https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-350-Seventeen-Year-Old-Dumbledore/13460662/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-352-A-Patronus-Dementor-Disguised-as-a-Ghost-/13460669/
Chapter 351: Adaptation of Real Experiences
Chapter 351: Adaptation of Real Experiences
Felix nodded slightly. He knew Dumbledore had a wide circle of friends, spanning the globe. If you added the number of admirers, even ten Lockharts combined wouldn't be a match.
Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if Dumbledore seemed so busy because he was hiding in the office, writing letters to pen pals all over the world...
Cough, cough! He shouldn't think that way. The Headmaster must be doing important things, like analyzing Tom Riddle's childhood, or writing an essay titled "The Impact of Childhood Environment on Key Life Choices of Wizards: A Brief Analysis of Three Points."
Felix took out the stone basin from his ring, and the two of them entered the internal space. It was a world of white, surrounded by mist.
Dumbledore looked around with great interest and sighed, "Only you have this ability. From the magical traces left behind, it's incredibly intricate, yes... intricate."
Felix asked, "Can't others do it?"
He himself didn't feel anything special about it. When he thought of it, he just did it. At the time, he even considered it a flawed product, not as good as the original Pensieve, so he didn't pay much attention to it. It was only later that he gradually discovered its uses.
Dumbledore said, "Let me explain what I can see: Ancient Runes, Alchemy, Fortifying Charm, Undetectable Extension Charm, Transfiguration, Memory Magic... very unique. I seem to see stable Magic Nodes..."
He extended his hand, and his long fingers touched the air, causing the surrounding mist to churn.
"What is this?" he asked curiously.
"Memory Nodes, also the Magic Nodes here", Felix said briefly.
Dumbledore nodded slightly, "It seems you've made improvements. It's moving further away from the functions of a Pensieve and becoming more like the Room of Requirement."
His sharp gaze swept the surroundings, making Felix feel a slight sting, his skin reacting with goosebumps.
The Headmaster's eyes are very keen.
Despite its appearance resembling a Pensieve, the stone basin's principle is more akin to the Room of Requirement—using the Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the space to the size of five or six basketball courts, filled with various blank memory fragments, sealed with Runic Script to prevent leakage. He also used Memory Nodes to create a more stable structure.
The benefit of this is that real people and false illusions can interact, and as the owner of the stone basin, Felix can harness the omnipresent memory energy to display his abilities in the Mind Chamber.
Felix took a few steps, and the mist parted, revealing an ancient pyramid before them. He smiled and extended an invitation, "Headmaster, this is a level adapted from my real experiences during the summer... would you like to try it?"
Dumbledore shifted his gaze from the Memory Nodes to the mist-shrouded pyramid. He knew it was all an illusion, perhaps just a manifestation of a memory, but it looked quite real.
Could Felix really have mastered the principle of the Room of Requirement? He became interested and walked toward the open golden door. Inside the pyramid, it was pitch black, with a beam of light projecting from somewhere, illuminating the first few feet inside the door, making the depths seem even darker.
As they entered the pyramid, Felix's figure suddenly disappeared, and the door slammed shut.
Dumbledore looked at the eerie, ominous tomb of the pharaoh, muttering, "I am just an old man..." He drew his wand and swung it forcefully, "Hum~" The magical aura made the entire pyramid tremble.
If it had legs, it would have run away.
Felix's sigh echoed around, "Headmaster, this is just a toy I made for the Rune Club members. I thought it could be used for training, but it can't withstand a full-strength spell from you..."
Dumbledore's gaze seemed to reach the top of the pyramid, where Felix was lounging lazily, waiting for him.
Dumbledore smiled, put away his wand, and climbed the steps along the only path. Various strange creatures appeared, but were blocked by suddenly emerging vines, chains, and sturdy barriers. A few minutes later, he pushed open a door, and Felix was sitting outside, gazing at the sea of clouds.
"Albus, what do you think?"
