Chapter 276: The Second Project and Mind Firewall
"Let me take a look." Aiden took Neville deep into the island.
The space here was very chaotic, filled with fragments of memories everywhere.
"Neville, I'm going to extract your memories, okay?" Aiden reminded him.
"Go ahead!" Neville said, beginning to undress.
"Hey, wait, stop. Who taught you this?"
Aiden hurried to stop Neville to prevent any awkward situations.
"George and Fred said..." Neville said, scratching his head embarrassedly.
"Those two guys." Aiden clenched his fists.
"No extra movements needed. Relax your emotions and just stand still. I promise you won't be harmed." Aiden cast a soothing charm on him.
Walking to Neville's side, Aiden raised his hand and directly reached into Neville's head.
He carefully extracted his memory. A golden orb of light was caught in Aiden's hand.
"Is this what it means to be a wizard? The mind carries all the records of a wizard, taking priority over the soul. Even if the physical body hasn't fully developed and the soul can't yet remember everything, the pure mind can still preserve love..."
Aiden looked at the orb in his hand, analysing this information from within.
"Aiden, are you done?" Neville asked, with his eyes tightly closed, feeling the surrounding silence.
"It's ready now." Aiden's voice entered Neville's ears.
Opening his eyes, Neville saw a divine being standing there, holding a golden orb with both hands.
Fine threads extended from the orb, radiating in all directions.
Countless threads connected to the entire island, piecing together the broken parts of the island bit by bit.
Neville was stunned by the scene before him, not knowing what to say.
Aiden lifted the orb, letting it slowly float above the island.
"The fixed point is set, now..."
His slender palm grasped at the void, and a silver-white staff appeared in his hand.
Placing the staff at the centre of the island, white halos spread outward.
White light gathered on the ground, outlining an alchemical matrix with strange runes.
Sacred blessing Wunjo (ᚹ), justice Raido (ᚱ), cycle Jera (ᛃ), defence Eihwaz (ᛇ), protection and spiritual guidance Algiz (ᛉ).
Five faintly glowing runes rose from the alchemical matrix, and the matrix formed a pathway.
In the collective unconscious sea, an infinitely large castle rose from the depths.
Gently welcoming the wanderer home.
In the Room of Requirement, sensing something, Dumbledore and Snape both raised their wands simultaneously.
Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom's magic both flared up wildly.
All the equipment in the temporary medical room created by the Room of Requirement began floating.
The floating equipment spun around as if caught in a tornado.
Dumbledore and Snape waved their wands simultaneously, and all the items fell down, returning to their positions.
They pressed their wands against the Longbottoms' bodies, and powerful magic flowed from them, firmly sealing the Longbottoms' magic within their bodies.
Different magical energies clashed within the Longbottoms' bodies. Blood vessels appeared on their skin, and some areas began bleeding due to excessive pressure.
"Two doctors," Dumbledore reminded them.
Severin and Elena, who had been watching from the side, quickly reacted and pulled potions from their medical kit to apply to the bleeding areas on the Longbottoms.
"The rest is up to them now," Dumbledore murmured.
On the consciousness island, Aiden used himself as a conduit, continuously channelling the castle's power.
During the thousand years of slumber in the castle, Aiden had not been idle.
Using his abilities, he wove a massive dreamcatcher over Hogwarts.
This net could filter malicious intent from the mental level for students within Hogwarts, protecting their minds from the Deep Realm's interference.
This was originally a follow-up plan prepared by Salazar, but after he parted ways with the other three founders, Aiden and the remaining three perfected and established the plan.
Godric, Rowena, and Helga travelled throughout Britain, planting anchor points with Hogwarts as the core, and it finally took shape.
Aiden named it the Second Project: Mind Firewall.
He connected the net to the Longbottoms' mind islands and increased the output of the golden orb.
In the Deep Realm, some creatures drawn by the scent began radiating their power upward, but they were all intercepted by the net before approaching the Longbottoms' consciousness islands.
The threads slowly repaired the Longbottoms' consciousness islands. After the last broken piece was fitted, the threads exploded, transforming into golden particles that scattered into the islands.
"Stop watching; let's go."
Aiden lightly patted Neville's forehead and pulled him back to reality.
In the Room of Requirement, the group watched as Aiden and Neville materialised from virtual to real, then slowly descended to the ground.
"How did it go?" Dumbledore asked nervously.
"The repair is complete. They just need to rest for a while longer to fully recover," Aiden answered.
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed joy. Professor Snape snorted and turned to leave.
"Move them back to St. Mungo's. I've woven dreams for them and cleaned their memories. After they wake up, absolutely don't mention those things, and don't wake them up."
Aiden gave medical instructions to the two doctors and had them take the patients away.
The next day, Aiden received many gifts from Neville's grandmother. If Hogwarts hadn't been closed during the school term, she probably would have come to visit in person.
At breakfast, Aiden ate Hogwarts' speciality dish: fish and chips.
"Damn it, whoever invented this dish!" Aiden said, gritting his teeth.
"Hmm, some wizard who loved fish?" Edmund asked, sitting down and wearing a shiny new prefect badge on his chest.
"You're a prefect?" Aiden said, raising an eyebrow.
"You didn't notice? He wasshowing off all day yesterday. Oh, you went night roaming..." Ethan stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering something, and changed his tone.
After eating and drinking his fill, Aiden prepared to leave the hall, then a group of small snakes surrounded their new prefect and walked over.
It was the long-absent Draco. Since his father was removed from the board of governors, he had been quiet for quite some time.
Now that he had become Slytherin's prefect again, wielding the power to deduct points, he was back in form.
First, he bumped into his beloved Harry at the entrance.
"I can't believe the Ministry would let you wander around," Draco mocked.
"You!" Harry said, about to charge forward but being held back by Hermione and Ron.
"Be careful or I'll dock points, Scarhead!" Draco and his followers laughed mockingly.
"You'd better stay away from him. You're not the only prefect!" Ron stepped forward and said.
"Hmph, you'd better behave, Scarhead, because I'll be watching you like a hound!"
Draco pointed two fingers at his own eyes, then at Harry.