A magical journey that begins in Azkaban.

Chapter 579: Burning Rose on the Black Lake
The image of the skeleton in the photo is chilling. It has no nose, its skin is so pale that it is almost transparent, and there is only endless darkness in its empty eye sockets. The creature walks woodenly at the edge of the gloomy forest, as if looking for something, or escaping from something.

"Aren't the Aurors taking any action?" Daphne leaned closer involuntarily, her eyes fixed on the disturbing photo in the newspaper.

Her voice trembled slightly, and she threw the newspaper away as if she had been burned. "This... is terrible."

Draco shook his head slowly, revealing a helpless expression: "I heard that this guy is elusive. Even this photo was taken by a wizard by chance. The Ministry of Magic has been tracking him, but is always one step behind."

"Last time someone said it was in Carlisle, now it's in Glasgow. No one knows what it's going to do."

Roger frowned thoughtfully and said softly, "It's moving to the north. There's definitely something wrong with this guy. He must be looking for something."

"Rog, you mean..." Daphne covered her mouth in fear, "Didn't the Ministry of Magic say that he turned into a soul?"

"The world is constantly changing, Daphne. We can't always judge others with the old eyes, let alone Voldemort." He shook his head and added seriously: "At that time, he summoned skeletons to fight in the cemetery."

"Although those skeletons are stupid, just as stupid as the dummies in the window. However, this shows that he has mastered some magic involving the dead. What I am most worried about is that he is coming to Hogwarts."

"If that's true, some people will be in big trouble." He shrugged, his eyes calm as water.

There were sudden sounds of people gasping for air all around, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees.

Theodore touched his chest, his tone full of fear: "It can't be true? Merlin, I don't want to run into this scary skeleton in the corridor of Hogwarts."

"How about we go tell the professor?"

Roger said calmly: "In fact, as long as you stay in school, your safety should be fine."

Suppose Voldemort redeems his soul from the god of death. If he can't find Bella, he can only seek revenge on others. For example, Dumbledore, Harry Potter...

"Rogge, it can't be 'it should be fine'" Theodore shook his head excitedly, his voice rising an octave: "No, you must tell the dean about this."

After saying that, he grabbed the newspaper and rushed towards the dungeon as if a group of Dementors were chasing him.

Finally, half an hour later, Theodore dragged his heavy steps back to the common room. His depressed expression and frustrated eyes said it all.

Draco pressed on, "What did the Dean say? How did he react?"

"Snape told us to stay in the school. He said that the skeleton had been dealt with."

"Someone?" Pansy interrupted. "Who is it? Aurora from the Ministry of Magic?"

"Don't ask me." Theodore spread his hands. "I don't know either. The dean refused to reveal more information. He also asked me about my plans for sixth grade course selection."

"Hiss, they won't let you choose the advanced potions class, will they~" The people around them suddenly felt their scalps tingling. It seemed that taking Snape's advanced potions class was more terrifying than encountering a white-skinned skeleton.

"I can't think of anyone other than Roger who would continue to study Potions in depth."

"Don't forget Hermione."

……

Rogge smiled when he heard this and continued carving the wood in his hand.

The OWLs exam results will not be released until the summer vacation, so the fifth-year students are free of pressure and feel like they have been reborn. The entire Hogwarts has become their playground, and the professors will not be too harsh on them if they criticize them a few times.

They played with Goblin stones, complaining about Daphne's luck for picking the right stone with a one in five chance, or discussing with each other about playing some pranks on students in other grades who were preparing for exams.

Some people deliberately chose exam days to have fun loudly on the Quidditch field, fearing that the castle would not hear the sounds of their exciting chase.

After nightfall, the secret activities of Hogwarts really began. With the help of secret passages, many students sneaked out of the castle and explored the nightlife of Hogsmeade. Filch and Mrs. Norris did not strictly control it.

It is said that someone gave Mrs. Norris a bag of high-quality cat food.

At dusk, hundreds of bright roses floated vertically on the rippling black lake. This was not a romantic confession ceremony, but Rogge's preparation for a mysterious transformation experiment.

Many mermaids secretly emerged from the lake and hid among the water plants to discuss which rose was the most beautiful.

"What a pity!" Several witches sat under the willow tree by the lake, their hands forming a green leaf shape and holding their heads. "So many roses should be used for confessions. It's so romantic just thinking about it."

Another blonde witch said infatuatedly: "If Roger gave them to me, I would definitely agree."

"Come on, stop dreaming." Her friend joked, "Didn't you see that Daphne and Hermione couldn't get it? Alas, Travis is so unromantic. I don't need roses."

"At least he's better than the old bat. He couldn't even understand Madam Pince's clear instructions. I don't know if he's naturally slow or just pretending to be stupid."

