The Little Witch Who Dove into the Books

"[Patronus Charm] "

The little Witch's chanting echoed through the empty Library, penetrating the layers of bookshelves. Loren silently hid behind the bookshelves, watching Hermione adjust the Patronus's radiance little by little.

The Library's bright lights gradually dimmed, and the entire area, centered on the Dolphin Patronus, was enveloped in a soft, silvery glow, becoming the only source of light in the vast space. As Hermione gently shook her wand, the silvery glow gradually receded, gathering into a ball of light about half a meter in diameter.

She focused her mind to continue adjusting the Patronus's radiance, but the steady state of the light cluster suddenly collapsed, turning into scattered fragments of light.

"A stable supply of Magic Power, maintaining balance..." Flamel instructed gently.

Hermione nodded seriously, took a deep breath, and raised her wand again. Her face was tense, and she seemed to have mistaken Flamel for Professor.

Flamel smiled and said softly, "Don't be nervous, relax—"

"You've never been this gentle when you were instructing me, Flamel..." Loren muttered as he walked out of the bookshelf.

"Loren?"

Hermione stared wide-eyed at the suddenly appearing Loren, then turned to look at Flamel. Her mind seemed to be still processing what was happening; she was a little confused, her expression full of bewilderment and doubt.

Loren glanced at Hermione, who seemed completely bewildered. It appeared that Hermione hadn't realized the Library was related to him, and he, too, had many questions.

"So, what exactly happened..."

Loren paused abruptly, as if he had remembered something, and asked thoughtfully, "Did Hermione see the Patronus's light and shadow in my eyes on the train during the day? Is that related?"

When Hermione woke him up for lunch, she mentioned that he vaguely saw the image of Orca in his eyes. He had just finished practicing the Patronus Charm in the Fantasy Book at that time, and now that he thinks about it, this situation is unusual.

Hermione paused for a moment upon hearing his words, then gradually came to her senses—

Loren knew this Mr. Flamel, and this strange Library was connected to Loren.

"I suspect... there's some connection..."

Flamel leaned forward and floated in front of him. "I suspect that when you were practicing some advanced spells, the connection between you and the Fantasy Book might have shown itself in the real world. It was around that time that Miss Granger also made contact with the Fantasy Book, and since you weren't wary of Miss Granger, this visit came about."

Loren nodded slowly, lost in thought and memories.

"I remember now..." Hermione said somewhat absentmindedly, "I also went into the Library once at school, and I saw strange flames in your eyes that day."

"I thought this was the dream Library of Hogwarts, and Mr. Flamel was Library ghost librarian..." The little Witch looked at Loren and Flamel suspiciously, and couldn't help but ask, "So what exactly is this place?"

"It's a long story..."

Loren spent over ten minutes explaining to Hermione the origins of the Fantasy Book and Flamel, and also introduced the various uses of the other rooms and the Fantasy Book: "Mr. Flamel. Nearly Headless Nick Flamel... the Sorcerer's Stone... practicing magic..."

"No wonder..."

Hermione suddenly understood many things, and many of her previous questions about Loren were now answered. With so much information flooding her mind, Hermione felt a little overwhelmed.

Having seen the Alchemy boiler room, the Potions lab, and the dueling practice room, the little Witch finally returned to the bright Library. With a serious yet curious expression, she looked at the endless bookshelves.

When she first entered the Library, she thought Mr. Flamel was the librarian or the ghost professor. Although he looked very gentle, Hermione was still a little reserved and chose to practice her Patronus Charm carefully here.

Now, upon suddenly learning that all of these belonged to Loren, a heart that had been suppressed for so long began to pound with joy.

The bookshelves were piled high with books from Nicolas Flamel's six-hundred-year collection and the entire British Library's collection, each large volume exuding extraordinary appeal.

You can watch whatever you want, and you don't have to worry about sleeping or getting tired anymore.

This! This is simply the paradise she's been dreaming of!

Hermione slowly came to her senses, her eyes Winky as she looked at Loren: "So this Library is real, all the Library in it are real, and there's no Restricted Section..."

"Yes, there is no Restricted Section." Flamel nodded leisurely, seemingly very satisfied with Hermione's reaction.

"Watch as long as you want, watch whatever you want..."

"Yes."

