16 Chapter 16 (15.2) - Hitchhiking Across Europe
Approaching what seemed to be an old and abandoned house at first glance, Dumbledore knocked on the door. Before he could say anything, a clear voice emerged from the door lock, saying, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
"Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald are here to meet Nicolas Flamel," Dumbledore replied.
"Just wait a moment... You are allowed to enter," the voice said. With these words, the door opened, revealing not a deserted shack but a vast new world—gardens, meadows, forests, and in the midst of it all, a majestic mansion styled in 13th-century classicism.
Walking along the path and looking towards the mansion, they noticed the house's door opening, and an old man and woman emerged. It was Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle Flamel.
Approaching them, Albus said, "It's been a while, Nicolas."
"Not that long, Albus. You recently begged me for the Philosopher's Stone," Nicolas replied.
Grindelwald coughed, hearing this conversation.
"Albus, you said you're not afraid of death?"
"It's necessary for my plan to capture Voldemort."
"And this little one, oh, he had potential, but he immersed himself too much in dark magic, thus corrupting his soul."
"Enough about that. Nicolas, we came to you on business."
"What could two lords of demons, black and white, need from an old man like me, especially when one of you already took the only valuable thing I have, aside from my wife?" Nicolas said, exaggerating his tone.
"May we sit? The conversation promises to be lengthy," Dumbledore said.
"Enter, Lisa will finish preparing lunch soon," Perenelle said, calling out, "Lisa, prepare two more servings for lunch!"
"Alright, ma'am."
"Who is this?" Grindelwald asked.
"Just an alchemical puppet."
"Take a seat, Albus," Nicolas said, offering a chair to Dumbledore. And you, he added, handing a peculiar dragon-skin-covered chest to Grindelwald. "Hey, this is unfair! Why is he sitting on a chair, and I'm on a chest?" Grindelwald protested.
"Because he didn't burn Paris!" The Flamels retorted with a growl.
Grindelwald: I sense unwarranted malice. (-_-)
"Alright, tell us what's going on."
"First, allow me to ask you, Nicolas, when was the last time you prophesied?"
"Huh? Not for a while. The future doesn't particularly interest me; it won't affect me.
Although I didn't expect Grindelwald to escape from prison, and you would bring him to me."
"Cough, well then, let's do this. First, you take the crystal ball and try making a prophecy about the future. Then we'll talk."
"Why so mysterious? Can't you just tell me?" Nicholas suspiciously remarked.
"It's better if you see it for yourself. Besides, you wouldn't want the entire room filled with hookah smoke, would you?"
"Fine, wait here; I'll be back soon."
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After 5 minutes,
Nicolas Flamel rushed into the room, clearly moving at a speed unsuitable for his age, with his eyes ablaze, asking, "Who is it, Albus? Speak quickly!"
"Calm down, Nicolas. What happened?" Perenelle asked in puzzlement.
You know, the last time she saw such a look in her husband's eyes was probably a couple of hundred years ago.
"Peri, you don't understand. I saw a beautiful future, and most importantly, we're young again!"
"What!?"
You see, although the Philosopher's Stone can make people live forever, it's more of a forced attachment of the soul to the body and replenishing the body's functions through the excessive consumption of the life energy of the Philosopher's Stone. Although if the Flamels wish, they can live for many more centuries, but such a life becomes tiresome. Due to constant aging and weakening of the body, Nicolas had even explored the forbidden zone of alchemists - the transformation of the human body. Although he managed to restore much of the body's functions, it was still far from the life he had at the beginning of his journey. Therefore, seeing a future now where he and Perenelle are young and healthy again, he couldn't contain himself.
"Speak, Albus!" Both Flamels yelled this time.
"Cough, cough, let me go... You'll strangle me."
"Oops, sorry, I got too worked up, and my alchemical implants activated."
Cough, cough, Dumbledore cleared his throat (￣ ;;￣).
Grindelwald, in the meantime, said, " In Paris, you looked like you were about to fall apart." (¬_¬ )
"That's none of your business!" ((╬◣﹏◢))
"Tell us, what happened to the world I saw!"
