harleyscars Chapter 82, Section 81: The Raven, and His Voldemort Toy
Chapter 82, Section 81: The Raven, and His Voldemort Toy
A cold, indifferent sun hangs in the sky.
Desolation and silence.
It's as if life has vanished.
"Shh~ Shh~"
Black waves crashed against the empty beach again and again, the gray sand shifting between light and dark with the tides. Ian, as if all things had long been lost on an island of time, opened his eyes.
"Holy crap! A new map!"
As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of black seawater, gleaming with a dark and profound luster in the morning light, like the gateway to an abyss appearing and disappearing amidst the waves.
The waves lapped against the shore with an almost audible murmur, each impact stirring up layers of black foam, which were then quickly swallowed up by the deeper waters.
This is a deserted island where not even a bird's call can be heard, and the ocean is as thick as ink, with no familiar azure or emerald green, only a bottomless black.
obviously.
This is not the peaceful town of Ariana, nor the gloomy castle of Teacher Mara, but a brand new area that Ian has never set foot in during the dreamlike realm.
mystery.
Surprising.
It is unclear whose lingering place it is, but it presents a color that makes one's heart tremble.
"According to Teacher Mara, the dreamlike realm responds to my inner desires, but today I don't desire anything new. I only desire to bring Riddle, who has no nose, home."
Ian had a small box tucked under his arm and two boxes of chocolate frogs in his hand. He looked around at the indescribably desolate island and could only see a lonely little wooden house in the distance.
"Could it be because I'm carrying Riddle's Horcrux that the illusion led me to Riddle's Promised Land?" Ian wondered as he approached the cabin.
The cabin was built from rough logs, and the years had left mottled marks on its surface. Dried vines on the small windows half-hidden and obscured what was inside.
A lifeless island, or Riddle's cage?
"That makes sense. Nobody can let him show off. He can't even find an ant. Riddle would go crazy."
Even his beloved Avada Kedavra could only eat his own head while eating melons.
Ian wanted to go inside the cabin to take a look; his hand reached for the dilapidated door. However,
A strange thing happened without warning at that moment.
"Um?"
The moment Ian raised his hand.
Both the line of sight and space seemed to be distorted.
He noticed that the door of the cabin had been pushed away by some force. Even though he was standing right in front of the cabin, the distance between the door and his palm seemed to be infinitely increased.
It's like being in a kaleidoscope of worlds.
Ian even felt a little dizzy.
When he lowered his hand, all the abnormalities disappeared as if they had never happened. The wooden house was still in front of him, and the surrounding environment remained deathly quiet.
"This is ridiculous! I didn't even blink, how come it's like there's a frame skipping?" Ian muttered to himself, repeating the experiment several times with the same result.
Undeterred, he stood at the gate, then suddenly lunged forward, landing with a thud on the damp, grayish-brown soil that smelled of age.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
Ian looked up as he spat out sand.
The cabin was still there, but it was as if the cabin had suddenly taken a step back in an instant, avoiding his perhaps somewhat unethical "forced" contact.
"Is it because I'm not Tom Riddle that I can't get into this special cage?" Ian sat on the ground speechlessly and sighed in frustration.
Is this mystical journey through a dreamlike world destined to end here, with only the quiet waiting to leave? The color of the seawater is so eerie; otherwise, I might have been able to jump in and take a swim.
"I regret not bringing a fishing rod with me." Ian didn't have high hopes for whether there were any fish in the black water, but being a pilot was obviously more fun than playing in the sand.
"Little one, how rude of you to call my home a cage!"
suddenly.
The door of the wooden house opened gently, and a woman with long hair, dressed in a plain-colored robe, stood inside.
Ian's expression was filled with helplessness.
"I'm not waiting for you—that's all."
The woman had long, shimmering silver hair, like the brightest star in the night sky, even in simple clothes.
It still possesses an extraordinary and undeniable quality that cannot be ignored.
Outstanding appearance.
But it couldn't suppress that even more powerful aura.
Like a dazzling star that stands alone in the world.
"Madam, have you had breakfast? I brought you a gift." Ian, sitting on the floor, looked up at the woman.
He paused for a moment, then quickly raised the two boxes of chocolate frogs high.
This was originally intended as a gift for Ariana and Pendro, but before the gift is given, it is wise to change the recipient according to the circumstances.
Ultimately, it was an unauthorized trespassing on someone else's territory.
"Is it for me?" the woman asked with a smile.
"That's true now."
Ian nodded his little head.
