Success in the Ritual

The starlight from the constellations fell upon the runic circle where Nathaniel was present, absorbing the magical ability of the materials and strengthening with each passing moment.

After many years of study and experiments, he managed to establish a lineage chronology of his family back to the times when the greatest wizard among wizards, Merlin, existed.

Merlin studied at Hogwarts under the tutelage of Salazar Slytherin in the Slytherin house; it was said that he could learn any magic quickly, outshining the greatest wizards of his time.

Legends say that Merlin is the result of a relationship between a human woman and a demon, which would explain his feats in the world of magic.

The ancestor of the WinterHeart family was mentioned in the grimoire as having studied at Hogwarts during the same period when Merlin was at the peak of his learning in the castle. It was said that the power his family possessed was discovered by the greatest wizard of all time himself.

As the hours passed, the stars began to lose their brightness as the ritual was nearing completion, and there were no more materials left to be absorbed.

The final step was to let his own blood drop onto the lines of the circle to maintain the connection with the constellations. Nathaniel used a dagger to make a deep cut on his hand and spilled his blood to fill the runes. It didn't take long for the circle to light up in deep red, signaling the end of the ritual.

Gasping from the exhaustive strain his body had endured and tending to some basic first aid on his hand, Nathaniel contemplated the constellations, leaving the highest point in the sky as if tonight had never existed.

"This was the fourth time I've performed the ritual; the grimoire says that after completing it five times, the true power of the lineage will emerge," he said, clenching his fist and sighing. "Unfortunately, it all depends on the will of the stars." He remembered that throughout his grandfather's life, he managed to perform the ritual only twice.

Throughout the existence of his lineage, only his ancestor from Merlin's time reached the fifth time. Now, after so many years, he was close to achieving the same feat.

If he didn't complete all five rituals, as the last surviving member of his lineage, his family would be forgotten in the history of the wizarding world.

"I am indeed the last hope, as you said, Grandfather," he smiled, recalling his grandfather's words.

The Forbidden Forest was now completely quiet, as if none of the creatures residing there were present.

"I need to hurry," he said while organizing the area so that if someone happened to come across this part of the forest, they wouldn't notice that a ritual had taken place there.

Without Nathaniel noticing, a shadow was getting closer to him in the darkness of the forest.

He only noticed when the shadow was very close and spoke to him.

"What a shame, I missed the whole show," the shadow said, almost revealing itself. "Couldn't you have waited? ...Nat," she smiled.

Nathaniel was prepared to cast a spell but hesitated upon recognizing the voice of the person who was now visible to him. A sixth-year student at Hogwarts from Gryffindor House, Cassia Hawthorne.

The girl had a smile on her face.

Considering her age, she shouldn't have had any contact with Nathaniel or even know his childhood nickname. But then he noticed the purple medallion with a black stone that she wore around her neck. That's when he realized who she was.

"Cassia Hawthorne? I assume you prefer to be called that now," he said, continuing to organize the area without caring much about her.

"Cassia Hawthorne is sleeping right now, Nat. She thinks she has some kind of sleepwalking issue or simply forgets things," she smiled gracefully. "It's still too early for this little witch to notice my presence," the entity controlling the girl's body added.

"I should've known; I hadn't noticed you yet. You really do like being at Hogwarts, don't you?" he asked, finishing what he needed to do.

Cassia smiled at the question. "Yes... it was the only place that let me escape from my brother's shadow," she said casually. "But unfortunately, in Hogwarts, I found an even bigger shadow," her happiness now seemed to leave her voice.

"We need to talk about many things you made me do during the years when Voldemort attempted his revolution, and you didn't allow my entry into Britain," Nathaniel's cold voice sounded in the dark night in the forest.

"Everything is due to something, Nat. I'll send you a letter to arrange a meeting," she smiled again. "I have to go now; Cassia is about to wake up. It was good to see you," she smiled once more as she simply vanished into thin air.

"More problems always arise," Nathaniel sighed, making his way from the Forbidden Forest toward Hogwarts.

Dumbledore believed that the horcruxes created by Voldemort were a significant problem, but the old wizard didn't know that many worse things were connected to the Hogwarts castle.

During his time as a follower of Grindelwald, Nathaniel saw a new world of magic that he never imagined existed. He considered himself weak back then and desired power, which led him to follow Grindelwald to achieve his goal.

Even now, he still felt weak compared to the secrets he began to uncover. He still sought power, but this time in a slightly more peaceful manner than in the past.

Your return to the castle was proceeding without any impediment; the creatures kept their distance from the unknown being walking through the forest.

Spotting the Whomping Willow as he approached Hogwarts, Nathaniel noticed a strange movement with the tree. 'It's immobilized,' he realized.

Revealing some sort of passage or burrow. 'A passage to Hogwarts that isn't protected,' he considered this might be the way Sirius Black could have entered the castle, which remained a mystery to everyone, undetected.

"Dumbledore should be aware of this passage," he said to himself. Since the Hogwarts Headmaster would be aware of everything involving the castle and the school. 'Very suspicious,' he pondered.

With a wand gesture, Nathaniel summoned a small animal made of ice that could pass through the passage and serve as a scout for the investigation.

The creature followed the path until it came upon voices at what seemed to be the exit of the passage.

END OF THE SECOND VOLUME - SOON I WILL BEGIN THE THIRD PART OF THE STORY.

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PS - Soon, I'll also be setting up a Patre on to release advanced chapters for free and share artwork depicting the appearance of my characters.