The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 230 Two Months! The Imaging Mirror

The tranquil Hogwarts is a picture of timelessness.

Sunlight gently falls, a light breeze caresses the air, and the tender buds of the Beating Willow outside the castle have sprouted in early spring, year after year, as if telling the story of the little wizards.

It was like an exceptionally beautiful dream, so captivating that one didn't want to wake up.

Time flies by, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the valley of the shelter.

A 15-foot-tall ice behemoth was pulling a plow, and behind it were four or five goblins made of the same ice and snow.

Whenever the trolls turned over the ground, these foot-tall goblins would quickly scatter seeds in the soil.

Beneath the olive trees in the valley, Ino sat on the Transfiguration chaise longue, leisurely watching them work.

These giants and goblins may be ugly, but they are excellent at farm work.

As spring approaches, the planting of medicinal herbs in the valley is indispensable.

A valley of over a hundred acres may not seem like much, but it translates to nearly 500,000 square meters of land. Even with magical assistance, cultivating such a large area would be incredibly laborious for one person.

Thus, these ice and snow creatures came into being. By shaping the main body through metamorphosis, and then inscribing alchemical formulas with ancient runes, a clever farming assistant was created.

After watching the farming for a while, Ino turned her gaze away and looked at the notes spread out on her lap.

The notebook, once made from the skin shed by the basilisk, is densely covered with intricate patterns. These are alchemical formulas hidden within the Mirror of Erised and the Two-Way Mirror, illuminated by an oil lamp.

Unlike the Ravenclaw crown, which is constructed using the most primitive runic script, these mirrors display alchemical formulas derived from runes.

This is important because it greatly facilitates research and learning.

While ancient scripture was lost, alchemy was passed down in an orderly manner.

The so-called lost method of making two-way mirrors is merely a lost artifact. Donning the Ravenclaw crown and consulting the alchemy books in the library, he easily deduced and understood the principles of imaging technology.

The procedure as a whole resembles a Muggle's Kozylev mirror, a large, curled-up mirror.

This discovery made Ino increasingly aware of the power of alchemy. Kozyrev was a Muggle scientist and the world's first scientist to propose that time does not exist.

Matter and time can both be warped—this is the most famous conjecture of this Muggle scientist.

This is a highly valuable epistemological argument for research.

Moreover, after understanding the imaging technique of two-way mirrors, he admired this Muggle scientist even more.

Although alchemy touched upon these topics very early on, Kozyrev's achievements went far beyond that.

Before 1983, this Muggle scientist even planned to create a device to warp time, but strangely, he died the day before the experiment was to be completed.

It's a pity the person is gone, but the famous Kozylev Mirror remains. Remarkably, this curled mirror bears a striking resemblance to the alchemical formulas found in the Mirror of Erised.

A very simple example is that the world itself has no color. All the colors we see are the frequencies of light refracted by objects after they are illuminated.

Both alchemical formulas and the Kozylev mirror are based on the geometric shape of the Fibonacci sequence, presenting a spiral form.

Therefore, in this spiral state, people can clearly see the reflected and distorted light. And after the light is arranged and combined, it forms a picture that is visible to the naked eye.

It is indeed complex, but with the wisdom of our predecessors as a reference, everything becomes relatively simple.

With the help of the Ravenclaw crown, Enoch successfully understood and initially replicated the imaging alchemy technique by reading the knowledge of Muggles and wizards.

Thinking of this, he switched to second-person perspective. After the big commotion he caused at the horror park, Boggart had probably undergone a transformation.

In view, the Boggart, which was once like a thin mist, is now carrying a three-foot-long round mirror and flying freely in mid-air.

From above, the entire valley appears serene and beautiful.

The trolls till the land, the goblins sow seeds, and the boy sits under the olive tree reading a book; the whole scene is very harmonious.

It feels as if you've stepped into a classical era, a blend of magic and agriculture.

……

As his thoughts shifted, Boggart slowly descended.

Ino looked at the mirror in her hand with satisfaction; it was the result of two months of hard work.

The alchemical imaging technique, combined with the mind-reading ability of the Mirror of Eris, can clearly present the various scenes seen by the person holding the mirror over a period of time.

It's roughly like a camera with the naked eye; as long as you hold a mirror and can see it, these images will be reflected in the mirror.

Although there are still many areas that need improvement, the emergence of this finished product is already a groundbreaking achievement.

And this achievement seems to have taken only two months.

But he knew very well that this required too many coincidences.

The bronze oil lamp that sees through the fog, the Ravenclaw crown, and the understanding of alchemy and Muggle knowledge are all indispensable conditions.

Ultimately, alchemical imaging techniques have been lost, and without an oil lamp, it is difficult to discover the complete surgical procedures.

Of course, violent demolition might be an option, but it would require countless samples as a price.

What's most lacking in things that have been lost is precisely the availability of samples.

……

March is approaching.

As temperatures rise, Hogwarts is gradually recovering.

Outside the castle, the barren lawns of winter have been revitalized, and the lush green grass is a feast for the eyes.

However, during this time, people were surprised to discover a strange phenomenon. Enoch Swinburne, the star student of Slytherin, was carrying a mirror around all day.

Whether it's the noisy auditorium, the astronomical tower, or even the portraits in the corridors, the library, the Black Lake outside the castle, or Hagrid's cottage...

In short, this strange phenomenon has lasted for two whole days.

It was evening.

After completing her panoramic photoshoot of the castle at sunset, Ino returned alone to the common lounge.

Unlike the usual hustle and bustle, he was met with an eerie silence upon entering the common room.

"Are you alright? These past two days, everyone's been saying you've been cursed," Draco asked with some concern.

This wouldn't have been a big deal originally, but bored people spread it. Perhaps people were just curious on the first day, but after they continued to wander around with mirrors on the second day, various versions of rumors began to circulate freely in the castle.

"Thank you for your concern! I'm fine." Ino looked around.

All he could see were pairs of concerned eyes, which made him feel inexplicably moved.

Draco, Pansy, Daphne, and even Goyle and Flint... Who says Slytherins are cold-blooded? The little snakes just have a high threshold for making friends.

"Since everyone is so curious, let's take a look at what I've accomplished these past two days, so that no one will say I'm cursed anymore."

As he spoke, he waved his wand, and a five-foot-tall ice and snow support slowly rose up.

The mirror was tilted against the shelf, and after a brief delay, an image slowly appeared in the previously empty mirror, accompanied by soothing music.

"It's an astronomical tower!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, but was quickly silenced by those around them.

In this situation, any external noise is unnecessary.

(End of this chapter)