days at Hogwarts

Chapter 743 Goodbye Vincent Crabbe
In the tower room of Ilvermorny Castle, Hermione slowly sat up from the bed, fixing her hair while looking out the window. She saw an owl leisurely walking on the branches of the woods in the distance.

The clean clothes were quietly stacked at the end of the bed, and a silk Gordian knot was thoughtfully attached. In the morning light that came in through the window, the metal dots dotted with accessories exuded colorful colors, and the sunlight and metallic luster flowed between the surface patterns.

"..."

In another guest room in the attic, Loren slowly opened his eyes.

Looking around, the unfamiliar decoration and furnishings brought a slight sense of order. Observing the light outside the window, he preliminarily estimated that it was still early, so he closed his eyes and squinted for a while, and only got up when he heard a noise outside.

After getting dressed and washing up, he waved his wand to make the bed, pushed open the door and went downstairs, only to find Hermione waiting at the corner at the end of the corridor.

There was a Pukki waiter waiting nearby. Hermione had a faint smile on her face, and from time to time she lowered her head and asked in a low voice about the details of Ilvermorny's hiring of Pukki, such as the relevant salary, scope of work, and holiday arrangements.

Loren smiled unconsciously and did not interrupt their conversation. He just walked to her side naturally and the two walked forward side by side.

Waiter Pukchi led the way, directing the two to the side hall of the auditorium for dinner. He answered Hermione's questions from time to time, speaking at a steady pace without any impatience.

Many things about Ilvermorny are inspiring. They live high in the mountains, far away from the main branches of Muggle society, but because one of the founders is of Muggle origin, they do not reject Muggle ideas and technological achievements.

This centuries-old castle is renovated every once in a while, with water pipes repaired, electrical wires buried, and fashionable decorations added. Some places have a Muggle atmosphere.

Hermione seemed deeply inspired. This model of cooperation and coexistence between wizards and different creatures was very helpful for her to perfect her plan to liberate the house-elves.

A few minutes later we arrived at the side hall, where several principals and professors were already waiting at the dining table.

We greeted each other good morning, sat down and started eating.

Dumbledore and Mr. Fontana were talking quietly while eating. Their voices were so low that you had to concentrate to hear a few words, such as "little tips for efficient replies", "wording methods to avoid being asked about details", and "how to select an effective vice-president". The table was suddenly filled with the joyful atmosphere of slacking off.

Nancy and Pickley sat on the side. There were faint dark circles under their eyes and they looked a little listless. It seemed that they did not get enough rest last night.

Loren chose to concentrate on eating.

"How did this class of graduates perform in the NEWT exam in Potions?" asked Professor Snape.

Loren swallowed the bacon in his mouth: "Principal Dumbledore has been here for almost a month. Didn't you ask him?"

"He said he only remembered that the results were better than in previous years. He said he needed to go back to Professor McGonagall for a detailed report on the specific situation." Snape maintained an indifferent expression while eating breakfast. He cut the fried egg into small pieces, put them into his mouth with a fork, and swallowed them without moving his lips and masseter muscles much, as if he didn't need to chew.

"There are fifteen more students who achieved excellent results than before, and I don't know about the rest," Loren replied.

The Potions Club founded by Professor Snape was more practical, and this production process of splitting the process into batches unknowingly deepened the club members' understanding of the principles. Later, Slughorn founded the Slug Club, focusing on communication and answering questions, and transforming the vague understanding accumulated in the early stage into organized knowledge.

Both professors contributed to this progress.

"..."

Snape seemed noncommittal. He lowered his head to split the fried eggs, still expressionless, but his chewing movements became more obvious.

Loren continued to concentrate on eating.

The warm food filled my stomach bit by bit.

nine in the morning.

Mr. Fontana led the way personally, and the few of them walked towards the forest behind the castle.

Loren and Hermione were able to enter the mysterious Forbidden Forest at Ilvermorny, which was much faster than when they entered the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts a week after they started school.

The mountain forest was filled with mist in the early morning. The faint light wrapped in the mist blew on my cheeks, feeling cool. As I walked through the forest path, my trouser legs were wet without me noticing.