Dumbledore said with a playful tone, "I must commend your imagination, Felix. Giant spiders and pythons are one thing, but what about those clinking, shape-shifting cars? Could it be that Arthur's car gave you some inspiration? But as far as I know, it's been doing just fine in the Forbidden Forest, without developing any strange abilities."
"And the monsters with insect exoskeletons and acidic spit..."
Felix replied nonchalantly, "Some are made up, and some I borrowed from movies." His legs dangled and swung freely.
"Truly fascinating, but I haven't delved into it deeply myself", Dumbledore said. After a moment's thought, he added, "Our ideas have some similarities. Your... peculiar creatures are good for training students' adaptability, but it's clear you haven't put much effort into making them realistic."
Felix acknowledged this, "The more you know, the more authentic the memory becomes. That's the downside of creating false memories, and there's not much I can do about it. It's better to make them obviously fake rather than create something half-baked and mislead the students."
If he intended to create a sphinx, he would need to know a great deal about the creature's habits. Otherwise, making arbitrary changes could lead students to believe something false, which could be fatal if they encountered a real sphinx in the wild.
Dumbledore nodded slightly, agreeing with Felix. Each conversation about magic with Felix brought new insights. Following this train of thought, Dumbledore quickly came up with an improvement. He thought of someone who could vividly recreate magical creatures—
Newt Scamander, the world's foremost expert in magical creature protection.
The only concern was whether it was necessary. Dumbledore mentally noted this idea and decided to observe further.
"I've also noticed another issue, though it may not be a problem, but it's worth noting", Dumbledore said. "The protective measures here are rather simple. Anyone with some knowledge of Memory Magic could harness the power here."
He waved his hand, and the pyramid beneath their feet crumbled instantly. They stood abruptly on a square. Felix barely had time to see the stained glass of a dilapidated chapel before the scene changed to an open highland. The next moment, they were standing on a window ledge of Hogwarts Castle.
Dumbledore whispered, "In terms of Memory Magic, I may not be as skilled as you, but I can still manifest these scenes. Additionally, I can project my will to make the environment believe I've 'cast successfully,' and it transforms into what I want."
Felix shrugged, "You make a good point. There are indeed several vulnerabilities. I just haven't bothered to fix them. After all", he said with a dangerous smile, flexing his fingers, "if any student in the club dares to cheat, I'll let them experience a twenty-minute free fall..."
Dumbledore was speechless.
...
They emerged from the Pensieve. Dumbledore needed some time to extract his memories from his younger days. Fortunately, every Headmaster had to leave their portrait, so he was familiar with the process.
Felix returned to his office. Amid the sound of heavy rain, he had an idea. He drew his wand, and a silver glow burst from the tip. The Swallow Patronus took shape in the air. Then, he pressed the wand to his forehead, drawing a silver thread that he shaped in the air, forming a silver-white cloak.
The Swallow Patronus chirped and dove into the cloak. When the bright light faded, a ghost with its face hidden under the cloak appeared.
"I'll call you... well, let's see if you can fool the ghosts in the castle."
Felix examined the 'ghost,' which resembled a Dementor with a beauty boost. He suddenly remembered he had a dozen or so Dementors in his ring, but his busy schedule had forced him to postpone his planned research.
The silver-white 'ghost' hovered about three feet off the ground and turned to leave. "You can find Peeves; he has a good reason to fear the barrow", Felix reminded it.
"Whoosh!"
The 'ghost' vanished instantly. Felix rubbed his forehead, "The speed is the same, but anyone can spot the problem."
He took control of the Patronus and wandered through the castle from its perspective...
Meanwhile, on the Hogwarts Express—
In the carriage, a golden shadow darted around aimlessly. As it approached, Harry reached out and caught the Golden Snitch. "Great catch!" the twins passing by gave him a thumbs up.
Harry grinned, hoping that Cho Chang would pass by the corridor and catch a glimpse of him catching the Golden Snitch. As the Seeker of Ravenclaw, she would know how difficult that move was.
