Chapter 531: New Course
Chapter 531: New Course
For the next while, everything proceeded as usual. Dumbledore didn’t ask Liam to go to Gringotts to fetch anything, possibly because he hadn’t found a suitable time yet. Liam, on the other hand, mixed some of the basic materials needed to create the Rose Madonna with the list of ingredients for an alchemical device and sent it, along with some gold coins, to Dumbledore.
Even though Dumbledore wasn’t at the school, he still had a firm grasp on everything happening there. Three days after sending the list and gold coins, Liam woke up to find a large box delivered by a house-elf from the school. Inside, the materials were neatly categorized, including hundreds of basic raw materials that were hard to come by and a few precious raw materials.
Slughorn’s connections were also quite good. After a club meeting, Liam met several well-informed individuals. In just one week, he managed to purchase half of the rare and valuable materials he needed. However, the other half would require a good deal of luck, as those items had no stable supply chain. Wizards could only occasionally obtain them.
Of course, this shopping spree drained Liam’s Galleons. Fortunately, the people Slughorn introduced him to agreed to accept gold ingots, jewelry, precious raw materials, or alchemical products as payment, which prevented Liam from running into a deficit.
“Although the materials aren’t complete, I have everything needed for the first step,” Liam concluded after tallying up the first batch of materials. “Now I can start the process. And to ensure this stone can be used across different worlds, it can only be made in the Multiverse General Store.”
That night, after going to bed, Liam went to the Multiverse General Store to begin the first step. With Teacher Luo Zhen’s full technical support, he worked tirelessly for three months. Finally, the first phase of the process was completed. In a large alchemical array, four cauldrons at the corners contained liquids of red, yellow, blue, and green, each as clear and sparkling as a gem.
After instructing Little Qing to keep an eye on the magic array and the cauldrons, Liam went to Middle-earth to rest for a week to recover his strength. The environment there was conducive to rest, with the natural surroundings quickly alleviating Liam’s fatigue. If he had chosen a world like the Radiation World, where the conditions were dire, he might have needed to sleep for half a year.
After sorting everything out, he returned to his bed. Now, it was all about luck, hoping the remaining materials would arrive soon.
In the following days, Liam began making various items he might need for his trip to Gringotts. Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was February. The snow around the school melted, replaced by a cold, damp chill. Dark, purplish clouds hung low over the castle, and continuous drizzle made the lawns slippery and muddy. The weather was as grim as the external situation.
However, not everything was bleak. For instance, the first Apparition Lesson, which sixth-year students were supposed to take outdoors in the cold, was moved to the Great Hall. The lesson was scheduled for Saturday morning to avoid disrupting regular classes.
When Liam and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall, they found that most of the students were already there. The tables had been cleared to make room for the lesson. Rain pattered against the windows, and the Enchanted Ceiling was filled with dark rain clouds.
The four Heads of House stood at the front of the Great Hall, along with a Wizard with snow-white skin, transparent eyelashes, and fine hair. He must have been the Apparition Lesson instructor from the Ministry of Magic.
"Good morning", the Wizard from the Ministry of Magic said once everyone was ready. "My name is Winky Tewkcross, and I will be your Apparition Lesson instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to help you prepare for the Apparition exam—"
The introduction was smooth and uneventful, with Winky Tewkcross remaining unusually calm. Even when Professor Mcgonagall scolded Malfoy for trying to argue with Goyle, his speech was not interrupted.
After conjuring a pile of wooden hoops, Professor Tewkross explained the Three D's Principle of Apparition to everyone and then had them start practicing. "When I give the order... spin on the spot and enter the void state. Move with ease! Now, listen to my command... one—"
Liam glanced around at his classmates and noticed that they all seemed surprised at how quickly they were being asked to Apparate.
"One—two—three!" Everyone began spinning on the spot, but most of them just ended up wobbling and struggling to stay upright. Some, like Neville, who had poor balance, even fell to the ground.
The professors didn’t expect anyone to succeed on their first try, but two soft, almost simultaneous popping sounds, like fireworks, shattered their expectations. They were surprised to see Liam and Hermione disappear after only half a spin and reappear inside the wooden hoops in front of them.
"Very good", Professor Tewkross's voice rose slightly, perhaps his way of showing his surprise. "Just like these two, focus your attention on your target during Apparition. Don’t panic, and move with ease. Now, please set up the wooden hoops and return to your positions..."
Over the next few attempts, only Liam and Hermione managed to Apparate successfully, while everyone else just spun in place. On the sixth try, Dean Thomas managed to enter the hoop, but his left arm was left behind, which caused a chorus of gasps from the class. Fortunately, the professors rushed over immediately, and after a cloud of purple smoke dissipated, his arm was healed. Dean, relieved that his arm was fine, enthusiastically recounted his experience to the others.
"Settle down", Professor Mcgonagall glared at Dean disapprovingly. Once the class had quieted down, Professor Tewkross continued calmly, "Splinching, the separation of body parts, occurs when your resolve is not strong enough. It's one of the most common issues for beginners. So, I remind you all to focus your attention."
But even after an hour, no one else made any progress. Professor Tewkross didn’t seem discouraged. He fastened his cloak and said, "See you next Saturday, everyone. Remember: target, resolve, and ease." With that, he waved his wand to make the wooden hoops disappear and followed Professor Mcgonagall out of the Great Hall.
"Harry, what's wrong with you?" As soon as the class ended, Harry had rushed out of the Great Hall. An hour later, Liam and Hermione returned from the Alchemy Lab to find Harry and Ron huddled together, whispering in the Common Room.
"Why did you two run off so quickly? You made it seem like the paparazzi had discovered some big news", Liam asked as he sat down on the sofa opposite Harry. "What did you find out in class? You seemed fine before it started."
"It's like this", Harry explained. "During Apparition class, I overheard that Malfoy is up to something, and Crabbe and Goyle are keeping watch for him. Whatever Malfoy is doing must be important, because Crabbe and Goyle are just standing guard outside, and they don't know what he's up to."
"It does sound like something sinister", even Hermione agreed. "As Headmaster, Dumbledore can't be unaware of what's happening in the castle. I wonder why he hasn’t taken action."
"So I think I should find out what Malfoy is up to", Harry said firmly.
And Harry did just that. Over the next two weeks, he checked the Marauder's Map as often as possible, sometimes making unnecessary trips to the bathroom between classes. But he never found Malfoy at any suspicious locations. He did notice that Crabbe and Goyle were moving around the castle more than usual, sometimes stopping in empty corridors, but Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. At such times, Harry could only assume that Malfoy was hidden among the hundreds of names on the map.
"Liam and Hermione seem busy, probably working for the Order of the Phoenix. I shouldn’t bother them", Harry thought about asking Liam for help but decided against it.
(End of Chapter)
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