The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

Chapter 743 Goodbye Vincent Crabbe

In the turret guest room of Ilvermorny Castle, Hermione slowly sat up from the bed, combing her hair while looking out the window. She saw an owl leisurely walking on the branches of the distant woods.

The clean clothes were quietly stacked at the end of the bed, and a silk Gordian knot was attached to it. In the morning light that came in through the window, the metal dots dotted with the ornaments overflowed with colorful colors, and the sunlight and metallic luster flowed between the surface patterns.

"..."

In another guest room in the attic, Loren slowly opened his eyes.

Looking around, the unfamiliar decorations and furnishings brought a slight sense of combing. Observing the sky outside the window, he initially estimated that it was still early, so he closed his eyes and squinted for a while, and got up when he heard a noise outside.

After getting dressed and washing, he waved his wand to make the bed, pushed open the door of the room and went downstairs, and found that Hermione was waiting at the corner at the end of the corridor.

There was a Pukki waiter waiting nearby. Hermione had a faint smile on her face, and she would lower her head and ask in a low voice about the details of Pukki employed by Ilvermorny, such as the relevant salary, scope of work, and holiday arrangements.

Loren smiled unconsciously, and did not interrupt their conversation. He just walked to her side naturally, and the two walked side by side.

The Pukki waiter led the way in front, leading the two to the side hall of the auditorium for dinner, and answered Hermione's questions from time to time, speaking at a slow pace, without any impatience.

Many things in Ilvermorny can inspire people. They live on the top of the mountains, far away from the branches of Muggle society, but because one of the founders is a Muggle, they do not reject Muggle ideas and scientific and technological achievements.

This castle with a history of hundreds of years is renovated every once in a while, repairing water pipes, filling wires, and replacing fashionable decorations. Some places have a Muggle atmosphere.

Hermione seemed to be deeply inspired. This mode of cooperation and coexistence between wizards and different creatures is very helpful for her to perfect her plan to liberate house elves.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the side hall, where several principals and professors were already waiting at the table.

Greeting each other good morning, we sat down and started eating.

Dumbledore and Mr. Fontana were talking quietly while eating. Their voices were very low, and only by concentrating could we hear a few words, such as "little tips for efficient reply letters", "wording methods that will not be asked about details", and "how to select a capable vice-principal". The table was suddenly filled with the joyful atmosphere of slacking off.

Nancy and Pickley sat on the side, with faint dark circles under their eyes and a little listless. It seemed that they did not rest well last night.

Loren chose to concentrate on eating.

"How did this year's graduates perform in the N.E.W.T. exam in potions?" Professor Snape asked.

Loren swallowed the bacon in his mouth: "Headmaster Dumbledore has been here for almost a month. Didn't you ask him?"

"He said he only remembered that the results were better than in previous years. The specific situation needs to be reported to Professor McGonagall in detail." Snape also maintained an indifferent expression while eating breakfast. He cut the fried egg into small pieces, put it into his mouth with a fork, and swallowed it without moving his lips and jaw muscles, as if he didn't need to chew.

"There are 15 more students who have achieved excellent results than before, and I don't know the rest." Loren replied.

The Potions Club established by Professor Snape is more practical, and this production process of splitting the process into batches has unconsciously deepened the club members' understanding of the principles. Later, Slughorn established the Slug Club, focusing on communication and answering questions, and transforming the vague understanding accumulated in the early stage into organized knowledge.

The two professors jointly promoted this progress.

"..."

Snape seemed to be noncommittal, lowered his head to split the fried egg, still expressionless, but the chewing action became obvious.

Loren continued to concentrate on eating.

The warm food filled my stomach bit by bit.

9 o'clock in the morning.

Mr. Fontana led the way personally, and several people walked towards the forest behind the castle.

Loren and Hermione were able to enter the mysterious forbidden forest of Ilvermorny. Compared with the week after they entered the forbidden forest of Hogwarts, this time was much faster.

The forest in the early morning was filled with mist, and the faint light wrapped in the mist blew on my cheeks, which was cool. Walking through the forest path, my trouser legs were wet unconsciously.

