Chapter 641: Transformation
Chapter 641: Transformation (Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote)
"Don't worry about that. Harry will devote himself entirely to anything that can help defeat Voldemort", Dumbledore said, stroking his beard, when Liam informed him that Harry would need to be involved in the next phase of their work. "So you don't need to worry about him not cooperating. I believe he will complete the task smoothly."
After saying this, Dumbledore clapped his hands lightly, and a somewhat aged Pixie appeared with a pop in the Headmaster's Office. He was wearing a pillowcase embroidered with the Hogwarts crest, looking very spry.
After entering the office, he bowed deeply to Dumbledore and asked, "Great Headmaster Dumbledore, Bubby is honored to serve you. What do you need?"
"It's like this", Dumbledore said, looking down at the House-Elf named Bubby with a kind expression. "I need you to go to the Gryffindor Common Room or the boys' dormitory and bring Harry Potter here. Tell him I need to see him."
"No problem, Headmaster", Bubby said, and with a snap of his fingers, he disappeared from the Headmaster's Office. A few minutes later, the spiral staircase at the office door began to turn, and Harry Potter, looking bewildered, was brought in by the House-Elf.
"Alright, that's settled. You can leave now", Dumbledore said to Bubby. Bubby bowed deeply and snapped his fingers, disappearing from the office.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, why have you called me here so late at night?" Harry, wearing pajamas and a robe, looked as though he had been dragged out of bed by Bubby.
"It's like this", Dumbledore said, pointing to Liam and Hermione standing nearby. "Liam and the others have learned a powerful form of Magic from China. This Magic can harm Voldemort using the Blood obtained from the battle between Liam and Voldemort. However, to ensure the success of the ritual, the next part must be completed by you, who have a mysterious connection to Voldemort."
Since Harry and Voldemort's souls had a certain level of communication, Dumbledore did not tell Harry the entire truth to avoid Voldemort sensing it in advance. In reality, after Voldemort used Dark Magic to reshape his body, ordinary curses had no effect on him. Given Voldemort's arrogance, Liam and the others were not concerned about what Voldemort might do to stop them once he learned that they were using his blood in a spell.
"Really? This Magic can really harm Voldemort?" Harry's eyes widened as he looked at everyone in the office. Seeing the other three nod in confirmation, he nodded vigorously.
"Of course, I am willing to complete the next steps of this Magic. Please tell me what I need to do. I can't wait to start", Harry said eagerly after receiving confirmation from Dumbledore and the others.
"This is how it works", Dumbledore indicated, and Liam stepped forward to explain. "Starting tomorrow morning, you must come to the Headmaster's Office between 6 and 8 AM, 12 and 2 PM, and 6 and 8 PM every day to perform the Magic Ritual according to the method I will teach you. You need to do this for 21 consecutive days."
After explaining, Liam demonstrated the ritual for Harry, showing him how to worship the straw effigy. Fortunately, the entire ritual did not require any incantations, so Harry quickly learned the simple bowing actions.
"By the way", Liam added after seeing Harry master the required actions. "After performing the ritual each day, you need to drop a drop of your own blood into two lanterns. One drop in each lantern is sufficient, though a little more won't harm anything. The only thing you need to ensure is that you always obtain the blood using a non-magical method."
"Understood", Harry nodded seriously. Seeing that everything was in place, Dumbledore said, "Alright, it's getting late. You should all head back to your dormitories and get some rest. You have an exam tomorrow."
The next day's exam went smoothly for Liam, just like the previous days. Over the following week, he and Hermione developed several new Magic Items to address the current situation. On Saturday, after obtaining Professor Dumbledore's permission, Liam and Hermione went to Weasley's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade.
"This Spider Mine is quite impressive, especially when you need to slow down pursuers", Fred said, holding a silver-white ball the size of a baseball. During the last upheaval at the Ministry of Magic, Weasley's Joke Shop in Diagon Alley was one of the first to be destroyed by the Death Eaters. Fortunately, with a pre-planned contingency, only the shop itself was destroyed, and the loss of goods was minimal.
However, after the war became fully public, Weasley's Joke Shop, which had moved to Hogsmeade, shifted entirely to a wartime production model. Of the original joke products, only 10% remained in stock, and the rest were discontinued. The freed-up production capacity was redirected to the manufacturing of various defensive magic items.
Naturally, given the ties between the Joke Shop's shareholders and the current Ministry of Magic and Headmaster Dumbledore in Hogsmeade, they received a significant number of orders from both the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix.
"To be honest, your talent for joke products doesn't quite match ours. But when it comes to professional defensive magic items, we have to admit that your ideas are better", George said, taking the silver-white ball from Fred and twisting it. Half of the ball immediately extended four legs, and the thin steel casing on the other half was unscrewed, revealing a surface covered in steel beads.
"For example, these steel beads. Mixing in 1/30th of magic-treated and potion-tempered steel beads doesn't increase the cost much. But it forces anyone under attack to cast a defensive spell, as no one would risk the chance that the incoming beads are the 1/30th treated to cause severe harm to a wizard."
"Damn it, you're not supposed to play with it like that", Liam immediately snatched the silver-white ball from George and reattached the hemispherical metal shield. As the steel shield snapped back into place, the four mechanical legs retracted, and the object once again became a smooth sphere. "I'll say it again, don't mess with these disarmed Spider Mines. If it explodes in your hands, it'll be a real problem."
"We know!" Fred and George said in unison. "And we didn't input the final magic power. You should trust the dual safety mechanism you designed."
"But that's not an excuse for reckless behavior", Liam said, placing the silver ball back in its original box. "How are these items selling recently?"
"Very well, because over 70% of our Ministry of Magic members are temporary recruits. Even among the Hit Wizards, who face the ruthless Death Eaters, one-third are complete novices. Without the various defensive magic items we provide, the casualty rate would be much higher."
"What about the Aurors?" Hermione asked. "Are they ordering our products?"
"Yes, our current Auror leader, Kingsley, has ordered a large batch of high-quality items from us", Fred replied. Since Madam Bones had survived, Kingsley did not take over the remaining part of the Ministry of Magic as in the original story. "However, unlike the Hit Wizard Command, he doesn't buy in bulk but procures a range of high-end items for the Aurors to test."
Liam nodded in understanding. As elite operatives, Aurors were different from the mass-trained Hit Wizards. They preferred more personalized magic items, much like certain elite special forces who use custom weapons.
"By the way, what did you mean by the casualty rate?" Hermione asked, recalling a word the Weasley Twins had mentioned earlier.
"The London Ministry of Magic, under the Dark Lord's control, passed a law for the bloodline investigation of Muggle-born wizards. This has led many Muggle-born wizards to seek refuge with us. However, not every wizard can master Apparition, and creating Portkeys is even more difficult. The Floo Network is also under the control of the London Ministry of Magic. So, they have to flee to us by broom or even Muggle means", Fred explained.
"Thus, our Hit Wizards and Order of the Phoenix members have had to engage in many small-scale battles to protect these innocent people. We don't have a significant advantage in these conflicts. During this time, three people have already made the ultimate sacrifice", George sighed, shaking his head.
This conversation brought a somber mood to the room, and everyone bowed their heads in silence.
(End of Chapter)
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