On the system panel, the words of Demeter's ritual magic were flashing wildly at an incredible speed. It was still a little short of reaching the silver level, but in the blink of an eye, the silver luster had spread all over. Even a dazzling golden light then replaced it. Silver, Gold—at this rate, even the platinum level seemed to be easily broken through.
This thought had just popped into Char's mind when, in just a few seconds, the golden light in the magic of Demeter's ritual had completely transformed into a platinum luster. And this didn't even mean it would stop. His heartbeat accelerated wildly. Wasn't this crazy? So many giant trolls before had contributed their power of faith to him, but none of them had caused any particularly significant changes in Demeter's ritual magic. But now, the pale golden thread from the Heads of House, and especially from Dumbledore, had made Demeter's ritual magic soar like a rocket.
"The faith they contributed to me was definitely not fanatical," he mused. "I think it was at this moment that I was touched, just like when I led the Hufflepuff Quidditch team to victory, and the kids also contributed some of their faith to me. But this shallow belief alone has such a powerful effect. It's because the Heads of House are extremely powerful. They are simply not comparable to ordinary wizards. And Dumbledore, is he even closer to a mythical existence? No wonder the legends say that beings revered as gods in the Age of Olympus placed such high value on faith, especially the faith of heroes. Some heroes received repeated help from the gods throughout their epic lives and were even led to Mount Olympus by the gods after their death. Perhaps it's because the power of faith they can provide is really not on the same level as that of ordinary people."
At this time, Char's eyes showed anticipation. "I wonder how far Demeter's ritual magic will advance this time. What kind of benefits will it bring to me?"
The [Blessing of Demeter] he had obtained during his last promotion was of great benefit to him. This time, maybe he could get some more amazing rewards. And it was at this moment that the luster of the Demeter ritual magic was still flashing rapidly. His sixth sense also began to produce a strange tingling sensation. In front of his eyes, some strange images appeared. There seemed to be some sounds coming from far away.
He shook his head, thinking he was too nervous just now. There had been a sudden relaxation, coupled with the rapidly growing joy of Demeter's ritual magic, which had led to some hallucinations. But when his Occlumency was working, the visual and auditory hallucinations did not diminish at all. On the contrary, they became more and more obvious as time went by.
He shook his head in a strange manner. This also made the professors and Dumbledore who had just arrived nervous. Professor Sprout's voice was hoarse and more anxious than ever. "Char? Char?! What's wrong with you? Are you under some kind of dark magic? Severus! Albus!"
Just as Professor Sprout asked Snape and Dumbledore for help, Char wanted to tell her that there shouldn't be any big problem with him. But at this time, in Demeter's ritual magic, a clear diamond light suddenly shone.
In a moment, in front of his eyes, Professor Sprout's face, full of concern and anxiety, slowly dimmed. This dark underground Forbidden Forest also disappeared from his senses. Instead, there was an unknown and dead place. In this place, the earth was barren and pale in color. There was no sign of life at all, as if it was shrouded in death. And here in the center was a towering but dilapidated temple.
The moment he saw the temple, he remembered what had happened on the island of Delia. Although he still didn't know how he had ended up here, he subconsciously raised his level of vigilance to the highest level. There were no gaps in the operation of his Occlumency, and he was always alert to the powerful temptation coming from it, similar to the temple on the island of Delia. But soon, he felt a little relieved. The feeling this temple gave off was different from the strange one on the island. There was no feeling that made his scalp tingle. Moreover, on the ruins of the temple, there were no strange or exquisite patterns that would infuse forbidden knowledge into his mind just by looking at them. There were just some equally dilapidated murals.
When he saw the content of the murals, he raised his brows slightly. He had seen this painting many times. "This is mentioned in the myth of Demeter, the goddess of fertility. The walls of the Temple of Demeter record the great achievements of Demeter. The few paintings that have been handed down are very similar to this one. So what I'm looking at now is the temple of Demeter?!"
