Through Space and Time

17: Underground Chambers

After the face-off between Torrid and Pone Harmony and Minerva McGonagall, the Hogwarts Headmistress brought them back to her office.

"That was a bit of a commotion," Minerva sighed. "Anyways, once again, I am Minerva McGonagall, the current Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Plus Everything! Hello, we are Pone Harmony and we are one of the Supreme Six of Hallyu," Keeho led the greeting. "It is our honor to meet one of the members of the Premier Ten."

"Please, have a seat," McGonagall offered. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"As much as we wanted to visit in far better circumstances, unfortunately, this time we really need your help," Keeho stated. "The Kingdom of Hallyu is being invaded once again by unforeseen enemies."

"Correct me if I am mistaken but was that creature you referred to as 'Torrid' the one invading your kingdom?" Minerva assumed.

"Technically, yes. He is a member of the Novus Red Force which is currently invading our kingdom. The Novus Red Force has nine members headed by Origin," Theo elaborated.

"The leader's name is Origin? My fears might turn out to be true then," Minerva had a worried look on her face.

"May we ask why?" Jeongseob caught the change in expression.

"You see, based on our confrontation with Torrid earlier, I have a reason to believe that he, and presumably the others as well, might be Horcruxes," Minerva shifted her glasses.

"Horcruxes? What are those?"

"A form of dark magic here in our dimension, a Horcrux is a receptacle, living or inanimate, in which a magician had hidden a fragment of his or her soul to become immortal," McGonagall began her explanation.

"Your theory is that Torrid might be a Horcrux. If so, whose Horcrux?" Soul probed.

"Perhaps their leader, Origin, since he named himself as such," Minerva theorized. "Origin might be the source of the souls that were split to form this Novus Red Force that is invading your kingdom."

"Not that we are not open to possibilities, but how were you able to make this speculation?" Intak was curious.

"Horcruxes are also extremely durable and highly magic resistant. Thatis why, as you may have seen earlier, most of my spells were ineffective," Minerva reviewed what happened earlier. "However, he retreated when I used Fiendfyre. In our dimension, Fiendfyreis one of the very few magic capable of destroying a pure Horcrux. A strongmagic, perhaps one of your many reputed X-Con techniques, might be necessaryfor their demise."

"This is a valuable piece of information. We will report this to our Bicameral Chambers as soon as we return," Keeho was grateful.

"Now, going back to the invasion, do you need reinforcements from the Premier Ten?"

"Actually, we are hoping not to reach that point," Theo responded. "As our last resort, we are tasked to retrieve a magical artifact given to members of the Premier Ten. Is Hogwarts safekeeping an artifact from Hallyu?"

"So, it really has come to a point where that particular artifact is needed," Minerva massaged her temples. "Very well. Follow me to the underground chambers of the castle."

They followed Minerva McGonagall to a corridor on the third floor. McGonagall stopped right in front of the door.

"Now, let me tell you some things before we enter," Minerva was serious. "The underground chambers were originally intended to house a powerful magical stone in our dimension. After the owner decided to destroy the stone, the chambers are now utilized to protect your artifact."