The days at Hogwarts

The confused owl came to its senses belatedly and wanted to scold the rude wizard, but with the apple still in its mouth, it could only flap its wings in frustration and flew away.

After a flurry of activity, Sirius stood on the stepladder and breathed a sigh of relief. If Mrs. Carver saw the owl delivering the letter, it would be difficult to explain.

The woman in the brown coat pushed open the door of the warehouse room and saw the man on the stepladder at a glance. She asked in surprise, "What are you doing, Sirius? Is the skylight broken?"

She was a very ordinary woman, probably in her early thirties, with some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but her skin was in pretty good condition, delicate and cold white. Her face was not exquisite, but very attractive.

"Mrs. Carver!" Sirius lost his balance in panic, and his body swayed a few times with the stepladder.

Mrs. Carver hurried forward a few steps to hold the ladder, and only breathed a sigh of relief when Sirius was stable. Then she complained, "I asked you to count the inventory, why did you count the inventory at the window?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Carver," Sirius quickly admitted.

"I told you, Sirius, just call me Betty." Mrs. Carver didn't dwell on it any more. As she spoke, she neatly put away the stepladder and put it back against the wall. "Mr. Black, do you want me to call you that?"

Without waiting for Sirius to answer, Betty laughed to herself: "Mr. Black, Mr. Black, hehe..."

"That's not what I meant." Sirius hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said with some difficulty, "Betty."

Betty smiled softly, picked up the manifest and ballpoint pen and began to count the goods. "To be honest, Sirius, your name doesn't sound like a wandering person at all."

Sirius didn't answer, but followed her, moving the boxes in silence.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned this. The world is cruel enough." Betty held the ballpoint pen and made a brisk scratching sound on the manifest. "By the way, Sirius, are you free this weekend? I want to ask you for a favor?"

"You said."

"Marjorie is worried about her Halloween costume. She doesn't want to dress up as the same ghost as her classmates."

"what do you mean?"

"Oh, you tell a lot of interesting ghost stories, and Marjorie wants your help."

……

Monday morning divination class was still tough.

Loren and others had to walk through long corridors and climb constantly changing stairs to attend classes in Trelawney's suffocating tower classroom, where they had to grit their teeth and decipher all kinds of strange shapes and symbols.

After the Divination class, Hermione had to bite the bullet and go to the Ancient Runes class with her head feeling dizzy from the spices.

Thanks to Professor Barbour's care, she had to stand up and answer questions in every class, so she had to concentrate during class without any distraction.

After the elective courses, there are still Transfiguration and Charms. After a whole morning, the girl felt listless, spoke weakly, and had no appetite.

At the long table of Gryffindor, Loren stared at the lamb chops on the plate seriously. He was thinking about how to choose dessert. "According to the signs of the tea leaves in the Divination class, if I can finish this lamb chop in three bites, then I will choose mango pudding. If not, then I will choose strawberry mousse."

Hermione looked at him with amusement, reached out to grab the lamb chops, and ate them in two or three bites.

Facing Loren's puzzled gaze, Hermione spread her hands innocently: "Now, did the tea tell you what to choose in this situation?"

Loren hesitated for a few seconds, nodded, and suddenly looked up at her fiercely: "This means I want to eat your dessert as well."

Hermione quickly protected the strawberry cake on the plate, like a little squirrel protecting its food, and put it into her mouth in big bites, eating until her cheeks were bulging.

"Huh~"

"Uh~"

Next to Hermione, there were chilling sounds of disgust from her two roommates.

Lavender Brown shook her head with a meaningful smile on her face: "I don't remember learning this in Divination class, Parvati, what about you?"

"Neither do I." Parvati Patil replied seriously, and then burst out laughing.

Hermione's face turned red with laughter. She hurriedly swallowed the last bite of cake. As a result, she burped because she ate too quickly. The girls' faces became even redder with embarrassment.

Parvati and Lavender teased Hermione again, then they linked arms and skipped out of the Great Hall together.

Loren had finished his two desserts by then, patted his slightly bulging belly, and sighed with contentment.

He turned to look at Hermione and said, "Have they returned to the dormitory? There is still a long time before the afternoon class. Do you want to go back to the dormitory and rest?"

Hermione shook her head. "Instead of returning to their dormitories, they went to the tower to find Professor Trelawney and ask for advice on how to avoid the disaster?"

"They still believe in Professor Trelawney's divination?"

"The professor predicted that the thing Lavender feared the most would happen on October 16th. It's not long before October 16th, and Lavender is getting more and more scared. She hasn't been sleeping well lately..." Hermione shrugged. "Professor Trelawney doesn't cheat people anyway, so they decided to go and discuss it with the professor."

"So, what is her biggest fear?" Loren asked puzzledly.

"Lavender doesn't know either."

