Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 218, Section 217: The Marauder's Map and Dumbledore's Invitation

A whole picture outlined in ink had appeared on the blank parchment, with lines and frames that were instantly recognizable as Hogwarts, and in the blank spaces that were probably corridors, there were one clear name after another.

However, upon closer inspection, it can be found that although the names of Harry and his friends, including Sirius and Lupin, are present at the current location of the Great Totem, there are no architectural markers, as if they were standing in an open space.

“That’s Professor McGonagall’s office!” Neville pointed to a spot on the map. “Look, Professor McGonagall is in there… she’s been wandering around inside?”

"Ah, look here! It's Fred and George!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "They're near the Forbidden Forest. What are they up to?"

“What do you think, Ron?” Hermione said with a strange look. “I don’t think they could be up to anything in the Forbidden Forest. Harry has already forbidden the apprentices from hunting giant spiders in the winter—so Sirius, was this your creation? How did you do it? What kind of magic did you use?”

Never having seen such magical power before, Hermione asked questions incessantly. Anyone could see just how powerful this map was; they had even found Filch's and his cat's names. With this map, they could absolutely evade the castle caretaker's pursuit.

"Haha! Pretty impressive, right?" Sirius laughed heartily. "This was made by the four of us. James and I searched through our family's books for a long time. Harry, you should be able to figure out some of it too, right? Anyway, it was incredibly troublesome. In order to be able to track the whereabouts of people in the castle in real time, we even had to risk sneaking into the headmaster's office when Dumbledore wasn't around."

“You can definitely see some things,” Harry nodded. “The tracking charm is definitely there, and there also seems to be traces of a contract.”

“Yes, this does indeed utilize magical contracts—you should know about the Book of Access, right?” Sirius said.

“I know, it’s recorded in ‘Hogwarts: A History’ that the names of young wizards in England are recorded in that book at birth, and when they turn eleven, the school sends them owls—is this map related to that book?” Hermione blurted out.

“Yes, the Pen of Acceptance and the Book of Admission. When a child first displays magical talent, the Pen of Acceptance records that child’s name in the book, and that makes him a student of Hogwarts,” Sirius shrugged. “We went through a lot of trouble to make this map and that book somewhat connected. Well, Remus said we actually used the school’s own covenant… Anyway, I don’t really understand. If you’re interested, you can ask Remus; he’s the smartest one among us.”

"Then you're a really bad boy who doesn't like to study, Sirius," Hermione said with a look of disdain.

“Yes, that’s right, it’s me!” Sirius Black said with pride, not shame. “Seriously, Harry, I thought you were destined to follow in James and my footsteps, but I never expected you to find this map. That’s really something!”

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, tilting her head.

"This map shows all the secret passages we discovered. As long as these passages haven't collapsed, Filch can't catch whoever has the map. So, at graduation, to leave this valuable resource to those who truly need it, to those with a rebellious spirit, and not to let it be used for bad purposes, we hid it in Filch's office—that's where you found it, wasn't it, Harry?"

“Obviously not,” Harry shook his head speechlessly. “Two people who really needed it, with a rebellious spirit, found it and then gave it to me.”

"Wait?!" Ron suddenly jumped to his senses. "Harry, you don't mean—"

“You’re right, it’s Fred and George,” Harry nodded and said. “Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Mr. Prongs, Sirius, your past has been dug up. They gave me the map after they knew who these names were… In their words, it was my father’s keepsake.”

“A quarter of the relic,” Sirius sighed. “Those twins? Indeed, they are the only ones at Hogwarts who are most like us now… Anyway, make good use of this map, and whatever you do, don’t let Professor McGonagall get her hands on it.”

“That’s right.” Ron’s eyes widened as he imagined the terrifying scene. “If Professor McGonagall could see where the students were anytime, anywhere… Oh my god! We’re doomed!”

This time, even Hermione nodded solemnly, without saying anything in objection.

Just as the group was chatting, there was a knock on the door of the Great Totem. When Harry opened the door, he saw Dumbledore standing there, dressed neatly.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised.

Because Dumbledore's attire today was more flamboyant than usual, and the lively old man even wore a purple bow on his beard, making him look quite dignified.

"Please forgive me for bothering you on this beautiful holiday, Harry," Dumbledore said, though he was being more amused than anyone else. "But if you don't have anything else important to do today, would you mind coming out with this old man?"

"Going out?" Harry asked doubtfully. "The school's Christmas dinner needs you to host it. You're going to miss it?"

Dumbledore has always enjoyed lively gatherings and joking with his students, so he never misses a Christmas dinner or any other holiday banquet, which, in his words, is his way of fulfilling his duties as headmaster.

“Oh, of course I wouldn’t miss those lovely smiling faces,” Dumbledore said with a smile and shook his head. “I just wanted to invite you to a party.”

"reunion?"

“A gathering of a bunch of old men,” Dumbledore blinked and deliberately lowered his voice, “Nico Flamel, whom you’ve always wanted to meet, is in there too. Excited? Harry, if you’re interested, hurry up and change your clothes.”

Harry: "..."

He only wanted to see the legendary alchemist Nicolas Flamel out of curiosity about magic and alchemy, so why did it sound so strange coming from this old man?

“Okay, just a moment, I’ll be right there,” Harry replied.

