"Godric Gryffindor." Hermione said.

“？？？”

"What?" Owen stumbled, his left hand leaning on the handrail lost strength, the whole person stumbled a few steps towards the bridge, and after stabilizing his footing, he immediately turned his head and asked, "What did you say?" ”

"I say!" Hermione took a deep breath, looked at Owen, and said word for word, "I-received--G-Ran-Finn-Do-Trial." ”

"I'm throwing it!" Owen looked Hermione up and down, his eyes full of incredulity, "This-"

A lie told a thousand times becomes the truth?

"What Gryffindor? What trials? What are you talking about! Miss Granger's two pendants on the side asked urgently.

They scratched their ears and cheeks, and their intense curiosity was already overflowing.

Owen, on the other hand, looked at Hermione very seriously, and after confirming that the girl had not lied to him, he explained: "Okay, I won't talk about how you got the password to the headmaster's office, but - the Gryffindor sword on his bookshelf is actually just an ornament, and the real sword is not there?" ”

"Isn't Dumbledore's password the best guess?" Hermione smacked her lips, "So where's the real thing?" ”

"Where you will never find without me." Owen regained his footing, "Follow me." Then, he reached out and grabbed Hermione's arm.

The two of them ran towards the castle one after the other.

"Wait a minute!"

Behind the two of them, the heart-rending questions were still coming and going.

"So what exactly is the test?"

"What Gryffindor sword?"

"Is Hermione really the heir to Gryffindor?"

"Oh my God! Tell us about it! ”

It's a pity that the two of them didn't catch up after all.

Owen pulled Hermione through the hallway quickly.

The Hogwarts wizards of the past have long been surprised. On the contrary, the little wizards from other schools looked at them sideways one by one.

Miss Granger followed him.

The hair that had just been smoothed out was loose again.

The air is filled with a special scent of roses.

It was obviously a castle with a cold winter approaching, but suddenly spring was rippling.

With her head bowed, she silently followed Owen, and together they climbed the stone steps, through two oak doors, and onto the marble spiral staircase following the memories of the past countless times.

I don't know why she suddenly had the idea of casting an infinite stretch spell on the stone steps, maybe it would prolong their journey.

Five minutes later.

Everything came to an end, and they came to a corridor on the third floor.

Walking through the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Owen noticed that Moody had removed the wooden leg from his leg. Next to his desk is a brand new metal prosthetic.

He's changing it up.

Yes?

Cyberpunk?

Owen was slightly surprised, but he didn't stop, and soon there was a huge stone monster that was extremely ugly in their field of vision.

"Lemon ice cream!" He said confidently.

But the stone monster didn't react.

"Huh? What is the password? Immediately, he turned his head to look at Miss Granger behind him, "Lead!" Password! ”

"Bloody Lollipop!"

Hermione, blushing and staggering, spoke in a small voice.

“？”

"No response?" Owen looked at the stone monster.

Unfortunately, even with the new password, it still didn't respond in the slightest.

"It's—" Miss Granger finally came to her senses, and she lifted her gaze from the soles of her feet to look at the stone monster in front of her, puzzled. "It was a few days ago."

"Old Deng Tou must have changed the password again!" Owen affirmed, holding his chin and pursing his lips, his eyes purring.

What will old Deng Tou use to make a new password?

He thought to himself, not paying the slightest attention, as he grabbed Miss Granger's arm.

"When did you sneak into the principal's office?"

"Me?" Hearing this, Hermione was a little embarrassed, she was about to be exposed about her breaking into the principal's office the other night.

This- it made her a little embarrassed.

The image she had created as a good student at Hogwarts was always crumbling in front of this guy.

"A few days ago." Miss Granger hesitated, "Wizards from other schools hadn't arrived at Hogwarts yet. ”

"Does that mean that he changed the password after that person came?" Owen's eyes lit up, "Then the answer is already obvious." ”

He tilted his head back and smiled confidently.

Winking at Hermione, he immediately raised his head and said, "Godric's Valley!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the monster suddenly came to life and jumped aside, the wall behind it cracking in half. Behind the wall is a spiral staircase, which is slowly moving upwards, like an escalator.

"Oh! I knew, I knew, and that's too much to guess. With that, he stepped on it with Hermione.

Then, I heard a rumbling behind me, and the wall closed again.

"Why is the password Godric's Hollow?" The stairs swirled higher and higher, higher and higher, and Hermione couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that Harry's home?" ”

"You don't understand." Owen blinked, "There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in that valley. ”

"It's about the old headmaster's love and hate."

"I'll tell you when I have time."

Looking at the boy rising in front of her, Hermione whispered, in a voice that only she could hear, "Good! ”

————

At the end of the staircase they saw a gleaming oak door topped by a brass knocker in the shape of a sphin.

Owen didn't say a word, pushed the door and entered.

