The Return to Hogwarts

The idea that a legendary item could help them withstand the persecution of the equally mysterious and influential Papacy in the Muggle world seemed somewhat absurd to Amosta.

Chapter 110 Stonehenge

"Hello, sir/madam, the ticket is £17 per person, £34 for two people. If you are willing to pay an extra £7, we can give you a commemorative book and a tour map."

At the entrance to the scenic area, a slightly plump female ticket seller, who appeared to be working part-time, greeted Amosta and Vitia, who were traveling together, with a polite smile on her face.

The western sunlight shone on Amosta's face. He glanced at the unmoved Vitia, who seemed to have no intention of paying at all. He pursed his lips, then took out a few bills from his pocket and handed them over.

Two weeks have passed since Amosta returned to the orphanage, the longest he has stayed there since graduating. This is not only to fulfill his promise to little Hammer, but also because he needs some time to consider whether or not to grant the druidic priestess's request.

After a difficult period of deliberation, Amosta finally agreed.

It wasn't because Vitia could offer any generous reward; in fact, these Druids, who had been chased around like rabbits by the Vatican for centuries, were a bunch of 'poor devils,' and the total Galleons they had probably didn't even amount to an Amostado.

He agreed for two reasons. First, Merlin's ruins were an irresistible temptation for any wizard or Muggle. Even if Dumbledore knew about it, he probably wouldn't mind making the trip to find out for himself, although Amosta didn't know what the priestess meant by "Merlin's eternal resting place".

Secondly, Amosta was always very concerned about the divination results obtained by the previous Druid priest before his death. Whether it was the Papacy or the Druidism, they were both considered religious forces. Amosta had never dealt with these fanatical religious figures before, and he couldn't understand why a so-called orthodox wizard like himself would be involved.

However, deep down, Amosta had a vague feeling that it might be related to his identity as a transmigrator.

It's summer vacation time, and Stonehenge Park, a famous Muggle tourist area in Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is bustling with people. Amosta often experienced this in his previous life, but this is the first time since coming to the magical world.

In the crowd, Amosta, who was deep in thought, suddenly felt a cool sensation in his arms. He snapped back to reality and realized that Vitia had been squeezed into his arms by the throng of people.

Feeling the chest pressed against his chest and his slightly stiff back, Amosta took a deep breath. A unique, fresh scent precisely entered his nostrils, making his heart race involuntarily, and his consciousness momentarily became hazy.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Blaine—”

Amidst the commotion, Vitia's cool voice was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the strange feeling that inevitably arose in Amosta's heart. He hooked his finger in his jeans pocket, blocking out the noise of the two talking.

"This is the Merlin Ruins you spoke of?"

Amosta let out a heavy sigh and sneered.

"Merlin encased himself in stone before he died? No wonder no one has been able to find his resting place for over a thousand years."

Following the flow of people, two people stood outside a circle of iron railings painted white. Not far away, a Muggle tour guide was explaining the origins of Stonehenge to a group of middle school students.

"--The Salisbury Stone Circle, the Ring of Stones, the Temple of the Sun, the Prehistoric Stone Table—Stonehenge has had different names in different historical periods. After being examined by scientists, it is generally believed that they were built around 2000 BC. At present, scientists have not yet reached a conclusion on how the ancient people who were still in the transition between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age built such a magnificent stone circle under extremely low productivity conditions."

"Sir, what was the purpose of building it?"

A Muggle high school student raised his right hand and asked, his eagerness bringing a smile to Amost's face. He thought of Hermione Granger, who had eagerly answered questions in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and wondered what the little witch would think after seeing the report about Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Good question—"

Because of the surrounding noise, the Muggle tour guide had to shout at the top of his lungs so that the students could hear him.

"People believe that the ancient people built it in connection with astronomical observations—the main axis of Stonehenge, the ancient path leading to the stone pillars, and the rising sun on the morning of the summer solstice are all on the same line;

Furthermore, the line connecting two of the stones points towards the direction of the winter solstice sunset. Therefore, it is speculated that this was likely built by ancient humans for astronomical observation, and could be considered the earliest prototype of an observatory!

"The founders of the Ancient Druids built it not only to use the power of Stonehenge for astronomical divination, but also to draw magic from beyond the world."

"Drawing upon magic from beyond this world?"

In the magical world, the builders of Stonehenge and their purpose in building it are generally agreed upon, but the second point Vitia mentioned made Amosta frown.

