Chapter 243 –Stage Summary
Right now, Phineas knew his best course was to keep a low profile and focus on improving his strength. All the while, he would continue operating in the shadows—preparing his own plans against the Dark Lord—while comfortably watching Harry and the Dark Lord clash from the sidelines.
Before becoming a legendary wizard, however, Phineas had to remain vigilant—keeping tabs on the legendary wizards within the Elder Council and determining whether any demigods were among them. These would be his true rivals.
To stop himself from entertaining any reckless impulses, Phineas chose to hide away in the Room of Requirement for the day.
Upon running into the twins and Lee Jordan in the corridor, he told them directly:
"Dumbledore's plan is likely to succeed tonight. The protections at the end of the third-floor corridor won't be cleared overnight, so if you're going to take the risk, tomorrow morning is your best bet. By then, all the danger and traps will be over, and the guards won't be so alert. That'll be your chance to explore what's down there."
The twins looked a bit disappointed. When Phineas first told them about this earlier that morning, they had assumed the adventure would begin tonight. But tomorrow morning wasn't too far off—it was just a few hours away. And they trusted Phineas. If he said it would be dangerous now, they wouldn't take the risk.
They returned to the Gryffindor common room, only to discover their younger brother Ron was missing from the dormitory.
Remembering what Phineas said about Dumbledore testing Harry and the danger involved, they grew worried. Without calling Jordan or Phineas, they quietly left the common room and made their way to the end of the third-floor corridor.
As for what they experienced in the secret chamber beyond, Phineas had no idea.
At the time, he was busy organizing the rewards he had earned that night in the Room of Requirement.
First of all, his primary goal—the inheritance of the four founders—was now complete.
The magic of today's wizarding world was clearly distinct from ancient magic. And as the four legendary wizards who founded the most prestigious magical school in Europe, the power of the founders was beyond question. Naturally, they left behind pieces of ancient magic for a worthy heir to discover.
Side Quest Completed – Inheritance of the Four Founders
Rewards:
– Talent +1 in a designated magic/skill
– Patronus Charm: full mastery
– Apparition: proficient level
– Legilimency & Occlumency: proficient level
– Title: Heir of the Four Founders
– Ownership deed to Hogwarts Castle (to be collected in the Headmaster's office, hidden behind the portrait of Headmaster Gaunt of Slytherin House)
He had also completed the Explore Hogwarts achievement after entering the Chamber of Secrets and discovering Slytherin's private lab. He was now free to claim the reward.
Achievement Unlocked – Explore Hogwarts (100%)
– Visit all locations: classrooms, corridors, staircases (✓), common rooms of all four houses (✓), professors' offices, kitchens, Room of Requirement, secret passages (✓), founder treasures (✓)
– Reward: Mastery of Fiendfyre (including the counter-curse)
Compared to the other quests, this was the one Phineas had desired the most. The Fiendfyre Curse was a pinnacle of destructive Dark magic. Even at his current magical level, Phineas had neither learned it nor had access to a means of learning it.
Of course, he could try locating a reclusive elder from the Black family, but that was no easy task.
Fiendfyre couldn't be learned from books. It required tremendous magical power, relentless practice, and—most importantly—guidance from a wizard who had already mastered it. If the spell spiraled out of control, death was the mildest consequence. The flames would consume everything in their path until nothing remained.
Thankfully, the task reward included the counter-curse—essential for control. With it, Fiendfyre was no longer a liability but a deadly weapon now safely in Phineas' hands.
The Legilimency and Occlumency obtained from Slytherin's Chamber were also key to his advancement. These were considered gateways to greatness. If he could master these arts and manipulate others' memories, he would be well on his way to becoming a great wizard.
At this point, Phineas had mastered Transfiguration, Animagus transformation, the most difficult Black magic spell, the Patronus Charm, and now Legilimency and Occlumency. He had also created his own spellcraft with Shaping magic. For a young wizard, his magical arsenal rivaled that of a legendary one. Though technically still a student, his power had already far surpassed that of most adult wizards.
Of course, finishing those quests was just the beginning.