Reacting, Hermione wanted to hold him, and she should have knocked on the door first anyway

"Albus, regarding North America, Ilvermorny is on the verge of spiraling out of control. The dead and the purging are becoming more and more rampant, but the Magic Congress is focusing all its energy on archaeological ruins.

Queenie was forced to return to the Magic Congress, and there are too few wizards on our side today. ”

Ms. Julalie's voice in the principal's office was particularly harsh.

Her voice was full of worry, something was beyond her control.

"There's one more thing, very important, I."

"Ahem!" As Miss Jularie continued to speak, Dumbledore suddenly coughed lightly, "We have a guest here. ”

With that, the oak door to the principal's office was pushed open.

Then Owen rushed in.

"Hello principals!" He said casually, "Yo, I'm in a meeting!" ”

As he spoke, Owen walked towards the shelf leaning against the corner.

It's free, as if you're coming home.

The Sorting Hat seemed to be dozing off, and the whole hat was up and down, and it looked like it was going to be breathing steadily.

"Professor. Early. Good morning. Hermione stood stiffly at the table in the room filled with all sorts of shiny silverware.

In the office, the three principals arrived along with Grindelwald. The professors' eyes fell on her the moment she walked into the office.

The sudden surge of pressure made her speechless.

Especially Dumbledore - the Headmaster looked at her strangely.

The kind of smile that didn't smile made her a little overwhelmed.

"Professor!" At this time, Owen, who walked to the bookshelf, reached out and picked up the sorting hat, and then turned his head and left, "Lend me the hat." ”

Regardless of whether Old Deng Tou agreed or not, he had already turned around and was about to lead Hermione away.

"Take it!" When the two of them came back to the oak door.

Dumbledore's voice was heard. "Oh! That's right, Miss Granger. ”

Suddenly he called Hermione's name, "When are you going to send my ornaments back, without that sword, my bookshelf looks empty." ”

"Uh-professor." Miss Granger, who had stepped out of the office door on her front feet, staggered to a halt, and then looked back at Dumbledore with an expression that was worse than crying. "Professor- you- you know."

"Oh! Didn't the little wizards spread the word that I knew everything? The old headmaster jokingly said, "Actually, I just have more eyes and ears." ”

He got up from his seat.

Dressed in colorful and colorful clothes, full of mysterious ancient and powerful symbols, his sleeves shook, and a few fruits of unknown plants appeared in his palm, and then he sent them to Phoenix Fawkes.

The brilliant phoenix lowered its head, pecked the fruit in his hand, and then swallowed it in one gulp.

- Got it - Miss Granger understood at once.

It was the phoenix who told Dumbledore about her infiltration into the office.

"Professor—you—are you going to fire me?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Infiltrate the principal's office and steal important treasures.

Not to mention a magic school, even if it is a Muggle school, such an academy will not only be expelled, but also handed over to the police.

Therefore, if Dumbledore expelled her because of this incident, Hermione could fully understand.

"Oh! No—of course not. Dumbledore leaned against the corner of the table and said kindly, "Young wizards are adventurous, I understand. But what I want to say is that if you find something strange in the castle, you should tell the headmaster, right? ”

This." Hermione knew that the old headmaster was blaming them for not telling him about the underground vault.

But—the new alchemy professor must have been sent by him, how could he not know?

"I wish I could hear from you what happened, do you understand?" The old principal continued, "I hope you will always remember that there are professors behind you, and that you will never face danger alone. ”

"Yes, Professor. I know. Miss Granger nodded, considering the dangers they had experienced over the years, each time they seemed to assume that Dumbledore knew absolutely, but never once did they think to tell him in advance.

Such students are probably a bit of a headache.

"Professor, I. . . I'll send the Gryffindor sword, the one that night, right away. ”

She buried her head in her shaggy hair.

The shame prevented her from looking up to meet the principal's eyes.

As for Owen – oh! He's thick-skinned, he's fine.

He can even lick his face, look back at the configuration in the office, and joke unscrupulously.

"Are you four in a meeting?"

His gaze swept over the faces of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Ularily Hicks, and Orim Maxim.

"Aren't you weird?"

"It's really broad-minded, regardless of past suspicions, and a smile and hatred, right?"

He grinned and gave a thumbs up to all the wizards in the room: "As a legendary wizard standing at the top of the wizarding pyramid, this chest is worth learning from a young wizard for a lifetime." ”

"Oh—one more thing."

"Huh?" In the room, Grindelwald suddenly turned his head, a pair of heterochromatic pupils, his expression was flat, and his eyes fell on Owen.

"Alright! You talk. With that, he turned his head and pulled Hermione up and ran.

Hehe-hey - jumping sideways repeatedly on the edge of being beaten is really exciting!!

Outside the principal's office, the noise faded away.

The tense faces of the four bigwigs in the office relaxed.

"Hehe—this kid is a little naughty." Dumbledore said calmly.

Looking at his serious appearance, it was as if nothing had happened just now.

