Chapter 87: Slaying the Dragon (Part 4)
"Maybe becoming a comic book artist wouldn't be a bad idea," Daniel Davis mused, a slight smile curling his lips as he glanced at the drawing of Iron Man on his sketchpad.
These days, Daniel had ample free time at Hogwarts. Besides learning how to build flying motorcycles from Hagrid and attending Potions and Herbology classes, he had plenty of opportunities to indulge in his hobbies. Despite Dumbledore and Grindelwald's suggestions that he should take over teaching Muggle Studies completely, Daniel declined, as it would consume too much of his valuable time.
Both cultivation and learning demanded significant time investment. Besides his extensive knowledge in biomedical sciences, he was also delving into physics. In such a packed schedule, teaching Hogwarts students seemed an unnecessary distraction. Of course, Daniel didn't phrase it this bluntly to Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Instead, he claimed that developing Muggle science was his priority.
Hogwarts had undergone significant changes. Although it hadn't yet introduced electricity, professors like McGonagall and Snape had adapted their teaching methods to incorporate some of the scientific instruments Daniel provided.
In Snape's Potions class, the introduction of modern scientific tools drastically reduced the waste of materials and improved students' results. While Herbology could be partially industrialized, Potions could not. Modern technology, despite its advancements, couldn't replicate the intricate process of magically infusing potions with specific qualities. Even in the Marvel Universe, such technology was unattainable.
Daniel's contribution was mainly in providing tools like beakers and test tubes to simplify the measurement process for students. However, for Snape, the Potions Master, Daniel supplied several microscopes of varying precision, hoping that Snape could further advance the field of Potions using these modern tools.
In Harry's world, Potions could be seen as a branch of alchemy, similar to the creation of flying cars and broomsticks.
Standing on the western meadow of Hogwarts, Daniel observed the massive eagle he had conjured through Transfiguration. The eagle, over two meters tall, inspired a mix of awe and contemplation.
In Harry Potter's world, Transfiguration had the highest potential for growth. When mastered to its pinnacle, it could achieve permanent transformations, akin to creating the Philosopher's Stone. The idea of permanently reshaping objects by rearranging their internal atoms was fascinating. It was akin to turning coal into diamonds or even gold.
Daniel's current magical power wasn't sufficient to achieve permanent transformations on a microscopic level, but the Philosopher's Stone could effortlessly do so. It was no wonder so many wizards sought to obtain or create their own Philosopher's Stone.
Knowing more about the Philosopher's Stone, Daniel couldn't help but be intrigued, despite understanding its darker implications. However, with Nicolas Flamel now deceased and the Stone destroyed, he had no immediate way to explore its secrets further.
"The source of power for Kamar-Taj comes from the dimensional realm, which is somewhat akin to soul energy. But true soul energy, like that from the Soul Stone, is far superior."
Daniel knew where the Soul Stone was, but retrieving it required a terrible sacrifice—taking the life of someone you truly loved. Unlike Thanos, Daniel wasn't a villain willing to make such a sacrifice.
"No wonder Kaecilius sought Dormammu's power. Human growth has its limits," Daniel thought. Despite his significant strength, bolstered by the interplay of his soul and body, there was a plateau to his progress. Just as athletes reach a point where further improvement becomes marginal, Daniel faced a similar challenge.
While dimensional energy from Kamar-Taj continued to strengthen him, the progress was slow. "I need to access other dimensional realms. There might be techniques out there to expedite my growth," he murmured to himself.
Despite his current prowess, Daniel was still young. Many powerful beings had spent decades or even centuries to reach their levels of strength. Instant power, like that granted by Dormammu, couldn't be truly formidable without time and experience. Kaecilius, even after gaining Dormammu's power, struggled against Doctor Strange.
Daniel understood this principle well but was acutely aware that time was against him, especially with Thanos' impending threat. To confront such a titan, he needed to enhance his power swiftly. The Harry Potter and Marvel universes offered limited opportunities for rapid growth, but other dimensions might hold the key.
Before venturing into another dimension, however, Daniel had a task to complete at Gringotts. The wizarding bank, controlled by goblins, was an independent entity in the magical world, much like the international alliance of magical ministries, which held minimal control over national ministries, governed by a few powerful nations, akin to the United Nations.
Goblins, with their pointy ears and considerable magical abilities, were distinct from house-elves. They were a greedy race, willing to betray anyone for the right price. Their fierce battles with wizards in the past led to the current uneasy peace.
Though wizards often scorned the non-magical world, they shielded it from numerous threats—house-elves, goblins, giants, centaurs, werewolves, vampires, and even dragons. The magical community's struggles had kept these dangers at bay.
