HP: The New God from Hogwarts

Chapter 249 Skill Cooldown Period

Tao Wu's fingers gently stroked the mottled carvings on the surface of the stone pillar. The ancient runes eroded by time were faintly visible under the blue light of the night pearl.

She closed her eyes, and the rainy night a hundred years ago came to her mind - she had stood in front of this stone pillar for a long time in search of a secret treasure.

"Is this...ancient runes?" Hermione squeezed in beside her at some point, her brown eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Tao Wu did not answer, her fingertips suddenly stopped at an inconspicuous depression on the stone pillar. There was a strange symbol engraved there, which looked like a raven with its wings spread.

"Merlin's beard!" Professor Figo suddenly exclaimed, "This is Ravenclaw's personal mark!"

Snape's brows knitted tighter: "Why did the things left by the founder of Hogwarts appear in the basement of the Ministry of Magic?"

Tao Wu's mouth corners slightly raised: "Because this place was not built by the Ministry of Magic at all." Her finger pressed the raven mark without hesitation, "This is one of the secret passages left by the founders of Hogwarts, connecting-"

The stone pillar suddenly made a dull roar, and the dust on the surface fell down. In the astonished eyes of the crowd, the entire stone pillar split in the middle, revealing a spiral staircase that spiraled downward. A familiar herbal aroma floated in the humid air.

"Greenhouse!" Neville exclaimed in surprise, "It smells like the small garden next to the third greenhouse!"

Tao Wu turned around and looked at everyone. The blue light of the Night Pearl cast mottled shadows on her face. "This passage leads directly to Hogwarts. But there is a problem -" She paused, "The passage can only last for fifteen minutes."

The basement was in an uproar. The senior students began to organize themselves into teams. Ginny pulled the second-year Gryffindor girl to the front and said, "The juniors go first! The prefects should maintain order at the front and back of the team!"

"She looks more like a prefect than Percy does."

Ron stood beside Harry, watching Ginny's methodical command and teasing her with a bit of pride.

Snape's black robe stood out in the noisy crowd. He slid to Tao Wu like a giant bat and said, "Are you sure this can lead to the school?"

"I've walked here before." Tao Wu lowered her voice, "I was trying to escape an angry horned beast. If we're lucky--"

She drew out her wand and pointed at the tear in Snape's sleeve: "Restore it to its original state."

After a flash of blue light, the tear in the robe closed naturally.

It seems that with the opening of the channel, magic has been temporarily restored.

The corner of Snape's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to say something harsh, but in the end he just waved his wand: "Luminescent!" The light at the tip of the wand was much dimmer than usual, obviously he had just consumed a lot of magic power.

Students had begun to enter the corridor in an orderly manner. Harry and Ron stood at the entrance to help maintain order, while Hermione held her wand and wrote something quickly on the parchment.

"What are you writing?" Ron poked his head out curiously.

"How to open the passage." Hermione said without raising her head, "In case someone falls behind..."

"Can't you learn this just by watching with your eyes?" Draco came closer and said in a teasing tone.

Ron kicked him into the passage: "Do you want me to keep talking here?"

Hermione closed her notebook. "I think maybe I'll come here again when I work at the Ministry of Magic."

Before she finished her words, there was a loud bang from the basement door. The whole space shook and dust fell from the ceiling.

"They found this place!" a Ravenclaw boy shouted in horror.

Tao Wu turned around suddenly, holding the magic wand in her hand: "How many people haven't entered yet?"

"About twenty." Professor Figo counted quickly, "Severus and I will be the last, you go first-"

"No, you go." Tao Wu's voice was unquestionable, "I need someone to pick them up at the school." She looked at Figo, "Take them back safely, Professor."

Professor Figo shook his head stubbornly: "No, I will stay here with you, Severus, and the children will--"

"I think Professor Snape needs your help more." She looked at Snape, hoping that he could take Figo and Nicolas Flamel, two old men who were almost a thousand years old in total, away.

Snape's black eyes were deep and unfathomable. The two looked at each other for a second, and he nodded slightly.

After getting his promise, Tao Wu turned around.

He suddenly grabbed Tao Wu's wrist and stuffed a small cold bottle into her palm: "Fu Ling Potion. Don't waste it."

When the last group of students disappeared into the passage, the door to the basement had been blown open. Tao Wu quickly waved her wand: "Protect everyone!" A transparent barrier temporarily blocked the entrance.

She turned and rushed towards the stone pillared passage, only to find Ginny and Luna, the Gryffindor trio, and Draco still standing there.

“How did you—”

"We won't leave you alone." Ginny pointed her wand at the iron gate, the freckles on her face particularly obvious in the dim light.

Luna added in a dreamy tone, "And the Harassment Fly told me that you needed help tonight."

Before Tao Wu could respond, three witch hunters wearing silver masks rushed in from the steps, the strangely shaped metal devices in their hands emitting dazzling red light.

"Be careful with those devices!" Tao Wu shouted.

A red light shot out, and Taowu's protective spell shattered like glass. Ginny rolled nimbly to avoid it, and hit a witch hunter's knee with a stunning spell.

"Dizzy - eh?" Luna was halfway through the spell when she suddenly tilted her head and looked at the wall on the right, "There's a crooked-horned snorkeller there..."

"Now is not the time to watch magical creatures, Luna!" Ginny pulled her behind a stone pillar.

Tao Wu took the opportunity to drink the Fuling potion, and a warm current instantly surged through her body. She suddenly said to the ceiling: "Thunder Explosion!"

Amidst the huge explosion, countless rubble fell from the sky, temporarily blocking the witch hunters' pursuit. Tao Wu pulled the two girls and rushed to the passage: "Hurry up!"

"The passage is about to close!"

Draco screamed, bent down to pick up a shoe that some little wizard had dropped in panic, and threw it at one of the witch hunters who were chasing him.

Just as Harry and Taowu pushed Ron and Hermione into the passage, the light suddenly disappeared -

Time is up.

"Still want to run, you dirty, smelly rat!"

The witch hunters called them rats and walked towards them with a sinister smile.

The magic disappeared along with the passage.

Draco slowly backed away, leaned against the stone pillar, and secretly pressed the raven button.

Nothing happens.

Tao Wu looked at him speechlessly.

"Draco, listen to me. In a dungeon, no matter what skill you have, it has a CD."