Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 222, Section 221: The Secret of Alchemy and the Rite of the Rising of the Wrathful Horns

This is an ancient book that exudes a pure historical atmosphere just by being placed there. It is made of leather wrapped in copper foil, and even Harry couldn't tell what animal skin it was made of; he only felt that it was smooth to the touch.

“Yes, the Book of Abraham of the Jews.” Looking at the book in Harry’s hands, Nico couldn’t help but show a nostalgic expression. “That was the beginning of everything, the source of what made me who I am—I don’t even know how it came to be with me. I had a dream, and an angel told me of its arrival.”

“Angels?” Harry asked.

“I can’t remember,” Nico shook his head and said, “but it was because of this book that I discovered the secrets of alchemy and finally created the Philosopher’s Stone at 5 p.m. on April 25, 1382—I can never forget this world; it seems to be etched into my very bones…”

As Harry listened to Nicole recount his past like a normal old man, he stroked the book in his hands. He could see symbols on the cover, such as ouroboros, the sun and the moon, but he couldn't recognize many of the other symbols—these were still unknown knowledge to him at the moment.

Harry opened the book's cover, but unlike its exterior, the paper inside was not made of leather, but rather very fragile parchment, and the various symbols on it remained unfamiliar.

It must have been protected by a spell; otherwise, an ancient book made of parchment that had been left in the natural environment for hundreds of years would probably crumble into dust with the slightest touch.

"In nomine Elohim, qui creavit coelum et terram" Seeing Harry staring at the words on the book's title page for a long time without saying a word, Dumbledore couldn't help but laugh. He said, "This is Hebrew, which means in the name of the God who created heaven and earth. Ancient magic books were mostly recorded in this language. If you want to go further in the path of magic, then you must master this language."

“I understand,” Harry sighed.

You have to learn the language before you learn the law.

He quickly flipped through a few pages and discovered that the book was presented in the form of allegorical illustrations on three by seven pages, and filled with alchemical symbols such as mercury and sulfur... This was all he could understand.

What impressed Harry most was a bronze crown suspended above the furnace, with a stream of mercury flowing beneath it. Where the two met, silver smoke rose and condensed into three roses: one blooming like blood, one withering like bone, and one floating between reality and illusion.

There was another line above, Ecce Rex Rubeus in solio ignis sedet, et Regina Alba in lacuna lunae plorat (Behold, the Red King sits on the throne of fire, and the White Queen weeps in the abyss of the moon)—but Harry couldn't understand it.

The only thing he could understand was Nico's note tucked inside this page: When the Lord of Sulfur (☉) and the Consort of Mercury () unite in the Glass Womb (), you shall hold the Dragon's Blood Staff () in your left hand and the Phoenix Ashes () in your right, and recite: 'Solve terram et invenies occultum lapidem' (Dissolve the earth, and you will see the hidden stone)...

Harry closed the book and looked at Nico.

As a wizard, a former shaman, and now a part-time wizard, Harry thought he had escaped the situation of always being ridiculed by Gianna. However, he was surprised to find that he knew nothing about magic when he opened this book.

Well, it's roughly like the difference between a Dalaran magic apprentice and Antonidas.

"Taken a hit?" As if he had been waiting for this moment, Dumbledore winked and smiled, saying, "Do you feel that your understanding of magic is still too shallow?"

“A little,” Harry sighed self-deprecatingly. “I thought I could be considered a wizard by now.”

Dumbledore and Nick burst into laughter.

“You’re still very young, Harry,” Dumbledore said with a laugh. “When I first saw this book, I was just like you, suddenly realizing how little I knew about magic.”

“There’s really no need to rush,” Nico said, shaking his head slightly. “I’ve spent six hundred years studying everything in this book, and you—it’s all up to you.”

“I know,” Harry said, taking a deep breath. “I just don’t understand why you would choose to give this book to someone you’ve only just met?”

“It’s simple,” Nico chuckled, “because it said… it wants to go to you.”

....................................

Harry remained in a deep thought until he returned to Hogwarts for the Christmas dinner that evening.

Because of what Nick said.

Without a doubt, what Nico meant was that the book had its own will and thoughts, even though it couldn't speak and wouldn't scream when someone slammed it on the table—it could indeed decide its own direction.

Just like when it suddenly appeared beside Nick six hundred years ago, even Nick himself didn't know why he suddenly possessed such a book that recorded the secrets of the world.

To be honest, Harry felt a bit uneasy about Nico's line about wanting to go to him. After all, in his mind, magical items or weapons with their own will were usually not very wonderful things... For example, the priest's artifact, the Dark Empire Blade, or the Apocalypse, etc.

But what worried Harry the most was Nick's divination. Compared to himself, Nick, as a native of this world, had never heard of the Death Knight, but the Death Knight's image clearly appeared in his divination, which further increased the credibility of the divination.

So when the Christmas dinner was over, Harry returned to Mulgore as quickly as possible, and this time he performed a divination himself—but he got nothing, just a blank.

The elements and all spirits cannot foresee that future, the future foreseen by the divination methods unique to wizards.

Doesn't that make people even more anxious?
A sense of urgency, an invisible sense of crisis, compels Harry to do something.

As an adult tauren, a mature tauren tribe high prophet, and a seasoned high-ranking member of the tribe, Harry was all too familiar with this fact—he needed to expand the power he held.

Let's start with Angry Horn. He's no longer a little lizard that could only thrash around on the table and try to breathe fire but could only burn Hagrid's whiskers. That weak appearance has completely disappeared, and Angry Horn himself doesn't even remember how pitiful he used to be.

