Chapter 119
In Snape's office, having successfully extracted a bottle of special living blood, Ethan looked at his handiwork with a hint of pride.
Looking at the blood before him, Ethan was struck by inspiration, and his heart tightened. He swallowed hard and asked softly, "Professor, what do you think would happen if this charm was used on a wizard? I suppose someone's already tried it?"
"If you don't want to end up in Azkaban, put that thought out of your head." Snape glanced at him coldly.
"So someone actually did do this?"
"Of course. In all these years, you're not the first to have such a bold idea."
Snape nodded. "According to one book, using this charm on a wizard without combining it with a potion is roughly equivalent to a blood-targeting attack charm. It won't turn the wizard into a pool of blood.
"But if combined with a universal potion, the result is completely different.
"Ultimately, we wizards and magical creatures are not fundamentally different. We are all creatures that possess magic."
Snape said lightly, "The person who wrote this book was sent to Azkaban back then and turned into a pile of dry bones.
"But this book still has considerable value and is kept in Hogwarts' Restricted Section."
"At Hogwarts?" Ethan hadn't expected this book to actually be in the school's Restricted Section.
Snape assessed Ethan briefly and decided he could handle the book. "Yes. The book is called 'Blood.' I'll write you a note, and you can borrow it."
"Yes, Professor."
"I'll write the note in a moment. Next, let me explain the method for extracting special dead blood.
"For some magical creatures, by the time they're discovered, they are already dead. This is most common when exploring the wild."
If, after removing the valuable materials, you don't want to waste what's left, you can use another charm to turn the remains into special dead blood.
This charm is called the Blood-Melting Charm, and it only works on corpses.
Snape simply recited the charm aloud without taking out any materials for a demonstration.
"Tomorrow afternoon, you can practice this charm on ordinary fire lizards."
Clearly, Snape had originally planned to kill the mutated fire lizards on the spot for the demonstration, but with cheap substitutes now available, he held back.
*Oh.* Ethan saw through Snape's intentions. He would have to come in tomorrow afternoon to let these lizards mutate, practicing the charm in the process.
For the rest of the morning, Snape taught him how to brew this specialized potion. Ethan suspected Snape planned to have him brew all the potions needed for future blood extractions.
After one cauldron of the potion was ready and Snape inspected it to confirm it met his standards, he let Ethan go to lunch.
Entering the Great Hall, Ethan saw several bruised and swollen Slytherin Quidditch players eating grimly.
*Hmm?* Ethan was stunned, then remembered belatedly. *Isn't today the day Ron vomited slugs?*
Although he had seen the brand-new Nimbus 2001 in Draco's hands last night, Ethan had completely forgotten about this. Even when Draco said he was going to practice this morning, he hadn't expected the two houses to clash during training in the first week.
*That wasn't right. I recall that the two sides didn't fight. Did something else change?* Not seeing Hermione and the other two, he quickened his pace and approached the Slytherin table.
"Draco, what happened?" He nodded at the other unfamiliar Quidditch players, asking his only acquaintance among them.
"We had a fight with the Gryffindor guys over pitch issues. Nothing serious. Just that Ron—that despicable, shameless person—tried to sneak-attack us while we were bound, caught his own Slug curse, and vomited up slugs."
Although Draco also had some bruises on his face, he was grinning happily.
"Tell me in detail." Ethan felt this scene was different from what he remembered and quickly pressed for details.
Seeing Ethan curious, Draco gave him an exaggerated account of what had happened that morning.
In his account, Draco portrayed himself as a glorious hero taking on the crowd, while Ron and Hermione were despicable villains who had taken advantage of the others being unprepared to launch a sneak attack.
"Ethan, you should distance yourself from those despicable villains. Sneak-attacking us when we didn't even have our wands in hand is just shameless!" Draco recalled being taken down by Hermione with a single charm and felt indignant.
"Hmm." Ethan smiled faintly and let the subject drop.
Looking at the black eyes on several of them, Ethan suggested, "You'd better go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will patch you up."
"No, it's better to go back to the dormitory and treat them with charms. That way we won't lose house points," Draco refused.
They hurriedly finished their meal and returned to the dormitory first to treat their injuries, the bruises still on their faces.
*Has the plot changed? I remember that originally Ron's spell backfired because Draco insulted Hermione by calling her a Mudblood.*
*But I don't remember there being a group fight, or Hermione using charms to take them down.*
He ate a small piece of cake and looked toward the Gryffindor table, spotting two familiar red-haired figures.
*They're on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, too. They should know the whole story.*
Without delay, he stood up and walked toward the twins.
The twins, who hadn't been knocked out, had been in the thick of the entire group fight. They still had bruises on their faces and bodies that hadn't faded, but as the winning side, they were undoubtedly in better spirits.
"They went to the hospital. Dear Ronnie keeps feeling his stomach isn't quite right. I think it's all in his head. The curse was already lifted, after all."
The twins' version was similar to Draco's, except in their telling, it was the Slytherins who started the fight.
Learning from them that Draco had indeed not insulted anyone, but had merely been talking tough, Ethan felt relieved.
"Alright, you guys eat slowly. I'm leaving first." Since Ron was the only one injured and embarrassed, Ethan had nothing to worry about. He got up and headed back to Snape's office.
That afternoon in the office, Ethan spent hours brewing potions while learning about several other types of specialized blood-extraction potions and universal potions.
Finally, he brewed three large cauldrons of specialized fire lizard potion and several small cauldrons of other potions for Snape.
"Take this note to Madam Pince. She will tell you how to read this book." Snape handed him a signed note and also gave him a small bottle of dragon blood.
