"That's not mine, I just borrowed it temporarily." Harry said after hesitating a moment, "I had returned it to Headmaster Dumbledore last night."
"Returned it to Dumbledore last-" Grindelwald looked at Harry in bewilderment, "You mean it was originally his?"
"Yes, Professor." Harry said stiffly.
"Why did Dumbledore lend it to you?"
"I think it's because, er, because I have a bit of a health problem and that ring would help me with that. But I don't need it now." Harry said vaguely, could it be that Professor Bagshot had guessed something? It was him who had taken the initiative to bring up this topic, perhaps he recognized the Resurrection Stone? But how is that possible ... Just as Harry was thinking about it, Grindelwald lightly brushed off the subject.
"Yes, you haven't been in class for a while." Grindelwald said after a long while as he stared blankly at the fire in the fireplace. " It turns out ... it turns out to be because of that."
Harry suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Professor Bagshot had probably known all along that the stone embedded in the ring is the Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows, and perhaps it was due to his own negligence, as he had worn it to the great hall after leaving the hospital wing yesterday, and during that time it might have been recognized by Professor Bagshot. It seemed that Professor Bagshot was more concerned about who owned the ring than the ring itself.
"Well, what you are thinking is right, Harry, I have a rough idea of what it is." Grindelwald snapped back to his senses and said in an increasingly calm tone, "Decades ago - Grindelwald had sent some people to investigate the whereabouts of three Deathly Hallows, and I was one of the people who was involved and knew more about it. I was worried that you had simply obtained it by chance, or that it had been given to you by someone with an ulterior motive ... but since it was Dumbledore ..."
He didn't continue any further, as if he had thought the Resurrection Stone would be safe in Dumbledore's hands, and he raised his tone slightly.
"Well, let's skip this interesting interlude. Harry, have a biscuit-" Harry picked up a biscuit. "I have heard that your Patronus is quite unique, and it's not only incredibly powerful, but it can also launch physical attacks?"
"Yes, Professor." Harry said as he slightly cheered up. He tried his best not to think about his half-written book about Patronus Charm, which had been mostly written and is currently stalled in progress as he had lost interest.
"Then you must be aware of the importance of a strong belief to a wizard."
"Is that - what?" Harry looked at him uncomprehendingly.
"Belief, Harry." Grindelwald repeated it slowly, and said, "Wizards who dwell deeper into magic, at a certain point will all move from specific spells to thinking about some very broad concepts, but that is only an outward appearance; in fact, they are interpreting their own understanding of the nature of magic."
"An interpretation of the nature of magic." Harry repeated thoughtfully.
"That's right, the magic that we are born with. So if you want to achieve something, then everything that has anything to do with it - things such as the amount of magic, the control over it, the way it transforms, the integration of beliefs and intents ... these are the things you should pursue for the rest of your life."
Grindelwald explained in a soft, measured voice.
Harry let out a light breath, he suddenly became enlightened, and he felt that many unclear questions from the past had been solved.
...
"It is love. All the mysteries of magic are hidden in love."
In the Headmaster's office, Snape closed his eyes, as if he was bored with this rhetoric. "I'm tired of hearing it, Dumbledore. What I would like to know more is that, for what reason did you call me into your office ... once again after eight months of not hearing a word from you?"
Dumbledore shook his head slightly.
"I can hear the complaints, Severus, and you know there is no way I would agree to let you enter the Classroom Seven."
"Ah yes, you are afraid that I will kill him on impulse." Snape said coldly, "He's still useful - that is what you told me, but I didn't see any progress."
"About Harry-"
"He's still a Horcrux, I went to visit him ... at the hospital wing while he was in a coma." Snape's voice became slightly agitated, "I remember you saying that you are working on it, what did you manage to achieve?"
"As a matter of fact," Dumbledore said calmly, "I've got full assurance of dealing with it. The question is ... when, and what else preparations are needed." He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
"Full assurance?"
"That's right."
Snape seemed completely baffled as he looked at him coldly, and then he stood up and walked around the table to Dumbledore.
"Prepare? What preparations?" Snape asked after some time. "And," he glared at the white wand in Dumbledore's hand with obvious distaste, "why didn't you destroy it?"
"I'm afraid it's still useful, Severus."
Snape's expression changed to one of apparent vigilance.
"Who do you want to give it to? It belongs to the Dark Lord, not some little snotty kid!"
"That question doesn't trouble me, Severus. It's the other wand that's really giving me a headache, and I can't make up my mind yet ... Well, perhaps it's too soon to even think about it, and I'm barely holding it together." Dumbledore said as he shot a look at Snape as if to say, yes, I'm using it as a measure against you.
Snape's face darkened, and he wanted to swear a couple of profanities now.
"What has Felix been up to lately?" Dumbledore changed the subject.
