Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 90 89: Mara's true form! Face to face with Snape!
As Ariana's identity is revealed.

The identity of teacher Mara is the biggest mystery that troubles Ian.

Just like his other good friend Pandro in the hazy fantasy, he could not find any clues about the identities of the two people in either the Nameless Bookstore or the Hogwarts Library.

There is no such thing in history.

It is not found in any biographies or even fairy tales.

The only thing that is certain is that both of them lived before the establishment of Hogwarts, which can probably be verified from the student list of Hogwarts over the past thousand years.

Of course, it is not ruled out that both of them have forgotten their own names, but from the teaching methods of Teacher Mara and the behavior of Pandro, it is not difficult to see that they may live in the same era.

Early Middle Ages.

This should be the thing that Ian is most certain of.

After all, Silly Barnabas commented that Ian's style of doing things after learning from the witch Mara was similar to that of the ancient Wandering School, and the witch Mara and Pandro had no impression of Hogwarts and other magic schools. If a wizard came from an academic school, the memory of his student days would probably be one of the most unforgettable memories.

All signs indicate that Teacher Mara and Pandro were active much earlier than Hogwarts, so Ian didn't really hold out much hope of finding clues to their identities.

Anyway, the journey from the misty fantasy is a new beginning. There is no point in Ian's thorough exploration. It is not a bad thing to just remember the bond they established in the misty fantasy.

This is what Ian convinced himself after searching in vain.

however.

He didn't expect that when he didn't plan to spend time and effort looking for it, the clue about Teacher Mara's identity would appear in front of him in such an unexpected way that made him sigh.

"These are the books I want to borrow, thank you, Ms. Pince." Ian watched Mrs. Pince complete the borrowing registration with a slightly impatient mood.

"Keep them carefully. Since most of the books in the restricted area contain magic, many of them are unique copies that cannot be reproduced. Losing any one of them will be a great loss to us." Madam Pince carefully recorded the name of each book, and then even took out a few sheets of school wrapping paper to carefully wrap up the books Ian borrowed.

She is indeed the kind of person who cherishes books very much. "Although I believe you won't do that, I still want to remind you not to eat while reading. If I find that you have some food residue on your food, even if Dumbledore comes, I will punish you severely."

The feather duster in Madam Pince's hand was extremely intimidating, awakening Ian's long-forgotten memories of his past life. He shuddered and immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"I promise to take care of them like my own underwear," Ian promised solemnly, and without anyone noticing, he borrowed his good roommate persona.

I guess William wouldn't care if he knew it, and might even feel a little proud and happy about it?
"very good."

Mrs. Pince was very satisfied with Ian's attitude. She handed the wrapped books to Ian. Ian picked up the books and ran towards the library door.

"?????"

Looking at Ian's hurried look, Madam Pince suspected that she had forgotten to register the name of a book, so that the little wizard felt the need to escape quickly before she could react.

"Let me quickly see your secret identity, my dear enlightenment teacher!" Ian returned to the dormitory which was usually empty at noon, and couldn't wait to grab the ancient book.

Mind Control: From Legilimency to Soul Stealing

From the title of the book, we can tell what is contained in it. It is definitely not something a good wizard should learn. The witch Mara is probably not a white wizard just as Ian feels.

"The author's name... is a little blurry... the gold-plated handwriting has almost all fallen off." If Ian could find the information he wanted on the cover of a book, he certainly didn't need to wait until the book was borrowed back. He didn't feel disappointed or regretful, after all, he could tell from the first page that the author of the book was not the witch Mara herself.

Just as Madam Pince said, there is magic in some books, and this book is no exception. When Ian opened the first page, he seemed to hear an old female voice in his ears.

She is telling.

Her and her story.

[When I was her apprentice, I always thought that I was the one who was not noticed, because my fragile and pitiful self-esteem always affected me, making me feel dissatisfied and jealous of her and her other apprentices. This also caused me to be unable to open my heart as she wished in the process of learning magic. ]

[Who wants to let others see their ugly heart? My teacher is always so brilliant and dazzling. Even my beauty, which I have always been proud of, seems to be eclipsed in front of her.]

[The longer I stay with her, the more inferiority and jealousy I feel. I know that I will never be a witch as outstanding and powerful as her.]

[Dark thoughts grew in my heart. Perhaps I could attribute them to the influence of magic, but deep down I knew that I had always been such a despicable person.]

[From my elder sister to my younger sister, I envy anyone who is better than me. Even if it is someone like her whose back I cannot see, I will still be angry that I am not favored by God.]

