Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 332, Section 331: The Truth About the Dumbledore Family

Inside this room, which resembled a giant's castle.

Ian sat on the bed.

Holding a cup of hot cocoa in his hand, he took small sips while glancing at Fox.

The phoenix was huddled beneath Dumbledore's robes, its feathers slightly ruffled, its eyes warily fixed on Claire—the witch who called herself "Titan." She was currently sitting at a table in the corner of the room, slowly simmering a pot of soup, the aroma filling the air and whetting the appetite.

But the problem is... the soup in that pot is stewed with phoenix.

Precisely.

It is her own phoenix.

"As expected, Phoenix is ​​a psychopath."

Ian stared at the large pot bubbling away, inside which the phoenix was comfortably soaking in the "hot spring," occasionally adjusting its posture to allow the broth to better nourish its feathers.

It began to undergo a process of rebirth in the soup.

"..."

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.

No opinion was expressed.

"So..." Ian began slowly, his voice still carrying a hint of disbelief, "your phoenix can grow stronger by eating itself?"

“Yes.” Claire didn’t look up, gently stirring the soup with a long-handled spoon. “It gets a little stronger each time it’s reborn.”

After a pause, she continued, "Sometimes I think she's too talkative, so I force her to cook a little to give her some peace and quiet."

Ian's eyes widened.

"You're abusing animals!"

He felt that this was something the childless cat-loving woman definitely couldn't see.

“She doesn’t think so.” Claire pointed to the phoenix in the pot. “Look, she’s enjoying it right now.”

talking.

She stirred the pot again.

Ian leaned closer and saw that the phoenix was indeed turning itself into essence in the soup, seemingly without any pain and actually looking quite happy.

Ian.

"..."

The fact that the Phoenix can eat itself to increase its strength is really a bit of a bug. I don't know if all Phoenixes are like this, or if it's only the Phoenix of the Female Titan.

Isn't this just too buggy?

"This...this is outrageous!" He turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, what do you think of this?"

Dumbledore simply smiled, took a sip of tea, and said calmly, "I think every phoenix has its own way of life, so I won't comment."

"Forehead……"

Ian wanted to say something more.

But he was interrupted by Fawkes's actions—this loyal companion of Dumbledore was trembling, with only his head peeking out from under Dumbledore's robes.

Ian wanted to see what this "traditional phoenix" thought of this bizarre cultivation method of its kind.

As soon as Fox met his gaze, he immediately chirped and burrowed into Dumbledore's robes, not daring to show his head.

"Is it... afraid of being stewed?" Ian asked tentatively.

It seems that not all phoenixes are so willing to go all out.

“Perhaps.” Dumbledore remained calm, his tone resolute, unmoved by the temptation of power. “However, I will not allow it to meet that fate.”

For Dumbledore, the phoenix was his partner, and even if the phoenix could not provide him with much combat power, he would not do such a thing to make the phoenix stronger.

If it were someone else doing this, the old headmaster might have criticized them, but since the other party is the Titan of Origin, no one can interfere with him cooking his own alchemical creations.

"Phew..." Ian breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

His Hogwarts life can't be ruined by this. Just imagine the cozy castle, with the old headmaster stewing phoenix in his office every day—that image is simply too ridiculous to bear.

Claire noticed Ian's gaze and pursed her lips: "His phoenix is ​​too spoiled. The phoenix is ​​the embodiment of eternal fire, what's wrong with it eating itself?"

"This is called resource recycling."

It's clearly a bug.

However, the female Titan spoke with an unreasonable and self-righteous air.

As she spoke, she pulled a handful of shimmering powder from her pocket and sprinkled it into the pot. Ian recognized it as some kind of high-level magical spice, and the soup immediately changed from golden-red to a brilliant red.

The aroma was so rich it was almost tangible, condensing into tiny specks of light in the air.

Dumbledore stood aside.

His blue eyes, behind his crescent-shaped glasses, gleamed thoughtfully, but he remained silent. His long, slender fingers gently stroked Fox, who was hidden inside his robe.

It's like comforting a frightened kitten.

“Professor,” Ian couldn’t help but ask, “do you think this…is normal?”

"In the magical world, 'normal' is a rather subjective concept."

Dumbledore replied gently, “I recall Mr. Newt Scamander once wrote about a magical lizard that eats its own tail, and whose scales become even harder each time it is reborn.”