The forest where the snake tree is located is on the side of the top of Greylock Mountain, next to the former residence of the founder's stone house. Over the past few hundred years, a lush and dense forest has grown. From a distance, the tree canopy outlines part of the outline of the mountain. It is a very vast and spectacular area.

In order to protect the magic set up by the snake tree, the middle piece is surrounded by vines to form a fence.

Loren saw a warning sign on the vine fence, which only allowed the school infirmary and researchers to enter. I don’t know when it was set up.

"Follow me."

Fontana knocked on the fence with his wand, and the vines moved and twisted, revealing an arch-shaped corridor.

Nancy introduced the two people who came for the first time: "When I graduated, there was no such protective magic. The snake tree was full of vitality, and ordinary wizards could hardly cause damage. Occasionally, students picked one or two leaves to treat their family members' injuries, and the school did not pursue it."

"Is that so."

Several people came to an ancient tree with lush branches and leaves.

The snake tree has been rooted here for hundreds of years. It is not the kind of exaggerated and shocking ancient tree. It is not as thick as a few people hugging. It seems to follow some rules, strong and restrained, with rough bark and thick trunk, but it does not occupy all the nearby land. Fungi can be seen emerging on the uneven surface, and branches of other plants are attached between the branches and crowns.

The branches are twisted and knotted, as if a python is entangled, but it does not make people feel scary.

The emerald green magic is contained inside the snake tree. Just standing under the tree makes you feel relaxed and happy.

Looking at the green and lush snake tree in front of him, Loren's mind gradually became active. He immediately guessed whether this tree would obey the command of Parseltongue. After all, everything left by Slytherin was related to Parseltongue. , the secret room, the basilisk, and the locket...

According to "Ilvermorny: A School History", Gormlaith Gaunt used Parseltongue to order the snakewood wand to go dormant, but Aesop Thel did not know Parseltongue, so he could not wake up the wand. After burying the wand, a snake tree grew here.

If Parseltongue really works, could the tree be restored to wand status?

Although he didn't know much about Parseltongue, Dumbledore next to him had done research on it. If it didn't work, he could still wait for Harry, maybe he would get something unexpected...

Fontana seemed to see what he was thinking. He looked up at the snake tree and explained softly: "For Ilvermorny and the wizards on this continent, the snakewood wand is more prominent and real than the Elder Wand in the Deathly Hallows." It exists, and many people have thought about it...

"Furthermore, although Parseltongue is rare, it is not unique to the Slytherin bloodline. Over the past few hundred years, there have been several students with Parseltongue talent in Ilvermorny. They know the history of Ilvermorny. After discovering that they have the gift of Parseltongue, they all long to control the wand left by the legendary wizard.

"Ilvermorny also wanted to bring back the wands of snakewood, and this did not stop them from making attempts, which ultimately failed.

"Two hundred years ago, there was a little witch from Pukechi College, who seemed to be a distant relative of Slytherin. She sang a Scottish folk song in Parseltongue, causing the snake tree to shake, and it was just shaking. She later became An outstanding healer, Snake Tree is still here to stay.

"It turns out that the snake tree has an effect on Parseltongue, but only a weak one."

Fontana paused for a moment when he said this, with a hint of smile in his voice: "Fortunately, the snake tree has taken root here, otherwise Voldemort would have taken it away."

Nancy added next to her: "Ilvermorny once cooperated with the horned water snake group to conduct a series of research on Parseltongue. This research project is still ongoing today. When students with Parseltongue talents are met, the school The professor will record their sounds and the corresponding translations of the words... but there is no systematic language yet. "

Hermione looked serious and thoughtful, setting up relevant topics and researching promising fields. From a certain point of view, Ilvermorny really learned the Muggle university system and adapted it to magic.

Loren secretly glanced at Professor Snape and sighed silently in his heart: Slytherin's orthodoxy lies in Ilvermorny.

No matter how you look at it, you feel that Hogwarts is a little behind. One is an old magic school with a long history and is therefore conservative, and the other is a younger and rising star who is constantly innovating and catching up...

Fortunately, although the lower limit of the Hogwarts teaching model is slightly lower, the upper limit is extremely high. In the past century, many outstanding wizards have been trained, such as Tom Riddle, the most powerful dark wizard in the world after Herbo, which greatly Expanded the upper limit of the dark magic field of Hogwarts.

