Chapter Seventy-Five: "Hogwarts"

When all eighty newly transformed Dementors had completed their metamorphosis, the entire Hall of Eternal Night was as cold as an ice cave. Whistler clutched his shotgun, shivering violently from the chill. Yet the old man’s pride was formidable; even with his face turning blue and lips pale, he refused to admit defeat.

Observing this, Gu Zhongyan smiled faintly and waved a hand toward the towering dark creatures. “That’s enough. Go now. Seek out the vampires that haunt this land. Let their lives fuel your power.”

At his command, the eighty Dementors rose like activated automatons, drifting away in every direction. Even in a film, this scene would have lost none of its spectacle.

Whistler, shivering despite himself, asked anxiously, “You’re not a wizard—can you really control them? Will those terrifying creatures actually hunt vampires? What if they attack ordinary people?”

“And without silver, can they even kill vampires?”

Gu Zhongyan smiled at Whistler’s worried face. “Rest easy, Whistler. Dementors will be the vampires’ greatest nemesis. If you’re still worried, you could always follow one and see for yourself. No amount of explanation matches witnessing it with your own eyes, wouldn’t you agree?”

Whistler was eager, but cast a hesitant glance at Blade, who still lay in the stone coffin. Sensing his concern, Gu Zhongyan said, “Don’t worry. Eric is fine, but transforming so many vampires has nearly depleted his bloodline’s power. He’ll need to rest awhile longer. Once he wakes, he’ll no longer need to suppress himself, nor fear becoming a mindless bloodthirsty monster. I’ll see him safely back to the workshop later.”

Assured by Gu Zhongyan’s words, Whistler hesitated no longer. He dashed to his car and sped after one of the Dementors.

After Whistler’s departure, Gu Zhongyan returned Blade to the workshop, then made his way back to the now-deserted Hall of Eternal Night.

In the emptiness, Gu Zhongyan dragged a twenty-eight-inch suitcase from a corner. When he opened it, the room was instantly bathed in a dazzling glow—a vast trove of gold, silver, and an array of gemstones filled the case.

This was the wealth Gu Zhongyan had painstakingly accumulated over so long. As the sanctuary of the vampires, the Hall of Eternal Night had nearly exhausted its energy after transforming over eighty Dementors at once. Yet, as the saying goes, a dying camel is still bigger than a horse; built by the great wizard Varna, the hall sat atop a magical nexus.

Aside from Kamar-Taj, this was the first unclaimed magical site Gu Zhongyan had encountered since his arrival in this world. Lacking a true base of his own, he would not let this opportunity slip by.

Gazing at the overflowing wealth in the suitcase, Gu Zhongyan swiftly brandished his wand, casting the Seamless Extension Charm. Runes etched into the stone began to glow, releasing their final reserves of power. Under the surge of magic, the gold and silver rapidly melted and coalesced into mysterious sigils that dissolved into the ether.

The grand hall trembled violently. Columns toppled, walls cracked, and the entire space seemed to stretch and reshape like a piece of clay. Dust billowed as the inner decorations disintegrated and reformed, raw matter merging into new forms under the influence of magic.

It was as though a god was forging creation anew. Gold, silver, and jewels from the suitcase broke down and fused into the void. Within moments, the hall’s floor space had expanded more than tenfold.

Yet this vast, barren expanse hardly met Gu Zhongyan’s standards. With the treasure now spent, he produced several other items: a crystal skull, a Druid’s staff, the True Cross Talisman, and most of a bottle of holy water.

He looked at these treasures—painstakingly extracted from Nick Fury’s clutches—with a flash of pain on his face. Then, with a flick of his wand, he directed his magic at the four items.

The resulting surge of power was far greater than with mere precious metals. The crystal skull swelled to the size of a hill, anchoring the center of the space. The half-bottle of holy water, suspended in the air like the Jade Purity Vase of the Goddess of Mercy, poured forth a torrent that far exceeded its volume, instantly transforming the area into a water-laced realm.

Meanwhile, the True Cross Talisman fragmented, unleashing a torrent of wood shavings, ceramic, and brick dust that whirled above the crystal skull, reshaping with wild intensity.

The Druid’s staff, plunged into the spring, experienced a resurrection—roots sprouted, leaves unfurled, and in the blink of an eye it had become a towering tree, bursting with blossoms and fruit that scattered countless seeds.

These four magical artifacts, like the hands of a creator god, hammered and molded the space—raising peaks, forests, rivers, lakes, lawns, and even houses.

At last, as the artifacts vanished completely, an eight-story stone castle stood proudly at the heart of the space. Encircling the castle was a valley, ringed by mountains, with a great lake to the south. The oak doors opened west onto a broad lawn, dense woods stretched to the west, and the grounds outside the castle included several greenhouses and vegetable gardens.

Having spent all his wealth, Gu Zhongyan finally forged a base to his satisfaction—the Hogwarts of his memory.

Of course, compared to the original Hogwarts, this was but a pale shadow. For one, it was much smaller in scale; the castle, the Black Lake, even the Forbidden Forest were all mere miniatures, like an elaborate theme park. Moreover, at the real Hogwarts, even the bricks and stones pulsed with magic, not to mention the magical creatures dwelling in the forest and lake.

Here, everything was but ordinary matter transmuted by magical artifacts—hardly comparable to the true Hogwarts.

Still, Gu Zhongyan was well pleased. To achieve all this with just four magical artifacts and nearly a ton of precious metals was no small feat.

But now his coffers were empty. To further perfect, or even fully recreate, Hogwarts would be a long and arduous endeavor.

Perhaps someday he could squeeze more magical relics from the bald egg’s hands. Or perhaps, he mused, it was time to visit England and search for the Reality Stone.

With an Infinity Stone in hand, even recreating Hogwarts in its entirety would be a trivial task.