This is indeed a fact.

Hear the words.

Claire snapped her fingers triumphantly.

"See! Even you future magizoologists understand this principle!" She even knew the term magizoologist, and who knew how much she liked to peek into the future.

Ian rubbed his temples, deciding to give up thinking about the problem. He turned his attention to the increasingly magical soup—miniature phoenix images were now appearing on its surface.

It is circling gracefully.

"So..." Ian asked cautiously, "your phoenix gets stronger every time it's stewed?"

“That’s right.” Claire scooped up a spoonful of soup, tasted it, and nodded in satisfaction. “But only if you use specific magical flames, add the right spices, and use the appropriate incantations…”

As soon as these words came out.

Ian was also somewhat stunned.

he realized.

Perhaps this is some kind of magical ritual? The earliest version of ritual magic? Ian looked at Dumbledore, who was not surprised, as if he had already discerned this fact.

Claire noticed Ian's constantly changing expression, and suddenly she narrowed her eyes.

"What? You want to learn?"

The female Titan seemed eager to try.

Fawkes poked his head out from Dumbledore's robes and let out a startled "Gah!"—it was intelligent and knew exactly how many phoenixes Hogwarts had for Ian to practice with.

"No!" Ian quickly waved his hand, "I'm just curious..."

Claire shrugged and continued to focus on her cooking.

at this time.

Dumbledore then went to the window.

Dumbledore stood by the window, his gaze piercing through the glass to the wondrous starry sky outside. He squinted slightly, as if observing something, or perhaps pondering some profound question.

After a while.

He slowly turned around and looked at Ian sitting on the edge of the bed, his face still bearing that signature gentle smile.

“Now that you’re alright,” he said softly to Ian in a relaxed tone, “I’m going to go and collect what this Titan was talking about.”

Ian was taken aback: "What are you going to help her collect?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly, his tone as relaxed as if discussing tomorrow's lesson plan: "You always have to give something before you can ask for help, don't you?"

The words have not yet fallen.

"Snapped--!"

A soft yet decisive cracking sound rang out in the air, and Dumbledore's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a faint magical aftershock echoing in the room.

His figure suddenly twisted.

The spatial fluctuations from the Phantom Shift left a ripple in the air.

His departure was quite abrupt.

It's unclear whether this was due to Fox's apprehension.

“No, my headmaster… he’s gone already?” Ian muttered to himself, his gaze drifting to Claire, who was sitting in a chair nearby, slowly stirring the soup pot.

"What is he going to do? What is he helping you collect?"

Ian couldn't help but ask.

Claire didn't answer immediately. Instead, she scooped up a spoonful of steaming soup, blew on it gently, and then nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, just right."

"Hey."

Ian frowned. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me."

He could see through the female Titan's poor acting.

"Oh, you mean Dumbledore?"

Claire then looked up and said casually, "He's helping me collect some alchemical materials."

She stirred the soup.

Red steam formed a small vortex in front of her. If it weren't for the fact that this female Titan was quite beautiful, one might mistake her for an old witch brewing poison.

Good-looking people have this privilege; even brewing poison is like brewing delicious chicken soup. Ian, being good-looking himself, understands this all too well.

"Alchemy materials?"

Ian raised an eyebrow, curious about what deal the female Titan and Dumbledore had made during his time in the illusionary realm. He believed there must be some reason behind it.

"What kind of alchemical materials?"

Ian's questioning seemed somewhat aggressive.

but.

The female Titan Lyle didn't seem to care much about this.

"An alchemical ingredient that can make people grow taller."

Claire blinked, her tone relaxed, leaving Ian somewhat bewildered.

A magic potion that can make people grow taller?

Ian's expression instantly turned strange. He looked Claire up and down—a three-meter-tall female Titan, whose head almost touched the ceiling, a height perhaps unattainable by humans.

but.

Such a height is nothing special among the Titans.

"Do you... want to grow taller?"

He couldn't help but ask.

This is absolutely the most reasonable guess.

however.

"Who wants to grow taller!"

Claire's expression changed slightly, and her voice rose by half an octave.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Claire slammed the spoon in her hand against the edge of the pot with a loud thud.

"I'm very happy with my height!" She glared at Ian, her long, silvery-white hair fluttering even without wind. "Those materials can also be used to refine other things!"

"Then why are you collecting this?"

Ian was even more confused.