"He borrowed the research materials on wolfsbane potion from me some time ago." Snape said, "Looks like he's ready to tackle one of the many problems that plague the entire wizarding community."
"An exuberant thirst for research," Dumbledore commented with appreciation, "Where's Valen?"
"The Niffler?" Snape glared up, "Is it vital and important enough information to you?"
Dumbledore winked at him happily.
"She is perfectly all right and well-loved by all." Snape said simply and dryly. Seeing the satisfied look on Dumbledore's face, he opened his mouth, "Dumbledore, I don't understand why you would care about a-"
"Oh Severus, it's a hard feeling to describe, I suggest you try getting a pet yourself. My recommendation would be a parrot, you could teach it to talk."
Snape turned his head with a blank expression and followed Dumbledore's amused gaze over to Fawkes, who was pecking through the fish bones and said with an odd expression, "I don't know if I am making an exact comparison - but I did try to name a few Billywig insects after you when I was handling them, and I have to say I got an indescribable sense of satisfaction ..."
...
The new week started with a clear sky and a beautiful day.
The Ancient Rune Classroom.
"Rule number twelve, the same ancient magic has the possibility of fusion under certain conditions, the fusion is unchanged in its effects with an increased range of action." Felix smiled, "Your task in this class is to test this theory and to record your personal insights during practice."
The students moved around and divided into groups of three or two.
"With what ancient magic?" Ron asked.
"Whatever," Harry said with a yawn, "we're only allowed to use teaching magic in class anyway."
Teaching magic, another new term coined by Professor Hap, and many of the students remembered what the professor had said when he had explained it to them, "True ancient magic - especially that of an offensive nature - is too dangerous to be taught, unless it is necessary to be taught in the classroom, I will only be teaching you supporting and defensive type of magic ... such as the illumination and flight magic you have learned before, in addition to which I have developed a series of magic runes specifically for everyday teaching and practice."
"Specifically, I have subtly transformed and replaced some of the modern spells with ancient magic runes, which will also enable you to understand the second rule more clearly: the general principle of casting all magic - including ancient magic - is to remain in harmony."
The two men chose the Snowflake-making spell. In no time at all, a cloud of snow formed in their hands, and they carefully brought them closer, "Wait, I can see the rune sequence, I guess not." Harry said.
"Okay." Ron pondered for a moment, staring blankly at his hand and fighting with himself, and after ten seconds or so, the snow cloud in his hand finally no longer looked like a glowing cotton candy.
The two moved closer again, and this time the snow clouds fused together without any hindrance. They looked up and watched as a large snow cloud floated to the ceiling, and a vast white flurry of snow fell.
More people joined in and the snow cloud continued to expand, the flakes piling up thickly on the floor, but they soon ran into their match, as on the other side Seamus and Dean used their Runic Water-Making Spell to create a six or seven-foot long water dragon, with a few students standing around them all eager and ready to join in.
By the end of the class, the students' heads, eyebrows, and clothes were covered in frost, as if they had been freezing outside in the cold all day.
Then they shivered and rushed to their Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
Professor Bagshot led them to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and paused. "I was originally hoping to take you deeper into the Forbidden Forest, but my application was denied." He said rather regretfully, "Your task is to build yourselves a makeshift shelter out of whatever materials you can find nearby, plus find something to eat."
"Professor Bagshot, is this also a technique for hiding ourselves in Muggle society?"
"A very accurate description."
"But why don't we just go to a muggle shop and buy something to eat?" Ron muttered disgruntledly to Harry. Unfortunately, it was too loud and the professor heard what he had said, "Because you jump up and down with excitement when you saw a muggle paper money and also pointed at their music player and said, 'Hey, we have that over here too' - Mr. Weasley?"
Ron stopped talking and the other students who also had objections quickly calmed down.
The above example was taken from a couple of previous classes, where Professor Bagshot had used a similar style of class to Lockhart's theatre performance, except that the students had to split into two sides - one playing the role of the wary muggle and the other playing the role of the wizard disguised as a muggle - and start a conversation.
Of course, the student in charge of playing the muggle is given a few 'prompts', a small piece of parchment. In Hermione's words, it was a test topic, but Harry thought it was more like a little script with some very tricky language traps that many students fell for.
For example, Seamus was discussing about his favourite football player with someone, and then he ranted about Quidditch technical moves, dumbfounding the other person with his superior eloquence.
"... flies fast and well, swooping down from fifty feet!"
He had two inches more homework than anyone else that day.
Professor Bagshot asked Seamus to use the extra space to describe how the football players flew.
"Can those people use magic?" He asked courteously.
Unsurprisingly, the camping turned into a mess. Harry and Ron had dug a large hole in the ground with a Gouging Spell, and had fussily covered it with twigs and blades of grass, then hid inside to chat. When Neville came out to pick some wild fruit, he stepped over and crashed into Harry and Ron, hitting Harry's head so hard he had a big bump.
