days at Hogwarts

Chapter 805 International Wizarding Conference
In an oasis deep in the desert, beside a clear and calm lake, a figure squatted down.

The rat snake, which had just taken a nap, opened the thin membrane covering its eyes. Its eyes were cold and lifeless, and it could only sense through the organs in its cheek pits. The dried rat meat that had been put down not long ago was still there.

Loren lowered his head and placed the tip of his staff against his brow.

The gentle magic quietly penetrated, searching deeply, passing through the cerebral cortex, brushing past those insignificant ravines, and gradually spreading into the depths of the soul through the connection between the body and the soul. After several years of growth, he has completely mastered the magic related to memory, and it seems more handy to explore those long-lost memories deep in his soul.

When he opened his eyes again, he pulled out the tip of the staff.

"Om..."

The invisible and intangible magical waves suddenly spread out, causing the nearby grass leaves to sway and rippling the clear and calm lake surface.

It was as if something that was not allowed to exist in this world appeared out of thin air, and ripples appeared in the space and on the water surface. The light seemed to be slightly distorted. Hermione had to squint her eyes and concentrate to see the thing lingering on the tip of the wand clearly -

It was a thin wisp like smoke.

If you look closely, you will find that this wisp of smoke is different from ordinary memory mist. If ordinary memory mist is wisps of silver light mist, with a crystal-clear main body and soft light, this wisp of smoke is more like the mist on an autumn or winter morning. Its color tends to be grayish white, without a faint glow, but only deep and mysterious, as if everything around the tip of the wand is distorted and cannot be seen clearly.

Extracting memories from the mind or soul, many memory magics involve this technique, among which Legilimency is the most delicate and exquisite, and also more light and gentle. When a master of Legilimency extracts his own memories, it will not damage the brain or affect the soul, so it will not cause memory disorder and will not affect other related memories.

With Loren's current knowledge and magical skills, he can be called a master of Legilimency. He will not change at all because of the extraction of a few strands of memory, but at the moment the memory leaves the main body, Hermione still feels that subtle changes have taken place in Loren.

It’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad, it’s an indescribable change.

There was always a subtle sense of alienation between Loren and his surroundings. Many students at Hogwarts gave people a similar feeling. As daily interactions gradually faded, this alienation seemed like a loneliness or coldness caused by personality factors. However, people who knew Loren well knew his character very well, and this alienation was definitely not caused by Loren's optimistic and gentle personality.

But at this moment, the surrounding space and the lake not far away were slightly distorted by magic, and that innate alienation seemed to disappear.

"Loren, are you okay?"

"Oh, actually, it's a little different than I expected."

Loren held the wand, his posture calm and composed, but his expression was a little complicated.

I originally thought that extracting those long-lost memories was equivalent to forgetting that world, but as the magic power was extracted, those long-lost images and sounds were not only not lost, but became clearer. Rather than being extracted, it was more like some kind of scanning and rubbing.

He was not sure what had caused the change.

This world is far more complicated than he expected.

The moment the king snake in front of him saw the mist of memory, the scales on its body tensed up, the tip of its tail curled up behind it swept back and forth, and the frequency of its spitting out its tongue increased significantly, as if it was very excited.

"emmm..."

Loren paused, then handed over the mist lingering on the tip of the staff.

The king snake opened its eyes, which were empty, as if there was nothing in them. It moved closer to kiss the scales, and its muscles moved slowly, as if it was absorbing something from the mist of memory.

A few minutes later, the rat snake finished its action, twisted its body back to the lake, and hid under the water plants, motionless.

The mist lingering on the tip of the staff quietly dissipated, as if the mist disappeared under the sunlight, leaving no trace. As the ripples of the space and the lake calmed down, Loren felt that there seemed to be something extra in his soul, but he couldn't tell clearly. He could only stare at the dispersing mist silently, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Hermione walked over quickly and put her hands on his shoulders, "Loren, Loren?"

"I am fine."

Loren came back to his senses and turned to look at the lake not far away, with a look of surprise still on his face: "I think... I seem to have found the Fountain of Good Luck."

As soon as the words fell, the lake suddenly exploded.

"boom!"

