Harry Potter: Magic and Guns

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Another healing potion was roughly injected into her heart by Harry. Without a slow-release agent, the potion quickly spread through her bloodstream, flowing to every part of her body. With practiced hands, Harry carefully realigned her bones, ensuring the fractured ones returned to their proper positions.

In less than ten seconds, the broken ragdoll-like figure lying on the operating table had regained its human form. Once her jawbone was restored, the seemingly lifeless body let out a few muffled murmurs.

It seemed like she was coughing, as she expelled a mouthful of dark, tainted blood.

"Did someone send you to kill me?"

Harry gently wiped the blood from her lips and asked the first question, his tone calm.

"Yes."

A cold, detached voice responded, and Cassandra's unfocused eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. The effects of the Veritaserum were now fully in play.

"It was Voldemort."

"Call him Tom," Dumbledore's voice interrupted abruptly. "Names can be protected by magic. Sometimes, we need to be cautious," he added, glancing at Harry and speaking softly.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry nodded, acknowledging the reminder. "I was careless."

Dumbledore's foresight was sharper than Harry's. In the Muggle world, simply saying someone's name wouldn't result in much. However, in the magical world, it was different. They couldn't rule out the possibility that, upon Cassandra speaking Voldemort's name, some sort of safeguard, left on her by Voldemort, could be triggered.

Harry wasn't easily manipulated. The events of the previous year had already forced Voldemort to take him seriously. However, what Voldemort hadn't anticipated was how quickly Harry had grown. Harry had never bothered to follow the traditional wizard path. Honestly, his magical abilities were still nowhere near as refined as they could be—but he had learned that brute force sometimes worked better than spells.

Voldemort had underestimated Harry's potential. Even though he had used his own "genius" template to predict Harry's future, the two of them were on completely different paths. Even the smallest misjudgment would lead to drastically different outcomes. Dumbledore could never fully predict Harry's unpredictable behavior. Voldemort, in this case, was even more out of his depth than Dumbledore.

With Dumbledore's guidance, Harry continued the questioning methodically. The Veritaserum was highly effective, as it was a product of Snape's work. Despite its foul taste, the potion's benefits were clear, and Harry was now able to gather vital information from Cassandra.

Through patient questioning by both the older and younger wizards, the entire story was pieced together, complemented by Dumbledore's masterful Legilimency. What emerged was a clear, coherent tale.

"Professor, I don't know if you've ever read Journey to the West, but I didn't expect that this strong, rugged guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes like me would be seen by Tom as the delicate, youthful monk Xuánzàng, someone whose flesh would make him immortal."

Harry twisted his mouth in a half-smile, mockingly chuckling to himself.

Voldemort had indeed come up with a clever plan, and he had made thorough preparations for it. If his target had not been Harry, but someone else at Hogwarts, it was possible Dumbledore would have been caught off guard. No one expected that Voldemort had managed to find a way to transfer the basilisk's death curse into Nagini.

The ability to kill with a mere gaze was a subtle and ruthless method, more difficult to defend against than the Killing Curse. Only creatures with natural resistance to Dark Magic, such as Phoenixes or Unicorns, would have the chance to survive. Wizards, on the other hand—whose physical strength and magical talent were far inferior to magical creatures—had no hope of fighting back.

Perhaps the awakened could resist such a lethal curse, but Harry wasn't sure if he could survive it himself.

"I haven't read it, but I'll look for it later," Dumbledore said, his curiosity piqued. "Eating human flesh to gain immortality? That's quite a strange tale."

"It's a mythological novel—there's all kinds of stuff in it. I guess the English version might be hard to find, but I heard, Professor, that you speak over a hundred languages. Have you learned Chinese?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"A little," Dumbledore gestured lightly. "I can manage basic communication. I occasionally attend the International Wizarding Federation's meetings, and one of the official languages is Chinese."

"I've even learned some of their spells."

"Really? Teach me some," Harry's curiosity was sparked. Professor Flitwick had once told him that different countries used different media to cast spells, but the actual incantations varied greatly. Even if the magic had the same effect, its manifestation and principles could be quite different. However, with four months until the next Duelling Championship, Harry wouldn't be meeting any foreign wizards anytime soon.

"Ahem~"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the ceiling of the headmaster's office opened up, revealing the starry night sky.

He drew his Elder Wand, but instead of transfiguring it into his usual Desert Eagle, he transformed it into a sword with no scabbard.

