Hogwarts Card System.

Chapter 39 Professor Quirrell and Ms. Grey

Today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class teaches how to deal with water ghosts!

This thing is not a local product, but appeared after the intersection of the stars. It usually appears near the water, is blue or green, has skin like a toad, has mucus and fins on its body, has scales on some parts, and has webbed hands and feet and sharp claws.

This thing eats meat and humans, and eats both living things and carrion. It is good at attacking and swimming, and has great strength in the water, making it very dangerous.

This thing is much more dangerous than Grindylow.

Although grindylows live in water and have attacked humans, their main diet is small fish and shrimp, and the main danger is being scratched or drowned by being dragged underwater.

But water ghosts are real cannibals! Their fighting power is much stronger. And usually there will not be only one of them.

"If you, you guys encounter a water ghost... you must, you must be careful not to be pulled into the water. Otherwise, you will die, you will definitely die! Maybe a water monster repelling spell is a good idea, if the distance is far enough..."

Professor Quirrell stuttered as he explained the knowledge to his students.

However, he was really unpopular. Except for a few students who took notes seriously, the other students were daydreaming like a duck listening to thunder and did not pay any attention to what he said.

But at least some people listened carefully. Hermione and Ted both keenly caught Professor Quirrell's key words: "Water Monster Repelling Spell".

Hermione immediately raised her hand.

"Ms. Granger."

"Professor, what is the water monster exorcism spell?"

"Oh, water monster exorcism, banishment spells... those are banishment spells taught only in fourth grade, very difficult, very difficult..." Professor Quirrell was always perfunctory and had no intention of giving special treatment to students, which was one of the reasons why he was unpopular.

Other professors are willing to teach something extra, but Professor Quirrell? It seems like he's just here to get paid!

Ted raised his hand.

"Mr. Epiphani."

"Professor, have the water ghosts mutated or evolved since they came to our world? Have they created new species like native aquatic monsters like Grindylow?"

Ted was also trying it. After all, he had seen Professor Quirrell's paper on the hybridization of magical beasts' bloodlines in Hagrid's magazine before.

Ted clearly saw a gleam of light in Professor Quirrell's eyes, and even his demeanor changed for a moment.

"Oh, this is a very profound question. Maybe I can talk to you about it after class..."

Professor Quirrell rarely kept the students after class and discussed with Ted for nearly ten minutes about issues such as magical animals, the innate abilities of magical creatures, and bloodline inheritance.

To be honest, although Professor Quirrell is secretive, it seems that he has done in-depth research in this area!

If he hadn't been conducting some secret hybridization experiments, Ted would have roasted and eaten the three-headed dog!

Hermione was very unhappy about being kept after class: Why can't you let me listen too?
Ted had to explain to her: After all, it's not appropriate for Professor Quirrell to discuss the topic of blood hybridization with a lady, right?
After this breakthrough, Professor Quirrell seemed to appreciate Ted. He no longer viewed him as an ordinary good student who was good at studying, but as someone who could give him guidance and discussion in his field of expertise.

Well, if Professor Quirrell didn't have a face on the back of his head, Ted would have liked to suggest that he go to the Muggle world to study genetics.

……

It was late at night. Ted lay in bed, his consciousness gradually sinking into deeper darkness. As countless chaotic thoughts converged, a more solid feeling emerged in his heart...

He has been trying to "meditate" these days!
It was mainly inspired by a psychology book I brought to school.

"The Secret of the Golden Flower", a work by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

When studying psychology, Jung is a figure that cannot be avoided.

After his break with Freud, he fell into self-doubt.

Later, under the guidance of a German who was proficient in Sinology, he read and studied ancient oriental works.

And this book is the process of his research on the profound "collective unconscious".

The so-called "golden flower" is actually the Taoist "Taiyi Jinhua", which is the golden elixir.

The Eastern books that Jung studied at the beginning were "Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi" and "I Ching" written by Lü Dongbin...

In Jung's understanding, the secret of the golden flower is also the secret of the human mind and the secret of man's true inner life.

Jung said in the conclusion of his commentary: "My aim has been to establish a bridge of psychological understanding between East and West ..."

Without mentioning Jung's understanding of Eastern inner alchemy and life, this book did give Ted an idea.

That is meditation!
India has meditation and yoga; China has Zen and sitting in meditation... Their purpose is to enter a special mental state and feel the existence of consciousness itself.

Psions progress by developing their inner selves, strengthening their beliefs, and tempering their minds.

I feel that meditation is of great help to me.