[Looking back now, I have much more to reflect on than just this, but the thing I can't let go of and forgive myself for is that I stole her favorite treasure when I chose to betray her.]

【That mirror.】

[We don't know why she loves the mirror so much, but she always keeps it in her bedroom, and from time to time she would sigh that the mirror has the power of miracles.]

[It is just a talking mirror that can reflect some things. If you master the method, you can see the truth, and if you don't use the method, you can see the desire in your heart. ]

How can this be called a miracle?

[I may never figure this out in my life, but when I was young, I was sure that the mirror might be the reason why she was so much more powerful than other witches.]

[Jealous, twisted, crazy, I stole it and betrayed her, I was smug that I was smarter than everyone else, and I thought I could escape to a place where she would never find me.]

【Go far away. 】

[I married a man I didn’t love. I only loved his wealth and power. He could give me enough resources to become the powerful witch I wanted to be.]

[This is probably destined to be a tragic life for me. Since leaving my homeland, I have been using my husband's rights to find out whether I have been hunted by her.]

[Of course, the mirror also helps me. When I ask who is the most beautiful woman in the world, the mirror always reflects what she looks like and where she is.]

[At the time, I thought that the chaotic times were my luck, because she probably didn’t have time to deal with me, and I lived a stable life for a long, long time.]

[Until... the news of her death came. I think I should have been waiting for this day for a long time, but what I saw in the mirror made me depressed for quite a long time.]

[Sadness bothers me, and memories of the past always come to my mind from time to time. I think I have never forgotten the time and years I spent learning magic from her.]

[Only there, I am not facing a husband who covets my beauty, nor a stinking Muggle who hates and fears my magical power. She may be the only sincere person I have ever met in my life.]

[After realizing this, I felt extremely regretful. I held onto my luck every day, hoping to see her again in the mirror, hoping that this was all just a plot to paralyze me while she was hunting me down.]

[If that were the case, I would feel much better. However, every morning I would ask the mirror this question, but I only saw myself in the mirror, the person I had imagined countless times.]

[I should be smiling happily, yes, I should be... maybe she just wants to help me, she is that kind of person, how could she die as powerful as she is?]

[That was the teacher who taught us how to make the immortality potion! ]

[I asked myself this question every day, and I comforted myself like this every day, until my husband's increasingly beautiful daughter replaced me as the answer given to me by the mirror.]

[This shattered the only remaining fantasy in my heart! How could she be worthy of being the daughter of a lustful man! Anger and madness completely eroded my sanity during this period.]

……

There is also a very long monologue by the author at the end.

Perhaps it was because his emotions were still hard to control when he was writing this book. From the tone and intonation of the voice beside his ears, Ian could easily tell that this was an old witch who wanted to record what she had learned from her teacher to prevent the inheritance from being cut off. It was a thorough analysis of her life when she thought of her teacher.

"Why does the story sound so familiar?" Ian frowned. Of course he could tell that the "she" the author was talking about was probably Mara, the witch in the fantasy world.

According to the backup, the author of this book should be my senior schoolmate? No, strictly speaking, it should be my senior schoolmate. When my senior schoolmate was old, she recorded the knowledge she had learned from her teacher.

As for why the cover features the witch Mara, it is probably the author's final remembrance of his teacher - Ian also felt a little complicated after the voice of the book's preface disappeared.

after all.

The more he listened to the author's past in the preface, the more familiar it seemed to him.

"Kuroyukihime's beautiful white stepmother is actually my great senior sister!?" Ian finally came to his senses. No wonder the author's monologue gave him such a strong sense of déjà vu.

He really didn't expect that the fairy tales of Muggles were actually a history of wizards. Absurd? Weird? Dreamlike? Ian didn't know how to describe his feelings for a moment.

"Teacher Mara, what kind of students are you bringing up..." Ian knew some truths about the past, but this obviously still did not answer his inner doubts.

The back of this book "Mind Control: From Legilimency to Soul Stealing" is basically all about knowledge in the spiritual realm. It is a detailed training and learning method that starts with the magic of Legilimency and then steps in to become a master of the spiritual realm. It can be seen that Senior Sister Cheap had already become a master-level witch when she wrote this book.

only.

Ian was not in a hurry to learn the contents. After all, he could learn these things at any time. He just kept turning the pages and trying to get the information he wanted from them.

Finally, when the book was about to end, Ian, who was about to curse God for playing a joke on him and disgustingly faked a trick on him, found the answer he wanted.