The forest where the snake tree is located is on the side of the top of Greylock Mountain, next to the founder's stone house. Over the past few hundred years, a lush and dense forest has grown. From a distance, the tree canopy outlines part of the contour of the mountain. It is a very vast area and very spectacular.

To protect the magic set by the snake tree, the middle area is surrounded by vines to form a fence.

Loren saw a warning sign on the vine fence, which only allowed the school clinic and researchers to enter. He didn't know when it was set up.

"follow me."

Fontana tapped the fence with his wand, and the vines moved and twisted, revealing an arch-shaped passage.

Nancy introduced the two people who came for the first time, "When I graduated, there was no such protective magic. The snake tree had strong vitality and ordinary wizards could hardly cause damage to it. Occasionally, students would pick one or two leaves to treat their family members' injuries, and the school would not pursue it."

"I see."

Several people came under an ancient tree with lush branches and leaves.

The snake tree has taken root here for hundreds of years. It is not an exaggerated and shocking ancient tree, and is not so thick that several people can hug it. It seems to follow some kind of rules, strong and restrained, with rough bark and thick trunk, but it does not occupy all the nearby land. Fungi can be seen emerging on the uneven surface, and there are branches of other plants attached between the branches and crowns.

The branches are twisted and tangled, like a python, but they do not make people feel scary.

The magic of emerald green lies within the snake tree, and just standing under it makes one feel relaxed and refreshed.

Looking at the lush green snake tree in front of him, Loren's mind gradually became active. He immediately guessed whether the tree would obey the command of Parseltongue. After all, everything left by Slytherin was related to Parseltongue, whether it was the Chamber of Secrets, the Basilisk, or the locket...

According to the book "Ilvermorny: A History of the School", Gormlaith Gaunt used Parseltongue to put the snakewood wand into hibernation, but Isolt Sayre did not know Parseltongue, so she could not wake up the wand. After burying the wand, a snake tree grew here. If Parseltongue is really effective, can this tree be restored to the state of a wand?
Although he didn't know much about Parseltongue, Dumbledore next to him had studied it. If nothing works, he could always wait for Harry. Maybe he would get something unexpected...

Fontana seemed to see what he was thinking. He looked up at the snake tree and explained softly, "For Ilvermorny and the wizards of this continent, the snakewood wand is more prominent and real than the Elder Wand in the Deathly Hallows. Many people have tried to get it...

"Although Parseltongue is rare, it is not unique to the Slytherin bloodline. Over the past few hundred years, there have been several students with Parseltongue talent in Ilvermorny. They know the history of Ilvermorny, and after discovering that they have the gift of Parseltongue, they all desire to control the wand left by the legendary wizard.

"Ilvermorny's desire to get the serpentwood wand back did not stop them from trying, but all of their attempts ended in failure.

"Two hundred years ago, there was a little witch from Pukki College who seemed to be a distant relative of Slytherin. She sang a Scottish folk song in Parseltongue, which caused the snake tree to shake, but only shook. She later became an outstanding healer, and the snake tree still remains here.

"It turns out that the snake tree has an effect on Parseltongue, but only a weak one."

Fontana paused here, with a hint of laughter in his voice: "Fortunately, the snake tree has taken root here, otherwise Voldemort would have taken it away."

Nancy added, "Ilvermorny once collaborated with the Horned Water Snakes to conduct a series of studies on Parseltongue. This research project is still ongoing today. When they encounter students with Parseltongue talent, the school professors will record their voices and the corresponding translations of the words... but it has not yet formed a systematic language."

Hermione showed an expression of serious thinking, setting up relevant topics and researching promising fields. In a way, Ilvermorny really learned the system of Muggle universities and transformed it and applied it to magic.

Loren glanced at Professor Snape secretly, and sighed silently in his heart: The orthodoxy of Slytherin is in Ilvermorny.

No matter how you look at it, Hogwarts seems a bit behind. One is an old school of magic with a long history and is conservative, while the other is a younger new school that is constantly innovating and catching up...

Fortunately, although the lower limit of the Hogwarts teaching model is slightly lower, the upper limit is extremely high. In the past hundred years, it has trained many outstanding wizards, such as Tom Riddle, the most powerful dark wizard in the world since Herper, who greatly expanded the upper limit of Hogwarts' black magic field.

