Chapter 399

Chapter 399: Chapter 399

"The power we call Ancient Magic predates the development of wands, incantations, and the modern system of spellcraft," Ravenclaw explained.

Her voice was steady and unhurried, as though she were recounting a tale from the distant past.

"It does not depend on a wand, a spoken incantation, or any fixed movement. No one truly knows where it originated. Only a very small number of exceptionally gifted individuals can perceive, absorb, and control it."

Her unwavering gaze settled on Lynn.

"Clearly, you are one of those individuals."

Lynn opened his mouth, only to close it again as he looked down at his hands.

He had assumed the power he obtained in Azkaban was merely another, more potent form of magic. He had never imagined that its origins were so extraordinary.

Ravenclaw pointed toward the damaged Time-Turner in his hand.

"Try incorporating your Ancient Magic into the Mending Charm. It may allow you to repair the damage."

Lynn nodded.

Since Ravenclaw believed the method was feasible, it was certainly worth attempting.

Besides, he could not think of a better solution. Before coming here, he had spent an absurd amount of time staring at the scattered pieces of the Time-Turner. Every attempt had begun with a muttered damn it and ended with a resigned forget it.

Drawing a deep breath, Lynn allowed his wand to slide from his sleeve. He aimed its tip at the Time-Turner resting in his palm and cast the Mending Charm, carefully infusing it with Ancient Magic.

Silvery-white light surged from the tip of his wand and enveloped the Time-Turner, seeping into every tiny crack.

Under Lynn’s attentive gaze, the fractures running across the golden hourglass began to mend.

The edges of each crack blurred as though an invisible force were pressing them together. Slowly but surely, the broken pieces began to fuse.

Lynn’s eyes lit up.

It was working!

He immediately increased his magical output, pouring power into the Mending Charm without the slightest concern for the cost.

Unfortunately, the Time-Turner refused to cooperate.

The speed of the repair increased only slightly—so slightly that the difference would have been impossible to notice without careful observation.

Lynn continued maintaining the spell, staring at the hourglass as it repaired at a painfully slow pace.

One minute passed.

Then two.

Then five.

After all that effort, less than a tenth of the golden hourglass had been restored.

More time passed, and beads of sweat began forming across Lynn’s forehead. Eventually, the repair reached the halfway point—and stopped.

No matter how much power Lynn poured into the spell, the cracks refused to close any further.

"Damn you!"

Lynn cursed and lowered his wand.

The moment his magic was withdrawn, the Time-Turner released a blinding flash of white light.

Once the light faded, Lynn looked down—and his expression immediately darkened.

The golden hourglass had returned to its original condition.

Every crack he had repaired had reappeared. Not a single one was missing. Their positions, lengths, and widths were exactly the same as before.

Lynn drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to curse the Time-Turner and every craftsman involved in creating it.

He turned toward Ravenclaw, his eyes filled with questions.

Ravenclaw appeared equally surprised. Her brow furrowed briefly before her expression returned to its usual calm.

She took the Time-Turner from Lynn and raised it to eye level, carefully inspecting the damaged hourglass and the runes surrounding it.

"Hmm..."

After examining it for some time, she placed it on the table and looked at Lynn.

"The most likely explanation is that your Ancient Magic is not yet powerful enough," she said, choosing her words carefully. "You can temporarily reverse some of the temporal damage, but you lack the strength to erase it completely. The moment you stop supplying magic, time reasserts itself and restores the damage to its previous state."

She paused to organize her thoughts.

"Think of it as trying to wash a deeply ingrained stain from a stone. A sufficiently powerful current can scour the stain away, but a weak stream will accomplish little, no matter how long it flows."

Her gaze fell upon Lynn’s sweat-covered face.

"Of course, there is another possibility," she continued, her voice softening slightly. "There may be aspects of the Time-Turner’s construction that I have yet to understand. After all, this object was created a thousand years in the future and rests upon a millennium of magical development. I may require more time to comprehend all its principles."

Ravenclaw was silent for a moment before adding, "Personally, however, I believe the first explanation is more likely."

Lynn nodded.

He also believed the first possibility was more probable, if only because he had absolute faith in Ravenclaw’s intelligence.

If Ravenclaw said his Ancient Magic was too weak, then it was too weak.

"Then how can I strengthen it?" Lynn asked urgently.

Ravenclaw stroked her chin as she searched through her memories.

"The previous wielder of Ancient Magic was frequently seen near the Goblin Kingdom," she finally said. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Perhaps you will find some clue there."

Lynn stared at her in silence.

In other words, she had no idea.

He sighed and shook his head, but ultimately decided to try his luck.

There was little point in remaining at Hogwarts and waiting around. What if the Goblin Kingdom truly did possess the answer he needed?

"Professor, where exactly is the Goblin Kingdom?"

Ravenclaw beckoned with one hand.

A rolled map slipped from a nearby bookshelf and floated into Lynn’s hands.

Lynn unfolded it and quickly located Hogwarts. His gaze then traveled northward, passing several vast regions still marked as Unknown, before finally settling on a location circled in red.

