Charms Class on the Eve of Halloween

Snape's words kept echoing in Loren's ears, making him think about immortality.

There were many paths to immortality in the magical world, but none of them were perfect.

Ravenclaw House's ghost—the Grey Lady, whose real name was Helena Ravenclaw—was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of The Big Four founders. After she was killed by the Bloody Baron, she became a ghost and remained at Hogwarts for over a thousand years.

Professor Binns, who taught A History of Magic, could lecture, assign homework, and answer students' questions, almost exactly as he had while alive.

The intelligent portraits and the Sorting Hat passed down for a thousand years. They had memories and could think. Did that count as a form of immortality?

Hعلbo had pioneered Horcruxes, yet the cause of his death remained extremely unclear, with only some baseless speculation.

Voldemort had explored the mysteries of Horcruxes and turned himself bloodthirsty and insane.

Nicolas Flamel's Elixir of Life merely sustained life, while his body had grown unimaginably frail with time. Perhaps in a few more decades, a gust of wind could blow Nicol into pieces.

It seemed there were paths to immortality everywhere, yet every path appeared to end at a cliff.

Loren had a suspicion. The one closest to immortality was actually Headmaster Dumbledore.

The Dumbledore family possessed a Phoenix capable of being reborn through nirvana.

Everyone who learned the Patronus Charm knew that a Patronus would not be a magical creature, yet Dumbledore's Patronus was a Phoenix. Dumbledore was also highly skilled in fire magic, and with Fawkes's help, he could use spatial magic at Hogwarts.

Then what about the ability of nirvana?

Could Dumbledore also be reborn from flames, only to choose death himself in the end? Even after his death, Dumbledore could meet Harry in the Pensieve. That alone showed his extraordinary command over life.

"Flamel, can the Elixir of Life be brewed without the Sorcerer's Stone?" Loren chose to seek Flamel's help.

Flamel carefully sorted through his long memories. "In fact, there are many more legends about immortality..."

Flamel spoke of the Golden Apples in Norse mythology, the Peaches of Immortality in Eastern myths, Jesus's Holy Grail, and the legendary Fountain of Youth.

"Civilizations separated by oceans and High Mountains have remarkably similar legends of immortality. Some of those legends clearly share the same origin."

Following that line of thought, Loren said, "It might have been immortals from long ago. When they traveled through those civilizations, they left behind these legends."

"Before the Age of Sail, only wizards could cross the barriers of oceans and High Mountains." Flamel guided Loren's thoughts.

Loren clapped his hands, suddenly understanding. "A wizard achieved immortality long ago, then used his long life to explore the entire world!" His voice was excited, and he continued without pause. "Just like Mr. Nicol!"

Loren developed another question. "Then where did those ancient immortals go? Where are they now?"

Flamel did not continue exploring the matter with Loren. He flew into the air. "Who knows? Perhaps their immortality also had flaws, and in the end, they still failed to escape Death's pursuit."

"We should begin today's lesson."

It was difficult to find a definite answer by tracing the truth behind ancient legends. In the end, Loren treated those conversations as after-class chatter, and Snape's words were temporarily set aside as well.

Loren attended classes at Hogwarts during the day, took language and Dueling Club lessons through the Magical Book at night, went to Snape's office on Fridays to help process potions and learn about brewing various concoctions, and spent weekends in the Library chewing through Thick Books with Hermione.

His life was orderly and simple, and time passed without him noticing. Before long, it was the eve of Halloween.

The House-elves had been preparing for the feast since morning. The corridors were filled with the sweet scent of pumpkin, and smelling it felt as though sweet, rich pumpkin flesh were right at one's lips, making mouths water without realizing it.

During Charms Class, the sweet pumpkin scent in the classroom became even stronger.

In such an environment, only Hermione could concentrate on the lecture and take notes without distraction.

"It smells so good!" Loren remarked from time to time.

Ron and Seamus swallowed and nodded in agreement.

Harry, sitting beside them, leaned over and whispered, "Neville's Trevor has gone missing again. Everyone, check around and see if he's under the desks."

This was a common occurrence, so everyone expertly lowered their heads and began searching the floor for the toad.

"Merlin's beard~" Ron opened his mouth wide and exclaimed, "I think I might have found him."

Everyone followed his gaze and let out a collective, "Whoa!"

Trevor had already hopped onto the stool Professor Flitwick was standing on. He was preparing to jump onto the professor, seemingly intending to use his body as a springboard to reach the podium.

Neville could not bear to watch any longer. He lowered his head, nearly burying it in his desk.

Trevor bounced twice and jumped onto Professor Flitwick's shoulder.

Professor Flitwick was standing on his stool and explaining the Levitation Charm when a toad suddenly jumped out and stepped on his white beard.

The students below all burst into laughter, except Neville. He wanted to turn himself into a toad and hop out of the classroom.

Professor Flitwick was not angry. He even laughed with his nose raised. "It seems my lecture is so good that even a toad wants to get close to me!"

The students laughed even more merrily. Neville raised his head and covered his flushed face with his hands, peeking at Professor Flitwick through his fingers.

"Perfect for a demonstration!" Professor Flitwick said. He turned toward the toad on his shoulder, aimed his wand at Trevor, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The toad immediately flew into the air and began circling the classroom at a steady pace.

"Cool!" cries of amazement rang out from below.

Trevor flew past student after student before finally stopping in front of Neville and landing on his desk.

Neville looked at Professor Flitwick, who was smiling gently at him. "Keep an eye on your pet. If he runs off again next time, make him fly a few more laps."

Neville was too excited to speak and could only nod repeatedly.

Professor Flitwick paid no further attention to the little interruption. "Let's continue with the Levitation Charm. It was invented by the sixteenth-century wizard Jarleth Hobart..."

After what had just happened, the students wanted to learn the Levitation Charm even more, and their attention became more focused. The pumpkin scent's influence weakened considerably.

Soon, Professor Flitwick showed off another trick. He sent a bundle of feathers into the air with the Levitation Charm and distributed them to each pair of students.

Based on where they were seated, Harry and Neville formed a pair, Loren and Hermione formed a pair, and Ron and Seamus formed a pair.

"All right, don't forget that subtle wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick stood even higher, piling another stack of books onto his stool. "Swish and flick, remember: swish and flick."

"Pronouncing the spell correctly is also extremely important. Wizard Baruffio got one letter wrong—he said an s instead of an f—and found himself lying on the ground with a buffalo standing on his chest!" Only after giving them a string of reminders did the professor allow the students to begin trying.

Professor Flitwick watched them closely, lest a buffalo or something suddenly appear in the classroom.