HR Chapter 124 Invalid Magic! Part 1

You can read ahead up to 110 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395

The handwriting on the note was neat and clear.

So neat that it looked like printed text.

It bore no trace of personal calligraphic style— it absolutely wasn't something Ian had absentmindedly stuffed into his robes, nor could it be a fragment of runes he had transcribed himself.

While his handwriting wasn't ugly, it was nowhere near this mechanically precise and devoid of individuality. And given his age, there was no way he could have forgotten transcribing such a segment of runes due to some memory lapse.

"Merlin's beard! I've encountered something foul!" Ian warily picks up the note from the floor. The fact that this thing had seemingly materialized out of thin air in his pocket sent a shiver down his spine.

Who could have slipped this note into his pocket without him noticing?

Staring at the faintly shimmering runes on the parchment, Ian had a strong premonition, this might very well be the exact fragment he had been searching for: the anchoring runes within the Resurrection Stone.

"This is the segment…"

Though Ian had already memorized the runes on the Resurrection Stone, he still pulled out the stone to compare. The runes on the note indeed matched a portion of the stone's inscriptions, which only made the situation more unnerving. After all, the only living person who knew Ian was studying these runes was Grindelwald.

"Did Aurora's grandfather already decipher what I needed?" Ian quickly dismissed the thought. He doubted Grindelwald could work that fast.

Besides, the man had no reason to deliver the answer in such a cryptic manner. If Grindelwald had made progress, he'd have summoned Ian to his office, handed over the results, and then demanded half an hour of praise— that was his style.

"Dumbledore doesn't know I have the Resurrection Stone, and Aberforth is unlikely to be involved either."

Clutching the note, Ian mentally reviewed everyone he had interacted with that day.

First, he ruled out the students. Most of them could barely cast a Jinx without trembling, let alone decipher the secrets of a Deathly Hallow.

Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort?

Unlikely. If the Dark Lord knew Ian had the Resurrection Stone, and that its soul was gone— why would he have been smiling during their earlier conversation?

Snape?

Even less likely.

Snape's expertise lay in potions, not alchemy. The man was obsessed with stirring cauldrons— he hadn't even noticed the peculiarities of the Marauder's Map back in the day.

"Then there's that mysterious Alchemy Professor… Arthur King."

Ian knew the name had some significance, but no one could confirm whether Professor King had chosen it himself during some teenage phase of grandiosity, much like Tom Riddle rebranding himself as Voldemort. In the West, it wasn't uncommon for people to alter even their surnames for various reasons.

Besides, Professor King had no way of knowing Ian was studying the Resurrection Stone. Their brief encounter in the library hadn't involved any such revelation. Unless the man could divine the impossible, there was no explanation.

Hogwarts was full of hidden talents, but none so absurdly overpowered.

That wasn't to say the Alchemy Professor was above suspicion, but Ian couldn't fathom how he'd know what Ian needed, let alone solve the problem in a single glance.

Most crucially, a near-stranger had no reason to help Ian anonymously.

What was the motive?

Did they find Ian… adorable?

That thought was even more terrifying.

"This is bizarre and absurd…"

After racking his brain to no avail, Ian accepted that the note's origin remained a mystery. But he was certain that someone was lurking in the shadows.

Was it a scheme? Or genuine assistance?

"Only one way to find out!"

Bold as ever, Ian strode to his workbench and pulled out one of his counterfeit Resurrection Stone prototypes from his pouch.

Even if this experiment ruined all his remaining prototypes, he still had reserves of the peculiar stone from the Twilight Zone.

Alchemy, after all, was about trial and error— as long as the test subjects weren't himself or his acquaintances.

"You! Assist me. Grind these into powder!" Ian summoned his Dementor assistant and began his verification in the Room of Requirement.

Whether the mysterious note's runes were accurate or not, testing was the only way to know. The worst outcome would be failure— which is nothing new.

"Next time I enter the Twilight Zone, I'll test the runes on a small animal first."

Ian wasn't taking chances. Not only would he use animals to verify the runes' effects, but he also decided to transcribe directly from the Resurrection Stone itself— bypassing the note entirely.

This was to avoid any undetectable tampering in the note's runes.

