Chapter 517: The Changes Brought by the Thief-Preventing Waterfall
Chapter 517: The Changes Brought by the Thief-Preventing Waterfall
Chapter 517: The Changes Brought by the Thief-Preventing Waterfall
"Jester, warrior, lion, firebird... what do they refer to?" Ms. Bones asked tentatively. If the first two lines had opened the curtain on an era, the next four were clearly the key players on the stage. She had some guesses, but she wanted confirmation from Dumbledore and Felix.
"Before it truly happens, we can only speculate", Dumbledore shook his head slightly.
"But some things—like the firebird's Rebirth—couldn't it be referring to Phoenix? Or someone related to Phoenix?" Ms. Bones said, her gaze unashamedly meeting Dumbledore's.
It was well known that the Headmaster of Hogwarts had a Phoenix named Fawkes.
"That's one of the drawbacks of prophecies", Dumbledore smiled gently. "When you try to uncover the 'truth,' you become deeply entangled—there are a dozen Wizards I can think of who are associated with the 'firebird.' If we include those from abroad, the list grows even longer. It could represent a magical creature like a Phoenix, or some magic, such as a unique Patronus or Transfiguration. It might even symbolize a state or a quality... our current guesses are merely what we hope to see."
...
Days passed, and Felix found time to visit the Ancient Runes Association. With Creme leading the way, they easily reached the President's office—a standalone study room filled with various stone tablets, scrolls, and ancient texts.
Felix immediately saw Old Vila, who was bent over a table, a row of Rune Cards in front of him, muttering to himself.
Creme coughed lightly, but the person at the table didn't react.
Creme had to walk over and tap the table, saying, "Grandfather, Professor Hep is here..."
"Who's here?" Old Vila looked up, a bit confused, his attention still on the table. "Never mind, forget it. Can you help me understand this first?" He waited a few seconds, got no response, and then looked up casually. His eyes widened when they met Felix's.
"I heard from Creme that you've had some free time lately, so I decided to drop by", Felix said, suppressing a smile. "I've been reading a few of your books recently and had some questions to discuss..."
It turned out that even the most stubborn person would come down if someone offered a way out.
Old Vila was such a person. He had already compromised and didn't mind being a bit embarrassed again.
At first, Felix asked a few symbolic questions, which happened to touch on Old Vila's strong points. He began to speak at length, but after a few minutes, he was the one pulling Felix's hand and asking about the Rune Cards.
"I want to arrange them in order of difficulty to serve as a reference for learning", Old Vila said.
Felix was surprised. He hadn't expected that Old Vila was working on a textbook.
"Don't look at me, I study theoretical Runes, but there are commonalities", Old Vila reluctantly 'quoted' Felix's definition, explaining, "If I want to, I can learn dozens of practical runes in a day, it's just a matter of adjusting my writing and cognitive habits."
Felix understood. It was a clever approach. As Old Vila said, there was indeed overlap—both theoretical Runes and practical runes. Learning them would be much faster, but the remaining ones would still require a lot of time.
Following this logic, the old scholars at the Ancient Runes Association, who had studied theoretical Runes their entire lives, could easily master hundreds of Runes, and their subsequent learning wouldn't be too slow.
Of course, there weren't that many practical runes available for them to learn. They were all in Felix's hands.
"Mr. Vila, I have a favor to ask", Felix said. "This year, Hogwarts' Ancient Runes class will undergo a curriculum reform, dividing the course into theoretical and practical sections, each with its own exam. The theoretical part is manageable, but the practical part needs a new textbook—I think what you're doing will be very helpful in writing it."
"You mean you want me to participate? You're willing to give up that authority?" Old Vila looked quite surprised.
"The final decision is still mine", Felix said calmly.
Ancient Runes had grown beyond being just his. There was no need for him to control every aspect. He just needed to ensure that the most important parts were done correctly and that the direction didn't veer off course.
...
Just before the start of the school year, Sword Castle finally brought good news. The Thief-Preventing Waterfall was complete.
"Seems different from Gringotts' version?" Sirius asked, examining the product in the lab.
In front of him was an archway with straight sides, no different from a normal doorframe, except for the half-circle at the top from which a thin curtain of water cascaded. Sirius and Ms. Bones stood on either side, seeing each other's blurry figures through the water curtain.
"The principle has changed. I've integrated some runic circuits to replace the Goblin magic", Felix explained. "The effect is similar. If you don't believe me, you can try it out."