"No need to worry about getting tired, no need to worry about nearsightedness..."

"That's right."

Loren glanced at the bewildered little Witch, then at the proud Flamel, and sensed something was amiss.

The silvery-white Patronus radiance had completely dissipated, and the Library's dome had returned to its bright state. The empty, silent space seemed to echo with the sound of a heartbeat. The little Witch pursed her lips tightly, her eyes Winky.

That night, Hermione seemed to have found a place even more magical than Hogwarts.

Guided by Professor Lupin's notes, and through repeated practice, the Orca Patronus gradually shrank to the size of a normal-sized medium-sized mammal, similar to a deer, lion, tiger, or leopard...

The Library was still brightly lit, and the sound of pages turning could be heard from time to time.

Loren put away his wand, deciding to save the technique of using the Patronus to deliver messages for tomorrow, or perhaps the day after.

Flamel has left.

Hermione sat cross-legged on the empty space behind the two rows of bookshelves on the right. She was probably tired of reading the huge tome about Transfiguration and was now reading a huge book about the A History of Magic. It also had annotations left by Nicolas Flamel. Since the author had personally experienced that era, the notes seemed to exude a different historical atmosphere and were particularly authentic.

Hermione would read each story several times, paying meticulous attention to the annotations, not missing a single letter. Sometimes, when Nicol mentioned other historical events in the annotations, Hermione would find the relevant books and read them carefully.

Following this method of reading, Hermione was soon surrounded by a wall of books.

Loren thought it wouldn't be long before Hermione would be able to build a closed room with huge books and lock herself inside.

"Hermione..."

Loren called out, but seeing that the little Witch was engrossed in her own world and unresponsive, he leaned close to her ear and raised his voice slightly. "Hermione!"

Hermione jumped, looked up at him in surprise, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with questions.

"How long have you been reading? Get up and move around." Loren placed his hand on Hermione's forehead and gently shook her, trying to wake Hermione up. "Are you planning to stay here reading forever?"

"The books here are very interesting."

"So what?"

Hermione said slowly, "Mr. Flamel said that we are just consciousnesses here, we don't need to move or rest..."

"But reading too much can make you dizzy." Loren pinched her cheek. "Have you noticed that you're starting to show signs of slowed reaction time?"

"Yeah?"

Hermione then snapped out of her reverie, which was filled with thoughts of "wizard life during the Goblin Rebellion," "my discussion with Gamp about the laws of Transfiguration," and "a few things I experienced during the witch hunt."

Her eyes, however, couldn't help but drift towards the book on her lap, instinctively wanting to know what Nicol had written at the back and what the social environment was like at that time.

"Looks like he's still not fully awake..."

Loren sighed and vigorously rubbed Hermione's face until her expression contorted and she couldn't help but cry out in pain before he stopped.

Are you awake now?

"You're awake now." Hermione brushed his hands away, rubbed her face, and sobbed indistinctly, "You didn't have to be so rough..."

Loren pulled her up from the ground by her hand. "The books here are the collection of Mr. Nicolas Flamel over six hundred years. Even if you exclude half of the Alchemy books, you could read the rest of the books for a lifetime, even if you didn't eat or drink and never tired."

"Hermione, Miss Granger, Professor Granger!" Loren emphasized, changing the way he addressed her three times in a row, "There's so much to see!"

Hermione gave a pitiful "oh".

"Go to sleep now, and practice your Patronus Charm tomorrow morning," Loren instructed firmly.

"Sleep!?"

Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "Mr. Flamel said that the consciousness stays here while the physical body outside is sleeping, so why do we need to sleep?"

"..."

Loren fell silent for a moment, then looked at the little Witch with a complicated expression. "So you plan to just keep reading, practice some spells when you get tired, and then continue reading?"

"No..." Hermione seemed to know that she was not confident enough, and retorted in a low voice, "If you get tired of reading, just switch to another book. You can save the spell practice for the daytime."

Loren laughed in exasperation. "If you really spent the whole night reading, who knows if you'd be able to tell the difference between a wand and a toothbrush by tomorrow?"

He reached out and pushed Hermione, Hermione felt the light and shadows shift before her eyes and quickly sank into darkness.

