The Death Knell

Harry had a strange dream. He was in a strange space. It was pitch black, but he could see his hands and feet clearly, and he felt light and airy at the same time.

Suddenly there was a light ahead and a big snake appeared! Its scales shone in the light, and its agate-like eyes stared at Potter.

Harry was a little nervous, because this kind of giant python would definitely be able to swallow him alive, but the snake just glanced at him, and then took out a set of... educational toys with steel rings from behind. Played with mouth and tail.

It was the kind of toy that allowed Harry to understand how to make the weird-shaped steel ring separate from the other steel rings without using brute force. Harry just looked at it for a while, and at the same time, the fear of snakes in his heart gradually dissipated.

He still remembered that he had a conversation with the python in the zoo before the start of school, which frightened his uncle's family. After entering school, he learned that it was called magical awakening, which is the inability to control one's self without a magic wand. Every little wizard has a similar stage. .

For example, when Ron was a child, he would change the color of the toys around him, which led him to think that he could use the "color-changing spell".

Neville, on the other hand, was thrown out of the attic window by his grandfather because he never woke up, saying that he wanted to stimulate his potential at the critical moment of life and death.

It did work. Neville was thrown to the ground but bounced up like a ball, unscathed. His grandfather cried with joy and bought him a toad.

I also heard Professor Flitwick talk about the genius in his college. The first-year girl's magical awakening behaved like a floating spell and a flying spell. One morning, she made all her toothbrushes and toothpaste float up and circle around her, which frightened her. Her Muggle parents.

Harry felt that his ability was just talking to snakes, so useless...

Children from pure-blood families are guided by family members after awakening to magic. Although the girl is a Muggle, her parents are very open-minded.

How unlike me, when I talked to a snake on the day I went to the zoo, my uncle and aunt thought they were trying to kill Dali, so they almost sent me to a lunatic asylum.

Fortunately, the notice for Hogwarts came the next day, and he escaped.

The environment in the dream was very quiet, and he could only hear the snake playing with the metal rings. Harry tried, but he couldn't wake up at all, so he had no choice but to sit aside and watch the big snake play with the things.

five minutes? ten minutes? Not knowing how long had passed in this dark world, Harry couldn't help but yawn in his sleep.

Because this snake is so stupid, he has already seen it. All he needs to do is change the direction of the angle formed by the other two rings, and the target steel ring can be taken out.

However, the snake's tail brushed lightly over that area several times, as if sliding across Harry's longing heart, tickling but not doing anything.

"Open, open there."

Harry couldn't stand it anymore and felt that maybe the snake wouldn't be able to wake up unless he solved the riddle. He didn't want to stay awake and watch in this weird nightmare.

He stood up and pointed at the joint, but the snake just looked at him and didn't listen at all.

At this time, he patted his forehead, yes, you shouldn't speak in English, look for the feeling of pronunciation, yes, you have to feel it.

"Hiss! Hiss~~~hiss!"

He spoke the language of snakes very naturally and gave instructions to the big snake.

The snake understood this time. It raised the educational toy on its tail, and a thought came directly into Harry's mind: "What are we going to do here?"

"Open, open this place." Harry wanted to demonstrate by himself, but the snake used its head to push him away and refused to let him play.

"Here? How is it?" it asked.

"Open." Harry replied in Parseltongue, expressionless.

"How is it?" Snake didn't seem to understand the word.

...

"Open!"

Harry was going crazy. He spent the next few minutes repeating this pronunciation in Parseltongue. Gradually, his volume increased without noticing, and finally it turned into a roar.

Suddenly his vision went dark, and he sat up from the bed suddenly, and found Ron standing next to the bed holding a candle.

"You've been screaming strangely," he said, "like a lizard. I couldn't wake you up, and I almost had to notify Madam Pomfrey."

Harry wiped the sweat from his head. It seemed that he was so angry at the stupid snake in his dream.

It turns out that one can escape from death in dreams? learned.

Well, it's useless knowledge again, as useless as your own talent.

"I'm fine, I just had a nightmare." Harry saw that Neville was also awake. He smiled apologetically at a few people in the dormitory, and then slowly lay back down. The feather-filled pillow was covered with sweat. Turning it over: "I'm sorry to disturb you."

Ron blew out the candle and climbed back into bed. His pajamas didn't fit very well. He should have gotten them from an older brother. He yawned:

"If you pay for the candy next time, we'll be even."

Harry smiled and touched the lightning scar on his forehead. He felt nothing. He relaxed and closed his eyes:

"Of course, fair enough."

Darkness and silence returned to the dormitory, and soon Neville and Ron started snoring like they were competing. Harry fell asleep again in a familiar environment, and this time there were no strange dreams.

But none of the lions noticed that while they were talking, a transparent silk-like tentacle left Harry's pillow and quickly shrank toward the window, and a dark figure instantly disappeared into the night sky.

"Open?" The figure kept imitating Parseltongue in a low voice, as if practicing pronunciation: "It's done, let's go see how Hermione's progress is."

..................................................

The little girl's progress was also going very smoothly. Although she didn't know how the blue-light crystal in her hand did it, it did lead her to avoid everyone and reach the basement.

After finding its friends in the room filled with wine barrels, it took the three girls to the right corridor on the fourth floor.

There are some scorched marks on the ground here, which look like ghosts in the moonlight through the window, but Hermione knows who did this. Someone dropped a bomb in front of the door here. The marked door is the right path.

The door was opened a crack, as if someone had already entered.

"This is it, there is still the smell of garlic around, Quirrell beat us one step ahead." Susan sniffed and whispered to Hermione.

"It seems that the chaos caused by Professor Wilson yesterday made Quirrell a little anxious. He didn't steal anything last night, so is he here again tonight?" Hermione touched the space bag on her waist.

Hannah was a little hesitant. She turned her head and looked at the strange statue in the darkness behind her:

"If Quirrell is inside, we are no match for adult wizards. Why don't we go to the principal?"

Hermione shook her head and pulled out the shotgun from her pocket: "It's too late. If he gets the thing, he will definitely run away. By the time we call the principal, he will be gone."

"Are you holding an alchemy wand? I've never seen you use such a big one before." Susan asked curiously, her attention focused on the gun.

Hermione just showed the gun to them, then put it back and replaced the wand:

"I used it to kill the troll yesterday. After dinner today, I was preparing for the night tour. In order to ensure my combat effectiveness, I went to the shooting range to pick up weapons. As I guessed, Professor Wilson expected In my opinion, this... magic wand is placed in the most conspicuous place, and he also left a note saying that he had replaced it with a 'golden slug', I don't know what it means."

Hannah felt a little more relieved: "Can you defeat Quirrell?"

"As long as he doesn't hit the head, he shouldn't be killed, right?" Hermione was a little unsure, but she quickly shook her head and put away the map: "We'll talk after we go in."