"Reckless, cunning—interesting qualities." The woman chuckled, took the chocolate frog from Ian, and gave a comment that did not surprise Ian.
"The Sorting Hat said I possess the qualities of all four houses and am a natural heir to the Hogwarts Castle deed, so perhaps I am a little bit easy to misunderstand." Ian quickly got up from the ground, raised his hand to pat the dirt off his robes, and smiled as if he were a little embarrassed.
Just now, upon seeing the woman's face, Ian already knew whose territory he had entered.
Rowena Ravenclaw.
One of the four pillars of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the founder of Ravenclaw, she lived in the early Middle Ages. Her wisdom and creativity made her one of the greatest wizards of her time. Ian had passed through the Ravenclaw common room more than once, so the image and demeanor of the school's founder were naturally etched into his mind.
If Ian still can't recognize them after all this, then perhaps he should suspect that some of the academy's officials took kickbacks from the stonemasons when they were carving the statues for the four giants.
"If you need a land deed, you should go to Salazar." This seemed to stem from curiosity about snacks from a later era.
Rowena Ravenclaw opened a box of Chocolate Frogs. Before the chocolate frog, which had been enchanted with a one-time spell, could even jump out, she grabbed it by the thick neck as if she had anticipated it.
The cards inside the packaging box fell to the ground.
It seemed like a coincidence of fate.
It is a card about Rowena Ravenclaw herself, but the artist's skill may not be very high, as the portrait on it is much inferior to the real person.
"The land deeds and such are not important, but my uncle is the head of Slytherin. Perhaps I should pay a visit to my ancestor. Didn't Professor Slytherin choose to live near you?" Ian was always unmatched when it came to getting close to people, and he was somewhat curious about the current situation of the four giants in the Enchanted Realm.
"You are my third visitor. Godric and Helga have gone further, while I am still waiting—I have a belated apology to deliver."
Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw did not respond directly; she gently stroked the Chocolate Frog.
The chocolate frog, which had stopped moving, started kicking its legs again.
"Perhaps I can help you?" Ian curiously approached, watching as Mrs. Rowena Ravenclaw placed the chocolate frog in her hand onto the grayish-brown soil.
It's no longer just a leap when you open the box; the chocolate frog seems to have been given life, bringing a touch of vitality to this desolate island.
"Quack quack quack~"
The chocolate frog even made a croaking sound.
"Every request comes at a price. So, what is the price for the help you are offering, little one?" Mrs. Rowena Ravenclaw half-squatted on the ground.
She turned around and looked at Ian with a smile, who was amazed by the little frog.
"Of course there's no cost. It's my honor to help you. You may not know this, but the Sorting Hat almost sorted me into another house. However, in the end, it decided that I resembled you a little more." As Ian tried to get closer to her, he patted the back of his robe and turned around to reveal the Eagle House insignia.
"I don't have your shamelessness." Rowena Ravenclaw's smiling expression remained unchanged; she had clearly already figured out which college Ian attended.
A thousand years.
Some traditions have never changed.
"You're waiting for Ms. Grey, aren't you? Ms. Grey is a kind girl, just a little timid." Ian praised Rowena Ravenclaw's child highly.
He had realized who the founder was waiting for.
Helena Ravenclaw.
The young wizards at Hogwarts would more often refer to her as Lady Grey.
She was a proud, somewhat timid, and proud lady, but kind-hearted and well-mannered. Years ago, she stole the Ravenclaw crown in an attempt to become smarter than her mother.
The seriously ill Rowena Ravenclaw wanted to see her one last time, but ultimately failed because of her pride and timidity, a regret that had lingered in the hearts of the mother and daughter for many years.
"I knew she would choose to become a ghost, but I never expected that she would still want to hide from me even now," Rowena Ravenclaw said with a hint of helplessness in her voice.
Rebellious teenage girls are more likely to upset their parents and make them worry.
In recent years, Helena's emotional manipulation and the theft of her crown by the scoundrel Voldemort have actually proven how reasonable Rowena Ravenclaw's concerns for her were.
"Perhaps it's because she's afraid to face you. After all, in her heart, you've always been that dignified mother, and that image only deepens with the passage of time," Ian said softly. He didn't understand how tedious a thousand-year wait was, but he knew exactly how melodramatic the entanglement between the mother and daughter was.
"Are you familiar with my child?" Rowena Ravenclaw remained noncommittal to Ian's reassurance.