The next second, Hermione, lying on the bed, fluttered her eyelashes and suddenly opened her eyes. Staring at the familiar furnishings in the room and feeling the soft bedding beneath her, Hermione was somewhat astonished.

Was he kicked out by Loren?

That's so unfair! All she wanted was to read more books...

Hermione rolled over and buried her head in the pillow, took a deep breath, and her drowsy mind began to wander with strange thoughts.

Just wait, I'll find a bookshelf to hide behind tomorrow night and keep reading. I'll make sure Loren doesn't find out!

By the way, I think I only stayed one night last time I went to the Library.

Should we look into his eyes again?

Yes, we need to pry his eyes open before he wakes up.

The next morning.

The stinging in his eyes startled Loren awake.

Without even opening his eyes, Loren's eyeballs rolled down from above his eyelids, his pupils quickly focusing, and he saw the fair little face in front of him. Hermione's two wicked little hands pressed on either side of his temples, her thumbs and forefingers prying open his eyelids, making blinking difficult.

"..."

How could my eyes not be sore and dry? I was almost crying.

Loren realized what she was doing, quickly slapped her guilty hands away, and hurriedly rubbed his sore eyes. "Hermione, what are you doing? Murder?"

She was still wearing light blue pajamas, Loren suspected that she had planned the attack before dawn and had come over without even washing up.

Hermione paused for a moment, then released her hands with a disappointed expression, muttering to herself, "No fire, no Patronus, I can't read tonight."

"Reading a book—"

Loren reached out and pinched her cheeks, pulling them forcefully to both sides until the girl cried out in pain. He then released her, both amused and annoyed, and asked, "Still reading?"

"Look!"

Hermione's fair face flushed red, but she still answered weakly, despite the pain.

Loren couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. He sat up from the covers and glanced at the sky outside. Beautiful ribbons of dawn hung in the sky, indicating that it was still early, at least the Mr. and Mrs. Granger hadn't gone to work at the clinic yet.

When did you wake up?

"Just now."

Have you had breakfast?

"Not yet."

Have you brushed your teeth and washed your face?

No, not at all.

The more Hermione asked, the weaker her voice became, and the lower her head drooped. She probably realized that her behavior was inappropriate.

Loren rolled out of bed, slipped on his slippers, and led her to the bathroom to wash up. There were many spare toiletries in the cabinet. Loren took out a new toothbrush, squeezed toothpaste onto it, and put it into Hermione's mouth.

It has an orange fruit flavor, combined with the unique coolness of toothpaste.

He seems to particularly like the scent of oranges; he even uses orange-scented bouncy balls in his wardrobe.

Hermione glanced at the mirror in front of her. Both of them had just gotten up, their hair untouched, her own long hair a mess. He hadn't gotten a haircut since it was just the start of his vacation, his naturally curly hair was also a mess.

Loren filled his cup with water, rinsed his mouth, handed the cup to Hermione, and began brushing his teeth.

Loren asked in a muffled voice, "Did you feel a little dizzy when you woke up this morning?"

Hermione glanced at him as he brushed his teeth, then stood beside him and began brushing her own. As toothpaste foam gradually filled her mouth, she replied in the same muffled voice, "It seems a little bit."

Loren spat out the foam in his mouth, took the cup from her hand, and rinsed his mouth again with a mouthful of cold water. "I discovered this a long time ago. When the consciousness enters the Fantasy Book, the external body has no feeling, but the mind will still be tired. Moreover, the abundant energy of the body will make it impossible for you to sleep, and this kind of fatigue is even more uncomfortable."

Hermione brushed her teeth strictly according to the standard brushing method taught by her dentist parents, so she had to go slower. Her mouth was still full of foam, and she could only make a couple of muffled noises.

"It's not that I don't want you to read..." Loren turned on the tap to rinse his toothbrush, and only continued after the water stopped running, "Let's make a deal: our time in the Fantasy Book will be evenly divided between reading, activities, and rest, okay?"

"Mmm!"

Hermione finally finished brushing her teeth, spat out the foam in her mouth, reached for the cup, and took small sips of cool water to rinse her mouth.

Upon tasting the toothpaste again in her mouth, Hermione's hands, holding the toothbrush and cup, suddenly froze, and her face began to burn.

It seems that Loren left some toothpaste foam on the rim of the cup just now.