Chapter 194 Myrtle: Hermione, when You Die, We Will Go Watch the Boys Take a Bath Together

Myrtle's bathroom.

Beige glass arranged in diamond-shaped squares shines with light, illuminating the entire bathroom. Thanks to Loren's repair of the toilet, the bathroom floor that had been piling up water all year round was finally no longer wet, revealing its original color.

Hermione sat cross-legged on the ground, holding up a square glass bottle, and poured the green grass juice inside into the crucible in front of her at a steady rate. Then pick up the mixing spoon and stir the liquid evenly.

Pay attention to ensure that the 12 lacewings in the pot are heated evenly, and pay attention to replenishing water when the liquid level drops due to evaporation. Hermione had been repeating these steps for the past few days, but she didn't find it boring, but rather enjoyed it.

The process of brewing high-level potions made her feel fulfilled, and her brain was happily absorbing knowledge and experience.

"What are you doing?" a female voice with a high-pitched voice asked.

Hermione raised her head and saw Myrtle floating in the air, peering into the pot. There is a smile on his face that shows satisfaction after a bad thing is accomplished, which is a bit like Loren.

This was the first time she had faced Myrtle alone. In the past, she had always been with Loren. Hermione felt ashamed of being caught doing shameful things on other people's territory.

They had originally planned to say hello to Myrtle after they decided to brew the polyjuice potion here, but Myrtle had been away for the past few days and they never had the chance to explain.

"We originally planned to discuss it with you, but you haven't been here these past few days-" Hermione said, and suddenly asked curiously, "I remember you have been living in the cubicle. Where have you been these past few days?"

"Hehehe~" Myrtle laughed excitedly when talking about this: "Did you know that there is a bathroom on the sixth floor specifically for prefects and Quidditch team captains?"

Bathrooms for prefects and captains? Does it have anything to do with you?

Hermione nodded blankly: "I heard the twin brothers mention it when they teased Percy, is there anything special about the bathroom?"

In order to brew the potion these days, Hermione's hair had not been taken care of much. Her thick curly hair covered her entire head, and her voice sounded tired and unkempt.

She was born as a Muggle and didn't look pretty. She was hiding in the bathroom alone with no one to accompany her. I heard she was even ostracized by girls.

Myrtle felt that Hermione was a bit similar to her, and there was some intimacy in her heart. She had the idea of ​​becoming friends with Hermione.

Just like living little witches always have their own besties, those little witches who gather in groups will share unspeakable secrets in the corner and discuss topics that sound impolite.

During her long time as a ghost, she had seen such scenes countless times. Hiding in the cold and thick stone walls of the castle, you can hear with only one ear exposed.

Out of some secret envy, she followed the example of those little witches who shared secrets and leaned close to Hermione's ear. She suppressed her excitement and said in a low voice and excitedly: "As long as you pass through the statue of Boris the Fool, you can enter the boys' bath." During the period, I saw the prefects taking a bath——"

Hermione's eyes widened: "Ah! This... you, I..."

She hesitated, so shocked that she didn't know where to start. Shyness, condemnation of Myrtle's bad behavior, and wondering whether the moral values ​​and school rules of a living person can be applied to a ghost...

There was so much information here that even Hermione's brain was a little down.

"Oh, that's it...I was thinking that if you die, you are welcome to come with me to watch the male prefects take a bath." Myrtle's face turned silver-white in shyness.

Ghosts walk through walls, peek, take baths...

When I die...

go together……

Should I thank her for her kindness? Hermione was silent for a moment.

Hermione opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally asked with a complex expression: "Does it take so long to peek? I've been brewing the potion here for several days."

"Aha!" Myrtle exclaimed excitedly with a high-pitched voice, flying around Hermione twice, "This is the experience I have accumulated. You can't go in and out of the bathroom frequently, otherwise you will be attracted by others. The ghost discovered it. And I don’t know when the prefect goes to take a bath, so I always stay there for a few days and I can always see it.”

Hermione became even more silent, once again deeply aware of the distortion of character and spirit caused by ghosts.

Myrtle was not discouraged when she received no response. She knew that living people were like this, and she would understand it after she died.

Myrtle looked at the cauldron: "What potion are you boiling? Why are you hiding here to boil it?"

