[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring":3,"chapter-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-153":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Starting at Hogwarts, Logging into Elden Ring",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1496377,1944,"Chapter 153: Death Is Real, and Harry’s Ghost Partner Is Actually…","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-153",153,"\u003Cp>\"No! You helped Kreacher fulfill young master's final wish—you are Kreacher's benefactor! If there is ever anything you need, please do not hesitate to command me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Kreacher argue so earnestly, Arthur sighed lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright then. In that case, help me prepare a cup of hot tea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew that if he didn't give the house-elf something to do, Kreacher would never let the matter rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please wait a moment! Kreacher will prepare it immediately!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a sharp pop, Kreacher vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after the house-elf left did Arthur finally have the leisure to examine the locket in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silver chain connected to a case about the size of a pocket watch. The golden surface was engraved with the image of a serpent, its body studded with tiny emeralds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur tried to open it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He extended his spiritual perception and swept over the locket, immediately sensing faint magical fluctuations within the gemstones. They were arranged in a very specific pattern—less like decoration, more like a key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur frowned slightly, sinking into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this locket is truly a key… then what exactly does it open?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He already possessed the deed to Hogwarts itself. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any secret chambers in the castle left hidden from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first saw Slytherin's Chamber marked on the deed, he had assumed it was simply Gryffindor outplaying the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that he thought about it… the other founders weren't simple figures either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Hufflepuff's inheritance—Arthur had absolutely no clues so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Arthur was pondering this, Harry suddenly jolted awake on the bed, gasping for breath as if he'd just crawled out of a nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given that he'd passed out from pain, it wasn't surprising that his dreams hadn't been pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took him quite a while to steady himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright,\" Arthur said, patting Harry on the shoulder. \"Once you've caught your breath, we'll go outside and test your runes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry nodded and followed Arthur out of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people in the living room turned toward them at the sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They looked Harry up and down—aside from being drenched in cold sweat, he didn't seem any different from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's it?\" Sirius frowned. \"He doesn't look changed at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur rolled his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What kind of change were you expecting? For him to turn into a troll? Or a goblin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked over to the sofa and sat down beside Hermione.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Kreacher suddenly appeared at his side, respectfully presenting a cup of hot tea along with a plate of carefully prepared pastries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you,\" Arthur said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are most welcome. You are an honored guest of the Black family,\" Kreacher replied with a deep bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey! Kreacher,\" Sirius snapped irritably. \"Why doesn't your master get this kind of treatment?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmph! Because Master Sirius did not order Kreacher to do so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I'm ordering you now—prepare some for everyone!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kreacher understands.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before disappearing, Kreacher deliberately whipped up a gust of wind that thoroughly messed up Sirius's hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was painfully obvious that Kreacher held a deep grudge against the rebellious eldest son who had run away from home—but the nature of house-elves forced him to obey nonetheless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it! One day I'll cut your head off and mount it on the wall!\" Sirius cursed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Black family did, in fact, have such a tradition. When a house-elf grew old and clumsy, their head would be cut off and mounted—an idea pioneered by Sirius's aunt, Elladora Black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione immediately stiffened, about to stand up and argue. After all, she was deeply committed to the cause of house-elf rights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur stopped her with a hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Arthur frowned slightly at Sirius's words. Perhaps, to many pure-blood families, house-elves had never truly been seen as living beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That said, Arthur sensed something else as well—Sirius was unusually irritable and volatile. Years in Azkaban had clearly left deep scars on his psyche.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truthfully, Arthur didn't much care about the general treatment of house-elves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What bothered him was that Kreacher, at least, had left a fairly good impression—grumbling internally, yet still executing every order meticulously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike a certain Malfoy family house-elf—who abandoned her post, leaked her master's secrets, and acted as a self-righteous informant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the person she betrayed her master to was Harry, Arthur still despised that sort of behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From a standpoint of loyalty, she had crossed the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur took a sip of tea and said casually,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you don't need Kreacher, you could consider giving him to me. I happen to be short one house-elf at home.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, that was just an excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the Christmas break, Arthur had already shown the Hogwarts deed once and brought home a house-elf from the kitchens—one who specialized in Eastern cuisine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, sure,\" Sirius said without much thought. \"If you want him, take him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Sirius, a house-elf was nothing compared to what Arthur had done for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that Arthur had now helped Harry grow stronger—though the results hadn't yet been demonstrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sirius turned to Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Harry, go on. Try activating your runes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry nodded and focused, attempting to summon his ghost companion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhere unknown—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A vast space stretched endlessly, its sky resembling a brilliant sea of stars—yet suffused with deathly stillness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer inspection, those weren't stars at all, but countless clusters of souls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, one of them trembled… and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within this realm, a shadow cloaked in darkness noticed the disturbance and let out a furious roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"WHO DARES STEAL A SOUL THAT BELONGS TO ME—THANATOS?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanatos—the god of death in ancient Greek myth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was obvious now: the ghosts summoned by the rune system were drawn directly from the Nether Realm, the domain of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the runes granted by Arthur's system were powerful enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Thanatos sensed that one of his souls had been taken, he couldn't determine who had done it—or where that soul had gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unable to track it, the god of death could only rage uselessly within his realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he didn't remain angry for long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sea of countless souls, losing one was like losing a grain of sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What infuriated him wasn't the soul itself—but the audacity of someone daring to steal from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of what happened in the Nether Realm was known to the people inside the Black residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were all staring blankly at the ghost that had appeared before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked like a woman in her early twenties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through her pale, translucent form, one could vaguely see red hair and bright green eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone unfamiliar might easily mistake her for a member of the Weasley family—after all, red hair was rare across Britain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But everyone present recognized her instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone except Hermione.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cousin,\" Hermione whispered, confused. \"Is there something wrong with Harry's ghost?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur slowly came back to himself and said softly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She's Harry's biological mother—Lily.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione froze, her mouth falling open in shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur himself hadn't expected this outcome either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he recalled the hidden property of summoning runes, it suddenly made perfect sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Summoned entities were always highly compatible with their summoner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Draco had summoned a Welsh Green Dragon, perfectly matching Slytherin's colors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur himself had summoned a Heavenly Fireball Dragon—the \"Heavenly\" part alone made it perfectly compatible with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By that logic, Harry summoning his mother's soul as his ghost partner was not strange at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lily looked around in confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wasn't I… already dead? And you—Sirius? Lupin? Have you all died too?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that everyone was still stunned into silence, Arthur stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahem. Lily… here's the situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long explanation, Lily finally understood her circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She never imagined that she would return to the world more than ten years later—as a ghost, no less—and as her son's summoned companion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry finally found his voice, his eyes trembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mom… is it really you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice cracked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lily's heart ached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur had already told her about Harry's upbringing—about growing up unloved, surviving alone, only finding warmth after coming to Hogwarts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tears welled in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" she said firmly. \"Harry. It's me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she even finished speaking, Harry threw himself into her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the Hogwarts ghosts, Lily could solidify her spiritual form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Harry didn't pass through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in his memory, he felt his mother's embrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To read 90+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>patreon.com\u002FWhiteDevil7554\u003C\u002Fp>",1402,"2026-06-06T04:19:46.381Z",1,"novelbin.me","13cd90bd285b8801a7747cfc0e91c39ddf05b48290f3dd421f762e14995b31c5","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-154","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-152",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-cover.jpg"]