[It was not until I was about to die that I finally mustered up the courage to write this book for her.]

[She taught me a lot, and even before I betrayed her, she had already guided me in the direction of my life. I cannot bear to sink into the grave with this knowledge.]

[Perhaps I am no longer qualified to call myself her apprentice, but please forgive my selfishness for the last time. I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my teacher, Morgan Le Fay.]

[On the path you have paved, your humble apprentice can only go so far... I hope we can meet in the Soul Land, and I hope the ravens of the Soul Land can bring me to your side. ]

Last few pages.

Another long monologue from the author.

Confession is the main theme of the monologue.

But Ian finally found the truth in these words.

"Morgan Le Fay!"

Ian was horrified. Although he had been prepared for the fact that Teacher Mara was a bad witch, he obviously did not expect that his teacher could be so bad.

Wizards also have levels.

Perhaps Albus Dumbledore has already gone down in history, but it is clear that this headmaster has not yet become a true legend, while Morgan le Fay has already become a legendary black witch in the history!

Ian has been in the magic world for quite some time, so how could he not know about the epic story? He really never thought that he would have any contact with the characters in the legend!

"Hiss, Mara...my first teacher, Ms. Morgan, can she really fight with Ms. Ravenclaw?" Ian thought of the sudden thought he had when he was on the island of Rowena Ravenclaw. Originally, he thought his first teacher was just an ancient witch who was lost in history.

Who would have thought this would be the case?

Ian didn't think he was disrespecting the founder of Hogwarts.

He just felt that if the two of them really met, Ms. Rowena Ravenclaw's chance of winning might not be as high as he had previously guessed.

"It has to be me! I just cling to someone so easily!" Ian couldn't wait to enter the hazy fantasy again, to bring Dumbledore's thoughts and expose his teacher's disguise at the same time.

The teacher’s expression will definitely be amazing!
"Hey, there are still several days of cooling-off period, and I don't know if there is any way to shorten this cooling-off period." Ian has never felt that time passed so slowly.

Maybe it’s because all kinds of things happened one after another after he started school?
……

The afternoon class is Herbology.

Nothing unexpected happened.

In fact.

For three consecutive days.

Ian's study life was not affected by any new unexpected events, except that the Defense Against the Dark Arts class was always vacant and there was no teacher to take over the class. It was said that Snape strongly requested to take over the class, but was rejected by Dumbledore because he was too evil and could only teach dark magic but not defense magic.

This was a rumor from Gryffindor, and its credibility was never very high, especially when it involved the Head of Slytherin, the professor most hated by Gryffindor students.

“I love this atmosphere!”

Another morning.

The Dementors and the people from the Ministry of Magic have been evacuated, and the results of the investigation have not been announced to anyone. Professor McGonagall only gave a vague response at the dinner that the young wizards did not need to worry.

Most of the young wizards believed it.

However, Ian and some senior wizards could easily tell from Professor McGonagall's forced smile that the murderer of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher might still not be caught. In the lucky case, the suspect was found, but in the unlucky case, not even the suspect was found.

The so-called no need to worry.

I'm just afraid of causing panic and unrest.

"not my business!"

Finished breakfast.

The morning class was Snape's Potions class.

Ravenclaw still takes classes with the young wizards from Slytherin.

After Michael failed to form a team with the little black girl, he was forced to become friends with William, who had no other friends. Aurora, who had not been seen for a long time, sat in the Ravenclaw area early.

When Ian arrived at the classroom, Aurora nodded to him, used a copying spell to split her "limited edition" textbook, and signaled Ian with her eyes to sit on the empty chair next to her.

"I have a notebook from the Half-Blood Prince. I'll copy one for you next time. The Half-Blood Prince is very powerful. He must be better than the potion master in your grandfather's saint team."

Ian flipped through the copied textbook and compared it with the notebook he had not brought with him. It’s not that Snape surpassed the Potions Master among the Saints in all aspects.

At least in terms of in-depth and easy-to-understand explanations, the notes in Aurora's textbook are easier to learn, while Snape's strength lies in his ability to make modifications to the recipes of different potions.

Perhaps because Snape didn't have as much money as he does now, he could always find cheaper alternatives to many potions that cost more Galleons to prepare. The potency of the potion might even increase instead of decrease.

"Who is the Half-Blood Prince?" Aurora tilted her head in confusion.

"He's a relative of mine who can make potions." Ian might be a little eccentric sometimes, but he obviously understood that revealing Snape's immature history would not end well for him.

"Ah? Isn't Snape your relative?"

