Hogwarts Outsider Chapter 50: Ancient mystery

Just as Matthew spoke, the little golden clock on Horace Slughorn's desk rang lightly nine times.

"Of course, but not too long!" the Potions professor said gently. At the same time, he picked out a piece of candied pineapple and stuffed it into his mouth.

Then he added: "After all, it's very late now, I think you don't want to be caught outside when the lights are turned off."

"Yes, sir, but we won't turn off the lights at ten o'clock... So, I want to ask you something." Matthew said: "If you are free!"

"Then ask, boy, ask..."

Slughorn drank a small glass of wine, his cheeks looking slightly flushed.

Matthew glanced at the old man who was half lying on the armchair in front of him, with a big belly and a relaxed expression.

Without hesitation, he said softly:

"It's about my roommate, Draco Malfoy..."

"Draco, oh, poor boy, I remember it very clearly!" Slughorn licked the icing on his fingers, and sighed with some regret:

"Too bad luck, just came to school and encountered such an accident, and then stayed in the school hospital until today... so much so that he has come in October, and he hasn't even attended one of our parties... only I hope that the friend invited by Professor Rozier can help him..."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that too." Matthew echoed: "I'm just curious, what kind of situation did he encounter at that time?"

……

Matthew Wakefield did not directly mention things about that book.

He was going to make indirect remarks first, to find out what kind of background the book had.

So, he started with Draco Malfoy being attacked.

Slughorn seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps because the box of candied pineapple was to his liking, or perhaps because of today's banquet.

He glanced at Matthew and said absently: "We usually keep this kind of thing secret...Professor Rozier doesn't want the truth to be known to the whole of Hogwarts. Teaching work will be quite unfavorable..."

His words seemed to be refusing.

But obviously, there seems to be more element of closeness than rejection.

After all, if he really wanted to refuse firmly, he could just use a ready-made excuse to drive Matthew away.

Matthew also obviously noticed this. He quickly echoed and said: "Yes, professor, what President Rozier said is correct, this kind of thing must not be let outsiders know casually..."

"...but I'm not an outsider, Draco Malfoy is my roommate." But he quickly changed the subject and continued, his voice gradually becoming a little lower:

"Did you know that during the time he was attacked—I was the only one in the whole dormitory, and my roommates were all taken to the hospital, life and death were uncertain. I was very scared at that time, every night When I sleep, I will be woken up by nightmares at any time, afraid that I will suddenly encounter horrible things like Malfoy and the others, and then die silently!"

While talking, Matthew wiped his eyes pitifully:

"So, Professor Slughorn. I beg you, tell me what happened, I can swear I won't tell anyone! That will at least give me a good night's sleep..."

Slughorn looked at Matthew with some sympathy: "Poor boy, to be honest, I can understand the pressure you are facing, and I can understand it completely."

"No, you don't understand..." Matthew shook his head:

"At that time, I tried desperately to forget what happened that night, but every time I came to a crowded place, someone would come to me and ask me what happened. After all, I was the only one left in the dormitory. People, they are all very curious, but I am very scared! You don't know what kind of despair it is, sometimes I even want to climb up to the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle, and then jump out of the window..."

As Matthew spoke, he said that he was moved, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, you can't do that!" Slughorn said hastily, "If you really jump, you will have to stay in the school hospital for at least a week...Of course, it may be two weeks... ..."

He paused, looked at Matthew: "Do you need me to get you a towel, kid?"

"No, no need!" Matthew hastily wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, but he did not forget that Slughorn just licked his own fingers.

"Okay!" Slughorn sighed softly: "The one might as well tell you the truth, but it's not really something worth keeping secret..."

……

Matthew quickly sat upright and listened carefully.

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't in class, he'd even want to get out a pen and paper to take notes.

"Matthew, do you know about black magic?" Slughorn said earnestly.

"Dark magic?" Matthew blinked.

"Of course, this is the former name, and now it has been renamed Extreme Magic...Professor Rozier should have taught you in her class!" Slughorn changed his words and said.

"Yes, but textbooks still call it black magic." Matthew nodded and said.

"That's because of the Wizarding Examinations Authority group, the old fellows headed by Geselda Marchban!" Slughorn shrugged and explained:

"Very old, very prestigious, in the wizarding world... Although they obeyed the rule of the new Ministry of Magic in name, they never really recognized Gellert Grindelwald... ...But they can only use this method to bring more or less trouble to Hogwarts. After all, the source of textbooks is subject to the control of the Wizarding Examinations Administration..."

"Of course, in the eyes of Professor Grindelwald, they are just clowns dancing around their graves." Slughorn suddenly said with some deep meaning:

"However, the entire magical world is not what Lord Grindelwald says after all!"

Matthew didn't quite understand what Slughorn meant by this sentence.

He could only nod his head half-understanding.

"Okay, let's get back to business!" Slughorn continued: "Let's call it black magic... Matthew, do you know what the most terrifying black magic is?"

"This..." Matthew hesitated for a moment, then said softly: "I seem to have seen it in an extracurricular book about Defense Against the Dark Arts, it seems to be called...not..."

