Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 161 160. Apprentices' Trials and the Centaurs' Traces

The laughter among the apprentices stopped abruptly, and every word Harry said seemed to be a heavy hammer hitting their hearts - no longer a shaman?
Harry demonstrated it very quickly, so quickly that they didn't even have any concrete sense of reality. Especially at the end, the scene of Harry's hair being burnt was somewhat funny and a bit amusing.

But the apprentices never thought that this matter would actually affect whether they could continue to be shamans.

"…If we do this, the elements will break their connection with us?" Davis took a breath, "Will they stop responding to our calls, or will they punish us?"

"What do you think?"

Instead of answering directly, Harry simply pointed to the burnt hair on top of his head.

In an instant, even the dumbest apprentice understood the price of doing so and was secretly afraid of it.

For lower-level apprentices, Shaman means a new kind of magic, a 'noble' magic that most people don't know but they can master. And for higher-level apprentices, Shaman means a new career direction, a new industry, a new position, and a very bright future.

In short, no one would want to be hated by the elements and lose the power of a shaman.

"Then, instructor, you demonstrate these to us - I mean, won't this make you -?" Qiu Zhang spoke stutteringly, and the others could understand what she meant.

"Thank you for your concern, Qiu, but my situation is special," Harry said, shaking his head slightly, "and I am only demonstrating it to you. I will perform a sacrifice in a moment to gain the forgiveness of the elements."

"So, we can't force the elements to do anything for us by using commands or coercion... I originally thought that this was just a moral requirement for us," Penelope said with mixed feelings.

"But I didn't expect it to directly affect the power and results of magic." Hermione continued Penelope's words and said, "This is really... different."

There is no doubt that at this moment these apprentices truly experienced what Harry said in the Daily Prophet not long ago - shaman magic and wizard magic are two completely different kinds of magic.

Two clearly separate systems.

"It's not strange, right?" Cedric said with a smile, "After all, we just need to uphold the equal relationship between ourselves and the elements. We can be friends with them, and no one is nobler than anyone else. I think this is pretty good."

"But does this mean that as long as there is a person who is favored enough by the elements, he can directly command the elements?" asked Zacharias Smith.

"Never! Never have such thoughts!" The moment he heard Smith's words, Harry cast the most severe look at the child, "Such thoughts are the beginning of depravity. Once you waver once, you will waver countless times until you fall into the abyss."

"No matter how good the relationship between you and your friends is, you can't ignore each other's thoughts and feelings. Otherwise, even the deepest friendship will be worn away... Moreover, the nature of the elements is chaos."

And confusion means that you may love something in one second and hate it in the next.

"Yes, mentor, we remember it."

Harry's serious look made the apprentices nervous. They all agreed seriously, even Smith was no exception.

"But, but, mentor...what if we...accidentally make the element angry?"

In the solemn atmosphere, Neville raised his hand tremblingly and asked weakly.

"I mean - well, I, I'm always clumsy. What if I mess up something and make the elements angry...what should I do?" Neville was already sweating with nervousness, especially when everyone else turned their eyes to him, and he swallowed and said.

"The key is always sincerity, Neville," Harry consoled him, "Like I said just now, the elements can feel your soul - they know what you really mean. As long as you don't insult the elements intentionally, then there is probably only one thing you need to do at that time, and that is to apologize."

"Like I apologize to a friend after I screw up?" Neville said in a daze.

"Yes," Harry nodded, "and whether to forgive or not is up to friends themselves."

"So, Mentor—what if it was intentional?" Zacharias Smith asked again.

"It's simple, just pay the price," Harry said calmly without any further explanation.

Facing Harry's gaze, Smith did not ask any more questions, but just shrank back hesitantly.

"According to the courses I have taken, I should have asked you to study the history of shamans carefully first, not only the meaning and responsibilities of this profession, but also the corresponding language... and finally the spells."

This is what a normal shaman apprentice should experience in Azeroth.

It’s a pity that Harry is not in Azeroth now, and the wizard apprentices here don’t have that much time to learn from him.

It's only seven years, and many apprentices don't even have seven years.

"...So, you can only study the language used for spellcasting slowly and diligently. Today, I will lead you to try to establish a connection with the fire element."

"Fire element?!!"

Harry's words undoubtedly caused a commotion among the apprentices. After today's class, especially after Harry's demonstration, these apprentices were actually ready to continue those boring studies... such as Minotaur and Elemental Language, which sounded extremely boring.