After Neville left in fear, they learned their lesson and cast a Caterwauling Charm and a Quietening Charm nearby, intending to muddle through until the end of class. As a result, they were bored after only half an hour, and with the odd scent in the air everywhere, they emerged from inside and both were surprised to find: that the other students were clearly more interested in the food and were feverishly busy at the moment.
Draco Malfoy was walking around with a disgusted look on his face, holding up a bunch of burnt mushrooms, Daphne Greengrass had shrewdly traded a bunch of wild flowers for two mashed potatoes from the others, Justine had dug up a nest of beetles, and several Ravenclaw girls had picked wild celery and mushrooms, and their harvest was not small. Harry and Ron passed Ernie Macmillan when they saw him quietly using a transfiguration spell to turn a stone on the ground into a rabbit.
"That's brilliant. I thought of a great idea." Ron said admiringly, then sneakily slipped away.
"Ron -"
Harry shouted, but Ron was gone. Worried about attracting attention, he had to call it quits and wandered around the area twice more without spotting the Professor, so he found Hermione. She was irritably dealing with her mushroom soup.
Harry darted a quick glance towards the contents of the pot and immediately lost his appetite.
"What do you think?" She asked with an expectant look on her face.
"Well-" Harry stammered, "It looks pretty good."
Hermione sighed and was just about to speak when someone shouted in the distance, "Found a stream, it's nearby, and there's fish in it!" With a loud clamour, half of the students dropped what they were doing and ran in that direction.
Harry tried his best not to look at the grey-brown mushroom soup beneath his eyes and politely suggested for Hermione to tag along to check it out, who looked sadly at the thing she had made and agreed without further struggle.
Harry and Hermione hadn't gone more than a few steps when they heard someone call their name from behind them. It was Ron, who came running over in a panic with a huge pumpkin in his arms, and panted, "That's too horrible, I got caught by Fang while I was leaving, and I heard Hagrid and Professor Bagshot talking."
"You didn't get a glimpse of their faces did you?" Harry asked apprehensively. Ron recalled it carefully for a moment, but he couldn't remember it clearly.
At lunchtime, the students were wolfing down their food, and they had a much better appetite than usual.
"Hey, Harry!" Luna called out cheerfully as she approached them when Harry and Ron were fighting over a serving of mashed potatoes. Her eyes lingered on Harry's hand for a few seconds, and she asked curiously, "Where's that beautiful ring of yours?"
"Ring, a ring?" Harry choked out. He was surprised to see Luna curling her eyes pleasantly and pointing to his left hand, which is now empty.
"Beautiful?" Ron called out.
Hermione didn't say anything, but her expression had clearly shown her attitude.
Harry's heart sank. This is the second person to notice that he didn't have a ring on his hand, and with his previous experience, he had become more sensitive to this topic. But Luna's focus was, as always, a little different from that of the normal people, and to be honest, he thought that even with the added reputation of the Resurrection Stone, that ring was far from beautiful.
It was crudely made, especially since its last two owners (not counting Voldemort) probably hadn't bothered to look after it properly.
"I saw you wearing it last Saturday," Luna affirmed, "just as we were going to have lunch in the great hall. You were surrounded by so many people at the time that you probably didn't see me pass you by."
"It wasn't mine, I gave it back to the original owner." Harry said vaguely.
"Oh." Luna sounded rather regretful, as she ran off to sit with Ginny.
Harry looked at her back and a thought popped into his mind out of nowhere, Luna had previously relayed Firenze's words - that she would pass by the Resurrection Stone. Now it looked perfectly in line with the Centaur Firenze's divination; Luna had indeed passed by him when he wore the Resurrection Stone ring.
But Headmaster Dumbledore had had it for a long time, hadn't he? Harry wondered, as he ate, about how many times the Headmaster and Luna had probably 'passed by' each other before him.
But Harry soon realized that he rarely seemed to see Dumbledore wearing that ring in public, especially this term ... "Hiss!" He suddenly sucked in his breath.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing." Harry replied at once, and was surprised by his own thoughts: could it be that Dumbledore had deliberately tried to hide it from Professor Bagshot? The information he had forgotten a long time ago was now resurfacing and constantly reminding him that the two men knew each other.
In the evening, Felix brought food to the werewolves who had been staying temporarily on the outskirts of the Hogsmeade village and made his way to the Three Broomsticks Inn just before ten o'clock in the night, and after a small drink, he noticed that the atmosphere was not quite right.
A tall man with an angular face and conspicuous blue-green eyes sat down opposite to him, and at the same time, a dozen pairs of eyes turned either explicitly or implicitly in his direction.
"Hello, Mr. Hap." The man said.
"Mr. Noel?" Felix smiled and looked around the room, moving his hand away from his goblet as he tapped the tabletop lightly. "So, a lot of parents like you got together to try to convince me to help your kids transfer schools? Well, you've come to the right person."
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