"Calm down, Nico, we didn't intend to hide this. We came to you precisely because of this," Dumbledore said, still feeling a lump in his throat.
"This lad, Asmodeus Noren Morningstar, a student at Hogwarts. After he joined Ravenclaw, Trelawney made a prophecy. As I understand, around the same time, Grindelwald made his own. That's why he escaped."
"Trelawney? Cassandra Trelawney?"
"No, her great-granddaughter. Not everyone can live for centuries without noticing it, like you!"
"Alright, I'm not particularly interested in this. Tell me everything you know about this boy."
"Well, actually... I've only known him for about a month or so, and Grindelwald has known about him for the second day."
"At least give me some hints about him; a person can't just fall from the sky."
"He's an orphan who awakened his magic late, so he entered Hogwarts at 13, and he has an incredible affinity with the element of fire. That's all I can say."
"Stop, an affinity with the element of fire. What's his middlename? Repeat it again?"
"Noren."
"....."
"That's definitely not a first name?"
"No, the first name is Asmodeus. The second is Noren and the last name is Morningstar"
".... Alright, it's not that important."
What Nicolas didn't mention was that a couple of decades ago, he encountered a young man named Norem in the mountains, and they could communicate using magic. Surprisingly, the young man wasn't particularly amazed by magic. Upon closer inspection, Nicolas felt a vibrant flame energy within him, even though he was a squib. This contradiction made Nicolas remember him.
"Perhaps this child is his descendant," he thought.
"Okay, so I understand that you didn't just come to tell me about him. What do you plan to do?"
"We want to gather authorities in the magical world to help him!"
"Alright, and who's in the group?"
"Currently, it's you, me, and Grindelwald."
"???"
"What did you expect? I just rescued this criminal and came to you; I haven't had time to do more."
"Okay, where are you heading next?"
"We thought of spending the night here and then heading to Dorset; Newt lives there now."
"Scamander?"
"Yes."
"I remember him, the boy with an affinity for animals, a pleasant young man."
"He's 94 now..... Although for you, everyone is probably young."
"Wait, did anyone ask for my opinion? How will a zoologist help us? He's just an ordinary wizard."
"First, no one asked, and second, he managed to thwart your plans many times."
Grindelwald: "This world is set against me." (μ_μ)
"Okay, then, let me show you to your bedrooms. Do you need separate ones?"
"Cough, cough, separate ones will do," said Dumbledore.
But then he heard the sound of something falling behind them. It turned out that when Grindelwald was about to stand up and follow them, he accidentally knocked over a box he was sitting on. Guess what he saw?
Hundreds of brightly red Philosopher's Stones rolled out of the box on which he had been sitting for the past hour.
Grindelwald: ∑(O_O;)
Dumbledore, looking at Nicholas:ヽ( ￣д￣)ノ
Nicholas: (◕‿◕)
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While Dumbledore and his company traveled the world, gathering talents,
Asmodeus gradually accumulated points by completing daily tasks.
"Ding, try the taste of fish from the Black Lake - 10 points obtained."
"Ding, congratulations on achieving the 'first flight after entering Hogwarts (broomsticks are uncomfortable, look at my flight as Iron Man)' achievement - 25 points obtained."
"Ding, weekly task completed - 'earn 100 points for Ravenclaw house' - 50 points obtained."
And so on.
After a couple of weeks of hard work, Asmodeus had accumulated a total of 500 points. Adding this to his previously earned points, it amounted to 770 points.
"I'm getting close to purchasing my first passive income source!" ＼(≧▽≦)／
"So, besides the weekly task of earning academy points, what do we have for today?"
"Ding, deal with the troll in the bathroom."
"Ding, save Hermione."
"Introduce yourself to Harry Potter."
These tasks form a series, and depending on the success of their completion, the host (Asmodeus) receives different rewards and a Halloween gift set.
"Halloween? Stop, what's today's date?"
"Ding, October 31, 1991."
"Ah, they say that youth passes the fastest; I didn't even notice two months passing."
After classes, he headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
Evening
The Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle was adorned with Halloween decorations. A thousand bats fluttered across the walls and ceiling, and more hovered over the dining table like low black clouds, making the candle flames flicker in the pumpkin bellies. The golden plates on the long table were filled with more abundant food than usual, resembling a dinner party at the beginning of the school year.