There is also Dumbledore, who greatly influenced another famous dark wizard in this century. Rounding it off, Grindelwald can also be regarded as being trained by Hogwarts.

It seems that Slytherin's orthodoxy still lies in Hogwarts.

"..."

Dumbledore, who was observing the snake tree, suddenly stopped and tilted his head to glance at Loren next to him. He felt that the child's eyes were not very polite.

Several professors have already begun to inspect the snake tree. Fontana stroked the rough bark: "The staff of the Magic Congress detected weird magic inside the snake tree, which is extremely evil. They speculated that there was some black magic hidden inside the trunk. thing."

"We all know what it is, Albert." Dumbledore comforted softly, and then gave Snape a look.

Snape came to the front of the snake tree, put the tip of his staff against the middle of the trunk, sprayed out magic power, and the invisible blade burst out, easily cutting through the bark of the tree, and slowly but resolutely cut into the interior.

The milky white branches burst out, carrying the unique fragrance of the plant, revealing the light green and white inner layer.

Loren and the others stood nearby and looked at him quietly.

The shadowless blade penetrated a few inches, and suddenly a burst of bright red liquid shot out. Snape quickly reacted and ducked sideways.

The warm liquid splashed onto the ground and quickly seeped into the soil, leaving dark red and black traces and emitting a slightly fishy smell.

The wizards next to them frowned slightly, and their expressions gradually became serious. Loren and Snape were senior potions masters, and Dumbledore and Fontana had rich experience. They easily recognized the source of this blood, which is the most abundant in nature. The most widespread animal - humans.

Fontana, Pickley and Bute of Ilvermorny all looked unhappy. They were both shocked by Voldemort's cruelty and angry that the Snake Tree had been defiled.

Just as they were observing the blood, the snake tree showed strong vitality, its branches squirmed slightly, and the crack began to heal, but Shen Feng Wuying was blocking it, making the wound heal slowly.

Snape raised his eyes to observe the snake tree, put his wand against the trunk again, remained silent for a moment, moved the tip of the wand half a body to the side, estimated the distance and began to dissect it again.

Everyone took a few steps back to give him room to operate.

The milky white plant slurry splashed, and occasionally blood would burst out, but Snape would quickly adjust, and the others were no longer surprised.

"..."

As the crack gradually expanded, more scenes inside were revealed, and the faces of the two girls became paler and paler. Nancy covered her chest with her right hand, as if her stomach was not feeling well.

It was a male body with a broad skeleton, a fat body, and sufficient muscles and fat, but now his original face could not be seen at all, because he had lost his normal skin and replaced it with a layer of dense scales, like some kind of snake.

The body was in a curled-up position, with a bloody umbilical cord extending from the navel, and the other end connected to the core of the tree. The umbilical cord occasionally squirmed, bursting the branches carrying vitality into the body, the color was pink and the texture was tender, and the grotesque scene inside the snake tree was unbearable and disgusting.

The scene in front of me was like a test-tube baby in a laboratory, but this baby was a strong adult, and this adult was Voldemort's living Horcrux.

Horcrux, the most important chapter in "The Secret of Advanced Black Magic", is regarded as a shelter from death and a weapon to defeat death. It can absorb the negative emotions of the contactor to enhance its own strength. In theory, it can even reverse the limitations of soul and flesh and blood, and complete resurrection with the help of Horcruxes, or call it rebirth.

Loren could feel that there was evil black magic attached to the chest of this body. This magic was the same as the source of the Horcruxes he had seen before. That was where Voldemort's soul fragments were attached.

Dumbledore, who was observing quietly, seemed to have discovered something. He stepped forward and touched the face of the body covered with snake scales with his rough fingers.

The invisible deformation magic spread on the bloody body like running water, and a layer of invisible weak ripples gradually spread. The next moment, everyone saw the snake scales gradually merge into the flesh and blood and turned into normal skin.

Loren frowned. For some reason, when he saw the pale face, he felt a little familiar in his heart.

He had never seen this face before, but the gloomy and violent feeling seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before... He gradually recalled it in a trance, and his pupils shrank slightly.

Hermione next to him had already exclaimed: "Vincent Crabbe!"