windkaze
patreon
HRHL# CHAPTER 207
🕑 Added 2025-06-09 03:05:15 +0000 UTCIt was unclear who had suggested it to the professors, but the exams now included coursework grades. Since Harry hadn’t attended classes recently, his Potions grade was a mere A (Acceptable, a passing mark).
The other professors, however, were more lenient, giving him decent coursework scores that kept his overall grades at a respectable “O” (Outstanding). Even the strict Professor McGonagall gave Harry a favorable evaluation, considering he could flawlessly transfigure a desk into any shape.
With the holidays still ongoing, Harry dug out his last sprigs of mallowsweet and decided to visit a newly discovered Merlin Trial he had never activated before.
This Merlin Trial was located along the Cragmoor Coast, beside an abandoned Ashwinder gathering site.
Despite the ravages of time, the Muggle-Repelling Charm on the site remained intact, ensuring the surrounding landscape was undisturbed by Muggle interference.
On a distant hillside, a few carefree Mooncalves curled into balls and rolled merrily across the grass, oblivious to the world.
The Merlin Trial was a circular stone platform, its pattern resembling a ceiling fan. Stone blades, shaped like fan blades, encircled a central round stone. Harry half-wondered if electrifying the platform would make those blade-like stones spin.
He stepped into the center of the platform and scattered a handful of mallowsweet leaves.
A crisp sound rang out as the central stone emitted a pulse of green light, spreading outward to the edges of the platform.
The light then fragmented into tiny, firefly-like green motes that hovered above the platform.
Standing at the center, Harry waited patiently.
As expected, the motes gradually converged above four circular stone slabs surrounding the platform.
“Revelio!”
A radiant blue ring expanded outward from Harry, revealing several round stone orbs in the training field directly ahead.
“Do I need to move these orbs to their corresponding spots on the platform?” Harry muttered, flicking his wand at one of the orbs.
“Accio!”
To his surprise, the orb didn’t fly toward him. Instead, it shattered the moment the spell struck it.
As the orb broke, new vines coiled around the pillar where it had rested.
Perhaps the goal was to destroy the orbs with spells?
With a plan in mind, Harry waved his wand, shattering the orbs one by one.
As the final orb crumbled, the green motes above the four slabs flared brightly.
At the points where the motes gathered, four stone pillars rose with a rumble, each supporting a slab. Simultaneously, vibrant green branches burst forth in an instant, flourishing wildly.
From those branches, green motes swarmed like a dense hive of bees, converging at the center of the platform to form the figure of an elderly wizard in robes, holding a staff.
It was Merlin.
Harry stepped forward. Merlin’s apparition raised its staff, and a brilliant light erupted to Harry’s right.
Moments later, the light faded, revealing a door shimmering with a green, water-like curtain.
Harry’s heart leaped.
Could this be… the chamber where Cassandra was hidden?
Eagerly, he approached, but a calm, aged voice echoed in his mind.
“The door cannot be opened from this side,” it said.
Harry shot a frustrated glance at Merlin’s apparition, circled around, and stepped through the curtain from the other side.
Unlike the Chamber of Secrets, Merlin’s chamber contained no serpentine motifs, despite his status as a distinguished Slytherin alumnus.
Harry raised his wand. “Lumos!”
The light illuminated his surroundings, but to his disappointment, the chamber was empty—no sign of Cassandra.
“Revelio!”
Guided by the spell, Harry noticed a wooden chessboard before him, its surface etched with what appeared to be a puzzle.
He examined it closely. The puzzle pieces were fixed in place, only movable within the board to form a specific pattern.
Having faced numerous Merlin Trials, this was a new challenge for Harry.
He waved his wand, guiding the pieces across the board.
Merlin, it seemed, hadn’t intended to make the trial overly difficult for future generations. The puzzle was simple, with only six wooden pieces. After a moment’s thought, Harry completed it.
“Sphinx,” he said, his voice echoing in unison with another.
“?”
Harry instantly tensed, crouching slightly, wand raised in a defensive stance, ready for combat.
A rumbling filled the chamber, and moments later, a creature with a human head and a lion’s body appeared before him.
As a wizard, Harry had studied the legend of the Sphinx in class.
According to myth, Hera sent the Sphinx to perch on a cliffside path near Thebes, posing a riddle to passersby: What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? The answer was “man,” symbolizing the stages of human life—youth, adulthood, and old age.
The legend claimed that Oedipus, a young Greek, answered correctly, causing the Sphinx to leap to its death.
Harry had heard this story from a Greek scholar, who insisted the Sphinx was no mere myth but a real magical creature.
However, descriptions of the Sphinx varied across cultures. In Egyptian lore, it was a winged creature, typically male, with three forms: the human-headed Androsphinx, the ram-headed Criosphinx, and the hawk-headed Hieracosphinx.
Assyrians and Persians depicted the Sphinx as a winged bull with a human face, bearded and crowned.
In Greek mythology, the Sphinx was a female, malevolent entity, embodying divine punishment.
The word “Sphinx” derived from the Greek Sphiggein, meaning “to strangle,” as Greeks imagined it as a creature that choked its victims.
The Greek scholar had also warned Harry: failure to answer the Sphinx’s riddle would result in being strangled to death.
Now Harry understood why this Merlin Trial had seemed so deceptively easy.
The real challenge was waiting here.
