Memory is a very wonderful thing. If the master himself has forgotten, then what Felix can do is rather limited.
This is different from the case of the Longbottoms – he is not looking for specific treasures, but rather piecing together as many memories as he can, without being bound to a particular day or event, all of which, in his opinion anyway, is a brick in the construction of an edifice of thought.
With Lupin on board, Felix’s dissection of the Marauders’ Map is on track. In a matter of days, he would be able to add the alarm spell to it.
…
Gryffindor Common Room.
In an out-of-the-way corner, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat around a small round table.
“Try it, Harry,” Ron urged on, “let’s have a look at the Book of Ghosts.”
“It’s an unnamed book.” Hermione corrected out of habit, her eyes fixed on the tabletop where a transparent, blue-white glowing book laid.
“Don’t you think the Ghost Book would be a more appropriate name?”
Harry looked at the two, his heart tightened for no reason, he reached out and opened the nameless book, Professor Hap’s figure is half-hidden, half present in a light blue mist, he took a deep breath and pressed his palm on the pages.
Ron and Hermione found Harry suddenly become motionless, his expression frozen. Ron poked his hand out, “Don’t move!” Hermione said as she thought of the thinking room, “Harry’s consciousness may have entered this book.”
Ron’s jaw dropped as he looked at Hermione and then at the book on the table, ” Harry’s consciousness is in here?” He held his breath and leaned down to examine it, trying to find something on the pages, and he really did see a small, blurry Harry.
“Merlin’s socks!”
Ron glanced around in slight alarm as Hermione’s eyes were firmly locked on the pages, “Don’t be alarmed, Harry’s fine.”
“In case someone touches Harry and moves his hand away, is he going to be trapped in the book?” Ron suggested sincerely, “Should we press his hand for a while?”
Hermione hesitated, “I don’t think that it can be that dangerous …” After half a minute, she got successfully convinced, and she and Ron reached out their hands, one on each side, and pressed on Harry’s hand.
The next second, the sky spun–
“Ahhhhhh!” Ron yelled as he seemed to fall into a long tunnel, haplessly lurching, and he couldn’t help but think back to his jump into the Chamber of Secrets tunnel last year.
“Come on, don’t scream, Ron.”
Hermione said from the side, Ron opened his eyes and slowly rose from the ground, “Where is this?”
The sky, along with the earth beneath his feet, carrying an unreal sense of illusion, as if condensed with light blue smoke, he stomped his foot, the ground burst into a cloud of fog, bringing him down to his feet with a stumble.
“I think this is the world of book, look over there!”
Hermione pointed in the opposite direction of Ron, he turned around, and sure enough, he saw Harry and Professor Hap.
Not far away, Harry looked at them dumbfounded, he trotted over: “What are you guys doing here? No, can you guys can come in too?”
“We saw you suddenly not moving and wanted to help you … er, maybe we’re overthinking it.” Ron excitedly got up to survey around: “It seems that the professor did not deny others from entering here, this place is massive …”
“I asked the same question,” Harry said, “and the professor’s answer was that there’ no sense of space in the world of thought.”
“Follow me!”
Ron and Hermione followed Harry to where they had just been, and Professor Hap remained unconcerned about what had happened before, still narrating unhurriedly.
“… we finished talking about the goal and determination, the next is to be calm. Never be nervous and fearful when casting an apparition, in other words, don’t get distracted, distraction is the most important cause of failure in shifting or even splinching, it affects your concentration on the target and the degree of determination …”
Harry froze for a moment, “I missed the second point … but that’s okay, you can repeat the lesson.”
Ron said with admiration, “That’s cool! This is all fictional?” He tentatively extended his arm over the professor’s illusory body, “But it’s so real …”
“Click!”
“Ouch!”
The pale blue mist in midair condensed into a bolt of lightning that struck Ron directly in the head, his hair standing up from the roots.
“I think,” Harry stifled a laugh and pulled Ron up, “the professor doesn’t like people getting too close to him.”
Ron looked sheepishly over at Professor Hap, who had paused and grunted, “Ron Weasley, next time.”
Ron’s eyes widened: “He, he, he …”
Hermione glanced around for some time and said hesitantly, “It’s supposed to be a fixed program, like those golems of the Professor’s, with a certain amount of autonomy. But when Harry returned the book, whether the professor will know it or not is hard to say.”
