Chapter 617: Haipu's admirer

Felix stroked the Ancient Magic Yearbook in his hand. Under the gold-plated letters were the words "1992~1996 Collection". This large reference book can be regarded as the first book that comprehensively and systematically records the development of ancient magic and the summary of information. Because it is unprecedented, the content is particularly rich.

The content of the book is divided into three parts.

"In a nutshell, it is to compile the past, present, and future of the subject of ancient magic."

Felix turned to the first page. The preface briefly introduced the time, place and reason of the event. After that, there was a long list of names, each name occupied a line, and the basic information of the person was briefly summarized in small italic letters.

For example, Hermione Granger, under her name was recorded in bright emerald green ink - female, Hogwarts (at school), 16, 27.

"Gender, school, age... I understand all of these, but what does this mean?"

Mrs. Granger pointed to the number '27' and asked. Hermione looked up and said, "That's the number of papers cited in the Yearbook, marked with an asterisk below."

"The number of papers cited?" Mrs. Granger blinked in confusion. She lowered her head and found the note at the bottom of the page, "... Because the Yearbook is compiled for the first time, it specifically includes the number of papers published between 1992 and 1996 and cited in this book."

She felt even more confused. It's not that she couldn't read the words above, but - "You published 27 papers?"

She exchanged glances with her husband, and Mr. Granger said with interest: "I haven't had time to ask - the number I read in the Daily Prophet is 42, but our smart and rebellious daughter once told her parents that it would be good if they could believe one-third of the content above..."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm talking about the prediction of the war situation. You know how many rumors I've debunked... The numbers are true, both of them. It's just that one is the total number of papers I published, and the other only counts the part in the field of ancient magic."

"It says 'published and cited in this book'..." Mrs. Granger said hesitantly.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Not all published papers will be cited. For example, overview articles will not be very popular, because this is what the Annals is supposed to do, and it does it better: summarize the past, examine the present, and imagine the future..."

"It's a bit like the medical annals I've read." Mr. Granger said with interest.

"Almost." Hermione said.

Mrs. Granger stopped at this page, her eyes kept wandering, searching for the familiar names, "Harry Potter, cited 6 papers, Ron Weasley... 4 papers, eh? Luna Lovegood, she's only fifteen years old, the number of cited papers is 5..."

"She wrote a lot." Hermione snorted softly.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Granger said with a smile, "Is this 'Miss Love and Beauty' your rival in school?"

"No way!" Hermione blushed, but her mother smiled even more happily. She walked over angrily, flipped open a few pages of the thick yearbook, and muttered to herself, "You really should take a look... The first part summarizes important current events, paper documents and statistical data. I remember she has excerpts from three papers... Ah, here it is!"

Mrs. Granger looked at the title of the paper curiously:

"Using ancient magic words to reproduce the disappeared magical animal Scimitar-Horned Snorkeller... It sounds quite professional."

Hermione pointed to the small print on it, "This paper has not been confirmed and is limited to conjecture, but it is highly innovative and has great potential to be tapped... Mr. Hepp gave it a high evaluation..." As she spoke, she pouted.

"Isn't this a magical conjecture? I don't quite understand... Probably analogous to a scientific conjecture?" Mr. Granger asked with a smile.

"Well, I just..." Hermione said dejectedly, she couldn't help but complain in a low voice: "Even if it's a different magical creature, why a Crumple-Horned Snorkeller? Obviously the subject is so huge, covering magical beasts, ancient runes, the Patronus Charm, and even ghosts..."

"Ghost?"

...

"No, it's a soul!" Xenophilius said in the garden of a house that looked like a big cart on the hill outside the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. His cotton candy-like white hair was puffed on his shoulders, and he showed a gold chain hanging around his neck: "What a wonderful coincidence! I wear the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, and my daughter told me about the prophecy of the Resurrection Stone."

"Aren't you studying sapper magic, Dad?" Luna said, while repairing the house for the goblins.

"Oh, no... there are more important things," Xenophilius stammered: "Luna, listen to me - I don't know much about centaurs. They kicked me when I tried to make friends with them, but that doesn't matter. It's all about youth... Their predictions are very powerful."

"Yes, I've been looking forward to a grand party." Luna said happily.

"A party?" Xenophilius was confused.

"I saw it in a fire divination, and there were a lot of people launching fireworks into the sky..." Luna shook her head, as if she was dreaming. "Oh, uh," Xenophilius stared, "could it have happened already? I heard that someone created a meteor shower to celebrate their victory..." "

But they are completely different, and I think I will be there." Luna said expectantly.

"Okay... let's get back to the topic, Luna," Xenophilius said seriously.

Luna nodded, staring at her father, the triangular eye symbol on his neck shining brightly on his chest.

"First of all, this matter needs to be kept secret--"

"Can I tell Ginny?"

"Of course, you are friends."

"What about Harry? And Ron, Hermione, Neville..." Luna counted on her fingers, and Xenophilius said, "If they are trustworthy--yes, you can even form a team, but don't be too ostentatious. I don't want to hear my daughter looking for the Resurrection Stone in a big way. Some wishes will not work if they are told out."

He hesitated, "To be honest, I don't know whether I should tell you. After all, the hope is not great..."

"What is it?"

"Principal Dumbledore wrote back to me and invited me to an interview... Oh, no, don't be happy too quickly, there are other competitors." But not long after, they began to prepare for the celebration, "Pastel water fish soup! Gordigan! Airship Lee!" Xenophilius shouted happily while adding various ingredients to the pot.

They finally got a cup of concentrated stuff.

"Don't worry about me, you still have to attend the interview." Luna said.