"Maybe it was intentional." Someone took out a copy of Paparazzi's Sniff, which published gossips among famous people in the wizarding world. "Look, the latest issue says that Harry's father and godfather are both bastards. The old bat's childhood sweetheart was snatched away by Harry's father."

"Is it real or fake?" The other witches immediately became interested and gathered around, vying to take a quick look.

"Oh my god, this is too exciting, isn't it?"

"No wonder Professor Snape is always so strict with Harry Potter..."

"Wait, where did this magazine get this secret information?"

Not far away, Roger checked his lab notes and swore to himself that the magazine had nothing to do with him. It must be some kind-hearted person who secretly wrote an anonymous letter to the newly opened magazine.

"Lockhart's writing style is quite good. He can write a hit article with just a few words." He muttered secretly, "However, "The Paparazzi's Nose" was originally published for goblins, so how could it be circulated in the hands of wizards?"

Shaking his head, Roger forced himself to focus again on the experiment at hand.

"Magic, matter, transformation." He muttered in a low voice, pointing his wand at the roses floating on the lake. "The previous failures were all caused by the fire magic being too strong."

"This time, I'm only using the basic spell, Blazing Flames."

As soon as he finished speaking, a fan-shaped flame shot out from the tip of the staff. The flames spread along the lake surface and burned towards the rose bush in the center of the lake.

As the distance increased, the power of the flames gradually weakened. The evaporating water vapor was trapped between the lake and the flames, forming an extremely thin air layer.

boom.

In an instant, a dazzling light burst out from the lake, and all the roses were engulfed by flames.

There were bursts of regretful cries on the shore. The witches covered their mouths, their eyes full of resentment towards someone for being so cruel to them.

Roger held his breath and observed every detail of the experiment attentively.

Surrounded by flames, the roses on the lake began to undergo miraculous changes. The petals were burning, and a faint golden light appeared on the edges.

"Hope it works this time," he muttered to himself, slowly removing his wand's control over the flame.

The next ten seconds seemed to be stretched infinitely.

Even though he was prepared, when half of the rose turned directly into ashes, Rogge couldn't help but feel nervous.

As the breeze and ripples passed by, the flowers were like fragile papers, shattering, falling, and disappearing into the lake.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "No. 102, 105, 107... these three seem to be successful."

Rogge slowly led them over and finally a smile appeared on his face.

These three roses were very different from before; some wonderful change had taken place in them.

The energy of the rose itself had been burned by the magic flame, leaving only a perfect physical shell. The next thing to do was to pour magic power into it and finally ignite it to realize the magic cycle.

Meanwhile, the scene on the lake was heartbreaking. The remaining roses had fallen into the water, their nearly-opened blossoms turning to an ash-like black-grey, with embers flickering at the edges.

Beauty and destruction are unified in the conflict, giving people a heart-wrenching sense of fragility. It is like the last swan song of life, beautiful and romantic. As Rogge left, the lakeside suddenly became lively. The surrounding witches used the flying spell to summon the roses in the river, and even the mermaids couldn't help but swim over to fight for them.

Many students were well prepared, and they quickly protected the captured rose remains with glass jars or magic covers. These roses burned by flames showed a unique beauty, like exquisite works of art.

"Look, the edges of this flower's petals are golden!"

“My shape is still intact.”

……

"What a waste." Daphne smacked her lips and stood at the entrance to the courtyard.

She had a sweet smile on her face, and her eyes were fixed on the perfect rose in Roger's hand. It had complete branches and leaves, and even the thorns were so prominent.

"Just one, no more. I still have to do experiments on the rest." Rogge sighed helplessly.

"Hehe, I knew you were the best." She stood on tiptoe happily, gave Roger a kiss on the face, and then carefully took the rose.

She immediately used magic to protect this precious gift, fearing that it would be damaged in the slightest.

Rogge touched his face and smiled helplessly. As long as the experiment was successful, he could replicate it in large quantities. The only thing he needed to worry about was the yield rate.

He walked a little further, before he passed through the corridor outside the Great Hall, he ran into Hermione and Ariana.

The two girls stood side by side, holding the magic books, looking at Roger with smiles on their faces.

"One, no more!"

Hermione smiled and nodded, obviously very satisfied with the rose she had obtained. Ariana, with a hint of curiosity, asked, "Mr. Roger, can you let me see your bird?"

"Miss Dumbledore, please be careful with your wording. That is a phoenix, not a bird."

"Okay, can you show me your Phoenix?"

"No." Roger shook his head firmly, "Maria likes quietness, you can go find the principal Fox."

"It's so boring." Ariana fought stubbornly, "Just once."

