Ron could only follow, "Hey, what's wrong with you two? Wait for me. "
Soon, the three little ones arrived at the 8th floor and knocked on the door of the principal's office.
"Oh, Harry, Ron, Hermione, why are you here?"
"Principal Dumbledore..."
"Professor Dumbledore..."
The three of them were talking at the same time, and it made Dumbledore's head swell. He could only put his hands together and said softly, "Okay, okay, don't be anxious, come one by one."
The three of them shut their mouths at the same time, then looked at each other and said at the same time: "Someone wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"
Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "Oh? Where did you hear about the Philosopher's Stone?"
"Well..."
The three of them looked at each other and said, "This is not important!"
"We suspect someone has used the Imperius Curse on Hagrid and learned about the Philosopher's Stone!"
"Oh, this is amazing news."
Dumbledore took off his glasses and thought for a while, then took out a handful of candy from the drawer and distributed it to the three of them:
"Okay, I understand. You guys can go back now."
Harry immediately shouted, "Professor, you don't believe us?"
"No, of course not," he said seriously, "but this is not something you should worry about. The professors and I will take care of it."
After sending them out of the office, Dumbledore murmured:
"So, after all this detour, is it just for the Philosopher's Stone?"
...
Nurmengard, Austria.
The weather has been getting increasingly colder during this period, with heavy snow falling outside for half a month in a row. If it weren't for magic, this old castle, which has been in disrepair for so long, would have collapsed long ago.
Grindelwald folded his hands and huddled in front of the fireplace, warming himself by the fire. An old movie was playing on the TV next to him. The old man would turn his head and look over from time to time, occasionally adding a piece of wood.
The only sounds in the entire house were the crackling sound of burning wood and the occasional sound of wind blowing in through the gaps in the windows.
Boom boom boom.
There was a knock on the door, and Grindelwald waved his hand gently to open the door. The cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed in, instantly lowering the temperature in the house.
Edward came in with his hair full of white snow and pushed the door shut with his butt.
"Long time no see, Mr. Grindelwald."
He was carrying a lot of bags of different sizes in his hands, as if he was visiting relatives during the New Year. The reason he didn't put them in his leather bag was to make himself look more impressive when he visited relatives.
Edward put his things down, brushed off the snow on his body, and looked around the house, which had changed a lot. It was obvious that there were a lot of new furniture here compared to the last time he came, and they were neatly arranged, which made him feel like he was living in the prison like his home.
Lilith immediately jumped out of Edward's arms, trotted to the TV and sat down, but found that the show on TV was not her favorite Tom and Jerry, so she turned to look at Grindelwald and meowed.
Grindelwald threw another piece of firewood into the fireplace, stood up and walked over. He skillfully turned on the VCR, inserted the Tom and Jerry tape into it and started playing it, muttering, "Your cat really knows how to watch TV. I thought it was just joining in the fun."
Seeing that Lilith was watching Tom and Jerry happily, Grindelwald subconsciously touched her head, then looked at Edward: "It seems like you have been back from your study tour for more than ten days. If it weren't for those things, you wouldn't have thought of coming to see me?"
Edward was stunned and said, "It's unfair, sir. You drove me away with a look of disgust last time, and I thought you didn't want to be disturbed. Otherwise, you have been pulling my bones out for such a long time, so I have to ask you something, right?"
At this point he coughed and asked, "Um...how is your research going?"
"There are some results."
He lazily got up and walked to the corner where a pile of debris was placed. He bent down and rummaged around for a long time, then took out a crystal clear bone.
This bone was densely carved with various patterns, and there was a faint magical power flowing through the patterns. Through the crystal-clear bone, one could faintly see a black stone the size of a little fingernail embedded inside.
"As long as you can integrate it back into your body, you can use it to perform wandless spellcasting."
Edward took the bone and examined it carefully for a long time. Compared with the wand he bought from Ollivander before, this bone gave him a natural sense of familiarity - how could it not be familiar? This was his arm ulna.
"When you say there are some results, you mean..."
"It means it's far from perfect. You know that ordinary wands are made of core and wood. Your ulna is equivalent to the wood. But I have tried all the current cores and none of them are suitable."
Grindelwald said this, pointing to the black stone, "Until I used that thing. It was something I got by chance when I was doing Albus a favor before."
"To be honest, I was desperate at the time and tried every possible means to force it into the bone, and it worked."
Edward asked doubtfully, "It worked...are there any other problems?"
"Yes, the magic contained in that thing, let's call it magic, is limited and will become less and less as it is used. In other words, once the magic inside is used up, this bone will no longer have the effect of casting spells like a wand."
"This...stone, do you still have it?"
Grindelwald spread his hands and said, "No more. That thing is some kind of mutant magical animal. I have only seen one in my life."
Tsk, so after all this work, it's just a disposable product?
But Edward was not too disappointed. "No matter what, it gives me an extra layer of security."
