Harry Potter: I am the Legend

Everything around him remained the same.

But this time, Hoffa no longer paid attention to the church bells or the scenery. The three consecutive deaths had sharpened his focus to an extreme.

It was clear that merely knowing the spell wasn't enough; he needed to cast it flawlessly to escape this mysterious realm.

Hoffa reflected on the details of his previous attempt. The Disillusionment Charm was undoubtedly no simple spell—otherwise, it wouldn't have been completely absent from the library's records.

To successfully cast a high-level spell, absolute focus was required.

He recalled the meditation technique of the Milarepa monks, which enhanced mental clarity. Without hesitation, he decided to give it a try. Good news: the meditation technique still functioned in this state.

With its help, all distracting thoughts were swept away, and Hoffa's resolve solidified quickly.

In the endlessly repeating memory, the Black wizard climbed to the higher floor, entered the room, and activated the secret mechanism.

Hoffa steeled himself. The moment he gained control of the body, the Black wizard's gaze turned sharp.

The low growl resounded, and the crimson tongue shot out like lightning.

Hoffa immediately drew the wand, pressed himself to the side, and calmly chanted:

"Disillusionment."

It was like being drenched in a torrent of icy liquid. This time, the enormous lizard's tongue grazed the Black wizard's waist and abdomen, instead smashing the marble globe and other decorations in the room to pieces.

But it didn't touch Hoffa.

His body began to sprout translucent gaps, which gradually expanded. Hoffa's form melted away, vanishing into the air like ice under a blazing sun.

The massive lizard's hulking body slowly emerged from the secret passage. At least eight meters long, it was grotesquely large, with three bulging eyes scanning the room. But it couldn't spot the Black wizard, who was now pressed invisibly against the wall.

Hoffa had succeeded!

He had successfully cast the Disillusionment Charm!

A surge of adrenaline coursed through him. Despite the life-or-death tension, there was a strange exhilaration that shot straight to his head. In his concealed state, Hoffa dared not move. He bit down on his lower lip and arched his feet, forcing himself to stay silent.

But just then, a shrill scream broke the moment.

"Ghost! There's a ghost!!"

The blonde, blue-eyed mistress, who had previously been sprawled on the ground, shrieked as she clutched her silk robe. Panicking, she hurled the wine bottles around her wildly at Hoffa. Scrambling backward, she was utterly frantic.

One of the bottles hit the invisible Hoffa, smashing to the ground with a crisp crack.

Hoffa's heart sank. Damn it, he cursed inwardly. I was so focused on the Disillusionment Charm, I completely forgot about her! This damned woman…

Sure enough, the lizard's bulging eyes immediately turned toward the broken glass bottle on the floor.

The next moment, its barbed red tongue, as sharp as a blade, swept through the air in a deadly arc, slicing horizontally.

CRACK!!

Clean and decisive.

…

When Hoffa returned to the starting point once more, he had become utterly composed. Not even the agony of decapitation could rattle him now. He kept the meditation technique running continuously, his mind sharp as a sword.

Even though he had successfully cast the Disillusionment Charm, it was still not enough. He hadn't yet fulfilled the conditions for synchronization.

Then I'll try again.

A minute later, he stood once more at the entrance of the dark passage.

This Time, He Focused on the Woman in the Corner

The roar echoed, and the woman stirred awake.

She saw "Hoffa" and started screaming.

Expressionless, Hoffa took a single step aside, aligning himself with the woman and the tunnel in a straight line.

The crimson tongue lashed out like lightning, and Hoffa ducked sharply.

The violent gust brushed past his waist, shooting directly toward the screaming woman.

Hoffa rolled to the side, and the scream was abruptly cut off.

The monstrous lizard's tongue pierced straight through the woman's neck, coiling tightly around her body.

"Disillusionment!" Hoffa cast the spell in the brief second he had.

As the lizard retracted its tongue, dragging the lifeless woman back, Hoffa turned invisible, vanishing from sight.

