Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 136 Memory Magic

"If that's what you say, then I'll believe you." Loren muttered silently.

Judging from his ability to decipher the runes on the hand mirror, analyze its capabilities, and repair its surface, Flamel truly lives up to his reputation as an alchemy master; he is very reliable.

With that in mind, Loren bid farewell to Flamel, withdrew from the Book of Fantasy, and planned to write a letter to Hagrid, asking him to keep an eye out for unicorn horns.

Loren lay in bed, opened his eyes, and gazed at the ceiling. He then remembered that Hanhan had gone to deliver a letter to Grandpa Bates and hadn't returned yet.

That doesn't make sense. With that slow delivery speed, the letter should have come back by now.

Why did it take so long for Grandpa Bates to revisit the old place and swim back to the Pacific battlefield?

Unable to find an answer through wild speculation, Loren sighed. It seemed that he could only try to find out about the unicorn when Hanhan returned or when the next semester started.

Outside the window, the night was as still as ink, with stars and moon shining brightly.

In the days that followed, Loren lived with the Grangers. Overall, the atmosphere was very harmonious, with only occasional minor frictions.

It was a sunny morning.

At the desk by the bedroom window, Loren was engrossed in writing and drawing on a book.

He was organizing information on Occlumency, Legilimency, and the Oblivion Charm. Before the holiday began, Loren had planned to learn these spells, but due to the unique nature of his memory, he couldn't practice with anyone and had to find his own way to learn.

Ultimately, it all came down to the learning method that Loren had always adhered to: establishing a comprehensive knowledge system and combining it with his unique intuition talent to practice spells more efficiently.

Loren believed that these three types of magic were all related to memory, and that they must share some commonalities and commonalities in their magical principles.

This conjecture was confirmed after consulting with Flamel. This type of magic was categorized as memory magic.

Human memory is stored in two parts: the brain and the soul.

The memories stored in the brain need no further explanation. Long ago, people discovered that hitting the brain could awaken deep memories. If it cannot be awakened, it may be because the hammering was not forceful enough.

As far as Loren knows, neurons and the hippocampus in the brain are involved in memory.

The memories in the soul are evidenced by the ghosts of Hogwarts, who retain their memories of their previous life even after leaving their bodies.

If we can figure out how memory magic works, it will make learning and practice twice as effective.

The most basic form of Occupy Central involves clearing the mind, not thinking, not recalling, and not feeling, thereby preventing others from reading one's emotions and thoughts. More advanced Occupy Central involves constructing false thoughts, emotions, and memories to create a "false impression."

Using Occlumency requires immense willpower and a high degree of self-discipline, both mentally and emotionally. Occlumency can also affect the effects of Truth Potion and the Imperius Curse.

Therefore, Loren concluded that the Occlusive Therapy not only seals the brain, but also has an effect on the soul.

For beginners, the practice of mind control can be achieved by using eye contact as a medium to observe the other person's thoughts, whether they are lying, and to study their emotions and memories.

Highly skilled wizards employ even more sophisticated techniques; they can easily enter people's minds and even alter their thoughts.

The spell for the Forgotten Charm is "Oblivion," and its effect is to erase a specific memory. This spell was invented by the witch Nemorn Radford, who thus became the Ministry of Magic's first memory eraser.

The Forgetting Charm, designated by the Act of Secrecy, is frequently used to erase Muggles' memories of magic. Former Minister for Magic, Otalene Gamble, decided during his tenure to use the Hogwarts Express as a mode of transport for young wizards traveling to and from Hogwarts. This massive project involved 167 Forgetting Charms and the largest Hidden Charm in British history.

The danger of the Forgetfulness Curse lies in the fact that if the curse is not cast correctly, it may erase important parts of an individual's memory and cause irreversible brain damage.

The forgetting spell is often used in conjunction with the false memory spell. After erasing the original memory, a false memory is implanted, which can better prevent others from noticing the flaw.

In addition, some scholars have suggested that torture with a strong purpose could potentially break the Oblivion Curse. However, because this idea is considered too cruel, the Ministry of Magic has banned related experiments.

The pen nib pressed against the paper, leaving ink that gradually seeped through. Having always used quills at Hogwarts, Loren found it somewhat strange to return to ordinary society and use a fountain pen.

