Hogwarts from another world

Just as Matthew spoke, the small golden clock on Horace Slughorn's desk struck nine times.

"Of course, but not for too long!" the Potions Professor said gently. At the same time, he picked out a piece of pineapple preserves and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then he added: "After all, it's very late now. I think you don't want to be caught outside after lights out."

"Yes, sir, but we won't turn off the lights until ten o'clock...so, I want to ask you something." Matthew said, "If you are free!"

"Then ask quickly, child, ask quickly..."

Slughorn drank a small glass of wine, his cheeks looking slightly red.

Matthew glanced at the old man in front of him who was half lying on an armchair, with a big belly and a relaxed look on his face.

Without hesitation, he spoke softly:

"It's about my roommate, Draco Malfoy..."

"Draco, oh, poor child, I remember it very clearly!" Slughorn licked the frosting on his fingers and sighed with regret:

"It's such bad luck. He had an accident like that just after he came to school, and he stayed in the school hospital until today... So much so that it's October now, and he hasn't even attended one of our gatherings... I just hope that Luo Qi The friend Professor Er invited can help him..."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that too." Matthew agreed, "I'm just curious, what kind of situation did he encounter at that time?"

……

Matthew Wakefield did not directly mention the book.

He was going to make some insinuations first and find out what the origin of that book was.

So, he started asking about the attack on Draco Malfoy.

Slughorn seemed to be in a good mood, maybe because the box of pineapple preserves appealed to his taste, or maybe it was because of today's banquet.

He glanced at Matthew and said absently: "We usually keep this kind of thing a secret... Professor Rosier doesn't want the truth to spread to the entire Hogwarts, as that would be detrimental to our teaching work. Quite disadvantageous…”

His words seemed to be rejection.

But obviously, there seems to be more of a pretense than a rejection.

After all, if he really wanted to refuse firmly, he could simply use a ready-made excuse to drive Matthew away.

Matthew was obviously aware of this. He quickly echoed and said: "Yes, Professor, what Principal Rosier said is right. This kind of thing must not be allowed to be known to outsiders casually..."

"...But I am not an outsider. Draco Malfoy is my roommate." However, he quickly changed the subject and continued, his voice gradually becoming a little lower:

"You know, during the time when he was attacked - I was the only one in the whole dormitory. My roommates were all sent to the hospital, and their lives were uncertain. I was very scared at the time, and I cried every night when I went to bed. I will be woken up by nightmares at any time, afraid that like Malfoy and the others, I will suddenly encounter something terrifying and die silently!"

As he spoke, Matthew wiped the corners of his eyes pitifully:

"So, Professor Slughorn. Please, tell me what happened. I swear I won't tell anyone! That will at least allow me to sleep peacefully at night..."

Slughorn glanced at Matthew with some sympathy: "Poor kid, to be honest, I can understand the pressure you are facing, and I can completely understand it."

"No, you don't understand..." Matthew shook his head:

"At that time, I tried my best to forget what happened that night, but every time I went to a crowded place, someone would come to me and ask me what happened. After all, I was the only one left in the dormitory. They We are all curious, but I am very scared! You don’t know how desperate it is. Sometimes I even want to climb to the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle and jump out of the window..."

As Matthew talked, he felt so moved that tears already flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, you can't do that!" Slughorn said quickly: "If you really jump, you will have to stay in the campus hospital for at least a week... Of course, it may be two weeks..."

He paused and looked at Matthew: "Do you need me to get you a towel, kid?"

"No, no need!" Matthew quickly wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. He didn't forget that Slughorn had just licked his own fingers.

"Okay!" Slughorn sighed softly: "I might as well tell you the truth. Actually, it's not something worth keeping secret..."

……

Matthew quickly sat upright and listened carefully.

If it weren't for the fact that this wasn't in class, he would have even wanted to take out a pen and paper to take notes.

"Matthew, do you know about black magic?" Slughorn said seriously.

"Dark magic?" Matthew blinked.

"Of course, this was the previous name, and now it has been renamed Extreme Magic...Professor Rosier should have taught you in her class!" Slughorn changed his words and said.

"Yes, but the textbooks still call it black magic." Matthew nodded and said.

"That's because of the people from the Wizarding Examination Authority, the old guys headed by Gsilda Marchbain!" Slughorn shrugged and explained:

"They are very old and very prestigious. In the wizarding world... although they nominally obey the rule of the new Ministry of Magic, they have never really identified with Gellert Grindelwald... But they This is the only way to bring some trouble to Hogwarts. After all, the source of textbooks is controlled by the Wizarding Examination Authority..."

"Of course, in the eyes of Professor Grindelwald, they are just clowns dancing beside their graves." Slughorn suddenly said with some meaning:

"However, the entire magical world is not Lord Grindelwald's word after all!"

Matthew didn't quite understand what Slughorn meant by this sentence.

He could only nodded with some vague understanding.

"Okay, let's get down to business!" Slughorn continued: "Let's call it black magic... Matthew, do you know what the most terrifying black magic is?"

