Chapter 74 Testing
It was almost curfew when they came out of Dumbledore's office, but this Gryffindor did not give Della a note to explain to Filch, perhaps because he trusted Della's ability.
When she was walking alone in the dim corridor, Della realized that she was violating the school rules again. Although there were reasons for it, she was still a little surprised at her habit of ignoring the rules.
I don't know when it developed into this.
Della slowed down her pace and thought carefully, trying to find clues in her past memories, but she could not determine the turning point of her transformation. This was probably because she was just that kind of person.
This means I'm a typical Slytherin.
Della suppressed other thoughts in her mind and comforted herself in this way.
She still walked slowly. This exchange with Dumbledore was very pleasant. It also made Della realize that she was a little impatient. If she focused on the results for everything, learning would lose a lot of fun.
Maybe you can also dismantle some other alchemical items to learn from them.
Walking on the secluded stairs that she usually chose for night walks, Della's thoughts were free to wander, and even her dark eyes had lost a lot of their luster. But when she accidentally caught a glimpse of a small figure curled up on the side of the stairs, her eyes suddenly froze.
"Ginny—" Della called her name in a low voice, and ran to Ginny's side. She bent down slightly and looked at the girl who suddenly raised her head with great concern, "Why are you here? It's past curfew."
"I, I...Della, I'm lost." As soon as Ginny met Della's eyes, she lowered her head again. Her voice was no longer as lively and crisp as usual, and she responded in a panic.
"Drip-" "Drip-Drip" "Drip-Drip"
A short dripping sound of different tones came from the pocket of Della's robe. It was a very classic looking glass sound. Looking at Ginny who suddenly stiffened in front of her, Della couldn't tell for a moment whether she was scared or trembling because her lie was exposed.
Della hesitated for a moment, then took out all the spyglasses in her pocket. It must be said that the spyglasses given by Dumbledore were much more sophisticated than those usually seen. In this dim condition, except for the necklace, these spyglasses all emitted a faint fluorescence.
"I'm so sorry to scare you, Ginny. These are some defective looking glasses that Headmaster Dumbledore gave me." Della held the palm of her hand with the looking glasses in front of Ginny. She pointed at the looking glasses one by one with her other hand. "The headmaster said that these looking glasses were made in pursuit of appearance, which resulted in functional defects. Some of them will keep making noises even when no one is around."
The mirrors that Della pointed out fell silent one by one. She deliberately arranged the mirrors that were damaged due to being disassembled to one side, so that Ginny could clearly realize that these mirrors would not make noises. "You also know that I can tinker with some small things. These are the ones I want to disassemble and make into ornaments."
Ginny bit her lip, her face looked very pale under the dim light of the peephole. She raised her head and looked at Della with her big eyes, "It's okay, Della..."
Ginny's long red hair lifted up as she raised her head. Della then caught a glimpse of a diary-like book tightly held in her hand. Out of respect for her privacy, she didn't ask any more questions, but gently put her arm around Ginny's shoulder. "Filch should be patrolling the top of the tower now. I'll take you up. Don't look at me like this, I have a lot of experience in night tours."
"Hmm..." After listening to Della's words, Ginny finally laughed, but it was only a shallow arc, and there was an awkwardness on her face that she had never had before.
"Then let's go." Della had her usual smile on her face. She put the spyglass back into her pocket. At this time, the cold necklace had become very warm. Della did not pause, but took Ginny's hand and led her from the second floor all the way to the entrance of the Gryffindor lounge.
Before parting, Della put her arm around Ginny's shoulder again and said in a softer voice than usual, "You can always come to me if you need anything, Ginny. I'm a senior after all, and I even know the current female president."
Ginny didn't say anything, just looked up and blinked with her big eyes, then pursed her lips and nodded, then trotted into the Gryffindor entrance.
"..." Della frowned as she watched the stone door of Gryffindor close. She paused for a moment and let out a worried breath, but she didn't know why Ginny was like this at this time, and she didn't have any good solutions. She could only walk downstairs with a heavy heart.
When she reached the entrance of Slytherin, Della's frowning brows furrowed for a second, then quickly relaxed, but her brows were still tense. She reached into her pocket, took out the necklace from the peephole that she had cast a silent spell on, and fumbled to put it around her neck.
