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Chapter 142: Departure
Chapter 142: Departure (Please subscribe, favorite, and recommend)
When they had bought almost everything they needed, Hermione took out her wallet and said, "You all know my birthday is in September. This time, because I have to leave early for Brazil, my parents gave me some money to buy myself a birthday gift. The budget is fifteen Galleons."
"That's quite generous", Liam remarked. "Are you going to get another book for your birthday?"
"No, of course not", Hermione denied. "I've decided to get a pet. After two school years, I've settled into my school life, and it's time to have a companion."
So the three of them walked down the street to the pet shop called Mystic Menagerie. The shop was small, and with cages hanging from every inch of the walls, it was both smelly and noisy. The various animal calls mixed together, making it quite a headache.
A witch was buying a rare Heavenbird, so the shopkeeper was busy explaining how to care for it. This left the three of them to idly examine the cages.
There were many types of pets, with owls and cats being the most common. However, there were also some less common creatures, such as a large sea turtle with a shell encrusted with jewelry, a Flame Crab that continuously spewed flames from its rear, and a blue bird that could transform itself into various flowers.
Finally, the shopkeeper finished with the Heavenbird buyer and noticed Liam and the others waiting. "What can I help you with?" the shopkeeper asked.
After some selection, Hermione bought a large, brown-feathered owl with long ear tufts on either side of its head.
"This is a Great Horned Owl", Hermione said, holding up the cage for Liam and the others to see as they left the shop. "I considered a large orange cat, but since I'll be traveling far this year, I chose this owl that the shopkeeper said can fly across continents for easier communication."
"A Great Horned Owl. I know about these birds. Some people believe that their bones, when steeped in wine, can treat broken bones, so they are often hunted", Liam said, remembering something.
"That's terrible", Hermione shook her head.
"Of course, in the Muggle world, most countries have laws that make hunting them illegal", Liam added.
They chatted all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where they met Neville and his grandmother. Mrs. Longbottom approached them to shake hands and thank them for helping Neville with his studies last semester, which improved his final exam results.
After a brief conversation, Mrs. Longbottom took Neville to Diagon Alley to buy supplies, while Liam and Hermione said goodbye to Harry and took the subway home.
As they walked from the subway station, Hermione curiously asked, "What spell did you use in the bookstore? I've never seen it before."
"It's a Centaur spell that Wolf taught me. I noticed that the books contained some characteristics of living beings, so I thought I might try the Calmlife spell. Even if it failed, it wouldn't cause any harm. As you saw, it worked", Liam explained, attributing the spell to the Centaurs. After all, besides himself, Liam couldn't think of any wizard who had earned the complete trust of the Centaurs.
Hermione accepted Liam's explanation and said enviously, "Centaurs, a race that has coexisted with wizards until today. I believe they must have their own unique talents."
"Actually, this is an application of Ancient Runes. With the advent of modern magic, these spells have gradually become rare among human Wizards. However, some ancient races still preserve them in their entirety."
"I see, it seems I need to find more ways to acquire knowledge and not just rely on books", Hermione nodded in realization.
Over the next few days, Liam packed his luggage and wrote to a few classmates from Pureblood Families to inquire about the Castrobravo School of Magic. Soon, these friends replied, with Neville's letter being the most detailed. It carefully described the school's history and its current specialties. However, the well-organized and thorough content seemed more like the work of Neville's grandmother rather than Neville himself.
Thinking about how Neville's grandmother, despite her advanced age, still took on the roles of both father and mother to care for Neville, and even went to the trouble of writing these letters to help her grandson maintain good relationships with his friends, Liam couldn't help but be moved by her deep maternal love.
On the morning of August 27th, after a hearty breakfast, Liam's family set off in their family minivan. As they turned the first corner out of their neighborhood, they saw the Grangers' blue Volkswagen Estate parked at the intersection. The two families had agreed to travel together the day before.
By half past nine, Liam and his family arrived at King's Cross Station. They sat in the station's café for a while. When the clock struck ten-fifteen, they listened to their parents' final words of advice and said their tearful goodbyes. Then, Liam and Hermione pushed their luggage trolleys into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Since they had arrived a bit early, the platform was nearly empty except for an elderly guard and a few scattered students either wandering around or sitting on benches.
Liam noticed that these students were all older Slytherins. He and Hermione found a bench far from them, sat down, and took out their Ancient Runes textbooks to start reading.
After a while, Liam realized that the textbook included the writing and pronunciation of runes but lacked the crucial part of imbuing them with magic.
No wonder fewer and fewer people were taking this class. Runes that couldn't be imbued with magic were just a special form of writing, with no magical effects. Without a method to imbue them, studying runes had little practical use, which naturally led to this subject becoming a niche course.
Liam suspected that this situation was likely a means for Pureblood Families to maintain their status. It made sense that these families had their own ancient methods of imbuing runes with magic, passed down through generations. Meanwhile, young Wizards who could only learn from school had to rely on basic introductions and try to figure out the methods themselves. Except for a few geniuses, most of their methods were far inferior to the time-tested techniques of Pureblood Families. This naturally helped Purebloods monopolize knowledge and secure their advantages.
This was similar to how combat spells were rarely taught at Hogwarts. By controlling knowledge, Pureblood Families maintained their status in the Wizarding world.
As he pondered these thoughts, half an hour passed. Students began to arrive at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters one by one. Finally, the distant sound of a whistle could be heard, and the red steam engine of the Hogwarts Express appeared around the bend.
(End of Chapter)
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