Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 805 International Wizarding Conference

In the oasis deep in the desert, beside a clear and calm lake, a figure crouched down.

The rat snake, which had just taken a nap, opened the thin membrane covering its eyes. Its eyes were cold and lifeless, and it relied solely on the organs in its cheek pits to sense that the dried rat meat it had put down not long ago was still in the same place.

Loren lowered his head and gazed down, the tip of his staff pressed against his brow.

A gentle magic quietly probed in, searching deep within, skimming the cerebral cortex, brushing past those insignificant crevices, and gradually spreading into the depths of the soul through the connection between body and soul. After several years of growth, he had fully mastered memory-related magic, and exploring those distant memories deep within his soul became much easier for him.

When he opened his eyes again, he pulled out the tip of the cane.

"Buzz..."

An invisible and intangible magical fluctuation suddenly rippled outwards, causing the nearby grass to rustle and ripple the clear, calm lake surface.

As if something forbidden to exist in this world had appeared out of thin air, ripples spread through space and on the water's surface, and the light seemed to be slightly distorted. Hermione had to squint and concentrate fully to see what was hovering around the tip of her staff—

It was a wisp of smoke.

Upon closer inspection, this wisp of smoke differs from ordinary memory mist. If ordinary memory mist is a wisp of silvery light, crystal clear and with a soft glow, this wisp of smoke is more like the mist of an autumn or winter morning. Its color is grayish-white, without the faint glow, but rather deep and mysterious, as if everything around the tip of the staff has been distorted and cannot be seen clearly.

Extracting memories from the mind or soul is a technique involved in many memory spells. Among them, Legilimency is the most refined and delicate, as well as more gentle and tender. When a Legilimency master extracts his own memories, he will not damage the brain or affect the soul, so it will not cause memory disorder or affect other related memories.

With Loren's current knowledge and magical skills, he could be considered a master of Legilimency. He would not change at all after extracting a few strands of memories. However, Hermione still felt that a subtle change had occurred in Loren the moment the memories left his body.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad; it's a change that's difficult to describe.

Originally, there was always a subtle sense of detachment between Loren and his surroundings. Many students at Hogwarts gave people a similar feeling. As daily interactions gradually faded, this detachment seemed to be due to personality factors, such as aloofness or coldness. However, those who were close to Loren knew his personality very well. This detachment was definitely not due to Loren's optimistic and gentle personality.

But at this very moment, the surrounding space and the lake not far away were slightly distorted by magic, and that innate sense of alienation seemed to disappear.

"Loren, are you alright?"

"Oh, actually, it's a little different from what I expected."

Loren held his wand with a calm and composed demeanor, though his expression was slightly complicated.

I originally thought that extracting those distant memories would be equivalent to forgetting that world, but as the magic was extracted, those distant images and sounds were not only not lost, but became clearer. Rather than extraction, it was more like a kind of scanning and imprinting.

He wasn't sure what exactly caused this change.

The world is far more complex than he had imagined.

The moment the serpent in front of it saw this wisp of memory mist, its scales tensed, its tail, curled behind it, twitched back and forth, and it flicked its tongue much more frequently, as if it were very excited.

"Emmm..."

Loren paused for a moment, then handed over the mist swirling around the tip of his staff.

The serpent opened its eyes, which were empty as if there was nothing there. It brought its snout scales closer, and its body muscles slowly twitched, as if it were drawing something from the mist of memory.

A few minutes later, the snake finished its movements, twisted its body back into the lake, and hid under the water plants, remaining motionless.

The mist lingering around the tip of the staff quietly dissipated, as if the fog had vanished under the sunlight, leaving no trace. As the ripples in the space and the lake calmed down, Loren felt as if something had been added to his soul, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only stare silently at the dissipating mist, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Hermione strode closer and placed her hands on his shoulders: "Loren, Loren?"

"I'm fine."

Loren snapped out of his daze, turned to look at the lake not far away, a hint of surprise still lingering on his face: "I think... I think I've found the Fountain of Good Fortune."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lake suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

"boom!"

The magic bombarded the surrounding lake shore, but instead of splashing water or releasing cool, moist air, it erupted with intense magical fluctuations. A fierce gale howled and raged, whipping up soil and sending it flying into the air, blotting out the sun.

