The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 24: The Grand Production of the Magic Array

Sitting in the tavern room, Loila really wanted to slap herself...

Why did I have to waste Luna's time making her watch me do these boring things? She was just expressing her friendliness.

Loila Hamilton, how dare you just sit here and waste other people's time...

Wasting time is wasting life! Loila doesn't want to waste her friend's life so early; if only she could waste hers… well, she's already lived fifty years longer…

Loila thought this subconsciously, completely unaware of Lupin standing at the door.

"Miss Hamilton, you seem to be in a good mood?"

"Huh? Is there...is there?" Loila asked timidly.

"Of course," Lupin nodded gently. "It's rare to see Miss Hamilton smile like this."

"And, remarkably, he wasn't wearing a hood."

"Ugh!" Loila immediately pulled up her hood to cover her ears, which had been perked up with excitement.

Looking at Loila, who had returned to her original form, Lupin subconsciously felt that he might have been a bit too talkative.

So he coughed lightly and changed the subject: "So what's the matter?"

"Is it related to Miss Lovegood?"

"Hmm...hmm!" Loila nodded gently. "Miss Lovegood...she'll be coming to see me doing my magic array research in a bit."

"Um?"

An eleven-year-old girl came to see an eighteen-year-old girl studying magic arrays, a field that only a select few in the world understand... How could I have such a dream?

However... there probably aren't many people who understand magic arrays better than this eighteen-year-old girl, right?

Lupin shook his head and said, "That would be great. I happen to have some things to take care of and need to leave for a few days."

"Is that so...?" Loila asked instinctively, a hint of worry in her voice. Looking at Lupin's exhausted appearance, she hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "What...what is it?"

"Ah... I'm sorry, Miss Hamilton." Lupin gave a wry smile.

"I...I should be the one apologizing...Lupin...Mr. Lupin!" Realizing she had been a bit rude, Loila quickly stood up and bowed, but because the movement was too large, she bumped her head on the back of the chair.

"Hmm!"

Loila, clutching her head, looked at Lupin with a helpless smile and wished she could crawl under the table.

………………

"Then... let's... let's begin..." Loila stammered, then slowly picked up the quill pen on the table.

So doing research in front of other people... can be... this awkward?

Loila pursed her lips and glanced at Luna. This girl, who was usually a bit absent-minded, was unusually serious at this moment. She sat next to Loila and carefully looked at the complicated imprinted magic circle diagram.

"Where would you like it engraved, Loila?" Luna's light voice came, making Loila purse her lips and say, "I also want to get... a briefcase just like Mr. Scamander's..."

"A suitcase?" Luna tilted her head and said, "Aren't books better?"

"A book...?" Loila paused for a moment.

"Yes... every page you turn... is a different space." Luna chuckled softly. "It sounds just like life."

Every day is different.

Don't suddenly say such philosophical things... I'm the adult here, okay?

However, after thinking about it carefully, Luna's idea was indeed better... Books seemed easier to carry than suitcases, and they weren't as conspicuous.

Always carrying a suitcase or something at school and outside... it's a bit too conspicuous.

Loila didn't want to attract attention, and even wished she had an invisibility cloak... unfortunately, it was the legendary Deathly Hallows.

Shaking her head, Loila focused her attention back on creating the magic circle tools.

"You're right." She nodded gently. "A book would be better... but there seem to be fewer places to inscribe magic circles compared to a suitcase..."

"But it doesn't need to be disguised like a briefcase..."

"Why is there less engraving?" Luna asked curiously.

"Every page shouldn't be able to..."

"That won't work." Loila shook her head and said seriously, "Ordinary paper can't support complex magic arrays, and it's easily damaged... If a few pages are accidentally torn off, the whole book might become unusable."

"It would be better to engrave it directly on the cover. Even if there is wear and tear, it will be fine as long as a sufficiently durable magical item is chosen. Moreover, it is much cheaper than using magic paper."