Beside it was a line written in Latin:

Regnum Nanorum.

"The Kingdom of the Little Folk," Ravenclaw explained from beside him.

Lynn stared at the words, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Runts. Dwarfs. Gnomes.

In this era, humans commonly used the same broad label for nearly every magical race of insufficient height.

Goblins, gnomes, leprechauns—all were carelessly grouped beneath the title of "little folk." Thus, in official human records, the Goblin Kingdom had been given the rather blunt name of the Kingdom of the Little Folk.

Although the name was not entirely inaccurate when one considered the stature of goblins, Lynn was still surprised by how openly discriminatory it sounded.

After memorizing the route, Lynn gave the map one final glance before returning it to Ravenclaw.

"Professor, I’ll be leaving now."

Ravenclaw nodded. Just as she was about to offer him a word of caution, Lynn’s body erupted into a burst of golden-red flames and vanished from the room.

The office fell silent.

Only a thin wisp of blue smoke remained, slowly dispersing through the air as the two witches stared at the place where Lynn had been standing.

"He actually has a phoenix as a pet?" Hufflepuff asked in surprise.

Apparently, phoenixes were exceedingly rare creatures in both the Middle Ages and the modern era.

"Helga," Ravenclaw said, her voice returning to its usual calm.

Hufflepuff turned toward her.

"I believe we should place Anti-Apparition enchantments around Hogwarts," Ravenclaw said, tapping her fingers lightly against the table. "Preventing phoenix travel may prove difficult, but we should at least stop ordinary witches and wizards from Apparating directly into the castle."

She glanced toward the faint scorch marks Lynn had left behind.

"Otherwise, what is the purpose of constructing walls if anyone can simply appear inside them?"

Hufflepuff nodded solemnly.

"I believe that is extremely necessary."

...

In the blink of an eye, Lynn appeared in the sky above the Goblin Kingdom.

Looking down through the thin clouds, he saw a vast valley enclosed on every side by towering mountains.

The valley possessed only a single entrance, and it was so narrow that barely two people could walk through it side by side. Sheer cliffs rose on either side, their gray stone faces dotted with nameless gray-green plants.

At the center of the narrow passage stood an enormous statue.

It was carved in the likeness of a goblin.

From Lynn’s rough estimation, the statue was at least a hundred meters tall and appeared to have been cast almost entirely from gold and silver.

Sunlight reflected from its metallic surface, causing the entire monument to gleam brilliantly. Its feet rested on opposite sides of the narrow passage, while the open space between its legs formed a natural gateway into the valley.

The statue’s right hand gripped a massive sword.

Lynn narrowed his eyes as he studied it. The weapon also appeared to be made of gold, though thin, highly polished plates of silver had been embedded along its edge.

He slowly descended from the sky and landed before the entrance.

Standing at the foot of the enormous statue, Lynn tilted his head back to look up at it.

The monument was so large that one of its toes was taller than he was.

After taking a deep breath, Lynn began walking toward the gate.

He had barely taken a few steps when a group of armed goblins rushed out from behind the statue.

They were short.

Extremely short.

So short that Lynn had to lower his head just to see their faces.

Each goblin wore an identical suit of metal armor. Their breastplates were silver, their pauldrons were gold, and bright red feathers protruded from the tops of their helmets.

"Unauthorized personnel are forbidden from approaching!" shouted the goblin at the front.

His voice was forceful and left no room for negotiation.

Lynn looked down at the group of goblins posturing before him.

For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt an urge to hit them.

Perhaps it was the result of the historically terrible relationship between goblins and wizards.

Since the earliest surviving records, the two races had followed a remarkably consistent pattern: they fought, reconciled, fought again, and then reconciled once more.

Every period of peace was brief.

Every conflict lasted far longer.

The reason was simple.

Goblins possessed extraordinary forging skills, while wizards needed magical weapons and artifacts. Wizards wanted the finest craftsmanship, while goblins demanded the highest possible price.

Neither side was willing to compromise, and neither would willingly lower its head.

Lynn drew another deep breath and suppressed the impulse to start a fight.

He cleared his throat, adjusted his robes, and calmly examined the goblins one by one before fixing his gaze on their leader.

Since he had come here under the name of Hogwarts, he could hardly behave too modestly and damage the school’s prestige.

"I have come as a representative of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Lynn declared. "Tell your king to come out and meet me."

The goblins froze.

They had never expected a human wizard to speak so arrogantly while standing directly outside the gates of their kingdom.

One goblin let out an indignant snort and immediately stepped forward, evidently intending to teach Lynn a lesson.

Before he could act, however, the goblin leader raised an arm and stopped him.

His reasoning was simple.

Any human wizard arrogant enough to make such a demand at the gates of the Goblin Kingdom was either an idiot or someone extraordinarily powerful.

More importantly, the wizard claimed to represent Hogwarts.

The goblin leader knew precisely which four individuals had founded that school.

After a brief consideration, he decided that provoking this visitor before confirming his identity would be exceedingly unwise.

"Remain here," the goblin leader ordered. "Do not take another step. I will go inside and deliver your message."

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