Only then did Hermione realize that she had stopped stirring at some point and the liquid was a little stagnant. She quickly turned the stirring spoon and waited for the lacewing to stabilize before saying, "Because it cannot be known to other people, not even professors or students." , can you keep it secret for us?"

"Oh, it needs to be kept secret!" Myrtle suddenly became more excited, "You are doing something that violates school rules, right?"

Hearing the words about violating school rules coming from Myrtle's mouth, Hermione's heart trembled: "Yes, yes. We plan to use this potion to investigate matters related to the Chamber of Secrets, but I can't tell you the specific plan. "

Myrtle showed a look of longing and envy: "It's great to complete an adventure that violates school rules with friends..."

At this moment, Harry and Ron hurried in from outside the bathroom: "Hermione! Hermione! We found what you asked us to find!"

Harry was holding a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Ron was holding a freshly torn page from an old library book.

It reads: In our country, there are many terrible beasts and monsters wandering, the most bizarre and lethal among them is the Basilisk, also known as the Snake King...

Little Hangleton, Gaunt's old house.

Because of the big commotion that happened before, some small animals in the woods next to the old house vaguely felt that it was no longer safe, and began to move deeper into the valley. The hustle and bustle of the road brought more life to the valley that had been silent for a long time.

The late autumn wind blew into the dilapidated old house with a chill, causing the old man's long white beard to sway constantly, just like the owner of the beard's heart, which could not be calm for a long time.

Dumbledore sat at the table, not caring about the worn stool and dirty tabletop, and looked at the Resurrection Stone on the table in trance for a long time.

The reliable image of this old man with a white beard is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and his power spans two generations of Dark Lords. So much so that people often ignore that he is over a hundred years old, which is very old even for a wizard.

Loren looked at the principal in a daze, worried that he would be lost again and unable to speak, and was ready to activate the killer whale at any time to get past him.

Noticing his defensiveness, Dumbledore forced a stiff smile and spoke softly: "Loren, do you know the story of Death and the three brothers?"

Loren nodded, he knew. He shook his head again, not knowing very clearly.

There was a look of nostalgia in Dumbledore's eyes: "When I was a child, this story left a deep impression on me. I heard it from my mother for the first time, and soon it became the one I begged her to tell the most before going to bed. Stories. My brother Aberforth often quarreled with me about this. His favorite story was "The Dirty Goat."

As he said this, Loren tried to find any sign of emotion on Dumbledore's face, but there was nothing. It was as if it had been too long and the centenarian's longing for his family had become dull under the erosion of time.

Facing Loren's gaze, Dumbledore smiled slightly and said: "I will tell you the story of "The Dirty Goat Crumb" when I get the chance. Today I want to tell the story of the Deathly Hallows. Once upon a time, there were three brothers in a secluded road. Driving along the narrow paths..."

"The God of Death walked to an elder tree on the shore, made a wand out of the overhanging branches, and gave it to the eldest son... The God of Death picked up a stone from the shore and gave it to the second eldest son, telling him that this stone could bring people back to life. The ability...The God of Death reluctantly gave his invisibility cloak to Lao San..."

Until the third child took off the invisibility cloak and handed it to his descendants, and actively threw himself into the arms of death equally, it was no different from what Loren knew.

"It is rumored that if a person legally possesses these three things, he will become the "master of death," a saying that is often considered to mean that he (or she) is invincible and even immortal. "Dumbledore said this sentence casually, passing by in a flash, with a calm tone.

"I opposed Snape's development of a resurrection drug and allowed him to try it, because I knew he was doomed to be fruitless, and the process of trying would bring hope and comfort to those who are still alive. Just like before..."

Having said this, Dumbledore's blue eyes were filled with mist, which quickly dissipated. It was so fast that Loren thought he was being blinded.

"One thing I figured out a long time ago is that we still can't bring the dead back to life, and there's good reason to think it's never going to happen."

"Just like in the story, resurrection is an illusion fabricated by Death in order to harvest life." Dumbledore looked at Loren with a strange light in his eyes, "Thanks to you being here, otherwise I would be like the old man in the story. Two are the same.”

Loren didn't want to tear up Dumbledore's scar anymore, so he didn't want to dwell on the matter just now. He poked the Resurrection Stone with his wand and asked: "Voldemort is so afraid of death, why didn't he use the Resurrection Stone? ?”

