The Sorting Hat-The Mother-Child River's Core

"You only know Serpent Tongue? And you have no connection to Sarah?"

"They only Serpent Tongue."

"And what about you and Gryffindor?"

"It's alright."

"So what house are you in? Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

"Neither. Now male wizards have their own college."

"Goodbye then, lucky little devil, I'm going back to hibernation."

Although Harry's conversation with the Basilisk appeared to others as nothing more than a strange hissing sound.

Even linguists who have some knowledge of Serpent Tongue agree.

Apart from natural Serpent Tongue like Voldemort, most linguists who can Serpent Tongue are still limited to one-way speech, and dialogue is still very difficult.

But they could still see the Basilisk swimming back into the water, returning towards the entrance to the Slytherin's Statue's mouth.

Krum knew that he was a ghost, and one who could cast spells, the kind with magical powers. Unlike other ghosts, he wouldn't be temporarily petrified by the Basilisk's glare.

Phoebe closed her eyes by relying on her Superman other senses.

Viewers, watching from behind their screens, see it most clearly.

(Most viewers like Ron, who didn't understand, were curious about what Harry had said and why the Basilisk had turned back so quickly.)

(Those who could understand the conversation, like Voldemort, wished they could take his place. Voldemort was trembling with rage, "Foolish boy.")

(In his view, the Basilisk gave Harry many opportunities, all it took was a lie, and it wasn't even a lie.)

(First, Harry absorbed his soul, and in no time at all, he could be considered a descendant of Slytherin.)

(Secondly, Harry is a student of Gryffindor House, so even if he's from another world, why doesn't that count?)

"Harry, why did it suddenly leave?"

What did you just say?

Faced with Krum and Phoebe's questions, Harry hissed at the Basilisk and said, "Wait, I have a few more questions."

After the Basilisk finally stopped, he relayed the contents of the conversation to Krum and Phoebe.

"You really are something else—" Cedric, standing to the side, stared in disbelief.

Krum and Phoebe were also speechless.

(Countless viewers wanted to open up Harry's brain to see what it was made of, and whether it was filled with glue.)

Harry said seriously, "I always feel that it's more appropriate to tell the truth."

After the Magic Immortal World, he had completely mastered Serpent Tongue. He discovered that as Parseltongue, he could not only communicate with snakes, but also control them, and the hissing Serpent Tongue itself possessed an unpredictable magic.

Although he communicated with the Basilisk through the Book of Treasures, he somehow figured out the Basilisk's temperament, knowing that it preferred clarity and directness and hated lies.

"Sharp-witted brat, since you told the truth, I can give you an extra question on top of the three," the Basilisk suddenly spoke in human language.

This startled Krum and Phoebe.

"Can you understand us?"

"Can you speak human language?"

"Of course," the enormous serpent head rose high, its black spikes standing erect, its cold serpentine eyes looking at the Book of Treasures, "I am the creation of the great Slytherin. Being able to speak is only one of my most insignificant abilities. What I am best at is discerning lies and seeing into people's hearts. You should be very glad that the Parseltongue you know did not lie."

("Hiss," Dumbledore frowned, "Slytherin actually managed to teach his Legilimency magic to this Basilisk?")

"Speak, what is your question?"

"Do you know where the core of the Mother-Child River is?" Harry asked.

"[Mother-Child River]? Someone asked me about it again." The pair of frighteningly large yellow eyes narrowed slightly. "Water, the symbolic element of Slytherin. As her creation, I, who dwell above the waterways of Hogwarts, can clearly sense that strange life force surging in the water."

"Every now and then, I go out to hunt through underground rivers and pipes."

"The intervals between each one are very long for you, about once every 40 years."

"The time before last when I woke up normally, I happened to witness the birth of the [Mother-Child River]."

"Just right?" Krum couldn't help but interject.

"It's not exactly coincidental. I protect the water veins of Hogwarts, stabilizing them and purifying the water." The snake's head swayed. "If I were here, the [Mother-Child River], which alters the nature of the water, would be stillborn."