"This..." Matthew hesitated for a moment, and then said softly: "I seem to have seen it in an extracurricular reading about Defense Against the Dark Arts. It seems to be called... No..."

"The Unforgivable Curse?" Slughorn said before Matthew.

"It seems so, Professor!" Matthew nodded quickly.

"It seems that my invitation to join the club was not the wrong choice after all!" Slughorn laughed loudly: "You have done a lot of extracurricular reading!"

"I just prefer the quiet atmosphere in the library." Matthew lowered his head a little shyly.

"Okay." Slughorn's face quickly became serious again: "The Unforgivable Curse? It is indeed terrible, but it is far from qualified to name them with the word 'most'..."

"...the most terrifying black magic in the true sense!" His voice suddenly became hollow and solemn: "They are the oldest and most mysterious magic...indescribable, indescribable, far beyond what normal wizards can do. Cognitive, mystical side of magic!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Slughorn's body trembled involuntarily.

"So..." Matthew frowned and continued softly: "Draco Malfoy was injured because of the influence of mysterious side magic?"

"Professor Rozier thinks so." Slughorn replied: "She has extensive experience in researching dark magic, so I agree with her point of view."

"So, someone used mysterious black magic on Malfoy?" Matthew deliberately pretended to be stupid and asked again.

"This is unlikely. After all, I am very confident about the safety of the Slytherin common room. Therefore, whether it is Professor Rozier's guess or my guess - we all believe that the attack on Dela It must be an item related to mysterious black magic..."

"...This is normal. Draco's father has always been very interested in those kinds of things. This is not a secret, so Draco may have accidentally come into contact with them..."

Matthew felt that he was very close to the answer.

However, he still asked in a low voice: "Is the item related to the mysterious black magic still in the Slytherin common room?"

"Hahaha!" Slughorn suddenly laughed loudly: "You don't have to scare yourself, my child. I could have carefully searched your dormitory and its surroundings. There will never be any Someone who slipped through the net!”

"Could that be... that item leaving the Slytherin common room?" Matthew asked again.

"What do you think that is, a paper airplane?" Slughorn spread his hands towards Matthew and said with a smile: "That's impossible, my child. Hogwarts has a complete set of rules for dark magic. , powerful protective equipment, you can't run around with a used black magic item without being discovered..."

"...Moreover, the space rules of Hogwarts also have extremely strict restrictions; any space transfer is not allowed without the consent of the principal. Including us teachers, we are not allowed to move in the space of Hogwarts." Apparating within the confines of the Watts campus... let alone a dark magic item!"

"So what exactly happened?" Matthew frowned and asked.

"According to our guess, the mysterious dark magic item that Draco came into contact with was probably a very weak one... After attacking Draco Malfoy, it exhausted all its power. , that’s why we didn’t find it.” Slughorn explained: “In fact, this is the only possibility!”

"So, if it is a powerful... mysterious black magic item..." Matthew asked again.

"You can only pray that you will never encounter that kind of thing, unless you are a powerful wizard like Professor Grindelwald." Slughorn's tone gradually became serious.

"Is it scary?" Matthew lowered his head.

"It's not just 'terrible' to describe it." Slughorn shook his head: "That kind of thing is definitely not something that a normal wizard can come into contact with... It will slowly erode you, affect you, and even assimilate you. You...when you don't know it..."

"So...what if, I mean what if...Mr. Draco Malfoy had been exposed to that kind of thing?" Matthew asked softly.

His voice sounded a little shaky.

This is also normal. An eleven-year-old child will inevitably not be afraid after hearing such terrible things.

"I will kill him!" Slughorn said seriously.

"Kill...kill...him?" Matthew opened his mouth wide and stammered.

"Yes, although it sounds cruel, it will definitely be the best ending for that boy." Slughorn continued: "Even if I don't do this, Professor Rosier and even Green That’s what Professor DeVoe would do!”

"Death is not the most terrifying thing, far from it! If you really come into contact with that indescribable mystery, then you will face something more terrifying than death..."

"It sounds quite scary..." Matthew smiled unnaturally, and said as if jokingly: "So in the future, if we encounter that kind of thing, should we run away immediately?"

"Run?" Slughorn smiled mockingly: "You can't escape the real mystery... because when you stare at it, it is also staring at you..."

At this moment, Matthew looked extremely pale.

"Oh, child, did I scare you...I should obviously comfort you!" Slughorn said apologetically: "Don't worry, that kind of truly ancient and mysterious thing is all There are only a few of them in the world, and it is almost impossible for you to encounter them..."

"The one that Draco Malfoy came into contact with was just the simplest kind of mysterious dark magic gadget. It has definitely disappeared in Hogwarts... Otherwise, we must have found it! So, Just relax, don’t worry about these mysterious things, and focus on more interesting things!”

Slughorn shouted comfort over there.

Matthew's expression gradually improved, and he nodded: "Thank you, Professor!"

"Remember, don't tell anyone what I told you!" Slughorn waved his hand at him.

"I won't tell, sir," said Matthew Wakefield, and left.

He was still extremely pale as he left Horace Slughorn's office.

PS: It’s Monday, please continue to ask for recommendation votes!