“Why,” he thought wryly, “does Merlin have to put a Sphinx in his secret chamber? Is this a Slytherin thing? Your Headmaster stuffs a Basilisk in his, and Merlin picks a Sphinx?”
Gripping his wand tightly, Harry remained on high alert, wary of a sudden attack.
“Let us play a riddle, young wizard,” the Sphinx said. “Answer correctly, and I shall let you leave with Merlin’s hidden treasure.”
“What’s the riddle?”
As he spoke, Harry subtly reached into his pocket for his wallet.
“I am the black son of a white father; I am a wingless bird that flies to the sky; when I am born, all who touch me weep; once born, I soon vanish into the air.”
The Sphinx’s human face curled into a playful smile.
“Young wizard, what is your answer?”
Harry paused.
Then, swiftly opening his wallet, he shouted, “Alfonso!”
The Sphinx instinctively glanced at the wallet, only to meet a pair of glowing orange eyes.
Its expression froze.
Moments later, it swayed and collapsed with a thud.
It was dead.
“Well done, Alfonso,” Harry said, satisfied, to the Basilisk. “Tonight, I’ll catch you some Acromantulas to eat.”
“Really, Master?” Alfonso hissed.
“Just wait,” Harry replied with a grin. “But don’t eat this Sphinx—I have plans for it.”
With that, he opened his wallet and tossed the Sphinx inside.
As he tidied the chamber, Harry mused how convenient Alfonso was. At least he didn’t need to resort to that emerald-green curse.
With the Sphinx defeated, green motes reappeared, coalescing into the shape of a treasure chest before Harry.
Moments later, the motes dissipated, and a chest materialized.
Without hesitation, Harry pointed his wand at it. “Stupefy!”
The spell struck the chest, producing a dull thud.
When the chest showed no reaction, Harry flicked his wand again.
The chest clicked open, revealing layers like a Russian nesting doll, each unlocking with a series of snaps.
Finally, a single letter lay before him.
Harry picked it up, recognizing Anne’s elegant handwriting, likely penned on someone’s behalf.
It read:
Harry,
It seems you’ve solved the Sphinx’s riddle. Don’t worry—the creature is this chamber’s guardian, but even if you failed to answer, it wouldn’t have harmed you.
I hope you’re reading this in your first year back.
Anne’s condition is dire. Sebastian is beside himself. I’ve sent him a message and used an old Gaunt family spell to freeze her in time, sealing her temporarily in a cave on the western edge of the Forbidden Forest, accessible only through a Merlin Trial. Rest assured, we’ve fortified the cave with magic.
But don’t get your hopes up too soon. Anne’s fate rests with you. I recall Miss Grindelwald has been researching time magic and plans to travel a hundred years into the future to meet you—she’s always been resourceful.
We’re counting on you to find a way to lift the dark curse on Anne. If you succeed, come to the Gaunt family manor. My portrait will be there to receive your message.
Before you attempt to save Anne, I suggest consulting the current Hogwarts Headmaster to see if he knows a way to break the dark curse.
Yours faithfully,
Ominis Gaunt
27 September, 1892
Harry broke into a cold sweat.
He glanced at the lifeless Sphinx in his wallet, then back at the letter.
Well… this is awkward.
Is there any saving the Sphinx now?
He reread the letter.
The Gaunt manor?
Ominis had a portrait hung in the Gaunt manor? Given his strained relationship with his family, would his father even allow it?
Then again, Ominis had helped defeat Ranrok, bringing honor to the Gaunts. A portrait of such a distinguished family member would likely be displayed proudly.
Harry decided he’d visit the Gaunt manor to investigate.
Carefully tucking the letter away, he hurried back to Hogwarts.
Ignoring his classmates’ stunned stares, he raced to the eighth floor, stopping breathless before the gargoyle.
“Password!” the gargoyle demanded.
“Get out of my way!” Harry snapped, smacking the gargoyle’s head.
Without a word, the gargoyle hopped aside, clearing the path.
“Professor Dumbledore!” Harry called, clutching his stinging hand.
Even wizards must occasionally obey physics—striking stone hurts the striker, not the stone.
He collapsed into a chair before Dumbledore.
“You should have some honey water to soothe your throat,” Dumbledore said with concern. “What’s the rush?”
Harry waved him off, panting heavily before calming enough to speak. “Professor, I need to visit the Gaunt manor. I know you’ve located it before—can you take me there?”
“Of course, Harry,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “But first, might you indulge an old man’s curiosity?”
Harry shot him a look that clearly said, Who’re you calling old, professor?
Dumbledore chuckled, unfazed. “I’d like to know what’s happened.”
Harry recounted the key details, knowing he’d need Dumbledore’s help to break the dark curse.
“I’m afraid I’m powerless against such a dark curse, Harry,” Dumbledore sighed. “It’s a deeply malevolent spell. If I had a solution, Tom’s curse wouldn’t still linger over Hogwarts.”
“Isn’t there any way?” Harry asked, unwilling to give up.
Dumbledore hesitated.
“There is one possibility, but…”
“Don’t keep me in suspense, Professor,” Harry urged. “What is it?”
Dumbledore smiled faintly.
“I shouldn’t need to tell you, Harry. You know Tom is a master of dark curses.”
Harry frowned, puzzled.
“Tom’s a master of dark curses? What does that have to do with—oh!”
T/N: If you find any typos or incorrect names, please leave a comment. Thanks, and enjoy reading!
