Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 192 Magic Portrait
Surrounded by snowy owls, the giant eagle landed on the castle's large lawn.

Dui jumped off the eagle's back, looked at Alwen who was already waiting there, and showed a bright and gentle smile.

"I am back!"

Alvin's eyes curved slightly at the corners, sparkling with starlight, and her lips curved into a bright smile.

"Welcome back!"

Neither of them said much, but they understood each other perfectly, simply looking at each other quietly, tracing each other's outlines with their eyes.

They smiled at each other, then held hands and walked towards the castle.

At the dinner table, Dui enjoyed the food prepared by Alvin while recounting his experiences on the trip.

Alvin sat gently to his side, listening attentively to his words.

"By the way, Alwen, I learned painting from a painter from the Sindar tribe. How about I paint a portrait of you later?"

Dui asked eagerly, looking eager to prove himself.

Alvin smiled very gently and nodded in agreement: "Okay."

So after dinner, Dui couldn't wait to take Alvin to the garden and have her sit on a wicker chair surrounded by flowers, with the white jacaranda and mahogany trees behind her.

Alwen gently allowed Dui to arrange various angles for her, her eyes full of smiles.

Then Dui took out the painting tools he had prepared beforehand from his spatial bag.

He set up the easel, laid out the canvas, focused intently on depicting Alvin, and then began to paint on the canvas.

The atmosphere in the garden was peaceful and warm.

The leaves of the tall white and tortoise trees rustled, and golden and silver leaves drifted down with the wind, carpeting the grass with gold and silver.

Alvin sat half-reclined on a naturally grown wicker chair, with purple bouquets hanging above it and white flowers of the King Grass blooming at her feet. On either side grew the ever-blooming Alferin and Elano.

There were also countless colorful Entepo flowers and other flower species all around.

She sat amidst the flowers, her eyes gentle and smiling, quietly watching the man in front of her intently painting her portrait, like a goddess of flowers gazing upon her lover.

As time passed, Alvin sat there quietly, her figure graceful, her face showing no sign of fatigue or impatience, her smile unchanged, as if she could sit there forever.

"All right!"

Finally, Dui stopped writing.

"Is it okay now?" Alvin asked.

"It's ready, Alwen. Come and take a look. Are you satisfied?" Dui beckoned.

Alvin got up and walked over with curiosity.

On the canvas, Alvin's portrait was incredibly lifelike, even capturing the gentle smile in her eyes.

Behind the portrait, a corner of the garden, including the Maurice and the Sacred White Tree, was also depicted.

Looking at her own portrait, Alvin was slightly surprised. Although her painting skills were obviously still immature and unskilled, the self in the painting had a certain liveliness, and the tenderness and love in her eyes were palpable.

Is this how Duir sees herself? Alvin felt an overwhelming sweetness welling up inside her.

"How is it? Are you satisfied?" Dui asked expectantly. "If not, I'll draw a few more. Anyway, I've already memorized your appearance, so you don't have to sit for long periods of time."

Alvin smiled gently and said softly, "This is already very good! There's no need to paint any more, but I really like this painting. Could you give it to me?"

Dui shook his head and smiled mysteriously, "Not yet. This painting isn't truly finished yet; it needs to go through one more step."

Alvin was immediately puzzled.

Dui offered no explanation, but instead took her and the portrait back to the castle.

Then, they went to the potion room, set up the silver cauldron, took out the prepared potion ingredients, and began to make the potion.

Alvin did not disturb him, sitting quietly to the side, watching Du Yi's smooth movements with admiration in his eyes.

When the potion in the cauldron turned pale purple, Dui suddenly looked up.

"Alwen, could I have a single strand of your hair?"

Alvin was puzzled, but still cut off a strand of hair and asked, "Is one enough? If not, I'll get some more."

Dui quickly stopped him, "That's enough, one is enough."

Alwen was willing to part with it, but he was not.

He then dropped the strand of hair that Alvin handed him into the cauldron potion.

The potion's color instantly turned pale blue, with a scent reminiscent of after-rain.

Turn off the fire, remove the crucible, and allow the potion to cool completely.

Then, to Alvin's astonishment, Dui used a dropper to apply the potion to the portrait, which miraculously absorbed it.

The originally static portrait gradually came to life, with the flowers, plants and trees seemingly coming to life, swaying in the breeze.

The Alvin in the painting also seems to come alive, with her hair moving slightly, just like a living person.

The only drawback is that Alvin's eyes in the painting are empty and blank, as if she has no soul and is completely unresponsive.

Alvin was very surprised to see this.

"Duir, what's going on?"

Dui smiled and explained, "This is a magic portrait. Unlike static paintings, it moves and talks." "Then why doesn't my portrait seem to react?"

“Because she hasn’t been implanted with memories yet, she’s like a newborn baby right now, her mind and consciousness are blank,” Dui replied.

He then taught Alvin the magic of extracting memories.

Following Dui's method, Alvin pressed her wand against her temple, extracted the memories, and then injected them into her portrait.

As the memories were absorbed by the portrait, Alwen's empty eyes gradually became bright and lively. Then, as if infused with a soul, her lively and gentle gaze pierced through the painting and fell upon Dui and Alwen.