They had originally given up the idea of learning something new today, but they didn't expect that at the end, Harry would suddenly ask them to try to establish a connection with the fire element?
The joy of accident!

"But teacher, didn't you say that we are not yet at the stage of mastering the next element?" Hermione seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"It's indeed a bit difficult, but Luna has reached the stage where she can come into contact with the element of fire, so I thought I would just let you all try it," Harry said briskly.

Hermione: "..."

What do you mean?
If Luna hadn't reached her learning progress, the others would have to wait, right?

Harry's words instantly made the other apprentices' eyes fall on the girl who had been sitting on the grass with her knees hugged and looking at Harry from the very beginning.

She seemed to be here, but also seemed to be independent from the grass. Even when Harry called her name, she didn't react much, but just raised her head blankly.

Foolishly.

"Are you going to meet new friends, mentor?" Even though her voice was always light and flirty, Harry could hear a hint of joy in Luna's words.

"Yes, they've been expecting you for a long time," Harry replied softly.

Before becoming Harry's apprentice, it was always the elementals that could see Luna, but Luna could not see the elemental states. After becoming a shaman, Luna could only see the earth element.

But today, she would have some more fiery friends - and Harry had no doubt that Luna would succeed in that.

For Luna, everything that was about to happen might just be the joy of meeting new friends, but for other apprentices, the new ceremony gave them a feeling of trepidation.

Time seemed to have gone back, and they became the people who were worried about whether they could establish a connection with the earth element in the first class...but now they were worried about someone else.

"I think we are ready. What should we do next?" Davis asked excitedly, "Drink another bottle of Spiritual Contract Potion? Is it the turn of the Flame Spiritual Contract Potion this time?" "Spiritual Contract Potion is indeed necessary, but it does not mean that you are fully prepared." Looking at his apprentices, Harry said meaningfully, "A trial is waiting for you."

"Trial?!" Katie Bell said excitedly, "Just like the heroes in those legendary stories, right? Well, like King Arthur, he became king only after he pulled out the sword in the stone."

"The story of King Arthur and Merlin? I loved it when I was a kid." Padma Patil also said excitedly: "So what is our trial? Do we need to go somewhere to pull out something or subdue some demon?"

"Of course not," Harry shook his head and said, "Principal Dumbledore will not allow me to let you do anything dangerous. In fact, your trial is very simple, as simple as going to the table to eat a piece of bread."

"Are you really going to eat bread? Mentor?" Ron straightened his back expectantly.

"...Of course not." Harry looked at Ron speechlessly and continued, "Your trial will be held tonight. Gather here after dinner before it gets completely dark. Don't tell other students, don't attract attention, and keep a calm heart."

"And then? Mentor," Davis asked curiously, "What is the content of the trial?"

"I can't tell you now," Harry refused. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Because I have to get permission from Headmaster Dumbledore first. I'm not sure if he would allow you to experience something that is not life-threatening...dangerous."

Just one sentence made the apprentices nervous, but Harry did not explain further. He just announced that the class would end early and asked them to go home to eat and drink well and rest well, without leaving any regrets - the more he talked, the more terrifying it became!

Without even revealing any information to Hermione and the other two, Harry drove his friends and disciples back to the castle, saying that he had work to do as a professor. Well, because Harry's behavior was obviously to keep people in suspense, Hermione glared at him fiercely, once again accusing him of being mean.

But how could Niu Niu really have any bad intentions?
Watching his apprentices walking towards the castle in groups, Harry suddenly chuckled, not knowing what he was thinking about, and then walked towards the center of the altar.

An entire holiday had passed, and he had to clean the altar carefully, leaving no fallen leaves blown away by the wind between the stones, no dust on the totem poles... and at the edge of the altar, Harry suddenly squatted down and looked at the marks on the ground.

To be precise, they were footprints left after the soil had solidified - that hoof shape, that spacing. Harry would never forget what species had that hoof shape.

Centaur.

Or rather, the horseman.

The centaurs were here? What were they doing here at the altar?
Harry was a little curious, so he checked around again to confirm that the altar had not been damaged or desecrated. He also found more footprints, all of which were centaur footprints.

Apparently there had been some uninvited guests here during the students' summer break.

