Chapter 329 Night

As soon as he got back to the office, the ginger cat jumped over and meowed around him. Anthony sat down on the chair and took the ring out of his pocket. The three pets immediately gathered around and looked at the black stone that was said to be the Resurrection Stone with curiosity.

Anthony knew that he should write to Lind immediately and ask him to tell him all the stories related to the ring instead of sitting here staring at the cracks in the stone. But he couldn't help thinking about the conversation with Dumbledore.

The legend of the Resurrection Stone that pointed to death, the people who pursued it, the look on Dumbledore's face when he stared at the ring... Why did he refuse to help save the ring? Why did the Flamel couple send the Resurrection Stone to Anthony instead of Dumbledore, especially considering that they even trusted Dumbledore to hand over the Philosopher's Stone? If Nicolas Flamel was unwilling to even mention the name of the Resurrection Stone in the letter, wouldn't it be better for him not to tell Lind what it was when he wrote? What exactly could be the hint that Dumbledore was unwilling to talk about - the secret related to the soul?

The ghost chicken stretched its head to grab the ring, trying to snatch it away. The next moment, the cat pounced and rolled with the chicken. The ring fell on the table with a clang, and the ghost mouse took the opportunity to rush over and sniff it.

Anthony picked up the ring. The joy that made him dizzy appeared again. He threw it into the drawer and pushed it into the depths with Barrow's notes.

The fire dragon model climbed out staggeringly. Anthony lowered his head and said to it: "You have treasure, evil dragon-and I am sure it is a dark magic item. Now you can start building your castle."

He picked up the cat who tried to climb into the drawer and closed the drawer. The cat waved its claws in dissatisfaction, turned around the moment Anthony threw it to the ground, and scratched his ankles mercilessly.

"Go away," Anthony urged, "find something for yourself."

The cat jumped onto the table, picked up the evil mouse, smashed Anthony's teacup, knocked over the ink bottle, pushed a pile of books to the ground, and then left obediently.

...

That night, Anthony dreamed that he was back home.

He lay on his own bed, listening to the sound of the pan and the stove colliding. Birds chirped outside the window, he opened the curtains and found an owl outside. He turned around, opened the door, and wanted to tell his grandparents about magic, but couldn't find anyone. The owl flew away, the clanging sound in the kitchen stopped, and the whole house was very quiet.

He walked out of the house and found a silent river outside the door, with broken, black pebbles piled up on the riverside. He saw his grandfather fishing by the river and his grandmother standing by the side, so he ran a few steps quickly. Grandfather saw him from a distance and gestured to him not to scare the fish, so Anthony slowed down his pace again, walked quietly over, and stood shoulder to shoulder with grandmother behind grandfather.

"Ha, this is a big fish!" his grandfather whispered, holding the bent fishing rod, his face flushed and staring at the river with full concentration.

Grandmother said: "Or a big boot."

Grandfather hissed at her in dissatisfaction. Anthony sat on the ground and stared at the swaying float with them. The sun was bright, the river was sparkling, and the dazzling sunlight was dancing, almost blacking out people's eyes. Anthony closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he found Dumbledore sitting beside him, staring at the river.

"Resurrection Stone," Dumbledore said. Anthony saw that Dumbledore was gradually sinking, and the black stones on the river bank were over Dumbledore's legs, like quicksand - like swamps - like tides.

He jumped up and wanted to pull Dumbledore out. Dumbledore said, "I like your boots, Henry."

Anthony looked down and found two fish on his feet.

He woke up. The room was dark, and the cat stood beside the pillow, looking down at him. Anthony reached out his hand, and the cat turned away. He felt an itch on the side of his neck, scratched it, and found that the ghost mouse was curled up there sleeping.

Anthony turned over and closed his eyes. It was very quiet around him. He hoped he could sleep a little longer.

Dumbledore's blue eyes suddenly flashed in front of him. He seemed to hear Dumbledore say: "Anyway, even if it's just like in the story, seeing the relatives and friends who have left again... and saying a few words to them..."