……

Harry and Ron took advantage of every free moment to spend time on the Quidditch field. Hermione went back to the dormitory to rest after lunch, and Loren had nothing to do, so he left the common room and went to the Room of Requirement.

In the simulated office of Snape, Loren sat behind the desk, leaning forward with his chin supported by his right hand, seemingly lost in deep thought.

In the dark room, various bottles and jars were filled with unknown creatures. In the transparent glass jars, the black scales of the poisonous snake glowed with a terrifying green light, and tiny bubbles appeared in the turbid liquid, which seemed to indicate that the poisonous snake was not dead yet. Rustling sounds came from the storage room at the back, and those sealed boxes contained various living creatures...

Any little wizard who breaks into this room will feel a creepy chill and goose bumps will appear on his skin involuntarily.

Dark magic requires the caster to have evil thoughts in his heart. Loren sat here for quite a while, but failed to understand the state of mind of Severus Snape, the master of dark magic. He did not have any evil thoughts in his heart. Instead, he wanted to brew a potion.

Loren's slender fingers flipped through the pages of the book on the table. He had read the contents many times.

According to the degree of negative impact brought by the talisman, malicious talismans can be roughly divided into three categories: evil curse, poison curse, and curse.

Evil curses and poison spells are not considered black magic in the strict sense, but repelling spells and extraction spells are included in this category.

Only curses that can cause severe, irreversible pain or harm can be considered black magic, which requires the caster to have strong malice, and Loren tried to bring Snape to experience this malice.

Progress is slow.

……

After Harry and Ron gave Hagrid advice last Sunday, Flobberworm did not appear in the Care of Magical Creatures class again.

In the open space at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the little wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin stared at the professor standing in the middle without blinking, and some of the little witches even had a gleam in their eyes.

"This week we are learning about the little creature - Fairy." Hagrid held a colorful little man in his big, fluttering hands.

This is a small humanoid creature, only the size of a finger. Its wings are very similar to those of insects. They are a thin layer of transparent material that reflects colorful and crystal light in the sun, sparkling.

"Fairies usually live in woodlands or open spaces in forests. These little guys aren't very smart and they don't hide from people. Moreover, they are vain and will constantly dress themselves up. They often allow wizards to use them as decorations," Hagrid introduced loudly.

Some little witches exclaimed in small voices. They were already imagining how beautiful it would be if such a pretty little creature hung in their hair!

The fairy in Hagrid's palm made a high-pitched buzzing sound, not sure whether to agree or refute, in response to the exclamations of the little wizards.

"...Fairies lay their eggs on the underside of leaves, up to fifty at a time. These eggs hatch into brightly colored larvae, which spin into cocoons after six to ten days. After a month, the adult fairy emerges from the cocoon. Bowtruckles eat the eggs..."

Loren turned his head and whispered to Hermione, "It sounds like some kind of bug, like a caterpillar, but with a metamorphosis."

"Stop talking!" Hermione rolled her eyes at him, and the beautiful fairy turned into a bug in his mouth.

After Hagrid finished explaining the knowledge point, he stretched out his fingers and tickled the little guy's feet, making it fly away with a giggle.

He retracted his gaze and looked at the group of young wizards: "There are fairies in the nearby woods. It just rained heavily, so they will be very lively. The task of this class is - before the end of get out of class, you must convince at least one fairy to hang on your clothes!"

Chapter 313 Black Magic and Quantum Mechanics

Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

After the rainstorm, the weeds seemed to have grown taller, with taller stems and larger leaves. They were covered with drops of water mixed with rain and dew, which were crystal clear and full. When a branch or a small stick pushed the grass leaves apart, the drops of water fell down and seeped into the wet ground, making the soil even muddier.

"call out--"

Loren made strange noises and waved the branch in his hand, causing grass leaves to fly and water to splash everywhere.

A few drops of water flew towards the girl behind. Hermione watched expressionlessly as the water droplets came at her, then hit an invisible film, flowed down along the transparent film, and seeped into the soil.

Farther ahead were Harry and Ron, also holding branches and making stupid noises.

Loren broke the branch in his hand with a "click" sound, blinked and looked at the broken branch in his hand. Without his weapon, he withdrew from the vanguard and slowly fell to the same level as Hermione.

"Well, go ahead and play." Hermione waved her wand and used Transfiguration to turn a piece of weeds into a thin, straight wooden stick and handed it over.

Loren looked at her suspiciously, frowned and thought for a while, always feeling that her action of handing over the stick and the tone of her words were a little strange, like the behavior of Grandpa Bates when he sent him out to play when he was a child at the alpine ranch.

"I was just trying to clear the way," Loren explained seriously.

"Well." Hermione said casually, shaking the stick in her hand, "Then you can continue to open the way."

"You seem to have some misunderstanding about me."

"I don't think so."

"..."

Loren pondered for a few seconds, pushed the stick away, and walked side by side with her: "Isn't it said that fairies are not afraid of people? Why do you have to look for them in a remote place?"