There is also Dumbledore, who greatly influenced another famous dark wizard of this century. To round it off, Grindelwald can also be considered as having been trained at Hogwarts.

It seems that the orthodoxy of Slytherin is still in Hogwarts.

"..."

Dumbledore, who was observing the snake tree, suddenly stopped and tilted his head to glance at Loren beside him. He always felt that the child's eyes were not very polite.

Several professors have begun to inspect the snake tree. Fontana stroked the rough bark and said, "The staff of the Magic Congress have detected strange magic inside the snake tree. It is extremely evil. They speculate that there is some dark magic item hidden inside the trunk."

"We all know what that is, Gilbert." Dumbledore whispered to comfort him, then gave Snape a look.

Snape came to the front of the snake tree, put the tip of his staff against the middle of the trunk, and spewed out magic power. The invisible blade burst out, easily cutting through the bark and slowly and firmly cutting towards the inside.

The milky white branches burst with the unique fragrance of the plant, revealing the light green and white inner layer.

Loren and others stood nearby, observing quietly.

The invisible blade penetrated a few inches, and suddenly a stream of bright red liquid spurted out. Snape reacted quickly and dodged sideways.

The warm liquid splashed onto the ground and quickly seeped into the soil, leaving behind a deep red and black mark and emitting a slightly fishy smell.

Several wizards nearby frowned slightly, and their expressions gradually became serious. Loren and Snape were senior potion masters, and Dumbledore and Fontana were experienced. They easily recognized the source of this blood, which was the most numerous and widely distributed animal in nature - humans.

Fontana, Pickley and Boot of Ilvermorny all looked unhappy. They were shocked by Voldemort's cruelty and angry about the defilement of the snake tree.

In the moment they were observing the blood, the snake tree had already shown vigorous vitality. The branches squirmed slightly and the cracks began to heal, but Shenfeng Wuying was obstructing it, causing the wound to heal slowly.

Snape looked up at the snake tree, placed his wand against the trunk again, was silent for a moment, moved the tip of the wand half a body length to the side, estimated the distance and began to split again.

Everyone stepped back a few steps to give him room to operate.

Milky white plant slurry splashed and blood occasionally spurted out, but Snape would quickly adjust and others were no longer surprised.

"..."

As the crack gradually widened, more of the internal scenes were revealed, and the two girls' faces became paler and paler. Nancy covered her chest with her right hand, and it seemed that her stomach was not feeling well.

It was a male body with a broad frame, a plump body, ample muscles and fat, but his original face was completely unrecognizable now, because he had lost his normal skin and was replaced by a layer of dense scales, like some kind of snake.

The body is in a curled-up position, with an umbilical cord of flesh and blood extending from the navel, and the other end connected to the core of the tree. The umbilical cord occasionally wriggles, and the branches carrying life force burst into the body. The branches are pink in color and soft in texture. The grotesque scene inside the snake tree exudes unbearable disgust.

The scene before him looked like a test-tube baby in a laboratory, except that this baby was a strong adult, and this adult was Voldemort's living Horcrux.

Horcrux, the most important chapter in "Secrets of Advanced Black Magic", is regarded as a refuge from death and a weapon to defeat death. It can absorb the negative emotions of those who come into contact with it to enhance its own strength. In theory, it can even reverse the limitations of soul and flesh and blood, and complete resurrection with the help of Horcruxes, or call it rebirth.

Loren could feel that there was an evil black magic attached to the chest of this body. This magic was the same source as the Horcruxes he had seen before. That was where the fragments of Voldemort's soul were attached.

Dumbledore, who was observing quietly, seemed to have discovered something. He stepped forward and touched the face covered with snake scales with his rough fingers.

The invisible transformation magic power spread across the bloody body like running water. A layer of invisible and weak ripples gradually spread. The next moment, everyone saw the snake scales gradually blending into the flesh and blood and turning into normal skin.

Loren frowned. For some reason, when he saw that pale face, he felt vaguely familiar.

He had definitely never seen this face before, but that gloomy and violent feeling seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it... In a trance, he gradually recalled it, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Hermione next to her exclaimed: "Vincent Crabbe!"

(End of this chapter)