Chapter 159: Core Strengthening, Part 1: The Beginning

The rest of the week passed without incident. The house-elves and Lucky continued scouring the castle while Severus completed his ritual preparations, performing a final check on every rune inscribed in the magical circle. Even a momentary error could lead to catastrophic consequences, including the degradation of his magical core.

On Friday, he visited Rowena again to ask a few questions regarding her friends. He inquired about the countries where they had lived, distinguishing marks on their bodies, and physical descriptions. She shared everything freely and in precise detail, including specific birthmarks. However, when the conversation turned to Gryffindor, she honestly admitted that she could say nothing on that subject, bound by an oath to the real Rowena Ravenclaw.

She also revealed something else of interest. In the same year her friends left the castle, a group of wizards who were clearly foreign had arrived roughly a month later. She identified them as such by their accents and mannerisms. They had wanted to purchase the school from Gryffindor, who refused. They paid particular attention to Rowena, offering her mountains of gold and access to their entire library. They claimed this collection was dozens of times larger than Hogwarts’s own library and promised any books she could ever desire, down to the rarest volumes.

She turned them down. She had no wish to betray her friends, and the visitors withdrew without argument, which left the three remaining founders somewhat on edge. Had Salazar still been with them, he would certainly have recognized that something was very wrong. But the only genuinely sharp analytical mind had already left the castle. Godric was there, of course, but in moments like this one, he was no replacement for Salazar.

At first, the founders had suspected this group was behind Helga’s death, rather than Salazar himself. But at the time, they found no evidence of it, and now, with the truth laid bare, Rowena understood that her "friends" had almost certainly been working alongside them. How else would the group have known about her in the first place?

Someone who could decipher what she had written was clearly very valuable to that organization, and their decision to kill those involved was the predictable outcome for people who wanted none of this known. That was why the two women had stayed near Rowena for so long and even helped her with the work.

The information didn’t help Severus much in practical terms, but he now knew with certainty that the organization’s base was in another country. Even if it had been in Britain, the Black Star would hardly have dared to poke its nose into their affairs. Still, he didn’t rule out the possibility that the organization had spies inside the country watching the school, which meant it would be wise not to draw attention with the script of his world, at least until his core had stabilized following the strengthening ritual.

Friday evening, after saying goodbye to Slughorn following yet another extra session, Severus returned to his room. The professor had remarked that the session was approaching its end despite having been scheduled through the end of the year, noting simply that Severus had been absorbing everything too quickly. From there, he Apparated to the location he had prepared for the ritual.

It was beneath the forest, nearly twenty kilometers from the nearest settlement, inside an enormous cave the size of two Hogwarts Great Halls combined, covered with piles of turquoise crystals that Shafiq had been purchasing on his instructions all this time.

The method for strengthening his core was straightforward. Severus intended to subject it to extreme pressure. Since the magic stored within the crystals was perfectly pure, there was no risk of contamination, slowed absorption, or diminished spell power. He planned to force the core to expand by flooding it with torrents of magic that pressed outward against its boundaries. He would proceed with the utmost care, stopping just before the pressure reached a breaking point.

Drawing the magical circle took only a few minutes once he knew every symbol and curve involved. He had leveled the stone floor that morning, inscribed the circle, and ordered the house-elves to transport the crystals into the cave.

He had also reinforced his personal protections and set up wards to suppress any escaping magical surges. He wanted to avoid a repeat of the previous incident, where Aurors had arrived and he had been forced to pretend to be a mysterious and powerful wizard. Fortunately, that situation had ultimately worked in his favor.

Standing at the precise center of the magical circle with his eyes closed, Severus completed his final preparations and checked the runes one last time. Nearly an hour after arriving, he finally opened his eyes.

In theory, nothing should go wrong, but there was no such thing as absolute certainty. A wooden sphere appeared in his hand, woven from roots and radiating extraordinary magical energy. It was not overwhelming but calm and steady, exactly what one would expect from the Heart of the Ent King, filled with natural magic carrying remarkable healing properties. "Well then. Time to begin." He smiled gently and looked down at Lucky and Nagini, who had taken up positions nearby. "You two will wait outside and guard this place until I’m finished. It could take anywhere from two to three days."

"Shouldn’t you sleep first and start tomorrow when you’re rested?" Nagini asked with concern, drawing closer and looking him directly in the eyes.

