Among all forms of resurrection magic, the most forbidden kind is always far harsher than the rest.
Life Replacement may seem like a relatively low-cost magic, but it comes with significant risks.
First of all, it takes about an hour to complete. During that time, if someone destroys the Horcrux, the spell becomes void.
Moreover, it carries a more dangerous flaw—if the resurrected person is killed within a short period after the spell is cast, the vitality absorbed by the magic will immediately return to the caster.
In that sense, this spell has a silver lining: it can be undone.
The reason Professor Dumbledore and his allies had acted so desperately earlier was that they had no idea where Tom Riddle was hiding, leaving them unable to intervene in time.
Then they felt a powerful magical surge—and immediately guessed what had happened. Noah had likely encountered him. Without hesitation, Dumbledore drew the Elder Wand.
They had to ensure Riddle's resurrection failed by eliminating him again.
But now, it seemed all of Dumbledore's preparations were unnecessary?
It left the headmaster at a loss. He was, of course, relieved the crisis had been averted—but how had it been solved?
"How did you find this place?" Dumbledore asked, frowning.
"Fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time," Noah replied weakly. "A student—Myrtle—was attacked near this area. Nothing happened afterward, so we speculated this bathroom was close to the entrance of the Chamber."
Dumbledore nodded. He'd considered that theory before himself.
But at the time, none of them spoke Parseltongue, so they had no way to open the Chamber. After that one incident, nothing happened again—so Dumbledore had let it slip from his mind.
He hadn't expected the nightmare to return fifty years later—and this time, far worse.
Fortunately, no one had died. Or rather, those who came close were saved in the nick of time.
"Did you use elemental magic?" Dumbledore asked, watching Noah approach the scorched Slytherin statue.
"Yeah. Elemental magic," Noah answered, inspecting the statue. "Sixth-year Riddle—Voldemort, really—was strong. He had already mastered the Unforgivable Curses. I caught him off guard. If I had fought him spell for spell, I wouldn't have lasted this long."
He clicked his tongue and continued his inspection.
"You mean 'Life Replacement'?" Dumbledore's expression turned a bit odd.
"Exactly. I had to hurry—if he had finished the ritual, Ginny Weasley would've died," Noah replied, not even turning around.
"Even if he succeeded," Dumbledore mused, "you could've still undone it within half an hour by killing him again."
Noah paused.
His face froze—he hadn't known that.
Magic was often unpredictable. No one could fully understand every nuance of a spell. Noah only knew that this spell came from the Room of Requirement, and the knowledge within was sourced from Hogwarts' own library.
"Professor, could you start filtering out books with incomplete or misleading magical theories? Some of them are dangerous."
"This is forbidden magic, Noah," Dumbledore said gently. "And perhaps you're dealing with these things too soon."
Still, the old wizard smiled. This misunderstanding might have been risky, but it wasn't entirely a bad thing—since the danger had been eliminated.
Dumbledore glanced at Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape, who were questioning Harry and Draco. The boys were recounting the entire incident—including Noah's fiery dragon and storm magic.
Dumbledore sighed.
Elemental magic… Despite being Hogwarts' most renowned headmaster, he himself wasn't very skilled in elemental magic. Back in the day, no advanced mage had ever taught him.
He had become a master through relentless self-study and instinct—but that wasn't enough. Mastering elemental magic without guidance was almost impossible.
Now, although he could sense magical elements and even manipulate them with effort, the lack of structured knowledge still pained him.
"By the way, Professor Dumbledore," Noah interrupted his thoughts, "there's something important I need to discuss with you."
"Hmm? What is it, my boy?" Dumbledore blinked and turned toward him, wand now holstered.
"You know I met Voldemort last year."
"Indeed. Your bravery earned Ravenclaw the House Cup."
"Right. But there's something I didn't tell you. I sensed Voldemort's magical signature that time. And… I felt the same signature again—in the Room of Requirement."
Dumbledore's eyes widened.
"Are you saying…?"
"Yes," Noah said seriously. "There might be another Horcrux hidden in the Room of Requirement."
The news struck like a thunderbolt.
Dumbledore stared, speechless. How could this boy keep stumbling into Voldemort's secrets?
Was Noah incredibly lucky—or tragically cursed?
At this point, Dumbledore genuinely wondered if Noah, not Harry Potter, was the one fate had chosen to save the magical world.
After a long pause, he finally said: "You should have come to me earlier, Noah. Just in case..."
"Sorry, Professor. I wasn't sure. But after today, I'm confident I was right." Noah shrugged with a look of innocent helplessness.
"One more thing, Professor."
"Please, no more surprises—my heart may not handle it," Dumbledore joked.
"How could I scare you, Professor? You're the man who defeated Grindelwald!"
Defeated, huh? Dumbledore raised a brow. Well… capturing your old flame counts, doesn't it?
But then Noah continued:
"I've developed new magic—completely different from Hogwarts' system. I'd like you to review it. I'll even share the principles and theoretical framework."
The words stunned the entire room. Even the other Heads of House looked frozen in disbelief.
It was rare for any student—especially one so young—to innovate a new branch of magic. It wasn't just an achievement… it could change the future of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore hesitated, then asked:
"Why would you do this, Noah?"
"Several reasons," Noah said quietly, raising his wand. He had almost finished analyzing the statue and now turned back.
"One of them is this strange sense of unease. Ever since I met my mentor, it's been haunting me—like something terrible is approaching."
"Why would you feel that?" McGonagall asked.
"I don't know," Noah replied. "But whether it's true or not, I want to be prepared. Even if I'm wrong."
As he summoned what remained of his magic, glowing runes and a golden ring flickered dimly around the tip of his wand.
"For your future?" Snape asked.
"Yes. Strength matters—but alone, it's not enough. I'll have friends, family… people I care about. I want to protect them. That's why the League of Mages was born. What started as a joke with friends has grown into something more."
"In our creed, all wizards are equal before magic."
He inhaled deeply and began chanting.
The golden runes swirled, igniting a soft glow that coalesced into a pale golden fireball.
"I was born a Muggle," Noah said. "I respect all magical folk. But we deserve respect too. Voldemort isn't the real problem—it's the old pure-blood families and their poisonous influence that remain. The League needs stronger roots. Even if I leave Hogwarts one day, it must stand."
With a flick of his wand, the golden fireball shot forward and obliterated the Slytherin statue.
As the smoke cleared and the rubble settled, something hidden within was revealed at last:
"Salazar Slytherin's notes," Noah muttered. "This might be Slytherin's true treasure."
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