Blood Mark

As before, no answer was found. It seemed that from the beginning, Nicol had not been able to replicate the memories of the Book of Abraham and the Sorcerer's Stone onto Flamel.

Loren could only speculate based on a few clues. The girl Mary and the mirror themselves hinted at many things.

Upon opening the Book of Abraham, he first entered a space identical to reality, devoid of color. This was a mirror, a reflection of the space he was in.

As he walked out, he stepped out of the mirror's reflection and into the real mirror world, arriving at the palace.

When he opened that magnificent mirror, the young girl Mary found herself in yet another mirrored space.

The mirror Mary was in was completely opposite to the mirror he was in, reflecting each other. Therefore, he could not leave the area of that mirror.

Until finally, through his conversation with Mary, they reached some kind of Magical Contract, and the space, or rather the dream, collapsed, causing him to wake up.

Nicol certainly wasn't in that situation back then; he was able to relay the content for Hebrew scholar to translate. Therefore, Nicol must have been interpreting the text itself.

Although the interpretation process took an unexpected turn when it reached him, it did not cause him any harm. Except for the final scene, he did not sense any malice. Analyzing the brief dialogue, the neat and logically sound text did not seem to suggest any intention to harm him.

Because of the book's unusual content, he was unable to communicate with others, Nicol, because of the Prophecy, also tried to avoid contact with him.

Loren's deciphering progress was interrupted, but his only remaining desire for the Sorcerer's Stone stemmed from healing Bates and Nagini. He could also try to heal the Werewolf and Blood Cursed Beastman with Nicol's Sorcerer's Stone, making the idea of deciphering the Book of Abraham less urgent.

If you learn the language in the book step by step, you can also translate the text.

Loren felt relieved, his consciousness returned to his body, and he closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

They stayed up too late yesterday; it was already past curfew at 11 p. m., and that's when their confinement had just begun.

From Filch to Hagrid, there was an exploration deep into the Forbidden Forest, witnessing a great battle, before heading back. It was nearly dawn when I returned to my dormitory and went to sleep, and I slept very soundly.

On Sunday, gray clouds obscured the sky, brewing a storm, and thick moisture hung in the air. It happened to be the weekend, a day off from school.

Loren opened his eyes, waking from a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Neville and Seamus were no longer in the dormitory, while Harry and Ron were still fast asleep.

It's almost summer, Loren should have already shed his thick sweaters and started wearing lighter clothes, but today the weather felt a bit chilly.

He carefully opened the box, took out a shirt, and tucked it inside his magic robe for some warmth. Grandpa Bates had bought many linings for his magic robes when he was in London, and they weren't cheap.

He stretched and shook his neck to make his clothes fit better. His legs and feet felt a little sore; he had walked for almost three hours last night, so soreness was normal.

"Perhaps I should go to Madam Pomfrey's for some medicine."

After filling his empty stomach, Loren went straight to the Headmaster's office. He wanted to tell Dumbledore about what had happened the night before, about Voldemort and Quirrell, and about how the Centaur seemed to have deduced from the stars that Harry should die at Voldemort's hands.

Honestly, Centaur have lived in the forest for a long time all know that the Sorcerer's Stone is hidden in Hogwarts. Either Dumbledore, or the Centaur are really good at astrology; they could tell just by looking at it.

When the Centaur come to teach part-time in the future, he will definitely study this course carefully.

Loren went to find Dumbledore wasn't there either. He was probably busy with something; perhaps the headmaster also had the weekend off.

He turned and walked towards the Library, intending to finish his weekend homework.

As he walked, he mostly encountered older students, whose eyes were fixed on him and followed his movements. Loren initially thought that the uproar over the points deduction and detention hadn't subsided, and that the younger wizards would be paying attention to him.

This is normal; at least Hufflepuff students won't shout "You are the pride of Hufflepuff" when they see him anymore.

But Witch would always greet him with a smile; some he knew, some he didn't.

"Hey! Loren."

"Loren, you look good today."

"This design is great."

After receiving so many compliments, Loren realized something was wrong. He hurried into the Library, intending to use Transfiguration to create a mirror and see what was amiss with him.

He spotted Hermione in their usual spot at a glance, and his face lit up with joy—he could finally ask her directly.

Hermione saw Loren hurry in with his head down and sit next to her.

The boy wore a clean black magic robe, through which a brand-new, snow-white shirt could be seen; the fabric looked incredibly soft and had a faint sheen. He had red lips and white teeth, and a barely perceptible smile played on his lips. A red mark between his brows drew attention to his face.

The seat was by the window, and the sky outside was dim, making it hard to tell if it was morning or near dusk. But Hermione felt that Loren sitting beside her subtly illuminated the space.

"Hermione, is something wrong with me? They're looking at me strangely," Loren whispered closer.

Hermione felt Loren's breath was too close, making her a little itchy, so she moved slightly to the side and said in a soft voice, "You have a red dot between your eyebrows."

"A red dot?" Loren suddenly remembered the drop of blood that had fallen between his eyebrows last night.

He picked up a book, turned the cover into a mirror, and examined the changes in himself.

Focusing on the space between the eyebrows, the red mark was not the color of bright red blood, but a lighter shade, red but not gaudy.

I rubbed it a few times with my fingers, but it didn't come off, and it didn't feel raised. It looked like a mole between my eyebrows.

Loren checked his Magic Power; there was no change, it was the same as before. Apart from the red mark, there was nothing wrong with his body.

Hermione's gaze involuntarily drifted to Loren, watching him twitch his brow. "Didn't you put it there? Could it be a prank?"

"No."

Loren kept rubbing the red mark, but after a while there was no change, he gave up. Since he hadn't found any harm, he planned to ask Flamel when he got back that night, or wait for Dumbledore to come back and have him take a look.

He shifted his attention from his brow and finally saw his full reflection in the mirror. His face was paler, and his lips were much more rosy. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that this scene somewhat resembled the girl Mary in the mirror.

It looks pretty good.

"Tsk, handsome!" He chuckled, praising himself, and casually turned the book back to its original state.

Hermione was amused; who would praise themselves so confidently!

She must not have slept enough last night; her mind is a little foggy. Why would she think Loren, who just came in, was handsome, and even feel a little awkward when the two of them got too close?

Her embarrassment turned to resentment. What's so interesting about someone with such a terrible personality, who loves to play pranks and is also narcissistic?!

"Do your homework!" Hermione dipped her quill heavily into the ink bottle, pulled it out, and made a heavy scratching sound as it drew lines on the parchment.

"Just do your homework, why are you being so fierce?" Loren muttered, pulling out paper and pen to start writing.