"Then..." Looking at the expectation in her eyes, Roger said cruelly, "Next time for sure."

"Humph." Ariana looked at Roger's receding back and stamped her feet in anger. "Isn't it just a bird? What's so rare about it?"

Hermione asked curiously: "Alia, you should be able to summon Fawkes, right? I remember that everyone in the Dumbledore family has this ability."

"When there is a life-threatening situation," Ariana nodded. "But I want to know if it's the same for all Phoenixes."

"What?" Hermione looked confused.

"Don't you think that Roger's phoenix is ​​strange? It actually hatched from an egg."

“The phoenix itself is a bird.”

"No, no, no, it's the Phoenix..." The two girls discussed as they walked towards the Gryffindor Tower. Their voices gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor, leaving only a string of faint words floating in the air.

After returning to his dormitory, Roger opened the Room of Requirement and walked into the room dedicated to making magic wands. He carefully placed the Ash Rose on the table and slowly injected magic power from the root.

Crystal blue magic poured in like water, rising rapidly, and soon filled every gap in the rose. While maintaining the output of magic power, Rogge whispered an ancient spell.

As time went on, the magic power stopped spreading and began to gather inside the rose.

Slowly, the ash rose began to undergo a miraculous change. Its form gradually solidified, and magic flowed through it, as if it had come to life.

Roger nodded with satisfaction. Now, it was a magic wand in the broad sense: with condensed magic as the wand core and river rose as the outer shell.

As the wizard uses it for a longer time, the magic power in it will slowly be replaced by his own. Therefore, compared with the common magic wands on the market, it has a higher affinity and is more powerful in casting spells.

"There should be another key point, which is specifically to increase the speed of transformation and fusion of matter and energy." Rogge flipped through Tiago's notes again. Unfortunately, this drunkard didn't record it. "Alchemy array?"

Feeling the protest from his stomach, Roger looked at the time and closed his notebook. He stretched and decided to eat something first.

Before leaving, he took one last look at the slowly crystallizing river rose. At the speed at which it was transforming, it would take at least a month.

"Oh my god, I was so scared!" Theodore rushed into the auditorium breathlessly, with obvious fear in his voice, "Guess what I saw?"

"Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest?"

"No, no!" Theodore quickly shook his head and denied it, his voice trembling. "The thing in the newspaper looks like the Thestral, but his skin is white."

"Is this true? You're not kidding, are you? The newspaper clearly said it went to Edinburgh."

Draco's eyes turned and he thought of a bad idea: "How about we go to the Forbidden Forest at night?"

"Take a look?" The others were a little hesitant.

"Look! Anyone who doesn't go is a coward."

"Roger..."

Roger was enjoying his buttered bread leisurely. When he heard someone calling him, he looked up and responded calmly, "I don't mind. As for you, don't be scared to the point of peeing your pants and calling for your mother."

He put down his bread and butter and continued, "After all, tomorrow is the end-of-term banquet. If I make a fool of myself now, everyone will laugh at me for the whole summer."

"Tsk, don't underestimate us!" Draco pulled out his wand and waved it around randomly, his voice confident and loud: "If there's one, bang, I'll knock one down; if there's two, bang bang, I'll knock both down."

"Everyone can brag." A familiar voice came from the Gryffindor table, and it was Ron's disdainful tone.

Draco craned his neck, anger flashing in his eyes: "Weasley, what are you talking about?"

"Why, do you want to fight?" George and Fred stood up immediately. They were both about to graduate and were not afraid of Professor McGonagall's warning of expulsion.

Derek's fingers were shaking with anger. He stammered, "You...you just wait."

"I'm going to make them jobless after graduation and unable to sell any prank merchandise!" He gritted his teeth and whispered viciously.

As soon as the meal was over, everyone returned to the dormitory to prepare for the evening's adventure in the Forbidden Forest. The coward Theodore actually "borrowed" a fully enclosed knight's helmet.

As soon as Draco saw his funny look, he couldn't help but laugh: "Theodore, you don't look like a wizard at all."

"Who said that! Have you seen my wand..."

"Okay, okay, don't attract Hagrid and his dog." Roger interrupted their quarrel and patted Theodore's steel head gently. "Wrap it with cloth to avoid reflection."

"By the way, where did you find it this afternoon?"

"West." Theodore hesitated for a moment, then answered truthfully, "I was trying to pick up some thestral hairs and came across it by accident."

"You wouldn't poach, would you?"

"Who poached?" Theodore kicked Draco. "They often scratch themselves on trees. Is it illegal to pick up some hair? Don't talk nonsense."

Several people laughed and cursed in low voices, and went into the dark forbidden forest together.

(End of this chapter)