The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

The next morning, when they woke up, a fine drizzle was falling outside the window, and the entire Hogwarts was shrouded in a hazy mist.

After dinner, Harley and Hermione accompanied Vera to the school hospital.

Mrs. Pomfrey seemed somewhat surprised to see the three of them arrive together, but quickly regained her professional demeanor.

“Miss Black, it’s time for your routine check-up,” she said gently. “Miss Potter, Miss Granger, you may wait outside.”

Harley glanced at Vera with some concern: "We'll be right outside. Call us if anything happens."

Vera nodded gently and pushed her wheelchair into the examination room with Mrs. Pomfrey.

The consultation room was filled with the scent of herbs, and sunlight streamed through the high windows, casting a golden hue on the white sheets.

Mrs. Pomfrey gestured for Vera to lie down on the examination bed, and then began a series of routine examinations.

“The spine is recovering better than expected,” Madam Pomfrey said, gently tracing Vera’s back with her wand, the tip shimmering with a soft light. “But the nerve damage remains severe. As for the legs…”

Vera lay quietly, knowing that her leg still showed no signs of improvement.

"How effective is the newly prepared medicine?" Mrs. Pomfrey asked while recording the data.

“It’s better than before,” Vera replied softly. “It lets me get a good night’s sleep.”

Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Miss Black, your situation is quite special. Ordinary healing magic and potions will have limited effect on you, but I believe that as long as you persist with treatment, you will gradually improve."

Although she knew it was just a comforting remark, Vera nodded politely. "Thank you, Mrs. Pomfrey."

According to the previous procedure, the routine inspection would be completed at this point.

After that, Madam Pomfrey wrote a medical record based on her latest condition, Snape personally brewed the medicine, and finally the elves delivered the medicine to her bedside table.

This time, however, Mrs. Pomfrey did not immediately open the medical record after the examination, but looked at her with some hesitation.

"...Any other questions?"

For once, Vera's usually calm face showed a hint of nervousness.

No patient can remain calm when they see their doctor looking at them with a hesitant expression.

Even more so, they might be able to clearly recall even the smallest extra bite of ice cream they've eaten recently.

Seeing the change in her expression, Mrs. Pomfrey quickly said, "Don't worry, child, it's not a bad thing."

Yes, she became even more nervous.

Vera unconsciously gripped the handrail, took a deep breath, and barely managed to maintain a calm facade while waiting for what was to come.

“That’s right,” Mrs. Pomfrey said gently. “The headmaster asked about your current situation yesterday and said that if needed, he could provide some Phoenix Tears as an aid.”

Phoenix Tears?

Vera's heart skipped a beat. She knew that even though she had written to Dumbledore during the summer vacation, he had only sent Madam Pomfrey and Snape to help with the diagnosis.

After all, he is the principal of the entire school. Apart from paying extra attention to Harley because of special needs, it is already enough for him to do this much for an ordinary student like himself.

But... she's been at the school for over two months now, appearing in the Great Hall almost every day, and even after the strange incidents that happened before, Dumbledore hasn't paid much attention to her.

Just yesterday, Dumbledore suddenly remembered to inquire about her health, and even offered to provide Phoenix Tears...

It doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision at all.

“The headmaster is so… generous,” Vera replied cautiously, “but it’s really too much.”

Well, from God's perspective, she knew that Dumbledore had a phoenix, and that the phoenix's tears and such could be used at will.

But for ordinary young wizards who don't know much about Dumbledore, the materials are indeed very precious.

Madam Pomfrey smiled gently: "The tears of the phoenix have powerful healing effects. Combined with Professor Snape's potion, it might help you regain some of your senses."

Vera lowered her eyes, pondering Dumbledore's intentions.

Was he simply concerned about the students? Or... had he sensed something?

“I know,” Vera whispered, her hand gently gripping the fabric of her knee. “I’m just worried…would it be a waste to use such good medicine on me…”

“Don’t be so quick to refuse, child.” A hint of pity welled up in Madam Pomfrey’s eyes. “Headmaster Dumbledore believes that every student deserves the best treatment.”