"That principal must have noticed me, or a loophole in my water vein protection mechanism, and created what you call the 'Mother-Child River' while I was awake hunting."

"How did you know he was the principal?" Krum asked.

"Because only wizards who have gained the approval of this ancient building can do it. Apart from the direct descendants of the Four Founders, only the Hogwarts Headmaster takes office through normal procedures can do this." The ferocious snake mouth twisted into a smile-like expression.

"That concludes my answer to the third question. I hope you won't have any further questions before I finish answering the first one."

Krum wanted to argue, but kept quiet to avoid making it a problem for him.

(Ron slaps his forehead, "Oh no, Krum is dragging us down, his grades are definitely going to drop.")

"It's in the Headmaster's Office. A creation that embodies the ideas of the Four Founders, seemingly fragile, but in reality, it cannot be truly destroyed— the Sorting Hat."

(Seamus was baffled. "The Sorting Hat isn't connected to a water pipe, so how did it change the water quality?")

"Can't be truly destroyed? How does it change the water quality?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

("This is the last question! Harry's just going to waste it like that?" Ron exclaimed in surprise.)

(Ginny still defended her boyfriend, saying, "Harry and the others' mission was to prevent the destruction of the Mother-Child River, which means the Sorting Hat must have a way to be destroyed. Understanding why it hasn't been destroyed and how it serves as the core principle of the Mother-Child River is a necessary question.")

"It's the same problem again. If we're really going to nitpick, then there are two. As a creation of the great Slytherin, I should honor her last wishes, inherit her hatred of male wizards, and protect the secret of the Sorting Hat."

"But the long years have taught me, and the last things left on the statue tell me, that what she always cared about was Gryffindor's love."

"The fact that her beloved's hat was transformed into the core of the [Mother-Child River] is certainly not what she wanted to see."

"So, I can answer this question, but it only counts as one."

"Great!" Krum pumped his fist.

"I wasn't talking to you," the Basilisk snorted. "What's your name, brat?"

"Harry Potter," Harry replied.

"Good name, no wonder we get along so well." Part of the Basilisk's body returned to the water. "You can call me Harley."

("Harley? In Arabic, it means immortal." Dumbledore speculated that this Basilisk might be Slytherin herself, the form she took in her pursuit of immortality.)

"Whether it's the Sorting Hat or the Mother-Child River, their immortality is rooted in the Magic Field of this ancient building. The change in the water quality of Hogwarts is also because that headmaster used his authority to modify the Sorting Hat, implanting an invisible base— Magic Circle— into it. He regarded the entire Magic Field of Hogwarts as an invisible, enormous crucible, refining Potions, thereby changing the nature of the water and giving it that strange vitality."

"Therefore, there is only one way to change the Sorting Hat's destructive power."

"The destruction of the Sorting System, the Sorting System, and the ideas of the Four Founders of the Sorting Hat are the immortal source that connects this ancient building to its Magic Field."

"As long as the source of immortality remains, even if the Sorting Hat is burned to ashes, it will reappear intact in the Headmaster's Office."

"And when the Sorting Hat is destroyed, the foundation attached to it, namely the Mother-Child River, will also be destroyed."

("Why is there only one way?" The clever Ron thought of another idea, "Why not just destroy Hogwarts?")

(Ginny covered her forehead, "How could I have a brother like you? All we had to do was abolish the four houses, but you had to destroy Hogwarts too. What were you thinking?")

"Does it have to be this way? Can't we just destroy the foundation?" Harry asked hastily, not wanting the Sorting Hat to be destroyed in the process.

(Neville noticed the blind spot. "Why is Harry in such a hurry? Their mission is to protect the Mother-Child River. Anyone who didn't know better would think they're in cahoots with Riddle!")

"It is possible to destroy only the foundation. But only the headmaster of Hogwarts has the authority to do so."

"Alright, the quiz game is over." The Basilisk disappeared into the passage. "I hope we'll meet again someday."

Slytherin's enormous stone face moved again, its mouth closing.

