bioinnovel Chapter 76 The School Year Ends
Chapter 76 The School Year Ends
Chapter 76 The School Year Ends
June arrived in the blink of an eye, and the weather became extremely hot and humid. The students had already forgotten how they had endured exam after exam, and how they had suffered in the sweltering classrooms.
What's even more agonizing after the exam is listening to the top students go over their answers. The top students get one question after another right, while the struggling students get one question after another wrong.
However, before the real "hell" arrives, the students have a whole week to go wild, until the day the exam results are announced, until the year-end banquet, and until the steam locomotive stops at Hogsmeade again.
The students, freed from their reins, cheered and rushed out of the castle like a swarm of bees. The professors, too, were temporarily relieved of their burdens and had time to adjust their plans.
People like Belvina, who spend their time idly, often frequent the Black Lake area since the weather warmed up, stretching out their limbs and lying on the sun-warmed rocks.
As if afraid that the warm sunlight wouldn't shine evenly, she would occasionally turn over, her languid appearance resembling that of her guardian angel, Basilda, who sat on the grass with her back against a large rock, legs outstretched, holding a new edition of "Ancient Rune Commentary" in her hands, pointing out ambiguities and errors as she read.
Beside her sat a large jug of chilled lemonade, with a flat stone inscribed with ancient runes underneath to provide a continuous cooling effect.
Unlike the cold-sensitive Belvina, the plump Bassheda is intolerant of heat, and her favorite season is the transition from spring to summer.
Paul Bernard, who hadn't been seen in a long time, was also there. The alchemy professor, who always kept himself cooped up in his room, seemed to be extremely lacking in sunlight, and his already fair skin became even more dazzling.
At this moment, he was fiddling with three alchemical dolls of different sizes by the Black Lake: one was life-size, one was half-body size, and the other was only a little over a foot tall.
Three faceless alchemical dolls stood in a row. Paul took a few steps back and looked at Belvina, who looked like a salted fish drying in the sun, and Bassheda, who was frantically complaining about her major.
He raised his arms and shouted, "Now! The moment to witness just how great alchemy is!"
Belvina slowly propped herself up, while Bassheda closed her book, and the two looked over almost simultaneously.
As Paul Bernard pointed sharply at the surface of the Black Lake, three alchemical figures of different sizes simultaneously raised their arms and unleashed spells in quick succession. Brilliant light crashed heavily onto the water, creating waves more than ten feet high.
"How about it? Did you see that? My alchemical puppet already possesses considerable combat power! It's fully capable of adapting to ancient tombs..."
The need for exploration and treasure hunting in places like caves!
Paul Bernard was unusually excited, like Quirrell who had obtained the Philosopher's Stone.
For most of the school year, Paul had been communicating indirectly with Nicolas Flamel through Dumbledore. Although the correspondence was not frequent, he benefited greatly from it.
In recent months, Paul has stayed indoors and focused on his research. Sometimes, students even have to drag him out of his office before he remembers that he is still a professor.
After working day and night, the brand-new alchemical doll was finally completed, and Paul immediately showed it to his friends.
However, Paul did not receive the applause he had expected. Belvina and Bassheda were both alchemists, and neither of them could see how exquisite the new doll was or how it differed from the old version.
Belvina clapped her hands perfunctorily, glancing at the Black Lake with ill intent.
Bassheda's reaction was quite enthusiastic; she clapped her hands like a seal in an ocean park.
Paul glanced at the two women with displeasure. He needed to see their enthusiasm and hear their genuine applause, not just perfunctory applause.
But you disturbed the giant squid!
Suddenly, a much higher splash of water shot up, hitting Paul Bernard, who was expressing his dissatisfaction, drenching him completely from head to toe.
Belvina and Bassheda, who were prepared, were not affected at all. The two had already taken out their wands and used magic to hold up umbrellas, blocking all the incoming water.
The giant squid swimming in the Black Lake lazily retracted its tentacles and slowly swam away, leaving Paul alone on the shore, grieving.
"Why didn't you two warn me?" Paul said, pulling out his wand. "Why didn't you tell me the giant squid was right behind us?"
Paul waved his wand, and a warm breeze swept over him, instantly drying his wet clothes.
"Hmm—" Bassheda thought about it seriously, "It's probably because I can't stand your smug face after you succeeded. You're just too annoying. Even without the giant squid, I would have kicked you off the stage."