Seeing her unusually earnest expression of her thoughts, Luna smiled and said, "Loira is just like a professor at the academy."

"I am actually a professor at Hogwarts..." Upon hearing this, Royla immediately blushed and pulled her hood tighter.

"If only all the professors at Hogwarts were like Loira..." Luna continued, "then I could pinch each of their ears."

Don't let this kind of reason lead you to become like me, a professor who is more qualified than me...

Loila whispered in protest, "You...you shouldn't pinch my ears..."

"That's...sensitive..."

"I see." Luna nodded thoughtfully. "What about the book?"

"Book?"

"Hmm," Luna asked, pointing to the thick pile of books on the table, "Should we choose one from among them?"

"Ah...no...that's right." Loila looked at the books in front of her, her blue eyes beginning to ponder.

Most of these books are about magical theories, some of which are new theories proposed in the last fifty years, while others are Hogwarts textbooks.

But a book that can be made into a magical storage book… Loila gently raised her wand and pointed.

The books floated gently, swirling around Loila and Luna.

"This one... should... should be okay..." Loila saw a good book among them... It had a black cover with only a silver triangle logo containing a circle and a vertical line.

"What kind of book is this?" Luna asked curiously, looking at the book that didn't even have a title. "Is it related to what the Aurors are doing?"

"Is it still related to what Minister Fauci did?"

"I don't think... there are any..." Loila chose this book not only because of its beautiful cover material, but also because of her personal preferences.

She picked up the book, squeezed it carefully, and then cautiously turned the pages.

She hadn't actually read the book, because some parts were too advanced... bloodlines, wizards... and things like that, and Muggles, which she was a little afraid of...

So even when she was required to write a report fifty years ago, she didn't read it carefully.

But what can she do when she really likes the author of this book?

She glanced carefully at the name written on the title page, then nodded.

"Gellert Grindelwald?" Luna, with her sharp eyes, spotted the book's author at a glance and looked at Loila with some surprise.

Oh no!

Am I about to expose something?

Loila hurriedly said, "This book...the cover is perfect...it can be used as..."

"I know this person." Luna pursed her lips and suddenly lowered her voice: "I've also heard a few secrets about him."

"Ah...I see...Is that so...Then how about another book...this one by Mr. Lockhart..." Loila quickly picked up another book, a work by Lockhart about magic arrays but with nothing to do with magic arrays.

"Aren't you curious about those secrets?" Luna asked slowly.

Should she be curious or not...? Loila didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Seeing Loila's stunned expression, Luna lowered her voice before Loila could answer, "I heard it from my father."

He said that Grindelwald and Dumbledore were once lovers.

"Huh?" Loila was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously stood up and slammed her hand on the table: "This...this...this is impossible!"

"Grindelwald... how could he possibly be with Dumbledore..." She was so surprised that even her pointed ears stood up high and pushed open her hood.

"That must be true." Luna shrugged, completely unconcerned about Loira's lapse in composure, and nodded seriously. "That's what my dad said..."

"I..." Loila really wanted to tell Luna that Lord Grindelwald hated Dumbledore the most and would scold Dumbledore more than five times a day. How could he possibly be Dumbledore's lover?

Moreover, Dumbledore defeated and imprisoned Lord Grindelwald. What lovers would do that?

But seeing Luna's serious expression, Loila ultimately decided not to correct her... After all, she's just a child, maybe Luna doesn't understand what lovers are yet?

Perhaps they misheard their nemesis, right? And the person who said this was Mr. Lovegood, the one who said Voldemort was resurrected, right? Hahaha.

"Which one of these two books should we use?" Luna didn't seem to be struggling with this question, or rather, she trusted her father's words.

"Then how about... we go with... this one...?" Loila said, her voice growing softer as she sat down.

In the end, she still didn't want to choose Mr. Lockhart's book, which had nothing to do with magic arrays...