It's the same again. If you can't argue, just change the subject. A smile appeared on Hermione's lips.

But she didn't let go, and used the stick in her hand to push aside the grass: "Although fairies are not afraid of people, they will find a quiet place to live."

"Do you think a young wizard might have accidentally entered the depths of the Forbidden Forest? Hagrid might be held accountable again."

"Ya Ya is guarding over there, so the other little wizards can't get through."

"I see……"

The two of them walked into the forest along the dog-eaten path that Harry and Ron had waded through. At some point, Loren picked up a small wooden stick and leisurely beat the weeds.

"Hermione, what is your definition of dark magic?" Loren asked, waving a small wooden stick.

As he was fiddling with the grass, he thought of the Shadowless Divine Sharpness spell. Why did it seem to have no difficulty when he practiced it, and why did he not feel his soul was affected in any way?

"what?"

Although she knew that this person had wild ideas, Hermione was still a little surprised when the topic suddenly changed from Care of Magical Creatures to Defense Against the Dark Arts. She looked up at him and said, "According to Miranda Goshawk's definition, dark magic refers to magic that can cause intense or even irreversible pain or harm to people."

Loren asked again: "The Crushing Curse can also kill people, so why isn't the Crushing Curse dark magic?"

"Shattering Curse, shatter into pieces..." Hermione unconsciously held the stick and cast the Shattering Curse, thinking carefully, "Although most textbooks now use Miranda Goshawk's definition, in fact, some scholars also classify the Shattering Curse as dark magic, as well as the Explosive Curse, the Powerful Flame Curse... these are also considered."

"It sounds like they have classified all spells that can kill people as dark magic. I wonder if my door-opening spell counts as such." Loren was still thinking about Shenfeng Wuying in his mind.

The wounds caused by the Sharp Spell cannot be healed, and even if the counter-spell is used, it will leave permanent scars. The only time he used it on a living person was Sirius Black...

"Your statement... is very novel." Hermione couldn't help but continue to think along his lines. There is still no unified definition of dark magic, but it does sound closely related to murder, like the premeditated murder in the Muggle impression. Some magic was created just to kill people...

Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps I should talk to Professor Bubbage about this topic."

Loren looked up at her: "Didn't you drop out of Muggle Studies?"

Hermione glanced at him and said confidently, "I just don't attend classes, but I still communicate with Professor Bubbage. Professor Bubbage was born a wizard, but she has lived in Muggle society. She and I are opposites, and exchanging views is inspiring to both of us."

"So full of energy..." Loren muttered, "So when are you going to drop out of divination class?"

"At least until after October 16th."

After hearing the girl's answer, Loren tried hard to recall, and finally shook his head dejectedly. He couldn't remember what terrible thing Lavender had encountered.

Logically speaking, all the unexpected accidents this year had been cleared up by him, and Voldemort was far away in Ilvermorny, so it should be a stable and safe year no matter how you look at it.

"Loren! Hermione! Come here, we found the fairy nest!" Not far ahead, Harry and Ron waved their hands and shouted loudly.

……

Tuesday, afternoon.

It's a rare occasion that Hermione doesn't have a full class today.

The first period was an elective class, with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes taking classes at the same time. There were no classes from the second period in the afternoon until dinner time, and they would go to the Astronomy Tower to stargaze in the evening. As usual, Hermione first took an Ancient Runes class, then used the Time Converter to go back to the beginning of class and took this Arithmancy class with Loren.

Professor Setima Victor’s lectures are very detailed. When encountering a complex calculation process, she will carefully explain how each step is calculated, rather than just glossing over it and telling the students the detailed calculation process and letting them do the calculation themselves.

She also required the little wizard to list the detailed calculation process. One calculation took up an entire page of parchment, so the homework of the Arithmancy class looked frighteningly long.

It takes several lines to write a polynomial addition to get the final answer. Loren was particularly troubled by this. He did mental arithmetic too quickly and didn't have a detailed calculation process...

The homework for the previous class was to use arithmetic divination to predict a person's character based on the numbers in their name, and Professor Victor designated Headmaster Dumbledore.

Arithmancy is not terrible, but Dumbledore's full name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The young wizards checked the letters and numbers one by one, and their eyes were almost blinded.

After a few classes, there were only a dozen people left in the class. Apparently, many young wizards dropped out of the class due to the torture of mathematics.

"We will continue the chapter on using birthday numbers to calculate a person's death date in the next class." Professor Victor looked at the time, closed the book, and looked around at the students. "There are still a few minutes left, so let's talk about the homework."

"Oh no, last time when we did the divination, I copied your answer and just wrote it down."

"Ah? But I figured out that the principal is a housewife who is good at housework and loves sweets. After comparing it with Loren's homework, I realized that I misplaced the table."

"Merlin's beard! The headmistress is a housewife? It's so wrong, didn't you check it?"