The days at Hogwarts

There was also a group of more cautious students who were now stationed at the observatory, joining in tonight's stargazing class, mingling with young wizards from other grades, using telescopes to make sure the moon was really full.

Hermione's white fingers stopped on a note, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, and she suddenly turned her head and asked, "Can we use the whirlwind to clean our teeth? Will it roll the mandrake into pieces?"

"If you are not sure, it is best not to use this cleaning spell. It is better to be safe than sorry." Loren leaned his head against the pillar next to him. Suddenly he thought of something and smiled strangely. "Just don't brush your teeth. If you only do it for a month, you shouldn't get cavities."

"Eh~" Hermione pouted in disgust, "I won't talk to you if you don't brush your teeth."

Hermione, whose parents are both dentists, certainly knows what happens if she doesn't brush her teeth. Bacteria multiply freely in the hotbed of the mouth, and even a month is not enough to cause tooth decay, and the smell is definitely unpleasant.

"Oh!" Loren stared at her, pointed his finger at her and said, "You won't talk to me unless I brush my teeth. So you approach me just for my fresh breath."

Hermione: "..."

The little witch rolled her eyes at him, not wanting to continue dealing with him. She turned her head away and continued reciting her precautions.

Loren refused to give up easily. He approached her and pulled her arm, asking, "Tell me, are you planning to take my lime-flavored toothpaste?"

"Be careful not to damage my mandrake blades!"

Hermione slapped him, and Loren got angry and slapped him back. Things then took a strange turn, and the two of them started fighting in the courtyard while waiting for the moonlight, slapping each other.

George, who was not far away, heard the sound, looked suspiciously into the bushes, and muttered quietly, "Are there mosquitoes so early this year? Summer isn't even here yet."

Fred squatted aside and looked carefully at the mandrake leaf in his hand, and responded casually: "It's already April, it's normal to have mosquitoes."

"Yeah……"

Loren didn't get tired of playing this game of clapping until the backs of their hands turned red. It was mainly because Hermione was stronger than him, and he felt that he was at a disadvantage, otherwise he and Hermione would play until dawn.

Hermione calmed down and remembered to take a look at her mandrake leaves. After confirming that everything was fine, she sighed with mixed feelings.

According to the little witch's original plan, she had to carefully protect the Mandrake Leaf Opening Ceremony and spend this month cautiously. But Loren had such magic that she couldn't help but fall into his evil game.

Hermione had a bad feeling in her heart. With this person around, the ritual of holding the mandrake in her mouth might be very difficult.

The little witch sat on the steps in a trance, worrying about how she would spend the next month.

Loren, whose evil taste was satisfied, felt cheerful. She felt the breeze in the courtyard, looked up at the sky, and occasionally glanced at the paper in her hand. She held a green blade of grass in her hand, and her fingers unconsciously stroked the blade.

All the books made it clear that Animagus was a long-term project and the study time was measured in years, ranging from one or two years to several decades. Even a small group of gifted marauders took three years, and some wizards could never hear a second heartbeat in their entire lives.

Of course, compared to those unlucky guys who turned into beasts or grew parts that shouldn't be there, they were lucky.

It is worth noting that the entire ceremony does not take long. Apart from holding the mandrake leaf in the mouth, the most time-consuming part is waiting for a stormy night with thunder and lightning. Britain, with its temperate maritime climate, is not short of thunderstorms, so the waiting time will not be too long.

Most of the time was spent on learning the relevant knowledge of transfiguration and building up strong mental strength.

The relevant knowledge points of human animal transformation were not fully covered, and the specific content of reason against animal nature was not mentioned. Although the Transfiguration Club had previously covered a lot of relevant content, no matter how you look at it, Professor McGonagall's teaching progress was not enough to support the young wizards to start the ceremony.

Professor McGonagall may have many purposes, such as letting the young wizards understand the difficulty of the ritual and dispelling the impatience caused by expectations...

All in all, it is estimated that no one can successfully complete the first step of the ritual. There are too many variables in a month, and Loren himself is unsure, so he simply relaxes and takes things easy.