The massive, three-eyed lizard chewed on the woman's corpse as if munching on an insect. Slowly, it emerged from the tunnel, its bulbous eyes darting around furiously. It seemed puzzled—there had clearly been two people here just moments ago, but now the room was empty.

Watching its jagged scales scrape mere centimeters past his face, Hoffa's focus only sharpened. He realized he couldn't stay here any longer. If discovered, he'd once again experience the agony of being impaled.

He was about to leave but hesitated. If he simply fled, he likely wouldn't fulfill the synchronization conditions.

Someone had placed this giant lizard here as a guard, likely to protect something. Hoffa's curiosity was piqued—what exactly was the Black wizard trying to steal?

Carefully, Hoffa followed the gaps between the lizard's segmented tail, sneaking down the secret passage in his disillusioned state. After all, this was just a memory—watching wouldn't have any consequences.

In the center of a dark chamber, he saw it.

A square stone pedestal stood there, holding a silver necklace.

The necklace had an unusual design, resembling a key.

But before Hoffa could examine it further, a sudden force struck from behind.

He lost control of the body and began to drift upward.

In his final moments of vision, he saw the Black wizard reach out and clasp the necklace in his hand.

…

Gasp!

It felt like waking from a bizarre dream.

Hoffa snapped back into reality, raising his head sharply. He was sitting on the solid ground of a dimly lit underground chamber, his hands resting on a rough stone platform surrounded by flickering braziers.

The cold, tangible surroundings gave Hoffa a comforting sense of reality. He stared at his hands—no impediments, no pain.

He was back at Hogwarts, inside the Violet Society's secret chamber.

It might sound unbelievable, but he had just died four times in a row. This was an experience he hoped never to repeat in his lifetime.

The one silver lining was that he had finally mastered the Disillusionment Charm!

The joy of acquiring a spell he had coveted for months was indescribable. It even outweighed the insanity of dying four times.

During the trials, Hoffa had cursed the pain of being pierced through the heart. But now that he was out, he felt he should sincerely thank the masked woman. She had given him the chance to learn the charm.

Of course, in his excitement, he also wanted to vent about the ordeal he'd just endured.

However, when Hoffa stood up, he realized the masked woman was no longer in the chamber. The room was empty, save for the faint crackle of the fire in the braziers.

Whether to express gratitude or complain, he suddenly had no one to turn to.

The realization left him feeling unsettled.

Gone? What does this mean? Did she leave because I wasn't waking up?

Hoffa searched for her but found nothing. The chamber was small, about a hundred square meters, a simple stone room with braziers, a pile of scrolls sealed in a corner, and no sign of any changes since he'd entered—except for the absence of one person.

But as Hoffa circled back to the stone platform where he had been lying, he noticed a small hourglass he hadn't seen before.

He had been too focused on finding the woman earlier to notice it.

Picking it up, he saw that the sand inside had long since run out.

Beneath the hourglass was a note with a few short words:

"Don't bother looking for me again."

Hoffa's expression immediately became strange.

What was this? Had he done something wrong? Why was he being told not to come back?

Hadn't he successfully learned the Disillusionment Charm?

Or was it that, in her eyes, dying too many times meant he had failed the test?

Ridiculous…

Looking at the sand in the hourglass, Hoffa was baffled. Had he passed or not? Couldn't she just give him a clear answer?

The uncertainty left him scratching his head.

This only deepened his curiosity about the so-called Violet Wizarding Society. A group with only one member—a masked woman—and tools capable of teaching spells in such a bizarre way.

What kind of organization was this?

He paced slowly along the walls, glancing at the crackling braziers and the portraits of members beneath them. The quiet, desolate atmosphere filled him with unease.

In the corner, he noticed a stack of scrolls.

These were the same scrolls used during his Disillusionment Charm trial. Hoffa swallowed hard and approached them cautiously for a closer look.

The black scrolls, encased in glass, didn't seem remarkable at first glance. But Hoffa could feel the ancient magic emanating from them.

He instinctively reached out to touch the glass case.

At that instant, every hair on his body stood on end. A chilling sensation of being watched crept over him.