There was a thoughtful look in his eyes. If so, then he could be sure that this was related to the rapid improvement of Demeter's ritual magic. Then he thought of the tingling sensation he had felt from his sixth sense earlier. He thought of a possibility. In older times, people with a strong sixth sense were often considered to have special gifts. Such people often served as priests in major temples. Under certain circumstances, they could hear oracles from the gods on Mount Olympus. This so-called special situation was generally related to grand ceremonies. Perhaps it was because of the rapid improvement in his ritual magic that it had met certain conditions, so he had received an "oracle"? This was the only possibility he could think of.
Immediately, he took a quick glance and found that there was no system panel in front of him. This actually made him feel even more relieved. At least, this proved that what he saw was not real, but similar to the illusion that the system had previously instilled in people's insights. He wouldn't have to die if he encountered danger here.
Then, after hesitating for a moment, he took a step forward and slowly approached the temple in this pale land filled with deathly silence. More and more confusion surged in his heart. This was the second mysterious temple he had seen. What did this mean? Wasn't the Temple of Demeter still preserved in Greece today? Where was this one? And the legendary Demeter was the goddess of fertility. The land surrounding her temple was fertile beyond imagination. Flowers bloomed all year round and never faded. The fragrance of fruits and melons was the most delicious food on earth that even gods would covet. But the Temple of Demeter in front of him was not only dilapidated, but how could the surrounding land be fertile?
He bent down carefully and picked up a handful of soil. The feeling when he first touched it was even colder and more dead than it appeared. In his past and present lives, he had never come into contact with such soil. There was no temperature, no life, and it seemed there were no insects or even microorganisms. It was a land of death. It was hard to imagine that such soil would surround the Temple of Demeter. He even felt a sense of absurdity. "It's like a cage for the fertility god. Or rather, an instrument of torture?"
The thoughts in his mind were becoming more and more scattered. He shook his head quickly, dispelling these unfounded speculations. No matter what the truth was, this was obviously not something he could access at his current level. What could he do even if he knew? The experience of his previous life told him that the less you knew about the gossip of the big shots, the better.
Thinking of this, he even stopped walking towards the temple out of subconscious curiosity. He slowly backed up to where he had been standing previously. He had just gotten through the most troublesome first school year. The next few years were relatively peaceful. He didn't have to worry about a noseless monster appearing when he went to the greenhouse to farm at night. He didn't want to be inexplicably in such a situation at this time. Even if it was confirmed that this was an extremely real illusion, he still chose to be cautious.
And just as he stepped back, the voice that had appeared in his auditory hallucinations before was heard again. But this time, it came from the temple. And it was no longer distant and vague, but instead was like a loud thunder, shaking the entire earth and air. A childish look appeared in his eyes. He heard it. This voice was a female voice. A female voice speaking anxiously. Just speaking was like thunder? What was this? Was it mythical? Was Demeter still alive in the temple?
Just when he paused and didn't respond, in the temple, the female voice was heard again. He was shocked at first, then his face was full of helplessness. This language was obviously a powerful and magical language, just like the Dragon language, Mermish, and even Parseltongue in the wizarding world today. All were believed to possess unique magical powers. The language used by this female voice was probably much more advanced than Dragon language. But he didn't understand.
It seemed that the being who spoke also realized this from his reaction. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a different language. He stood there in a daze. After a longer silence, it was another, more low-level and crude language, and the degree of magic it contained was so different from the original one that it was simply unimaginable. You could see it. That speaking existence was really trying hard to be backward compatible. This made him feel a little embarrassed. He stammered a few words in ancient Hebrew. This time, it was the turn of the being in the temple to remain silent. After a long time, a long, feeble sigh was heard, filled with a sense of exhaustion that could be conveyed without words.
He touched his nose awkwardly. "That... I roughly memorized the characteristics of the language you used earlier. After I leave, I'll go and learn. Let's communicate again next time we have a chance." Immediately, he said again, "Now, can you let me leave from here? I have family and friends waiting for me. If I stay with you for too long, they will be very worried."