"what does that mean?"

Wearing a white floral dress and a sun hat, Vitia fell silent again, staring at the door made of several huge stones. For some reason, she exuded an aura of resistance.

Amosta stared thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly asked,

"Although I don't know what connection this Stonehenge has with the ruins you mentioned, I suppose you've been inside many times already, haven't you?"

“You are very wise, Mr. Blaine.”

A beautiful and charming appearance will attract more attention wherever she goes.

Many of the tourists around secretly glanced at Vitia in front of the white railing. However, Amostah, who was traveling with her, felt not so much pride at being envied, but rather a bit of unease, because he had finally found a wizard whose Occlumency was comparable to his own, apart from Snape and Dumbledore.

For the rest of the time, the two did not communicate much, but simply followed the group of Muggle tourists to tour the magnificent stone circle. Amosta tried to observe the megalithic circle from a different perspective, but he vaguely noticed that the magic power that was evenly distributed in the void was strangely distorted in this space.

Logically speaking, this situation would indicate the existence of a high concentration of magic energy, but no matter how Amosta looked at it, those stones were just ordinary large rocks with nothing special about them.

In the southeastern sky, the moon had already risen above the horizon of the plain. Amosta and Vitia had dinner at a nearby Muggle restaurant, and then, before nightfall, they joined many other camping Muggles to set up their tents on the lawn. Both of them were quite skilled at this, and they easily erected a dome-shaped tent without using any magic.

"How long do we have to wait?"

Facing the undulating 'green waves' on the plain, Amosta, who had been silent for a long time, turned his head and asked.

For some reason, he had a premonition that something extraordinary would happen during the upcoming exploration. However, the druidic priestess seemed very reluctant to talk about the ruins. Whenever Amosta casually brought it up, she would immediately fall silent and keep quiet.

The tents, flickering with lights and fire, drew many prying eyes. The Muggle men secretly observed Vitia, who stood beside Amosta, her beauty resembling that of an Eastern woman. Unconsciously, they gradually became captivated by her ethereal and otherworldly aura.

Two young men stood up from the group of Muggles having a meal together, and judging from the direction they were walking, they seemed to be heading towards Vitia.

However, before they could even get close, they were deterred by the intimidating look in Amosta's eyes, and turned away with a forced smile.

"It would be best to wait until the Muggles are resting, Mr. Blaine. We're about to make some noise—"

Chapter 111 Mirror of Erised

In the latter half of the night, the bright moonlight on the plain shone like a powerful searchlight over people's heads, illuminating the outlines of every swaying blade of grass with unparalleled clarity. In the campsite, most Muggles had fallen into a deep sleep, but in front of the few tents, quite a few Muggles were still drinking themselves into a stupor around the campfire.

Inside the park, several night patrol staff members were fast asleep, curled up in their guard post. To avoid any trouble, the cautious Amosta cast a stun spell on each of them to ensure they wouldn't wake up because they needed to urinate and disrupt their operation.

As night fell, the seemingly ordinary large stones in the middle of the railing finally revealed their unusual nature.

A thin mist, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, enveloped them, and Stonehenge exuded a mysterious aura through the hazy, indistinct appearance.

In fact, Muggles had already discovered this anomaly, but after a series of experiments and studies, Muggle scientists were unable to provide a reasonable explanation. In the end, they could only attribute the anomaly to the abnormal geomagnetic field of the area.

"--This Stonehenge is in ruins; the missing pillars are key to unlocking the ruins. Over a long period of time, we have found one pillar, but we still haven't been able to complete the set."

Before the stone gate, Vitia spoke to Amosta with a slight regret. At this moment, she was no longer dressed as a Muggle, but had changed into a light beige linen wizard's robe, holding the grapevine staff in her hand, her emerald green hair flowing softly behind her, perfectly matching Amosta's image of the 'mysterious' profession of priest.

Amosta placed his palm against the pillar of the 'door,' quietly feeling the unnatural warmth emanating from his palm. After a while, instead of asking how to open the 'door,' he turned his head and gazed at Vitia, who seemed to remain emotionally detached at all times, and casually asked,

How many times have you failed?