House-elves became enslaved, goblins stood as equals with wizards, giants were nearly extinct, and centaurs were rare. Werewolves and vampires remained hidden, still hunted by the international magical community. Dragons were no longer free to roam, constantly monitored by Aurors.
Even the enigmatic Dementors posed significant threats, addressed only through great magical sacrifices. The wizarding world faced dangers that technology alone couldn't solve.
Banks, crucial to any government, were intriguingly controlled by goblins. Daniel found this curious, likely a testament to wizard arrogance. As technology advanced, the importance of banking would eventually force a confrontation between goblins and wizards.
However, this wasn't Daniel's concern. While he sought to influence the magical world, he had no intention of leading such a revolution. He preferred to leave these changes to figures like Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Harry Potter and his friends.
Daniel's interest in Gringotts stemmed from two primary factors. The first was to retrieve Hufflepuff's Cup, a Horcrux currently stored in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. The English Ministry of Magic's upper echelons had failed to address the fact that Bellatrix, a known Death Eater, had her assets stored in Gringotts, which was reminiscent of Swiss banking secrecy in the Muggle world. Even notorious criminals' assets remained untouchable, becoming the bank's property upon their death.
Daniel had no intention of slowly gathering Voldemort's Horcruxes. He aimed to collect them all swiftly. Dumbledore was searching for the most powerful Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt's ring. The ring itself wasn't powerful, but the Resurrection Stone set within it, one of the three Deathly Hallows, was. Even Dumbledore, with all his power, was severely harmed when he destroyed it, leading to his eventual planned demise.
With Grindelwald's help and the Elder Wand, another Deathly Hallow, Dumbledore could avoid such a fate this time.
The second reason was the vast wealth stored in Gringotts. The bank held enormous treasures, tightly guarded by goblins known for their strict confidentiality. Many, including Dumbledore, had trusted Gringotts to secure their most precious items.
Yet, goblins' loyalty was only to gold. They would betray anyone if the price was right, a fact illustrated by their willingness to aid Harry Potter in breaking into Gringotts to retrieve the Sword of Gryffindor.
Gringotts, a towering white building located in Diagon Alley, was heavily guarded by goblins at the entrance and staffed by nearly a hundred goblins inside, diligently serving their customers. They treated wealthy clients with utmost respect, but the poor received vastly different treatment.
"Still using abacuses? Haven't they heard of calculators? Soon, computers will be commonplace," Daniel noted with a wry smile, observing the bustling goblins as he entered Gringotts within the Mirror Dimension.
Gringotts was touted as the second safest place in the English wizarding world, only surpassed by Hogwarts. The Ministry of Magic ranked third. Although many considered Hogwarts the safest, Daniel saw its defenses as overestimated.
Gringotts' security was formidable, with powerful spells preventing Apparition within its premises and deep within its vaults. These included enchantments that nullified all magic, including potions. Only someone with the Invisibility Cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, and an insider guide, like Harry Potter, could infiltrate it.
However, these defenses were no match for Daniel. His Mirror Dimension ability bypassed such protections. The dimensional energy from Kamar-Taj, a form of primal energy, was beyond the scope of magical defenses. Without it, Daniel wouldn't have been able to master magic in the Harry Potter universe, which was heavily dependent on innate talent.
Gringotts' anti-magic defenses had no effect on the Mirror Dimension, allowing Daniel to navigate the bank's depths effortlessly, where he encountered numerous personal vaults.
"Finite Incantatem," Daniel murmured, identifying the powerful spell protecting the deepest vaults. This spell, used by powerful Aurors, could cancel out other spells, as demonstrated when Nicolas Flamel, Newt Scamander, and others used it to quell Grindelwald's inferno spell threatening Paris.
Inside Bellatrix's vault, Daniel quickly located Hufflepuff's Cup. Aware of the duplication curse on the cup, he promptly used the Finite Incantatem to dispel it. This curse replicated objects through magic, creating fake copies that would vanish once the magic was exhausted.
Besides the Horcrux, Daniel looted Bellatrix's
vault and those of other Death Eaters. He had learned their locations from Griphook, a greedy goblin he had ensnared with the Imperius Curse, rather than negotiating as Harry had.
After seizing a substantial amount of treasure, Daniel made his way to the deeper sections of Gringotts, where he encountered the dragon guarding the vaults—a Ukrainian Ironbelly.
This was his third reason for being here: to slay a dragon. In the magical world, dragons were closely monitored by Aurors, making an open attack too risky. However, the dragon within Gringotts was a different story.
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