Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 66 Sleepless Friday Night (4k)

When I arrived at Snape's office, it was around nine o'clock, and it was completely dark.

The wind outside has stopped, and through the window, you can see a sliver of moonlight, with occasional streaks of light flashing across the starry sky.

Snape's robe was wet at the shoulders, indicating he had just come back from outside and hadn't had time to change.

He was carefully pouring a black, viscous liquid from one bottle into another bottle engraved with magical patterns.

As Loren approached, he smelled a foul stench and felt dizzy.

"Get away from me, you idiot." Snape didn't even glance at Loren.

"The venom of the Octopod, a top-quality ingredient, is worth a hundred gallons per ounce," Snape said as he worked. "If I were you, I would collect the venom immediately after the Octopod dies."

After Hagrid saw Loren and his group off, he informed Dumbledore of the giant spider and the fact that others had entered the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore and Snape were both absent at dinner, leading Loren to deduce that Dumbledore had taken Snape to deal with the corpses during that time and had only just returned.

Loren listened to Snape's words without saying anything. As someone who had been through it all, silence was the best course of action in such situations.

"This is an old, eight-eyed giant spider. Its eyes have faded, it is weak and slow-moving, and it couldn't even trigger the viewing mirror on Potter's body."

As the giant spider aged, its eyes turned white, indicating it had gone blind. Its body became fragile, and it lost its strength. Awakened from hibernation, it was unable to deal with the prey in the Forbidden Forest, which is why it set its sights on a few young wizards.

Loren had noticed something was wrong with the spider during the day. It was an eight-eyed giant spider with a danger level of five X, so its strength shouldn't be weaker than that of a giant monster. It was almost beaten to the point of being unable to get up by a few junior wizards.

Snape poured the venom into another bottle, tapped his wand, and green light shone along the patterns on the bottle. The bottle's mouth transformed into the shape of a mouth, which closed tightly, and the lips turned jet black.

"Tell me about the spyglass. How did you lie to your good friend Potter?" Snape recalled Harry's enigmatic smile.

Loren glanced around, pretending it was some trivial matter, and casually said, "I told him it was something his mother used to own, and that's how he reacted."

Snape fell silent.

Lily, it's Lily.

Snape instinctively wanted to mock Harry for being a fool, but then fell silent.

Loren tentatively asked, "Professor, I heard you were classmates with Harry's mother. Do you have any photos or anything like that?"

"I feel a little guilty about lying to Harry like that."

More than just guilt, if things continued like this, if Harry smiled, Loren would slap himself. He came out of the Book of Fantasy in the middle of the night, still wide awake, thinking how utterly worthless he was.

Snape ignored Loren's words and began to talk about today's potion-making.

The lessons he taught Loren in private were completely different from the Potions class at Hogwarts. He first taught them to identify the potions and ingredients, understand the properties of different ingredients, and then deduce the effects of the potions from those properties.

Compared to potion-making textbooks, which start with simple potions and explain the effects of ingredients, this approach is more traditional and the knowledge system is more obscure.

Loren felt that he owed them money after all, so he studied hard and tried his best to start earning money to pay off the debt as soon as possible.

"Catch it."

As Loren walked out of the office, Snape tossed him a pendant.

Loren turned to look; Snape stood with his back to him, his tall figure by the window like a withered tree trunk. The snow outside had stopped, and a cold, white light seeped quietly in through the glass.

……

In an ordinary boys' dormitory in Gryffindor.

Harry lay on the bed, one hand outstretched towards the ceiling, holding an open pendant containing a photograph of a little girl. The girl seemed somewhat surprised that someone was taking her picture, but after the initial surprise, she gave a gentle smile.

There is a line of small text in the bottom right corner of the photo.

"Lily Evans, Lily Evans..." Harry murmured to himself, filled with joy.

Unlike the reflection in the Mirror of Erised, this time he didn't have to worry about not being able to see it at any moment. When looking at the image in the mirror, Harry felt more sorrow than anything else. His longing for his parents and the grievances he had suffered over the years weighed heavily on his heart, and he wanted to tell his parents about them.

The sadness and grievances gradually dissipated after Dumbledore took away the Magic Mirror. Now, seeing his mother's photo, he felt more at ease and joy.

Loren looked at Harry and grinned foolishly, feeling fulfilled and uplifted, and knew he could finally sleep tonight.

"Are you asleep?" Ron's voice sounded somewhat wistful.

"She's asleep," Loren responded quickly.

"I'm going to sleep," Simo said quickly as well.

"Me too," Neville followed behind.

"Hehehe..." That's Harry's voice.

"When I encountered the eight-eyed giant spider today, I felt really useless..." Ron continued, making sure the others were listening.

Today, when facing the eight-eyed giant spider, Loren and the other two acted swiftly, while only Ron was stunned by fear.