He spun around to find that all the eyes in the oil paintings were now silently staring at him. Moments ago, they hadn't been moving.

Hoffa pulled his hand back as if burned and staggered backward toward the door.

The painted eyes didn't move, but their gaze followed him all the way to the threshold.

"This place is definitely strange…"

Swallowing hard, Hoffa pushed the door open and stepped outside.

The oppressive feeling of being watched finally vanished.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Hoffa couldn't help but feel a newfound reverence for this place.

…

Standing at the doorway, Hoffa closed his eyes and engaged his meditation technique. Gradually, his nerves settled.

Whatever secrets lay hidden in that society had nothing to do with him. If he hadn't passed, so be it. At least he had achieved his goal.

He had learned the Disillusionment Charm.

Suppressing his unanswered questions, Hoffa couldn't resist testing his newfound skill. With a flick of his wand, he tapped his own arm.

"Disillusionment!"

It was as if a cold liquid had poured out from the point of contact, spreading across his entire body. It felt like someone had broken a dozen icy eggs over him.

A miraculous transformation began—his body took on the texture and colors of the school's background, making him resemble a humanoid chameleon. Hoffa vanished completely into thin air.

He covered his eyes with his hands, but it was useless. Even through his arms, he could see fifty meters ahead, where a group of wizards was chatting and laughing.

A rush of exhilarating novelty surged through him. He wanted to shout for joy.

Instead, he confidently tucked his wand away and strolled through the school like he owned the place.

Such an exaggerated, showy attitude wasn't something Hoffa normally displayed, but right now, he felt on top of the world.

As he passed two upper-year wizards, he overheard their conversation.

"Did the club president change the password today?"

"Yeah, it's now 'Blood-Scented Underwear.'"

"Wow, the president's taste is seriously intense…"

Hoffa clapped a hand over his mouth, desperately trying to stifle his laughter. Despite his efforts, he still let out a snorting sound like a pig.

The two students were sharp; they immediately turned around.

"Huh? It feels like someone's here…"

"Are you blind? There's no one."

With that, the pair climbed one after the other into a rather flamboyant-looking portrait of a man.

Hoffa thought to himself that dying hadn't been in vain after all. Now, as long as he wanted, he could walk into any of these club rooms that were normally off-limits. Their defenses were practically nonexistent.

It felt like the entire world had opened its doors to him.

A few more steps, then a turn…

And there she was!

Hoffa spotted someone he knew all too well—Aglaia. She was actually in the club tower area too.

Striding confidently ahead, she was followed by a gaggle of older students, all looking desperate.

"Miss Drasses, please stay! Our Calvin Transfiguration Club offers great benefits!"

"That's right, we can make you vice president if you're willing."

"Honestly, if you stick around long enough, president isn't out of the question either."

Aglaia spun on her heel, hands on her hips, glaring at them with fury. "Get lost! You can't even manage basic alchemy. Your Transfiguration skills are abysmal! Utterly unworthy of my attention!"

With that, she stormed forward, muttering under her breath, "Thirteen Transfiguration clubs, and none of them are competent. Hogwarts is such a trash school."

Then—"Ow!"

Right in front of her entourage of upperclassmen, Aglaia tripped over seemingly nothing and face-planted on the ground. It was as if she'd been tripped by an invisible stone.

Flat on her back, she looked utterly ridiculous.

The group behind her froze in shock before rushing forward.

"Are you okay?"

"Miss Drasses!"

"Miss Drasses!"

Aglaia shot up like lightning, her expression stormy. "What did you see?"

The group exchanged awkward glances.

"Uh…"

"We didn't see anything."

"Yeah, nothing at all."

"Good. If anyone breathes a word, you'll regret it."

With that icy threat, she stormed off. But after turning a corner, she let out a groan of frustration, clutching her face as she fled.

In the shadows, Hoffa, still invisible, nearly collapsed from laughter. He had to lean against the wall to stop himself from falling over.

This was amazing! Absolutely amazing!

(End of Chapter)

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