“No problem, but it would be better to hurry, Harry. To be honest, I think we’re going to be late,” Dumbledore said cheerfully, even leaning out to greet the others in the room, especially Hermione. “Don’t worry, little girl, I’ll get Harry back before the dinner starts.”

Hermione's face immediately turned red. This Christmas, she didn't choose to go home but stayed at school instead. She wouldn't say she had a lot of fun, but she enjoyed reading books in the library and felt very comfortable.

It didn't take Harry long to change into a formal wizard's robe. With the help of the Fawkes Express, he and Dumbledore appeared in the blink of an eye on a desolate cliff edge, with nothing around them.

“Deep in the cliffs of the Pyrenees, Nicolas Flamel’s Holiday House No. 4,” Dumbledore said softly.

The moment Harry heard those words, the cliff, which had previously only been filled with howling winds, transformed in the blink of an eye. A mansion adorned with an exquisite Christmas tree at its entrance seemed to have grown legs and sprang out of thin air. The snow that had accumulated on the ground vanished without a trace in an instant, and the faint sounds of laughter and conversation could be heard from inside the mansion. Compared to the winter chill outside, the climate inside the mansion felt more like spring.

"The Faithful Charm?" Harry asked.

“Yes, there are too many people who want to find Nico. Immortality is always irresistible, isn’t it?” Dumbledore said softly.

“Indeed,” Harry nodded. “However, if you want to continue living beyond your natural lifespan, you can completely ascend and transform into an elemental being, thus eliminating the natural lifespan limit.”

Dumbledore's body suddenly stiffened. He had never expected to receive such news about immortality so unexpectedly under these circumstances, and he couldn't help but lose his composure.

"Transformed into an elemental being?" Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Just like the day you killed the Basilisk? Even shamans could do that?"

“The spell I used that day was Ascension, which allows me to temporarily transform my physical body into an elemental body,” Harry said seriously. “There’s no need to be so surprised. With your talent, you can definitely try it. There’s no need to worry either. Only shamans who are most proficient in the mysteries of the elements can do this. Ascension is never an easy thing.”

“This is truly…unexpected.” Dumbledore shook his head slightly, his eyes flashing. “I thought I was going to give you a surprise today, but I didn’t expect you to give me a surprise instead.”

"You're welcome," Harry joked. "If you want to thank me, just teach me the Faithful Charm. I want to hide the Potter mansion."

"The hidden Potter mansion?" Dumbledore was taken aback. "If Voldemort's house weren't still on my desk, I would have thought it was still wartime outside."

“There has to be a place that is absolutely safe,” Harry said, shaking his head.

“Well, if you’ve already decided,” Dumbledore said casually, “but this spell is indeed very difficult, and it requires a great deal of magic to completely hide a mansion.”

"Thank you."

“No need to thank me, Harry,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “I should be thanking you for so easily discovering a way to live forever—you know, Voldemort spent his whole life searching for this, and he even tore his own soul apart for it.”

“Actually, for people like you and me who have been human, becoming an elemental creature isn’t entirely a good thing,” Harry complained. “Think about it, you can no longer drink honey water, nor eat cockroaches, licorice wands, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, or chocolate frogs…”

The more Harry talked, the worse Dumbledore's expression became, until finally he looked terrified—but he was faking it.

“Thank you for reminding me, Harry,” Dumbledore said nervously, “A life completely devoid of sweets…that would be a nightmare, hahahahahaha!”

In the end, even Dumbledore himself couldn't keep up the act and burst into laughter.

"Hey! Albus! I heard your laughter!" An elderly man who looked somewhat drunk emerged from the mansion. "Why are you standing at the door? Why don't you come in and join us?"

“Tiberius?” Dumbledore said as he walked into the mansion with his arm around Harry’s shoulder. “Looks like you’ve had a lot to drink. I was just talking to Harry.”

“Ah, Harry Potter,” the wizard named Tiberius put down his wine glass, which then flew back into the house by itself. “I think you should remember me?”

“Of course I remember, Mr. Ogden,” Harry extended his hand and shook hands with the old wizard. “You spoke to me at length in the trial room.”

“Yeah, I told you a lot, and then those impatient guys kicked me aside,” Ogden muttered. “Anyway, welcome to Nico’s resort. I hope you don’t feel awkward or stressed. Have fun.”

"Don't worry, Tiberius," Dumbledore said with a chuckle, "Harry's resilience is much better than you think."

“I have no doubt about that,” Ogden said drunkenly. “Professor Potter is the pioneer of new magic. No student has ever been able to do that while still in school, let alone suing the Ministry of Magic. What ordinary kid would dare to do something like that?”

The group chatted as they entered the mansion. Upon entering, Harry saw a very spacious hall, which had definitely been enlarged by magic. At that moment, a soothing, slow-paced love song was playing in the hall, and several elderly couples with gray hair were dancing in the middle.

—All I could see were elderly people with completely white hair and beards, and many of the wizards were wearing clothes that looked like they were from decades ago, very ancient.

Harry even saw several wizards, some even older than Dumbledore, leaning on canes, warming themselves by the fireplace in the corner of the hall, chatting about something.

There were no waiters to serve the guests. Under the influence of magic, the empty plates would fly to where they were supposed to go, and teapots would occasionally refill the teacups by themselves—it was just like a scene from a fairy tale, very magical.

(End of this chapter)