These are all things that popped into Ian's mind right now, potentially orchestrated by the God of Death.
Better safe than sorry—he really didn't want to step out and end up caught in one disaster after another, death events toppling like dominoes.
"Judging from Lady Ravenclaw's tone, there are wars even among the gods of the World of the Dead. As long as I don't dig my own grave, the God of Death likely won't have time to bother with me."
"I've already found a way to solve the Patronus Charm; the tricky part is actually figuring out which segment of the alchemy formula on the Resurrection Stone allows you to anchor a specific soul." Ian fiddled once more with the Resurrection Stone Ring in his hand, beginning to reconstruct the Illusion Black Stone he'd brought back, referencing the Resurrection Stone.
And then—
His magic wand swept through the air, and invisible power seemed like a pair of giant hands. The stones before him, which looked impossibly hard, revealed unexpected fragility under the touch of magic.
One small stone after another, each the size of a pinky, was "pried off," then with the influence of magic, their forms were corrected, transforming into nearly identical replicas of the Resurrection Stone.
Faint patterns gradually surfaced on the stones, as if bestowed with life, gently weaving and intertwining, finally settling into an ancient, mysterious symbol—the very mark of the Resurrection Stone.
"Ding~"
Ian, feeling a twinge of pain, used his other hand to toss several Golden Galleons like marbles. As they flew through the air, Ian's will transformed them into flowing liquid, enveloping the modified stones, shaping them into "Resurrection Stone" rings one by one.
Of course—
These rings were all fake, mere crafts with no magic power. Ian's idea was that if he couldn't successfully extract the specific alchemy formula he needed, he'd try to replicate every detail from the Resurrection Stone, producing a batch of utterly counterfeit "Ring of Resurrection Stone."
Maybe this way he could get the "anchor object" he wanted?
"Anyway, these knock-offs definitely aren't the God of Death's property anymore, but who knows whether the things I've replicated still have the Resurrection Stone's true power and attributes."
Ian knew full well this was a wildly fanciful plan.
Like Nuwa creating humans—Nuwa could whip clay and turn it into humans, but anyone else whipping clay would probably just end up with a pile of weird clay figurines.
Same logic—as for the alchemy inscriptions on the Resurrection Stone, maybe only the God of Death could grant them power. If so, even if Ian deciphered their secrets, it'd be tough to use them for himself.
"Lady Ravenclaw's given me a real headache… Still, I've got to try every possible method, not just for the Patronus Charm but for my alchemy, too." Ian gazed at the finished rings resting in his hand—seven rings identical to the Resurrection Stone Ring, each shimmering with mysterious hues.
He thought besides getting Teacher Morgan's permission, he could also try anchoring Ariana. Ariana died young, poor girl—if she were willing to return to the human world, that'd count as a good deed on Ian's part, letting Ariana make up for her early death and give her another look at the lively world.
"If Ariana becomes a Patronus, she's actually quite powerful, maybe even stronger than Teacher Morgan in some ways. Summoning Ariana is almost like summoning magic Dumbledore." Ian mused that with Ariana's help, he could totally have Dumbledore conjure Fire God's Path to heat up his foot bath.
Now that's a damn enjoyable treat.
"Trying to bully an old man, just as Aurora said, I really am a bit wicked!" Ian acted like he was only now realizing something so obvious.
He put the seven knock-off Resurrection Stone rings together with the genuine ring into his Money Bag, then took out Slytherin's Pendant Box to study the alchemical structure and inscriptions. After all, Salazar Slytherin created it to work with the Resurrection Stone, so it must hold some useful "anchor" knowledge.
"This is structure and alchemy a person can actually understand!" Ian carefully peeled back the Pendant Box's surface, and sure enough, found hidden alchemy craftsmanship nestled between the patterns.
It used ancient alchemy techniques, but Ian specialized in ancient alchemy himself, so he wanted to see if he could figure out what he needed on his own.
If he could—
Why bother with the Resurrection Stone's cryptic runes?
"Tick, tick, tick~"
Time ticked by, second after second.
In the warm common room, Ian pulled out a fragment of Morgan the Witch's dress, referencing the knowledge on it as he studied. He worked late into the night at the table before the fireplace, lamp lit and determined.
Outside the window—
The cold temperature had dropped below freezing.
The storm still raged.
Lightning, like sharp silver longswords, slashed again and again through the pitch-black clouds, occasionally illuminating the world like daylight. In those fleeting flashes, the outline of the Forbidden Forest emerged through the misty rain, like a giant beast slumbering and crouched low, or perhaps countless hidden eyes watching Hogwarts's tranquility.
In these hours when most people were dreaming—
Each time lightning split the night sky, illuminating Hogwarts, it also lit up some hidden corners deep within the Forbidden Forest, secrets cloaked by ancient trees rendered naked to the lightning's glare.