About ten minutes later, the bright moonlight broke free from the veil of dark clouds and flowed in the courtyard like a clear stream, bringing peace and clarity.

Under the moonlight, the mandrake leaves in my hand seemed to have undergone some miraculous changes. The veins stretched out and the tiny hairs on the back of the leaves stood up.

Loren, who had been pinching the leaves and turning them, was the first to notice the change. It didn't hurt his hand, but it felt noticeably rougher. The magic power in the plant became more active, but it hadn't yet reached the level of excitement.

Loren's eyes flashed with surprise, and without thinking too much, he threw the leaf into his mouth. It was icy cold, with the fragrance of some kind of grass, and the grass juice had not leaked, so there was no taste.

Hermione looked at him with her lively eyes, sparkling with curiosity: "What does it taste like?"

"chocolate flavor!"

Hermione silently rolled her eyes, slowly put the mandrake leaf into her mouth, took a sip, and savored it: "Mine is strawberry flavored."

Loren's eyes widened: "You're lying!"

"whispering sound!"

……

In a corridor on the right side of the courtyard, George and Fred held the mandrake leaves in front of their eyes. Both of them had a certain foundation in potions and alchemy, and tried to analyze something from them.

Well, nothing to see.

The two looked at each other and tacitly gave up the subject. However, they did not start the first step of the Animagus ritual. Instead, they looked at each other and simultaneously put the Mandrake into their respective small boxes and put them back in their pockets.

George's eyes flickered a few times, and he said faintly, "I remember Professor McGonagall said that as long as I put it in my mouth before twelve o'clock, it will be fine, right?"

Hearing this, Fred nodded, with a malicious smile on his face: "Now go tickle Percy's armpits, he definitely won't be able to resist."

"You even have to cover your mouth."

"Hey hey hey..."

Soon, Percy's painful laughter could be heard in the courtyard. Pain and laughter seemed to be two contradictory words, but Percy combined the two together to interpret them, and even added anger and sadness to the laughter... In short, it was very complicated.

Cedric, one of the onlookers, expressed deep sympathy and then quickened his pace to leave this dangerous place. Who knows if the twins will attack others?

Saturday.

The gap in the moon is getting bigger day by day, and the full moon has gradually turned into a crescent moon.

The magic power contained in the mandrake pulsed at a mysterious frequency under the moonlight, and this pulsation was constantly changing. Loren noticed that the pulsating magic power and the magic power flowing in his body were slowly converging and approaching each other. The two were not trying to become exactly the same, but changing to a harmonious rhythm.

There were only about thirty members in the Animagus class, not many in number. After the public class ended, the disturbance in the class gradually subsided. A more important matter became the topic of discussion at the Gryffindor dinner table, the Quidditch match with Hufflepuff.

"We have been training every night these days. With the help of Nimbus 2001, I can perform the Plumpton Back Copy Technique to perfection. The Eagle Head Offensive Formation has also been practiced to perfection..." Harry couldn't stop talking while chewing chickpeas, with a confident smile on his face. "I think the Gryffindor team has never been as confident of winning the Quidditch Cup as it is now!"

"Shhh—" Ron looked around nervously, then looked at him seriously, "Don't reveal the tactics!"

Harry swallowed the beans in his mouth and nodded.

Loren cut the grilled veal on the plate and turned to interrupt their conversation: "I remember that Captain Wood, George and Fred are all members of the Animagus teaching class. Can they communicate loudly on the court with Mandrake in their mouths?"

"Wood didn't start the ceremony because he was training for Quidditch. As for George and Fred..." Harry hesitated when he mentioned the two of them. He was thinking about what to say.

Ron had a gloating smile on his face, and continued with a grin, "When Percy woke up the next morning, he found that a corner of the mandrake leaf in his mouth was missing. That day, he chased the two people like crazy. From the first floor of the castle to the eighth floor, and then from the eighth floor to the first floor, he chased George and Fred until they were out of breath, and beat them up severely."

Harry nodded, and sighed with emotion about the scene at that time: "George and Fred failed to escape with the help of the secret passages they knew, and then their ritual failed. Angelina said that their mandrake leaves were beaten and vomited out."