She looked up at the sky. "If Hogwarts's operations haven't changed, and my observations are correct, you must be a young wizard who just started school at Hogwarts?"
I don't know what kind of method it was, but Ian was able to observe the time in the real world within the illusion. He looked up for a long time but didn't find anything special in the sky.
Just a sun.
"To be honest, I really enjoy talking to people. Yesterday afternoon, Ms. Gray even agreed to help me keep an eye on Peeves' movements. I was planning to take your crown to her to show her after I finished repairing it." Ian was telling the truth.
"Is the crown broken? After you fixed it, weren't you thinking of returning it to her?" Rowena Ravenclaw looked at the box that Ian had left on the ground. When Ian fell to the ground, both the Chocolate Frog and the box containing the crown had fallen to the ground.
now.
The box was not opened.
But Rowena Ravenclaw still knew that it contained her own things.
"Isn't that enough? She's already—already dead." Ian blinked, and his answer made Rowena Ravenclaw chuckle.
Do you hope to gain wisdom from it?
Rowena Ravenclaw walked toward where the box had fallen.
"The wisdom itself is not important to me; what I value is its symbolic meaning. It needs to return to Ravenclaw, the treasure you left us."
Ian shook his head and answered righteously.
however.
After picking up the box, Rowena Ravenclaw looked at Ian with eyes that seemed to see through everything, a half-smile of disbelief on her face.
"I want to hear the truth," she said.
Ian chose to avoid Rowena Ravenclaw's gaze.
"Then... just consider it as me wanting to gain wisdom." Ian's voice softened, as if he lacked confidence. He felt somewhat overwhelmed in front of the wise founder of Hogwarts.
no way.
This is the founder of Ravenclaw.
A symbol of wisdom.
The fact that no one has ever doubted whether the Ravenclaw crown can bring wisdom to people is enough to demonstrate the convincing value of those assessments of Rowena Ravenclaw.
"You're still not telling the truth. Many people want to pursue this crown and gain the wisdom it brings, but you're unlikely to be one of them."
"The crown will only bring two kinds of people to me: my blood relatives and those who—I yearn to know the truth." Rowena Ravenclaw opened the box.
She reached out and pulled out the tattered crown.
"A wicked wizard's spirit is hidden inside—"
Just as Ian was about to offer a warning, he saw Rowena Ravenclaw extend her other hand and pull out a dark, twisted object.
It twisted and rolled, yet was still held in Rowena Ravenclaw's hand with one hand, like a lump of mud, its face constantly emerging from the black mist, filled with anger and resentment.
"Let me go! You despicable vermin! How dare you steal my Horcrux! I am the great Dark Lord! I will kill you all! No one can stop my return!"
Voldemort's remnant soul howled and roared, sharp and piercing, like claws tearing through the air, making Ian involuntarily cover his ears.
"Anyone who calls himself the Dark Lord is an idiot. What legitimate entrepreneur would call himself the Dark Lord?" Ian couldn't help but comment on the remnant soul of Voldemort, whose brain might really be abnormal.
He brought the Horcrux into the Mystic Realm with the intention of getting Mara to deal with Voldemort's remnant soul, but unexpectedly, the tiara ended up back in Rowena Ravenclaw's hands.
"Hairbo has really done something terrible." Rowena Ravenclaw simply pinched the mouth of Voldemort's remnant soul, and then it was as if Voldemort's mouth had been sewn shut. It struggled but could no longer make a sound, and the surrounding environment became quiet and peaceful again.
"Who is this guy?" Rowena Ravenclaw looked at Ian while holding Voldemort's remnant soul in one hand. No matter how the terrifying black mist surged, it could not escape from her palm.
"Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord who is now wreaking havoc on the entire wizarding world? He's already introduced himself, how could you not have heard him clearly?" Ian looked at the Creator who was calmly manipulating Voldemort's remnant soul.
He had a sudden thought: he wondered which of the two ancient witches was more powerful, the reclusive witch Mara or the ascetic Rowena Ravenclaw.
Rowena Ravenclaw must be even more impressive.
After all, they are the four giants.
"This can be called the Dark Lord? I thought he was trying to deceive and scare me - in our time, no Dark Lord would believe the lies of Horcruxes." Rowena Ravenclaw stared in astonishment at the black mist in her hand, and then threw Voldemort's remnant soul to the ground with some disdain.
His expression was full of disgust.
There's something a little complicated.
"Times are regressing, that's normal, normal." Ian stared at Voldemort's remnant soul with some amazement. After arriving in the illusionary realm, Voldemort was reduced to nothing more than a wisp of mist and his head.
