Chapter 110 Death Is a Great Adventure
When Anton woke up, he was lying on old Dumbledore's large armchair. He opened his eyes and immediately saw many people surrounding him.
!!!
For some reason, the first thing that came to his mind was a meme he had seen in his past life.
—A dog opens its eyes, and a group of doctors look down at it: You're awake? The neutering surgery was a success.
He shrank back in fear.
Dumbledore smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, it's good that he's awake. You can all leave now."
Professor McGonagall said with a serious face, "Professor Dumbledore, you must think of something."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
Professor Snape frowned, "Mending a soul wound is beyond the scope of what current potions can achieve. I need time."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded.
Professor Quirrell had a strange and conflicted expression, "To survive the Killing Curse... uh... I mean... this kind of soul fissure... is very likely from the Killing Curse... maybe... maybe not... I... I..."
No one bothered to listen to the stutterer. Dumbledore gave him a steady look, "Go on, everyone out. It's time to prepare for class."
In the end, only the old wizard was left.
He held his head in his hands, looking at Anton with a face full of regret and pain.
"It's all my fault. It's laughable that I thought you were fine. I, I'm not human!"
Anton rolled his eyes, "Alright, stop pretending to be a good person. Besides, you're not a person to begin with, you're a ghost."
Dumbledore looked at the old wizard and shook his head, "You should leave too."
The old wizard was silent for a moment, sighed, and floated out.
...
...
Anton jumped down from the chair, stretched his body, walked a couple of steps, and went to look at himself in the mirror.
The nose was still the same nose, the eyes were still the same eyes. Nothing seemed to have changed.
Thank goodness. In Snape's private tutoring, he had explained that when the soul is damaged, some body parts might be lost. Anton was afraid he would turn into a socket-faced person with no nose.
"Still so handsome, awesome."
Anton chuckled and turned to look at old Dumbledore, "Go on, how much longer do I have to live?"
Dumbledore was surprised, "Who told you that you're going to die?"
"???" Anton blinked. "They all looked at me like I have a terminal illness. I thought I only had a few days left. Professor Snape's expression just now almost had the words written on his face..."
Anton imitated Snape's expression and his unique drawn-out way of speaking, "You can~~ have a nice meal."
"Hahahaha..." Dumbledore laughed happily.
"You'd better not let Professor Snape see that, or he'll get angry."
After laughing, he looked at Anton with a gentle expression, "I can see you have a very open-minded attitude towards life and death."
"Death is a great adventure." Anton shrugged. "I just like to wander around and see things. I don't care if it's the wizarding world or the world of the dead, I can accept either."
These words were very much to Dumbledore's taste, "Indeed."
He placed his interlocked fingers on the desk, "Your soul has been completely deformed, twisted into a ball. I don't know if it's good or bad. This is the domain of Death, but I know you will live a long and healthy life."
Old Dumbledore spread his hands, "It looks like it's about to fall apart, yet it's also highly aggregated. I'm not sure for now, I don't understand this situation either."
Anton smiled and looked out the window at the vast sky, "Perhaps my teacher, Fiennes, can explain. The theoretical basis of his integration of potions and spells is described this way: a wizard is a god."
"A wizard is a god?"
"Yes, a wizard is a god. Our will is above all else, above the soul, above magic, above emotions."
"Perhaps because of the existence of my will, it is, hmm, as you said, highly aggregated."
Anton's expression was serious, "This was the first lesson I learned when I entered the magical world. These words have long been rooted in my mind."
Dumbledore clapped his hands in amazement.
"I didn't expect Fiennes to have such insights. This world truly does not lack for brilliant and talented people."
"Of course!" Anton nodded. "I hate what my teacher did to me, but at the same time, I am very grateful for the magical enlightenment he gave me. I think it's priceless."
The two chatted for a while, and Dumbledore gave his final assessment.
"In any case, you can start trying more things. Your talent for Transfiguration has been completely unleashed. Perhaps you need to invest more energy in Transfiguration class."
"Okay."
Anton was in an exceptionally good mood. He felt more relaxed than before, as if a huge shackle had been removed, and it felt incredibly good.
"Go to class." Dumbledore shooed him away.
"Alright." Anton thought for a moment, leaned against the desk, and leaned forward, "Professor Dumbledore, can I borrow your Grindelwald's eye to study for a bit?"
"..." Dumbledore's expression was odd.
"Study what?"
Anton counted on his fingers, "I can brew the 'Wizard's Eye' potion, I can also simulate the 'Goblin's Eye' secret technique, and maybe I can simulate 'Grindelwald's Eye'. It's very interesting."
"Oh, you greedy little fellow." Dumbledore beckoned, and the wooden cabinet door on the bookshelf opened automatically, the box floating out on its own.
"Silently recite 'To journey onward with you' in your mind, and tap it lightly with your wand, and it will open."
"Likewise, it has a protective charm and a summoning charm on it. When you're done studying, tell it, and it will fly back on its own."
To journey onward with you?
You two really know how to play.
Haha.
...
...
O~K!
The light and pleasant mood ended here, because old Voldy had come looking for him again.
He was very urgent, uncharacteristically sending an owl with a letter, waiting at the corner of the corridor outside Dumbledore's office.
Although Voldemort was completely defeated by Grindelwald in countless aspects such as looks, fashion sense, charisma, grand ambitions, intelligence, class, etc., this man was undoubtedly 'the most powerful and dangerous Dark Wizard of all time'.
During the time he ravaged the wizarding world, everyone was in a state of panic. Dumbledore even had to gather his followers to form the Order of the Phoenix to deal with him. When everyone thought he was dead, his fearsome reputation was such that no one dared to speak his name, a testament to his power.
And if we disregard Voldemort's ridiculously low-level plans, his aimless messing around with his followers, and his intelligence that was almost below that of a normal person...
Well, we can indeed disregard them.
Anton was now in close, face-to-face contact, a direct confrontation, so he had to study him more.
Just as the old wizard had taught, the more a chaotic place seems to have a relaxed atmosphere, the easier it is for people to overlook the dangers within, only to fall into an even more dangerous situation.
After each warm and fulfilling class, the vigilance in Anton's heart grew stronger.
Old Voldy was now leisurely enjoying the fun of being a professor. Who knew which day he would suddenly not want to be one anymore and would casually try to kill him.
He thought deeply about old Voldy's behavior and finally figured out what this person was really up to.
The so-called blood purity theory was just a gimmick, a gimmick used to exploit the pure-blood families, just to recruit followers.
This person's ultimate goal was—of all the great paths, I only ask if I can attain eternal life.
Yes, what old Voldy truly cared about was immortality.
That's why his most powerful method was Horcruxes, and that's why he was most concerned about Harry Potter, who was prophesied to be able to kill him.
If one were to think from this perspective...
Voldemort's desire for something like the Philosopher's Stone, which could grant long life, was probably even higher than Anton had imagined.
Dragging his remnant soul of a body, he had to risk coming to Hogwarts, right under Dumbledore's nose. That desperate craving was practically bursting out.
"Everything has a price, Anthony." Old Voldy elegantly propped his hands on the desk, looking down at Anton, his eyes scanning him up and down as if looking at a rare treasure.
Anton lifted his eyelids and looked at him without changing his expression, "What do you mean?"
With a strong heart forged through long periods of high-pressure training, he feared no unexpected turn of events, not even death.
"Have you ever wondered why I tirelessly give you lessons?"
"Have you ever wondered why I call you delicious?"