Ron's smile vividly illustrates the friendship between brothers: "And more..."

It wasn't just the three Weasley brothers. In less than a week, more than half of the members of the Animagus class had failed.

In addition to the natural losses, there are also the damages caused by George and Fred, such as the food that is accidentally swallowed while eating and sleeping, and the food that is accidentally spit out when brushing your teeth.

They always told those hilarious jokes loudly in front of the class members, and when those people laughed so hard that they couldn't stand up straight, they would see the mandrake leaves falling on the ground. They would hide in the corner and suddenly rush out to make faces at the students, scaring some people to bite the leaves into pieces.

They even made a deal with Peeves to join forces to do mischief.

Neville, who was standing next to him, silently wrote down these cases and reminded himself to stay away from the evil twins in the next month.

Loren listened with delight, and used his tongue to push aside the mandrake leaves in his mouth, preparing to put the delicious steak on the fork into his mouth.

Hermione held his arm and reminded him seriously, "Don't eat food that requires chewing. There is a risk of damaging the leaves."

Loren looked at the fruit oatmeal in her bowl. Even the fruits were bananas and mangoes, which didn't need to be chewed. There were no apples. The meat on the plate was also tender ribs stewed and thin-cut bacon that almost didn't need to be chewed and fell apart with a bite.

Loren was silent for a moment: "Isn't this really the new patient meal that Madam Pomfrey asked you to experiment with?"

"Don't say weird things." Hermione swallowed a spoonful of banana oatmeal.

Looking at the almost bland food, Loren couldn't help but ask, "You've been eating this for almost a week. Don't you feel sick of it? Doesn't your mouth want to chew something?"

The veal steak on the fork kept swaying in front of Hermione's eyes. The grilled protein released a rich meaty aroma. The warm smell seemed to be cast with some kind of magic. It had a strange attraction, which attracted her eyes and mind.

Hermione felt her gums itchy and restless, and saliva continued to secrete from under her tongue.

How can I not be greedy? It’s okay for one or two meals, but the key is that it’s been several days.

The little witch swallowed and said stubbornly, "No, not at all. For the Animagus, um..."

Seeing the right moment, Loren quickly stuffed the steak into her mouth while she opened her mouth to speak, and pulled out the fork while holding her teeth that were subconsciously clenched.

The salty and fragrant taste soaks into the tongue along with the juice of the steak. The wonderful taste evokes the memory of the food and induces more saliva secretion, making the steak in the mouth taste more rich and delicious.

"Hmm--" Hermione found it difficult to swallow and dared not chew. She looked at Loren pitifully, and a "slurping" sound came from her mouth.

Loren put away his successful mischievous smile and sincerely suggested: "It's okay, move the leaves to the inner wall of the left mouth and chew with the right teeth."

Hermione held one hand in front of her mouth and carefully performed a series of delicate operations. It was not until five minutes later that she slowly and with difficulty ate the beef. Fortunately, the mandrake leaves were not damaged.

Facing the girl's angry questioning eyes, Loren continued to cut the steak slowly and asked calmly: "Is it delicious?"

Hermione's sharp eyes froze, and she became a little flustered.

"Would you like another piece?"

"No! Go away!" Hermione concentrated on her oats.

But the little glutton in her mouth was aroused, and the bland liquid food that did not require chewing seemed to become even more tasteless. Hermione didn't know how long she could hold on.

……

The Quidditch pitch was packed with people, and Professor McGonagall sat next to Lee Jordan.

In the front row of the Slytherin audience, Kettleburn, the soon-to-retire Care of Magical Creatures professor, said with emotion: "This is probably one of the last Quidditch games I'll watch at Hogwarts. Time flies! Don't you agree, Severus?"

Snape's eyes revealed helplessness: "You should go talk to Professor McGonagall about this."

The other faculty members either sat in the faculty seats or in front of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff seats. Snape knew very well why Professor Kettleburn had specially asked him to sit here.

Professor Kettleburn smiled and said, "Severus, just give me some of the basilisk materials. I don't want too much, just half a box of each material. I promise that I will never use them for dangerous hybridization experiments, and I have never thought of using basilisk flesh and blood to breed chicken-bodied snake-tailed monsters."

