[{"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-171":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},1496395,1944,"Chapter 171: — The Altar of Death, and the So-Called Resurrection Stone","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-171",171,"\u003Cp>At the very center of the stone pit, there was no lectern like one would find in a stepped classroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, a raised stone platform stood there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon the platform rose an ancient stone archway, radiating an archaic, solemn aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One corner of the arch's top was visibly broken, and there were no visible supports around it—yet even so, it stood firmly in place, unmoving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A semi-transparent gray-black veil, like a curtain or shroud, hung within the arch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though there was no wind, it swayed gently on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is this place…? It feels so creepy,\" Hermione asked softly, looking at Arthur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew that whenever something was unclear, asking her omniscient cousin was always the right choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Altar of Death,\" Arthur replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The veil behind that arch should lead to the realm of death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He deliberately used the word should.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he had no concrete proof that the space beyond truly was the world of the dead—this was merely a conclusion drawn from everything he knew so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original story, Harry, Neville, and Luna had all been here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They shared one crucial trait: each of them had personally witnessed the death of someone close to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they entered this chamber, all three heard voices coming from beyond the veil—voices belonging to their deceased loved ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those voices tempted them, calling to them, trying to lure them into stepping beyond the curtain and into the unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A phenomenon with a very similar effect existed elsewhere: the Resurrection Stone, one of the Deathly Hallows said to have been obtained from Death itself by the three brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Resurrection Stone did not truly resurrect the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, it summoned the souls of the deceased back into the living world—but those souls did not belong there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, they became sorrowful, cold, and tormented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The living person who used the stone would, under the weight of that hopeless longing, slowly descend into madness—until they ultimately chose death themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that sense, the Resurrection Stone's true function was not to bring the dead back to life, but to drag the living into death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The veil before them served a remarkably similar purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur could clearly sense deathly power emanating from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And from the memories he had taken from the traitor Lucius's inner contact—Rookwood, Arthur also knew that this archway had existed long before the Ministry of Magic building was constructed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the Ministry had chosen this location because of the archway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the Unspeakables, this arch symbolized death and the unknown world beyond, an ancient mystery they had been studying ever since the Department of Mysteries was founded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Arthur boldly inferred that even if the veil did not directly lead to the realm of the dead, it was undoubtedly inseparably connected to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Hermione heard that the veil might lead to death, she instinctively tugged Arthur, trying to pull him away from the arch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If time and fate were merely special forces in human understanding, then death was an outright taboo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No normal person would willingly approach it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur—someone capable of wielding death itself—was, of course, an exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hermione shrank deeper into his arms and whispered,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arthur… let's leave quickly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere here was oppressive, and the veil kept moving on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew what might suddenly crawl out from behind it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young witch had absolutely no desire to linger in this room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, we'll leave immediately. But before that… I need to do one thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What thing?\" Hermione asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take it with us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he spoke, Arthur activated the deathly power within his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gold-and-black energy surged outward, flooding the entire stone pit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Hermione's shocked gaze, the massive pit ripped itself free from the ground, rising upward as a whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave of his hand, Arthur stored the entire altar inside his system space, planning to study it properly later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why he didn't put it into the Zen Garden?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shared Hermione's concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew whether something might crawl out from behind that veil?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing all this, Arthur erased every trace that he and Hermione had left behind in the Ministry, then took her and departed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Arthur left, the sky was already turning gray with dawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, it was time for Ministry employees to start work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ministry of Magic discovered that it had been robbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the Unspeakables—they practically lost their minds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of them were scholars who stayed removed from worldly affairs, devoting themselves entirely to magical research.