"I think he didn't recognize the Resurrection Stone. For someone like Voldemort, which dead person does he want to bring back? He is afraid of the dead. He doesn't know how to love," Dumbledore said.

In fact, Loren felt that except for Dumbledore, no top wizard thought that love was magical. He thought what Dumbledore was trying to say might be the influence of emotions and soul on magic.

Loren was still puzzled: "Since Voldemort didn't recognize the Resurrection Stone, why did you...well, get lost in the illusion of the Resurrection Stone?"

"He just designed a very clever magic. The ring will make people who notice him fall into the most desired fantasy in their hearts. It will make people wear the ring involuntarily, and then design an extremely evil curse on the ring."

Dumbledore paused and took a deep breath. "After I recognized the Resurrection Stone, my mood fluctuated a bit and I relaxed my vigilance in front of the Horcrux."

How could he not be moved... Gellert's thoughts were so attractive to him. The core of their plan was the Deathly Hallows! How obsessed he was with them, how obsessed they were.

For Gellert, the Resurrection Stone means the army of the Inferi. For him, it means the resurrection of his parents, and Ariana's forgiveness.

After so many years, the Resurrection Stone, which had been nowhere to be found, appeared here. At that moment, he thought he was about to see Ariana, his mother, and his father. He could tell them his regrets...

How could he not be moved?

Loren flicked the Gaunt ring with his wand: "Principal, what are you going to do with this ring?"

The ring still has Voldemort's soul fragment attached to it. In addition to the Resurrection Stone, it is also Voldemort's Horcrux.

Dumbledore took a deep look at the Deathly Hallows symbol engraved on the Resurrection Stone. His fingers under the table trembled twice, sensing his wand, and the gauze-like Invisibility Cloak flashed through his mind.

He pressed his complicated thoughts into the deepest part of his mind: "Just like a crown, I want to put it away first and wait for the right time to destroy it."

Not destroy it immediately?

Thinking of the vicious curse on it, thinking of the scene of Dumbledore falling from the tower.

Loren put away his frivolous look and his face became serious. He stared into Dumbledore's eyes: "I want you to destroy it immediately. Right now! Under my witness!"

There seemed to be a mature soul hidden behind that look. At a certain moment, Dumbledore almost suspected that he saw through his thoughts and wanted to avoid those eyes.

But when he noticed that Loren wanted to separate him from the Resurrection Stone and that he was worried about himself, Dumbledore felt a long-lost shame in his heart.

After a long silence, Dumbledore smiled with relief. He had proved that power was his weakness when he was young. He still couldn't let go of his obsession when he was old, and he had unrealistic ideas in his heart.

Forget it, forget it. He is already 111 years old this year, and it is no longer his time!

Giving up the illusory idea of ​​collecting the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore suddenly felt relieved, and even the fatigue caused by the Horcruxes dissipated a lot.

He raised his hand and gently touched Loren's nose, and smiled: "I am the headmaster of Hogwarts and the chief of the Wizengamot. Could I be hit twice in the same place?"

"Who knows? You are a wizard, not Merlin." Loren did not give in at all.

The explosion of the piercing spell could not wake up the old headmaster who was in a trance. What if one night, Dumbledore couldn't sleep and emo late at night, and took out the resurrection stone plate, and when he was found in the morning, I am afraid that his body would be stiff.

"Hahaha..." Dumbledore laughed, "That's right! I'm just an old wizard, not Merlin, nor a god."

He thought for a moment and waved at the shelf next to him.

The clay pot that previously stored the Horcrux flew over and landed on the table. Dumbledore picked up the ring and put it into the pot. He picked up the wand and gently tapped the pot with Transfiguration. The surface of the fired pot suddenly flowed with liquid-like waves, and then folded up like paper.

After several folds, the pot shrank into a seamless sphere, and the surface was as black as stone.

Dumbledore took Loren's hand and spread it open, and put the stone ball that sealed the Resurrection Stone in his hand, and solemnly entrusted him: "Although you don't trust me, I trust you very much. The Horcrux is not yet ready to be destroyed. I hope you will keep it until the time comes to destroy it."

Loren blinked in confusion... What's the matter, picking up a Resurrection Stone for nothing?