Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 33 A mental spa can't compare to the beating of homework.

Loren spent some time reading the reading list Snape had given him. He might not need to improve his relationship with Snape anymore, but having already read so much, he felt he'd be missing out if he didn't finish it.

The theory of potions is like a hodgepodge, involving the extraction of a single ingredient from a certain material, much like Muggle chemistry, which believes that the active ingredient in some herbs is a special component.

Using the juice of beans, soaking some plant stems in alcohol, and distilling the active ingredients in certain liquids are similar to the chemistry Loren had previously studied.

Some things are used for symbolic purposes; day and night are different, a full moon and a crescent moon are different, and dew that has been exposed to sunlight is different from dew that has been exposed to moonlight.

When stirring a boiling pot, if you are told to stir clockwise, you can only stir clockwise. If you stir it up and down or left and right, it may cause an explosion.

Magic follows some objective laws, yet it also breaks others. Loren didn't want to delve into it; the answers to these questions might remain forever.

……

That evening, Harry, Ron, and Neville returned to their dormitory together, and they looked very happy.

Loren grinned mischievously: "Harry, how was practice this afternoon? Did Wood have you pretend to be a Quaffle?"

Harry blushed slightly, realizing that standing someone up all morning was indeed unethical: "Fortunately, the other players were all very friendly."

Wood was indeed very angry, but with Angelina's comforting presence and the banter from George and Fred, his anger was somewhat appeased, and he patiently allowed Harry to begin his normal training.

Harry felt guilty and tried his best to perform, flying around the field on his broomstick and disrupting everyone else's movements.

Wood saw Harry's exceptional talent for flying, but he also saw that Harry truly knew nothing about Quidditch.

The sight of Harry running around and being scolded by others made Wood both annoyed and amused, but in the end he still gave Harry some proper guidance.

Once things were on track, the team atmosphere was great, and Wood was even happier. He felt that with Harry as their secret weapon, winning the Quidditch Cup this year was not impossible.

Encouraged, or rather, egged on by Ron, Neville also mounted his broomstick and tried to fly for a while, but his feet were almost touching the ground, and he was not much faster than Ron walking beside him.

Neville stammered as he recounted his flying experience from bed, his smile never fading: "I... I flew right past Ron, oh, you have no idea what happened! I almost crashed into him..."

Everyone had changed into their pajamas, except for Harry, who was still wearing his coat and hadn't gone to bed.

Ron turned around and saw what was happening, letting out an incredulous scream: "You're not going to go for a nighttime stroll to look at that mirror again, are you?!"

"Count me in!" Upon hearing this, Simon, who was already lying down, sat up abruptly.

Upon learning that the other roommates had gone on a night out, Simo's first thought wasn't whether he would lose points, but rather that he had missed out on a wonderful adventure and would lose something to brag about to Dean—it was such a loss.

Ximo harbored deep resentment. Why?! Why were there five people in the dorm, and four of them went, leaving him the only one sleeping like an idiot?

No way, I'm going tonight no matter what.

Loren grabbed a pillow and threw it hard at Seamo: "Stop making things worse!"

Then, turning to Harry, she began to advise, "Harry, do you remember what was written on that mirror?"

Harry's green eyes dimmed slightly, and he nodded. "I'm not showing you your face, but your desire."

"Your parents and relatives are not reflected in the mirror; they are all illusions, do you understand?"

"But..." Harry didn't know what to say; he just wanted to see his parents more.

Did you enjoy your Quidditch practice this afternoon?

Harry nodded.

"You could have enjoyed a whole day like this; you should have started training in the morning."

Harry seemed to understand something; the ethereal reflection in the Magic Mirror was wasting his time.

"Even if you look at it a hundred times, your parents will never know that you've given your love for them to a mirror."

Ron and Neville listened quietly. They knew Harry shouldn't keep looking at the mirror, but they couldn't explain why. Loren's words made them understand.

Only Simo was eager to see the mirror.

I'm not there! I'm not there!!

You've all seen it! I haven't seen it yet!

Simo screamed inwardly, but dared not say it aloud: "Waaah, I'm being ostracized in the dorm." He hated himself. Why did he go to bed so early last night? Couldn't he sleep a little less on the weekend?

Harry remained silent; he was still reluctant to part with them.

Seeing this, Loren had no choice but to pull out his trump card: "Transfiguration class is tomorrow morning. Have you done the homework Professor McGonagall assigned?"

The ultimate attack was so powerful that Ron, who was just watching from the sidelines, was instantly killed. Harry and Ron both showed the same terrified expression.

"Help!"

Seamus and Neville felt this scene was somewhat familiar; they thought they were in the same situation last week.

……

Loren took out Nico's fantasy book from under the covers, gently pressed his finger on the first pattern, and entered the library.

The bookshelves were neatly arranged, the lights were bright, and the tables and chairs were clean.

"Good evening, Flamel!" Loren greeted the figure floating in the air.

"Good evening, Loren. Today we'll start by learning Hebrew." Flamel smiled gently.

The Book of Abraham is written in more than one language, but Hebrew is the primary language.

Nico didn't intend to teach the translated version to Loren. The original content might be distorted after translation, and different people might have different understandings of the same content.

Nico believed that Loren couldn't follow in his footsteps; the two wouldn't experience the same life. In the same turbulent era, if they followed his translation, Loren might not even have been able to forge an incomplete Philosopher's Stone.

Besides Hebrew, there was also Latin script, as well as various magical patterns that existed in the alchemical realm and could communicate and transmit magic. Loren also saw some ancient Chinese characters among a pile of books.

According to Flamel, for a period of time, Loren would not need the back rooms.

In the dueling room, Loren, a first-year student, only has the somewhat powerful "Open Door" spell; he only knows some basic spells and has virtually no combat ability. It's impossible to turn Flamel into an elementary school student and have a playful duel with him.

After reviewing the reading list Snape gave Loren, Flamel concluded that the Potions professor at Hogwarts truly deserved his title as a Potions Master; these books indeed provided a solid foundation for understanding theoretical knowledge. For the time being, following this professor's teachings was sufficient for Loren.

As for alchemy, if you work quickly, you should be able to get started before Christmas and begin learning some basic alchemical knowledge.

Loren spent the entire night struggling to memorize strange syllables and decipher various odd characters.

Outside the fantasy book, Harry and Ron were also diligently referring to the Transfiguration homework of Loren, Neville, and Seamus.

(End of this chapter)