The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

In order not to disturb Grandpa Bates' sweet dream, Loren finished dinner and returned to the room to start thinking about how to get the unicorn horn.

Unicorn horns have been on sale for a long time at the medicine shop in Diagon Alley, priced at 21 Galleons each, and there is plenty of supply.

But if Loren bought it, Snape would definitely punish him by copying the potions textbook, because it was a unicorn horn, not a unicorn horn.

In the first grade potions course, they used "unicorn horns" to make a very common antidote. It was then that he realized that the unicorn horns on the market were not real unicorn horns. .

As a strange magical animal, the unicorn has very special magic power, pure power, vigorous vitality, and a difficult curse. Unicorn blood, hair and horns all have magical powers.

Blood contains powerful vitality, which can sustain the life of dying people. Voldemort hunts unicorns just for blood.

Hair is mainly used for wand cores. Ollivander believes that unicorn hair wands are more faithful, more likely to reflect the essence of magic, and are most resistant to dark magic.

There is a saying that unicorn hair also has some kind of vitality. When it loses its activity as a wand core, the wand is prone to backfire and other accidents.

The unicorn horn has extremely pure magic power, can inhibit a variety of black magic, and has a restraining effect on various creatures such as Voldemort bats and dementors. Detoxification is only the most inconspicuous effect.

The new version of the Magical Creatures Protection Act prohibits any harm to unicorns. Out of respect for the unicorn curse and the Ministry of Magic, basically no one will provoke this creature that is more dangerous than a werewolf.

Unicorns value their horns very much, and they will not trade with wizards for the corpses of their own kind. Theoretically, except for some of the unicorn hair that will flow out to the market, both blood and horns should be classified as prohibited items.

Interestingly, among the three materials, only unicorn blood is prohibited. The Ministry of Magic banned sales on the grounds of preventing the spread of the curse and protecting unicorns.

In pharmacies, a bag of unicorn hair is priced at 7 galleons, and a unicorn horn is priced at 21 galleons.

The hair is insignificant and provides a constant supply. But the horns are different. Each unicorn has only one horn. If the unicorn horns sold on the market for 21 galleons are real, then unicorns are already extinct.

In fact, the 21 Galleons unicorn horn is the horn of a one-horned bison, but under some unspoken rules, it is called the horn of a one-horned beast. It is only used as a basic antidote, similar to bezoar.

"Hagrid's way is blocked, but what about the black market..." Loren raised his right hand and spread his five white fingers, letting the lights from the roof shine through the gaps between his fingers.

After thinking about it for a long time, he finally gave up the idea because the risk was too great. Moreover, the Ministry of Magic is vigorously cracking down on prohibited items, and no one would want to do this business at gunpoint.

Loren narrowed his eyes, and the white lights were pulled into bunches of blurry light. He repeated in a low voice what Dumbledore said before leaving: "If you live for a long time, you will naturally know some secret things..."

Who can outlast Nico?

He turned off the light and entered the world of the Book of Fantasy.

The neat and bright library was empty. Loren looked around and shouted: "Frammel!"

The sound of "ta-da" footsteps sounded from behind him. Loren looked back and saw Flamel wearing hard-soled leather shoes, making crisp footsteps on the floor.

"Are you upgrading?" Loren looked puzzled.

In the past, Flamel had obvious characteristics of a magical creation. Although his upper body was solid and colorful, his lower body gradually became distorted, becoming blurry as he went down, and the area close to his shoes was almost transparent.

Flamel has always moved by floating, like a ghost.

Now, the Flamel in front of him was wearing a neat dress, and he acted like an elegant gentleman. If he were in the Middle Ages, people could tell at a glance that he was of noble origin.

Loren was used to him floating around and flying around, but now she was a little uncomfortable seeing him walking so seriously.

There was a smile on Flamel's face, "The supreme pursuit of potions is the elixir of immortality, the elixir of resurrection. Do you know what the supreme pursuit of alchemy is?"

"Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Loren shook his head, indicating that he didn't know the answer.

Flamel looked down at his solid legs and said softly: "Before Nico, alchemy was chaotic, a remnant of ancient magic, and fragmented knowledge was scattered in scrap piles around the world. A little glimpse People with some knowledge can refine rigid items step by step according to the records in the book.

