[{"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-220":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},1496344,1944,"Chapter 220: The End of the Ball, and an Alternative Path to Immortality through Glintstone","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-220",220,"\u003Cp>Arthur and the two girls lingered on the open balcony, chatting casually while admiring the nightscape of Hogwarts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At some point, Fleur arrived, pulling Penelope along with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like that, the balcony's headcount rose from three to five.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five of them talked, gazed at the moon, and enjoyed a calm, harmonious atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Arthur simply took out some hot food along with a table and chairs, turning the balcony into a small private gathering spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the cold wind and snowfall, a single magic barrier was enough to block them out entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to worry about the night breeze cooling the food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the five, Fleur and Penelope were already starving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although they had eaten dinner earlier, they hadn't dared to eat too much in order to fit into their form-fitting gowns for the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dancing for so long, what little food they had eaten was long since burned away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A large portion of the food Arthur brought out disappeared into their stomachs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yule Ball lasted until midnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Students from all three schools had an amazing time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night alone, Hogwarts gained quite a few new couples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, not everyone left with a happy ending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hagrid, for example, had his heart broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madame Maxime personally proposed a breakup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The half-giant returned to his hut in despair, clinging to his big brother Radahn's spirit ashes and crying his eyes out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry, like most students, had an enjoyable night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had to describe it, he was even happier than when he'd won the golden egg and reconciled with Ron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found that being around Ginny made him feel relaxed in a way he'd never noticed before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Harry didn't realize was that deep in his heart, the lingering pain left by Cho Chang had quietly faded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the person occupying that space was no longer Cho.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry himself didn't notice the change—but Lily did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes, a mother knows her child best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lily was keenly aware of the subtle shifts in her son's emotions, even more so than Harry himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had seen his sadness earlier that evening, when he learned that the Ravenclaw girl he liked already had a boyfriend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had even considered comforting him later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by the end of the ball, Harry had completely forgotten about that girl, dancing happily with the Weasley daughter all night long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Lily chose not to interfere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Matters of the heart were best left for Harry to sort out on his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the ball ended, Harry returned to his dormitory and fell asleep in a good mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exhaustion from a night of dancing quickly dragged him into sleep—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but this time, his dreams were anything but pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dreamed once again of the nightmare he'd had after attending the Quidditch World Cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry jolted awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because parts of that dream had already come true, his memory of it this time was unusually vivid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dream, he had seen Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, and an unfamiliar Death Eater discussing how to capture him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had also seen Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry panted, turning on his bedside lamp, about to think more deeply about the dream—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only to look up and see Ron staring at him with a gloomy expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry nearly jumped out of his skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you staring at me for?\" he snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing,\" Ron replied quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I just still can't figure out why you invited Ginny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry answered honestly, \"I couldn't find a dance partner, so I asked Arthur for advice. He told me to try inviting someone from a lower year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron pressed on, \"Then why Ginny?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry rolled his eyes. \"Because she's the only lower-year girl I actually know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just that?\" Ron asked stubbornly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just that,\" Harry said helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ron nodded. \"Alright. Good night.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he turned away, pulled his blanket over himself, and stopped looking at Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry muttered under his breath, \"You're seriously weird.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no idea what was going on in Ron's head and briefly wondered if his best friend had something wrong upstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even considered dragging Ron to the hospital wing the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That strange conversation successfully distracted Harry from analyzing his nightmare any further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sleepiness washed over him again. He turned off the lamp and drifted back to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Arthur paid a visit to Snape's office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Snape saw him, he looked up from behind his desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you want?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur casually pulled over a chair and sat down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You looked pretty lonely at the ball last night. Ever thought about bringing Leah to events like that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape frowned. \"What are you getting at? You're not here to mock me, are you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape knew Arthur understood perfectly well why he kept Leah away from the wizarding world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had too many enemies—and Leah was a defenseless Muggle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If those enemies learned of her existence, she would become an easy target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he insisted she remain in the Muggle world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, he could clearly see her longing for magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur waved a hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's not what I mean. I recently obtained an item that can turn a Muggle into a wizard. I wanted to ask if you'd let Leah try it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape shot to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur nodded. \"Of course.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape was about to agree immediately, but then hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are there… side effects?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That depends on how you define them,\" Arthur replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then explained the effects of the Glintstone Blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape was deeply shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had assumed Arthur meant artificially granting magical bloodlines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, this was a transformation at the soul level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Arthur didn't say it outright, Snape immediately grasped a terrifying implication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the soul were converted into glintstone, the importance of the physical body would drastically decrease—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>because bodies could be replaced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if bodies could be replaced, then aging could be circumvented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense… wasn't this also a form of immortality?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape felt a wave of emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Voldemort had gone to extreme lengths to achieve immortality, ultimately creating the deeply flawed Horcrux system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur, on the other hand, hadn't even been seeking immortality—and yet he already possessed two such methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least, in Snape's eyes, both the Philosopher's Stone and the Glintstone Blade qualified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The contrast was almost cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Snape had recently entered Arthur's Zen Garden, he would've been even more stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The garden had undergone massive changes—and now contained numerous new plants, including the Immortal Tree, whose fruit granted eternal life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meaning Arthur possessed far more than just two paths to immortality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long silence, Snape finally spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Could I… try this method first?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, he wanted to test its safety before letting Leah undergo the transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Arthur himself had said that while there were many successful precedents, he hadn't personally performed the procedure yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with Arthur's assurance that failure wouldn't cause harm, Snape still wanted to be the one to take the risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it involved piercing the heart with a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not for his trust in Arthur—and his confidence that Arthur could save him even then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snape would've thought this was a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other hand… Snape himself wanted this transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An alternative form of immortality was impossible to resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Leah succeeded and gained a long lifespan, only for him to grow old and die first—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that was unacceptable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could rely on the Philosopher's Stone to brew an immortality potion, but he didn't want to keep burdening his student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could achieve it in one step, why not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur had no idea what was going through Snape's mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he did, he wouldn't object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For him, it was just one more conversion—and a chance to refine his technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course. When would you like to do it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Any suggestions?\" Snape asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Choose a night with clear, brilliant starlight,\" Arthur replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And preparation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"None in particular. Just keep yourself in good condition—especially your soul.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arthur paused, then added, \"You might also want to familiarize yourself with glintstone magic in advance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Arthur took out an ancient, timeworn spellbook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Advance Chapters Available on Patreon\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>patreon.com\u002FWhiteDevil7554\u003C\u002Fp>",1381,"2026-06-06T04:19:46.381Z",1,"novelbin.me","2c21120a750fe5ef5bc43956e8a7f6356f77df5c4ace232664bccd03cc065755","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-221","starting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-chapter-219",281,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-at-hogwarts-logging-into-elden-ring-cover.jpg"]