Chapter 324: Try to Decipher

Although he couldn't compete with the horrible monster and strength of Salazar Slytherin in his youth, the sudden increase in power still boosted Ivan's confidence.

He was immersed in joy and a happy mood, just like Harry when he won the Quidditch Cup.

Now it was not the horrible barbaric time of wars; dark wizards and dangerous magical creatures no longer roamed the land as they did a thousand years ago. Wizards no longer needed powerful magic and combat skills.

With the progress of civilization, the overall strength of the magical world gradually weakened.

It wasn't just Black Magic and the complex process of casting spells like the Patronus incantation and demanding White Magic, as most would expect, even the most common dueling spells were not mastered by many people.

Perhaps unbelievable, but many Ministry of Magic employees couldn't even use the Protego Charm.

They only knew the common spells related to their work and daily lives.

It was undeniable that, with the change of times, these convenient curses had made great progress, and after continuous experimentations and modifications, they had reached a perfect state. With them, magicians could accomplish almost anything they wanted to do.

The negative effect that came with this was that ancient, esoteric and unpopular magic was gradually being forgotten.

The magicians' need for their own magic was becoming less and less. In addition to boiling potions, they no longer needed sophisticated casting materials to help them. Most wizards even thought that casting a spell was as simple as reading a spell and waving a wand.

Under such circumstances, Ivan's level of magic was now sufficient to be among the first-class wizards.

Considering his age, he had an even more promising future.

As long as he didn't break out against Dumbledore, Voldemort or a monster hiding in a cave, in theory, he now had nothing to fear.

After trying to use several spells he had failed to cast in the past, Ivan, in ecstasy, thought the same thing, but he was soon mistaken. He was still afraid of one person, Hermione.

Lying on the hospital bed, and looking at Hermione's icy face, Ivan had a headache, especially when he saw her stubborn face and the tears in her eyes, he didn't know what to do.

As usual, Hermione first said a few words to Ivan with a straight face.

He didn't dare to refute. Although Hermione wasn't paying attention, she made a funny face at Harry and Ron, hoping to get her way.

But he apparently misjudged the gravity of the situation. Hermione began to cry, which was completely incomprehensible to Ivan.

"YOU PROMISED ME BEFORE THAT YOU WOULD REPORT TO ME IF YOU DARED TO DO OTHERWISE." Hermione rubbed her tears away and choked back. "DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN I HEARD YOU WENT ALONE TO ARAGOG'S LAIR TO SAVE MALFOY?"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, the circumstances were...," Ivan explained haltingly.

"Sirius just told me that there were powerful dark forces, very evil ones, in addition to the flocks of Acromantulas!" Hermione sobbed. "That monster is not something a young wizard of your age can face..."

"I'm fine, Hermione, I got out safely. Not only did I not get hurt, but I also got a lot of winnings." Ivan comforted her and turned to Harry and Ron for help.

But they both stood there dumbly and didn't know what to do.

"Ivan, you're an idiot!" Hermione hit him hard.

Then, as no one reacted, she suddenly leaned against Ivan and put her arms around his neck. He broke down completely and cried bitterly.

"Yes, I'm a real jerk!" said Ivan kindly.

There was a blank space in her head, and he patted the top of her head in embarrassment to comfort her.

Hermione took a long time to sniff and stand up blushing and embarrassed. Harry and Ron were quick to pretend they hadn't seen anything.

After venting, she looked much better, at least able to communicate rationally.

Ivan was able to tell the three of them about his experiences in Aragog's lair, and repeated what he had told Dumbledore and the other professors.

"Has the image of Salazar Slytherin subdued the monster?!" Harry said doubtfully. "But why did he leave something like that in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Does it matter? As soon as I heard him start the story, I knew it was that crazy old man. He must be trying to kill all the students." Ron said in a clear tone, "First the Basilisk, then the eyeball monster, who knows how many more monsters he's hiding in the school?"

"Maybe I should show you these stones that can help solve this secret. We can try to decipher them." Ivan pulled out some pieces. "I promised Dumbledore that, if there was anything new, I'll report it to him right away."

"What should we do?" Ron asked hurriedly.

He had been looking at the stones ever since he heard Ivan say that there might be a powerful magical spell left behind by Salazar.

Although he didn't like Slytherin, he didn't reject a possible way to become stronger.

"Because the last spell Salazar cast was in Parseltongue," Ivan explained, "I suspect the above text can only be identified by someone who speaks Parseltongue as well!"

"Parseltongue?!" Harry was stunned.

"I don't know how to write in Parseltongue." Hermione leaned in a little closer and said uncertainly, "But at the very least, I've never seen such an ancient magical inscription before."

"It's definitely not magical writing. I've checked it out before. It's exactly the same as the text on Slytherin's locket." Ivan pulled out the locket as well.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at the locket again, with varied facial expressions.

Just as Sirius was still there, they had already tried the locket one by one, knowing that Ivan was getting powerful magic from it.

But no one could get a power boost apart from Ivan.

However, they all dared not to underestimate this humble locket.

It was a private item of Salazar Slytherin. It had once been selected by Voldemort as a Horcrux. This time, in the subway ruins, it helped Ivan defeat the horrible monster.

This locket was no ordinary locket. In fact, it might be the most powerful magical object they had ever seen. It was probably a legendary magical object.

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at the Slytherin locket for a while, trying to feel its power.

But as before, they still didn't feel anything.

"What are we waiting for?!" Ron shifted his gaze and pointed at the stones engraved with words of exhortation. "Harry, try it, see if you can understand what's written on it."

"What should I do?" Harry asked, as he couldn't understand what was written on the stones, and the words couldn't connect.