Chapter 178 4 Ways To Enhance Magic
"The elders of the tribe have said that the sky has given us a warning that the division of that thing was something destined to happen, and that no one could stop it. Indeed, it is also a test, both for the centaurs and for the chosen one by destiny. If through the test, both will receive a satisfactory reward."
Firenze did not continue, and Evan did not inquire.
He did not know what the satisfactory reward of the test meant, nor did he know what the sky omen Firenze repeatedly mentioned was, nor did he know who the chosen one by destiny was.
At that moment, Evan was still immersed in the shocking news.
Though he appeared calm, deep down in his heart, he was bewildered.
The key to Gryffindor's Secret Treasury had been divided!
That news was truly dreadful. He didn't know if it could truly be fully integrated back together after being split into several pieces.
If he couldn't retrieve it, what would he do with the Secret Treasures left by the Four Founders?!
He had an ominous feeling in his heart. It was clear that unlocking the Secret Treasury of the Four Founders was not as simple as he had thought. If the other three keys were lost or divided like Gryffindor's, what would he do?!
What the Four Founders left had always been close to the school since the beginning.
The main reason they left these treasures was to protect the school from the Dark Wizard to come; and the four left keys to safeguard the school and to test if their educational philosophies and ideas had been carried out correctly.
The four keys correspond to four trials. Only the students who pass the trial can obtain the corresponding keys. Entrusting the keys to the intelligent creatures living around the school at that time was done to prevent non-Hogwarts students from obtaining the treasures.
There was no need to divide the keys into pieces and have students travel the world to collect them.
But over a thousand years, anything could happen.
There have been numerous changes in the intelligent creatures they entrusted to hold the Treasure Keys.
No one could guarantee that these intelligent creatures would always live around Hogwarts. Even if they were still there, the keys left by the Four Founders might not necessarily still be there; they could be divided into several pieces, lost, or...
Thinking about traveling the world seeking the Treasure Keys left by the Four Founders of the school gave Evan a headache.
Truly, a lot of time had passed; the traces left by those years must be very faint.
It might be easier to directly defeat Voldemort instead of completing the collection of the four Treasure Keys.
Evan shook his head vigorously. It was not the time to think about those things.
In any case, a fragment of Gryffindor's Treasure Key remained in the centaur tribe, and he had to obtain it. He heard Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew say that the object possessed quite powerful magic.
Even if he didn't obtain the complete key in the end, just this piece of debris would be of great help, according to the information he had gathered so far.
Evan knew that he had acquired a lot of theoretical magic knowledge in the library area and at Flourish and Blotts, but due to his magical power limitations, he couldn't utilize most of it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been defeated so easily in his duel with Snape.
There are very limited ways to increase magical power. Apart from the natural increase that comes with age, there are three main methods:
The first is a variety of potions and medications, such as magical potions. These potions are relatively easy to obtain, but the power gained through this method is very unstable, and its duration is very short.
The second method relies on the assistance of legendary magical objects, such as the wand of the ancestors in Dumbledore's possession, the fragments of Gryffindor's key kept by the centaur tribe, etc. Equipped with these objects, one can procure the corresponding enhancement. This kind of magical upgrade is more enduring and stable, yet these legendary magical items are exceedingly rare and hard to acquire. Many wizards have never laid eyes on one in their entire lifetime.
As for the last method, Evan was still in the research stage and not entirely certain about it.
He once delved into the source of Voldemort's immense magical power, coupled with his inner malevolence. Voldemort could recklessly employ the deepest dark magic, along with utilizing Horcruxes to secure his immortality; his power could also stem from dark magic experiments and research aimed at altering his own body. Last year, when Evan encountered Tom Riddle, he found a remarkably handsome young man, nothing like the terrifying Dark Lord he would later become.
What had transpired to amass such power? He must have undergone modifications to his body, such as embracing the baptism of pure darkness or infusing the blood of a potent magical creature.
These malevolent transformations of dark magic inevitably must have led to changes in his appearance.
Magical power acquired through this method is more stable than the second, with rapid progression. Moreover, it is easy to amass a substantial amount of power this way, but it is highly perilous, prone to accidents during the body transformation process.
Voldemort stands as one of the most blatant examples. Evan isn't even certain that he remains a pure human being.
The last method is naturally dismissed. The sole practical and swift way to enhance magic is the second.
Evan sighed. Though he longed to enhance his magic, despite Firenze having mentioned these things about the treasure key left by Gryffindor and the dark history of the Centaurs that he didn't want to elaborate on, Evan had still not been approved by the Centaurs, nor had he acquired the thing preserved among their tribe.
It is still too early to dwell on such matters now.
He was going to look into this after capturing Peter Pettigrew and helping Sirius Black clear his name.
"Firenze, are you familiar with the Time-Turner?" Evan suddenly asked, intending to inform him, lest he sees two of them in a while, and it is not good to have more accidents.
"The Time-Turner?!" Firenze blinked, his usually serene face betraying some confusion. Clearly, he was hearing about this for the first time.
"It is a magical device that aids users in time-travel," Evan explained. "I have come back to the present from the future with its help, so I know that Peter Pettigrew will pass through here because I was here too. In fact, it was me who set fire to the Acromantula Lair."