Hogwarts: This fairy tale is too eerie

With a screeching sound like a dying struggle, the iron gate slowly closed behind the two of them.

The last rays of sunlight sinking below the horizon and the thick fog were kept outside.

Darkness descended.

Crows perched on withered branches, their eyes gleaming with a scarlet light as they stared at them.

Hermione sobbed, her mind already conjuring up a hundred and eighty tragic endings, and staggered as she followed Thor through the door.

"I...I was wrong, please let me go, I promise I won't say anything after we get out...Wait, is this the Eternal Flame?"

Hermione suddenly stopped, sniffling, her eyes wide with surprise as she stared at the flame in the stone basin on the wall.

It was crimson orange, fiery red, with edges radiating a magical glow.

It seemed to burn forever in the empty, cold stone basin.

This is precisely the characteristic of the "Eternal Flame"!

Hermione remembered reading in the book that only the most skilled wizards could create eternal flames!

Therefore, this flame is extremely precious, and its symbolic meaning outweighs its practical value. It is often given as a gift of the highest caliber.

And now, these precious flames are displayed in two whole rows.

Hermione forgot to cry, tears still clinging to her face, and then, as if realizing for the first time where she was, she stared blankly around.

On the wall, on a scarlet tapestry with gold trim, is embroidered a coat of arms featuring a raven carrying a golden branch with a red apple hanging from it.

Hermione didn't see any family tapestries in the headmaster's office at the Muggle school.

Ahead, behind the vast hall, is a wide staircase leading to the upper floor.

The gilded handrails gleamed in the light of the eternal flame.

On the platform at the turn of the stairs, a pair of heavy curtains hung down, and only from the exposed corners could one tell that there was a huge painting behind them.

Hermione shifted her feet and found herself standing on a luxurious red velvet carpet. The soles of her shoes sank slightly, but not so much that she would twist her ankle; the perfect softness was very comfortable.

...Does the research funding for the dark wizard really have that much?

Hermione stared blankly into thought.

Just then, she caught a glimpse of Saul hanging his hat on the coat rack out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head sharply, glaring at him warily.

However, perhaps after the initial panic subsided, Hermione belatedly realized that the other person was just a boy about her age.

His neat and appropriate attire, his calm and serene eyes, and his outstanding appearance... appearance...

"What's wrong?"

Thor turned his head and inadvertently met Hermione's gaze, asking with concern.

"Hmm!"

Hermione flinched, quickly looked away, hastily wiped away her tears, and glared at Thor with feigned fierceness.

It was as if they were trying to pierce holes in Saul with their gaze.

"Oh dear, can't you wait already? What an impatient little wizard!"

Thor said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Hermione's frustrated expression, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

He snapped his fingers, and the fire demon Calcifer leaped out of his arms and excitedly jumped into the cold fireplace.

Suddenly, warmth rushed in, dispelling the dampness and chill of the outdoors.

It is hotter than the eternal fire.

"Wow......"

Hermione's eyes widened again as she stared in amazement at the ball of fire stretching lazily in the fireplace, her curiosity rising again and stirring within her.

What an amazing house this is!

Just what kind of incredible being is this "dark wizard"?!

If Diagon Alley showed Hermione a standard wizarding world, just like the one described in storybooks, bathed in bright sunlight.

Now, Hermione realized with a start that she seemed to have uncovered a corner of the real magical world.

Thor: "Come with me, you're welcome to look around. They won't hurt you while I'm here."

Hermione: "..."

She didn't want to know what "something" in the house could hurt her.

A handsome boy with grey eyes strolled leisurely up the stairs, as if he really only regarded her as a guest who had come to visit.

Before she knew it, Hermione's fear had dissipated considerably.

She hesitated, glancing hesitantly at the open door behind her, glaring at the flock of crows staring at her, then bit her lip and quickly followed Thor!

He asked, "What kind of magic did you use just now? Are you really my age? I read in a book that there are potions that can change one's age..."

Thor patiently replied to each of the chattering "chipmunks," including "That was a cute fantasy," and "I didn't use any potions to change my age," among other things.

And then there's the eternal flame on the wall, the magical barrier outside, and what exactly is the Grimm family—

"Why does a crow resemble a writing desk, Miss Granger?"

Thor gently interrupted Hermione.

After answering the eighteenth question, Hermione whispered her name.

It turns out to be that little genius, Hermione Granger, the external brain of the trio.

Thor understood immediately.

Clearing his dry throat, he began to appreciate the skill of this "Little Wheat".

After successfully silencing the incessantly chattering Hermione with questions, Thor was finally able to calm down and search for clues about Alice.

—And indeed, it happened.

As Thor had expected, he found no relevant clues, not even the names "Alice" or "Liddell".

"It's like it vanished into thin air..."

Thor put down the tattered family tree in his hand, snatched the book with the twisted tentacles extending from Hermione's hand, and tossed it to Calcifer.

"Never mind, I didn't expect to find it so quickly anyway."

"What are you looking for?" Hermione leaned forward and asked curiously.

During this time, her extraordinary wisdom once again took over her mind, replacing vigilance.

"About a person who 'does not exist'."

Thor said leisurely, his tone sounding like he was reciting poetry.

"How can you grasp something without form? Your hand can only futilely pass through the air..."

"No physical form?" Hermione blinked and blurted out, "Not even magic can detect it?"

"Magic too—"

Thor suddenly stopped speaking, his pupils slowly widened, and he abruptly sat up!

Yes, "magic"!

Of course, this does not mean that Thor suddenly lost his mind, as he had not used magic to detect anything before.

Hermione's words, like a lighthouse suddenly illuminating the darkness, made Thor realize another possibility—

As a librarian of equal stature, and possessing immense power, would he really sit idly by and watch himself degenerate into a mad fantasy?

No, I won't.

Thor stood up abruptly, lost in thought, pacing back and forth in the study, his eyes gleaming!

"Just like a little girl's wishing match, when it's completely eroded, it will surely possess even more incredible magic or items!"

Perhaps it is a force capable of forcibly reversing the cause and effect of reality, a force that defies common sense.

"Then, 'I' will definitely... before that inevitable moment arrives..."

Thor turned his head and looked at Hermione, who had also become tense, his gray eyes shining like stars.

"Leave a message for future generations."

"Leave behind the crucial message on how to extricate 'me' from madness!"

This power to distort the rules is something that cannot be detected by the naked eye or ordinary detection spells.

It's not that no message was left, but that the message was so precious that it couldn't be easily obtained!

"Alice Liddell Grin..." Thor murmured, his eyes gleaming with barely concealed excitement, "What role did you play in this thorny path that has shaped the Grin family for centuries?"

And what path will he point out to the next librarian?

Hehe, that's really tempting!