The magic power bombarded the surrounding lakeshore. There was no splashing water, no moist and cool water vapor. Instead, it exploded with a strong fluctuation of magic power. A strong gale raged and the mud was blown up into the air, covering the sky and the sun.

The bubble head spell emitted a faint glow, and all the flying sand, gravel and soil were blocked outside.

The strong wind outside became stronger and stronger, gradually forming a storm that enveloped the entire space and swept across the entire oasis. The bushes and grass were torn into fine powder by the strong wind, mixed with sand, dim and yellow, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Loren and Hermione stood side by side, their expressions were calm, and there was no panic in their eyes. This level of turbulence could not break through the defense of the Bubble Head Curse, and although the space here was strange, it could not block Loren's perception and magic. He could activate space teleportation at any time to take Hermione away.

The whole process lasted for more than ten minutes before the chaotic and turbulent space gradually calmed down.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other, removed the Bubble Head Charm, and looked around.

The desert ground was undulating, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the scorching hot wind blew the sand and gravel, forming twisted and winding lines. The surrounding sand dunes gradually fell silent, and the loose sand and gravel collapsed.

The once lush oasis disappeared, leaving only a stretch of yellow sand.

Hermione opened her eyes wide, her breathing became a little rapid, and she leaned closely against Loren beside her. His solid and reliable body brought her some peace of mind in this suddenly changed space.

"The oasis created by the Fountain of Good Luck...collapsed?"

"It should be said that it is an oasis created by the Fountain of Good Luck hundreds of years ago."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked confused.

"The Fountain of Good Luck does have magical powers, but this naturally condensed magic power is not enough to permanently change the natural environment. The oasis it created was gradually eroded and assimilated by wind and sand over hundreds of years and became part of the desert."

"Doesn't that mean our trip has failed?"

“In fact, everything went well.”

Loren explained softly: "The purpose of searching for the Fountain of Luck is to find a way to improve the space-shifting device. We gave answers to three questions and found the Fountain of Luck, which also answered my questions." As he spoke, he waved his wand.

Hermione felt the magic working on the ground. The soft sand vibrated slightly at a strange frequency, like some kind of call, and it seemed that something deep in the sand responded to the call.

Along with another slight vibration, many holes appeared on the ground. A rough glance showed that there were about hundreds of them. At first, they were only the size of fingers, and then gradually expanded to the size of a ghost ball. Sand and gravel gurgled out, and snakes with shiny black scales drilled out of the ground. The flowing sand and gravel turned into clear and cool spring water.

There are hundreds of black snakes for hundreds of holes, and also hundreds of springs, which are arranged into strange shapes according to some hidden rules.

Hermione saw many traces of runes in it. Although she couldn't understand them, she was sure that -

This is a blueprint of some kind of alchemical array.

"The Book of Abraham, drawing of the last page."

Loren whispered softly.

……

After the adventure at the Fountain of Good Fortune, the two returned to Hampstead, a suburb of London, and the rest of the holiday was peaceful and leisurely.

Hermione was waiting for her NEWT certificate at home, and reading newspapers in her spare time. In addition to the Daily Prophet, she also subscribed to the New York Ghost from across the ocean, which she had asked Flourish and Blotts to help purchase.

An alchemical array drawn according to the location of the Fountain of Good Luck was used.

Loren and Flamel were both top alchemists in the world. The magic circle was in line with the needs of the space-shifting device and was not difficult to understand, so it was quickly applied to the design of the device.

A week later, when he opened the fantasy book again, Flamel had almost perfected the new space-shifting device. Finally, the magic control and linkage interference were also solved. He was just waiting for the final mass production and promotion. Draco, Nott and others also wrote to say that they were ready, but the International Wizarding Congress had not yet been held.

All we can do for now is wait.

This year's International Confederation of Wizards Conference was held in London, England.

The responsibilities of the International Confederation of Wizards are very complex. In addition to policies and regulations related to wizards around the world such as the Statute of Secrecy, it also involves many policies between countries, especially trade-related, tariff setting, and lists of prohibited import and export items. In short, it affects all aspects of the work of the wizarding government and involves huge interests.

