Chapter 248 - 248: Transfiguration

Words : 2011 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Bolts of lightning shot out from the wands, and with the help of the fire dragon's ramming force, they finally tore open a breach in the protective shield. "We will repay the humiliation we once suffered a hundredfold!!" "Avada Kedavra!!!" In the next second, over a dozen dark green spells surged straight toward the one-eyed elderly goblin, forcing his furious cries and ambitious declaration back down his throat. In a panic, he yanked hard on the reins of the fire dragon, pulling it in front of him to shield himself from the oncoming curses. "Groooaaar—" Even a fire dragon couldn't endure being hit with over a dozen Avada Kedavras. With a miserable screech, it beat its wings and retreated. At the tip of one of Hogwarts' towers, five old wizards in mismatched robes were excitedly waving their wands, unleashing powerful Dark Magic. If Edward had been there, he would have recognised them immediately—they were none other than Grindelwald's five old comrades. "Ha ha ha! It's been ages since I had this much fun!" "Fun, my foot. You've been casting spells for half a day and haven't taken down a single one." "Hey, if Mr. Grindelwald hadn't told me to stand guard here, I'd have gone out there long ago and cut those little punks down!" "Yeah, yeah, stop bragging. Just don't throw out your back later." "By the way, where's Mr. Grindelwald?" "No idea. Probably hiding in some corner, waiting to ambush someone." The old witch let out a sly laugh. "Dumbledore finally convinced him to come help, of course, he's gonna make a splash so he can claim the credit." "...…" "Quick! Looks like they're launching a second wave. Fire! Hit them hard!" ——— Meanwhile, in the room where the Mirror of Erised and the Philosopher's Stone were kept, Edward was anxiously pacing—both of him. Although he knew that Dumbledore had entrusted him with protecting the Philosopher's Stone only after making thorough preparations outside, now that the battle had truly begun, Edward couldn't help but worry. He tossed coins repeatedly for divination, and if they hadn't consistently shown everything was fine, he would have already rushed out to join the fight. Invisible, Edward wrestled with himself. He had come back this time to uncover the truth behind his memory loss. He also knew that today's battle would ultimately end in Hogwarts' victory—but he wasn't sure whether that outcome required intervention from his "future self" to be completed. It shouldn't…Otherwise, Dumbledore would have warned me. "Ah!!!" Suddenly, terrified screams rang out from all corners of the castle—they were from Hogwarts students. Not just one person—a whole group! This is…the Death Eaters have infiltrated the castle?! The Edward of the past didn't hesitate. He Disapparated instantly. Invisible Edward followed closely behind. ——— A few minutes earlier. Inside the Slytherin common room, the students had huddled together, listening to the distant booms rumbling from above. They whispered anxiously, torn between curiosity and fear. The Durmstrang students gathered in another corner. Led by Viktor Krum, the boys looked eager, as if ready to charge out and join the fight. "You think…it's the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters attacking?" "Who else would dare strike Hogwarts?" "If we go out there and fight the Death Eaters, maybe we can clear our names and go home?" "Are you crazy?!" In the middle of the discussion, a few girls suddenly noticed that Emily—their usual pillar of support—was uncharacteristically quiet. Her head was bowed, her face full of tension and fear, as if something terrifying had happened to her. "What's wrong, Emily?" The girl with the pet toad asked softly. "I…." Pain flickered through Emily's eyes. "I…I can't say." "What?" The girl blinked. "Can't say what?" Emily's fingers clenched tightly, her face growing paler by the second. "I…I must..." Suddenly, she sprang to her feet and looked around the common room. "Audrey—where is she? Where is Audrey?" "She went out early this morning, remember? She and that Edward guy—they seem to have some kind of special privilege." "Damn it. I need to get out! I have to…" Emily stumbled toward the exit of the common room, pounding on the door. "Let me out! Open the door!" A ghost covered in blood poked his head through the door. "Apologies, Miss Larsson. Orders are that no one is allowed in—or out." "Then go tell the Hogwarts professors! Tell them—tell them…" Her eyes began to bleed faintly, her skin reddening as if scorched by something unseen. "What's happening to you, Miss Larsson?" The Bloody Baron looked bewildered. "Are you trying to trick me into opening the door?" "Tell them…the Death Eaters are—" "Ah!!!" Suddenly, a scream rang out behind them. The girl with the pet toad was staring in horror at a green human hand that had just emerged from her pocket. A few seconds later, she realised what was happening and quickly grabbed the limb, yanking it out and throwing it across the room. It was the toad! Except now, one of its legs had transformed into a human hand. The moment it hit the ground, the toad let out a loud croak, then began to contort and expand at an alarming rate. Its remaining three legs rapidly morphed into human arms and legs. Within ten seconds, it had become a hooded figure clad in black robes— A Death Eater. "Ah!!" As a second scream followed, a nearby owl also twisted and expanded into another black-robed Death Eater. Then a third. Then a fourth… The Durmstrang students stood frozen in shock— How was this possible? How could their pets suddenly turn into people? A few minutes later, there were already seven or eight Death Eaters in the Slytherin common room. They pointed their wands at everyone present and barked, "From this moment on, you're all our hostages!" A white-haired Death Eater grabbed a girl who was trying to escape by the hair, then looked over at Emily