Daily News: The Prophet of Hogwarts

Chapter 315 Gaunt's Old House

By the time Dumbledore arrived at Gaunt's old house, Nicolas Flamel and Slughorn had already broken most of the protective magic.

Across the valley stood a magnificent mansion, but the area around it was in a state of decay.

This is Voldemort's hometown.

"How's the situation on your end?" Dumbledore asked. "Lane and I didn't find any Horcruxes, only a clue that a hero switched them."

"Progress is going well. We've broken through all the protective magic."

The gate to the mansion was opened, revealing dilapidated furniture and dusty decorations, with cobwebs everywhere, but no spiders.

The interior design also reflects the influence of snakes, highlighting the homeowner's affinity for this creature.

The room was surrounded by lush nettles that had spread into the windows, and strange outlines, resembling snake bodies, were even fixed on the walls and doors.

In the middle area, where there are kitchen utensils and a dining table and chairs, there is an ugly-looking black gemstone ring in the center of the table. The gemstone has cracks and a strange shape.

Nicolas Flamel recognized the ring, or rather, he recognized the shape of the gemstone.

Slughorn instinctively stepped back, because he had seen the same ring on the hands of someone he didn't want to mention.

But soon, both of them realized that what they were looking at was a fake.

Only Dumbledore couldn't restrain himself, taking small, inching steps forward. He could tell the thing was fake. He also knew perfectly well that its presence here meant Voldemort had returned, and that there must be a deadly trap nearby.

But he still missed his younger sister who had gradually become more lively that summer.

"Looks like we've made another wasted trip." Dumbledore snapped out of his reverie, stopped, and didn't go any closer.

He could already smell the curse.

It was a curse that fused death and decay into the depths of magic; once afflicted, it would gnaw at the wizard's body like a maggot.

"If you're slow at one step, you'll be slow at every step."

"It's also because we simply couldn't have imagined that they could resurrect different individuals using different Horcruxes!"

Slughorn sighed.

Throughout history, there has never been a wizard as abstract as Voldemort, who would willingly split his soul to the point where it could not be split any further.

He created countless Horcruxes, possibly more than all the wizards in history who have ever created them combined. Therefore, it's possible that no one has ever considered using Horcruxes to resurrect a different version of themselves.

He then raised the question he had been pondering: "But shouldn't we be concerned about the giants and other magical creature races? And what about Azkaban? If these forces side with Voldemort and his crew, it could have serious consequences for us."

In the traditional view of wizards, the number of wizards and their combat strength are important criteria for judging whether a force is capable of fighting.

Therefore, the vicious dark wizards imprisoned by Azkaban, as well as giants with innate fighting power, or other magical creatures, are all powerful fighting forces worth vying for.

Slughorn thought his suggestion was perfectly reasonable, but he didn't expect to see Dumbledore shaking his head with a smile.

Dumbledore said, "Things are different now, Horace. You probably haven't had much contact with Penelope. And you probably didn't read the Daily Prophet the day before yesterday."

Slughorn indeed paid no attention to the Daily Prophet; he was engrossed in preparing the potion and, in his spare time, fantasized about how great a reputation he would gain.

As for contacting Penelope, it wasn't that he didn't want to, but rather that his Slug Club simply couldn't compete with the Adventurers' Club. Everyone considered it an honor to join the Adventurers' Club, while the Slug Club was merely a dessert, dispensable.

"Lane's use of alchemical war golems at Durmstrang demoralized the entire school. After the Daily Prophet reported on it, it's fair to say that every Ministry of Magic and wizarding school was wondering if they could defeat Lane's war golems. Their assessments and evaluations were eventually reported in their respective regional newspapers. I read a few articles out of boredom, and all the authors emphasized that a squad of alchemical golems could slaughter a group of werewolves or a tribe of giants, and even a well-trained Auror group would be unable to achieve victory."

Dumbledore naturally knew that Voldemort was going back to rescue his old subordinates.

They also knew that werewolves and giants, these magical creatures whose very nature was filled with violence, would inevitably gravitate towards Voldemort.

But he didn't want to care at all.

It was because he knew that these people couldn't cause any trouble. The world's strongest alchemists were basically all in Hogwarts' camp, with enough power to build and upgrade the alchemical army, so they naturally had enough confidence to despise all flesh and blood.

The caliber doesn't believe in tears.

Go tell my merciful and compassionate Gatling angel what you need to say!

Slughorn's eyes widened upon hearing this; he truly hadn't noticed.

Nicolas Flamel added, "You don't need to worry about the number of magical creatures. Although Ryan's Wizard Tower went astray before, the other steps were fine, so it should be completed soon. By then, all those authorized near the Wizard Tower will be magical creatures, and all will be wizards."

Ryan never spoke of his ambition to anyone. He wanted to build a magic network through wizard towers, using the towers as a base to transmit magic power, covering the entire globe, so that everyone could use magic.

However, his deliberate act of leaving magical loops in the Wizard Tower, a large magical storage device, naturally did not escape Nicolas Flamel's notice.

Because it's too obvious.

It's like he explicitly stated on the blueprints that he wanted to usher in the wizarding era, the magical era, causing the normal development of the world to detour for him and rush into the "magic + technology" era.

"To be authorized is to become a wizard! How is that possible!" Slughorn felt his worldview being shaken.

The three left the Gaunt mansion and strolled through the valley, chatting idly, a relaxing chat before the impending battle.

Nicolas Flamel said, "It's not impossible. Isn't a wizard simply someone who can use magic? Conversely, isn't anyone who can use magic a wizard?"

But how should someone who isn't a wizard use magic?

As Slughorn pondered this, he suddenly thought of the magma wizards who often wield large iron clubs that he could see nowadays!

This type of wizard is unable to control their own magic and needs external interference, namely the use of a magic wand.

What if we go a step further?

Using a more advanced wand to store and use magic. The spellcaster merely verifies and activates the wand with gestures; in that case, everyone could be called a wizard, differing only in innate and acquired abilities!

Having figured this out, he staggered along, his mind filled with thoughts of the unprecedented grand changes that had taken place over thousands of years.

He couldn't believe it, and he didn't even dare to ask himself if his guess was right.

Because it's too fantastical.