A Pro at Courting Death

After midnight, some of the candlelight in the Common Room went out, so the young wizards brought out their own lighting equipment.

The Blue Belladonna Flames cast a soft, warm glow inside the glass bottle, an unidentified crystal ball reflected a magnificent moon, and even the Winky Coconut Ice Cake were suspended by Levitation Charm. The older wizards were more unrestrained, with simple torches and books lit by graduating students.

Then a gasp rang out, and it was said that someone had taken out some kind of Dark Arts lighting item, the lit candlelight of which could only be seen by the holder.

There are many things illuminated, but the distribution of light is very uneven. The Common Room is surrounded by a hazy light and shadow, with light and dark alternating, which gives everything a hazy beauty.

Some of the first-year wizards were already very sleepy but were reluctant to go upstairs. They curled up on the sofa or in a corner, drowsily watching the novel scene in front of them.

Inspired by a certain atmosphere, the other young wizards lowered their voices, and George and Fred stopped telling jokes and instead began telling scary stories, which occasionally made the little Witch gasp. Actually, the boys were scared too, like Lee Jordan, but his skin was too dark, and he kept a straight face so no one could see his fear.

Loren chewed on the sticky Nougat, stuffing several pieces into his mouth. He waited for them to soften and become sticky, evenly distributed between his two rows of teeth. He took a bite, and his teeth were all stuck together. Then he spent a lot of time chewing the Nougat into his stomach.

The whole process gave him a pleasant sense of accomplishment.

After swallowing the last bit of Nougat near his wisdom tooth, Loren pressed his tongue against his slightly sore gums, calmed down, and leaned against Hermione, smacking his Pumpkin Juice.

I'm too tired, I need to rest for a while.

Hermione glanced at him helplessly, completely baffled as to why he did that; the sound of him grinding his teeth just now was enough to make her teeth ache.

"This is bad for tooth development and may even cause cavities."

"Mmm... mmm... mmm..."

Loren's mouth was too tired to speak, so he just mumbled in response.

"Brushing your teeth regularly can still cause cavities..." Hermione moved back a little so he could rest his head on her shoulder comfortably. "Besides, it's not good for your teeth development. Your wisdom teeth might grow crooked, and then you'll have to have them pulled."

"Mmm..." Loren stuffed a piece of Nougat into her mouth to shut her up.

Hermione's teeth were stuck together, so she simply stopped worrying about it. After all, she was a wizard, so getting her teeth pulled was a minor matter.

Neville sat there blankly, clearly preoccupied. Harry and Ron were talking about the Quidditch World Cup, while Seamus and Dean whispered amongst themselves for a long time, though no one knew what they were saying.

"I heard that Colin's younger brother will be starting school next year. He's old enough and has shown magical talent." Seamus's words piqued everyone's interest.

"Another Creevey?" Ron chuckled. "Great, Harry, you're going to have another die-hard fan! Tell me how many autographed photos you've taken this school year, enough for him to fill an album!"

"Oh no!" Harry pressed his head, looking like he had a headache.

Loren suddenly stood up and said to him, "Harry, ask Colin where he bought his camera and what brand it is. I want to buy one too. Oh, and the Developing Potion as well."

Harry asked instinctively, "What did you buy it for?"

"Of course we're taking pictures of the scenery! Why would we take pictures of you, the famous the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, the great Harry Potter?"

Harry let out a groan and buried his head in the cushion in shame and anger.

The laughter and chatter continued until three or four in the morning. Most of the young wizards were exhausted, and the number of people in the Common Room gradually decreased as they went upstairs to their dormitories.

Before leaving, Loren swayed as he got up, pretending to be extremely tired, and casually picked up a Cockroach Clusters and stuffed it into Hermione.

"Smack!"

Hermione slapped his hand away and said irritably, "You fed me candy all night, just to feed me a Cockroach Clusters now?"

Loren chuckled twice and whispered, "What's wrong with trying it..."

As they were talking, Loren suddenly pecked her on the lips, then turned and ran upstairs.

When Hermione came to her senses, the man was already far away. Watching his back disappear around the corner upstairs, the girl's lips curled into a smile, probably from being so angry she laughed.

Loren pushed open the door and returned to his dormitory. His roommates were washing up and changing into their pajamas.

Ron's eyes were so sleepy he could barely keep them open. While changing his clothes, he kept groping for the closet door with his hands. He walked with his eyes closed the whole time, only opening them slightly when he bumped into the edge of the bed to peek out before continuing to stumble along.

When Loren returned after washing up, his roommates were already in bed.

Ron mumbled half-asleep, "Harry, remember to wake me up tomorrow morning for the Animagus ritual."

"Okay..." Harry replied groggily.

Loren dragged his feet to the bedside, leaned back and fell onto the bed. When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the bright Library.

I slept too late, and I might feel dizzy when I wake up tomorrow morning. Loren plans to use the Fantasy Book to restore his energy.

Unable to see Flamel, who was probably in the boiler room, Loren casually found a chair and lay down, his consciousness beginning to fade.

Two hours later, Loren awoke inside the Fantasy Book, feeling no dizziness, but full of energy and vitality.

"Ah..."

Loren stretched and greeted the old man reading next to him, "Good morning, Flamel, when did you arrive?"

"I forgot..." Flamel replied slowly, intently flipping through the art history book in his hands.

Loren slipped out of the Fantasy Book and glanced at the world outside. The sky was pitch black, with a faint tendency to turn deep blue, but there was still some time before sunrise.

Unable to fall asleep any longer, and with the summer blankets not as sticky as the winter ones, and having nothing else to do, Loren slipped back to start practicing magic.

Ten minutes later, the bright Library was transformed into a raging sea of fire, with hundreds of ferocious fire beasts running rampant among the bookshelves. The flames exuded Magic Power to destroy everything in their path, leaving nothing behind.

Loren floated above the sea of fire, waving his wand like an orchestra conductor, manipulating the Fiendfyre into various animals that moved in the direction his wand was waving.

Flamel stared expressionlessly at the sea of fire; he'd seen it dozens of times before, and he was used to it.

Loren suddenly put away his wand, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Flamel, how long do you think the Fire Salamander can withstand the Fiendfyre?"

"You don't intend to..."

Flamel slowly turned to look at Loren. He remembered that two months ago, this little wizard had completed the Transfiguration Fire Salamander. With the Fire Salamander's special Magic Power created by the Fantasy Book, this person could now move around in ordinary flames until his Magic Power was exhausted.

Loren chuckled, tossed away his wand, and curled up in mid-air, transforming into a Fire Salamander as he plummeted downwards.

The flames surged, and the lizard was instantly reduced to ashes.