Loren recalled the above information and jotted down the key points in his notebook in crooked handwriting.

"【Palmtops of the Eye】" Hermione's clear voice rang out from behind.

The silver light of the guardian deity flickered behind Loren's head, making it difficult to concentrate.

Loren, who had a slight toothache, said helplessly, "Why do you insist on practicing the Patronus Charm in my room?"

Not just in the bedroom, but no matter where Loren was or what he was doing, Hermione would always be there for him, then she would start her Patronus act, shining like a light bulb.

Hearing the voice, Hermione put away her wand, the silver light disappearing, and said, "I can be wherever I want, and I'm just encouraging you. You should practice the Patronus Charm with me!"

As she spoke, the girl bent down and leaned close to Loren's shoulder to look at his notes.

Loren smelled the fresh scent of lavender on the girl, as well as a floral fragrance he couldn't name, which smelled like the laundry detergent and shampoo she was wearing.

"The Oblivion Charm?" Hermione read aloud, looking at the words in her notebook.

She frowned. "We should learn one spell before moving on to the next. Right now, you should be practicing the Patronus Charm. Your Patronus isn't fully formed yet!"

After returning from camping, both of them made significant progress in their Guardian Deity Spells, as evidenced by the non-physical Guardian Deity's silver light expanding considerably during spellcasting.

Loren replied insincerely, "Yes, that makes sense, that's certainly true."

Hermione looked at the man, patted him on the shoulder, and gritted her teeth, saying angrily, "My Patronus has stopped growing. The next step is to solidify it. I will summon a physical Patronus before you do."

"But my guardian spirit is still growing, how do I know how big it can get?" Loren sighed.

Hermione's Patronus, a silver orb of light, was about the same size as her. But when he fully unleashed the Patronus Charm, the orb was already larger than the tree in the courtyard. It showed no sign of solidifying.

Hermione said in a tone of disappointment, "Then you should practice more."

Loren looked at Hermione's serious expression and felt a headache coming on. This little witch was really stubborn.

"Hermione, Loren! The tea is ready, come down and have something to eat." Monica's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming!" Hermione called out.

The girl put away her wand and skipped and hopped downstairs.

Loren closed his pen, put away his notebook, and followed Hermione's swaying, bouncing braids as he staggered downstairs.

Before the white-lacquered fireplace, a low tea table was laden with a sumptuous spread of pastries: scones covered in cream and strawberry jam, fruit tarts of apples and peaches, and a large mango mousse. Beside the table were four sets of white teacups shaped like violets.

Monica and Wendell sat together, adding tea to their teacups from a teapot of the same style.

Loren sat down, picked up a scone, took a bite, carefully avoiding scattering crumbs everywhere, and before he could even swallow, he started showering her with incoherent compliments.

"These scones are delicious, with a crispy crust and a soft, chewy filling." Loren picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, swallowed, and continued, "Monica, your cooking skills are amazing. Many bakers might not be able to make such delicious pastries."

Wendell and Monica smiled slightly upon hearing this.

But Hermione couldn't hold it in and burst into laughter. Didn't she know her mother? She was alright at cooking, but definitely not at baking; she usually bought her pastries from bakeries.

Hermione tugged at Loren's sleeve, laughing so hard she almost fell to the ground. "These refreshments were bought from outside, not made by my mom, hahaha..."

"It tastes really good," Loren said, letting Hermione tug at his sleeve without flinching, and took another bite of his scone. "What were you two talking about just now?"

The awkward attempt to change the subject backfired, and Hermione laughed even harder. Her lungs weren't strong enough, so her laughter became high-pitched, and she kept pounding the sofa with her hands, "Hehehehe..."

It's rare to see Loren make a fool of himself, which is why Hermione is laughing so hard.

Wendell coughed. "Remember when we were talking about water camping in the car? We ended up talking about Hermione's graduation trip."

"A graduation trip?" Loren adhered to the principle that as long as I'm not embarrassed, no one else will be.

Monica glanced at Hermione, who was laughing so hard her stomach hurt and was trying to suppress her laughter, and said helplessly, "Under normal circumstances, Hermione would have gone to Oxford University or another school she liked after graduating from high school."