Aurora looked puzzled.

Ian's panicked face, looking around and then feeling relieved, was reflected in her heterochromatic eyes. She saw that Ian's hand had already covered her mouth.

"Woooooo~"

Aurora made a confused sound.

"Keep your voice down so he doesn't hear it. I saw him brewing a potion last night when I was on a night tour. It smelled terrible. I felt like it was a stinking potion he was going to use against me."

Ian's voice was somewhat resentful.

Snape had indeed threatened to feed him the worst potion possible.

"You can actually go out at night?"

Aurora's eyes widened in surprise.

"Huh? Are you doubting my character?" Ian now felt that he was even more evil than Aurora. He took out the live point map that he had prepared long ago from his pocket and handed it over.

"what is this?"

Aurora looked at the map where her name was displayed next to Ian's name. There were other small dots on it, but only the names of people near the classroom were displayed.

If the distance is a little further, only a small dot will be displayed, while the names of a group of Hogwarts professors will be marked with a special pattern with constantly moving high brightness.

It seems that each professor has an animal icon. Snape is a bat, Professor McGonagall is a kitten, and Dumbledore is a bee wearing a nightcap.

The painting is somewhat abstract.

But it is not difficult to identify.

“I’ve tried my best!”

Ian understood the strange look in Aurora's eyes.

He defended his painting skills.

"Maybe I can update these patterns later." Ian already has a level 0 [Painting] skill. He only needs to take some time to practice painting to improve his skills.

Breaking away from Picasso and surpassing Li Zhengchu is definitely not a dream.

“Is this a return gift?”

Aurora blinked.

She seemed to be always thinking about the return gift from Ian.

"Of course not. This is the promotional material I gave you. You can keep it for your own use, but you have to promote it in Slytherin, saying that it is a legacy from the mysterious man who must not be named." Ian whispered his own plan. He believed that his false propaganda would definitely have a good effect in Slytherin.

"Really? How did Voldemort's things get into your hands?" Aurora became the first person to be deceived, and no one knew if it was because she trusted Ian too much.

"..."

Ian looked at Aurora with a curious face and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"You are so stupid. Of course I lied to them. I created a false story to help sell the goods... You know, I don't have a good reputation in Slytherin."

"It's different without a nose. Although we don't like people without noses, his legacy from his school days will definitely make those hidden blacks in Slytherin pay a high price!"

"The more expensive you can sell it for, the better. I'll give you 20%... Never mind, let's just give you 10%. You're too young, and I'm worried you won't be able to handle too much money."

Ian said seriously, and finally added, "Qiu Zhang knows a lot of people from other colleges in school, and the dividends I give her are only a fixed rebate of two silver galleons for each map. This map took a lot of time and effort to make, and the materials used are precious, so it must be sold for at least five gold galleons!"

Yes.

Aurora was not the first Paloo that Ian targeted. Miss Qiu Zhang from the same academy was. In fact, Senior Penelope probably knew the most people in the entire academy.

It was a bit risky to ask the prefect to help him sell contraband. Well, maybe the prefect was much smarter than the little wizard, which was why Ian didn't want to ask his seniors for help.

"So that's how it is. This is your cunning. It takes time, effort and precious materials... Ian, you have been bad since childhood." Aurora seemed to wake up after realizing it. She didn't care about the sales dividends that Ian mentioned at all. Instead, she was a little excited because she knew she was going to cheat people.

Her face was flushed.

"nonsense!"

Ian retorted, "I haven't grown up yet."

Looking at Ian who was filled with righteous indignation in front of her, Aurora seemed to suddenly think of something.

"Dumbledore came to see me yesterday."

She felt that there were some things that should not be hidden from her accomplices. "He said he hoped I could become his apprentice, and if he found out you were going to do something bad, he would kill you directly."

Textbook-level reading comprehension skills.

"what?!"

Ian, who had been quite excited, was suddenly stunned.

"What the hell?"

Ian's brain was a little confused. Didn't he have a good chat with Dumbledore last night? Didn't he become Dumbledore's favorite child in Hogwarts?

"Dumbledore is worried that your extraordinary talent will attract a large number of followers, just like my grandfather, so he wants me to become his apprentice and a white devil to suppress you." Aurora always seemed to have her own unique insights on certain things, and her words made Ian feel a little familiar.

"Hiss! Damn it! Old Biden kills two birds with one stone!"

Ian realized what Dumbledore was up to.

But he was still a little indignant.