In his previous life, he had read and listened to a lot of related materials and videos, especially some sleep aids... but he didn't know if they were useful.

No, now I’m trying it.

After a few days, the effect was very good. The feeling of consciousness gradually deepening, then leaving the body and spreading to the surroundings, or exploring inward was quite wonderful. There are many ways to say this, such as inner vision, brain vision, and spiritual vision.

As a psychic, Ted is able to keenly sense the difference and guide the mind and spirit to pursue the right path.

And today's attempt was particularly smooth.

His spiritual consciousness had penetrated the walls of the dormitory and even spread through the corridor to the common room.

He sensed one presence here, no! Two.

"Who's there?" whispered Lady Grey, who was remembering her mother in front of the bust of Ravenclaw.

Ted's consciousness tried to communicate with her: "Ms. Grey?"

"Is that you? Ted Epifani? What magic are you using to communicate with me? Where are you?" Although Ms. Grey was already a ghost, she was still frightened by the elusive Ted.

Ted: "Wait a minute, I'll be right there."

Ted came into the common room in his pajamas, holding a fluorescent wand.

Now there was only a faint glow from the stars and moons decorating the walls and ceiling, as if one were in a meadow in the wild.

"Good evening, Ms. Grey," Ted greeted.

Ms. Grey nodded, "Hello."

In fact, this was not the first time the two had met. When Ted played the piano, she would always listen nearby, and Ted would always notice her.

Ms. Green was very curious about how Ted had just spoken to her, "What kind of magic did you use to talk to me just now?"

Ted explained, "I was doing some spiritual exploration, and I just did it accidentally."

Ms. Grey's expression was a little serious: "Spiritual exploration is not a trivial matter. I think you should study for a few years before trying it."

"That's right," Ted replied. If it weren't for the profession of a psion, Ted would not have touched such a thing that could absorb the mind before the fifth grade, because it would be very dangerous.

"Ma'am, you are here for..." He changed the subject.

"Ghosts are always free, I..." Ms. Grey hesitated, and the perfunctory words came to her lips, but she didn't say them.

She knew a little about the boy in front of her, especially his piano playing. He was like an old friend she had never met.

She suddenly didn't want to lie to him, perhaps because she had kept many things in her heart for too long.

"I am here to pay my respects to Lady Ravenclaw..." she said.

Seeing that Ted didn't say anything and didn't ask any more questions, she reached out to touch the statue, but her hand could only pass through it.

"She, I mean Ms. Ravenclaw, she is my mother. My name is not Grey..." As soon as she said this, Ms. Grey seemed to relax.

"My name is Helena, Helena Ravenclaw."

Ted nodded, waved his wand, pulled a chair over, and sat in it.

"I got it."

"Did you guess it?!" Gray, oh, Ms. Helena said in surprise.

"Yes. You can't be Lady Jane Grey, the poor lady died at the age of sixteen, less than five hundred years ago. But you were here before Nearly Headless Nick came to the castle..."

Everyone in the castle thought that Lady Grey was Jane Grey, Queen of England, who was deposed nine days after the Tudor dynasty ascended the throne and beheaded the following year by Queen Mary Tudor, known as "Bloody Mary".

But Jane Grey was secretly executed in the Tower of London at the age of 16. It has not been years yet.

So the ghost lady in front of us is not Jane Grey. She is Helena Ravenclaw.

"You..." Helena wanted to say something but didn't.

She thought of the handsome and talkative boy from more than 40 years ago. He had deceived her at that time!

But she felt that the little boy in front of her was different from the boy who had deceived her.

Ted and Helena chatted for a long time, and before they knew it, Helena talked about her stupidity and regrets in the past. There was also the loneliness of wandering endlessly in this castle, which was a despair with no end in sight...

Ghosts are not a good way to preserve consciousness, but the wandering of souls who dare not or are unwilling to continue. And Helena has been wandering for nearly a thousand years.

It was not until the sky was almost bright that Helena realized that she had wasted too much of the other person's time. The other person needed to sleep.

Ted smiled and said, "Don't worry about me. I can fall into a deep sleep and it will only take about an hour."

He said goodbye and walked upstairs slowly. Suddenly he stopped and said to Helena who was about to walk through the wall: "By the way, Helena. Maybe I shouldn't say it, but at that time I felt that there was another person in the lounge besides you..."

"There is another existence?" she muttered.

"Yes." Ted pointed to the bust of Ms. Ravenclaw. "Maybe there is something hidden in it, or maybe it's my illusion."

(End of this chapter)