Chapter 13: The new Hogwarts
As I regained consciousness, I noticed that I was on the couch in the Room of Requirement. I had lived on this couch for months now. Some may wonder, "Why not a bed? You're in a room that's built to be its own independent reality!" Well, for one, I usually sleep with my Grimoire in hand or on the floor after exhausting fight simulations. Also, beds are for deep sleep. Somewhere along the way, I created an association in my mind that being on a bed means I'll sleep for a long time. No matter; I actually don't need to sleep—I can substitute it with meditation. And with my body getting stronger the more natural energy I purify, I believe that in the near future, I will abandon the need for daily sleep—but that's neither here nor there. I need to check on what's happening with the ritual and whether it's already complete. Yesterday, I squeezed everything to kickstart the ritual and passed out from exhaustion. I'm still disoriented, and I need water. Flicking my hand, I sprayed water all over myself and drank a little. Ahh, that was refreshing.
Now, let me check the time first; I want to know how long I've been out. My Grimoire materialized, showing me that I had been out for 15 hours. How is it possible that I slept this long and still feel like crap? I don't know. Something must have gone wrong somewhere. I have to check on Hogwarts before I start investigating what happened.
I sent a pulse of magic to inquire about what transpired and if the ritual was a success. The information was quickly imprinted in my mind, and now I know for sure that something went wrong. You see, nothing can imprint information into a person's mind unless they are connected to it in some way, and I believe I have messed up. Turned out I made a mistake yesterday by squeezing everything to jumpstart the ritual without paying attention to the small amount of Null energy that had slipped through after exhausting everything.
Some may wonder, "How can you exhaust your magic? You should have plenty of it." I do, but I wrote a ton of Runes yesterday. Did you think that writing, carving, or whatever method is used to write Runes was just like putting ink to paper? If it were that easy, we would have Muggles and cultists performing rituals every hour. And before you start talking about the demonic stuff that Muggles sometimes succeed in doing, you need to understand that the Demonic magical system is very different—it converts any energy used into demonic energy, be it life, soul, or whatever type of energy is involved.
Anyway, let's return to the mess I created. I was successful in converting Hogwarts into a semi-Divine artifact. I had also somehow managed to bond it with myself and, by association, the planet. The pros of this is that I can now use Hogwarts as a conduit to purify nature, which I have been doing passively, no one can bond himself to it now, etc. The cons is that I have just restricted my freedom a little bit, and I'm still figuring out the rest. Eh,I have a felling it'll work out. Now I have to go and free the Aurors who arrived to investigate the commotion, the professors who are also in the same situation, and let's not forget the esteemed headmaster. Ugh, I wish I had stayed asleep. I got ready quickly, took my wand, and with my Grimoire floating by my side, I donned my robe and went out.
Arriving in the hall, I was greeted by the sharp inhaling sounds of different students, the crushing hug of one Hermione Granger, followed by another from Luna Lovegood. The yelling of professors and the still-bound Aurors filled the room.
I clapped my hands once, using magic to hush everyone. I freed myself from the girls' grasp and assured them that we would talk later. I looked at the crowd before starting to move into the center of the hall, where a chair materialized in front of me. I sat down, a treacherous voice in my mind yelling, 'Yes, this is how you leave a lasting impression!' Ignoring it, I began to speak. "I heard you have some questions about what happened?" My voice was smooth and calm. I removed the silencing spell from Professor Flitwick and Pomona Sprout, as well as from two Aurors—one of whom I believed was named Tonks, but I couldn't remember the name of the man. I recognized his face from my trial but nothing else.
"Excellent charms work, Harry. Truly excellent work! I would reward you 100 points if we were in class," Professor Flitwick's first words came as soon as the spell lifted, only to be scolded by Professor Sprout, who yelled, "Filius, this is not the time!"
I laughed. Truly, this is what it means to be dedicated to your work. "Thank you, Professor. I'll tell you how I did it later," I said with a smile, only to hear the Auror raise his voice, saying, " Harry Potter, you are under arrest. We will be taking you into custody and questioning you in…" He couldn't finish because he was hit by a very empowered stunning spell that sent him flying back a few meters.
"Anyone else stupid enough to start running their mouth like him? Hmmm?" I asked with a soft smile, looking at the terrified faces of the other Aurors. The spell was so fast that he couldn't react before it hit him in the face. "Excellent stunning charm, Harry…" Professor Flitwick began, only to be silenced by a venomous look from Professors McGonagall and Sprout.
I chuckled softly at the situation, relaxing in my chair and glancing at the people in front of me. I gestured for Tonks to speak.
"Um, Harry, I think we all want to know what happened to the castle. The amount of magic that was released yesterday was enormous. What are you doing here? Did you have anything to do with what happened?" she asked in quick succession. With a soft smile, I began to answer.
"Well, where to begin? Ah, I know. I have been here since I got out of Azkaban. What I'm doing here is what everyone should be doing—studying magic, researching it, and practicing it. It's a really stupid question if you ask me, but eh, what can you do? It happens sometimes. As for the amount of magical discharge, I honestly couldn't tell you; I've been passed out since I started the ritual. Now, if you want to know what happened in detail, you're going to need to swear an Unbreakable Vow. But if you just want the child-friendly version, then I tampered with Dumbledore's long-prepared ritual and turned it into a ritual that evolved Hogwarts into what it was meant to be—a refuge and a magical school for wizardkind to study, research magic, practice it, and live without outside interference. From now on, Hogwarts is completely independent; the new rules will be provided to everyone here. Just a small warning: don't break the rules. The punishments are severe, depending on which rule is broken. I'm also here to inform you that by tomorrow, every book that was ever taken from Hogwarts will be in the library. Now, is that all, or do you have another question?"
"Harry, how did this happen? What can you tell us about the ritual? You know rituals are a very dangerous subject," Professor Sprout asked before Tonks could speak.
"Ah, right! I will inform you about the ritual once the Aurors leave and I retrieve the still-bound Dumbledore. You will have to swear an Unbreakable Vow, and that's not up for negotiation. And yes, especially you, Snape—you will have to swear every kind of vow there is, or you'll be staying in this castle until you die. And believe me, that won't take long, not with that slave mark you have anyway." I answered them before unbinding the rest of the Aurors, only for one of them to take his wand and try to curse me. I should have known that stupidity knows no bounds. I sent him hurling back with a wave of my hand, and now we have two sleeping Aurors. I looked at the rest; they were behaving well. "Take them with you and be on your way. I have lifted the apparition restrictions, so you can apparate from here," I said to them, and they moved quickly. The only sound left was the popping sound of air displacement left by their departure.
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