"Why don't you lock me up in the Hogwarts kitchen and never let me out? Why do you want to kill me?" Ian felt so wronged.

"So, you don't want to be killed?"

Aurora's little face was full of earnest advice. Perhaps, she didn't really have a problem with her reading comprehension, but this was the only way she could think of to guide Ian not to do bad things.

"I shouldn't have stopped Dumbledore from hanging himself!"

Ian was furious.

reply?

photo?

What a shitty reply and photo!
His somewhat exasperated remarks caught Aurora off guard... The little witch widened her eyes in confusion, it was obvious that Ian's reaction did not appear as she expected.

"Dumbledore is going to hang himself?"

Aurora seemed to be unaware.

Before she could ask.

Snape walked into the classroom in a hurry through the door. Just like before, he waved his wand to close the door, blocking the few little wizards who followed him outside.

They are all little wizards from Slytherin.

I didn't expect Snape to have such a selfless side.

"Today I will learn how to make a stimulating potion."

Snape's mental state was not very good, perhaps because he had been brewing potions all night last night. As always, he used a teaching method that was difficult for dull students to understand.

As if he was casually passing by Ian, he stretched out his hand very quickly while telling him the precautions, and pulled a handful of hair from the top of Ian's head.

"It's not over yet!"

Ian didn't dare to confront Snape in class. After all, Snape would really deduct points. He could only glare at him and touch his bulging robe with his hand.

It's just in case.

Since Snape is unkind, you can't blame him for being unjust!

"Okay, now, go get the ingredients to make a stimulating potion. It's such a simple recipe, don't blame me for not reminding you. If you get out of control like you did in the last class again, I will definitely punish you severely."

When saying this.

Snape glared at Singed and Ziggs who were standing at the Slytherin table. The two of them were teaming up again, which made him feel very nervous.

Everyone found the herbs and started to process them. Ian originally wanted Aurora to secretly make two copies, and he would just fan the flames to gain proficiency. However, who would have thought that Snape would keep a closer eye on him than anyone else.

He could only set up his crucible reluctantly.

"The white dandelion leaves need to be cut."

"Mr. Parker, are you sure you are holding a Hoklapu mushroom? Do you want to go see your grandmother?"

"You're brewing potion, not booger! Pour out the disgusting stuff in your pot and brew it again. My Dictamni leaves were ruined by your damn sneeze!"

……

For this potion with healing effects, horkrup juice and difficile leaves are the main ingredients, and the refining process is indeed simple, but some people at the Slytherin table are in a hurry.

"Idiots! You are embarrassing me!"

Snape probably found that the young Ravenclaw wizards who had received private lessons were too skilled. In comparison, the situation in Slytherin made his expression suddenly become ugly.

"Who taught you to squeeze juice like this?"

The more I looked at it, the more I felt something was wrong.

Snape caught a young Ravenclaw wizard working on some materials.

"what?"

The panicked little wizard glanced at Ian secretly and saw that Ian was shaking his head frantically at him. Faced with Snape's pressure, he could only stammer out the introduction that Ian often mentioned in class.

"It's the Half-Blood Prince, Professor."

He didn't know who this name came from, but he only knew that after Professor Ian finished his Potions class, he would lead everyone to express gratitude to their ancestors, Hogwarts, and the Half-Blood Prince.

"Ian Prince!!"

Snape immediately realized the problem when he heard it. He growled in frustration, turned around with a red face, and glared at Ian with the most ferocious look in his life.

Snape had heard that Ian was secretly giving small classes to earn Galleons, but he hadn't expected that Ian actually taught others how to make potions. The most important thing was that he even called out his shameful name while making potions!

Damn bastard!
Don’t you have a name yourself?

"Professor! My potion!"

Ian handed the freshly sealed potion directly to Snape.

His pockets were deflated.

"Heh, although it looks flawless, it's obvious that you didn't really put your heart into it. It's still a soulless, scripted work."

Snape's expression eased a lot when he saw the potion which was of much higher quality than the one in the previous class. However, he still criticized Ian's results as Ian had expected.

"If you can ever understand that you need to put your heart and soul into brewing a potion, then perhaps you will be able to distance yourself from those mediocre fools."

While commenting slowly and with a slightly sarcastic tone, Snape shook the potion and then opened the bottle of potion to feel the scent of the potion.

then.

Ian anticipated Snape's request and carefully made this bottle of potion.

"Scare you to death!"

A soul emerged from it.

Peeves put his face directly against Snape's.

[ps: There is a debt, tomorrow, 1.2]

(End of this chapter)