Take the joint conference held in New York last year as an example. The biggest beneficiary was the Magical Congress of the United States of America, which first promoted the protection of werewolves' rights and interests, thereby attracting werewolves and their families from all over the world to immigrate. Among these werewolves are ordinary wizards who diligently pursue a normal life, prospective Aurors with strong dueling abilities, and experts in various fields who are dedicated to studying werewolf disease and healing themselves. Ilvermorny was unable to recruit professors in the past two years, but this year it directly expanded its enrollment.

The biggest limitation restricting the development of wizards is the lack of personnel. The American magic world has absorbed and supplemented many werewolf families. The level of internal trade and the strength of military power have increased significantly in all aspects.

In fact, given the reputation of the British Ministry of Magic in recent years, even with Dumbledore in charge, it would not have been possible to secure this venue. Until last June, the magic ministries of several countries were vying for it, and in early August, a shocking airport battle took place. The British Ministry of Magic claimed that a legendary wizard had been born in their territory again, and the Magical Congress of the United States of America came forward to guarantee it, so the result was no longer a foregone conclusion.

As participants from various countries entered London, wizards in Muggle robes could often be seen wandering the streets, accompanied by Ministry of Magic staff.

One day when Lauren was shopping, he even saw Tonks and Harry answering questions from officials from the French Ministry of Magic. They were chattering and it was hard to tell what accent they were speaking.

Harry had a helpless smile on his face.

Tonks' eyes were calm and her expression was numb.

On the other hand, Diagon Alley has become more lively than ever before. It is foreseeable that the name of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes will soon spread throughout the entire wizarding world.

The new Minister of Magic, Ms. Bones, attached great importance to this joint conference. She directly connected the first and second floors of the basement of the Ministry of Magic and expanded it. The main venue was set up in the original Wizengamot management office, which was large enough to accommodate participants from wizarding governments around the world and related reporters.

Monday, August 1998, 7.

Lauren and Hermione got up early and left Hampstead together and headed for the Ministry of Magic.

He didn't try to squeeze into the narrow phone booth, but Apparated directly into the lobby.

The interior of the Ministry of Magic has been renovated. The entire space is magnificent and everything in sight has been polished to a radiant shine. There are dark wooden floors, a peacock blue dome inlaid with golden runes, and the Fountain of Magical Brotherhood has also been rebuilt. Male and female wizards stand side by side on the platform at the bottom of the pool, surrounded by a variety of other species.

There was a line of people in front of the entrance hall. On the right hand side of the entrance was a counter for wand inspection. There was a line of people of different lengths, dressed in different clothes. At the front were several staff members wearing uniform robes. They all looked very young. One of them was even a Hogwarts graduate, a classmate of Ravenclaw. I only remembered that we had attended the Charms class together, but I couldn't remember his name, nor did I know which department he was from.

"It's a good thing you didn't join the company early, otherwise you would have been pulled in to do odd jobs as well."

Loren pulled Hermione and slowly lined up at the end of the line, with about four or five people in front of them.

Hermione ignored him and took the opportunity to look around at the people attending the meeting while waiting in line to check their wands.

Including the British Ministry of Magic, there are wizard governments from a total of 170 countries attending the International Confederation of Wizards this time, with nearly 300 participants. Most of them are from countries with a large number of wizarding residents, such as the Magical Congress of the United States. Some governments are short of staff and only sent one person to attend the conference symbolically.

There were also representatives from many humanoid intelligent magical creatures, including werewolves, vampires, veela, pukki, goblins, centaurs, etc., totaling more than 70 groups. Most of them did not attend the last meeting, but were invited by Dumbledore to attend this time.

After counting the magical creatures they had seen, it was their turn to test the wands.

The entire testing process is very simple. The staff simply identifies the material of the wand. In order to avoid misunderstandings caused by offense, the Flashback Spell is also performed by the wizard himself using another standard wand provided by the Ministry of Magic.

Quick, convenient and respectful.

“Applewood, Phoenix tail feathers, ten inches, Apparition.

"Vinewood, dragon nerve, ten and three-quarter inches, follower apparition.

"Welcome to the 1998 International Wizarding Conference hosted by the British Ministry of Magic. Please follow the signs to the venue. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the staff. I wish you a pleasant journey."

"..."

Loren and Hermione took their wands and turned to walk into the elevator.

(End of this chapter)