"I learned this when I attended an Ancient Magic Exchange Conference. Though they no longer use these kinds of spells, I think this method of casting magic is cooler than a gun."

Dumbledore twirled the sword in a graceful flourish, though the style was more suited to European fencing than traditional dueling techniques, giving it a slightly odd feel.

"I've heard they also have a tool called a sword sheath, not like a regular magazine. It's used to launch flying swords. But this works too."

The night wind blew through the air, lifting Dumbledore's robes. At first glance, he truly looked like an ancient sage with white hair and a beard, exuding an air of ethereal wisdom. He spoke, his voice smooth and clear, in perfect standard Mandarin, almost like a news announcer.

"Great Heavenly Expanse, transform into Divine Thunder, dazzling Heavenly Might, and let the sword lead it!"

A translucent curtain of lightning enveloped his body, and with a thunderous clap from the clear sky, a sword surrounded by crackling lightning shot out. A flash of silver streaked across the night, igniting a brilliant silver firework in the sky.

"Divine Sword Thunderous True Technique." Dumbledore placed one hand behind his back and made a gesture with his other hand, summoning the long sword that had just shot out back into his grasp.

"Quite fascinating, isn't it?" The white-bearded old man, who had moments ago exuded an otherworldly air, was now back to being the familiar headmaster of Hogwarts. "Ancient magic may not be as refined as modern magic, but it's certainly captivating."

He patted Harry, who was still wide-eyed with astonishment, and smiled warmly. "The world is vast, Harry. England is but a small corner of the magical world. If you get the chance, traveling and seeing more of it is always a good thing."

"Wow!"

Harry, slow to come to his senses, was still a little dazed. He truly hadn't expected this kind of spectacle.

"So what about the ancient magic in Europe?" he asked, turning to Dumbledore with curiosity in his eyes. This was far more interesting than the information about Nagini. Voldemort's schemes weren't nearly as fun as this magical knowledge.

"Well, for that, you would need to chant in Old English. Because of the structure of the language, ancient magic in Europe has mostly been lost to time, so you wouldn't understand it. But I'll translate for you."

Dumbledore took hold of a longbow. Harry had expected him to pull out some large double-handed wand, but after a brief thought, he realized that the flying sword had a sheath capable of shooting it. In this world of magic, Dumbledore pulling out a slingshot was more likely than him wielding a double-handed wand.

Dumbledore placed his hand on the bowstring. To Harry's surprise, the arm beneath his rolled-up sleeve was not frail and thin, but instead surprisingly strong, with a muscular, angular quality. He was clearly a man of hidden talents.

"Something darker than dusk, something redder than blood, appear in the flow of time."

Dumbledore slowly pulled the bowstring, and faint black and red glimmers intertwined, forming a slender arrow.

"Under the great #￥*& name, I swear in the darkness, to eliminate all foolishness before us, uniting our strength to grant them equal destruction."

He released the bowstring, and a thin beam of black-and-red light shot out. However, nothing else seemed to happen.

"Ancient magic in Europe often relied on the power of 'Outer Gods,' powerful magical entities that wizards had created. They are somewhat like the 'Dread' figures, though they were special beings collectively created by many wizards. These entities helped wizards cast spells more effectively, though there were side effects. The spell I just used was one of the ancient prayer incantations. Since those Outer Gods no longer exist, the magic's power is much weaker. A thousand years ago, this spell could have killed a young Fire Dragon in one strike."

Dumbledore lowered the bow and explained carefully.

"It may sound powerful, and it is, but aside from the power, it has many flaws. Wizards in ancient times always struggled against the Abyss, which was due in part to the crude methods of casting magic used with ancient spells."

"This is what we need to learn now," Dumbledore added, raising his hand and waving his Desert Eagle in front of Harry. "Just because something is ancient doesn't mean it's powerful. The world is always growing and changing. What survives the test of time is the true treasure."

"Alright, the time for casual conversation is over." A small note appeared in front of Dumbledore, surrounded by gold and red phoenix flames. He reached out and grabbed it. After a glance, he nodded. "Newt's reply has arrived. Albania was indeed the last place Nagini was known to be."

"They are the same person."

Dumbledore fell silent for a moment, walking over to Nagini's side and letting out a quiet sigh.

"What do you plan to do now, Harry?" he asked, looking up at Harry, who had now dropped his playful demeanor and was serious.

"Of course—" Harry flashed a warm smile, his teeth gleaming as if shining. "Send him on his way."

(End of Chapter)