Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 410, Section 408: Face-to-Face Communication
Hogwarts has magic that prevents Apparition, so they cannot return to Hogwarts anytime soon.

So, just like when they set out, they arrived at the road leading to Hogsmeade.

All around was silent; the night was very dark, with only a few streetlights and a few lit windows on the upper floors visible.

"Did we complete the mission brilliantly?"

Dumbledore said that when he touched Sheehan's arm with his wand, the still-bleeding wound healed considerably.

Just as they had anticipated, the cave was filled with Voldemort's magic, which he craved to torment intruders, hence the wounds that bled incessantly.

"Ah."

Sheen looked up and saw the brilliance of a star shining; he recognized it as Jupiter.

"Let's go. Hopefully, Mrs. Pomfrey is still awake..."

Dumbledore led the way onto the path lined with purple flowers.

Following the winding path, the wilderness and fields around Hogsmeade came into view.

There are only a few small wooden houses here, but they come with a large garden.

They walked down the mountain, the path back to Hogwarts hidden in its shadow.

Is there anything you want to give me?

Dumbledore, holding Sheen's hand, suddenly spoke with a smile.

Sheen nodded, and his wizard's book unfolded in an instant, spitting out a peculiar little gadget.

Looking at the lens in his hand, Dumbledore's smile slowly froze:
"This is……"

he asks.

"Magic Hand Mirror. It can initiate calls regardless of distance. It is a variant of the two-way mirror and supports up to seven people talking at the same time."

It can be discussed face-to-face, or it can be heard only.

Sheen explained it in detail.

"Oh, not bad, very good."

Dumbledore took the mirror, and a miniature version of Sheen quickly appeared in it.

He looked at the book in the mirror until the mirror, like a lake, rippled, and then Little Sheen closed the book.

The real Sheen soon appeared in the mirror.

"If you have anything to say now, you can say it directly, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Sheen "hung up" the hand mirror, and in his mirror, the miniature Dumbledore, who had stopped eating lemon Olaf, started eating candy again.

This was designed by Sheen to showcase the actions during the call phase. It uses some principles from magical photographs. All it takes is to change the internal magic circuit from automatic triggering to triggering through different stages of the call via the hand mirror.

Meanwhile, Little Sheen started reading again.

"what--"

This discovery greatly intrigued Dumbledore.

He looked at the figure in the mirror:
Minerva McGonagall has transformed into a tabby cat licking its own fur; Severus Snape is brewing a potion; Flitwick is preparing to climb onto a platform made of stacks of books…

"Oh, what an interesting creation."

The hand mirror rippled, indicating that Dumbledore had clearly dialed something again.

"Is Minerva asleep?"

He seemed to be talking to himself, but his gaze was fixed on Sheen.

"The remaining orders haven't been delivered yet..."

Sheen explained.

"...This is a rare occurrence, and I must explain it to you. Perhaps there are others who are even more eager for it than I am."

Dumbledore was somewhat surprised.

"I was pulled into the principal's office by you."

Sheen finished speaking. The air quickly fell silent, so silent that even the shouts of the patrons in the distant Pig's Head Bar could be heard.

"Let's go, let's get back to Hogwarts quickly."

Dumbledore seemed to have asked nothing at all, and even stopped trying to inquire about Sheen's locket.

They passed through the dark, winding alleys they had previously traversed, the evening breeze brushing against Sheen's ears.

Butler Pukchi was inside the half-open Wizard's Book, guiding the animals to where they were supposed to be.

"Let's go, let's go, little heroes, you have accomplished a great mission!"

Sheehan could hear Will talking excitedly to himself.

"You gluttonous pig!"

Then Sheen heard a loud crash and the warthog's pitiful gurgle.

Voldemort's potions were designed to inflict extreme pain on wizards, while the potions Sheen took from the vault were meant to make those who drank them feel exhilarated, joyful, and hallucinatory.

Therefore, aside from the possibly unpleasant taste of the medicine, the animals were actually perfectly fine, according to Sheen's examination.

“Hogwarts has Apparate protection against Pukcher, but the Caverns don’t… I’m glad you noticed that.”

Dumbledore's voice slowly rose.
"Of course, Voldemort looked down on house-elves and the like, just like many pure-blood wizards... They would never have imagined that elves might possess magic that he did not have."

He placed a corpse at the bottom of the lake, but the corpse had nothing to fear, just as the darkness had nothing to fear.

But Voldemort didn't think so; he was definitely secretly afraid of both of these things.

He has once again exposed his lack of wisdom. When faced with death and darkness, we fear only the unknown, nothing more.

As Dumbledore's voice drifted slowly, they finally returned to the familiar Hogwarts Castle.

Before Mrs. Pomfrey could rest, Sheehan was also unusually found lying in the school hospital.

Voldemort has always gone further than any other wizard in the branch of magic called curses.

Even Dumbledore couldn't completely remove the weakness caused by the curse, and Madam Pomfrey was even more surprised to ask Sheehan where he had been injured—she had never seen such a terrible curse before.

Madam Pomfrey forbade Sheehan from leaving the ward, and for a week he had to cooperate in removing the curse.

Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and said he had granted him two weeks' leave.

The holiday did not actually affect Sheen's studies.

Since the creation of the Wizard's Book, many of Sheen's learning tasks have been completed in the Wizard's Hut.

The only slightly unpleasant thing is that his magic hand mirror can only be delivered through Bai Yi.

As for the locket...

Sheen took it out and placed it in the enchanted box in the wizard's hut.

His plan was progressing steadily. Once he got the locket, he could use it as a bargaining chip to get Kreacher to help him find the real locket.

As for how to find Kreacher, that's up to Harry...

The school hospital is always quiet.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on the locket around the little wizard's neck and on his cheeks.

It looked like a layer of salt had been sprinkled on it.

Occasionally, injured Quidditch players would let out low screams, and there would be clicking sounds from the constant coupling of equipment.

The mist rose slowly, and as the thin mist enveloped each and every hospital bed...

Sheen opened his bright eyes.

It seems...it's time...

He has a lot to do at the border today—

A conversation with Headmaster Dumbledore… exploring the influence of the yarn at the Castle Cat Club… and most importantly, Lady Ravenclaw…

　To all our dear readers:
　　I caught a cold and need to take a day off. I'll be working three nights a week starting in January.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)