Days wandering around Hogwarts

Chapter 421 Ancient and Modern Magic

In the early morning, the roar of wild beasts arrives with the sunshine.

Charles sat at the table by the tree house window, coffee in one hand and the local wizarding newspaper in the other, reading it carefully.

There is also a wizard market here. When he was wandering around yesterday, he met a reporter whom he had met once in Ouagadou. The reporter was struggling to improve his sales, so they arranged an interview.

The news of the interview was published in the business section, mainly talking about the Dancing Grass Restaurant, and also mentioned that Charles used his vacation time to go to Africa to look for delicious food.

This piece of news can be used as evidence that Charles has been staying in Africa during this period.

Eleanor studied the Muggle newspaper in her hand carefully. Yesterday, Moscow disclosed a scandal on a small island in the Caribbean.

She was sure that Charles was involved, so she wanted to create an alibi.

She understood how dangerous such a big thing was, so she didn't ask questions that she shouldn't have asked.

"Where are you going today?" Eleanor asked. "I still have two days of annual leave."

Charles replied: "I'm not going anywhere these two days."

Eleanor pretended to be horrified and asked, "Are you going to play tricks on me?"

Charles rolled his eyes at her and said, "I bought something good yesterday and I plan to study it."

He bought some toys at the market yesterday, including a piece of papyrus covered with Arabic. When he held it up to the light, he could see densely packed drawings of dancing figures, a bit like the code in Sherlock Holmes' "The Dancing Figures".

Charles pressed the papyrus against the window glass and studied it carefully.

Eleanor was puzzled when she saw the dancing figures and asked, "Is that a spell?"

"This should be some kind of steganographic ink that has lost its effectiveness over time."

Charles pinched his chin and said, "This papyrus is quite interesting. The Arabic on it is a bill of a Baghdad merchant family in the early 8th century, which was the end of the use of papyrus. The dancers are in Latin at that time."

"My guess is that the people who tried to crack it before thought it was an Arabic code, so they went in the wrong direction."

"Coincidentally, I know both languages, so I can tell at a glance that the poses of these little figures are in Latin."

He thought this was very interesting. The papyrus was produced in Egypt. It recorded the contents of Baghdad on the surface, and the hidden text was Latin. It was finally sold in Kenya. There were many stories behind it.

"How many languages ​​do you know?" said Eleanor.

Charles replied, "I know a lot of mainstream languages. I studied ancient languages ​​to kill time in History of Magic class."

"This first half records a magic potion formula that is effective for life after taking it once."

Eleanor immediately became nervous: "You don't want to try it?"

She didn't know how many wizards had gotten into trouble because of recklessly testing potions, and she was a little worried that Charles would do the same.

Charles shook his head and said, "This is a primary version of the potion used for Animagus transformation. The success rate is not high. I am not interested."

"What's interesting is the second half, which records an ancient Egyptian spell that can partially transform a person into an Animagus."

"It says that the Sphinx is an example of this spell being used."

After listening to this, Eleanor nodded, and within two seconds, her eyes became sharp.

"You can transform into an Animagus?" She thought Charles wouldn't be interested if he couldn't. "What?"

Charles shook his head and said, "Do you think I have time to learn?"

Eleanor thought so too. This guy runs around during the holidays. If he were in Hogwarts, he would definitely be watched and would have no time to learn this.

But she thought about it again and felt that something was wrong. If Charles didn't know Animagus, why would he be interested in this spell?

So Eleanor said unhappily, "Tsk, you're hiding this from me."

She judged that Charles had learned the Animagus transformation at some point. Charles remained unmoved and continued to study the spell on the papyrus.

This spell has the characteristics of the African magic system of casting spells with gestures. It looks easy and is actually quite simple for wizards who have learned the Animagus transformation.

At the same time, he also saw a trace of Catherine's human transformation.

Charles had an idea and couldn't help pondering.

Eleanor did not interrupt Charles's thinking, but began to ask further questions after he finished studying the spell: "Just tell me, what do you look like after you transform into an Animagus."

As she spoke, she leaned towards Charles and put her arms around his neck.

Charles was unmoved. There are some things that cannot be said, or he would be beaten to death if he said them.

Eleanor's hand around his neck suddenly tightened, and she asked seriously, "Could it be you who was the giant jellyfish in the girls' bathroom that year?"

She thought that given her relationship with Charles, something as non-confidential as her Animagus form could still be shared.

Now Charles obviously knows this magic, but he doesn't dare to say what it will become, which means it is very dangerous for him to tell it.

Eleanor thought about it and decided that it was more likely that the jellyfish appeared in the girls' bathroom that year, otherwise there was no explanation for where the jellyfish came from in the Scottish Highlands, and Charles didn't dare to say.

Charles continued to roll his eyes and said, "How is that possible? I'm not a descendant of Slytherin."

The Slytherin House logo was almost changed that year, and those students are still scared when they think about it.

Charles saw that it was difficult to get away with this, so he said disdainfully: "What era is it now? Why are we still using traditional Animagus?"

After he finished speaking, he took out a bracelet from his bag and put it on his left wrist.

This bracelet appears to be made of stainless steel, with patterns of bears, leopards, wolves and eagles engraved on it. When worn, it will automatically grow to the same size as your wrist.

Eleanor blinked, but before she could ask, she saw Charles transformed into a cheetah, then a few seconds later turned back into a human, then into a gray wolf and an eagle.

Charles did not turn into a bear, but the brown bear was too heavy and the floor of the tree house might not be able to bear it.

Eleanor's eyes widened and she asked in surprise: "What kind of magic is this?!"

She was quite familiar with Transfiguration and felt that this magic was different from Animagus, because Animagus could only change into one kind, and it was also different from Human Transfiguration, which turned others into animals. The people transformed by that spell could not change back themselves.

After Charles turned back into a human, he replied, "A new type of human transfiguration that uses animal hair as a medium to transform into the corresponding animal. It is not as limited as the Animagus."

"The spell on this piece of paper has some similarities to this magic. I think it can be used universally to transform a person partially into an animal form."

He found it amazing that magic from over a thousand years ago and modern new magic could be used together.

Eleanor was almost distracted by him, and asked solemnly: "Can it be turned into a jellyfish?"

Charles asked her back, "Do jellyfish have hair?"

Eleanor thought for a moment and asked, "Does it have to be hair? Not body tissue?"

Charles shrugged and said, "You can't transform yourself with a sausage."

After several times, Eleanor finally stopped mentioning it.

She asked, "Can you teach me this magic?"

Charles thought about it and agreed.

What Eleanor is doing now is very dangerous, so it would be good to have an extra way to save her life.

Moreover, Charles bought this magic with his own money, so it is not a problem for him to teach it to others.

(End of this chapter)