After gathering her clothes and making sure the necklace was buried deep under her collar, Della recited the password for the past two weeks, "Glorious."
The stone wall moved away, revealing an empty common room. The dim green light from inside shone on Della's pale face, making her look a little gloomy.
She walked all the way to the door of her dormitory, and the moment Della opened the door, Maggie, who was resting on the bed, stood up.
"Hiss-Ha-Sha (Sorry for the long wait. Something unexpected happened today)." After staring at the blue-gray pattern on Maggie's body for a moment, Della closed the dormitory door. She walked to the bed and took Maggie in her hands, then took off her bag and walked towards the desk.
"Hai-Xiha-Shaxi (I was called away by Hagrid this morning to go to the Forbidden Forest. They should have told you as well)." Della lowered her eyes slightly and skipped over the day in Hagrid's hut today in a few words. Because it was probably under the eyes of those snakes, Maggie would not be interested in the affairs of the 'Mudbloods', so she only gave a brief account.
"Hai-Hasa-Xiah (Then Dumbledore called me away on the way back to the castle with Harry. He wanted to discuss some alchemy with me)," Della sensed the brief pause of Maggie's snake body. She concealed her scrutiny by reaching into her pocket, "Hai-Shaya-Xi (Although he was studying the four-phase alchemy, I also gained a lot)."
As Della finished her words, she placed a palm-sized mirror on the desk, "Haya-Haya-Haya (This is the assignment he gave me this time. Dumbledore said that the mirror captures the fluctuations of the soul, which is somewhat related to what I want to understand, so I agreed to it)."
"Hiss - Hya-Saha (These have all been put under a silencing spell. In fact, I encountered something strange today)." The necklace pressed against her collarbone was cold. Della talked about her encounter with Ginny, and specifically mentioned the strange noise she heard in Dumbledore's office.
"Haisha-ya (Are they in Hogwarts? Do you have any idea about that voice)?" Della asked finally.
"Sha-ya (No, there's no need to stay in Hogwarts just for a little fun)," Maggie shook her head. He spit out his snake tongue and looked at Della with his yellow eyes. "Haha-Sasi-ya (As for that voice, do you remember the time when we were in the shed)?"
"Ah." Della exclaimed as if she suddenly realized something. "Xi-ya-hai-sa (There are a lot of abnormalities this year, but this time it doesn't seem to be directed at me)."
I just don't know if it's related to Voldemort...
"Ha-Ha-Sa-Ya (You have to be careful, after all, we don't know where the abnormality ends)." Maggie turned around Della's body and slid onto the desk. His snake tail tapped the spyglass, "Ha-Ha-Sa-Ya (Dumbledore's subject is really good. I think you want to know more about alchemy now)."
"Hai-ya-ya (I think the previous purpose was too strong and it lost a lot of fun, but I will continue to explore the properties of those materials)." Della pulled out a chair and sat down. She picked up the mirror that Maggie had ordered and disassembled it. "Sassi-shisha- (Regarding Ginny, do you have any suggestions)?"
"......" Maggie was silent for a moment, his dark yellow eyes turned, and he soon came up with an idea, "Hai-shishia-xi (Doesn't she have a sixth-grade brother? I remember he was a class leader and seemed to yearn for power. I think he would handle it well)."
Percy, Della stopped what she was doing and lowered her eyes to think.
If it was Ron or the Gemini, they would have asked rashly, but I was being too roundabout, which would probably make Ginny uncomfortable, after all, she looked like she didn't want to say anything.
Percy's words, unlike Weasley, seemed surprisingly measured, and Fred also said that he wanted to run for president in his seventh year.
The power he already has is his reliance, while his desire for power is the limitation of what he can do.
To be honest, before Maggie brought up Percy, Della was more inclined towards Fred and George. Was it because she paid too much attention to Percy's seriousness that she ignored his family affection?
However, Maggie really sees things clearly, and it seems that he also has some ideas about interpersonal relationships.
Della lowered her eyes and continued to study the spyglass in her hand. The necklace around her neck had been cold since she entered the dormitory, which made her sober and guilty.
Dumbledore only explained to her the confusion after discovering the lie, but did not tell her the self-blame behind the suspicion.
I obviously don't want to have this kind of relationship with the person closest to me.
I'd better not wear this necklace anymore.