He'd been thinking about this ever since he got back, it felt like a huge weight on his heart. His magic had become more powerful, but he was still the same person he always was.

"Oh." Loren reacted quickly.

"I've never seen an eight-eyed giant spider before." Simon was annoyed; his roommate always managed to do something big when he wasn't around, and he always missed it.

"So will you still be pointing fingers at us in the future?" Neville was more concerned about this; he always felt embarrassed whenever Ron gave him pointers.

Ron felt even more guilty after hearing this, "I'll try my best."

"Hehehe..."

"Harry, that's enough!"

The other four people shouted in unison.

……

"I think you're about to begin interpreting the Book of Abraham."

Flamel looked at Loren with gentle eyes, filled with unspoken expectations.

Loren was still a little confused. "When? I haven't even finished learning the languages ​​of those ancient civilizations yet, how am I supposed to decipher them?"

"Timing is the key; words don't matter," Flamel said slowly, floating in the air.

Loren nodded. "Very good. An old man's specialty. The riddle teller has begun again."

He wanted to grab Flamel by the hair and ask him, "What does it mean to interpret a book that words don't matter? If words don't matter, why are you forcing me to learn so many nonsensical things?"

Fine, whatever you say. Anyway, I won't take the blame if I can't solve it. Life's tough, Loren sighed.

Alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone were too far removed from Loren's life, and interpreting the Book of Abraham was of little significance to him.

He wanted to know how to redeem a desperate soul in order to gain the mysterious qualification that Flamel spoke of, and with the help of Nico's Philosopher's Stone, try to heal Grandpa Bates.

"Before that, I need you to memorize this passage."

Flamel waved his sleeve, and the various colors of light in the air coalesced into a text, about thirteen lines long.

The light patterns floated in the air; they were not Latin script, nor Hebrew script, nor ancient Eastern script. This was not any script known to Loren.

But the moment Loren saw the text, he knew the pronunciation of every character and the meaning of every word.

Without a doubt, this is not a trivial lie, but the most irrefutable truth.

Up is down, and down is up; this is the only, unique miracle.

One is the origin of all things; all things in the world are born from this one.

The sun is the father, the moon is the mother, the wind is the womb that nurtures, and the earth is responsible for nourishing and protecting.

He is the most perfect father to all things in the world; he possesses the most complete and powerful energy.

To separate the earth from the flames, to separate the delicate from the coarse.

He can fly from the earth to the sky and then fall back to the ground, absorbing all the energy from above and below.

This will allow you to receive the most dazzling glory in the world and dispel all gloom and darkness.

His power surpasses all, he is more exquisite and beautiful than anything else, and he can penetrate into all things in the world, even the most solid things.

The world was born.

It was this process that produced the admirable miracle.

I am called the Triple Great **** because I possess three philosophical qualities.

That concludes the discussion on how the sun works.

As Loren murmured these words, the light in the air dissipated.

"Just let me see it once?" Loren was furious. How could he possibly memorize such a long passage in just one reading?

Flamel wasn't annoyed by the yelling, "It's already in your heart."

Loren calmed himself down and recalled the words he had just read, which seemed to be engraved in his mind and appeared clearly.

"What does this passage mean? What is the Triple Great ****?" Loren had many questions and planned to ask them one by one.

The Triple Greatness describes a four-word name that Loren cannot be represented in any other language; its transliteration sounds like "Hermes".

It sounded like the name of a Greek god, but as Loren recited the name, he clearly felt that it pointed to a supreme being, not a Greek god.

This passage seems to be answering the question of how the sun works, but its reference is very vague.

"Up is down, down is up" sounds like a philosophical concept, but I can't quite grasp what it means.

The concept of oneness is present in many myths, whether it is the Western creator god or the Eastern Pangu, both of which embody the idea of ​​oneness.

The passage mentions earth, fire, water, and wind, which is an ancient philosophical concept that believes the world is composed of four elements. Some alchemical theories are also based on this understanding of the four elements.

The subsequent mention seems to describe a deity absorbing energy and creating the world, but the fact that the sky and earth existed before creation contradicts most myths.

The entire passage is filled with this kind of ambiguous content, making it impossible to interpret.

Flamel did not provide an answer, but said, "This is from the Emerald Book; you must know this sentence to understand the Book of Abraham."

The Jade Tablet is the contents of a jade tablet found in an Egyptian pyramid. The jade tablet itself has been lost to history, and various versions of the Jade Tablet have survived, making it difficult to determine their authenticity.

"But I can't give you any explanation. As we agreed before, you can only explore the contents of the book on your own."

"What you discover is something only you can know; you can't tell anyone. The content itself is a curse."

Loren looked at Flamel and asked, "Even you can't tell?"

"Including me." Flamel nodded.

Alright, it doesn't matter if he can't understand the text. Only he knows what he deciphers. No wonder only Nicol in history has managed to create something like this. Even Loren finds it absurd that this thing ended up in his hands.