A head with its mouth sewn shut cannot make a sound.
His eyes were filled with resentment at being humiliated. The wisps of black mist behind him could not materialize, so he could only roll like a ball. "He's glaring at me! He's probably cursing you!" Ian looked at the remnant soul of Voldemort staring at him with venom, stepped forward and stomped on the face of the remnant soul of Voldemort.
It was originally shaped like a nose.
Instantly, Ian stepped on it, turning it into a noseless face in a "limited-edition style".
"Tom, you really are a born bad seed! I kindly took you on a long voyage, and you didn't even appreciate it. I didn't even ask you for the voyage fee. Your other soul fragments certainly wouldn't be willing to pay for it for you."
Ian kicked Voldemort's head several times, as if it were a soccer ball.
"Kick him into the Black Sea, and the waters will carry him away." Rowena Ravenclaw stroked her damaged crown, seemingly without any sign of distress.
It's just a bit of a shame.
"Where will you take him?" Ian kicked Voldemort for a while, then stepped on Voldemort's head and looked curiously at the endless black sea outside the island.
"Wherever Helbo is, that's where he'll go, never to see the light of day again, and with no future. That's the price of a Horcrux." Rowena Ravenclaw seemed to know a lot about Horcruxes.
"That sounds terrible, but—I don't think it's terrible enough?" Ian looked down at the head at his feet, Voldemort's resentful eyes seemed to want to devour him alive.
If you still have hands.
He probably wanted to unleash ten, no, twenty times the "melon-eating" spell on Ian right then and there. As for why he didn't use other magic, it was naturally because Voldemort had a deep love for "melon-eating."
"Not enough?" Rowena Ravenclaw looked Ian up and down.
Ian nodded.
"I've played with him for so long, and he still glares at me—"
His voice carried a hint of resentment.
Rowena Ravenclaw was stunned for a long time.
"Are you sure you're not lying to me? Is he really the dark lord who plagues humanity?" Rowena
Ravenclaw's voice had a slightly strange quality to it.
"Your wisdom is unparalleled, can't you see how evil he is?" Ian lifted the volcano's head and tugged at the dark mist beneath it.
It's somewhat viscous.
But it can also touch upon the essence.
Rowena Ravenclaw watched his actions, remained silent for a long time.
"Oh, right, there's something I almost forgot to tell you. It's that he deceived your daughter's feelings and tricked her out of your crown, turning it into a Horcrux."
"The crown is a minor matter, and I tolerated it. What I cannot tolerate is his behavior. Because of his deception, poor Lady Grey has been crying at Hogwarts for decades."
Ian, filled with righteous indignation, recounted Voldemort's crimes.
At last.
He added, "I think Ms. Grey's reluctance to enter the dreamlike realm is also related to his deception. Ms. Grey, feeling guilty, must also feel ashamed to face you."
What evil intentions could a little wizard possibly have?
He just likes to tattle.
Rowena Ravenclaw's expression did not change.
She gently raised her hand.
Countless grains of sand formed pictures in mid-air, like three-dimensional images, which, in Ian's eyes, seemed to be a kind of truth being repeatedly and completely revealed.
"If you flipped through your textbooks before the start of the semester, you should know the story of the five-legged monster. This means that Transfiguration can actually have a lot of room for exploration on the level of the soul."
Rowena Ravenclaw took the crown and was about to go inside.
"You still have some time. Learn it, little raven." The founding leader's voice held a deeper meaning.
Yet the reason remains elusive.
"Are you planning to stay, Crown?"
Although Ian felt a little regretful, it was, after all, the item had been returned to its rightful owner.
"Yes, that's right. Without this special key, the next time you want to find me, you'll have to cross your country and fly over the Black Sea that isolates everything."
Rowena Ravenclaw's words were somewhat inexplicable.
My country?
Ian frowned slightly.
"fly?"
He was also very puzzled by this.
"Become a raven—of course you can. If you can fly to me, I will repair and remodel this crown, and give it the true meaning a crown should have."
The words fell.
The door to the cabin was then closed.
On a desolate, deserted island.
Only Ian, with Voldemort's head still under his foot, remained standing in the wind.
He was completely bewildered, while Voldemort's remnant soul, covered in filth and mud, was suspended in mid-air, the scroll formed from the sand still silently illustrating the knowledge from Rowena Ravenclaw.
