The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 42: The Pensieve and Tom

"Miss Hamilton, if you'd like, Bibi can take you..."

"Ah, no need... no need!" Loila quickly shook her head and refused Dumbledore's offer. She was a little afraid of the house-elf who was so easily startled and would suddenly appear.

"A fireplace... a fireplace will do..." She preferred a more traditional way of traveling as a wizard.

Dumbledore chuckled softly upon hearing this, and then said, "As you wish." He led Royla toward the headmaster's office.

Along the way, Loila carefully observed the environment of Hogwarts... It looked much warmer than Durmstrang, but also much more lively.

Portraits were hanging everywhere, but thankfully most of the people in those portraits were busy with their own things... instead of sitting there like everyone else in the principal's office.

This made Loila feel much better...

Of course, there were also things that Loila couldn't adapt to: the spiral staircase, a huge staircase that changed position on its own, was a bit too dangerous... Loila, who was afraid of heights, felt dizzy just standing on it.

What's more, sometimes this thing will even change its position on its own...

The purpose of this thing is probably to prevent students from eating lunch quickly... That's the only guess Luo Yila could make, since she really couldn't think of any reason why such a staircase would exist.

And it's easy to get lost... Luckily, I can follow Dumbledore... So the journey has been relatively smooth.

Soon, the two returned to the entrance of the principal's office, where a griffin statue stood. Loila, who had just been brought there by Bibi, still remembered the password for this place.

"Lemon Olaf," Dumbledore murmured, and with a soft click, a spiral staircase slowly appeared.

It's worth mentioning that the principal's office door is also engraved with a magic circle. Loila guessed that it might be a combination of an energy storage magic circle and a lock magic circle, except that its code is not the traditional sword shape, but the language recorded every day.

If you understand magic arrays, you can actually see today's code from the magic array... Loila even knows what yesterday's code was.

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans

Could the reason that house-pom is named Bibi have something to do with that weird candy...?

So, do house-elves smell?

While Loila was lost in thought, the two had already arrived at the principal's office.

"Miss Hamilton, would you like to rest in the Headmaster's office for a while?" Dumbledore asked casually. "Or would you like to leave now?"

"I can... I can leave now..." Loila doesn't have the habit of resting under the watchful eyes of dozens of people... Maybe Dumbledore does.

However, as she walked to the fireplace to prepare to leave with the Floo Powder, her eyes suddenly fell on a basin of water placed beside the fireplace.

This is… After just a couple of glances, Loila realized something.

"Is this a magic array prop?" she asked as she quickly walked to the basin of water.

That's right! It's a magic circle artifact! The Headmaster's office at Hogwarts actually has magic circle artifacts... Oh, what am I thinking? Durmstrang's Headmaster's office has quite a few...

I wonder what this basin is for. Will I lose a finger if I touch it? Loila subconsciously touched her right index finger.

"Ah... this is the Pensieve." Dumbledore paused for a moment, then walked over to Loyra.

"Meditation... basin?" Loila had never heard of this thing before, nor had she ever seen it... It seemed to be a rather rare magic array item.

Loila had no intention of communicating with Dumbledore; she had already drawn her wand and was examining the Pensieve.

This magic circle… She stared at the magic circle inscribed on it, lost in thought for a few seconds, and then felt a sense of surprise.

"The Pensieve is related to memory, right?" She pursed her lips and looked at Dumbledore. "It must be related, right?"

"Miss Hamilton is quite knowledgeable about magic circles," Dumbledore nodded, somewhat surprised. "The Pensieve is indeed related to memory."

Have you seen anything like this before?

"No...no?" Loila paused, then quickly shook her head.

She had indeed seen the same magic circle before, only in Riddle's diary.

But this genius didn't want anyone to know he existed.

But thinking about it carefully... as a Hogwarts student, he must have known about or seen the Pensieve, and made a diary or something based on the magic circle on it.

Mr. Riddle is truly a genius...

"Would Miss Hamilton like to try?" Dumbledore suddenly asked, abruptly. "The Pensieve can be used to view other people's memories, or even your own."

"I..." Loila knew that experiencing it firsthand was the best way to understand the magic circle... but Loila didn't want Dumbledore to see her memories.

My memories from the last few days have been fine... but if I were to see memories from fifty years ago related to Lord Grindelwald, it would be dangerous...

"You can take a look at mine," Dumbledore said casually, seemingly without any hesitation. "There are some memories I've infused in the Pensieve."

"Those are just Hogwarts trifles," he said with a slight smile, "and some leisure time for the elderly..."

"I think... I'll just forget it..." Looking at Dumbledore's smiling face, Loila always suspected that he had some bad ideas... This guy is full of wicked schemes.

The Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans you eat must taste like bad water.

Loila examined the magic circle on the Pensieve again, and after confirming that it was the one from Riddle's diary, she nodded gently and walked to the fireplace.

There's no need for me to study this under the watchful eyes of so many people... Wouldn't it be better to go back to the tavern and study the magic array quietly by myself?

And if I start muttering to myself again, I'll make a huge fool of myself...

With that thought in mind, Loila flicked a Floo Powder and said in a voice so soft that only she and the fireplace could hear, "Diagon Alley."

"boom!"

Miss Hamilton disappeared from Dumbledore's sight, and the Hogwarts headmaster remained silent for a few seconds before frowning slightly.

He walked over to the Pensieve, examined it carefully, and then shook his head.

"Albus," the portrait shows Armando Dippet, the former headmaster of Hogwarts, speaking slowly, "Didn't you say that Miss Hamilton was unable to extricate herself from the magic circle?"

"I did say that..." Dumbledore seemed a little surprised, "I thought she would take a while..."

"It turned out she left in a very hurry."

"Maybe it's because of us old folks?" Dippet smiled and shook his head, sitting gently in his chair and glancing at the other dozens of Hogwarts headmasters.

"No..." Dumbledore shook his head gently. He knew how completely absorbed Miss Hamilton was when facing the magic circle...

Unless she had actually seen this magic circle before, or... she possessed a similar magic circle artifact... but Miss Hamilton's reaction clearly indicated that this was her first time seeing the Pensieve...

Dumbledore shook his head slightly, then sat back down in the chair in the headmaster's office.

Maybe I'm overthinking it?

As if recalling Royla's behavior in front of Snape, Dumbledore suddenly chuckled softly.