Hogwarts Summoning Guide

Riding the Firebolt faster than any of his companions, Harry raised his wand high, a silver light enveloping his entire body, and shot into the dark underground passage like a cannonball. After passing through a long, dark tunnel, the path ahead suddenly opened up, and he could see Bai Lin and the others' battle from afar.

Harry's fingers, gripping his wand so tightly they turned blue, were unaware of the piercing pain under his nails. All he wanted was to rush into the fray and lend Bai Lin a helping hand, however small. This was a mixture of a fierce sense of justice, a desire to prove himself, and a burning ambition to shine. Not only him, but all the newcomers were filled with fighting spirit, eager to fight to the death, to avenge their murdered friends and classmates, to uphold justice, and to sweep away evil.

Gracua, standing in the center of the hall, caught Harry's attention. He gritted his teeth and charged straight at Gracua, not caring what level of terrifying existence Gracua was. Even knowing he would probably be instantly killed, he was fearless. He was willing to try his best even if it was just to buy Bai Lin an opportunity to attack.

However, Gracua had clearly noticed the group of newbies. Although he had an octopus head with yellow eyes, Harry could clearly see that Gracua gave him a sinister smile. Then Harry's vision went black, as if each of the giant pockets, like a butterfly caught in a net, had enveloped him.

Harry was genuinely startled and quickly grabbed the broom. Although he was incredibly brave, he had lost sight of his target. His first thought was that he had been hit by the other party's spatial magic and teleported to an unfamiliar place. However, when he seemed to pass through a layer of black mist and his vision brightened again, scorching air rushed towards him, and the fiery sunlight overhead stung his eyes.

"Where is this?" Eddie and Neville's voices came from behind. Harry turned his head to check that his two friends were alright before turning his attention to the endless yellow sand below.

A group of people dressed in white cloth were fleeing across the desert. Judging from their ancient West Asian attire and camels laden with goods, Harry immediately deduced that they were a desert caravan. Pursuing them were a group of armored cavalrymen, whose armor was marked with crosses.

This was a one-sided massacre. The soldiers slaughtered every civilian in West Asia within their swords' reach, regardless of whether they were men or women, or even children shorter than a horse's belly. Everywhere in the desert, there were corpses with their white clothes stained red with blood, slaughtered camels, and scattered goods. Tragic cries for help echoed through the sky.

"This is... the Crusades?" Eddie was the first to react. He was quite good at European history and recognized the cavalry markings as soon as he saw them. However, none of the three of them understood why they had suddenly been teleported here.

In the 11th century, after the Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk dynasty had almost conquered all of Anatolia. On the eve of the Council of Clement, the Byzantine Empire had lost nearly half of its former territory. At this critical juncture, Emperor Alexios I of the Eastern Roman Empire only held the Balkans and northwestern Anatolia. Seeking life or death, Alexios I appealed to the Catholic Church for help, citing the need to reclaim Jerusalem (which had been occupied by Islamic regimes for over four centuries). He hoped the Catholic Church would organize an army to fight against the Islamic regimes in West Asia—a strategy that could be described as using one enemy to attack another.

Pope Urban II saw immense strategic value in this plea for aid and readily agreed, assembling a large contingent of volunteers from various European countries. This army marched eastward into West Asia, its symbol being a cross. This event is historically known as the Crusades.

Later historians have also conducted extensive analysis and interpretation of this history. Although Europeans still use various sacred reasons to explain the war at that time, it is common knowledge that the nine Crusades that lasted for 200 years were nothing more than acts of aggression by European powers.

Just as Harry and his companions witnessed, among the cavalry were even those wearing chainmail, with thick Bibles strapped to their backs, who watched as the soldiers slaughtered the caravan's civilians while shouting at the top of their lungs:

"Heretics are all followers of the devil!"

Killing them is to set them free!

Soldiers, fight for the Lord, and the Lord will forgive all your sins!

……

Amid the priest's shouts, the soldiers became even more ruthless. Many who tried to escape were beheaded, or several soldiers dismembered them into pieces.

Harry and his two friends looked at each other, at a loss for words. The scene before them was completely different from the stories they had read since childhood. In their storybooks, movies, and even textbooks, the Crusades were all about reclaiming the Holy Land; they were righteous, pure, and sacred. In their hearts, the Crusaders were full of faith, adhered to the code of chivalry, and only knew how to punish evil and promote good, and help the weak and wicked. How could they be using such cruel methods to slaughter unarmed civilians in West Asia?

The three were speechless with shock, for from high above, they could see an oasis in the distance of the desert, and next to the oasis seemed to be a village. A group of crusaders had rushed into the village, and soon the houses in the village were set ablaze. Judging from the intensity of the fire, it seemed to be no ordinary burning, but caused by some kind of fire-based black magic. It seemed that there were quite a few wizards among the crusaders.

Perhaps there were horrific "witch-slaying movements" in ancient Europe, but it seems that in the matter of punishing heretics, wizards were also forgiven by God. As long as their magic was used to burn heretics, wizards were considered sacred.

"This...this...is this a hallucination from the Church of Hastur?" Harry said with some difficulty.

After a few seconds of silence, Neville finally answered, "That's probably true... I've read *The Wars of Religion*... and Dante's *Inferno*..."

Neville's version of *Inferno* likely refers to some early version, originally written in the early 14th century, after the Crusades had ended and European armies had almost completely withdrawn. Although the Catholic Church was unwilling to admit it, the Crusades, which had lasted for over two centuries, had in fact failed, and Europe was suffering the consequences of defeat. Dante subtly alludes to many of the evils and crimes of the Crusades, exposing the corruption and decadence of the Church.

"This is the echo of history..." Another voice came from beside the three of them. Harry turned his head and saw Catherine, who was radiating a faint golden light, floating beside him. However, Catherine no longer had her magnificent wings.

"Are we just going to stand here and watch? Let's go down together and save as many as we can!" Neville said憨憨地.

"It's no use... We are just bystanders to the echoes of history; we can't change anything here..." Catherine said helplessly.

"Then what's the point? Forcing us to watch a movie?" Eddie asked, grinning.

"The three of you should be like me, belonging to the Order of Good... Gracoa is trying to break our spirit..." Catherine murmured.