The First Day of the New Year

January 1, 1992, a cabin on the Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

A warm, moist touch on his face woke Rubeus Hagrid from his sleep. He opened his eyes to find a large black dog looking at him expectantly.

"Okay, Fang, I'll go make you something to eat right away."

He put his hunting dog on the ground and took the Moleskin Coat from the bedside and put it on.

He looked out the window; the snow reflected the sunlight through the window onto the wooden roof, making it bright and clear.

The giant stretched every bone in his body with all his might, feeling the soreness emanating from his muscles.

"Ah~" Rubeus Hagrid exclaimed comfortably.

His body was so large that a single yawn almost filled the entire space of the Wooden House.

He pushed open the door, and the cold wind that rushed in made him shiver.

He pulled a large bundle from the pile of firewood. There was no need to start a new fire; there was still some embers left over from last night in the stove. The flames gradually licked and entwined around the firewood, and the Wooden House became warm and cozy again.

Throw a bunch of chopped frozen meat into the pot, add some salt haphazardly, and soon the aroma of meat broth will fill the air.

Fang's drool dripped onto the ground as it happily darted around.

A pot of meat soup was divided into two portions. One portion was poured into Fang's food bowl, and Ya Ya hurriedly bit off a piece of meat bone, yelping from the heat. Hagrid let out a loud laugh.

Rubeus Hagrid ate the broth and took bites of the Rock Cake that was baking by the stove. The giant's teeth easily broke the hard bread with a crisp sound.

After breakfast, I took Fang for a walk around the forest.

The patrol was nothing more than repetitive walking, deepening the footprints he had made in the snow.

In winter, most of the animals in the forest stay in their homes, waiting for spring to arrive. He didn't encounter any friends to greet.

Rubeus Hagrid returned to the front of the Wooden House and sat down, gazing at the clouds in the sky with his eyes slightly narrowed.

The giant's thoughts wandered aimlessly. If the clouds in the sky lost their Magic Power, they would fall as snow. He too had almost lost his Magic Power, but thankfully Dumbledore was there.

Harry must be having a great time; that Flying Motorcycle is really easy to ride.

Rubeus Hagrid actually had a lot to do, such as going into the forest to pick some fruits that only come in winter, or preparing firewood for next winter, since he already had enough this year.

Go for a stroll in the Castle, chat with the professors, even if he doesn't understand what they're saying most of the time, you can still amuse them by telling them interesting stories about the animals in the forest.

The professors at Hogwarts are very patient, but funny stories lose their appeal after being told too many times.

As he watched the gentle sun climb from the second branch of the pine tree next to the Wooden House to the top of the tree, Rubeus Hagrid decided to do something.

"Let's go, Fang, let's go outside the forest. Those two Weasley family brats might try to sneak into the Forbidden Forest, we'd better keep an eye on them." The giant's rough and powerful voice echoed through the forest.

"Woof woof woof!" Fang circled around Rubeus Hagrid's trouser leg.

His dog, like him, is always full of energy.

Suddenly, Fang stopped spinning and started barking outside.

"Hagrid! Hagrid!" came the Weasley family's voice.

Hagrid looked over and saw Harry's two friends, the Weasley family Twins, and a Hufflepuff boy—the five of them wading through the snow toward the cabin.

His mouth involuntarily creased into a grin as he thought to himself, "I knew it. They really did try to break in. They're two rascals."

Hagrid didn't go to meet them; he walked briskly back into the Wooden House, relit the fire, and baked a few Rock Cake.

As they stepped outside, the giant's voice rang with delight. "Why have you come?"

Happy New Year, Hagrid! We've come to visit you!

"Let me introduce you to a new friend, this is Rolf Scamander."

"The grandson of the famous Newt."

The Twins' alternating sentences, each with its own cheerful tone, always conveyed a joyful mood to others, making the empty, cold winter forest come alive.

Hagrid led the young wizards into the house, and the Wooden House, which could hold a giant, suddenly became crowded.

In the rising steam from the pot, the little wizards' teeth gnawed on the Rock Cake, making a sickeningly loud sound.

Hagrid watched this scene with a broad smile, his heart suddenly feeling as if it were filled with something, a sense of fulfillment.

Rolf tried several times, but the pain in his gums eventually made him give up on the Rock Cake. He turned his gaze to the tall, bearded man in front of him. "Hagrid, my grandfather mentioned you."

"Mr. Scamander, oh, he actually remembers me! He was traveling here and gave me an egg of an Acromantula."