The bubbling spell emitted a faint glow, keeping all the flying sand and dirt out.

The wind outside grew stronger and stronger, gradually forming a storm that enveloped the entire space, sweeping across the entire oasis. The shrubs and grasses were torn into fine powder by the gale, mixed with sand and soil, dark and yellowish, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Loren and Hermione stood side by side, their expressions calm and their eyes showing no sign of panic. This level of disturbance could not break through the Bubble Head Curse's defense, and although the space here was strange, it could not block Loren's senses and magic. He could use teleportation to take Hermione away at any time.

The entire process lasted for more than ten minutes before the chaotic and turbulent space gradually calmed down.

Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, removed the Bubble Head Charm, and looked around.

The desert ground is undulating, the sun hangs brightly in the sky, and the scorching hot wind blows the sand and gravel, forming twisted and winding patterns. The surrounding dunes slowly fall silent, and the loose sand and gravel collapse one after another.

The once lush oasis has vanished, leaving only a patch of yellowish sand.

Hermione's eyes widened, her breathing quickened, and she clung tightly to Loren beside her. His solid and reliable body brought her a sense of security in this suddenly changed space.

"The oasis created by Lucky Fountain... has collapsed?"

"It should be said that the oasis was created by the Lucky Spring hundreds of years ago."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"The Fountain of Good Luck does indeed possess magic, but this naturally condensed magic is not enough to permanently change the natural environment. The oasis it created was gradually eroded and assimilated by wind and sand over hundreds of years, becoming part of the desert."

"Does that mean our trip was a failure?"

"In fact, everything went smoothly."

Loren explained softly, "We searched for the Fountain of Good Fortune in order to find a way to improve the spatial teleportation device. We provided answers to three questions, and by finding the Fountain of Good Fortune, it also answered my questions."

As he spoke, he waved his wand.

Hermione felt the magic working on the ground; the soft sand vibrated slightly at an unusual frequency, like some kind of call, and something deep within the sand seemed to be responding to this call.

Accompanied by another slight tremor, many holes appeared on the ground. A quick scan revealed that there were about several hundred holes. At first, they were only the size of a finger, but they gradually expanded to the size of a ghost ball. Gravel gushed out, and black, scaly snakes emerged from the ground. The flowing gravel turned into clear, cool spring water.

There are hundreds of black snakes in every few holes, and hundreds of springs arranged in strange shapes according to some hidden pattern.

Hermione noticed many traces of runes in them, though she couldn't understand them, but she was certain—

This is the blueprint for some kind of alchemical array.

"The drawing of the last page of the Book of Abraham."

Loren murmured softly.

……

After their adventure at Lucky Springs, the two returned to Hampstead, a suburb of London, where the rest of their holiday was peaceful and leisurely.

Hermione waited at home for NEWT's results certificate, and in her spare time she read newspapers. In addition to the Daily Prophet, she even subscribed to the New York Ghost from across the ocean, which she had asked Flourish and Blotts to help her purchase.

The alchemical array drawn based on the location of the Lucky Spring was applied.

Loren and Flamel were among the world's top alchemists. The magic circle, which suited the needs of the spatial teleportation device, was not obscure or difficult to understand and was quickly applied to the device's design.

A week later, when Flamel opened the Book of Fantasy again, he had almost perfected the new spatial teleportation device. The magic control and linkage interference had also been resolved. All that was left was for mass production and promotion. Draco, Nott, and others also wrote to say that they were ready, but the International Wizarding Union Conference had not yet been held.

For now, we can only wait.

This year's International Wizarding Congress was held in London, England.

The responsibilities of the International Wizarding Union are extremely complex. In addition to policies and regulations related to wizards worldwide, such as the "Secrecy Law," it also involves many policies between various countries, especially trade-related matters, tariff setting, and lists of prohibited import and export items. In short, it affects all aspects of the work of wizarding governments and involves enormous interests.