Magical items permeate every corner of the wizarding world, but no one can make the thousand-year-old Deathly Hallows or the mysterious Mirror of Erised... Alchemy continues to weaken, even in magic schools and Hogwarts. There is no such thing as a sorting hat or a Ravenclaw diadem.

It's not even a discipline, not even the art of prophecy. "

Flamel raised his head and looked at Loren quietly: "Until Nico Flamel appeared, he traveled around the world, consulted the Jade Records, integrated ancient words and magic texts, and stopped the trend of alchemy's continued demise."

There was not much sadness in his tone, but there was a hint of regret: "People only remember him for refining the magic stone, making him immortal, and turning stones into gold, but what made him most proud was alchemy."

He sighed: "Six hundred years..."

After hearing the news of Nico's death, Loren had a strange feeling in his heart.

He and Nico met twice, once at a small bookstall and once in Devon. Both meetings were in a hurry. There was no deep affection, but they still felt sad.

"Don't get too caught up in your sadness," he comforted.

Unexpectedly, Flamel stared at him in surprise: "Sad? I don't feel sad."

"ah?"

Flamel asked rhetorically: "He has lived for more than six hundred years, traveled around the world, and enjoyed all the beauty in the world. He has already lived enough. Death is a decision that has already been made, why should he be sad."

Loren:…

He was silent for a moment and decided not to mention Nico's matter again: "What is the supreme pursuit of alchemy you just mentioned?"

"When Nico was three hundred years old, his pursuit was to use alchemy to create truly intelligent life. I was a product of that time." Flamel spread his hands and showed himself to Loren.

"Because the creation of living creatures is taboo, Nico starts from the soul. Unlike those magic portraits, Nico wants to refine a magical life that is intelligent, able to think independently, and even has creative power."

"But it has never been successful. There is a lack of one, one -" Flamel frowned, thinking about how to use more accurate words to describe the missing thing.

"A mysterious substance that you can understand as the vitality of the soul. Nico has observed it in ghosts, but not in magic portraits."

"This mysterious substance cannot be refined, and the experiment cannot continue. Even I was only a semi-finished product. After Nico died, he passed a part of the mysterious substance to me through the unique connection between us, which caused something to happen to me. kind of change.”

After listening quietly, Loren looked at Flamel's body. Apart from the change in appearance, he didn't feel any difference from before.

After all, Flamel was also very energetic in the past, loved opera, could think, and could change his views.

Loren suddenly had a magical conjecture: "If I refine the magic stone in the future, use the magic stone to make a body without a soul, and then put you in it, will you become a complete human being?"

Flamel froze on the spot and thought for a while before saying: "Nico has no relevant experience in his memory, so I can't deduce the answer."

"Try it then!" Loren waved his arms excitedly, "The supreme pursuit of alchemy may be realized in my hands!"

Flamel glanced at Loren. He hesitated, not sure whether he should say anything.

Finally he spoke: "That was only Nico's pursuit when he was three hundred years old. He gave up in less than sixty years."

Loren's eyebrows slowly knit together. After all, this is the supreme pursuit of alchemy. Could Nico be too hasty?

"So what is his pursuit later?" Loren asked anyway.

"Refining the sun and creating the world." Flamel replied.

It sounded like he was dreaming. Loren had an expressionless face and pretended not to hear the words: "I came to you for the unicorn horn. Do you have any channels where I can buy a real unicorn horn?"

As he spoke, he walked to the table and sat down.

"No."

Flamel sat across from Loren and replied readily, "Legal unicorn horns don't exist, and you can't get the illegal ones. So I let you find the unicorn horn first. This is the way to repair the magic." The most difficult step in the mirror."

Loren was prepared and was not disappointed when he heard this: "Dumbledore said that there might be clues in the Muggle Castle of Windsor. Do you know what the connection is between Windsor Castle and unicorns?"

"Windsor Castle is the palace of the royal family. The Queen once received a unicorn horn from a businessman, but later it was discovered that it was the spiral horn of a narwhal, and she was deceived."

Flamel speculated, "I think the unicorn horn they got may be real, and they used fake news to cover up the truth."