[You have observed the evolution of the origins of Transfiguration; your Transfiguration proficiency has increased by 16.]
[You have observed the evolution of the origins of Transfiguration; your Transfiguration proficiency has increased by 32.]
[You have observed the evolution of the origins of Transfiguration; your Transfiguration proficiency has increased by 11.]
An unprecedented moment of profound enlightenment!
As Ian's eyes reflected those sand paintings, he seemed to follow the ancestors who were born at the beginning of magic, from the very first "spark" to the magnificent raging fire.
Know how.
It is being understood and digested by Ian in ways he never imagined.
"You're not allowed to look, this is for me." In the midst of his epiphany, Ian didn't forget to stomp Voldemort's remnant soul face down into the mud.
The clock is ticking.
Little by little.
Fast or slow.
It has no specific measurable standard; it's just a feeling. Ian was immersed in the joy of continuous gains, and half a day passed by in a flash.
Polymorph (Level 5) 32/1600
When extraordinary skills are enhanced within this legacy that spans millennia and transcends life and death, the special gift that Ian has been longing for is also born.
Congratulations! Your skill has reached level 5, granting you an extraordinary trait.
The information on the panel is being updated.
Its extraordinary characteristic, named "Shaping All Things," is clearly visible.
As the name suggests.
It allows Ian to apply Transfiguration to anything, including souls and life itself. Most importantly, it will grant Ian the power to defy Gump's fundamental Transfiguration laws!
"Except for the rule of creating something from nothing, which remains unshaken, the other four rules are as meaningless to me." Ian was unable to bring the wand into this world.
He didn't know the reason.
But he also doesn't need a wand to transform souls.
"My own unique nature allows me to manipulate souls with my own hands—" Ian grabbed the remnant soul of Voldemort from the ground.
He began his experiment after making rapid progress. "This is Lady Ravenclaw's order. Blame it on you being a scumbag." Ian took advantage of Voldemort's mute remnant soul, constantly kneading it.
The power of concepts is at play.
Voldemort's remnant soul sensed that his very essence was being distorted.
however.
But he was powerless to do anything about it.
Even the hint of resentment in his eyes had been swiftly captured by Ian. A moment later,
Ian placed a slug with a noseless Riddle face on the ground.
It wriggled, trying to get away from Ian.
"Quack quack quack~"
The Chocolate Frog, given "life" by Rowena Ravenclaw, was immediately captivated and began relentlessly chasing after Voldemort's slug.
It has no tongue.
There was no way to swallow the slug.
But this didn't stop the frog's instincts from driving it to keep chasing Voldemort. To avoid being trampled underfoot by a chocolate frog, Voldemort could only frantically wriggle and flee.
From now on, your name will be Spike.
Ian named the chocolate frog.
He turned and looked at the cabin.
The gate is already closed.
The window was positioned so that the view inside was not clear.
"Thank you for your guidance."
Ian bowed slightly.
The figure began to fade away in the hazy illusion.
He didn't know.
On the other side of the cabin window, Rowena Ravenclaw stood there, silently watching him, until he disappeared from the deserted island that hadn't been visited for who knows how many years.
"An unexpected surprise. The little raven from back then actually flew out a miracle, and now, fate has brought him back to me once again."
Rowena Ravenclaw murmured softly, her thoughts drifting back to many, many years ago.
The end of all life in the mortal world is death, but before death comes, wizards have more choices to prolong or escape it.
however.
Only the wise can see through it.
All means are merely futile delaying tactics.
Death may be postponed, but it will always come. And when the moment of death truly arrives...
That was the last choice wizards had to face in the mortal world.
Rowena Ravenclaw chose to take a step forward, and the raven, who had made a pact with the family, arrived as promised, carrying her across the mountains and the land of the dead to the Black Sea.
This is a reunion after many years.
Some doubts have been resolved.
This has brought new questions.
"A contract that spans centuries, is it for the present, or—the future?" Rowena Ravenclaw turned to look at the dilapidated crown he had placed beside him.
"I understand so much, but I just can't fully understand fate—" She gently opened another bag of chocolate frogs and took out the treasured card from it with a complicated expression.
The lifelike figures on it seem to move as if they were alive.
"A thousand years in this mortal world, tell me, where has fate taken you this time?" Rowena Ravenclaw seemed unsurprised by the character she had created from Chocolate Frog.
On the card.
A man in black robes crossed his arms, his expression stubborn and arrogant, laughing wildly.
"I'd rather you didn't care about us than do something foolish—my friend, Salazar."