"The Unforgivable Curse?" Slughorn said before Matthew.

"It seems so, Professor!" Matthew nodded quickly again.

"It seems that I invited you to join the club, and it really wasn't the wrong choice!" Slughorn laughed and said, "Your extracurricular reading is very extensive!"

"I just prefer the quiet atmosphere in the library." Matthew lowered his head a little "shyly".

"Okay." Slughorn's face soon became serious again: "The Unforgivable Curses? It's indeed terrible, but it's far from qualified to name them with 'most'..."

"...the most terrifying black magic in the real sense!" His voice suddenly became hollow and solemn: "It is the oldest and most mysterious magic... indescribable, indescribable, far beyond The magic of the mysterious side that normal wizards recognize!"

As soon as the words fell, Slughorn's body trembled involuntarily.

"Then..." Matthew frowned, and continued to speak softly, "Draco Malfoy was injured because of the influence of the mysterious magic?"

"Professor Rozier thinks so." Slughorn replied: "She has a lot of research experience in black magic, so I agree with her point of view."

"So, someone used the mysterious black magic on Malfoy?" Matthew asked again, pretending to be stupid.

"This possibility is unlikely. After all, I am still very confident about the safety factor of the Slytherin common room. Therefore, whether it is Professor Rozier's guess or my guess-we all think that, The one that attacked Draco must have been an item related to the mysterious side of black magic..."

"...It's normal. Draco's father has always been very interested in that kind of thing. It's not a secret, so Draco may have accidentally come into contact with them..."

Matthew felt that he was very close to the answer.

But he still asked in a low voice: "Is that item related to the mysterious black magic still in the Slytherin common room?"

"Hahaha!" Slughorn burst into laughter suddenly: "Don't scare yourself, my child. I could have searched your dormitory carefully, including its surroundings. Absolutely No fish will slip through the net!"

"Could it be that...the object left the Slytherin common room?" Matthew asked again.

"What do you think that is, a paper airplane?" Slughorn spread his hands towards Matthew and said with a smile, "That's impossible, my child. Hogwarts is not good at Dark Arts. With full, strong protective equipment, you can't run around with a used dark magic item without being seen..."

"...Moreover, the space rules of Hogwarts also have extremely strict restrictions; without the consent of the headmaster, the space transfer of anything is not allowed. Even teachers like us cannot Apparating within the confines of the Hogwarts campus...not to mention a Dark Arts item!"

"So what exactly is going on?" Matthew frowned and asked.

"According to our guess, the mysterious black magic item that Draco came into contact with is probably a very weak one... After attacking Draco Malfoy, it exhausted it That's why we didn't find it." Slughorn explained again: "In fact, this is the only possibility!"

"So, if it's a powerful... that kind of mysterious black magic item..." Matthew asked again.

"You can only pray that you will never encounter that kind of thing, unless you are a powerful wizard like Professor Grindelwald." Slughorn's tone gradually became serious.

"Is it scary?" Matthew lowered his head.

"It's not just described as 'scary'." Slughorn shook his head: "That kind of thing is definitely not something a normal wizard can touch... It will slowly erode you and affect you. , and even assimilate you... when you don't know it..."

"So...what if, I mean if... Mr. Draco Malfoy had come into contact with that kind of thing, what would happen?" Matthew asked in a low voice.

His voice sounded a little trembling.

This is also very normal. An eleven-year-old child will not be afraid when he hears such a terrible thing.

"I'll kill him!" Slughorn said seriously.

"Kill...kill... him?" Matthew opened his mouth wide and stammered.

"Yes, although it sounds cruel, it will definitely be the best ending for that boy." Slughorn continued: "Even if I don't do this, Professor Rozier , even Professor Grindelwald will do it!"

"Death is not the scariest thing ~ IndoMTL.com ~ far from it! If you really come into contact with the indescribable mystery, then you will face something more terrifying than death..."

"It sounds scary..." Matthew smiled unnaturally, and he said as if joking: "So in the future, if we encounter something like that, should we run away immediately? ?”

"Run?" Slughorn smiled mockingly: "The real mystery, you can't escape... because when you stare at it, it is also staring at you... "

At this moment, Matthew looked extremely pale.

"Oh, child, did I frighten you...Obviously I should comfort you!" Slughorn said apologetically, "Don't worry, the really ancient and mysterious There are few things you can find in the world, and it is almost impossible for you to encounter them..."

"The one that Draco Malfoy came into contact with was just the simplest kind of mysterious dark magic gadget, and it has definitely disappeared in Hogwarts... Otherwise, we must have found it in the first place So, relax, don't care about these mysterious things, and focus on more interesting things!"

Slughorn comforted loudly there.

Matthew's complexion gradually improved, and he nodded: "Thank you, Professor!"

"Remember what I told you and don't say it!" Slughorn waved his hand at him.

"I won't tell, sir." Matthew Wakefield said and left.

He was still pale as he left Horace Slughorn's office.

PS: It's Monday, please continue to ask for recommendation tickets!