"Ronald, have you seen Hermione? I haven't seen her all afternoon," Harry sat at the Gryffindor table.
"I heard Patil tell her friend that Hermione cried all afternoon in the women's bathroom in the basement."
"Oh, who cares about her," Ronald munched on the pie. "She always likes to lecture others, didn't you notice?"
"She doesn't have any friends."
"Everyone can't stand her."
"But we're from the same academy... and she has a friend from Ravenclaw," Harry frowned slightly.
"There are too many people in the same academy as us. Besides, she's a traitor. Talking to those nerds from Ravenclaw, she might as well go there. And what if she's in the same house as us, is it possible that I make everyone to please and accommodate?" Ronald still didn't care.
At the same time, sitting at the Ravenclaw table closest to the entrance, Asmodeus confirmed that he didn't see Hermione and ate while waiting for Quirrell, who was supposed to appear any minute. After a short wait,
The gate of the hall suddenly opened, and Professor Quirrell ran in from outside in a panic.
"There is, troll, it's... in the dungeon... I thought you should know."
After speaking, Quirrell fell directly to the floor and passed out. As soon as everyone heard about the troll, there was an immediate commotion in the hall, and the little wizards looked terrified.
"Quiet!"
Since Professor Dumbledore was absent, and Professor McGonagall took his place, she had to make several piercing pyrotechnic explosions from the tip of her wand. Only then did the hall become quiet.
"Prefects, lead the students of your houses back to the dormitories immediately..."
"Gryffindor students will come with me." Seeing this, Percy quickly stood up and beckoned for the youngsters to follow him back to the dormitory.
"Wait, Ronald, we can't go back in this state!" Harry Potter was about to leave when something suddenly sounded.
"Hermione is still in the basement bathroom; she doesn't know about the troll yet."
"Do we have to do this?" Ronald hesitated for a moment. "Well, I hope Percy won't find out."
They didn't notice that as they left the hall and headed to the girls' bathroom, a shadow of Asmodeus, who had been waiting for them, flickered behind them. He couldn't do anything about it; the task stated to introduce himself to Harry would be difficult if he just killed the troll while no one was watching.
At the same time, in the basement bathroom, the little witch Hermione Granger sat on the floor, holding her head in her hands, crying sadly. Earlier in the day, there were Charms classes, and the content of Professor Flitwick's lectures still involved flying spells. Many young wizards had already mastered this magic skillfully. Let feathers fly. But Ronald, sitting to her right, still couldn't pronounce the spell accurately. The little witch kindly pointed out Ronald's mistakes. Eventually, Ronald yelled at her, and Hermione walked behind after class, hearing Ronald saying nasty things to Harry Potter. He said she had no friends in Gryffindor. This upset the little witch. For two months since the start of classes, she had worked diligently to earn points and tried to win the House Cup for Gryffindor.
But people around me seem not to care. The sense of discord with Gryffindor grew stronger. There were times when Hermione thought that if she had been sorted into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff or even Slytherin, it wouldn't have been so bad. She cried in the bathroom for half a day, but no one came looking for her. Certainly, it confirmed Ronald's earlier words. Hermione felt like she really had no friends.
"Oh, let's see who it is~"
When Hermione was feeling sad, a familiar voice suddenly appeared in front of her. The little witch rubbed her face, lifted her head with tears in her eyes, just in time to see Asmodeus entering the bathroom with Athena on his shoulder.
"Asmodeus!"
— How did you find me?
"Went by the sounds of crying echoing throughout the castle. I thought if I didn't come, our Miss Granger would cry here until tomorrow." Asmodeus handed the little witch a piece of paper.
— I didn't cry... — the little witch muttered. However, most of the sadness in my heart immediately dispersed. In any case... She also has a friend, Asmodeus! Who said you don't have friends!
"Honestly, I didn't expect anyone to care so much about others' opinions!"
"Cried for half a day because of the words of an idiot who can't even learn a basic spell!" Asmodeus shrugged.
"Huh? You already know..."
"Of course!" Asmodeus is familiar with the plot, how could he not know what happened on Halloween night...