"I've been inside three times--"

Vitia replied calmly, "My teacher has been inside Mr. Blaine's room five times. The space behind the door possesses a suppressive power that ordinary people cannot withstand, but of course, it won't cause too much trouble for a powerful wizard like you—"

Amosta knew that the 'ordinary person' Vitia was referring to was definitely not a Muggle, but having already made that assumption in mind, he wasn't too worried.

"--Because of its incompleteness, our location after entering the gate is random and not fixed. The ancient priests of the Druid Church left a mark in the center of the ruins. I can reach there directly by following the mark, but, Mr. Blaine, you may need to reach the center of the island on your own."

Amosta nodded in agreement upon noticing the word 'island'. Although the purpose of this trip was to help Vitia obtain the 'holy relic' that Merlin's eternal resting place originally belonged to the Druids, figuring out why the 'prophecy' of the Druids' ancestors was related to him was also a necessary objective.

Prophecy may seem ethereal, but it is also governed by logic and cause and effect. Amosta would never believe that such things happen simply because of bad luck.

“Then, open it, Ms. Clona, ​​I can’t wait to see what’s inside—”

Amostella flicked his wand from his sleeve, took a few steps back, and said coldly. Strangely, Vitia did not move upon hearing the command, but instead pointed her wand at the huge stone gate in front of the two of them.

“We will encounter some obstacles before entering the ruins, Mr. Blaine, you need to be mentally prepared.”

Before Amosta could ask, Vitia, staring at the stone gate, explained with trembling eyelashes.

“When the stone pillars are put back in place, this stone gate will return to its original form, a Magic Mirror of Eris. I think you must have heard of its legends.”

"The Mirror of Eris—a mirror reflecting one's inner desires."

Amosta nodded and murmured. Although his face was expressionless, it meant that his heart was also calm. He activated the Brain Closure Technique in his mind to hide his surprise.

"The Mirror of Eris has two sides. One side can reflect people's deepest desires, while the other serves as the door to the ruins. Only those who dare to face the past they least want to recall are qualified to step into the ruins."

Amostah's brow twitched almost imperceptibly as he quietly searched his memory, recalling both past events he didn't want to revisit and those related to the Mirror of Erised.

The existence of the Mirror of Eris is not a mysterious secret. Many books about legendary alchemical items describe this magical mirror that can reflect people's hearts. However, this is the first time Amosta has heard that the Mirror of Eris has two sides, and that they have completely different effects.

Another question is why this mysterious ruin, which Amosta has not yet entered, uses the Mirror of Eris as its door.

There is no consensus in the wizarding world about the creator of the Mirror of Eris. Even if Vitia told him now that Merlin created the mirror, Amosta wouldn't be too surprised. But the origin of the name 'Eris' is probably familiar even to many Muggles.

In Greek mythology, Eris is the sister of Ares, the god of war, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She is the goddess of discord and conflict, and the most famous myth about her is the "contest over the golden apples".

Thinking of this, Amosta's eyelids twitched violently. If it weren't for the emotional disguise created by the Occupational Nerve Technique, he might have been terrified.

Island—Golden Apple—Druidism

Several terms flashed through Amosta's mind like lightning, leading him to guess, and even confirm, that he had discovered the truth.

Ever since learning about the 'Sleep Place of Merlin' from this mysterious woman, Amosta had only taken it as a joke. In the modern magical world, Merlin, who had almost become a mythical figure, could not possibly reveal his slumbering place so easily. But now, Amosta was no longer so sure of his judgment.

The island of Avalon, the central belief of the ancient Druids, the most important island in the legend of King Arthur, and the sacred land and ideal world in Muggle and Celtic mythology, has another name that is extremely easy to overlook, in addition to 'Blessed Island' and 'Gods' Island': the Golden Apple Island!

Could it be that behind this door lies truly the 'place where Merlin rests in eternal sleep'?!

In just a few breaths, Amosta's palms were already sweaty as he pursed his lips. He forced himself not to question Vitia beside him, but his mind was in complete turmoil!

Vitia sensed something was off about Amosta, but she said nothing. After glancing around warily, she raised her cane and pointed it at the boundless night sky. A stone pillar exuding an ancient and timeless aura appeared in a dazzling, holy white light.

Amosta took a deep breath, allowing his calm reason to regain control of his body. He remained silent, his nerves taut, intently observing Vitia's movements.

Amosta had no choice but to be cautious, for the druidic priestess beside him, bathed in a hazy light and shadow, harbored too many secrets, and he had to be on guard!