Loren was puzzled: "How could a Muggle hunt a unicorn?"

"Don't underestimate the power of Muggles." Flamel said something similar to Dumbledore.

He began to tell the past history: "The law of secrecy was to protect wizards, not Muggles. Hundreds of years ago, there were professional unicorn hunters in Northern Europe.

The hunter lets the pure girl wait under the tree. When the unicorn is attracted to the girl and puts his head on the girl's lap and falls asleep, the hunter will take the opportunity to cut off the unicorn's head, or kill it with crossbow arrows, traps, or poison. Kill them. Even if you only come across such an opportunity once every ten years, you can always come across it. "

Loren couldn't figure it out. Unicorns were slightly more powerful than werewolves. If Muggle hunters hunted unicorns, Muggles must have died more.

"What's the use of a unicorn horn for ordinary people?"

Flamel smiled softly and said: "Don't forget, there is a unicorn representing Scotland on the royal family's coat of arms. The symbolic meaning is also very important."

Loren began discussing with Flamel how to steal the unicorn horn from the heavily guarded Windsor Castle.

Flamel, who has hundreds of years of Nico's memories, is experienced and proposes that the freezing spell can stop the Muggle sirens, and the Disillusionment Curse passes through their sights.

"It will be safer to wait until you learn how to apparate before taking action." Flamel suggested.

…

"Loren, get up quickly!"

"Breakfast is ready!" Grandpa Bates' cheerful voice came from downstairs.

"Hmm~"

Loren's answer came with a protracted nasal voice. He turned over and moved, his breathing became even again, and he fell asleep again.

"Loren! It's time for breakfast!" Grandpa Bates's voice was strong and powerful, and it still echoed in Loren's ears after passing through the stairs and the door.

Loren held the quilt with both hands and pulled it up over his head, burying his whole body into the quilt.

Boom!

Boom!

The knock on the door was followed by Grandpa Bates' joyful voice: "Get up quickly, don't sleep in, Hermione will be waiting for you soon."

On the bed, a hand stretched out from under the quilt, picked up the alarm clock on the bedside and put it in front of the gap in the quilt.

Loren struggled to see the alarm clock clearly. The hour and minute hands overlapped, around 6:35.

"I can't live this life any longer." A dull and painful moan came from the quilt.

He was so excited about planning the theft last night that he didn't know how late he slept, but he definitely didn't get enough sleep now.

A few minutes later, Loren dragged his stiff body downstairs with a numb expression to wash up. It wasn't until the warm milk was put into his mouth that his brain slowly started to turn on.

Place the fried luncheon meat and bacon on the bread slices, fold it in half, put it in your mouth and bite it off in one bite. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins bring a sense of blissful satisfaction, injecting energy and vitality into a stiff body.

"Alive!" Loren exclaimed.

Bates had a smile on his face. He had already finished eating, but looking at Loren eating, he could also feel a kind of happiness and satisfaction.

"Is the principal of the magic school busy? I left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to thank him." Bates woke up on the sofa in the morning and took some time to think clearly about what happened last night.

"Maybe I've been busy recently." Loren replied, "I will thank Principal Dumbledore for you."

He finished one piece of bread and began to roll the second piece. As he rolled it, he asked, "How do you feel after the ceremony is completed?"

"Relaxed, happy, and almost ten years younger." Bates's answer was full of energy.

Loren laughed and said, "Magic is not that magical. It's just a psychological effect."

“The burden I had carried for decades was finally thrown away.”

Bates' emotion was filled with joy. He didn't want to talk about the heavy past. He looked at the watch on the table and said, "You entertain Hermione well at home, and I have to go to the bank to handle some business."

Loren complained: "I go to do business every day. Are the procedures in this house so complicated?"

"It's not just this house."

Bates thought for a while and thought he could tell Loren, "The company that rented the farm signed a long-term agreement with me. I sold the proceeds to the bank and got a lot of money directly. There is still a lot left after buying this house, so go The bank is there to handle fund procedures.”

Can an elderly person who lives alone in a remote area and has been isolated from the world for decades be able to engage in finance as soon as he comes out of society?

Loren was stunned and forgot to chew the lunch meat in his mouth.