There are just many things that prevent him from explaining to Hermione in advance how the world works. Maybe I should have come earlier and told Hermione not to pay attention to other people's opinions? But lessons can only be learned from one's own bitter experience.
In fact, Hermione is not annoying or anything like that; she just craves approval too much. I don't know what it is, but it is.
Asmodeus believes that if you seek approval, it should only be from significant figures, certainly not from those who are clearly worse than you.
"I just wanted to remind him of what I did wrong."
"Obviously, I worked very hard to add academy points, but they regularly deduct points because of their stupidity, but it feels like no one in Gryffindor cares except me! The little witch became agitated from her grievances and burst into tears again.
"No, you were wrong from the beginning."
Asmodeus shook his head. Seeing that the little witch suspiciously looked at him, he continued.
"Remember why you came to Hogwarts? To help your classmates? Or to help your academy win the Academy Cup?"
"No, of course... I guess it's for studying?"
That's right. "To explore this mysterious magic full of enchanting wonders..."
"So why should you care about others, just mind your own business, study, read books.
"Do you mean I shouldn't interfere in their affairs? But I... "
The witch opened her mouth... Before she could finish speaking, Asmodeus interrupted her with a pat on the head.
"Of course - kindness ,Miss Granger, that's good, but if the cost of this kindness is that you are hated, what's the point? Be selfish, you owe nothing to anyone. You'll see how these idiots will crawl on their knees to ask for your homework. And you'll send them away"
"But you actively accumulate points for your academy too."
"This is also to some extent an expression of my selfishness. I'm not trying to please anyone; I'm trying to gain more knowledge and power, and the points are just a bonus."
(I can't tell her about the system.)
Hearing Asmodeus's words, Hermione began to gradually understand.
"Do you want me to tell you folk wisdom from my homeland?"
Seeing the effectiveness of his words, he decided to explain it all the way.
"In fact, when you skillfully master this wisdom, you will find that 90% of your life problems disappear."
"Don't interfere where you're not asked, it's not your problems, let them figure it out themselves..." Asmodeus shrugged and said.
At that moment, heavy footsteps could be heard near the bathroom. They were so heavy that even the ground began to tremble slightly.
"Look, trouble is approaching!"
"You cried in the bathroom for half a day because of someone's words."
"Not only did no one come to comfort you, but they exposed you to danger!"
During the conversation, the owner of the footsteps also approached the bathroom door.
A powerful body over five meters tall emitted a foul odor. In his hand, he also carried a huge club. It was the troll that Professor Quirrell had talked about. The troll approached the bathroom door and, seeing two small wizards inside, immediately showed excited eyes.
Quirrell hadn't fed him for three whole days to ensure that he would cause enough commotion in Hogwarts.
"Asmodeus, be careful, it's a troll!"
The knowledgeable little witch immediately recognized the troll, screamed in surprise, and subconsciously hid behind Asmodeus, trembling with tension...
"No need to be afraid." Asmodeus patted the little witch on the shoulder to calm her.
"It's just a minor inconvenience. But before I get rid of him, I hope you can think about whether it's worth it. Let those who really care about you worry about you because of some insignificant person.
It's not just me; it's also Professor McGonagall and the other professors. Do you know you're their favorite?"
Having said that, Asmodeus looked at the troll approaching him. The mountain troll was delighted with the appearance of food. The troll raised a large club and swung it at Asmodeus.
But here's the catch—before the club could touch Asmodeus's head, he calmly dodged, stepping to the right.
"I heard you have high magic resistance, I wonder how much?" Saying this, Asmodeus extended his right hand forward, leaving Hermione behind to avoid crossfire.
On the palm of Asmodeus's hand, flames began to appear, but he didn't release it immediately. Instead, he let the fire accumulate and condense for a few seconds. Just as the troll was about to swing for the second time,
Asmodeus said, "I hope the castle walls can withstand this."
Uttering these words, a dense flame burst from Asmodeus's hand, hitting the troll directly.
The troll was already screaming in pain and the sensation of burning alive. The flame surrounded the troll from all sides due to the too strong flow, filling the corridor with fire.