Phoebe opened her eyes. "I never imagined that the Sorting Hat was actually the core of the Mother-Child River."

"I know how Riddle destroyed the Mother-Child River," Harry said. "Just like I did in my second year, he created an incident at school to remove Dumbledore from office. Then he could just elect one of his own people to power and implement educational reforms to achieve his goal."

"So all we have to do is wait?" Krum added.

"And make sure you attend class properly," Cedric reminded them. "It'll be 1:30 in 20 minutes. Get back to the ground as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Krum immediately canceled his body here, leaving Phoebe alone in the dark cave.

As Cedric said, Harry and the others continued to attend classes diligently for the next few days.

Because, for male wizards, their studies are already very demanding.

They need to take ten courses in total: Potions, A History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies.

Witches, who have a normal nine-year school system, are not nearly as busy as they are in their sixth year.

For them, the A History of Magic, herbs, Astronomy, spells, and Transfiguration are essential subjects.

All five courses are open to advanced classes regardless of their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) exam results.

The remaining Potions, defense against the Dark Magic, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies all require OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) exam scores.

Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies are electives.

In other words, unless a witch has taken all the elective courses and passed all the OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) exams, her coursework will not be as heavy as that of a wizard.

Normally, witches would only choose one of the three elective courses, Potions have high requirements and grades are not guaranteed.

That is, while male witches have to take ten lessons, ordinary witches only have to take seven.

As for Harry and his friends, they also need to pay attention to the changes on campus, and with Percy's help, practice Legilimency.

In their view, this was absolutely necessary after Harry collapsed in Sirius's arms, unable to struggle.

The witch's allure was more deadly than they had imagined.

Legilimency is a form of magic used to shut down one's thoughts and prevent them from Legilimency.

Its most basic form involves emptying the mind—not thinking, not remembering, not feeling—in order to prevent the Legilimency master from feeling his own emotions and thoughts.

A more advanced Legilimency involves blocking only specific thoughts, emotions, and memories, thus creating an impeccable "illusion" for the Legilimency master.

Furthermore, because their emotions are suppressed, even if they don't know how to lie, the lies they tell will appear natural and flawless.

Therefore, Legilimency is practically the magic of choice for double agents.

If it weren't for the immense willpower required to use Legilimency, similar to resisting the effects of the Killing Curse, and the high degree of self-discipline required in terms of psychology and emotions, it would definitely become a controlled magic.

After all, to some extent, a skilled Legilimency wizard can even deceive himself to influence the effects of Veritaserum.

In this world, it can also resist the charms of witches.

However, all three of them encountered problems during their practice of the Legilimency.

It's not that they lack willpower or fail to meet the standards.

Rather, it's because rapid progress in Legilimency requires the assistance of Legilimency.

They need a wizard to use Legilimency to train their brains to resist external influences.

However, the existence of the Magic Immortal Artifact made it impossible for others to shake their Mind Stone or invade their minds.

In other words, they can only empty their minds and meditate in the most primitive way.

Furthermore, they are unable to effectively monitor the progress of their Legilimency.

"That's enough." Harry complained boredly while doing a pop quiz in Muggle Studies.

Which departments and/or committees of the Ministry of Magic should be contacted to resolve the following dilemmas? (Questions 1-5)

1. Your neighbor has kept Flying Carpet in his house, and he even allows some of them to fly around in his backyard.

a. Wizengamot

b. Department of International Magical Cooperation

c. Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office

d. All of the above

e. None of the above

Harry wrote a twisted 'c' inside the parentheses.

("Harry made the wrong choice." As the son of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, Ron said confidently, "Flying Carpet, like Flying Broomstick, are not Muggle items. They are banned in the UK but legal in other countries. The answer should be 'b' – the Department of International Magical Cooperation. This is clearly smuggled goods.")

Of the three male Champion, only he was surrounded by witches.

"A stupid question."

Harley, Roan, Draco's close contact, and the approach of the adult witch Sirius all made him the Champion most needed Legilimency.

But now.