You can think about it first, and you can come find me anytime you're ready.

She turned and went to the medicine cabinet to get the medicine. "Here's today's medicine for you. Remember to take it on time."

Vera nodded, her expression unchanged, but her heart was already in turmoil.

Phoenix tears are indeed precious, and if she can use this opportunity to improve her physical condition, it would undoubtedly be a huge help to her.

Besides, even if Dumbledore was testing him, so what?

Her actions at the Quidditch pitch yesterday were ultimately to help Harley, and she didn't use any extreme methods, so they can withstand scrutiny.

Her hesitation just now was merely a reflection on Dumbledore's intentions, and a reminder to herself to be more cautious in the future.

As long as the other party isn't so depraved as to use mind-reading techniques on an 11-year-old like her, she has absolutely nothing to fear.

However, while that's true, she can't always rely on others not being able to possess her. The key is to learn a mind-blocking technique that can resist this curse.

She'll be going to the library with Harley and the others later, so she can try to find some relevant books to study on her own.

Vera took the medicine, thanked them softly, and then pushed her wheelchair out of the examination room.

As soon as they stepped outside, Harley and Hermione, who had been waiting there, immediately came up to them: "How was it? How were the test results?"

“It’s about the same as before,” Vera replied calmly.

Seeing their somewhat somber expressions, she added, "However, Mrs. Pomfrey said the recovery is better than expected."

Harley visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Really? That's great."

“Yes.” Hermione patted her chest in relief, then leaned down to look at Vera’s ever-calm expression. “You too, don’t keep such a serious face. It’s a good thing that you’re recovering.”

Vera sighed and could only raise her lips slightly: "Then... shall we go to the library now?"

“Of course!” Harley immediately went behind her to push the wheelchair. “We need to find out who this Nicolas Flamel is right away!”

Chapter 78 Brain Occupation Technique (Bounty x5)

Without even a thought, their search today is destined to be fruitless without any keyword suggestions.

The three of them arrived at the library excitedly, but when they looked at the thousands of bookshelves in front of them, they were stumped.

"Where do we begin?" Harley's gaze swept over the rows of bookshelves in front of her, and she instinctively swallowed a few times.

Hermione took a deep breath and strode to the bookshelf in front of her: "Let's look at the books on modern magical history first. Nicolas Flamel was a contemporary of Dumbledore."

Great, let's eliminate one wrong answer first.

Vera watched as they quickly took several heavy books from the bookshelf and began to flip through them, scratching her head in disbelief.

He hesitated for a long time, wanting to say something but ultimately gave up.

Reading more books is never a bad thing.

She could only push her wheelchair along, taking in the sights at a glance, until she reached the back of the bookshelf and finally saw a book with a somewhat old cover on the top shelf.

The spine of the book was inscribed with the title "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Closing the Brain" in gold lettering, which was exactly what she needed right now.

Looking at the spot that was clearly higher than she could reach, Vera sighed helplessly.

She looked around to make sure Mrs. Pince wasn't nearby, then quietly drew her wand and pointed it at the book: "Books, come!"

The book remained completely still.

It seems the books in the library have been cursed to prevent students from causing trouble.

Excellent protective measures allowed her wheelchair to rotate.

Vera pursed her lips, pushed her wheelchair closer to the bookshelf, and prepared to use a levitation spell to make herself float.

If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain.

Before she could activate the powerful levitation spell on her wheelchair, a hand reached out from behind her and easily took the book.

"Do you need this?" A gentle, unfamiliar voice sounded from behind.

Vera paused, then instinctively turned around and saw a girl in a Ravenclaw uniform standing behind her, holding the book "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Closing the Mind".

The girl stood in front of her, her black hair cascading down her shoulders, and when she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her fair face.

He has a typical Eastern face.

Vera paused for a moment before whispering, "Thank you."

