allendalepharm Chapter 9 Library
Chapter 9 Library
After the Charms class, there was still some time before lunch. Karen Hawthorne looked at her assignment on the parchment and continued practicing the Levitation Charm. This task was no longer a problem for the four of them; after all, they had all successfully levitated feathers in Professor Flitwick's class, and the difference between them was simply a matter of proficiency.
"I'm very interested in the Hogwarts library and would like to go take a look." Cullen put away the parchment, her gaze sweeping over her three roommates. "Want to come along?"
"Of course!" Wesley immediately stood up excitedly. "I was just looking for books about magical creatures! I saw a picture of a moving fire-breathing dragon in the hallway yesterday, it was so cool!"
Fabian smiled gently: "I'd also like to look at some Potions reference books. We have Potions class tomorrow, and I've heard that Professor Snape, who teaches Potions, has a rather bad temper. It's best to prepare in advance."
Ernesto raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly arrogant: "Going to the library on the first day of school? You guys are quite Ravenclaw-esque. Of course, Hogwarts' library is indeed excellent; it has the largest collection of books in all of England."
He paused for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips. "However, while my family's collection may not be as large as Hogwarts', we do have a few rare books that are not even found here."
Karen and Fabian exchanged a glance, noticing the boastful undertone in Ernesto's words, but didn't point it out. The four of them walked up the spiral staircase.
The corridors of Hogwarts were intricate and complex, with figures in the paintings occasionally peeking out to observe them. Wesley walked along, looking around as if trying to memorize every moving painting.
The library doors were a pair of heavy oak doors, carved with intricate runes. The four of them froze the moment they pushed the doors open.
This is a circular hall that is much larger than it appears from the outside. Towering bookshelves reach the ceiling, spiral staircases connect different floors, thousands of books are neatly arranged, and the air is filled with the scent of parchment and ink.
"Spatial Expansion Spell..." Karen whispered.
"This is bigger than the British Library!" Wesley exclaimed.
They had barely taken a few steps when a tall, slender figure emerged from between the bookshelves—Mrs. Pince, the Hogwarts librarian. Her sharp gaze swept over the bronze eagle emblems on the four men's chests, and a slight smile played on her lips.
"A Ravenclaw freshman." Her voice rustled like turning pages of a book. "Coming to the library on the first day of school, just as expected, only Ravenclaws."
"Hello, we would like to borrow some books," Karen said politely.
She looked at Karen and the other three. "You can call me Mrs. Pince. I'm the librarian. Remember these rules: no noise, no damaging books, no entry to restricted areas, and no eating in the library, understand?"
Everyone nodded quickly to indicate that they understood.
Mrs. Pince nodded. "Very good. The classification section is on the left, arranged by subject; the general section is alphabetically ordered on the right. The reading table is in the center; you need to register to borrow books. If you can't find a book, you can come and tell me." With that, she left to go to the other bookshelves.
The four began to split up to find books that interested them. Karen's "Eye of Truth" quietly activated, observing the flow of magic in the library. Most of the books in the ordinary section did not have much magical flow; only a few books emitted a soft blue halo, while some ancient books were wrapped in golden magical threads.
As he passed the restricted section, his pace involuntarily slowed. It was separated by red ropes, and many books on the shelves were chained, some even housed in specially made glass cases. What caught his attention even more was that several books emitted the same black threads as Professor Victor's clothing, though far fewer than those on him.
"Don't look there," Ernesto's voice suddenly rang in my ears.
Karen looked away, feigning mere curiosity: "Why?"
"Most of the books in the forbidden section are cursed," Ernesto said in a low voice. "Some of them can drive you mad just by reading them."
So, these black threads might represent the power of a curse. Karen's heart suddenly skipped a beat—if the dark magic books in the forbidden section were already this dangerous, how powerful must Professor Victor's curse be? In the original books, Voldemort's curse only prevented the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from being re-elected, but Victor's situation seemed far more serious…
"Has Voldemort's power already reached this level?" Karen pondered to herself. "Or is it that the current state of his soul is causing the curse to intensify?"
"Karen?" Fabian's voice pulled him back to reality. "What are you daydreaming about? There's an alchemy section over there."
"Sorry, I was distracted." Karen temporarily suppressed her questions and followed Fabian toward the alchemy section.
The ancient books in the alchemy section were arranged with exceptional neatness. Karen pulled out a copy of "The Transformation of the Fundamental Elements," with Nicolas Flamel's autograph on the title page.
"This is genuine alchemist's handwriting," Karen said softly.
Ernesto leaned closer: "I have a fragment of Flamel's *Bacchanalia*, but it's missing a key chapter." He paused, "If you're interested, you can come to Griffith Estate for Christmas."
"Thank you for the invitation, Ernesto! But I'm planning to go home for Christmas." Karen politely declined Ernesto's invitation.
But the invitation surprised Fabian, who glanced at Ernesto in surprise, as pure-blood families usually do not invite non-pure-blood wizards as guests.
Ernesto noticed Fabian's gaze. "Don't be so surprised. Our Griffith family has always welcomed talented and inquisitive wizards, unlike the Malfoy family."
Mrs. Pince's voice suddenly boomed through the Magic History section: "Put the book down! That 'History of the Fairy Rebellion' requires dragon-skin gloves to touch!"
They turned to see a Hufflepuff student frantically dropping a book emitting green smoke. Karen's Eye of Truth saw the smoke corroding the student's fingernails, but it quickly stopped.
"That's why administrators are needed," Ernesto rarely agreed. "Ignorance is more dangerous than black magic."
"I know this book. My mother told me about it. It's said that the book was made from the skin of a fairy. The maker made it somewhat corrosive to warn people of fairies, but it wouldn't cause too much harm," Fabian explained.
In the end, Karen borrowed "Basic Element Conversion," Wesley took "Complete Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures," Fabian chose "Basic Potion Material Guide," and Ernesto hesitated for a moment before finally borrowing "Advanced Defense Spells."
"That's how members of the Griffith family have always been," Ernesto replied calmly, but Karen noticed the tips of his ears were turning red.
As they were leaving the library, Wesley suddenly asked, "Why are some books in the restricted section moving on their own? I saw the cover of one of the books twitching incessantly."
"You're probably referring to 'The Vivisection Record'," Ernesto's reply made the three stop in their tracks. "It's framed with the skin of condemned prisoners, supposedly to record the suffering of those being tortured."
Fabian's face turned pale: "This is too..."
"Evil?" Ernesto's expression was complex. "That's why my father forbade me from accessing the west wing of the family library. He said some knowledge corrupts the soul. Without sufficient willpower, one cannot casually approach it."
"However, not all books in the forbidden section are so dangerous. Some of them contain minor curses that are not much different from normal spellbooks. If you are interested, I can get a few from home," Ernesto added.
On her way to the auditorium, Karen's thoughts raced, but she still couldn't come up with any clues. Reluctantly, Karen had to temporarily set aside the black threads that seemed like a curse and her questions about Professor Victor's situation.