Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 46 The Spells Lesson on Halloween Eve

Snape's words kept echoing in Loren's ears, making him think about immortality.

There are many paths to immortality in the magical world, but none of them are perfect.

Lady Grey, the ghost of Ragnarok, whose real name was Helena Ravenclaw, was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the four founding gods. After being killed by Barrow the Blood, she became a ghost and has resided in Hogwarts for over a thousand years.

Professor Binns, the historian of magic, can still lecture, assign homework, and answer students' questions, almost just like when he was alive.

Portraits of wisdom, the Sorting Hat passed down for millennia. They have memories, they can think—could this be considered a form of immortality?

Helbo created Horcruxes, but the cause of his death is very vague, with only some unproven speculations.

Voldemort sought the secrets of the Horcruxes, transforming himself into a bloodthirsty and insane individual.

Nicolas Flamel's elixir of immortality only prolongs his life; his body becomes incredibly fragile over time. Perhaps in a few decades, even a gust of wind could blow Nicolas to pieces.

It seems that there are paths to immortality everywhere, yet it also seems that every path leads to a precipice.

Loren had a theory that the person closest to immortality was actually Headmaster Dumbledore.

The Dumbledore family possesses a phoenix capable of rising from the ashes.

Everyone who has learned the Patronus Charm knows that the Patronus is not a magical creature, but Dumbledore's Patronus is a phoenix. Dumbledore is also skilled in fire magic and, with the help of Fawkes, can use spatial magic at Hogwarts.

So what about the ability to achieve Nirvana?

Could Dumbledore also have been reborn from the ashes, only to ultimately choose death? Even after death, Dumbledore could still meet Harry in the Mystic Realm, which is enough to demonstrate his extraordinary control over his life.

"Flamel, is it possible to concoct an elixir of immortality without the help of the Philosopher's Stone?" Loren chose to seek help from Flamel.

Flamel carefully sorted through his long memories: "In fact, there are many more legends about immortality..."

Flamel recounted the golden apples of Norse mythology, the peaches of immortality in Eastern mythology, the Holy Grail of Jesus, and the legendary Fountain of Youth.

"Civilizations separated by oceans and mountains share remarkably similar legends about immortality, with some legends clearly sharing the same prototype."

Following this line of thought, Loren continued, "It's possible that they were once immortal beings who left behind legends when they traveled through these civilizations."

"Before the Age of Exploration, only wizards could overcome the barriers of the ocean and mountains," Flamel guided Loren's thoughts.

Loren clapped his hands, suddenly realizing, "A long time ago, a wizard achieved immortality, and then used his long life to explore the entire world!" His tone was excited and he didn't stop, "Just like Mr. Nicole!"

Loren had a new question in mind: "Then what about the former immortals? Where are they now?"

Flamel didn't explore any further with Loren. He flew into the air and said, "Who knows? Perhaps their immortality also has its flaws, and in the end, they still couldn't escape the pursuit of death."

"Let's begin today's content."

Tracing the truth behind the ancient legends is difficult, and there is rarely a definitive answer. Ultimately, Loren treated these conversations as casual chatter after class, and Snape's words were temporarily set aside.

……

Loren attended classes at Hogwarts during the day, took language and dueling classes at the Book of Wonders in the evenings, helped with potions in Snape's office on Fridays and learned about the preparation of various potions, and spent weekends studying thick books with Hermione in the library.

Such a routine and simple life allowed time to pass by unnoticed, and soon Halloween was just around the corner.

The little elf had been preparing for the dinner party since morning. The corridor was filled with the sweet aroma of pumpkin. Smelling this aroma made it seem as if the sweet, thick flesh of the pumpkin was right next to your mouth, making you unconsciously salivate.

During the spell class, the sweet aroma of pumpkin in the classroom became even stronger.

In this environment, only Hermione could concentrate on listening to the lecture and take notes without any distractions.

"It smells so good!" Loren exclaimed from time to time.

Ron and Seamus swallowed and nodded in agreement.

Harry sat down next to him, leaned in, and whispered, "Neville's Rafer is missing again. Everyone, look around and see if he's under the desk."

This is a very common occurrence, and everyone skillfully bends down to look for toads on the ground.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth agape. "I think I might have found it."

Everyone followed his gaze and exclaimed in unison, "Whoa!"

Leif had already jumped onto the stool that Professor Flitwick was standing on, and was about to jump onto the professor, seemingly trying to use the professor's body to jump onto the podium.

Neville couldn't bear to watch any longer; he lowered his head and almost buried it in the table.

Leif bounced twice and jumped onto Professor Flitwick's shoulder.

Professor Flitwick was standing on a stool, lecturing on the Levitation Charm, when a toad suddenly jumped out and stepped on his white beard.

The students below laughed, except for Neville, who wanted to turn himself into a toad and jump out of the classroom.

Professor Flitwick wasn't angry; he just grinned, "Looks like I spoke so well that even the toad wants to be close to me!"

The students cheered even louder. Neville looked up, covered his blushing face with his hands, and peeked at Professor Flitwick through his fingers.

"Perfect timing to demonstrate!" Professor Flitwick said, turning to look at the toad on his shoulder, pointing his wand at Rafer, "[Yugadimm Leviosa]."

The toad suddenly flew into the air and circled the classroom at a steady pace.

"Cool!" came a series of exclamations from the audience.

Rafer flew past each student, finally landing in front of Neville on his desk.

Neville looked at Professor Flitwick, who was smiling gently at him. "Keep an eye on your pet. If it runs off again, make it fly a few more times."

Neville was so excited he couldn't speak, and just kept nodding.

Professor Flitwick ignored the minor incident. "Let's continue with the Levitation Charm, invented by the 16th-century wizard, Jarvis Hobart..."

After witnessing the scene, the students were even more eager to learn the Levitation Spell, and their concentration was greatly reduced, thus diminishing the influence of the pumpkin scent.

Soon, Professor Flitwick showed off his skills again, using a levitation spell to send a handful of feathers into the air and distribute them to two students in each group.

Based on their positions, Harry and Neville were in one group, Loren and Hermione were in another, and Ron and Seamus were in the third.

"Alright, and don't forget that subtle wrist movement we've been training!" Professor Flitwick stood up even higher, adding another stack of books to the stool. "A swing and a flick, remember that swing and a flick."

"It's also very important to pronounce the spell correctly. The wizard Balufeo mispronounced a letter, saying 's' instead of 'f,' and found himself lying on the ground with a bison standing on his chest!" After giving these instructions, the professor finally let the students try.

Professor Flitwick kept a close eye on them, to prevent any bison or something from suddenly appearing in the classroom.

(End of this chapter)