"My grandfather felt guilty for a long time after hearing that you were fired because of this."

"Hahaha, it's nothing. Mr. Scamander was also expelled from Hogwarts for his Fantastic Beasts..."

Only then did Loren and the others learn that Newt, who was traveling all over the world at the time, met Hagrid when he returned to Hogwarts to reminisce, and gave Hagrid an egg of an Acromantula.

Hagrid hatched Aragog in a cupboard at Hogwarts. Later, because of his involvement in the Chamber of Secrets incident, Hagrid had his wand broken and was expelled from Hogwarts.

Ron stared blankly. "Damn it, Hogwarts actually expels students."

The reason he had casually followed Loren and the others around at night the previous times was simply because the Twins were an example; they weren't expelled, and Ron thought Hogwarts wouldn't expel students.

The Twins reacted completely differently. "I kept an Acromantula as a pet back in my student days!"

"A dangerous creature of level XXXXX!"

George and Fred exchanged a glance and said in unison, "That's so cool."

"What happened to that Acromantula after that? Was it executed?" Rolf was concerned about this.

"No, Aragog made his home in the Forbidden Forest and had many children." Hagrid sounded very proud of the Acromantula, like an old father.

Hagrid recounted how the Acromantula had multiplied into a powerful colony in the Forbidden Forest, feared even by Centaur.

Upon hearing the familiar name, Ron recalled the Acromantula he had encountered before, muttering that there was such a deep backstory behind it all.

"Practice your magic diligently. These are walking Galleons, and the venom of the Acromantula is very valuable," Loren whispered to Ron.

Ron's expression became conflicted, a mixture of longing for Galleon and fear of the spider. Lost in thought, he didn't notice Loren's expectant look.

Rolf and Hagrid exchanged knowledge about Fantastic Beasts, and the two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

When the Twins talked about things at school, they teased Hagrid about taking the opportunity to kiss Professor McGonagall at the Christmas party, and the laughter made Hagrid blush.

When Hagrid complained that his parents didn't take the Twins with them when they went to see the Fire Dragon, Hagrid exclaimed, "Honestly, I really want to see the Fire Dragon with my own eyes."

Time passed quickly as they chatted and laughed. They didn't stay for lunch; instead, they said goodbye to Hagrid and prepared to return to the Castle.

Before leaving, Loren asked Hagrid for some Unicorn tail hairs. These weren't good enough to make wands, and they weren't even good enough to make Potions. Loren had other uses for them.

On the way back through the snow, Rolf exclaimed, "Hagrid is a pure and lovely man."

Ron muttered, "Keeping Acromantula as a pet isn't very cute."

He seemed to have stepped out of the chessboard and become much more lively.

Loren didn't want the Unicorn's tail hair to sell for money; he planned to conduct his first Alchemy experiment.

On the way to Albania, Dumbledore's hat and cuffs looked like Doraemon's pocket, making Loren was always carrying bags, drool.

Upon returning, he planned to try making a spatial storage device.

In the magical world, storage often relies on a classic spell— the Untraceable Extension Charm.

This is a spell that increases the internal dimensions of an object, enhances its capacity, and makes its contents lighter without affecting its external dimensions.

The Untraceable Extension Charm, being a high-level spell, is strictly controlled due to its potential for misuse. The Ministry of Magic has imposed strict regulations on this spell: the Untraceable Extension Charm cannot be used for private purposes, but only for the production of specific items (such as school suitcases and family tents) approved by the relevant Ministry of Magic.

In fact, in the book "One Thousand Cases of Violations of the Statute of Secrecy", the Untraceable Extension Charm accounts for the largest proportion of the spells.

Wizards would often casually pull out strange objects from their jacket pockets or knitted hats. Nocturne Isaac, a wizard who had just returned from studying in Africa, poured 86 elephants out of his wallet in front of an entire Muggle customs officer, and was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment.

Similarly, some people use the Untraceable Extension Charm to steal things. An unnamed wizard once attempted to steal the Statue of Liberty using the Untraceable Extension Charm and almost succeeded, an event that shocked the world.

Ultimately, the American Ministry of Magic collaborated with the Muggle Government to promote the event as a grand magic show, and the foolish Muggle actually believed it.

Some individuals with a twisted sense of humor use the Untraceable Extension Charm to participate in competitive eating contests. In one France baguette eating contest, a 45-kilogram woman stuffed nearly three tons of baguettes into her mouth. The local Aurors couldn't undo the act, and even magic couldn't save her. Ultimately, they mixed Swooping Evil venom into rainwater to neutralize the effect.