Now she has become majestic and powerful, with dense and solid scales covering her entire body. Under Afu's careful care, they have been polished to a gleaming shine, so smooth that it is difficult to stand on them. Her overall size is a whole size larger than her peers at the same age and stage. It should be noted that the size of female dragons is originally larger than that of male dragons, and Angry Horn's size is the largest among all female dragons. The other female dragons look like they are not yet adults in front of her.

But she was still a child. After all, adulthood meant the ability to reproduce, and Norwegian Spinosaurus took at least ten years to develop this ability after hatching—which Harry thought was a good thing.

This means that Angry Horn is still in its growth stage, her future is still uncertain, and she can continue to develop.

What would be deadly to humans is nothing to dragons. They don't have to worry about food or survival. When they get bored, Harry will even summon giant elementals to fight as targets for Angry Horn, to hone her claws and fighting spirit, so that she doesn't become a useless dragon who does nothing but eat and sleep.

In short, even if Newt were to comment on the current state of the Angry Horn, he could only offer a few words of praise: "It's growing healthily."

Of course, the most important point is Angry Horn's intelligence—I wouldn't say he's as smart as Dumbledore, but Angry Horn currently has an intelligence level roughly equivalent to that of fifth or sixth-year students at Hogwarts.

They simply couldn't speak because of the limitations of their throats.

Standing in her nest atop the mountain in Angry Horn, Harry stroked her nose as it nuzzled against him and patted her scales.

“It’s about time. Remember what I promised you? I’d help you become the most powerful dragon in the world,” Harry said earnestly. “I do have a way to make you stronger and free you from some of the limitations of a dragon’s body, giving you the ability to speak.”

Upon hearing this, Angry Horn was already sneezing excitedly. She nudged Harry's hand, signaling him to hurry up, and with such force, she knocked him to the ground.

"Don't rush," Harry said, patting Angry Horns' nose to calm her down. He was a little amused and exasperated. "Let me finish what I have to say. This kind of transformation is indeed somewhat dangerous for you."

Rising from the ground, Harry transformed his flesh and blood into a fire elemental once more.

“...The form you’ve seen, this transformation, is called Ascension,” Harry’s voice, now deep and somber, came from what was originally a head but was now a blazing fire. “The method that makes you stronger works on a similar principle to Ascension; it transforms your flesh and blood body as a Norwegian Spinosaurus into an elemental body.”

"If this change is ultimately successful, then as an ascended elemental dragon, you will naturally be able to speak or converse with people in the manner of the elements, and at the same time, you will be able to freely use the corresponding elemental powers—powers that will allow you to easily crush your own kind, and even all the fire dragons in this world, even the most ferocious Hungarian Hornet."

Angry Horn snorted unhappily. She disliked the title "Hungarian Horned Beetle." She believed that she should be the most ferocious fire dragon in the world.

“Don’t make such a decision so easily. The Ascension Ritual is naturally dangerous, especially since you’re not a shaman at all and have no understanding of the elemental arts, let alone mastery of them,” Harry said with a hint of helplessness, trying to calm his excited battle partner. “Your only advantage is your enormous size and exaggerated vitality, which means you’ll have to endure immense pain to get through the Ascension Ritual.”

"Roar!" Raising its head and roaring, the angry horn indicated that it didn't care.

Wanting to become stronger is her instinct. As for why she wants to become stronger, it doesn't matter at all. If she can become stronger, why not become stronger?

As for the pain, it is all bearable.

Even though it possesses human-like intelligence, the instincts derived from its bloodline and the unique perspective of dragons still make Angry Horn incompatible with humans.

Harry knew this too, so his questioning now seemed more like a ritualistic act.

Transforming a regular Norwegian Spinosaurus into a colossal dragon—frankly, this is a rather advanced task, even for a true Dalaran mage.

Transforming into a giant dragon is also a secret that the dragon race must never touch; anyone who dares to utter a few words about it might be attacked by a crazed blue dragon.

I have never witnessed the existence of the dragon incarnation. Everything came from a secret that my dragon companion mentioned unintentionally—unlike the guardian dragons who received the power of the Titans, the dragon incarnations devote themselves to the power of the elements.

What Harry is doing now is combining the ascension rituals he has mastered as a shaman with the possibilities revealed by this news, so that he can ultimately perform an ascension ritual unique to Wrathhorn.

It's impossible to say there are no difficulties, because the ascension ritual Harry experienced required the assistance of many other powerful shamans, and in this world he can't find many shamans with similar strength to himself.

Another challenge lies in the race of the Angry Horn. After all, her body is not like the highly malleable proto-dragons of Azeroth, which can evolve into different forms depending on their location and environment. She is a genuine Norwegian Spinosaurus, and has remained the same for hundreds or thousands of years. If it were a proto-dragon, this time span would be enough for them to transform into multiple forms.

But in any case, since he had already promised Wrathhorn, and it was Wrathhorn's own wish, then Harry had no reason to back down... After all, he really needed a powerful helper to deal with the Death Knights—if they really did appear in this world.

They may have indeed come into this world with good intentions, but in any case, Harry must ensure that he has the power to counterbalance those Death Knights and to speak with them on equal terms.

You can, but not without.

and so--

"Let's choose what form we want to ascend to first," Harry said, waving his wand.

Wisps of pearly smoke rapidly emerged from the tip of the wand, changing in mid-air according to Harry's will, eventually transforming into several illusions resembling angry horns—initially all looking like angry horns, but then they began to change in different ways.

(End of this chapter)