The temple fell into silence. Just then, his heart sank slightly. While thinking about how to leave here, a faint emerald green light flew out of the temple and landed on him. He was startled at first, but soon, he felt a surge of vitality spreading in his body. Although this vitality was nothing compared to the total amount after the sublimation of his legendary life, its level was actually even higher. It made him feel like he was soaking in a warm hot spring, with a sense of security as if being embraced by the earth. The pressure and tension of several consecutive days while gathering the guardian of the World Tree, and the thrilling killing during the previous trial in the Forbidden Forest, all gradually calmed down. Although he didn't know what this power was, or why it worked in this illusion, there was no feeling of anything wrong. At least he could confirm that the existence in the temple had no ill will towards him. Not caring whether the other party could understand or not, he said softly, "Thanks."
And at this time, the presence in the temple seemed to have sensed something. The voice, which had originally become low, suddenly became high. Even crying and laughing. She said a lot of words that he couldn't understand at all. But soon, the strange scene before him, including the temple, began to dim and fade.
A familiar scene returned to his sight. It was the Hogwarts infirmary. He was lying on the bed here. And the sound that came into his ears was no longer the rumbling words in the temple that he could not understand, but the call of Professor Sprout's heart. "Char. Char—"
When his eyes met Professor Sprout's bloodshot, tired, and haggard eyes, she was almost crying for joy. "Thank God. Merlin, behold. Three days, three whole days, and you finally woke up!"
He discovered that her voice was already hoarse. A deep warmth surged in his heart. It turned out that after receiving the "oracle," it had been three days. During these three days, he was afraid that in the eyes of others, he may have looked completely unconscious. His aunt had kept calling him, trying to wake him up. He held out his hand, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then, his hand was held tightly by her. She seemed to be still in shock. "Char. Promise me you won't do anything so risky again."
Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded seriously. "Don't worry, auntie. Never again." He said silently in his heart, except for the last time, when Antonius Dolokhov is about to be killed. However, by then, it shouldn't be much of an adventure.
After Professor Sprout had recovered a little, he asked again, "What about the other little Hufflepuffs? What about the other little wizards? Are they okay?"
Professor Sprout nodded. "Aside from being frightened and having some scrapes and bruises, there were no further injuries. The most serious case is probably Harry. He took a very risky action and is still in a coma, but his life is not in danger."
Hearing that the kids were okay, he finally felt completely relieved. As for Harry, the Philosopher's Stone, and Two-Face, he didn't ask a single question. He knew it very well. The more questions you ask and the more interested you are, the deeper you will be. Only if you have no interest in it at all can you truly stay out of it. Let Dumbledore and the Savior take care of these things; it was none of his business. What's more, if Two-Face caused such a thing at Hogwarts and Dumbledore could still let him escape with the Philosopher's Stone... what kind of White Devil was that? Just find a piece of tofu and kill yourself.
He didn't mention any of this, and neither did Professor Sprout. She really didn't want him to recall these things. After all, there were still many little wizards who had experienced this incident and were trembling in nightmares. Hogwarts was filled with panic. This was an experience that would leave a lifelong shadow on one's mind. In order to avoid affecting the psychology of the young wizards, the professors had cast the Memory Charm the most in the past three days, letting the young wizards forget this memory for the time being. But the accompanying panic might not be digested so quickly. Fortunately, Dumbledore had finally done something humane. He said that he would definitely find an outstanding wizard who was proficient in the Oblivion Charm and Defense Against the Dark Arts next semester. In this way, it would be consolidated after another school year. The impact of this incident should be completely lost on the young wizards.
Thinking of this, Professor Sprout's anger and resentment towards Dumbledore finally calmed down a little. But at this moment, by a strange coincidence, a tall figure came to the door of the ward. It was Dumbledore. He looked frighteningly haggard. Looking at Char, he managed a smile. But before he could speak, what caught his eyes was Professor Sprout's angry expression.
"You still want to bring this up? Don't even think about it! Get out!"
Dumbledore paused, then awry smile. After a moment, he nodded. "Yes. I'll be waiting outside."