Anthony turned over again.

Snape's voice full of malice and inquiry: "I'm really curious... Why did you never think of resurrecting him after you became a necromancer?"

Anthony sat up, sighed, and reached out to pick up the wand from the bedside table. The chicken sleeping there made a low, half-asleep clucking sound.

"It's all right," Anthony said.

He stood up, put his wand in his pocket, put on a thin coat, put on his shoes, and prepared to feed the giant squid.

...

Although the weather was getting warmer day by day, the Black Lake was still cool at night. The water vapor soaked the path by the lake, and the long grass blades kept brushing against Anthony's legs. A few insects chirped a few times in the distance, trembling, and fell silent when he approached, leaving only the sound of waves gently hitting the shore.

Anthony broke the bread into pieces and threw it into the distance bit by bit.

The curfew had long passed, and it was still a long time before dawn. The moon was not visible, only a few scattered stars leaked out from the clouds from time to time. The lake looked dark, and only the crests of the waves reflected the light faintly. After the bread was thrown into the water, it floated on the water and soon disappeared.

It must be a dark magic object, Anthony thought. He couldn't think of how it couldn't be.

Compared with the inferi or skeletons, recalling part of the soul will undoubtedly go further in disturbing the dead; and even if it is not a soul but a reflection or fantasy, it can only bring pain and unwillingness to the living. , and ultimately - just like that legend - tempts them towards death, then it is just as evil.

With a splash, the tentacles of the giant squid reached out to the lake and swept away the pieces of bread. Anthony smiled and knelt down.

“Not because death is evil,” he told the giant squid, “but because death—you know, neutral death—never has to trick anyone.”

He wouldn't try to resurrect his relatives because he knew full well they wouldn't be happy for him to do so. He won't try to kill himself easily, because he quite likes the life of being alive.

Although it is not known why he failed to die, perhaps - as Dumbledore and Flamel said in case the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed - "death is just a great adventure", and All experiences in life will probably become items in your luggage. Regardless, based on the Lockhart and the Dark Creatures series, it never hurts to be prepared before embarking on a journey.

The giant squid did not wait for the bread. It lazily raised its tentacles and tentatively groped the shore a few times.

Anthony reached out his hand and touched it lightly on the slippery, shimmering end. The giant squid jerked its tentacles back, but when Anthony dropped another piece, it came up again and quickly swept away the piece of bread that was shaking with the waves.

Anthony picked off a raisin, stuffed it into his mouth, and threw the rest of the bread to the giant squid.

"Goodbye," he said, standing up.

The giant squid still stretches out its tentacles, waiting for more bread. If he learns mermaid language, maybe it will be easier for the giant squid to understand what he is saying. But Anthony didn't think he'd be happy soaking in the lake. It was nice to be standing on the shore, but even if he was unlikely to die a second time, he would rather avoid the feeling of being swamped by too much water.

He just walked slowly towards the castle, thinking about irrelevant things. The sky was still dark, and the castle's steeple and attic could barely be seen. There was light in only a few windows.

Suddenly, he heard a hoarse meow. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Norris sticking her head out from the bushes nearby, looking around with bulging eyes like light bulbs. Anthony smiled at it.

Mrs. Norris looked up at him and continued howling loudly.

"Hey, what's the matter, Mrs. Norris?" Anthony bent down with some confusion and stretched out his hand to it, "It's me."

Mrs. Norris arched her back, hissed at him, then swooped past his legs with her tail hanging down, and went straight to a tree behind Anthony, where she made an unpleasant howling sound. Under Anthony's gaze, a figure came out. Mrs. Norris continued to make triumphant, shrill cries.

"Okay," Anthony said, "Good evening, Miss Davis."

Tracy said calmly: "Good evening, Professor Anthony."

At this moment, Filch ran over panting with a lantern in hand. Mrs. Norris immediately stepped forward with her tail raised high.

