Chapter 81: Exploration

Now, please enjoy Chapter 81.

The dragon that Leo captured and modified in the Triwizard Tournament, the competition between the three major magic schools.

It was named Jirnitra, a black dragon that appeared in mythology and was also a god of magic.

Leo is personally satisfied with the created mythical dragon. The modification itself was completed a long time ago, and recently it had been appealing to unleash its power, so he decided to use it as a test drive because he had just heard about the giant tribe.

He intended to inflict damage on the giant tribe cooperating with the dark camp, Jirnitra could use its power, and Leo could use the giant tribe as guinea pigs, intending to kill three birds with one stone. However, the giant tribe was annihilated, Jirnitra, who was unsatisfied, attacked Leo, and it ended up like this.

Because of this violent temper, the dragon Harriet, who had been a pet before, was scared and had to be returned to the wild.

In the end, Jirnitra challenged Leo again but was defeated. In terms of physical specs, it surpasses Leo, but Leo won the victory by making up for it with a difference in knowledge.

Jirnitra is currently training in a different space created by magic to perfect the strongest body. Leo thought it was like a Muggle comic. He was not disturbed by the fact that he would attack again after gaining power.

And so, it became the Christmas holiday.

As always, a family party. In other words, it was a peaceful time with nothing particularly changed. The only thing that bothered me was that according to Aeskin, recently the destructive activities and murders by Death Eaters have drastically decreased, and there seems to be almost no information on sightings of Death Eaters and dark magical creatures.

It's eerily quiet, and it feels bad as if this is the calm before the storm.

Even at the Ministry of Magic, they are trying to rebuild the system a little during this period of less activity, but

It was not known how far it could be done.

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The vacation ended and it was now 1997.

Leo was teaching spell studies, researching the Deathly Hallows, making final adjustments with Hermione, occasionally taking other classes, and teaching special combat training classes on Saturdays, just like before the vacation.

There were no requests from Dumbledore, and the Slug Club was still being held as usual.

On a certain holiday, while taking a break from his research, Leo was enjoying a date with Hermione around the lake.

A male student approached them.

It was Arnold Travers, a seventh-year Slytherin student.

Hermione, who was annoyed at having their date interrupted, and Leo, who was interested in seeing a Slytherin student, especially a pure-blood supremacist, approaching them.

As Travers stopped in front of Leo. His face was pale and filled with despair.

"Hey, Taylor! Are you... are you on a date? I'm sorry to interrupt... but die!"

Suddenly, he tried to stab Leo in the abdomen with a knife. Normally, Leo would be waiting for death due to bleeding. Hermione, who saw her lover being killed in front of her, might cry out and attack Travers in anger.

But both Leo and Hermione had already left common sense behind. 

They didn't use magic or magical tools to defend themselves, but hardened their skin.

"Ha, haha... That's right... Damn it! It's impossible, right? Hey, Taylor, how do you die? What should I do!?"

Travers broke down crying. Since he didn't know what was going on, Leo decided to take a look at his heart with the Open Heart Surgery technique.

It seemed that Travers' parents were Death Eaters, but they had somehow failed and were going to be punished by the Dark Lord. To prevent this, Travers seemed to have asked for exemption by taking Leo's life.

"I see. So, Senior Travers, you tried to take my life for your parents. But unfortunately, I won't die so easily. Let's go to the headmaster's office now. Ah, don't worry, just drink the truth serum and give me as much information as you can. Then, Headmaster Dumbledore will decide on the punishment."

"Leo, before that, I'll give him a punch."

Hermione's iron fist knocked Travers out.

After that, they restrained him with magic and headed to the headmaster's office.

The information obtained from the truth serum and the Open Heart Surgery technique only revealed that Voldemort was planning something big and that the target was Hogwarts. 

Just in case, Leo decided to strengthen the defense of his study room.

After leaving Travers to Dumbledore, they returned to the study room.

Since their date time was ruined, Hermione was more clingy than usual, and they enjoyed a sweet time together.

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It was June, and the end-of-year exams were approaching.

Leo was called by Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue. I've found the location of the Horcrux. I want you to accompany me and Harry. Of course, I have prepared a reward, I will tell you the location of the last Deathly Hallow."

"Let's go. I'm interested in the protective magic that the Dark Lord has placed on the Horcrux to protect it. So, the last Deathly Hallow... was it the Invisibility Cloak? Does Harry Potter possess this one?"

"That's right. Harry, I want you to show your Invisibility Cloak to Leo."

Harry reluctantly showed Leo his proud Invisibility Cloak. Leo observed it with sparkling eyes.

(Unlike a normal Invisibility Cloak, it has a semi-permanent effect and high magic resistance. This is also a wonderful magical tool.)

"Thank you. So, Mr. Potter. Do you have any wishes? If you give me that Invisibility Cloak, I will do anything I can. If you have a wish that you want to fulfill even if you have to give up that cloak, please consult me."

"No way! This is my father's memento! Who would let you use it as your research material!"

"I see, that's a shame. But feel free to tell me if you change your mind."

They decided to leave at night.

It seems that in case Dumbledore and Leo are absent, the Knight Order members are gathered at Hogwarts.

Leo also told Hermione not to leave the study room, and left the defense of Hogwarts to Ku. Just in case, he also shared information with Ginny and other students who were taking special combat training classes.

"Leo, be careful. It should be fine, but there are no absolutes in this world, as Leo said."