"Hello, Duir, and another me."

Looking at Alwen in the painting, Dui couldn't help but ask curiously, "Alwen, what does she look like in the painting? Can you tell me about her?"

In the painting, Alvin looks at Dui with tenderness in her eyes. She glances around and then replies:

"There's no difference between this place and the real world. I'm in a garden right now, smelling the fragrance of flowers and grass, feeling the wind blowing, and I can see the Black Lake and Hogsmeade Town below, as well as further away."

The only difference is that here there is only me, no you, no Saurondo, no Smaug, and no residents of Hogsmeade Town below the mountain.

Dui was very surprised to hear Alwen's answer in the painting.

He originally thought that the world in the painting would be completely black or blank except for the part of the environment he painted, but he never expected it to be a complete world just like reality.

If Alvin were to leave from Windrise, he might be able to go to places like the Valley of the Dead, Lorien, or even Mordor, which is controlled by Sauron, or even the western Valinor.

This is no longer a magical portrait; it's practically a "metaverse"!

When Alvin heard herself in the painting say that she was all alone, she seemed to empathize, and a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes.

She turned to Duy and said, "Duy, could you please include you in the painting as well? Otherwise, she'll be very lonely!"

Dui patted her hand reassuringly and nodded with a smile: "Of course, that's no problem. Not only me, but also Sorondo, Smaug, Kraken, and the residents of Hogsmeade Town down the mountain—I'll draw them all. I guarantee the world in the painting will be just as big as the real world!"

"However, I think it would be best if you painted my portrait. What do you think?"

Alvin smiled brightly and nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, I will draw you very handsome!"

So the next day, Dui and Alvin returned to the garden.

This time, it was Alwen who was painting, and Dui sat in Alwen's seat.

Alvin didn't let Dui sit for long. With her extraordinary memory, she firmly remembered the image of Dui and didn't let him maintain the position any longer.

Dui, filled with curiosity, went closer to see how Alvin had drawn him.
When I saw it, I was immediately amazed.

In Alvin's paintings, he is tall and upright, with a gentle look in his cold face. Looking at him through the picture, he seems to be surrounded by a halo, so perfect that he is not human.

Is this how Alvin sees herself? Dui felt a sweet warmth mixed with undisguised joy.

Dui hadn't expected Alvin's painting skills to be so extraordinary. Not only was he lifelike in the painting, but even the plants and trees were incredibly realistic and vivid. He had even painted the entire castle scene.

Compared to the other person, Dui felt that the painting he had done for Alvin was like the difference between a primary school student and a master.

It's fortunate that Alvin didn't mind and was willing to treasure it like a precious gem.

After Alwen finished drawing, Dui looked at himself in the picture and joked with a smile, "Alwen, you drew me so perfectly that I almost dare not believe that it is me!"

He then took out a magic potion he had prepared beforehand, poured it onto the painting, and let the painting fully absorb it.

Everything in the painting came to life, incredibly realistic, as if reflected in a mirror, even more beautiful than reality, like a fairyland.

Although his eyes are vacant in the painting, every hair is clearly visible and his skin has a healthy complexion, making him look almost exactly like a real person.

Dui pressed his wand against his temple, slowly extracted the memory, and then pressed it against his own image in the portrait, injecting it into it.

In the portrait, Dui's empty eyes become clear, and then the corners of his mouth turn up as he looks directly into Dui's eyes.

"Yo, hello there, my true form!"

After greeting everyone, she looked around the painting with great curiosity and exclaimed, "It really is just as Alvin said! If I didn't know this was in a painting, I would have thought this was really Middle-earth!"

"Hey, original body, remember to draw me a flying broom next time, and don't forget Smaug and Zorodo either. I need to go to other places when I have time to see if the world in this painting really has no boundaries?"

Then his gaze shifted to Alwen beside Dui, and he waved with a grin, feigning regret, saying, "Hello, Alwen, it's a pity that it's not me standing next to you right now. Although we are one entity, I'm still very jealous of my other self!"

"Of course I'm not bad either, I have Alwen here with me."

He suddenly turned his head and saw something. His eyes lit up, and he waved his hand, "Ah, I see Alvin! I have to go find her. Bye, you two!"

Without waiting for the two to say anything, he quickly left the area of ​​the painting and disappeared without a trace.

Looking at the empty scene in the painting, Alvin couldn't help but chuckle, then looked at Dui with amusement: "I didn't expect you to have this kind of personality, Dui?"

Dui couldn't help but cover his head, his face filled with unspeakable emotions.

The self depicted in the painting is merely a personality formed from a memory.

To flesh out a character's personality, one needs to continuously infuse them with memories, gradually bringing the character's personality and thinking closer to the real person.

This process needs to continue until the person passes away.

At that time, the portrait will continue to exist in the world in place of the deceased, fully possessing all the deceased's emotional memories, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is the person himself.

Of course, Dui will certainly not wait until that day.

But if he didn't want his portrait to look so stupid, he would need to train him for a while, so that he wouldn't embarrass himself in public.

(End of this chapter)