"How should we proceed? Does anyone have Polyjuice Potion on them?" Sirius looked around at the others with an exploring gaze, but everyone shook their heads. He then turned to Felix, who was smiling at him.
Sirius was momentarily stunned, unsure of what this meant. But then he suddenly realized.
"Animagus?"
Felix nodded, confirming Sirius's guess.
Sirius didn't refuse, and his body quickly transformed into a large, black-furred dog. Its coat was sleek and shiny, and its size was bear-like.
In Animagus form, Sirius seemed excited. He barked twice, wagged his tail, and circled around Harry, looking extremely happy.
Madam Bones' thick eyebrows twitched. She had to clear her throat—by then, the large black dog had already placed its front paws on Harry's shoulders. "Oh, Sirius, Madam Bones seems to be calling you", Harry said with some effort, nearly being knocked over.
The big black dog circled the archway twice and then squeezed through one side. The water curtain rippled, and Harry's eyes widened in amazement, as if he had witnessed something incredible.
Indeed, it was. The thin water curtain seemed to have a secret. The dog's head disappeared on one side but didn't immediately reappear on the other. Unaware of this, the dog continued forward. When only its hind legs remained, the other side of the archway finally showed half of its head, making it look as if part of Sirius's body had been cut off, which was quite comical.
Harry's shoulders shook as he tried to hold back laughter, and the others, including Madam Bones, also smiled.
But the next moment, the comical scene turned into a shocking one. The dog's head began to shrink and deform, the black fur rapidly fading away, followed by its shoulders, arms, and the rest of its body. It transformed back into human form.
Sirius shook his head, seemingly confused about his surroundings. It took a few seconds for him to regain his bearings.
"Truly amazing", he marveled, circling the archway. He looked just as excited as when he transformed earlier, reaching his hand into the water curtain and pulling it back out. This time, the water curtain showed no significant reaction.
A round of applause echoed through the lab.
...
A week before the start of the school term, Felix received his new wand. Thirteen inches, ebony, with a core made from one of his own hairs. When his fingers touched the wand, a sudden warmth spread through his fingertips, and the wand vibrated slightly, as if it were rejoicing and eagerly waiting for its first casting—
Felix held the wand and slashed the air as if it were a sword—Ollivander watched intently—the 'rift' seemed to connect to another place and rapidly expanded, pulling everything around it in. The small wand shop seemed to shift and reappear in a desolate, weed-covered wasteland.
Everything felt so real—the dim light, the swaying shrubs, the howling wind, and the fresh scent of earth carried by the breeze. Ollivander took a couple of steps forward but bumped into something, though there was nothing there.
"An illusion? No, more real than an illusion..."
He pulled up a handful of weeds from the ground, watching them turn into a shower of sparks in his hand.
The next second, the entire illusion vanished, and they were back in the wand shop. Felix nodded in satisfaction. Although the specific effects still needed testing, the Mind Chamber Magic had shown significant improvement. He could more easily bring his memories to life in the real world. "It's much better than I expected, Mr. Ollivander. Thank you; you're the best wandmaker I've ever met."
"It's the match between you and the wand", Mr. Ollivander said with a wry smile. "If someone else had it or if we used different materials, it wouldn't have this effect."
Afterward, Felix paid the appropriate fee.
"Speaking of which, I should thank you", Mr. Ollivander said. "Thanks to your warning, I discovered two groups of suspicious people."
"Were they Death Eaters?"
"Perhaps", Mr. Ollivander himself wasn't sure. "They were all hiding their faces. Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic provided each shop with an alarm. One press, and the Aurors patrolling the streets would arrive quickly. They didn't have time to do anything."
...
"Remus, it's great to see you. I thought you'd forgotten about us", Sirius hugged Lupin, pretending to be annoyed.
"He may not have forgotten you, but he certainly forgot about me, his boss", Felix said from the side.
"Cough, cough—" Lupin turned his head guiltily.
"What happened?" Sirius asked. They were sitting in the living room of the Black Family Manor, waiting for everyone to arrive for the meeting.
"I encountered a closed and exclusive community", Lupin explained. "Attempting to contact the outside world under the noses of a group of highly sensitive werewolves was unwise. I stayed until the matter was resolved." He had a look of lingering fear on his face. "There were a couple of times when I thought I might not make it back."
Sirius didn't say anything more, just gave him a couple of heavy pats on the back.
Kingsley Shacklebolt and Emmeline Vance arrived, and everyone warmly welcomed Emmeline's recovery. The quiet witch smiled continuously.