“You’re welcome.” The girl smiled and handed her the book. “My name is Cho Chang, a second-year Ravenclaw student. You’re Vera Black, right? I’ve heard of you.”

Vera took the book, blinked in surprise, and then realized that with her appearance, it seemed difficult not to become famous in a closed environment like a school.

As if guessing what she was thinking, Cho Chang explained kindly, "I heard Professor McGonagall mention you in Transfiguration class. She said you have a great talent for this."

Vera paused, realizing that the other person was trying to protect her self-esteem, and simply nodded.

“This book is quite obscure,” Cho Chang said, glancing curiously at the book in Vera’s hand. “Very few people would be interested in Occlumency.”

Vera's fingers tightened slightly: "I just saw it by chance and wanted to know more about it."

Qiu Zhang sensed that she was unwilling to say more, so he tactfully refrained from pressing her for details and instead said politely, "If there's nothing else, I'll head out now."

"Okay, thank you, Senior Qiu Zhang." Vera nodded politely.

Only after watching Qiu Zhang's figure disappear at the end of the bookshelf did she gradually loosen her grip on the books in her arms and let out a breath of nervousness.

Although I've gotten used to getting help from close friends like Harley and Hermione, it's still hard not to feel uncomfortable being helped by strangers... even if they're named characters from the original books...

She sighed, looked down at the book in her hands, "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Closing the Brain," and gently stroked the gold-embossed title with her fingertips.

The book was much heavier than she had imagined; the dark brown leather cover was worn and had clearly been read many times.

Vera opened the book and quickly browsed the table of contents.

Occlumency, as the name suggests, is a magic used to shut down one's thoughts and prevent them from being spied on by Legilimency.

Therefore, a wizard who is skilled in using Occlumency can prevent others from using Legilimency to spy on their thoughts and feelings, or from being influenced by them.

In the original story, the one who mastered this spell the most was none other than the famous double agent Snape.

Apart from her slightly different family environment and physical condition, Vera was just an ordinary little wizard in other aspects.

Trying to learn such high-level magic from Snape without careful consideration would not only get you verbally attacked, but also needlessly attract the attention of Snape and even Dumbledore.

She could only learn on her own.

Vera's fingertips gently traced the yellowed pages of the book, and she frowned slightly.

The book was more profound than she had imagined. It emphasized from the beginning that Occlumency required extremely strong willpower and long-term practice, and that those with weak willpower would only have the opposite effect if they learned it.

"Concentrate, eliminate distractions..." she whispered, reciting the key points from the book, her brows slightly furrowed.

This kind of abstract concept is indeed difficult for beginners to grasp.

Fortunately, she was a time traveler. Although she couldn't remember many things from her previous life, her learning ability was much stronger than that of her peers.

With the added benefit of magic circuits, understanding and learning these shouldn't be too difficult.

After looking around to make sure no one would bother her, Vera adjusted her breathing, calmed herself down, and tried out the method described in the book.

She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind by following the instructions in the book.

However, the more you try to clear your mind, the more distracting thoughts come flooding in.

Regarding her body, mysterious ancient magic, Voldemort's potential threat, Dumbledore's probing, and... Harley and Hermione's faces.

Countless thoughts churned in her mind, making it impossible for her to concentrate. She had no choice but to open her eyes and exhale rapidly.

"It's not that simple after all..." she muttered to herself, rubbing her temples which were feeling a little uncomfortable.

The core of brain shut-in lies in controlling emotions, rather than suppressing them.

However, her thoughts were too complicated, and even if she could suppress them for a short time, she couldn't truly control them.

In the original book, Harry struggled to learn this skill and eventually gave up altogether.

It wasn't until Sirius Black died that he was able to banish Voldemort's thoughts from his mind through his boundless grief.

But Vera couldn't wait until someone close to her died before relying on pure emotion to block out her thoughts.

There seems to be no other way to achieve this except through daily practice.

She lowered her eyes and sighed softly.

Just as she was about to leave, a faint golden light suddenly emanated from between the stone brick walls around her.