With the end of one journey came the beginning of another. As the prior quests wrapped up, two new missions—part of a new series—appeared:
New Quest Series – The Mystery of Time (must be completed in order)
Task 1: Obtain a Time-Turner and uncover the secrets of temporal magic. Master a time-based spell on your own.
Task 2: Use the Time-Turner or temporal magic to travel through time and return safely.
Task 3: Alter the past via time travel, without being discovered and without affecting your current reality. (Do not be noticed by [REDACTED].)
Phineas was immediately uneasy.
The timing of these quests felt suspiciously deliberate.
Had they arrived earlier, he would have completed the first two tasks effortlessly. If he had selected all elective classes last semester, Professor McGonagall would have applied for a Time-Turner on his behalf. But third year was over, and the opportunity had passed.
Without a Time-Turner, Phineas couldn't even begin. The first task required mastery of time magic, and the other two depended on it.
To make matters worse, the questline didn't allow skipping tasks. He couldn't just leap to altering the past and work backward. He had to follow the exact order.
The only way forward was to somehow acquire a working Time-Turner—and then unlock the secrets of time magic.
But the nature of these tasks raised even more questions. Not even legendary wizards had fully grasped the mysteries of time. Great wizards mastered memory and the mind. But time and space? Those remained the domain of the unknown. In fact, only one known demigod in magical history had dared to pursue time magic—and it cost him his ascension.
Today's Time-Turners, including those Ravenclaw herself once attempted to refine, were all based on that demigod's surviving research. Sadly, Ravenclaw's own devices had long since been damaged.
There was no use dwelling on "what if." In this world, even the past is not set in stone—because someone might've already changed it.
That begged the question: Is it truly "changing" the past—or simply fulfilling it?
Phineas recalled the only clear mention of a Time-Turner in the original canon: when Harry and Hermione traveled back to save Sirius and Buckbeak. But what they did in the past had, in fact, already happened. They didn't change the past—they were the reason the past occurred as it did.
With that heavy thought, Phineas set aside the time quest for now and focused on writing his third academic paper.
The goal was to complete the quest of publishing five papers. He had already written two.
The first detailed improvements to the Wolfsbane Potion—produced in a cheaper, weaker form by his Silver Moon Potion Shop. That research was originally done by a potioneer working under Phineas. Tragically, the man was bitten by the werewolf he had been testing the potion on and died during transformation. No one questioned when Phineas took credit for the paper—it was simply accepted.
The second paper explored ancient magical texts—his own original research. Thanks to Ravenclaw's inheritance, Phineas had a far deeper understanding of magical language than most wizards alive—excluding perhaps Pandora, Dumbledore, or Nicolas Flamel.
His current work focused on Transfiguration, specifically the techniques for transfiguring energy-based elemental forms—a simplified application of Shaping magic.
His fourth paper would explore the Philosopher's Stone and its creation process—though, naturally, he wouldn't share the full method. The Stone required tremendous sacrifice, and Phineas wouldn't let others abuse it.
His final paper would aim to redefine the foundation of magical theory itself.
At present, even Hogwarts failed to teach young wizards the nature of magic. Spellcasting techniques, word structures, and the logic of spell formulas were things wizards learned later, on their own. That's why few could cast wandlessly or perform silent spells.
Phineas wanted to change that.
His paper would organize magical theory into a clear trunk and branches—shifting wizarding education from how to use magic to why it works.
Such an idea would likely anger the pure-blood families. They wanted to keep magical theory hidden from Muggle-borns. From their perspective, knowledge of spellcraft belonged solely to pure-blood wizards. This elitism stifled innovation and mastery.
Phineas ignored such politics and kept writing.
Time passed quietly.
The next morning, with exams finished, Hogwarts entered a lull. Most students stayed only to await results and witness the final Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Normally a close game—but not this year.
Rumors spread quickly: Harry Potter had been taken to the hospital wing. So had the Weasley twins—Gryffindor's Beaters.
Phineas was stunned.
He knew the twins had been fine last night. He had specifically warned them not to take action until morning.
That's when it hit him—he had forgotten about Ron.
Ron had been with Harry the previous night. The twins must've heard and, fearing for their younger brother, ventured into the third-floor corridor to help—not to explore.
Phineas always knew the twins had courage. But this reminded him just how deep their loyalty ran.