Support me and be 20 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
******
Furious and cursing, Harry, who had appeared drained just a second ago, suddenly lunged forward like a cheetah. He swallowed a potion he had prepared in advance. The capsule in his mouth was designed for a minuscule dose of the ultimate life potion, which required only a drop. To truly enhance his abilities, he would need to gulp down copious amounts.
Snape's potion had a horrifically disgusting taste that, after layering, became utterly unbearable. Even the well-prepared Harry stumbled a step back after drinking it. The concentrated essence of centaur spices couldn't mask the awful flavor, a blend of power-enhancing potions, toughness potions, and concentrated energy potions that defied description.
The taste assaulted his mouth and brain, almost driving him to despair. If it weren't for the Philosopher's Stone being a reward he was determined to obtain, he would never consider drinking such a horrific concoction.
Even death seemed somewhat pale in comparison to the torturous ordeal.
However, the immense boost provided by these powerful potions was extraordinary. For the next two minutes, Harry would be like a small superhero from Hogwarts, capable of tearing apart a Frost Tyrant's offspring. Apart from Hagrid, who could still punch him into oblivion, no one at Hogwarts would dare to engage him in close combat.
This was the worst-case scenario for Harry, and he had created his strongest trump card.
His expanded body made his wand appear somewhat small, but it didn't hinder his normal use.
He sprinted out faster than the demon centurion, and while running, he pointed casually, causing the transformed floor to rise into a rough stone wall. This was a basic application of Transfiguration, reshaping material without altering its properties. Such a simple shape change could theoretically be maintained permanently; however, unless the transformed object was inherently pliable like modeling clay, once the magical energy dissipated, the altered form would almost always revert to its original shape.
A one-meter-thick wall of blue stone now stood before the centurion. However, this solid barrier was suddenly shattered by a thunderous punch. The demons, whose skin was composed of hard magical minerals, possessed formidable strength. Some demons had skin made of magical ores with special properties, giving them greater resistance to magic than their counterparts.
The flying debris left Harry in a bit of a predicament, as a boulder the size of a human head whizzed past him, creating a dent in the wall far behind.
"Miscalculation," Harry realized immediately, noticing that the centurion, unable to catch up with him, had raised the remaining half of the stone wall to use as a projectile.
If he were hit by such a heavy object, even after drinking the toughness potion, Harry would end up with broken bones.
"Turn stone to mud!"
Just as the broken wall was released, it met Harry's spell. However, a third party intervened forcefully; a counter-curse from Voldemort directly negated Harry's spell. Though Voldemort needed to conserve his strength and preferred not to intervene, such a minor spell was an acceptable expenditure of energy for him.
"Damn!"
Harry barely managed to dodge the boulder as he leapt out of the way. Just as he was about to land, a sharp stone spike suddenly shot out. As the Dark Lord, it was only natural to take underhanded measures while watching from the sidelines, right?
Yet, he didn't end up impaled; the sharp spike couldn't penetrate Harry's skin. Having learned from his previous experiences, Harry avoided delivering a reckless punch that could cause serious harm. The pain and itching from his body's repair and healing would diminish his performance. While he could fight the Frost Tyrant without much thought, he couldn't afford to be careless against anything else.
Ignoring Voldemort's underhanded tactics, Harry sprinted towards the *Mirror of Erised*. A gust of wind rushed past him as the centurion who had grabbed his companion as ammunition abandoned the pursuit. Yet, it was clear that it wouldn't give up on the Philosopher's Stone.
Harry didn't understand why this group of demons craved the Philosopher's Stone within the mirror so desperately. Even if he didn't want it for himself, he was determined not to let them succeed, especially since he needed the stone.
The Philosopher's Stone possesses *forty-nine* unique effects, two of which are particularly suited for Harry:
1. The Philosopher's Stone, having lost its unique magical essence, can be transformed into a vast magical crystal, serving as a power source for ultra-heavy alchemical machinery. It can even create a small, sustained magical enrichment zone for several hours on the battlefield, effectively transforming Harry into a top-tier support mage. Magic is ammunition for wizards! This ultimate power bank is precisely what Harry needs right now. With it, he can instantly compensate for his lack of magical energy without having to wait for years.
2. The magic contained within the Philosopher's Stone can assist a wizard in achieving a permanent form of magical shaping. In simpler terms, the magic in the stone can greatly facilitate the process of becoming an Animagus. Its unique magic carries an "eternal" trait, allowing the Animagus transformation to go beyond that of an ordinary creature. By adding a drop of magical creature blood to the Animagus potion, a wizard can transform into a specified magical creature. While they won't retain all of its inherent abilities—only a portion may be selected, and some could even be severely weakened—retaining the creature's appearance would already be astonishing. The first stage of the Animagus form significantly impacts the strength of the second stage.
Just choosing a specific transformation form is already formidable. If Harry were to add dragon blood, even without retaining any of the dragon's innate abilities—like the power of flight—he could still emerge from the second stage of Animagus transformation as a half-dragon!
While there are many other intriguing uses, such as consuming it for permanent physical enhancement, Harry, who had already committed to mastering Animagus transformation, was not interested in other extravagant options. In the Soviet Union, he had witnessed a human-sized being engage the Frost Tyrant in close combat—an endeavor only a true man could undertake. He was determined to experience that for himself.
However, the demons also desired the Philosopher's Stone, perhaps even more than Harry did!
Faced with the demon centurion's projectile-like attack, Harry had no way to dodge; the trajectory was aimed not just at him but directly at the *Mirror of Erised*!
If he stepped aside, the mirror and the stone within would undoubtedly fall into their hands. Harry couldn't guarantee that the demons wouldn't get the Philosopher's Stone, which Voldemort had failed to obtain. They were aware of its presence and likely possessed abilities he was unaware of!
With no retreat available, Harry was forced to abandon his white ivory wand. His bulging muscles tensed, and in the moment of turning, he delivered a punch that felt like it weighed several tons. The toughness potion had granted him resilient skin, but upon impact, his flesh tore open, exposing bone, and tiny cracks appeared on his knuckles.
A sharp, clear sound echoed in Harry's ears as he witnessed the complete shattering of the bone in his right arm.
The searing pain nearly made him faint; the centurion's strength exceeded his expectations. It was a terrifying beast with at least half of Hagrid's strength—something Harry couldn't hope to confront.
Grinding his teeth, he crushed a capsule, and the effects of the ultimate life potion kicked in swiftly, despite its horrendous taste. His limp right arm visibly began to heal, and as he crashed onto the sharp, thorny trap set by Voldemort, his arm had already stopped bleeding. Fragments of shattered bone were pushed out by the mending muscle.
His gaze, filled with murderous intent, swept over Voldemort's position. Harry gathered his strength and shattered the thorny stone chains binding him, then, without hesitation, turned towards the *Mirror of Erised*.
This time, he saw his reflection again. The reflection smiled slightly and raised its right arm in a throwing gesture. Almost completely healed, Harry raised his own arm, feeling a weight in his palm as a rough stone, the size of a ping-pong ball, suddenly dropped into his hand.
"Here's the potion!"
With the Philosopher's Stone stuffed into his mouth, Harry spoke with a garbled voice, his face twisting into a sinister grin.
"I'll smash through the tower door and then take you down, little Voldy!"
The ebony wood revealed its fangs. Although Harry rarely used it in front of others, this was also a weapon made from the heartstrings of a great lord, far from ordinary in appearance.
Dark chaos enveloped the weapon, etching strange patterns that contrasted sharply with the white ivory.
(End of Chapter)