"I’ve already taken the Alertness Potion. I won’t be able to sleep at all for the next week." He leaned down and gently stroked her head. "Everything is fine. I’ve calculated everything."

"Meow!"

"Yes, yes, you’ll be fed," he said with a smirk, shifting his gaze to Lucky before extending his hand.

Lucky went still for a few seconds, studying his face as though weighing something. Then he seemed to reach a decision, stepped forward, and pressed his head into the offered palm. In the short time since then, drawn by the strange sense of closeness and calm that surrounded the mage, the kitten had genuinely grown attached to him. The man fed him good food every day, played with him, and let him do as he pleased within certain limits, and this kind of life had started to feel right. Lucky had no particular wish to say goodbye to it and return to the forest.

"Mrrrr..."

"All right, enough of this. Off you go." He patted them both on the head, rose, and raised his palm toward the exit, creating a passage so they could leave the cave without picking their way over the crystals.

"We’ll be waiting for you outside..." Nagini lowered her eyes and whispered, then turned and moved toward the exit.

"Good. I’ll try to finish as quickly as I can."

"And I am not leaving until you come out!"

"Now you have stripped me of even my choice. I never imagined you could be so cruel," he said with an air of wounded pride, earning a thoroughly displeased look in return.

"Do not be sarcastic! You had better come out within three days!" she called back over her shoulder as she left the cave. Lucky glanced back and forth between them, tilting his head in confusion, then meowed and ran after Nagini.

The moment Severus was completely alone, he raised his palm toward the exit and clenched his fist. The stone walls rushed together, sealing the passage shut.

"Let us hope everything proceeds smoothly and that I do not emerge from these three days as a masochist." He crouched down, pressed his hands together, and began whispering the incantation in a slow, steady murmur. The magical circle beneath him lit up, growing brighter with every passing second. The crystals followed suit.

Magic began to flood his core at a terrifying speed, forcing a groan from his throat. Sharp agony blazed through his entire body, as though someone had driven a searing blade into his chest. The piercing sensation receded into a dull, grinding throb, but then another surge crashed against the walls of his core. The agony returned, forcing him to grit his teeth as the deep ache settled in once again.

"Whoever devised this method of core strengthening must have been a complete sadist," he hissed through clenched teeth. He turned his focus inward, attempting to push the agony to the fringes of his mind.

Diagon Alley.

Seven strangers clad in dark robes, their faces nearly obscured, entered a small shop beneath the unassuming sign that read "Artifacts for All." The shopkeeper could barely see their faces, just their mouths, and immediately sensed something was amiss. Before the door had even clicked shut behind them, he had already drawn his wand from its holster, gripping it tightly beneath the counter.

"May I ask what brings you to my shop?" he asked, eyeing the visitors warily.

"Mr. Macmillan, when greeting customers, one ought to smile rather than reach for a wand," a soft, amused voice rasped from the leader of the group. "The answer to your question is quite simple. We require information."

"What kind?"

"A rather interesting artifact recently appeared in your inventory." She reached beneath her robes and produced a cube. At the sight of it, his heart raced, though his face betrayed nothing. He simply raised an eyebrow, pretending not to recognize the object. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"There’s no need to pretend. You’d be better off answering our question honestly. Otherwise, we will be forced to visit your home, and..."

"Is that a threat?"

"It is a statement of fact. I strongly recommend that you cooperate." Her voice dropped lower and grew colder with every word.

"I’m telling you, I don’t know what that is! I’ve never seen an artifact like it in my life! Do you think I would lie in a situation like this?" The elder Macmillan slammed his fist onto the counter.

"Freed?" The woman glanced at the man beside her.

"He’s lying. When you showed him the artifact...," the man began, but in the next instant the aristocrat snapped his wand up and leveled it at them.

"Avada..."

He never finished. The woman moved her hand, and a powerful gust of wind drove the wizard into the wall. His wand flew from his grip and landed at the smiling witch’s feet.

"We truly wanted to resolve this amicably, Mr. Macmillan. You leave us no choice."

She tsked softly, a hint of annoyance in the sound, pulling the pale Mr. Macmillan toward her. He realized these were not ordinary people. They had never intended to let him walk away. He had seen their kind before, the way they carried themselves. It was that unhurried, completely relaxed manner of people who had nothing to fear.

"I promise to be gentle."

She extended her hand and pressed it to his forehead.

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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;

1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = Chapter 279

2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = Chapter 195

3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = Chapter 280

4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = Chapter 122

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