Chapter 6: The Seven Gods' Fragments in the Forbidden Section of the Library
At midnight, the Hogwarts library presented a completely different appearance from daytime; the halo of kerosene lamps cast spiderweb-like shadows between the tall bookshelves, and the musty smell of parchment intertwined with the faint glow of ancient runes, as if every book whispered secrets buried by time.
Leonard followed Hermione into a gap between the bookshelves, the faint glow of the Wings of Wind compressing their figures into two pale cyan shadows, perfectly avoiding the fluorescent moths patrolling the ceiling.
"The Restricted Section has three layers of protective spells," Hermione raised her self-made "spell scanner," its brass pointer trembling violently before the 'No Entry' runes.
"The first layer is 'Alarm Moth Swarm,' the second is 'Bookshelf Maze,' and the third—" She suddenly stopped, the scanner buzzing, "is the Gargoyle's 'Ley Line Lock,' which resonates at the same frequency as the Geo element you activated."
Leonard reached out to touch the bookshelf; his amulet immediately hummed, and the surface of the stone bookshelf revealed septagram patterns identical to his amulet.
"The key to the Ley Line Lock spell," Hermione whispered, "is to deceive the protection system with the 'contract' characteristic of the Geo element.
Leonard, try to engrave the joint patterns of a Gargoyle onto the bookshelf using a mimicry of the Geo Archon's spear—just like we did in the North Tower corridor."
He concentrated, and a translucent Geo blade condensed at his fingertips, lightly tracing three broken lines on the oak bookshelf.
Almost instantly, the bookshelf emitted a soft grinding sound of stone, automatically receding to both sides, revealing a hidden spiral stone staircase behind it, the steps covered with Geo patterns identical to a Gargoyle's armor.
"It worked!" Hermione's eyes sparkled behind her glasses.
"The 'Gargoyle Neural Synapse Theory' was right; these protective spells are essentially extensions of ancient Geo God contracts, and your amulet is the key to opening the contract."
She quickly jotted down in her notebook: "Geo Pattern Breaking Spell • Success Rate 72%, positively correlated with the purity of the amulet's starsilver."
The air in the Restricted Section was colder than outside; Leonard's amulet glowed warm against his chest, illuminating the mountainous piles of ancient tomes before them.
Hermione suddenly pointed to a corner: "Look! The cover of 'The Seven Gods' contract Book • Geo God Chapter' perfectly matches the wear marks on the back of your amulet!"
It was a parchment book with a peeling cover, the septagram on the cover missing its bottom right corner, precisely where the fragment Leonard found at the Gargoyle was located.
He reached out to touch the cover, and his amulet suddenly emitted a strong light, revealing the ancient runes on the pages: "The Geo, bone of the earth, shields with stone, sealing the abyss in eternal silence."
"Here!" Hermione flipped to an inner page, pointing to a faded illustration—the Geo God, crowned with stars, stood atop a high mountain, with Hogwarts Castle under construction at his feet, its foundation supported by seven obelisks carved with star charts.
"This is a record from the founding of the school!" Her voice trembled.
"The Seven Gods personally participated in the laying of Hogwarts' foundation, and the Granger Family ancestors were the human executors of the Geo God's contract!"
Leonard noticed the signature in the bottom right corner of the illustration: "Eleanor Granger, Mother of Gargoyles, Guardian of the Ley Line contract."
In the portrait, the amulet in his ancestor's hand was almost identical to his, only with the addition of the bottom right fragment—the starsilver shard he obtained from the North Tower Gargoyle.
"amulets are the human vessels of the Seven Gods' authority," Hermione quickly flipped through the pages.
"Each family guards a fragment, and your amulet is collecting them.
Look at this passage: 'When the septagram is complete, Hogwarts' ley lines will resonate with Teyvat, opening elemental channels between the two worlds.'"
The sound of gears turning came from afar; Leonard's Wings of Wind suddenly issued an alarm—Filch's patrol automaton was approaching.
Hermione quickly stuffed 'The Seven Gods' contract Book' into her bag, while Leonard covered both of them with a Geo shield, its armored surface perfectly blending into the stone wall texture of the Restricted Section.
"There's still a loophole in the third layer of protective spells," Hermione whispered within the shield, her fingertip tracing the wind patterns on Leonard's wrist.
"The Gargoyle's 'Ley Line Lock' repels pure Dark Arts, but for an elemental resonator like you…" She suddenly pulled out her wand and drew a septagram on the shield, "Look! The Geo shield's refractive index is the same as the Gargoyle's eye material; we're like two moving Gargoyles."
The automaton's footsteps echoed between the bookshelves.
Leonard looked at the shadows cast by Hermione's eyelashes beneath her eyes, suddenly noticing that the star-like freckles behind her ear formed a miniature septagram pattern under the amulet's light.
"Your family," he whispered, "is not merely the executor of the contract, but the Seven Gods' human…"
"Resonators," Hermione finished.
"Just like you.
The death year of every Granger Wizard in the family tree corresponds to a time of ley line fluctuation at Hogwarts—they maintained the contract with their lives.
And you, Leonard, you are the first to activate both Anemo and Geo resonance simultaneously."
The automaton's red light swept over their hiding corner.
Leonard suddenly remembered his mother's dying words: *"The Norton bloodline flows with starsilver, a gift from the Seven Gods to humanity."*
Now, he finally understood that the so-called "gift" was to allow humanity to become a bridge between the gods and the world.
"We should go." Hermione put away the scanner, "But before we go—" She pointed to the star chart on the last page of 'The Seven Gods' contract Book', "This pattern is identical to the star chart on the back of your amulet, and the central position…" She lit up the star chart with her wand, and the location of the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts flashed in the center of the star chart.
Leonard gripped his amulet, the fragment in his palm resonating with the star chart.
He suddenly realized that the adventure into the Restricted Section was not only for knowledge but also to complete some ancient ritual—to collect amulet fragments, repair the Seven Gods' contract, and reconnect Hogwarts' ley lines with Teyvat.
As they exited the gap between the bookshelves, morning light was already streaming through the library's high windows onto the floor.
Hermione's notebook had several new pages of hurried notes, the last line reading: "Granger Family crest = Seven Gods' contract Mark, Leonard's amulet = key, and the Chamber of Secrets—is the first node to restart ley line resonance."
As they walked out of the library, Hermione suddenly stopped and pulled out a worn copper key from her bag: "This is what I found in the family tree, Eleanor Granger's 'Gargoyle Key,' which can open all Gargoyle contract nodes at Hogwarts."
She pressed the key into Leonard's palm, "Next stop, the Chamber of Secrets."
Leonard looked at the key in his hand; the septagram gap on it perfectly matched his amulet.
In the distance, the stone eyes of a certain Gargoyle suddenly turned, looking in their direction, the golden-gray light in its eye sockets seeming to say: "Heir of the contract, welcome back to the beginning."
And in the depths of the Restricted Section, new text slowly emerged on a blank page of 'The Seven Gods' contract Book': "When the Anemo and Geo resonator holds the Gargoyle Key, the door to the Chamber of Secrets will open for the Seven Gods' messenger—there sleeps the Geo Archon's final contract, and there is buried the abyss's first whisper."