"Take care, Master Leonard. Please leave the defense of the lab and your mother to me."

After receiving a kiss from Hermione and a salute from Ku, Leo set off for the search.

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Leo and his companions arrived at a cave by the sea.

The orphanage where Voldemort spent his childhood was nearby, and Dumbledore had talked about some factors that led to choosing this place, but Leo had ignored it.

As they proceeded through the cave, Leo's "eye" saw a place where magic had been applied.

Dumbledore also noticed it and stopped.

"Here it is. ...It seems we won't be able to proceed further without using living blood."

"That seems to be the case."

Leo cut his arm with his own nails and attached the blood to the rock wall. Then the rock wall disappeared like an illusion, and a path leading to the back appeared.

"Now, what's next?"

Leo proceeds further into the back with excitement. By the time he took the first step, the wound had already disappeared without a trace.

As they went further in, they could see a black lake. There was something glowing green in the center of the lake, and there were a large number of ghosts floating in the lake.

"It seems that we can only get there by using this small boat. If we use any other means, these ghosts will attack us."

"But Professor, is it safe to ride this small boat? Isn't there a trap?"

"It's okay, Harry. If Voldemort himself were to return the Horcrux to his possession, he would need that method. In other words, a safe method is prepared."

"Coagulate"

Ignoring the two's conversation, Leo activates his magic.

All the ghosts in the lake dive into Leo's palm. Then they are crushed beyond their limits by supergravity and turned into a lump of flesh. He then burns it completely.

"This eliminates one of the threats. It seemed like it would be a nuisance to observe carefully."

The three of them travel across the lake, which is now devoid of ghosts, in a small boat. There was a small island in the place glowing green. In the center of it was a stone pedestal, and a basin was placed on top of it.

The basin was filled with a phosphorescent emerald-colored liquid.

"This is... hmm."

While Dumbledore is trying various things, Leo continues to observe.

The two concluded that drinking this liquid is the condition for removal.

Leo could make it disappear if he took the time, but he wanted to experience the effect of the liquid anyway.

Dumbledore tried to drink it but was stopped by Harry.

So Leo suggested that he drink it.

"I can neutralize most potions with my body. And I won't die."

"...I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I just want to drink it. So, here I go."

When Leo held his hand over the water basin, a cup appeared. He scooped it up and took a sip.

He deliberately lowered his resistance to the magic potion to experience its effects. He didn't taste anything in particular, but suddenly everything went dark.

In the darkness, countless nightmare worlds unfolded. There was no magic, he couldn't use magic, Hermione wasn't there, Hermione was dying, any of these things could drive him mad, and he was shown an infinite number of such nightmares by the nightmare magic potion.

But Leonard Taylor broke through it

(I wonder if this is what I'm afraid of... I'm bored.)

Leo's "eye" could see that the scene in front of him was an illusion.

If he knew that any nightmare was a lie, there was no need to be afraid.

He used the enhanced ring, "Sapientia", to divide and isolate only the part of his consciousness that was having the nightmare.

He returned his consciousness to reality and drank the rest of the liquid.

At the bottom of the empty water basin was a locket.

"Hmm? Headmaster Dumbledore, this isn't a Horcrux."

"What!? Indeed, it's different. It's not Salazar Slytherin's locket. A note? R.A.B...? I don't have enough information to believe that this person has destroyed it. Leo, Harry, we've made a wasted trip, but we've still made half a step forward. Let's go back to Hogwarts today."

"Professor, do you have any idea who R.A.B. is?"

"I can't say anything yet. Harry, you'll probably have to accompany me to destroy the Horcrux in the future. We were safe this time because Leo was there, but he might not be there next time. Let's be on our guard."

"Ah, Headmaster Dumbledore. It seems that Hogwarts is being attacked."

Leo's sudden remark made Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter's eyes widen.

Dragon Specs!

Name: Jirnitra. I named it after researching mythical dragons and finding that they were black, gods of magic, and fabrications.

Claws and Fangs: They are wrapped in decomposition magic, so they disintegrate at the molecular level the moment they touch.

Scales: A sturdy armor. It has several times the strength and magic resistance of a normal dragon.

Flame: It emits a black flame that burns everything.

Horn: It generates an electric shock. The attack power is not that high, but the speed is relatively fast.

Inside its body, it also has the Philosopher's Stone and a furnace that converts the Elixir of Life into magical power.

It can also release all its magical power as destructive energy.

In addition, it can use magic. But the dragon itself doesn't want to use it.

There are many other cheat specs!

I might write a battle between Leo and Jirnitra in a side story? The content would be a cheat battle that is far removed from Harry Potter, so I excluded it from the main story.

In terms of wide-area annihilation power, Jirnitra is the strongest, but in terms of versatility, Ku is, and in terms of immortality, Leo is. If Jirnitra seriously learns magic and makes an effort, it should be able to win against Leo. (But it can't kill him)

Arnold Travers

An original character I came up with. The Travers family is also one of the Sacred 28 in the original work.

The attack on Leo was also part of the Voldemort plan.

Horcrux Search

The trap was meaningless for Leo.

Hogwarts Attack

Details will be in the next chapter.

So, stay tuned for the next chapter.

In the original Harry Potter, Harry leaves Hogwarts in his seventh year.

In other words, in secondary creation, you can write freely about the seventh year! 

...That's difficult in its own way.