"Oh, dear, you are so capable." Filch shined a lantern on their faces, "Good evening, Professor Anthony... Let's see what we caught... Oops, a student who slipped out of the castle in the middle of the night. What do you want to go to? The Forbidden Forest?"

"I just can't sleep."

"Can't sleep!" Filch spat, "Can't sleep! Miss, this won't work here! Ms. Umbridge is right, students should obey the rules. Curfew means curfew. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Tracy again, "Slytherin, eh? Come with me. Professor Snape will deal with you. You are in trouble."

…

"Good evening, Filch," Snape said coldly, standing at the door of the office.

Filch said cheerfully: "I don't want to bother you so late, Professor Snape, but-" He stepped back a little, exposing Tracy, "I caught a student wandering at night. . Staying up most of the night and wandering around must be trying to do something bad..."

Snape glanced at Tracy and then moved his gaze to Anthony's face: "Good evening, Professor Anthony."

"Good evening," said Anthony.

Why did you become a necromancer...

Anthony shook his head to drive Snape's voice out of his head. Snape raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to Filch without making any comment: "Where did you find Miss Davis, Filch?"

"Outside the castle, outside the gate." Filch said, "Mrs. Norris found her, otherwise she would have thought she could sneak into the Forbidden Forest quietly... These students, Professor Snape, are completely Don’t take school rules seriously.”

"Clean the Potions classroom next Wednesday, Miss Davis." Snape said. "Well, good night, Filch. If you don't mind, I have some potions to brew."

Filch said: "But, Professor Snape, she is wandering outside the castle..."

"Yes, that's why there is confinement." Snape said politely, "Good night, Professor Anthony."

Bang, the door closed in front of the three of them.

"I guess he's really busy," said Anthony.

Filch stared at the door in front of him unwillingly, then turned sharply to Tracy.

"If Ms. Umbridge knew, she would definitely not be happy. Maybe she would expel you from her Investigative Task Force." He whispered viciously, "She wouldn't like this news. Someone from the Investigative Task Force was -" He glanced at Anthony, "caught wandering at night - I know she wouldn't."

"That's right." Tracy said, "Can I go back to the dormitory, Mr. Filch?"

Filch looked at her, and finally said nothing, nodding rudely. Tracy turned around and walked to the other end of the cellar. Anthony thought about it and decided to send her to the door of the common room.

What he didn't expect was that Tracy was standing at the corner. She smiled helplessly the moment he walked over: "I expected it, Professor Anthony."

"Professor's duties." Anthony said, "Why are you there tonight, Miss Davis?"

"I can't sleep." Tracy repeated.

"Well... I guess I've said it many times, but Madam Pomfrey is very helpful and she's a professional." Anthony said, "Not that I encourage this behavior, but - are you missing any ingredients for your potion?"

Tracy stopped abruptly and looked at him in surprise. Anthony then remembered that although he would go to the abandoned bathroom every time he patrolled, he had never taken the initiative to talk to Tracy about this topic. However, on the other hand, he had checked it so many times and never bothered to cover his whereabouts. He thought Tracy knew that it was not a secret base.

Anthony said seriously: "To be honest, I suggest that you would rather steal Professor Snape's materials than consider going to the Forbidden Forest - I reiterate that I don't encourage this behavior." But compared to Hagrid's pets living in the Forbidden Forest, Snape is 200% a safer choice. At least he is not a XXXXX-level creature - not yet.

Tracy breathed a sigh of relief and seemed to relax again.

"No, I'm not short of any potion ingredients," she said. "I'm short of a cauldron."

"What?"

"My cauldron went missing one day. Then I heard Potter was knocked unconscious by it. I'm left with the Potions classroom's shared second-hand cauldrons while Professor Snape counts them."

Anthony restrained himself from suggesting she steal one when the classroom was cleaned next Wednesday.

"Go to Madam Pomfrey, Miss Davis," he said.