When Asmodeus noticed that the stones making up the castle walls began to turn red, he stopped releasing the fire.
All that remained of the troll was a pile of ashes and the smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air.
Hermione: ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
"You, how did you do that? No wand... no spell..." It is what professors call connection with fire? she thought.
At that moment, two heads with singed hair appeared from around the corner. It turned out to be Harry and Ronald, who had rushed to the bathroom in alarm.
They only had to turn the corner, but a pillar of flame blocked their path. They barely managed to dodge, so they were unharmed, but their hair was now smoking.
Waiting for the flames to dissipate, they cautiously stuck their heads out and noticed Asmodeus retracting the fire back into his hand.
"Did you do that?"
Harry skeptically looked at Asmodeus, who didn't even break a sweat, and the pile of ashes emitting a meaty smell.
"Good evening, Mr. Potter, yes, it was me!" Asmodeus nodded, then looked at Ronald, who was still in shock, and said,
"Mr. Weasley, I'm not interested in teaching you life principles, but I want to say..."
"Take care of yourself because not everyone responds with kindness to evil, as Hermione does," he added while flames played in his hands.
"Oh, mate, I'm so sorry..." Harry knew Asmodeus was standing up for Hermione, putting him in a dilemma—friends on both sides!
I want to say a few words about Ronald. But I don't know what to say. It's clearly Ron's fault.
"Mr. Potter, nice to meet you, my name is Asmodeus Noren. I see great potential in you, and you value friendship, but you need to learn to choose your friends."
"This, I..."
"I'm not saying the Weasley family is bad, quite the opposite;
The twins are very interesting kids. But every barrel of honey has its fly.
A person who doesn't understand what's good and what's bad isn't the best choice for a friend."
"...Harry fell silent; he didn't know what to answer."
Fortunately, Harry's embarrassment was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps. Professor McGonagall and the old bat Snape quickly approached the bathroom.
"What are you doing here?! Why aren't you in your common rooms? And where's the troll?" She said, not holding back her anger.
"Professor McGonagall, don't fret. The troll is here," Asmodeus pointed to the large pile of ash.
Upon hearing this, Snape immediately went to check.
"Mr. Morningstar, now is not the time for jokes," but before he could finish, Snape, looking strangely at Asmodeus, said,
"He's not lying,
it's the ashes left from burning the troll.
Some potions use their meat, and the smell and taste are the same."
"Alright, then who will explain what happened here?"
"I will!" said Hermione, but Asmodeus shook his head and began to tell everything in detail, including why Hermione ended up here.
"Mr. Weasley, I'm very disappointed in you, and Mr. Potter, you should not blindly agree with everything your friends say. Both of you lose 25 points," Professor McGonagall said.
"And you, Miss Granger, should not pay attention to what others say about you."
"I already... know," Hermione nodded.
"What about you, Mr. Morningstar... 100 points to Ravenclaw for your determination to protect your classmates and the incredible use of the fire spell."
"Alright, go to your rooms," Professor McGonagall said.
Asmodeus nodded and headed to the Ravenclaw tower, first asking Hermione if she could make it to the Gryffindor dormitory on her own. She said yes.
When all four left the corridor, Snape said, "Professor McGonagall, the flame's intensity... And this is not devilish fire but a simple fire spell... look here."
Hearing this, McGonagall approached the wall Snape was pointing to, and when she got closer, she felt that the stones were clearly heated.
"No wonder the hat mentioned his connection to fire... it's incredible. We were only gone for a few minutes, how powerful was the fire?"
At that moment, Asmodeus had already reached his room and mentally said,
"System!"
"Ding, congratulations to the owner on completing a series of tasks. Your grade is S+. The task was perfectly executed:
you destroyed the troll,
saved Hermione Granger,
left an impression as a reliable friend and comrade to Harry Potter."
"Congratulations."
"The reward will be 500 points + Halloween gift set."
"Receive?"
"Of course, yes!"
"The gift package has been sent to the system warehouse. The current balance is 1270 points."
"Do you want to open the gift package?"
"Yes!"
So far he was very relaxed, except he didn't know that a meeting with the old men and authorities of the entire magical world was coming up.
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