Shaking his head and putting the matter of the centaurs aside for the moment, Harry piled enough firewood into the brazier in the center of the altar and sat down cross-legged. The next moment, flames ignited out of thin air among the firewood, and the rising flames jumped rapidly, like a person who was cursing and waving his fists.

The heat released by the burning wood, which was more than a person's height, was enough to prevent ordinary people from getting within five yards. However, Harry seemed not to feel it. He just sat cross-legged in front of the brazier and let the flames pass through his cheeks. Surprisingly, there was no smell of burnt hair this time, even though the flickering flames had passed through his temples several times.

It was the elements whispering, and Harry was whispering as well.

Just as he had just warned the apprentices, Harry needed to apologize to the elemental for his words.

"…Sorry, that was just a demonstration…to teach my disciples…"

"...Yes, Luna... You have remembered her name, right? She is my disciple, and she is very talented..."

"...need guidance..."

"...Yes... um... yes, it's just her..."

"…She is different…"

"…Then it's settled…"

I opened my eyes and found that the flame that was dancing in front of me just now had weakened again and was burning quietly.

Harry... uh, made a deal with the Fire Elemental.

Harry, who had never taught a disciple before, was extremely worried about Luna's growth. He was afraid that such a talented child would go astray, so he made this extremely warning demonstration today.

After all, the elements of this world are not the elements of the world of Azeroth. As the elements in the Hogwarts area gradually revived and became active, Harry originally wanted to learn some secrets of the past from the mouths of these elements, but in the end he helplessly discovered that these elements were somewhat... too simple.

When asked about what happened in ancient times, he looked extremely painful, and could not say or remember anything else. Not only did he not help Harry solve any of his doubts, but it even made him more confused.

Apart from anything else, Harry's biggest question at the moment is why the elemental language of the world of Azeroth is also the language used by the elements of this world?

To the elementals in this world, Tauren language is just a very pleasant and comfortable language, but the only thing is the Elemental Language. The elements of this world used the Elemental Language when they communicated smoothly with Harry for the first time, which is no different from the elements in the world of Azeroth.

There are so many mysteries, which makes Harry more and more eager to know what happened in this world in ancient times and what kind of connection it has with the world of Azeroth.

He needs more help.

In any case, after a lot of effort, Harry finally got the forgiveness of the Fire Elemental - maybe it was because they had been silent for too long, but the elements in this world were indeed much easier to talk to than those in the world of Azeroth.

This is true even for the most irritable and violent fire element.

Standing up, ignoring the fire still burning in the center of the altar, Harry turned and walked towards the Forbidden Forest - he wanted to see the centaur.

The Forbidden Forest during the day is much friendlier than at night. After all, many carnivorous or highly aggressive magical animals appear at night, and darkness is the most suitable environment for them to live in.

The warm sunlight penetrated the sparse treetops and sprinkled on the ground covered with fallen leaves. Harry also passed the place where he and Hagrid encountered Quirrell and Voldemort last year. There was no sign of the earth being turned over there. The winding river found its most comfortable position on the new landform and flowed, with dense grass growing on both sides, as if they had always been like this.

In just less than a year, the fight between humans did not even leave a trace on nature.

Following the path that Hagrid had once led him, Harry walked straight to the centaurs' tribe - their former tribe.

They had moved away long ago, leaving no garbage or signs of the centaurs' past life in this clearing in the forest. Perhaps the only evidence was the marks left on the stones, on which various patterns were painted with colored pigments. After years of erosion, only mottled traces remained.

According to Dumbledore's order at the time, the centaur tribe in the Forbidden Forest had moved to a deeper place - so things became even stranger. Why did the centaurs, who had already completely penetrated deep into the Forbidden Forest, appear again at the altar outside the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts?
This was completely against Dumbledore's orders, and Harry was sure that the centaurs actually respected Dumbledore very much, but what made them walk out of the Forbidden Forest?
Kneeling on one knee, Harry raised his head and stared at the sky.

"... O omnipresent wind... Please guide me... Where on earth did the centaurs go..."

There was no clear answer, only a fallen leaf swirled by the wind and flew past Harry's ear. He nodded, said no more, and continued walking towards the northeast.

The centaurs had built a new home, but what made Harry more curious was the words blown by the wind.

They said they would not hide from Harry where the centaurs were now.

They said they would not hide from the centaurs that Harry was looking for them.

(End of this chapter)