Soon, Snape also appeared. Everyone entered the meeting room. "Don't even think about eavesdropping; I'll cast a spell", Mrs. Weasley warned the children.
"Like you've never done this before", Fred muttered. The door slammed shut in front of him.
In the meeting room—
Snape was the first to speak.
"The document I am about to read is highly confidential. At the request of Headmaster Dumbledore, it must not be mentioned in any context and must not be disclosed to non-Order of the Phoenix members", he said, deliberately glancing at Sirius. Sirius snorted.
"According to reliable intelligence, the Dark Lord—Dark Lord", Snape corrected himself, "has a strong interest in something in the Department of Mysteries and is making every effort to find it—"
"With the Thief-Preventing Waterfall in place?" Sirius interrupted.
"—you will find that it cannot stop him", Snape replied coolly.
"I know his capabilities; I've fought him—"
"Meaning you ran away?"
Snape and Sirius were almost at each other's throats, causing everyone else in the room to feel quite uneasy.
"Alright, we can save the greetings for the end of the meeting", Kingsley Shacklebolt said.
"Given the failure to control Silent Person Broderick Bode using the Imperius Curse, he might send Death Eaters to gather information—this is a weakness he has, and Death Eater Augustus Rookwood, who once worked in the Department of Mysteries, has been returned to Azkaban—"
"The Thief-Preventing Waterfall is not foolproof. It cannot detect the intentions of the heart, whether willingly, under duress, or accidentally revealing secrets; it cannot provide any warning—"
Snape finished speaking and leaned back in his chair, remaining silent.
"Ah, I'll continue from there", Kingsley Shacklebolt said calmly. "We have been prepared for this. That object is protected by complex protective charms, and the Silent People who can access it during regular hours are strictly limited. However, there might be a loophole after work hours. Dumbledore has persuaded Madam Bones to let the Order of the Phoenix take on the protection task to prevent any leaks."
Not everyone in the Order of the Phoenix knew Voldemort's target, so they referred to the Prophecy Orb as "that object."
"I have nothing to add", Sirius said. "With the Thief-Preventing Waterfall in place, we felt a bit more at ease. Amelia decided to set one up in Azkaban as well, scheduled for the day after tomorrow..." His tone suddenly became complex. If this had been available a few years ago, he would never have escaped.
Snape raised his head, his eyes gleaming strangely. He said softly, "Azkaban? Are you going too? Yes, I think you wouldn't want to miss it; you made quite a few friends there..."
The meeting room almost turned into a gladiatorial arena.
...
After the meeting, the Order of the Phoenix members without tasks stayed to enjoy a leisurely afternoon tea. Snape and Professor Mcgonagall left for their respective duties. Felix watched Snape's departing figure and asked Mr. Weasley, "Is he always this busy?"
"Perhaps, he doesn't usually stick around", Mr. Weasley muttered. They sat down in the living room, and soon Mrs. Weasley and Tonks appeared with some dessert platters. "Watch the last step", Mrs. Weasley reminded them.
"Oh, right", Tonks said, then promptly bumped her head on the umbrella stand, causing the platters to slip from her hands.
Felix moved his fingers, and the platters landed safely on the table.
"Thanks, I always forget about that", Tonks said, troubled.
"Actually, the umbrella stand was moved here from the hallway a few days ago", Ginny said oddly from behind her. "The reason is that you always bump into it when you come home from work..."
Tonks, embarrassed and angry, went to cover Ginny's mouth, but she screamed and ran away.
"Where are Frank and Alice?" Felix asked, as he hadn't been around for a while.
"They went on a long trip, probably to the giants' territory", Mr. Weasley said.
Meanwhile, Bill was chatting with Sirius and Lupin.
"The goblins are furious, you know, over the Thief-Preventing Waterfall", Bill said, sharing the information he had gathered at the office.
"Poor excuse, they just don't want to support either side", Sirius said.
"If you've dealt with them, you'd know that goblins have a different mindset, different from wizards, I mean. They are really upset, thinking wizards have stolen their technology... But you're right; they don't intend to side with us either", Bill shrugged.
"Sirius, when are you planning to leave the Ministry of Magic?" Lupin asked. He wasn't asking about Sirius's regular work hours but when he would withdraw according to the plan, as Sirius was set to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the new school year.
"The day before the school starts", Sirius hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Aren't you going to miss it?" Bill asked with a smile.
"Ha, what a joke, I can't wait to get out of there."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