There are many similar cases. The International Confederation of Wizards eventually expanded the ban on the Untraceable Extension Charm in the Statute of Secrecy, allowing only approved production departments to legally use the spell, including the production of home tents, Hogwarts luggage, and Cabinet vehicles.

As for how many wizards are using it privately, the Ministry of Magic has no way of finding out.

As a high-level spell, the Untraceable Extension Charm has a wide range of effects.

Applying the Untraceable Extension Charm to Hogwarts ' trunks didn't actually do much good; it only made the interior space slightly larger and lighter so that even an eleven-year-old wizard could drag it.

In the realm of Alchemy, the effects achieved by combining the Untraceable Extension Charm with alchemical techniques are even more varied. The limits of capacity expansion differ, and the difference between storing living beings and inanimate objects is significant. Some can fit an entire zoo inside a box, while others can only expand the box a few times its original size.

According to Flamel, Rune Array allow for greater versatility in applying the Untraceable Extension Charm. Engraving the Alchemy Array on the substrate beforehand makes the application of the Untraceable Extension Charm smoother.

Loren spent a whole night understanding and memorizing the basic spatial Rune Array; all that remained was the engraving process.

He cannot yet directly inscribe Alchemy Array onto a vessel using Magic Power; he can only rely on Magic Power materials, one of which is Unicorn tail hair.

As night fell, Loren nestled in his blankets and, for the first time, tapped the scale icon that symbolized the Alchemy Laboratory.

A silver light shone from Flamel's eyes on the cover, drawing Loren's consciousness into the book.

A sphere gleaming with intense red light was placed into a boiler carved from black stone. Lava-like, flowing patterns emerged from the surface of the black boiler, connecting to form symbols that Loren found somewhat familiar yet incomprehensible.

Various Hexagram, scales, the sun, and Star Chart flowed across the surface of the boiler. Finally, countless red bricks were piled up to form a hemisphere and put on top.

Loren's perspective suddenly zoomed in, revealing another hemispherical space with a boiler emitting a dim light in the center of the room.

Flamel's figure appeared in the air. "Welcome to Flamel's Alchemy Laboratory."

Loren protested, "Why not call it Loren Morgan's Alchemy Laboratory?"

Flamel glanced at Loren, letting him figure out the meaning for himself, "Alchemy Laboratory that any Alchemy throughout history has dreamed of, where you and Nikolai can conceive of any material you and Nicol have ever seen, in unlimited quantities, endlessly."

Loren understood that this meant there was no cost to trial and error; he could first hone his skills and then achieve success in the real world on his first try.

Compared to the Library and Duel Chamber, Flamel seemed to enjoy the Alchemy Laboratory environment more, Accio freely through the air. "What do you plan to use as the carrier for the magic circle?"

"What would be an easy starting point?" Loren was well aware of his own limitations; it was clearly unrealistic to expect him to begin by engraving Alchemy Array on pendants, rings, or bracelets.

"Suits, I'll use them. Larger sizes mean more flexibility." Flamel waved his hand, and a pile of small black suitcases appeared out of thin air.

"In addition, there's Unicorn Tail Hair."

As the words fell, bundles of neatly tied Unicorn Tail Hair appeared in the air and disappeared into various boxes.

Loren cursed this guy in his heart, wondering if he was being told he'd have to grind many times.

"Use the wand to pull the Unicorn Tail Hair, unleash the Magic Power contained within, and draw Alchemy Array."

Flamel began his lesson, pointing at a box.

The box took two steps back, took a running start, and jumped into the air, opening in mid-air like a dancer.

The Unicorn Tail Hair tied up in the box spread out and floated in the air, emitting a faint white light.

The tip of the wand touched the thinner Unicorn Tail Hair, and the tail seemed to be magnetically attracted, following the wand's strokes across the box.

The magic wand is like a pen, Unicorn Tail Hair is the ink.

A Hexagram pattern encircled by two concentric rings is imprinted on the bottom of the suitcase. The six corners form three pairs of symmetrical runes that echo each other, emitting a faint glow. The center remains dim, awaiting a Untraceable Extension Charm to awaken the magic circle.

After Flamel finished his demonstration, he emitted four colors of light—red, yellow, blue, and green—which shone on the red brick wall, causing Rune runes to appear on the surface.

"Loren Morgan, you are now a true alchemy apprentice."