Chapter 303 : Treasures in the Temple
It was the box Phineas had asked Damon to prepare for Basque.
Phineas placed the two boxes and the three books, still wrapped in their dust covers, into his suitcase.
After a final glance around to ensure he hadn't missed anything, Phineas turned and Apparated away, returning to the room in the Muggle hotel where he had stayed in Athens.
Moments after he vanished, the hidden door behind the tunnel creaked open again, and several battered, bloodied wizards stumbled in.
"Damn it! How did that intruder get in here without a scratch?" one of them shouted angrily.
"Check everything!" another barked. "All wizards who've entered Athens recently must be investigated thoroughly. We must recover what was taken—no matter what!"
"That villain must be punished! So many of our people died because of him—he has to answer for it!"
Phineas, however, remained unaware—and uninterested—in their furious roars or hasty plans.
He had already enchanted the room with layers of isolation magic.
Books infused with magic—especially those suspected of containing Dark Magic—could release powerful magical emissions that disturbed their surroundings. For anyone below the level of a great wizard, even attempting to read such books could be fatal.
Fortunately, Phineas had already attained that rank.
Once the protections were in place, Phineas removed the dust covers from the three books.
One was bound in snake skin, one in dragon hide, and the last disturbingly in human skin. He chose the dragon-hide book to examine first, assuming it was the safest.
Human-skin-bound books were almost certainly Dark Magic grimoires. The nature of the snake-skin book was uncertain. Dragon-hide books, however, were often used to record combat magic—at least according to the Black family's archives.
Owing to the aggressive nature of dragons, their hides were favored for books focused on battle, war, and fire spells.
Phineas opened the dragon-hide book, but after a few moments of scanning the pages, he frowned.
He flipped through it quickly—then tossed it aside with disappointment and turned to the other two books.
He skimmed through those just as quickly, only to throw them down as well and collapse onto the sofa with a sigh.
This was not what he had expected—nor what anyone would have expected.
The three books were entirely blank.
Not even a trace of magic, let alone the legendary Horcrux creation method. The parchment—made of the same exotic materials as the covers—contained nothing at all. It was as if they were waiting to be filled.
After a moment, Phineas stood up and turned to the two boxes.
He simply couldn't believe that the wizard who had gone to such lengths to create a hidden temple had left nothing of value behind.
He opened the first box.
Even without inspecting closely, the dazzling golden gleam revealed its contents.
"Gold?"
Phineas poured the box onto the carpet, and a small mountain of gold coins and objects spilled out, glinting under the lamplight.
"How is this possible? According to that family's legend, this wizard defeated herpo! No magic... but a pile of gold?"
Phineas slumped to the floor, sighed, then waved his wand to levitate the gold into his suitcase. As for the box, he had other uses for it.
Despite the disappointment, the gold at least smelled like success.
He opened the second box and was mildly relieved—at least it wasn't more gold.
Wands.
Yes, rows upon rows of wands—crafted wooden tools with magical cores.
Phineas raised a brow. This, at least, made some sense.
According to Ministry records, during Herpo's era, wands were extremely rare and precious. Only a few skilled artisans could make them, and due to Muggle persecution, their production was limited. Possessing a wand then marked one as a powerful wizard.
Quite the opposite of today, where the stronger a wizard is, the less reliant they are on a wand.
So a cache of wands left behind by a legendary wizard was akin to a Muggle leaving behind a stockpile of weapons—expensive and useful, though outdated.
Phineas gave a wry smile and shook his head. If this was the legendary inheritance, both he and any descendants were bound to be disappointed.
Wait—something caught his eye.
Tucked into the corner of the wand box was a letter.
With a flick of his wand, Phineas levitated the parchment into the air and opened it.
The message was simple: the gold and wands were meant for his descendants, so they might one day bring honor to their name, join the Council of Elders, or even become a sworn family. The three books, too, were part of the legacy.
On the back of the letter was a guide—how to craft magic books and record spells within them.
Magic books had unique properties. When infused with power, a wizard could use the spells recorded in them directly.
That was what made magic books so precious.
Phineas sighed and looked again at the books he had tossed aside.
As the letter described, dragon-hide books were indeed suited to combat magic, human-skin books to Dark Magic, and snake-skin books to curses.
They could record standard spells, of course—but no one would waste such valuable space on basic charms.
The letter also mentioned unicorn-hide books—ideal for recording light or protective magic like the Patronus Charm.
Other magical creature hides could be used too, but the effects varied and required experimentation.
Phineas's eyes gleamed. He placed the human-skin book into the now-empty box and pocketed the letter. The method of crafting and enchanting magic books was best kept secret.
He then cast a complex sealing charm on both boxes and Apparated.
His destination: the Aegean Sea.
He reasoned that the family who had built the temple would likely have influence in Athens. Once they discovered the vault had been emptied, they would investigate every wizard who had arrived recently.
A foreign wizard, living in a Muggle hotel—he would be the prime suspect.
So, he left behind the wands and the human-skin book—items he didn't need. Besides, the book was blank, and he didn't care for carrying human-skin-bound anything.
The sealed boxes and magical traces left behind would suggest he had failed to open them and fled upon being discovered.
That would buy him time.
Phineas now turned his attention to the underwater ruins. If nothing was found in the temple, might the ruins still hold something?
According to Wuming Yi, they'd searched the temple before but missed the hidden chamber.
Finding something in the ruins wouldn't be unexpected.
He didn't care whether his hotel room was discovered—he had already Apparated directly to the Aegean Sea.
It was night—perfect for stealth. No Muggles around to witness magic.
Phineas tapped his collar with the snakewood wand, conjuring a transparent dome over his head—the Bubble-Head Charm, a vital spell for underwater exploration.
Next, he tapped his robes, which were already waterproof. They tightened into a diving-suit-like form.
He released the wand, which vanished into his ring, and slipped silently into the sea.
Due to the moon's pull, diving at night was more difficult. But Phineas wasn't diving in the traditional sense.
His enchanted attire resisted water pressure, and his upgraded Bubble-Head Charm filtered oxygen from seawater.
He could breathe indefinitely.
He walked along the seabed, heading toward the island. While it took boats over an hour and a half, Phineas arrived in just one hour—by walking underwater.
Still, he found no trace of the ruins.
Circling the island on foot, he finally spotted them—opposite Athens.
Wuming Yi had been right. The place truly was a ruin.
Unlike the temple, which still had statues and walls, this was nothing more than rubble.
Bits of collapsed structures, remnants of something ancient.
Nearby, shipwrecks—likely from the Battle of Salamis—lay buried in the seabed silt, their classic shapes unmistakable.
Phineas smiled faintly. He'd found it.
Both the ruins and the shipwrecks were worth excavating.
No need for hiding anymore.
Just these discoveries alone could fuel his plans in Britain.
He enhanced the oxygen flow in his charm and approached the ruins.
Casting Magic Vision, he saw that nearly all magical traces had been erased by the sea—but faint remnants remained, enough to confirm their magical origin.
He clenched his right hand, summoning the snakewood wand.
With a sweeping gesture, he cast Earth-Shaping magic. The seabed mud formed into a massive python.
Though he usually shaped humanoid giants, a serpent was better suited for underwater work.
Stones transformed into pangolin-like forms—ideal for burrowing.
Phineas, meanwhile, conjured a reclining chair nearby, lay down, and closed his eyes.
This was thanks to a useful spell invented by Nicolas.
A sleeping spell that reduced bodily consumption—ideal during famines or long stretches without food.
With more than 600 years of life behind him, Nicolas had perfected such survival magic.
Now, Phineas put it to use.