Caution was the parent of safety.

He kept the note to trace its origins later. If he couldn't uncover the stealthy culprit, he'd never sleep soundly again.

His current theory?

The note's deliverer might have been invisible.

An Invisibility Cloak, a Disillusionment Charm— the magical world had countless methods of concealment. If that were the case, his inability to pinpoint a suspect made sense.

None of the day's potential suspects had gotten close enough— even Quirrell (Voldemort) hadn't managed to lay a hand on him.

"Then again, there's that lost spell— 'Wizard's Hand'— which conjures an invisible third limb…"

Once his preparations were complete,

Ian, with the Dementor's assistance began his experiment. The mindless creature mostly fetched materials and occasionally nibbled on snacks.

"Grind this finer."

Thankfully, Ian's studies in [Ancient Alchemy] spared him the struggles a modern alchemist would face. His techniques leaned toward ancient magical scripts, aligning closely with the Resurrection Stone's craftsmanship.

Yes, the runes on the Resurrection Stone could be considered a form of magical text— distinct from Runes or other ancient scripts. They were a unique "alchemical language" belonging to the creator of the Deathly Hallows.

For now, let's call it "Necro-Script."

Like Ancient Runes, it was a language imbued with magic, but far more potent. Its essence likely represented a manifestation of the Death God's power.

Ancient Runes, in contrast, were the wizarding world's exploration and codification of magic and nature. Both were expressions of power, sharing some underlying principles.

Modern Alchemy, however, was different.

Evolved from contemporary Charms, it only partially retained ancient script traits. Like spells, it was simpler to learn but significantly altered.

"Each has its pros and cons."

Ian's assessment was objective.

Artifacts crafted via [Ancient Alchemy] could be called "scripted creations"— their magical circuits woven entirely from interconnected magical texts.

Modern alchemical artifacts, meanwhile, emphasized layering enchantments to achieve specialized functions.

No longer reliant on magical language as a foundation, their structure diverged sharply from [Ancient Alchemy]. It was like two branches of the same discipline, making it difficult for modern alchemists to replicate the Resurrection Stone.

Of course, modern alchemy's stability and accessibility far surpassed its ancient counterpart, otherwise, it wouldn't have replaced it.

"Wand shops are stocked thanks to modern alchemy's efficiency."

This shift mirrored Muggle industrialization.

In many ways, modern alchemy was more practical. It sacrificed some possibilities of the ancient art to lower barriers to entry and improve success rates.

"Modern alchemy's advancement is also tied to ancient alchemy's exorbitant material demands."

Ian glanced at the costly ingredients on his desk.

Without the Room of Requirement and the Forbidden Forest's "free resources," gathering these materials would've cost a fortune. And that was with his [Transcendent Alchemy] trait allowing substitutions— otherwise, some materials would've been outright unattainable.

Like potion ingredients, alchemical components were vanishing.

If Ian's knowledge held, the pinnacle of modern alchemy was Nicolas Flamel—a master of both schools who had actively shaped modern alchemy's development.

This proved that modern alchemy excelled in certain areas.

That said, Ian suspected Flamel had used [Ancient Alchemy] to create the Philosopher's Stone.

Many feats of the ancient art had no modern equivalents. Modern alchemy relied heavily on established enchantments, making innovation difficult without reverting to ancient methods.

"If I want to study the Philosopher's Stone, I'll need 'No-Nose's' help."

Ian meticulously fused materials into the Resurrection Stone prototype. His rune-carving progress was glacial— each stroke demanded painstaking precision.

Even a small segment would take days.

Slow. And unforgiving of errors.

This was why Ian hadn't attempted a full replication earlier. Completing the entire stone's inscriptions would've taken months, with no guarantee of success.

Unexpected complications could always arise.

"Blast it! I said grind it by hand, not chew, wait, since when do you have teeth?!"

Ian hadn't failed.

He'd just noticed his Dementor's odd behavior and paused his Necro-Script engraving to pry open its mouth.

"Bloody hell! You do have teeth! Where'd those come from?!"

To his astonishment, the Dementor's newfound molars were perfect for grinding.

---

(To Be Continued…)