Take last year's joint conference in New York as an example. The biggest beneficiary was the Magical Congress of the United States. It first promoted the protection of werewolf rights, thereby attracting werewolves and their families from all over the world to immigrate. Among these werewolves are ordinary wizards who are diligently pursuing normal lives, aspiring Aurors with strong dueling abilities, and experts in various fields who are dedicated to researching werewolf diseases to cure themselves. Ilfamoni could not recruit professors in the past two years, but this year it directly expanded its recruitment.

The biggest limitation to the development of wizards was the shortage of personnel. The American wizarding community absorbed many werewolf families, and the level of internal trade, the strength of military power, and other aspects all increased significantly.

Given the British Ministry of Magic's reputation in recent years, even with Dumbledore in charge, it wouldn't have been possible to secure this venue. Until last June, several national ministries of magic were vying for it, but in early August, a shocking airport battle occurred. The British Ministry of Magic claimed that another legendary wizard had been born within its borders, and the Magical Congress of the United States vouched for it, making the outcome largely predictable.

As participants from various countries entered London, wizards dressed in Muggle robes could often be seen wandering the streets, accompanied by Ministry of Magic staff.

One day, while Loren was out shopping, he even saw Tonks and Harry, dealing with questions from French Ministry of Magic officials, chattering away in accents he couldn't quite place.

Harry wore a helpless smile.

Tonks, on the other hand, had a calm look in his eyes and a numb expression.

On the other hand, Diagon Alley is bustling like never before, and it is foreseeable that the name of the Weasleys Wizarding Arts will soon spread throughout the entire wizarding world.

The newly appointed Minister of Magic, Ms. Burns, attached great importance to this joint conference, and directly opened up and expanded the first and second basement floors of the Ministry of Magic. The main venue was set up in the original Wizengamo administration office, which was large enough to accommodate the participants from wizarding governments around the world, as well as relevant reporters.

Monday, August 1998, 7.

Loren and Hermione got up early and left Hampstead together for the Ministry of Magic.

Instead of squeezing into the narrow phone booth, he appeared directly in the lobby.

The Ministry of Magic's interior had been completely renovated, and the entire space was resplendent in gold. Everything in sight was polished to a gleaming shine, with dark wooden floors, a peacock blue dome inlaid with gold runes, and the Magic Brothers Fountain had also been rebuilt. Wizards and witches stood side by side on the platform at the bottom of the pool, surrounded by all sorts of other species.

A line of people had gathered in front of the entrance hall. To the right of the entrance was a counter for wand checks, with a queue of varying lengths and clothing. At the front were several staff members in uniform robes, all of whom looked very young. One of them was even a Hogwarts graduate and a classmate from Ravenclaw House. He only remembered taking Charms class with him, but couldn't recall his name or which department he belonged to.

"It's a good thing you didn't start early, otherwise you would have been pulled in to do odd jobs too."

Loren pulled Hermione along, slowly joining the end of the line, with about four or five people ahead of them.

Hermione ignored him and, while waiting in line to have her wands checked, began to observe the people attending the meeting around her.

Including the British Ministry of Magic, a total of 170 wizarding governments from various countries attended the International Wizarding Union Congress, with nearly 300 participants. The majority of attendees were from countries with large wizarding populations, such as the Magical Congress of the United States. Some governments, however, were short-handed and sent only one person as a symbolic representative.

Representatives from numerous other intelligent magical creature groups were also present, including werewolves, vampires, Veela, Pukki, goblins, centaurs, and more than seventy other groups. Most of them had not attended the previous meeting and were here this time at Dumbledore's invitation.

After counting all the magical creatures they had seen, it was time for them to examine the wands.

The entire testing process was very simple. The staff simply identified the wand material. To avoid any misunderstandings caused by offense, the Flashback Charm was also cast by the wizard himself using another standard wand provided by the Ministry of Magic.

Quick and convenient, with maximum respect.

"Applewood, phoenix tail feathers, ten inches, phantom hologram."

"Grapevine wood, the nerve of the dragon, ten and three-quarters inches, the attendant appears."

"Welcome to the 1998 International Wizarding Union Conference hosted by the British Ministry of Magic. Please follow the signs to the venue. If you need anything, please feel free to contact the staff. Have a pleasant journey."

"..."

Loren and Hermione took the wands and turned to walk into the elevator.

(End of this chapter)