He had seen Cho Chang in the corridor earlier and couldn't resist doing something. Then, he remembered Sirius's advice and, almost by instinct, pulled out the Golden Snitch from his trunk.
He had become very skilled at it, practicing with the Golden Snitch whenever he was bored at the Dursleys' house.
A commotion came from the door, and a familiar, drawling voice floated in through the tiny gap.
"… Did you know, my father really considered sending me to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts? He knows the Headmaster there. But my mom didn't want me to go to school so far away… The students at Durmstrang really study dark magic, you know. I mean, some magic has its uses…"
Hermione stood up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and closed it tightly to block out Malfoy's voice.
"Stop playing with that Golden Snitch, Harry. You look ridiculous", she said impatiently.
Harry sheepishly prepared to put the Golden Snitch away, but Ron snatched it, "Let me play with it for a bit." He had been eyeing it for a while. Harry shrugged at Hermione, "Ron!" Hermione shouted, and Ron flinched, slapping Harry's face.
"Oops, sorry, Harry—"
The compartment erupted in chaos. Ron's new owl was flapping around in its cage, and Hermione's cat was meowing loudly. By the time everything settled down, Harry had a bright red handprint on his face and two scratches from the cat's claws.
He immediately changed his mood. He had been regretting not running into Cho Chang, but now he sincerely hoped he wouldn't bump into her.
Even when the snack cart passed their compartment, Harry begged Ron and Hermione to go buy some treats.
After a while, Ron returned with a pile of snacks and placed them on the table. He looked at Harry with a very odd expression, "You were right."
"What?" Harry tore open a bag of Chocolate Frogs and bit off the head of the frog.
"We ran into Cho Chang. She was buying snacks with her friends. Good thing you didn't go…"
Harry suddenly choked, coughing and turning red, "You're lying—"
"Relax", Ron put an arm around his shoulders and chuckled, "I noticed last term that you had a thing for her. It was pretty obvious—ask Hermione if you don't believe me."
Harry felt his secret exposed and wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were laughing because you saw Malfoy practicing Lumos in the compartment. That's against the rules, I should tell—"
"—Professor Hep", Ron interjected, shaking his head, "This is a train, no one cares. How about we talk about Durmstrang instead? What's that all about?"
…
The sky grew darker. It had never been bright, with thick rain clouds obscuring everything. After a long time, the Hogwarts Express finally slowed down and stopped at the dark Hogsmeade Station.
The doors opened, and the sound of thunder rumbled through the air.
The three of them shivered, looking out at the pouring rain and howling wind. "We won't drown on the way, will we?" Harry said.
"Think about Hagrid", Ron answered without hesitation, "He still has to take the first-year students across the lake in boats. That's going to be quite an adventure in this weather."
…
The sky gradually darkened. It had never been light, with thick rain clouds covering everything. After an unknown amount of time, the Hogwarts Express finally slowed down and stopped at the dark Hogsmeade Station.
The doors opened, and the sound of thunder rumbled through the air.
The three of them shivered, looking out at the pouring rain and howling wind. "We won't drown on the way, will we?" Harry said.
"Think about Hagrid", Ron answered without hesitation, "He still has to take the first-year students across the lake in boats. That's going to be quite an adventure in this weather."
…
The sky grew darker. It had never been bright, with thick rain clouds obscuring everything. After a long time, the Hogwarts Express finally slowed down and stopped at the dark Hogsmeade Station.
The doors opened, and the sound of thunder rumbled through the air.
The three of them shivered, looking out at the pouring rain and howling wind. "We won't drown on the way, will we?" Harry said.
"Think about Hagrid", Ron answered without hesitation, "He still has to take the first-year students across the lake in boats. That's going to be quite an adventure in this weather."
…
Tears welled up in Tom's eyes as he faced the magical world he had once despised. Tom deeply felt that the power of Muggles had its limits, and he decided to shout out the words:
"I will not be bound by Muggles anymore."
…
(End of Chapter)
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