"Oh, you have a good attitude."
Grindelwald nodded with a smile, and then said, "Don't worry, I'm bored now anyway, so I will definitely continue this research. This time I plan to jump out of the traditional wand core and try to use more other magical materials. So..."
He chuckled and said, "So you put this bone back later, and leave the extra one for me."
"…"
Do you really think my bones are Lego blocks that can be disassembled and assembled at any time?
Chapter 241: A gathering of elites, a meeting of carrots
However, after putting this "magic wand ulna" back, it seems that there is indeed one extra one... Is it considered a recycling of waste?
Pooh!
That's a bone connected to my flesh and blood, how can it be waste?
"Now I have another question." Edward raised his hand, "What will happen if someone uses the Expelliarmus weapon on me after the bone is put back in place?"
Grindelwald snorted. "Do you think I wouldn't consider this?"
"Let me ask you, if you hit someone with your fist, does that count as a weapon?"
"I guess so."
"So if I use a disarming spell on you at this time, your fist will fly out?"
Edward was stunned.
"After this bone returns to your body, it will be a part of your body. It is just one of your bones. It is just that the magical patterns carved on it allow you to perform wandless spells in a certain sense. So the effect of the Disarming Spell on your ulna is just like that on your fist - that is, it has no effect!"
"Are you sure?"
The old man frowned and said, "You can change it or not!"
Okay, I believe you. At worst, if it doesn't work, I can just take it apart - Tsk, has it really turned into Lego?
Pull out the bones, and one magic spell will do the trick.
But it took a lot of effort to "install" the ulna of the wand back - cutting the flesh, inserting the bone and connecting it, and then casting a spell to repair the wound.
These three steps seem simple, but they are actually bloody and cruel.
Edward was lying on a simple bed transformed by magic, like a lamb crying for slaughter. An old man over a hundred years old, who had no medical qualifications and even lied, was torturing his left arm like an emotionless butcher.
Returning the ulna to the arm is not just a biological issue. The key is the connection between the densely packed magical patterns on it and the body.
Lilith was no longer concerned with watching the cat and mouse at the moment. She lay quietly on the head of the bed with Edward, meowing from time to time and rubbing her head against him gently, which did add a bit of warmth to this brutal scene.
Two or three hours later, the "operation" (project) was completed. Edward gained an arm that could replace the wand for wandless casting and was more powerful, while Grindelwald gained a brand new ulna.
"Expelliarmus!"
As soon as Edward sat up, Grindelwald cast a Disarming Charm on him.
Then he was knocked flying and sat on the ground, almost breaking his butt.
"Didn't you say it didn't work?"
"I said that we can't disarm, not that we have no impact force."
He rolled his eyes, "Okay, I just used all my strength to disarm you, can you rest assured now?"
Edward rubbed his butt and sat up, muttering, "You are just taking revenge on me for doubting you."
"I'm not that narrow-minded. Let's try to see if you can cast the spell normally without a wand. If there's any problem, I can adjust it at any time."
Since the "wand core" is a consumable, Edward tried two or three small magics such as levitation, and did not waste it any more after confirming that it could be used normally.
After more than twenty minutes of various activities, the operation was declared a success only after confirming that the left hand with the replaced ulna of the magic wand could be used just like before.
"Okay, I'm fine, go back and watch TV Lilith."
After confirming it again and again, Lilith ran back to the TV.
"By the way, Mr. Grindelwald, I have something I want to ask you."
"Go ahead."
Grindelwald washes the blood off his hands at the sink.
"Will excessive use of black magic definitely have a bad effect on the user?"
He suddenly laughed: "Oh, the wizard trained by Albus actually likes to use dark magic? That's really interesting."
"Well, I can't say I like it, but in many cases, dark magic is indeed more useful than ordinary magic."
Grindelwald picked up a towel and wiped his hands as he walked over. "First of all, the abuse of dark magic will indeed make wizards dark, cruel, and ugly, but this influence can actually be overcome."
"In fact, in the beginning, there was no distinction between black magic and white magic. We all practiced magic, so there was no distinction between high and low, good and bad. It was only later that some wizards singled out some magic that was more lethal and often had no counter-curse, and called it evil black magic."
"Those wizards who use dark magic and become ugly and cruel are not so much affected by dark magic as they are like that. It is not the dark magic that changes them, but this is the true reflection of their hearts. So, if someone like Albus uses dark magic, he will not be affected at all."
At this point, he chuckled, "However, the real negative effect of black magic is on the soul. To be more precise, all magic that aims to harm others will have an impact on the soul of the user. However, this impact does not come from the magic itself, but from the person you harmed. This is especially true of spells like Avada Kedavra that target the soul."
"But the interesting thing is that the more you worry and fear, the more harm it will do to you. Some dark wizards who appear cruel but are actually cowardly have had their souls corroded long ago. If you don't care at all, this kind of harm can be ignored."