Ron said bitterly, “I’m really just curious.”
And aside, Professor Hap also finished the part of the speech while they were talking.
“… we finished the most basic knowledge, the first test content is, I need you to repeat what I just described. It’s actually quite simple, and you can’t possibly screw up as long as you even have a little understanding.”
Harry hesitated for a while, he did read some information in advance.
“Uh, let’s see … to learn apparition, you must apply the three D’s, that is, Destination, Determination, and Deliberation, first we have to focus our consciousness on the place we want to go, that is, the Destination; we must know enough about it, it can be a place you have been, or within the line of sight …”
Harry stroked his hair, “and then Determination – I just missed it, but … I read in a book, you have to have a strong determination to use the Apparition, so that this determination should fill your whole body, and mobilize the magic along with it. ”
“Finally, it’s Deliberation, the book said that you have to turn in a circle on the same spot, but you just didn’t mention it, Professor, and from what I can see you really don’t need to turn around either … cough…cough! Anyway, imagine your body becoming nothing, and don’t be distracted from thinking about something else.”
Harry finished and looked at Professor Hap expectantly.
Professor Hap smiled at him approvingly, “Very good, Harry.”
Harry still couldn’t help but feel amazed, is this professor in front of him really just a memory? He was even able to counter Ron’s conduct, even if Hermione said it is pre-set in advance, he still doubted it deeply.
“So, next–”
“Wait, Professor, can they learn?”
“They?” Professor Hap looked at Ron and Hermione, “Do you want to try it as well?”
“Can I, Professor?” Hermione asked in surprise.
“I considered the possibility of Harry letting you guys study together when I left the memories, but it’s still important to keep Harry’s progress in mind, you can’t pass beyond his level or help him break through it.”
Ron s hesitated a little, “How about letting Hermione try? I’m not even proficient at the spells I was taught in dueling class yet.”
“It’s okay, Ron, we have many chances,” Harry said, encouraging him.
After ten minutes or so, they finished the step, Ron listened to it twice before he could recount it clearly, then he let out a long breath of relief when Professor Hap nodded at him.
“I took it more seriously than I did in class, really!” Ron said, not wanting to let himself drag it out and delay Harry’s learning progress.
“Next, is the second level.” Professor Hap said from memory as intended, ” You guys would love this, the Side-Along Apparition.”
“Side-Along Apparition?” Harry heard a new word.
“Apparition is something you can do with someone along with you, the one being carried is the follower, and this type of action is known as Side-Along Apparition. During the war years, the Ministry of Magic had recommended that every child should be used to Side-Along Apparition, and it is actually quite simple, as long as you don’t shout or suddenly use a burst of magic to fight against it, it will basically work.”
Harry nodded and asked, “Do I have to repeat this, this is the second level?”
“No, Harry.” Professor Hap showed a big smile, ” it was just a background introduction, the real test is getting used to the discomfort of the Side-Along Apparition.”
“I think that when you get used to it, you will have a more authentic experience of the magic Apparition.”
He looked at the three of them, “Since you all want to learn, well … then let’s do it randomly.”
His figure abruptly disappeared and appeared in front of Ron, who opened his mouth in slow motion, his eyes bulging out, and Professor Hap’s palm rapidly enlarging in front of his eyes …
The next second, both of them twisted and disappeared.
“Professor?” Harry whispered, looking around, there is only a faint blue fog around him.
Hermione said, “The professor should be taking Ron to experience the feeling of the Side-Along Apparition.”
“Experience?”
“After all, it’s all fake, a world constructed by the mind, you can’t mobilize the magic to form facts and habits,” Hermione said like an experienced veteran.
After two or three minutes, “Aaaahhhh-” Professor Hap appeared with Ron through the thin air.
Ron panted, fear lingering in his eyes, and after a long moment he looked back, “I feel like I’m being squeezed out of a rubber tube as hard as possible, and any minute I might be compressed into a walnut …”
But not a moment later, he encouraged Harry and Hermione to try, “That’s an unforgettable feeling, you definitely wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Professor Hap took a well-timed step forward and smiled, “Who’s next?”
Harry and Hermione backed away in unison, the professor’s smile was just too scary.
———-
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