He felt that the female Titan was likely trying to cover something up.

to be frank.

People who are not tall will indeed try all sorts of ways to grow taller. Ian used to be short himself, so he understands this mentality very well.

only.

This time, he might be considered to have miscalculated.

"Of course, there are other uses as well."

Claire waved her hand, her tone returning to calm, "For example, it can enhance physical fitness, improve mental strength, slow down aging... and incidentally, it can also be used to strengthen the phoenix's regeneration ability."

"And in many other aspects, such as finding the growth and vitality of flesh and blood, this is the core of the growth potion." She also seemed to be very proficient in the concoction of magic potions.

This is perfectly reasonable. As an immortal prophet, Claire not only has the ability to figure out potions herself, but also to peek at potions from future generations, thus drawing upon the wisdom of countless people.

It possesses such life and abilities.

And also a portion of the Creator's authority.

It would be surprising if Claire, who loves to peek into the future, didn't know anything about potions.

"and many more,"

Ian suddenly realized something.

"You just said 'by the way'? What kind of experiment are you planning to do with these materials?"

He suspected that Claire was merely using Dumbledore to help her collect spices, and he didn't know how this female Titan had managed to persuade Dumbledore to go out and collect things for her.

Judging from the old principal's appearance.

The old headmaster seemed to care a lot about this matter, not only to help Fawkes escape, but Ian could sense that Dumbledore genuinely wanted to find those materials.

"What did you give my principal...?" He wanted to continue asking, but just then, the soup pot in the corner of the room suddenly emitted a sharp and clear cry.

Followed by.

The golden-red broth churned violently.
The phoenix phantom, which had been floating in the void above the pot and was formed by magic, suddenly trembled, as if it had been summoned. It transformed into a stream of light and rushed toward the bird's nest next to it.

Next second,
It reformed into a radiant phoenix egg.

It lay quietly in its nest.

"It's done!" Claire's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands excitedly. "My Phoenix Regeneration Soup is finally a success! The heat was just right this time!"

She seemed proud of her culinary skills.

I saw.

She picked up a clean wooden bowl and began to ladle out the soup, saying to Ian as she did so, "Here, have a sip. This is very nourishing and will give you some of the Phoenix's abilities."

"You should keep it for yourself," Ian said, waving his hands repeatedly. "I don't want to turn into an egg."

Claire shrugged. "Whatever, but this soup is really amazing. Especially the part at the end where the phoenix returns—it's absolutely perfect."

talking.

Claire drank a full bowl of water herself.

He looked really pleased with himself.

There was no poisoning.

There was no mutation upon falling down.

A strange aroma wafted from the pot, both warm like baking bread and sweet like sunshine.

"You drink this like you're eating a dish from Master Chef," Ian said, sighing as he watched Claire enjoying herself.

to be frank.

It does smell delicious.

However, the Titans' constitution is ultimately different from that of humans, so even though Ian smelled a very fragrant aroma, he was still hesitant to accept this stew.

The main problem is that the feathers weren't plucked and the water wasn't scalded with boiling water.

It's unclean and unhygienic.

"Even Little Chef's doesn't taste as good as mine... It's surprisingly delicious." Claire really knew about Little Chef after all. This was Ian testing her, because that anime didn't exist in the future of this world.

It's something only Ian knows.

If Ian even knew about this cartoon, his expression couldn't help but become more complicated, because he realized that perhaps this overly friendly Claire really did have a close relationship with him.

Perhaps it has a deep relationship with ravens.

at this time.

Claire served herself another bowl.

"Really, don't you want a little bit?"

She continued to seduce Ian.

Ian stared at the shimmering light in the bowl, then hesitated and shook his head: "Never mind..."

“This is a great tonic,” Claire coaxed, “It will grant you some of the Phoenix’s abilities—fire affinity, rebirth resistance, and even increase your mana regeneration rate.”

Ian was still hesitating when the female Titan casually added while ladling soup, "By the way, we can use the remaining soup to refine the ancestors of the Dumbledore family."

As soon as these words came out.

Ian froze on the spot.

"……What?!"

Ian's hand trembled, and he nearly spilled the soup bowl. He stared wide-eyed at Claire, wondering if he had misheard. Claire, however, continued drinking her bowl of soup as if it were perfectly normal.

"Yes, that is the origin of the Dumbledore family."

The prophet spoke.

It revealed the buried historical truth.

(End of this chapter)