It's so true. I'm afraid my friends are suffering, but I'm also afraid they're living too well.
"Hmm—" Belvina hesitated for a few seconds, "Are you sure this thing can sell? What's the cost, the selling price, can it be mass-produced, and where are the market channels?"
This time it was even more realistic. Belvina's barrage of questions completely stunned Paul, who was just an alchemist and had never thought about these kinds of questions before.
"Why don't we talk about the healthcare industry? I think it has a very promising future!" Belvina said excitedly. "You provide the technology, and I'll handle the rest!"
"Shut up! How did I ever get to know you two!" Paul Bernard was furious and felt like he wanted to fight the two female professors to the death.
Belvina lay back down and said slowly, "It's your good fortune to know the two of us; you should be grateful."
“That’s right!” Bassheda followed closely. “You have to repay the two of us. Without us, who else could keep us motivated?”
Paul pointed at the two men, trembling, and was speechless for a long time.
After a while, Paul, having recovered, finally mustered the courage to speak again.
He asked, "Did you see the Philosopher's Stone that night?"
Upon hearing this, Bassheda also looked up and strained to see Belvina. "I saw it, an irregularly shaped red stone." Belvina said without thinking, "If Professor Dumbledore hadn't taken it out of the Mirror of Erised and repeatedly assured me that it was the Philosopher's Stone, I wouldn't have believed it at all."
When Belvina first saw the Philosopher's Stone, she was indeed quite surprised by its ordinariness. Apart from its red color, the Philosopher's Stone's appearance was somewhat unworthy of its great name.
"Professor Dumbledore told me that the Flamels have decided to destroy the Philosopher's Stone," Belvina continued. "From now on, there will be no more elixirs of immortality in the world."
"I don't understand," Bassheda thought to herself, puzzled. "Did they make this decision only recently? If so, I admire their courage from the bottom of my heart. If not, why didn't they destroy it sooner instead of handing it over to Professor Dumbledore?"
Nicolas Flamel and his wife walked hand in hand through hundreds of years. For them, death was not terrible, but still worthy of respect.
"I don't know, I'm not sure," Belvina said. "Maybe they only recently made up their minds, or maybe they already knew someone had ulterior motives and gave the Philosopher's Stone to Professor Dumbledore to use as bait."
Paul Bernard, standing to the side, appeared somewhat dejected. He admired Nicolas Flamel's achievements in alchemy and his insights into life, but he still couldn't bear to part with the Philosopher's Stone.
"That's the Philosopher's Stone! Is it really going to be destroyed like this?" Paul stammered. "I know that the existence of the Philosopher's Stone will definitely attract people with ulterior motives, but for the entire alchemy community, losing the Philosopher's Stone is a huge loss."
"That's better than being targeted by someone like the Mysterious Man," said Bassheda. "If the Mysterious Man succeeds, the consequences would be unimaginable."
At this point, Bassheda recalled Dumbledore's incomprehensible arrangements. Did he instruct Belvina to delay as much as possible just to wait for Harry Potter?
"I'm wondering why Dumbledore let Potter meet with Mystic," Bathsheda said. "What if Potter gets killed? What if he gets captured by Quirrell?"
This puzzled not only Basilda, but also Paul.
Why did Dumbledore allow Harry to face danger, to confront Voldemort directly, and to stand before Voldemort and Quirrell?
"Professor Dumbledore did mention it once, saying that Potter had the right to confront Voldemort—" "Don't say that name!" Bathsheda and Paul said in unison, both of them shivering.
Belvina nodded helplessly and said, "Okay, he said Potter has the right to face the Dark Lord and the right to know the truth of what happened back then. That's why I said Mr. Potter is a poor child, having to shoulder responsibilities that even adults can't bear at such a young age."
As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore knew even Quirrell's actions, so there was no reason why he wouldn't know what Harry was doing.
It could be said that all of Harry's actions in pursuing the truth about the Philosopher's Stone were tacitly approved by Dumbledore, as evidenced by the return of the Invisibility Cloak to Harry at Christmas.
Bassheda frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I feel like you've become much closer to Professor Dumbledore. He seems to have told you a lot of things."
"No, not really, we just chatted about random things," Belvina said casually. "We're in the same boat now."
Suddenly, Belvina sat up abruptly.
Bassheda is right. She has indeed been getting closer to Dumbledore lately. Before their relationship becomes even closer, she needs to redefine how she interacts with Dumbledore.
Belvina thought to herself.