Chapter 270: Learning to Make a Portkey (Second Update)
Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
******
Time rewinds from noon back to 7 a.m.
"At this time, I should be in the Slytherin common room."
George walked toward the castle.
To properly use the Time-Turner, he always stayed in specific locations at fixed times to avoid running into himself.
At 7 a.m., he was usually in the Slytherin common room. At 7:30, he would head to the Great Hall for breakfast, and at 8:00, he would go to his scheduled classes.
After reversing time, he deliberately avoided these routes.
Just as he stepped into the entrance hall, a hurried figure appeared before him—it was Hermione, who had also traveled back from noon using a Time-Turner.
How did he know she had used a Time-Turner?
Because Hermione's face was visibly exhausted. Earlier that morning, he had already seen her in the Great Hall—he had just finished breakfast when she walked in to start hers.
At this point, she shouldn't have come downstairs yet.
"Hey, George, want to grab lunch together?"
Hermione greeted him weakly.
Since they both had Time-Turners, there was no need to hide it from each other. Hermione could easily guess that the George walking into the castle was the post-Time-Turner version of him.
Because they used the Time-Turner so often, they ran into each other more frequently than others.
Sometimes, they met for the first time in a day. Other times, like now, they ran into each other after rewinding time. And occasionally, one version of themselves met another.
By now, they were used to it.
"No thanks, I'm not hungry."
George shook his head. If he went to eat now, he'd run into his past self arriving at the Great Hall at 7:30. Besides, skipping a meal wouldn't bother him.
"Ugh, George, how do you always have so much energy? I feel like I'm falling apart."
Hermione stared at him in disbelief. While she had dark circles under her eyes, George always looked completely refreshed.
We're both human—why can you handle this so much better than me?
"Because I'm only a second-year. I don't have as many classes as you. The extra time I have, aside from practicing magic, I spend reading and resting, so I don't get as exhausted."
George chuckled.
"Honestly, you don't have to take over a dozen classes a day. Maybe you should consider dropping a few unnecessary ones."
Hermione not only attended more than ten different classes daily but also had homework for each of them.
Unlike George, who could make up for lost sleep by flying outside the castle in the morning, resetting time, and sneaking in an extra five hours of rest, Hermione didn't have that luxury.
To be fair, George admired her perseverance—most adults wouldn't be able to keep up with such an intense workload.
"Hmm... I've been considering it. I'll wait a little longer—I think I can still manage."
She sighed before grumbling, "I just hope lunch today is something good. I'm starving. Oh, wait—I forgot, it's still breakfast. Ugh, pumpkin porridge... I hate pumpkin porridge!"
Muttering to herself, Hermione trudged toward the Great Hall.
George shook his head and made his way up the stairs toward the Headmaster's office.
At this hour, Dumbledore was already awake. Elderly wizards were no exception to the habit of rising early.
"Good morning, Headmaster. Knitting a sweater?"
George greeted him as he stepped into the office, noticing Dumbledore seated on the couch, knitting.
"Why not use magic? It'd be much easier."
"Good morning, George. Magic is convenient, yes—but if we use it for everything, life loses much of its joy."
Dumbledore paused his knitting and smiled kindly at George.
George nodded.
"That makes sense. Some things really can't be replaced by magic. What are you knitting?"
He agreed with Dumbledore's perspective.
Magic, much like technology, could make many things more convenient. But certain tasks were more meaningful when done by hand.
Take handicrafts, for example—machines could mass-produce them, but the result always felt different.
And then there was the process of two people conceiving a child. If magic took over entirely, it would strip away the most important part—the joy of the experience.
"The weather is getting colder, so I'm knitting a pair of gloves for a friend of mine in prison."
Dumbledore set down his knitting needles.
"Are you here to learn something today? Alchemy again?"
"Yes, I want to learn how to create Portkeys."
George nodded.
Dumbledore didn't question why George wanted to learn Portkey-making. Instead, he readily agreed.
As far as he was concerned, George was the Chosen One, selected by the gods themselves. Whatever magic he wanted to study, he surely had his reasons. There was no need for interference.
By now, he had even stopped worrying about Voldemort.
In his mind, Voldemort was nothing more than a minor issue—not worth his concern. At this point, George could probably handle him with ease.
Dumbledore's current lifestyle revolved around knitting in his office, teaching George the magic he wanted to learn, occasionally drinking in Hogsmeade, and visiting an old friend in Nurmengard during the holidays.
Until the end of his life, that was enough for him.
"A Portkey can be made from nearly any object. Typically, we choose something inconspicuous to avoid attracting Muggle attention. There are three main types."
Under the guidance of Dumbledore, a master alchemist, George gained a deeper understanding of Portkeys.
Portkeys fell into three main categories:
1. Fixed-Destination Portkeys
This type of Portkey is programmed to always transport the user to a single, predetermined location. No matter where the Portkey starts, touching it will immediately send the user to the set destination.
For example, next year's International Quidditch Cup would use this type—Portkeys distributed by the Ministry of Magic worldwide would allow wizards to arrive at the stadium with ease.
Many underground Dark Wizard merchants also used this type, smuggling people across borders via illegal Portkey travel in exchange for hefty payments in Galleons.
This was the easiest type of Portkey to create.
2. Point-to-Point Portkeys
More complex than the first type, this was the Ministry of Magic's most commonly used Portkey. The one George had used for his trip to France belonged to this category.
It required creating two linked Portkeys at the same time. No matter which one was used, it would instantly teleport the user to the location of the other.
3. Free-Target Portkeys
The most advanced form of Portkey.
This type allowed the user to freely set and modify a destination marker. When activated, the Portkey would transport the user to the marked location.
For example, if a user set the marker in Paris today, they could teleport to France. If they later changed it to London, they could teleport to London instead.
A single Portkey could be adjusted to transport the user to multiple locations as needed.
(End of Chapter)