"Professor Yulari, please continue."

"I" was interrupted by Yulari, took a deep breath, and forcibly did not look at Mr. Grindelwald who was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed.

The kid was right.

It's really weird that they're having a meeting together.

Who would have thought that one day once mortal enemies would sit together and be forced against a stronger enemy.

After a moment, Professor Yuralie, who was in a good mood, continued, "Seventeen years ago, the Magic Congress discovered a mysterious ancient wizarding relic in New Mexico. ”

Her voice was heavy and serious.

This made the office that had just been relaxed solemn again.

On the walls, the portraits of the headmaster pretending to be asleep also opened their eyes sporadically, pricking up their ears to listen to the secret she was going to tell next.

"Albus." She looked up, her brow furrowed, "This is a story about the name 'Successor'. ”

"About ancient magic, the gift of the gods."

"Huh?" The old headmaster was surprised for a second, he glanced at Grindelwald, who looked indifferent to him, and found that the other party had opened his eyes.

"Ancient times." Professor Julari didn't seem to notice a smile on Dumbledore's face.

It took her a long time to explain the relationship between ancient wizards, warlocks and gods, and to inform the other three that there was a magical power in this world that could only be observed by specific wizards. And the sorcerer who wields that magic will become the successor of the ancient gods called the heir.

And that person will be responsible for protecting the world.

In short, she said a lot, and even a lot of words that didn't match the preamble.

Because that ancient ruin has been badly damaged. The Magic Congress can only summarize some fragmented information, and then make up a story through its own brain.

"The Purges, fighting for the heir, have seriously threatened the safety of Ilvermorny."

"Wait." After listening for a long time, Dumbledore finally spoke, "You mean, that child, Koyatle Stewart, can see traces of ancient magic?" ”

"Yes, only she can see a mysterious magic that can increase the power of wizards' spells, and can pass on many ancient spells that have been lost in modern times." Professor Yulari said worriedly.

"So, I mean, when she arrived at Hogwarts, was there the kind of ancient magic you said about in the castle?" Dumbledore continued to ask.

"It's—she didn't say it." Professor Julari responded, "Ancient magic is quite rare, and the Wizarding Congress has only discovered one in New Mexico at the moment. ”

Professor Yulari's voice fell.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald exchanged glances.

From the eyes of the other party, they see doubts.

In fact, on the contrary, ancient magic is everywhere in the world.

Ancient magic, which was passed down from ancient times and claimed to be gods, existed in almost all regions where legends of the gods existed.

It should be thought of, after all, gods are everywhere.

So the girl that Professor Yulari was talking about — that's a bit of a problem.

If she hadn't seen ancient magic, the Wizarding Congress hadn't been exposed to true ancient magic.

So what did she see?

That's what Dumbledore was worried about.

In the wizarding world, if you find something that only you can see, that's generally not a good sign.

"Gellert" Dumbledore frowned at Grindelwald.

He had a hunch that the girl was hiding a huge secret. By no means ancient magic, but other, darker secrets.

Grindelwald, who was in a pensive state in a chair next to him, opened his eyes.

In his hand he held a skeletal hookah the size of a human skull, the size of a palm.

There was a constant smoke at the mouth.

At the tail of this skeleton is a long, snakeskin straw.

He exhaled.

A cloud of smoke like water vapor slowly rose.

Then, the smoke in the sky moved from nothingness to condensation. It's like a scene in a meditation basin.

A sea of thorns appeared in the sky above the office.

In the midst of that sea of flowers, there was a person kneeling.

It's vague, but I can vaguely see that it's a person.

At this time, Grindelwald finally spoke, "Regarding ancient magic, leave it to Victor, all of him knows this magic." ”

"As for the purges you are talking about?"

The Dark Lord looked condescendingly at Professor Julari, "Let them come!" ”

"It just saves us from looking for them one by one."

The Purge, one of the craziest dark wizards on the North American continent.

Prior to 1693, there were no wizarding governments on the continent, and the Wizarding Congress had not yet been established.

At that time, the dark wizards who had been repressed in Europe flocked to this hot land.

The realm of vitality and competition is still in front of us.

After the Salem Witch Trials in 1693, the National Confederation of Wizards could no longer stand the unbridled manipulation of Muggles by dark wizards, and with strong support from Europe, representatives of many North American Rubik's Cube communities were elected to work together to enact laws, and the Magical Congress of America was formed.

Their first task was to arrest and execute the purge who had betrayed their kind.

But this was not an easy task, as the original Magic Council was severely understaffed, starting with only twelve Aurors. (One of them was Harry's ancestor, Abraham Potter.)

Of the twelve, only two of them survived to old age.

Think about how cruel the war was.

And the fighting with the Purges and the descendants of the Purges has never stopped on the North American continent.

It can be said that they were not much better than the Death Eaters.

And now, Hogwarts may be their target.

(End of chapter)