and laughed wildly, "Heh heh, thanks for all your hard work these days transforming our people, Miss Larsson." "Barty really is a genius! Hahaha!" "But…why couldn't you just behave? If it weren't for the Binding Vow, you'd have ratted us out long ago, wouldn't you? We truly underestimated you. That Binding Vow Barty cooked up—any thought of disobedience, and it immediately punishes you. The curse doesn't allow you to contact the professors, so you went to that damned Edward instead? The curse doesn't allow you to reveal the truth, so you altered your own memories, trying to guide others to the truth through Transfiguration?" "Again and again! Again and again!" Emily kept retreating, but after only a few steps, she had nowhere left to go. Suddenly, she raised her wand. "Fiendfyre!" The white-haired Death Eater swatted away the flames with ease, then strode forward quickly and grabbed Emily by the throat, slamming her against the door of the common room and lifting her up. He pressed his wand to her forehead. "Trying to die, are you?" "Then die! You…think I'm afraid?!" The Death Eater slapped her hard across the face. "Did you forget? Your father was also a Death Eater. He was killed in the last war by Dumbledore's people!" "My father…was forced into it!" Emily's eyes burned with hatred. "You…you're the real murderers! You'll all be punished—!" "Crucio!" A red curse hit her square in the chest, and an all-consuming pain instantly flooded her body. She screamed in agony, her limbs convulsing uncontrollably as tears and mucus streamed from her face. The younger students were terrified, curling up like frightened quails, while the older students—from both Slytherin and Durmstrang—quietly observed the room, watching for an opening. Then, at a certain moment, their eyes met. "Traitor! Traitor! Crucio! Crucio!!" The white-haired Death Eater shrieked as he continued casting the Cruciatus Curse on Emily, while the other Death Eaters laughed cruelly. "Now!" A Slytherin student suddenly shouted. "Stupefy!" "Petrificus Totalus!" "Serpensortia!" "Incendio Maxima!" More than twenty spells shot from different directions toward the eight Death Eaters in the room. They hadn't expected the students to dare fight back. One of the Death Eaters took several spells to the chest and collapsed unconscious on the spot, while the others scrambled to raise Shield Charms and dodge. At that moment, the Bloody Baron burst through the door and shouted, "Hurry! Get out, now!" The students hesitated only for a moment before they rushed toward the exit in a frenzy. The upper-year students grouped up, launching spells at the Death Eaters while slowly retreating toward the door. Just then, the students who had made it out suddenly came running back, eyes filled with terror. A second wave of Death Eaters had arrived! "Idiots! You let a bunch of brats overpower you!" The new Death Eater barked, striding forward with his wand raised. His face twisted into a cruel smile as he looked at the frightened young witches and wizards. "I was going to wait until I could kill you all in front of Dumbledore…" "But since you're so eager to die, I'll gladly oblige!" His eyes glinted with malice as he cast a spell. "Avada Kedavra!!" --- Death Eaters had really infiltrated Hogwarts Castle?! Both versions of Edward—past and present—rushed toward the source of the screams, simultaneously cursing Dumbledore's supposed reliability. From how confident he had sounded while making his arrangements, Edward had thought Dumbledore had everything under control. And now? Barely into the battle, and the outer defences had already been breached? If Dumbledore had heard Edward's complaints, he would have been utterly exasperated. Even if I had ten heads, how could I possibly guess that the Death Eaters would sneak in like this?! Bloody hell!!! From a distance, they saw a group of Death Eaters herding over a dozen terrified Ravenclaws. The past Edward immediately cast a Disillusionment Charm to hide himself and dashed forward. "Magic is prohibited in this area!" He decisively cast the Anti-Magic Field, then used [Theft] several times in quick succession to steal the surface thoughts of the Death Eaters. In the brief moment of mental blankness, he pulled out his revolver and shot down four Death Eaters, one bullet each. While Hogwarts Castle used to prohibit firearms because of Peeves, Edward had arranged with Dumbledore to lift that restriction to support his Anti-Magic Field. Looking at the stunned children, Edward asked loudly, "What happened? How did these Death Eaters get in?!" "They…they turned from owls," one of the kids stammered. "All of them…owls?! Since when are Animagi so common? And they just so happened to all be owls?" Edward couldn't make sense of it. He found a nearby classroom and beckoned the children inside. "Get in and stay put. No one leaves until the professors arrive!" The children scrambled inside. Edward then used Transfiguration to seal the windows and doors. "If they all turned from owls, that means any owl inside the castle could be a Death Eater? No. I need to warn Audrey!" He took a step forward, his form warping and vanishing. —— [Slytherin Common Room] "Avada Kedavra!!" The green flash of the Killing Curse bathed the entire room in eerie light. A few upper-year students stared in horror, eyes wide, trying to retreat or dodge, but there was no escaping the curse's range. The rest of the children closed their eyes and screamed in terror. Bang! Suddenly, a table shot upward, transforming into a goat that blocked the curse for the students. The instant it took the Killing Curse, it reverted back into a table and exploded into splinters. In the next moment, the Death Eater who had cast the spell was engulfed by a deep green light and fell to the ground, dead—his face still frozen in shock. ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.

Chapter 248 - 248: Transfiguration

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