Tonight, Harry Potter and Ron would find it nearly impossible to fall asleep. The entire detention task had been far more thrilling than any of their previous nighttime adventures.
It was safe to assume that for a long while, these two troublemakers wouldn't be eager for another late-night escapade.
"You mean he was actually there? Right there in the Forbidden Forest?"
Ron couldn't believe it—just a routine detention patrol through the Forbidden Forest, and they ended up encountering the legendary Dark Lord, Voldemort.
Well, alright—technically it was only Harry who encountered him, not Ron himself.
"But he was weak. He could only survive by drinking unicorn blood. Don't you see? We were wrong—Snape doesn't want the Sorcerer's Stone for himself. He's trying to steal it to give to Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort can regain his strength… and then he'll come back for revenge."
Harry sounded utterly disheartened. How were a few students supposed to stand against a professor?
"If he does come back, you don't think… he'd try to kill you, would he?"
Ron had finally figured it out—whether Voldemort returned or not had nothing to do with him. Harry was the one in real danger.
"If he got the chance, he might have tried to kill me tonight."
Harry was certain—Snape was the one trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Whether he wanted it for himself or for Voldemort, it didn't matter. In the end, it was Snape who was after the Stone, and Voldemort's revenge felt imminent.
"And to think I was actually worried about the Potions final!"
Ron grumbled. Apparently, it wasn't the exams they should be fearing—it was the possibility of Snape suddenly showing up to murder them.
Clearly, without Hermione—their ever-reliable third member—there to provide reassurance and insight like, "Who's the one wizard Voldemort fears most? Dumbledore! As long as Dumbledore's around, Harry, you'll be safe. No one can hurt you while he's here," the two boys were doomed to spend the rest of the term in anxiety and fear.
They were completely trapped in the idea that "Snape is the bad guy trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Even if he's not doing it for himself, he's doing it for Voldemort. Either way, Snape is going to steal it."
Meanwhile, Snape was currently sharing tea with Regulus Black. A bubbling pot simmered with fragrant steam, the scent of potions wafting through the office. Severus Snape gently stirred the contents before retrieving two wooden cups from the drawer and ladling the brew into them, sliding one across the table to his assistant.
The process was precise and unchanged, identical to when Regulus had first come to Hogwarts—Professor Snape, as always, serving his medicinal tea with care.
"Soothing agent and… elation tonic. I originally wanted to ask you for the potion formula, but now I think it's better to just keep coming by for your tea. Tastes better that way."
Regulus Black's tone carried a hint of shamelessness, but compared to Snape's usual biting sarcasm, it was practically polite. Naturally, Snape understood the hidden compliment—this was praise for his exceptional tea-brewing skills.
With a cold chuckle, Snape picked up his warm cup and took a sip.
"I did another sweep of the area. The unicorn blood I collected this time is triple what you saw."
He pointed to the silver flask on the table. Regulus was being completely honest—there was no reason to lie about this, and he trusted Snape wouldn't shortchange him either. They had agreed on a fifty-fifty split, and that's what it would be.
Snape took a silver vial from his cabinet and, with a light tap of his wand on Regulus's flask, a silver stream of blood flowed smoothly into the vial.
They continued drinking their tea. By the time they finished their cups, Snape had already bottled half of the unicorn blood.
Regulus stood to leave, retrieving his small silver flask.
"Why were you able to revive the unicorn?"
Snape had been dying to ask this question—and it had taken significant restraint to wait this long.
He wanted to know how Regulus Black had managed to bring a dead unicorn back to life. What if Voldemort found out? For now, Snape was calling the spell a "Resurrection Charm." What effects might it have on Voldemort's return? No wonder Regulus had taken refuge inside Hogwarts. Even Snape, a double agent Death Eater, was tempted by such a spell. And if those true Death Eaters—who had evaded Azkaban by deceiving the Ministry—discovered it, how utterly mad would they go?
Regulus stopped at the door and stood silently for a moment, without turning around.
"That was just an accident. The unicorn wasn't completely dead, so there's no proof the spell was a true resurrection. I just happened to heal its injuries in time."
Regulus finished his explanation, and Snape gave no reply. It seemed this matter would remain a mystery for now.
Regarding unicorns, legends always describe them as the purest creatures in the world—only the most innocent maidens can approach them. But why don't you stop and think—if they are truly so pure, shouldn't they be accepting of all living things?
In Regulus Black's view, unicorns were inherently cursed beings. Their sharp, protruding horn was an excellent material for performing dark magic. In fact, all four of his wands were made from unicorns.
Naturally, Regulus Black had a clear purpose for the unicorn blood he had acquired this time.
Previously, he had used alchemy to steal Hagrid's dragon egg and created the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm. However, he later realized that the power of the Soul Gem was too overwhelming for the egg. It required another type of potent magical material to balance it—otherwise, the egg would truly become a "dead egg."
"Wingardium… Leviosa!"
Using the Levitation Charm, Regulus Black floated both the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm and the unicorn blood into the air.
The unicorn blood formed a shallow silver pool, in which the dragon egg floated unsteadily. Soon, under Regulus Black's control, the egg began rolling within the pool—faster and faster. At first, the silver blood had trouble clinging to the spinning egg, but gradually it began to stick in thin threads. When the egg had fully absorbed the unicorn blood onto its shell, a clear alternating glow of gold and silver appeared within, giving off a sense that the egg had "come to life."
Whenever the golden hue flashed, it was daytime within the secret realm. Whenever the silver hue passed, it was nighttime.
Regulus Black was very satisfied with the final outcome. Even though he had added unicorn blood, he decided not to change the name.
Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm
Stored in the inventory, it provides numerous additional benefits:
+7 to Necromancy skills
+7 to Poison Bone skills
+7 to Cursed Spell skills
77% chance of summoning an Undead Dragon
77% chance of summoning a Bone Dragon
77% chance of summoning a Phantom Dragon
77% chance of generating magical minerals
77% chance of generating magical plants
77% chance of generating magical animals
77% chance of gaining additional magical items
77% chance of gaining additional magical creatures
With an item this powerful, Regulus Black was determined to design the world within it to absolute perfection.
Through a small gap in the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm, Regulus Black could observe the inner world clearly, as if reading the lines on his palm. Within this realm, Regulus Black was like a god—its undisputed master.
He used the story of Diablo as a blueprint, replacing the demons with the three bosses: Undead Dragon, Bone Dragon, and Phantom Dragon.
He added city adventure mechanics from other TRPGs, along with various life professions, dividing the world into three nations.
Due to the presence of the three bosses, each nation's map had unique mutations in magical minerals, plants, and creatures.
The profession system was diverse—essentially splitting the seven classes of Diablo into three skill trees each. Anyone could freely choose three out of the 21 available skills. However, for now, Regulus Black had no intention of allowing others to enter.
He realized that setting the attributes of the Golden Memory Dragon Egg Secret Realm wasn't even the most exhausting part. The most tiring task was defining the rules of the world within the realm. Even with a reference blueprint, it still took him nearly a month to complete.
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