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Chapter 1010: Viking Warship
🕑 Added 2024-02-01 05:55:48 +0000 UTCHarry felt that he was a little incoherent. He didn't know if the other party could understand him. After all, these things were difficult to describe.
The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, slightly ridiculous, even comic.
Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling, Evan watching him.
Next to them, Ron, Neville, and Colin looked from Harry, to Evan, and then to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.
They could understand some of what Harry said, but some words were completely incomprehensible.
“How did you see this?” Dumbledore asked quietly, asking the same question as Evan, still not looking at Harry.
"He saw it from the perspective of the statue … he was the statue." Evan answered for Harry.
He knew what Dumbledore needed, and it was difficult for Harry to say it clearly.
"I understand," said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. "Professor McGonagall, could you please take Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Creevey back? I have a few things I'd like to discuss privately with Mason and Potter."
"Of course," said Professor McGonagall, leading Ron, Neville, and Colin out of Dumbledore's office.
"Professor, Voldemort may have used the statue of the evil god to make a new Horcrux and reached an agreement with the evil god!" After McGonagall, Ron, Neville, and Colin left the office, Evan immediately said. "The situation is more complicated than we thought. We must go to Norway immediately."
"Take a seat first, some things need to be confirmed before we can act," said Dumbledore, pulling out his wand and conjuring two chairs.
He quickly walked up to Phoenix and stroked Fawkes’s plumed golden head with one finger.
The phoenix awoke immediately. He stretched his beautiful head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.
“We will need,” said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, “a warning.”
There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.
Immediately afterwards, Dumbledore walked quickly to the pile of fragile silver instruments.
Evan didn't see clearly what he did, but one of the silver instruments emitted a slight vibration, and the spherical object on top began rolling along an elliptical trajectory.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Evan and Harry, Dumbledore carried the other instrument to his desk.
He sat down again facing them, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.
The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top.
The smoke gathered and swirled in the air, and Dumbledore watched the light smoke, his brow furrowed.
Evan was also observing the smoke; it was indeed quite strange.
He finally understood why the headmaster stayed in his office every day; it allowed him to know every move Harry made!
This precious alchemy instrument could obviously directly observe the state of a person's soul. Although Dumbledore didn't ask anything, he knew everything.
After a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air…
A serpent’s head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide.
Harry stared at the smoke, too, wondering whether the instrument was confirming his story: He looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but the Headmaster did not look up.
“Naturally, naturally,” murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. “But in essence divided?"
"Obviously!" Evan replied.
Harry could make neither head nor tail of their conversation.
But as soon as Evan finished speaking, the smoke serpent split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air.
With a look of grim satisfaction Dumbledore gave the instrument another gentle tap with his wand: The clinking noise slowed and died, and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze, and vanished.
"Very good," he said with satisfaction and replaced the instrument upon its spindly little table.
As he moved, Harry saw many of the old headmasters in the portraits follow him with their eyes, then, realizing that Harry was watching them, hastily pretend to be sleeping again, as they always did.
During the day, they could be seen everywhere in the school, even in places like the Ministry of Magic, the International Confederation of Wizards, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and the homes of pure-blood wizarding families where their portraits were hung. But late at night, they all gathered here.
The previous headmasters of Hogwarts were famous and had high status during their lifetimes, and their portraits were everywhere that Dumbledore needed to pay attention to.
According to an ancient agreement, the portrait subjects had to obey the current headmaster's commands. Therefore, Dumbledore could obtain a lot of information he wanted through this inconspicuous means. The past headmasters could provide Dumbledore with information and insights, retaining memories of the past, and many of them were among the most brilliant minds in the wizarding world at their respective times.
"I need to confirm, where exactly did you see that?" Dumbledore asked softly, still not looking at Harry, as if speaking to the air.
Harry judged from his tone that he was asking himself, this was really uncomfortable, couldn't Dumbledore just look at him?
"I don't know; I can't pinpoint the location. I've never been there. It seemed to be a large building, with walls and floors made of rare dark gold. The top was open, and I saw the moon. There was also the outline of a strange, large ship, accompanied by a loud noise. It suddenly appeared, docking beneath the moon, and in front of the ship was a magnificent gate. Oh, and I heard the sound of seawater, but I didn't see the sea, probably outside the building," said Harry.
He described the appearance of the ship and the golden gate in detail. This was probably their only lead at the moment.
Dumbledore listened carefully, then he raised his wand again, and a faint blue light mist emerged from the wand’s tip.
The mist of light changed, and finally formed the appearance of a boat in front of the two of them.
"A Viking warship!" Evan recognized it at a glance. This ship was so distinctive that there was no room for error.
It had an upward-curving prow with a large, menacing dragon head statue on top.
The entire ship seemed to be carefully carved from a single piece of wood, tapering sharply at both ends, and the middle sail was quite large.
"It's this ship, docked on something, right under the moon at this time!" Harry immediately said.
"I understand. If I take you to the location of this ship, can you find the specific position where you saw it?" Dumbledore asked calmly. He waved his wand horizontally, and all the blue light disappeared. "That's the specific location of the moon, the warship, and the corresponding gate."
"Should be able to," Harry replied.
At this moment, there was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.
“It is Fawkes’s warning,” said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "Professor Umbridge must know that you’re out of your beds. We must act quickly, take advantage of the moon's position before it changes. Prepare yourselves, we leave now!”