"When should I start?" Loren noticed that timing was very important.

Flamel looked at him and said gently, "When Mars is bright."

Loren pursed his lips, afraid he would lose control and start swearing.

Would it kill you riddle makers to give a specific time?! Even if you're talking about which comet passed by Earth for the nth time, or a full moon night, or a solar or lunar eclipse, at least be clear about the time!

What's going on when Mars is bright?

Every Wednesday, they have stargazing classes, and several times a month they think Mars is very bright. What kind of standard is "bright" anyway?!

Loren was typing furiously in his mind, but Flamel just watched him quietly.

Loren knew that asking any further questions would yield no results.

Alright, I don't know when it started, I can't figure out how to interpret it, and it doesn't matter what we interpret it to. Loren wasn't under any pressure. Let it be. The Book of Abraham will probably stay this far.

……

On Saturday morning, the snow seemed to be a little heavier than yesterday, falling softly and covering the castle and woods with a white coat.

When Loren woke up, the others in the dormitory were still asleep. Harry's smile vanished, and his pendant lay on his pillow.

Loren quietly got out of bed, pulled out the Book of Abraham from under the bed, and sat by the window.

The soft, yellowed bark paper, the somewhat icy brass rings, the embossed marks on the paper—Loren hadn't opened this book in a long time.

Besides Abraham's name, the other passage on the title page was something Loren could only guess at; it probably said that anyone other than priests and scribes would be cursed if they read this book.

Loren couldn't guess what the rest of the text was about, and still couldn't understand anything. He focused on the pictures on the pages.

The first image shows a snake devouring another snake on an antique walking stick. Now it seems this stick was likely a magic wand.

Loren stared at the picture book, his mind wandering. The mysterious wand—could it be Dumbledore's Elder Wand? And since it's related to snakes, perhaps it's Slytherin's Snakewood Wand?

Was he supposed to go find the magic wand? Loren thought far ahead. If deciphering the Book of Abraham required searching the world for ancient artifacts, he would definitely give up; the thought alone was too much trouble.

A cross nailed with a snake—even with the wildest of imagination, I can't figure out what it is. Is the snake a basilisk? If it is, maybe I'll have a chance to see it next year.

The third picture shows a spring in the desert, with snakes flowing out of the spring with the water. Does this mean he has to go to the desert again?

Why are snakes being mentioned? What does the snake symbolize?

I spent a lot of time lost in thought while looking at the book, but ultimately came to no conclusion. It seems like my spark wasn't bright enough.

Never mind, let nature take its course. Loren sighed and looked out the window.

Everything was white, with some snowflakes piled up on the platform outside the window.

This was perfect weather for making frozen pears, and the idea suddenly popped into Loren's head.

Once the thought arose, it was uncontrollable. Loren's mind was filled with the sweet juice of frozen pears, and his saliva was flowing rapidly, almost drowning his tongue. The Emerald Book and the Book of Abraham were all left in his mind.

No sooner said than done, today is Saturday, no classes, Loren ran out of the lounge in his pajamas, there weren't many people on the road.

With a smile, Loren ran all the way to Hufflepuff's lounge, quickly scratching the pear on the image, making the pear giggle.

The kitchen was brightly lit and filled with the sweet aroma of flour and the savory smell of stewed beans and meat broth. Loren's mouth watered uncontrollably at the smell.

The house-elves are busy preparing breakfast for the students and teachers at Hogwarts. Different regions and different flavors of breakfast take a long time to prepare, even with magic.

A house-elf is directing a croissant to run into the blade and cut itself in half. Then the two halves of the bread hop into the plate and find a suitable place to lie down.

The little elf saw Loren, dressed in pajamas, enter the kitchen, stopped what he was doing, clapped his hands, and went to greet him.

"Little wizard, what would you like to eat?" The house-elf looked at Loren. He was thin, with long, thin limbs and bat ears.

Loren was also looking at the little elf in front of him. "I remember you. You made the Avalanche Strawberry Cake I asked for last time."

"Oh! Yes!" the elf exclaimed in delight. "It's an honor to be remembered by the little wizard."

Loren was in a good mood and had no ill will towards the little elf. "Perhaps you can tell me your name. I am Loren, Loren Morgan."

"My name! You asked my name!" the little elf cheered, raising his hand. "My name is Wheat, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morgan!"

"Wheat, I've got it. I need some pears."

The enthusiastic wheat stuffed a basket of pears into Loren's hands, about a dozen or so. The pears had yellow skin with some brown spots and smelled of the characteristic aroma of pears. Loren wasn't sure what kind of pears they were; they looked a bit like snow pears.

Who cares? Wizards always find a way to eat pears from every season during winter.

Loren skipped back to his dorm room, placed a basket of pears one by one in the snowdrift outside the window, full of anticipation.

(End of this chapter)