handful of tissues, and wiped randomly on Harry's nostrils behind his back. Wiping, the movement was very large, and the saliva was brought to Harry's eyes, which hurt him so much that he almost broke the lens.

"Okay, stop crying."

Toby pretended not to see Harry crying more and sneezing non-stop. He said solemnly: "Now it's time to decide where you are going. Do you want to go back to the Dursleys?"

Harry immediately rubbed his eyes and shook his head. If he could, he really hoped he would never have to go back.

"Let me think about it, uh."

Toby's hair fell down, thinking to himself, and he didn't know why he looked dangerous at this time.

"It's probably not safe for other students' homes. It will bring them risks, so Longbottom and Lovegood will be ruled out. But it's not too safe, otherwise Black will have no chance to get close to you-how about the Leaky Cauldron Bar ? There is Diagon Alley through the wall, there are guest rooms on the second floor, and the environment is not bad, do you want to go?”

Toby asked, looking very good at talking.

Harry froze, his eyes narrowed in pain, still red.

"Is it really possible, Professor?" He asked excitedly.

"It's not the only option." Toby continued, "And Severus, I'm sure he'd be willing to help me—"

"The Leaky Cauldron!" Harry shouted anxiously, "I'm going to Diagon Alley, Professor!"

The location was finally set at the Leaky Cauldron, but it was too late now, and it was best to wait until dawn before setting off.

The two of them vaguely changed from a teacher-student relationship to a partner. Harry suddenly discovered that Professor Highmore had many advantages, such as being generous, whether it was Dobby's employment fee or the Leaky Cauldron's accommodation fee. Harry didn't need to do it, and Professor Highmore took care of everything.

Harry sleeps in a magic tent in the classroom, and Toby needs to go back to the office.

However, just as Toby closed the door of the Room of Requirement, he stopped walking.

Dumbledore was standing by the window not far away. He was wearing blue pajamas, holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand, and was drinking slowly.

Toby blinked, and he walked over consciously, and sure enough, he saw an extra glass of lemon juice on the windowsill.

"Principal?" Toby took a sip from his cup and asked with strange eyes, "Don't tell me you woke up to make coffee in the middle of the night again. You've used this excuse many times before."

When little Toby was still at school, he would often meet Dumbledore who "just happened" to make coffee in the corridor after curfew.

As for why it was after curfew?There are many reasons, most of which are—well, every one of them has to do with breaking school rules, and they're all serious ones.

The students of Slytherin should really thank Headmaster Dumbledore. They don't know how many ignorant souls have been saved by the headmaster alone. It's not wrong to say that they are stupid.

(End of this chapter)