I have just returned to the Room of Requirement after my conversation with Neville, which by the way was cut short because fate is a bitch and just won't let me alone for a while…
Still, we did talk about many things, including but not limited to (girls you would sleep with but not date, girls you wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole—ending the awkwardness we felt when talking about girls for the first time—and other stuff too, like magic training, tips on magic control, etc.), and although it was enjoyable to discuss various topics with a friend for a change, unfortunately, a problem had to pop up, so I couldn't continue.
Now, let's get to the reason I returned here instead of literally being anywhere else—I received the results of the scanning done by Hogwarts, and unfortunately, there are a lot of problems—and there's no good news—at least not yet.
Looking at the report in front of me, I felt like the issues that have been accumulating for a thousand years have now been finally uncovered—and that is not a good thing…
Among the different problems I found, there are different priorities, like the three different Horcruxes, the seventeen possessed paintings, and over thirty insidious cursed items hanging all around Hogwarts and linked to it.
And let's not forget today's winner: the parasite that is infesting almost every student and teacher inside Hogwarts. While there are plenty of other issues like curses, hidden legacies, and more curses around, these are the most pressing.
Dealing with Horcruxes isn't a primary concern as of yet because it would take time to determine who created them and if they are still 'alive' in some form.
The possessed paintings, though, will be locked up with the headmaster's soul, awaiting my experimentation—if someone's fearless enough to leave most of their soul trapped in a painting in hopes of possessing a compatible child as a vassal to live again, then they deserve whatever fate I inflict upon them…
Still, this parasite is proving to be more problematic than I initially thought—I can't extract it from everyone at Hogwarts without a catalyst—their mindscapes are either underdeveloped, too messy, or too guarded for Hogwarts to do it without help—so I need to think of a solution… and fast.
On the other hand, purifying the curses will be less challenging but hard nonetheless—they've linked themselves to the school for years and almost become part of Hogwarts itself—nothing short of a massive purification ritual will help.
'Ding,' I could practically feel the light bulb go on.
'Oh! I can't believe I nearly overlooked the simplest and most efficient solution.'
A massive purification ritual—that's what we need; it will resolve almost all of our issues—even parasite extraction will be easier during the ritual.
Now, I simply need to look for the available ones, see if I can make a better one, fine-tune the requirements, determine the exact timing, and 'Boom'—problem solved…
Still, this kind of ritual needs to occur at an opportune moment, like the summer solstice or some other occasion… Has Halloween already passed? I'm not entirely sure. I suppose I should discuss this with someone, maybe Professor Flitwick—yes, that sounds like a good idea…
My sense of time is all over the place in some way. Even though I know it has been months, I can't actually recall which month it is.
My Grimoire can't assist me here either; in essence, it's just a part of me. It indicates that about four months should have passed since it came to be, give or take a week or two, but nothing else...
'Anyway, let's go to Flitwick first and ask him.'
After a quick scan, I found out that Professor Flitwick was in his office, studying no doubt... so I went there…
The walk there was quick, taking only a few minutes through secret passages to his personal office. True, I could have let Hogwarts transport me, but if I used it for everything, it would lose its mystique…
After knocking on his office door and then opening it, I found Flitwick buried under a stack of books taller than he was—due to his short stature—and it was a rather amusing sight. I chuckled softly, finally catching his attention.
"Harry! Come in! What can I do for you?" His upbeat voice was somewhat uplifting.
"Professor, we have some serious problems, and we need to address them as soon as possible," I got straight to the point and told him in a serious tone, prompting him to straighten his back and look at me with an "I'm ready" expression.
It was funny—I find a lot of things amusing today...
"Well, Professor, I've just received the results of the scanning Hogwarts conducted, and the results aren't good. Before you ask, yes, I upgraded Hogwarts a bit, and this is the outcome. Several issues have been uncovered, and we need to resolve them quickly," I said, my voice carrying a sense of urgency as I handed him the parchment report I conjured earlier…
He took the parchment, looked it over, and then handed it back to me in a few seconds. "Okay, how about you just tell me about your findings instead of giving me something I can read? That way, I can actually understand what you need."
'Oh right, I forgot he doesn't actually understand this…' I forgot that people don't actually understand what's writing on this paper because—Hogwarts communicates with me using feelings, intentions and magic so when you translate that into writing, you get a whole bunch of symbols and magical numbers…
'It's not like I needed this in the first place, but it's easier to have the summary of all that information in physical form'…
"Uh, right, sorry about that… Anyway, the gist of it is that I found various Horcruxes, possessed paintings, and numerous curses spread throughout Hogwarts. However, that's not what I am here for… What I really need to know right now is: when is Halloween? You see, my sense of time is kind of skewed—not that it bothered me before—but now it's urgent," I said, and watched as his expression shifted between various reactions before settling on a grim one. His face darkened, eyebrows furrowed, and his hand tightened into a fist—clearly, he didn't like the news…
"Harry, these are some serious issues—you can't just gloss over them like that! And what do you mean your sense of time is skewed? Are you feeling okay? You don't just forget when Halloween is!…" Flitwick said, his tone serious with a hint of exasperation and concern.
"Well, you try dying, coming back to life, and then devoting your time to studying and practicing magic without a care for anything else in the world for months, and then tell me if you'll still have any inkling of what date it is!" I said, my voice sounding more indignant than I wanted it to be.
"Right, I forgot about that momentarily. Sorry for asking. Now tell me about your solution—and does it need to be on Halloween?"
"The solution I found is simple: a massive purification ritual that will require everyone inside Hogwarts to participate in," I said with a smug smile on my face. It sounds simple, but preparing for such a massive ritual is actually pretty hard.
"Harry! While that's a very interesting idea, it's also a very dangerous one. A small mistake could lead to very severe consequences; you know that, right?" Professor Flitwick raised his voice, his eyes wide, and there was even a small sweat forming on his forehead, indicating he was either anxiously surprised or something else—what? I am not God; I don't know everything…
"I know, Professor, I know, but this is the best available option right now! That's why I need to know how long we have to prepare!"
*Sigh~* He let out a sigh before schooling his expression and said, "Okay, we have six days until Halloween. So we should start preparing now. Tell me what you need, and I'll do it."
"Well, what I need you to do is…"
xxx
Returning to the Room of Requirement, I started using it along with my Grimoire to simulate the design for the ritual so that I could actually see it with my eyes and observe how it would interact with magic and such...
It took a while for the results to appear, and it still wasn't ideal—the balance of energy was too delicate for my liking; this meant the slightest errors could have horrible consequences. So, I started researching more options.
I needed to have a balancer of some sort. Would nature energy work? I needed to account for that too. Did I need to change the aspects added? But with what? Different questions popped into my head, and different answers followed.
Simulation after simulation, error after error, and then finally—after being immersed for I don't know how long—I came up with the perfect ritual.
From the design to the runic inscriptions, symbols, etc., it was my brainchild and a thing of beauty—but the requirements were also heavy; a lot of energy needed to be expended. It also required everyone who participated to sacrifice three drops of blood and pump almost all their magic into the circle to actually receive the benefits.
Now, engraving this all over Hogwarts was going to be a challenge, but it turned out I just needed to provide Hogwarts with the ritual inscribed on a rune stone, like I had done with the protection upgrade before, and it would engrave it itself.
Now, that is some good news! So let's start doing that…
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