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To them, the Department of Mysteries was sacred ground—their sanctuary for studying ancient, profound, and even lost magics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their sanctuary had been plundered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room sealing the power of love had been opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Time Chamber had been completely emptied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Death Chamber had been ripped out wholesale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was equivalent to losing half of their foundation—more brutal than severing their lifeline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Unspeakables were furious, storming into Fudge's office, demanding that he capture the culprit at all costs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some even openly accused Fudge of gross incompetence, furious that a thief could infiltrate the Ministry itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These scholars were the type with intelligence maxed out and emotional intelligence… not so much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had no concept of politeness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They berated Fudge relentlessly, scolding him until his face turned red with anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge hastily placated them, then immediately mobilized personnel to handle the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement launched a full sweep of the Ministry—cataloguing losses while searching for any trace left by the intruder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how could Arthur possibly leave evidence behind?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any trace erased by a demigod's power was beyond restoration—even Dumbledore himself wouldn't be able to reconstruct it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur hadn't even left behind a single cat hair from Hermione.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, the Ministry's investigation came up completely empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Fudge learned that only the Department of Mysteries had been robbed, his mood actually improved quite a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his eyes, the Unspeakables were nothing more than money pits—consuming massive amounts of Galleons every year while producing nothing tangible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that half their research subjects were gone, it was practically a blessing in disguise—an opportunity to cut funding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, regardless of his personal feelings, this incident was a severe blow to the Ministry's authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone had to be held responsible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, the scapegoats were chosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The unlucky pair were Rookwood, who had been on night duty, and another nameless poor soul not even worthy of a proper introduction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Aurors attempted Legilimency on both of them—but each had lost all memory of the previous night, completely unable to recall what had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, the Ministry dismissed them for dereliction of duty and issued a bounty through the Daily Prophet for the thief who infiltrated the Ministry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reward was a staggering 100,000 Galleons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even providing confirmed information would earn 1,000 Galleons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For comparison, when Sirius Black was mistakenly believed to have murdered over a dozen Muggles and escaped Azkaban, his bounty had been only 10,000 Galleons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, there were no casualties—yet the bounty was ten times higher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That alone showed how seriously the Ministry regarded this incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Daily Prophet rushed out a special edition at noon the same day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Arthur and Hermione read it, they exchanged a smile and promptly ignored the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After lunch, Hermione went back to her room to catch up on sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur, energetic as ever and requiring very little rest, decided to head out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Arthur's destination was an old, dilapidated manor in Little Hangleton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This place had once belonged to the Gaunt family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's right—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Voldemort's father's family home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The walls were covered in moss, many roof tiles had fallen away, exposing the rafters beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dense nettles grew wildly around the house, so thick that they nearly swallowed the windows—though that was partly because the windows themselves were extremely small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through gaps in the nettles, one could barely make out the grimy outlines of the windows, each coated in decades of filth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most distinctive feature was the front door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A stuffed dead snake was nailed directly onto it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur had come here for one reason only—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To retrieve the Resurrection Stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no one he particularly wished to revive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he did, his own human transmutation techniques would be far more reliable than the Resurrection Stone's illusory method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This trip was purely the result of inspiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing the Altar of Death the previous night, Arthur had been reminded of this so-called Deathly Hallow and decided to add it to his collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Arthur's opinion, however, the Resurrection Stone barely deserved the title of \"Deathly Hallow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the tale of the three brothers:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Elder Wand was made by Death from an elder tree by the river.The Resurrection Stone was just a stone Death picked up from the riverbank.Only the Invisibility Cloak was Death's own possession.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, among the three Deathly Hallows, the first two were half-baked trinkets casually made by Death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Invisibility Cloak truly lived up to the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur was here simply to collect the Resurrection Stone—not because he expected it to do anything meaningful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Voldemort was sixteen, he came to the Gaunt house, stunned his uncle Morfin Gaunt, and framed him for murder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In matters of scapegoating, Voldemort was undeniably skilled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After doing all this, he stole Marvolo Gaunt's ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, Voldemort had no idea that the ring contained the Resurrection Stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To read 90+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>patreon.com\u002FWhiteDevil7554\u003C\u002Fp>",1611,"2026-06-06T04:19:46.381Z",1,"novelbin.me","3bebcab091f387aa32eed044ac3349e9356c7af35cf01bccc7de7c850ea6b83d","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-172","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-170",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-cover.jpg"]