"Oh, thank you, daughter," Xenophilius wiped his eyes, "I won't let you fight alone. When the interview is successful, I will take you to visit a very knowledgeable ghost. She may be interested in your thesis..." As he said, he drank it all in one gulp.

"How does it taste?" Luna asked curiously.

"Not bad," Xenophilius shook his head and smacked his lips. "Maybe there is too much airship lee. The book says it is slightly toxic, although you can't believe it because it can also improve the acceptance of abnormal things, but..."

He rubbed his stomach and moved the "Ancient Magic Rune Annals" over. "Let me see how they evaluate your thesis. I should write down the key points and ask Dumbledore later..." He flipped the pages of the book, "Hey, why is there nothing? There are only introductions to puppet masters and mischief merchants..."

"You turned the page, Dad," Luna said.

"No, I think it's fate, you see -" he pointed to the introduction of the chapter on puppeteer and said, "'Puppet' is just a concept. I don't want people to focus only on its materials and production techniques. It can be anything that uses magic to assist us in work, life and study... Look."

Not far from here, over a mountain, the Diggory family and the Burrow live next to each other, only a few hundred feet apart. The Diggory family moved here due to the war, and they helped each other with the Weasley family.

"Your child is excellent, Mr. Diggory."

The praise of Qiu Zhang's father and Mr. Diggory's hearty laughter came from the beautiful and tidy house.

Cedric and Qiu Zhang couldn't stand the scrutiny and atmosphere in the house, so they ran out to get some fresh air, and the two whispered as they walked.

"They are so... anxious," Qiu Zhang said angrily. She looked at Cedric and said hesitantly, "You... really don't plan to join the Ministry of Magic?" Cedric shook his head slightly, "I have already rented a store in Diagon Alley."

"Diagon Alley?" Qiu Zhang said with some disappointment, "I thought you would choose Hogsmeade." She still has one year to graduate.

Cedric smiled brightly, "Don't worry, I won't forget the weekend in Hogsmeade. The reason I chose Diagon Alley is that Fred, George and the Sword Castle are all there, and it is very convenient to do research... Do you remember the disposable space capsule? I think it has great potential and is a good match for my puppet."

They walked to an abandoned garage.

Fred and George were squatting on the ground studying something, "Why are they here? Didn't you say they were busy opening a branch?" Qiu Zhang asked in a low voice. "They were caught by Mrs. Weasley." Cedric also said in a low voice.

The twins, who were facing away from them, looked up. "I think I heard someone say something bad about us."

"I'm just telling the truth..." Cedric shrugged. "How's the breeding of the pygmy puff going?"

"Everything is going well, except that it's become more stupid." Fred sighed.

"Maybe this is an advantage. You know, witches like stupid things." George said, and Qiu Zhang glared at him. "Oh, sorry, I mean pets." After a while, Qiu Zhang's arms and shoulders were full of light pink and purple fluffy balls. They chirped and chirped, and as Fred and George said, they didn't look very smart.

George gave Cedric a look that meant: See, I was right.

Cedric laughed.

"Ginny likes these little guys too." Fred said, "How is the new store?"

"It will open in a few days," Cedric said. "In addition to some of the previous products, I also made a kind of shape-changing smoke."

"Take it out and have a look!" Fred and George said in unison.

Cedric took out a teacup from his pocket and shook it vigorously for a while. Then the cup poured out, and a bunch of fine smoke that looked like liquid poured out. They were like some kind of growing crystal clusters, covering the entire workbench.

"They are actually a whole. You will find it easier to perform Transfiguration on them, just like this."

Cedric waved his wand, and the crystal-like smoke easily condensed into various shapes. "With a certain strength, you can turn it into a chair, a simple tent, or various small animals. Even first and second grade students can easily control it."

Finally, they saw a lifelike Hogwarts castle.

"Transfiguration must have a sufficient understanding of the object to be transformed. This kind of smoke can help." Cedric said hesitantly: "So this is actually a tool for learning Transfiguration."

"Maybe more than that," Fred said on his shoulder: "This thing is very useful..."

In the evening, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Felix sat in the dim auditorium and listened to a piano concert.

Francois Clotoy performed perfectly, and when he took his bow, the audience applauded. Although his face was calm, he was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. As the audience left the stage one by one, they were still immersed in the atmosphere created by the piano music.

The camera flash illuminated the stage very brightly, and the microphone was handed over.

"Mr. Crutoy, can I ask what the goddess and angel in your song refer to? Or is it your beautiful yearning for life?"

"Do you have a new understanding of religion?"

Crutoy narrowed his eyes slightly. He seemed to see a familiar face in the audience. Felix smiled at him.

"Mr. Crutoy?"

"Oh," Crutoy stared at the empty seats, thinking, "Both songs refer to the same thing. If I have to say the difference, maybe one is what I see and the other is what I think."

"When sadness comes, I hope each of us can meet an angel."

...

Harry received the supplementary book list and the Quidditch team captain badge sent with the letter before the last week of school. Harry looked at it again and again for a while, feeling very excited.

"Is there anything you want to buy?" Sirius asked. "Yes!" Harry stared down at the list of books, read it over and over again, and then said in surprise: "Sixth grade Defense Against the Dark Arts, 'Encounter with a Faceless Monster'--"

"Ah, that book is quite famous." Sirius said.

"And--" Harry swallowed.

"What else?" Sirius looked up in confusion.

"There are three more books, 'The Struggle History of Muggles: A Million Years Ago', 'How Muggles Think', and 'Magic' in the Muggle World."

"Are you sure you're right?" Sirius almost fell off his chair.

"No." Harry said.

Sirius rubbed his chin, "It sounds like the new professor is a crazy admirer of Felix."