Hearing this and looking at Professor Kettleburn, who only had one arm and one leg left, Snape's eyelids twitched violently a few times, and he didn't dare to believe a word of it.

Snape respected the old professor who had taught at Hogwarts for decades. In order for him to continue to enjoy his old arms and legs, Snape advised: "It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but these things are used to open up some magic potion markets in Africa. There are many wizards there who worship snake totems, and basilisks are very good trading materials."

"Oh, okay..."

Professor Kettleburn sighed regretfully and began to concentrate on watching the game.

Chapter 253: Wolfsbane Potion Again

Considering the mandrake leaf in his mouth, Loren did not give the commentary.

Hermione was more cautious. In order to prevent someone from getting excited and pulling them to sway together when a goal was scored, she had the idea of ​​pulling Loren to sit in the Ravenclaw spectator seats.

Compared to the bustling Gryffindor auditorium, it was quieter here. The young wizards around were discussing topics such as the principles of magic, potion recipes, and the puzzle of the eagle-shaped bronze door knocker, making the auditorium even more deserted.

"Qiu, please tell me what kind of animal has legs but cannot walk. I couldn't answer this question last night and was almost locked out of the lounge by the bronze door knocker." Padma Patil, who has long black hair and brown skin, asked the senior student next to her.

Qiu Zhang is a very beautiful girl with long shiny black hair. With black hair and black eyes, she has obvious Asian ancestry. She looks a bit mysterious, which makes people subconsciously look at her.

Before she could answer, Marietta Aykmo proudly tossed her reddish blonde ponytail and boasted, "It's a kangaroo. How stupid! You couldn't think of that. Oh, by the way, maybe it's not your fault. You come from poor India and you have definitely never traveled to Australia. You don't even know what a kangaroo is."

"You!" Padma was so angry that she couldn't speak.

Qiu Zhang looked at Padma, whose face turned red with anger, and felt helpless.

Marietta's mother is Mrs. Edgecombe of the Magical Transportation Department's Fly Network Administration. She has lived in a pampered environment since she was a child, and she speaks and acts without any regard for the feelings of those around her.

But Qiu didn't think she had any bad intentions, it was just a little bit of vanity and a love of showing off. All girls have it, but Marietta's is more serious.

Qiu patted Padma's hand and explained softly, "A kangaroo is an animal that moves by jumping with its tail and feet. Not only kangaroos, but also frogs, dragonflies, toads... all these animals that move by flying and jumping are considered kangaroos."

"Don't mind what Marietta said. She is just like that. She doesn't have any bad intentions."

Qiu's comfort did not work. Padma pursed her lips, nodded, and sat away silently.

Padma Patil's family background was not bad, as she was able to go to school in England from India. She was good-looking and was Professor Flitwick's assistant. As the focus of her peers, Marietta's words made her feel very uncomfortable.

Padma moved to the corner, next to Hermione and Loren. Compared to Marietta, Padma felt that her sister's roommate was more like a Ravenclaw.

At this moment, Miss Granger, who was both good in character and academics, was counting her house points on her fingers.

Hermione muttered quietly: "Counting the points we earned during the Easter holidays, we are now more than 180 points ahead..."

She was a little surprised: "Professor Snape's deductions during this period are much less than I thought."

Loren used his tongue to adjust the position of the mandrake blades before speaking: "Maybe he realized the shady dealings behind the House Cup. With the biased Headmaster Dumbledore around, Slytherin has had no chance to win the championship in recent years."

"Headmaster Dumbledore is not that kind of person!"

Padma: “…”

Padma silently changed her position again. This was not what she was supposed to hear.

Although the seats in the audience seats next to the Quidditch field are divided according to the colleges, this division is not mandatory, and no one will care if you sit in the seats of other colleges to watch the game.

In the absence of their own team, many young wizards from Ravenclaw were happy to sit in the Gryffindor audience seats. The young wizards from the Lion's House always exuded endless and contagious enthusiasm.

Ravenclaws strive for calm and rationality, but it is also pleasant to feel such enthusiasm occasionally.