After a night's rest, Gary re-engraved the Alchemy array from the inner circle of the carrot bracelet onto a ring.
Practice makes perfect; Gary's second attempt was much smoother than his first, completing it in less than two hours.
...
"An excellent Warming Charm, Mr. Shafiq, Ravenclaw, twenty points." During the Alchemy class after Christmas, Professor Dumbledore stood at the podium, adjusting his half-moon silver spectacles.
"Furthermore, I regret to say that only Mr. Shafiq successfully completed the construction of the Alchemy array."
"Most of you only managed to destroy the original Alchemy array but couldn't engrave a new one… Where did the problem lie?" Professor Dumbledore began to question again.
"Professor, I couldn't keep my magic on the object at all; all the magic I channeled dissipated into the air," Lily said from below the stage, holding her Alchemy item—a telescope.
"Yes… This ability is not something everyone possesses; most are born with it, and only a tiny handful of Wizards achieve it through extensive practice."
Upon hearing this, the students below became somewhat dejected, feeling they lacked Alchemy talent.
"I have a method," Professor Dumbledore said with a triumphant smile, seeing their crestfallen expressions, "Every day, channel a portion of your magic. Not too much, one-tenth of your internal magic is enough. This magic can be channeled into any metal object."
"As we learned before, metal objects can carry Wizard magic very well. Galleons, Sickles… all work. You can also use the Alchemy items I gave you. The purpose is for you to carefully observe the state of your magic after it leaves your body. Report your findings in an essay at the end of the term; there's no length requirement."
After a two-hour long class, Professor Dumbledore beckoned to Gary, who was looking at him with eager eyes.
"Professor Dumbledore…" Gary's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Seeing his reaction, Professor Dumbledore smiled reassuringly and led him to a corner of the classroom.
"I said I would reward the student who successfully re-completed the Alchemy array, and I always keep my word." Professor Dumbledore still held the ring Gary had submitted. Gary was a bit excited; not many students received physical rewards from the Principal.
"Tell me, what do you want?" Professor Dumbledore looked at him playfully, toying with the ring in his hand.
Gary hadn't expected Professor Dumbledore to ask him in return and was momentarily stunned, unsure how to answer.
"…Tell me when you've thought about it, Mr. Shafiq." Professor Dumbledore lifted his leg, about to leave.
"Wait…" Gary stopped him, "Can I borrow the Sorting Hat, the acceptance quill, and the Book of Admittance?"
"I want to observe the process of Hogwarts students from birth to admission."
Professor Dumbledore hadn't anticipated such a request. He had assumed that Ravenclaw students of this age mostly preferred ancient rare books or profound works on Transfiguration spells.
He paused, a fleeting look of bewilderment in his lake-blue eyes, which then vanished.
"Of course, but these items cannot be taken out of the office, and you cannot touch the acceptance quill or the Book of Admittance." Professor Dumbledore agreed to Gary's request.
"Come to my office at two o'clock this Saturday afternoon. The password is Fizzing Whizbees." Professor Dumbledore patted Gary's shoulder and left the classroom.
"Hey, what reward did Dumbledore give you?" During dinner that evening, Alfrina chatted with Kona about the weather for a bit, then changed the subject, directing her question straight at Gary.
"I told him I wanted to borrow the Sorting Hat for a bit." Gary took a sip of his porridge, warming himself.
"The Sorting Hat? Why would you borrow that thing?" Howard's eyes widened in confusion as he asked.
"Well… certain questions need it to answer, and I can research other things too." Gary said vaguely, "Oh, by the way, you guys are going to the Quidditch pitch to watch the game this Saturday morning, right?" He quickly changed the subject.
"Yeah, Lily and we are all going. We want to see if the game is too dull after increasing the foul cost." Alfrina took a bite of her chicken nugget.
"Pandora, you're here again?" Howard focused on the quiet girl sitting next to him.
Pandora was eating furiously with her head down, not daring to look up, her golden hair swaying and flicking with every shake of her head.
"Look, you've scared the poor girl," Kona said with a laugh.
"What does that have to do with me? She always sits here and doesn't talk to anyone, like a clam."
"Hey, why don't you sit with your roommate?" Alfrina leaned closer to Pandora.
"…" Pandora didn't speak, burying her head even lower.
Alfrina felt she was getting nowhere, pouted, and stopped bothering her.
Just then, Lovegood stumbled into the Great Hall from the entrance, looking unusually top-heavy.
He headed straight for the Ravenclaw table. Alfrina and the others, sitting at the end of the table, quickly dodged when they saw Lovegood in such a state.
Lovegood swayed unsteadily, unable to find his direction, bumping into Gary's and Howard's chairs as he moved forward.
Pandora was still eating with her head down, completely unaware of Lovegood, and was knocked to the ground by him. Her arm flailed, sending the plates, food, and drinks from the table onto the floor, with a good amount of soup splashing directly onto Pandora's head.
The people standing nearby quickly helped Lovegood up. Gary, holding his arm, realized that Lovegood's eyes were still closed.
"Xenophilius, Xeno…" Gary supported Lovegood, who was half a head taller than him, trying to wake him up. On the other side, Howard and a few girls quickly helped Pandora, who was sitting on the ground, to her feet.
"What was that for!" Pandora was on the verge of tears, her brilliant golden hair soaked with soup and juice, and a slice of tomato perched on top of her head.
Gary seemed to understand why Pandora didn't speak; this girl had a very heavy English accent, with a Tianjin flavor.
Of course, English couldn't actually have a Tianjin flavor; it was just a description.
Lovegood finally opened his eyes, "Draught of Living Death, Draught of Living Death…" His lips trembled slightly as he spoke in a faint voice. After speaking, he opened his mouth wide, yawned, and his eyes sparkled with tears.
"Oh dear… He must have been experimenting again, getting himself into such a state," his roommate appeared, pulling a vial of Potion from his pocket and forcefully pouring it into Lovegood's mouth.
After downing the Potion, Lovegood finally sobered up and pushed Gary away, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my apologies…" He quickly apologized to Pandora.
"I made a powerful Draught of Living Death and wanted to test its effectiveness, but I didn't expect it to be like this…" He spoke very rapidly.
"What the heck." Pandora clearly didn't want to say much. After a few students nearby used a cleaning spell on her head, they glared at Lovegood and ran off.