"Professor, what is this?" Ethan asked, holding the small bottle with a puzzled expression.
"Go to the library and you will understand." Snape had no desire to explain and impatiently shooed him away toward his brewing area.
Burning with curiosity, Ethan skipped dinner and went straight to the library, handing Madam Pince the note signed by Snape.
"A note from Professor Snape."
"Wait." Madam Pince examined the note for a long time, carefully studying its contents. Finally, she looked suspiciously at Ethan, who was still very young, muttered something under her breath, and then walked toward the Restricted Section.
Very quickly, Madam Pince returned with a book.
The book appeared to be leather-bound. Most of the cover was black, with only some bright red on the front. The edges were bound with cord.
When the book was placed on the table before him, Ethan could see clearly what the red on the cover was: a lake of blood that rippled constantly.
And breaking the tranquility of the lake's surface were blood-red title letters with drops of blood constantly dripping down.
"I truly do not know what Snape is thinking, actually letting you borrow such a dangerous book. It's madness!"
Madam Pince blocked Ethan's hand as he reached for the book. "Don't move. This is your first time borrowing a book from the Restricted Section, so I must explain things to you properly."
The reason books in the Restricted Section are forbidden to ordinary students is that they are all very dangerous. Some books merely contain dangerous Dark Magic, but others are dangerous in and of themselves, beyond their content.
The book 'Blood' before you is the latter type.
Madam Pince pointed her wand at the blood lake on the cover. "Before you read the book each time, you must first place a drop of blood into it. The type doesn't matter.
"After the blood sinks into the blood lake, you may then untie the cord that binds it. Do you understand?"
"Understood." Only now did Ethan realize the purpose of the small bottle of dragon blood Snape had given him.
He asked curiously, "Madam, what happens if I force it open without dripping blood?"
"The consequence is that the book will demand blood from you on its own, but exactly how much it will demand is uncertain.
"Before this book was sent to Hogwarts, it caused dozens of injuries, six of them fatal."
"Er, I understand." Ethan looked at the book with newfound caution.
"Also, you cannot read for more than three hours each time. Once that limit is exceeded, the blood you've provided will no longer be sufficient to appease the book, and it will become agitated and aggressive.
"So I suggest you only read for two and a half hours per session, to avoid exceeding the limit," Madam Pince continued.
"This cord was added by the headmaster after the book entered Hogwarts, to make it somewhat safer.
"Once the blood has been completely absorbed, tap this connection point three times with your wand, and the cord will open.
"When you have finished reading, close the book, place this alchemical cord at the book's edge, and likewise tap the cord's break three times. It will automatically reconnect and seal the book.
"Do you remember?"
"I remember." Ethan nodded.
After having him repeat the requirements for reading the book, the prohibitions, and the steps for unbinding and sealing the cord, Madam Pince finally registered his name and picked up the dangerous book.
"Return it in two weeks. If you have any problems, go find Snape immediately," she warned him one last time before handing the book to him.
After receiving the book, Ethan carefully placed it in his bag, thanked Madam Pince, and left the library.
When he returned to the dormitory, all three members of Goyle's group happened to be there.
He took the book out and placed it on the table.
"What is this? A book you borrowed from the library? Why does it look like some kind of Dark Magic object?" Draco, whose facial injuries had mostly healed, glanced curiously at the black-and-red book and shivered.
"This is a book I borrowed from the Restricted Section. It is extremely dangerous. Do not touch it."
He recounted the book's history of harming people as Madam Pince had told him, exaggerating it slightly and leaving the three of them stunned.
"Do you all understand? Absolutely do not let your curiosity get the better of you and touch this book."
The three nodded repeatedly, resolving not to touch the book, no, to ignore it entirely.
Ethan was very satisfied. He also took out the bottle of dragon blood and placed it on the table, planning to read the book when he returned later tonight.
He still had a Transfiguration assignment to finish. With other matters to attend to tomorrow, he planned to settle it in the library tonight.
After the library closed, Ethan hurriedly bid farewell to several study partners and ran all the way back to the dormitory.
He turned on the lamp on his desk, took out the bottle of dragon blood, took a deep breath, unscrewed the cap, and carefully dripped a drop of bright red blood onto the small blood lake on the cover.
The blood dripped onto the somewhat wrinkled cover and seeped in bit by bit along the creases.
When the liquid had completely disappeared from the cover, a drop of blood appeared in the air.
This drop of blood slowly fell from the air toward the blood lake.
The rippling blood lake began to churn. A giant snake with a black base and red patterns raised its head from within, wound upward toward the drop, swallowed it, and disappeared back into the lake.
"Damn!" The moment the giant snake appeared, Ethan couldn't help but curse.
He had thought the blood drop would appear in the book and slowly drip into the lake. He had not expected a surprise.
Still uneasy, Ethan opened the book for the first time and waited five minutes, confirming that the lake's surface was calm and showed no unusual movement. Only then did he use the method Madam Pince had taught him to unbind the cord.
He placed an alarm clock set for two and a half hours in front of him and arranged his notebook. Ethan had originally planned to skim the table of contents for sections that interested him, but the book didn't have one.
He flipped through a few pages and found what he was looking for: the reason the author had been sent to Azkaban.
"Wait, who is the author?" He'd been so focused on the unusual opening method that he hadn't checked whether the cover listed an author.
"No information at all." He checked the front and back covers carefully but found nothing about the author.
"I'll ask Professor Snape tomorrow." The author's identity wasn't actually that important. Ethan made a mental note of the question and began to read.
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1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 272
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 190
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 274
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 117
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