Hermione finally stopped, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, and looked at Monica.

Monica continued, "We're planning a long trip abroad the summer she receives her acceptance letter, and we're discussing where to go."

Wendell turned his palm over. "Now, you know, things are different."

The Grangers were quite disappointed that their daughter had gone to magic school and wouldn't be going to college.

"Mom~" Hermione said sweetly, "After I graduate from Hogwarts, we can travel too. Many wizards travel around after graduation and only settle down after a few years."

She leaned closer, pushing aside Wendell, grabbed Monica's arm, and shook it, saying, "Let's go see the kangaroos and koalas you've always wanted to see. How about we go to Australia?"

Monica laughed and pushed her hand away. "If you want to go, just say so. Don't drag me into it."

Hermione hugged her again. "Then I want to see the kangaroos. Will you come with me?"

Monica ignored her, picked up her teacup and took a small sip, a smile she couldn't suppress playing on her lips.

Wendell watched his daughter cling to her mother and act coquettishly, feeling a little jealous. He wasn't sure if he was jealous of his daughter or his wife.

Hermione was only this clingy before she was four years old. As she got older and more sensible, she became more reserved. The situation worsened after she started school, but she loosened up after returning from Hogwarts this time.

Wendell coughed and announced, "We plan to reopen the clinic tomorrow."

Hermione turned her head, staring at him wide-eyed. "Why? Didn't you have two weeks to spend with me?"

Wendell said quietly, "Because you don't spend time with us anymore. You're always dragging Loren to practice magic, and you don't care about your parents at all."

Hermione linked arms with Monica's with one arm and reached out to pull Wendell's arm with the other, saying comfortingly, "I care, I care."

The two were mainly worried that Hermione wouldn't have any friends at school and would be alone at home, which would be bad for her mental health.

But now that Hermione is constantly dragging Loren to practice magic, the Grangers feel that their little darling is no longer keeping them warm and cozy, and they are less worried about Hermione's mental health.

The main reason is that summer vacation has arrived, the temperature is rising, and many patients have damaged their teeth by eating ice cream, so they called to urge them to open for business as soon as possible.

Wendell and Monica discussed it and decided that it was fine to leave the two children at home to play by themselves. From this perspective, they were very grateful to Loren.

Hermione cuddled with the couple for a while, and seeing that they had almost finished eating the pastries, she pulled Loren upstairs again.

In that atmosphere, she noticed that Loren was a little uncomfortable, so she quickly pulled Loren upstairs. Besides, she was also quite interested in the Oblivion Spell.

Wendell and Monica watched their daughter's retreating figure and sighed in unison. Their little darling was letting in the cold.

Upon entering the room, Hermione slid her foot and closed the door behind her, then headed straight for the laptop.

Loren reached out to protect the notebook and said quietly, "Shouldn't you be talking about kangaroos?"

This is the person who was being so affectionate with me, a child from an orphanage who was living in a classmate's house. As a guest, I couldn't be impolite.

"Kangaroo is nothing compared to magic!" Hermione said, tugging at Loren's hand, trying to pull out the notebook.

Loren glanced at her sideways. "You're right, but the Vatican has a permanent population of less than 1000, while Australia alone has 500 million kangaroos."

Hermione froze, sensing that Loren's next words were about to turn out to be off, but still asked, "Oh, so?"

"If kangaroos decide to invade the Vatican, then every Vatican resident will have to fight 5 kangaroos. You don't know, you don't care, you only care about yourself."

"Pfft!" Hermione couldn't help but chuckle.

Then an even stronger laugh welled up from his stomach, and bursts of laughter erupted from his nose and mouth, "Hehehahaha!!"

"You see, you don't care, you only care about yourself," Loren repeated.

Hermione laughed even louder. Her stomach, which had only calmed down for a moment, started hurting again. She lay back on the blanket, curled up, and kept laughing. "One person can take on 5 kangaroos, hahaha—"

Her stomach hurt terribly, and the more she laughed, the more it hurt, but she couldn't stop. She just kept laughing while clutching her stomach, her shoulders twitching from laughing.

May all candidates sail smoothly across the vast ocean, rise majestically on Kunlun Mountain, have a bright future, and may all their efforts be worthwhile.

(End of this chapter)