A Strange Book Is Affecting Their Emotions / Luna Can Be a Kindred Spirit

Dobby hid the most crucial tool of the crime from Harry because he had to abide by the House-elf's prohibition and couldn't get past his own conscience.

Hagrid has been desperately trying to cover up any possible 'suspect,' vehemently denying any involvement in the Chamber, yet when Harry presses him for details, he remains tight-lipped about his past from fifty years ago.

Even Dumbledore had previously concealed Hagrid's past and the fact that the Chamber had been opened from Harry. Now Harry could guess his reason: he simply didn't want to create a rift between him and Hagrid.

Concealing crucial details out of personal feelings is the most dreaded situation in investigating a case, and now reality has dealt Harry four consecutive blows.

Harry frantically flipped through the book in his hands, unable to calm his mind at all.

Now Filch and Mrs. Norris have been infected, but who will be next?

What if Hermione ends up like them? What will I do then...?

"Irritability, impotent rage, bewilderment and despair... Very good, very good~"

"Who?!"

Hearing the voice suddenly, Harry snapped awake, but then he realized something was wrong.

The tone of the voice this time was different from the previous two times he had heard it. Although it was also deep and had a hint of disgust and schadenfreude, it did not have the vicious feeling it had before.

Moreover, the sound didn't come from inside the wall or ceiling, but right next to him!

"After waiting so long, your emotions are finally so extreme that you can hear what I'm saying clearly, so hurry up and open up to me~"

"Open... are you inside this book?"

The deep voice sounded again, confirming Harry's location... it was the strange book he had borrowed from the Restricted Section of the library speaking!

With a hint of disbelief, Harry picked up the strange book beside him and, after turning to a certain page, indeed found a blurry human face outline on it.

Judging from the looks of it, this must be the guy who screamed and howled through the pages when I first browsed through the Restricted Section!

Chapter 137 Emotions were influenced by a strange book

"Who are you?" Harry asked warily, his eyes fixed on the open pages of the book on the table.

"I am merely a spirit left within the pages of a book. The real me is long dead, so you need not know who I am." The face on the page moved its lips, continuing to utter that low, distinctly mocking voice, "As for you, you've been studying my theories these past few days, only to be completely influenced by me. How amusing!"

"You've influenced me... This joke isn't funny at all."

Harry raised his wand with a grim face. This wasn't the library anymore; if this lousy book dared to speak disrespectfully to him again, he'd set it on fire.

"Not affected... Hmph, don't you think your emotions have become very strange lately?" The strange book let out a cold laugh. "You've started to get impatient, and even gradually lost your original composure. Now, after suffering a setback, you almost collapsed... Dare you say that this wasn't influenced by me?"

"You?" Harry's expression froze upon hearing this. His unusual mood these past few days was actually because of this guy!

"The cultivation of projecting magical energy actually began after you finished reading this book, but it's not as easy as it seems. Lately, not only have you been struggling to find your way, but your constantly radiating emotions have even affected those around you. Isn't that interesting?"

After hearing what the strange book said, Harry gritted his teeth and forcibly suppressed the urge to burn it to ashes.

So all those setbacks he encountered before were actually due to this guy interfering!

Dumbledore and Dobby were probably unaffected, so... the reason the Weasley and Hagrid rebelled against him was actually partly due to his own venting emotions?

"However, you are indeed quite good." After a moment of sarcasm, the strange book switched to an approving tone. "At least your mental will is strong enough, and you also know how to use spells to maintain your rationality. Many people have read this book over the years, but you are the only one who can hear my voice when your emotions are in turmoil."

"Even so, what good will it do? Can you really solve my current predicament?" Harry sighed. He felt exhausted and had neither the desire nor the energy to argue with this strange book.

"While I can't completely solve your problem, I can offer some additional assistance," the strange book said smugly. "For example, I should be able to help with your concerns about the outward manifestation of magic and the matters concerning the Chamber."

"You know about the Chamber incident..."

"Let's talk about externalizing magic first!" The strange book's voice suddenly became extremely sharp. "Given your current state of mind, it would be a waste not to use it for cultivation. As for that secret Chamber, I will naturally tell you about it when you have made some progress."

"Fine..." Harry responded listlessly, ultimately choosing to compromise.

His emotions are currently affected by the strange book, and even if he uses the Clear Mirror Still Water Spell, he may not be able to fully recover his original calmness. This state is not suitable for investigating cases, because he will definitely miss many important details.

So it's better to learn from this strange book first, or at the very least, let it stop affecting your emotions.

"Very well, let's get straight to the point. Do you know why you can't successfully infuse magic into your voice?" The strange book began to speak eloquently with satisfaction. "That's because your resolve isn't strong enough! If you don't even believe in something yourself, how can you expect others to believe in it, or expect it to ultimately come true?!"

Next, guided by the strange book, Harry gained a deeper understanding of the magic he had been studying for the past two years.

Magic, in essence, is a power that alters reality and makes people's wishes come true.

Every wizard must have the goal they wish to achieve in mind when casting spells, and combine it with incantations to form a fixed spell.

If these elements do not coordinate perfectly, the magical effect will be greatly reduced, or even lead to some extremely serious consequences.

For example, if a wizard is Aguamenti but is thinking about a volcanic eruption, then what comes out of his wand might not be anything at all.

It is precisely because casting magic requires guidance from one's own thoughts that wizards must correctly recite spells, because the essence of spells is actually a specific kind of self-hypnotic incantation.

I need Incendio, I need the Alohomora. I think this in my mind, I chant this aloud, and then I add the actions of my hands, and finally I can form a complete spell.

On this basis, to enhance the effect of magic, one must rely on strong emotions or emotional resonance.

Harry completely agrees with this.

He had previously learned that the Three Unforgivable Curses required the caster to harbor extremely malicious emotions in order to cast them.

Simply put, to successfully unleash the Avada Kedavra, one must harbor murderous intent; this is what is known as resonance.

The stronger the killing intent within, the more effective the Killing Curse will be. Killing Curse cast by Death Eater can easily take a person's life, but if it were a naive child who has never experienced the ways of the world, he might not even be able to kill a mouse.

"Therefore, if you want to successfully infuse magic into your voice or eyes without a spell, you must first be absolutely certain that your voice and eyes truly have that effect!" The strange book concluded for Harry. "And the source of this certainty is the extreme emotional fluctuations within you!"

"I think I understand, but... what exactly do I do?"

Harry had a pretty good grasp of the theory, but he was still completely clueless about how to actually do it.

"Control your emotions as much as possible, and through repeated self-suggestion, make yourself completely believe in the effects of magic." The strange book guided Harry in detail, "For example, if you want to infuse magic into your voice to hypnotize someone, you must first firmly believe that your voice can hypnotize yourself!"

"Hypnotize myself... I'll give it a try~"

After silently reciting "Clear Mirror Still Water" several times in his mind, Harry tried to relax his tense mood, closed his eyes, and began to imitate the way one sleeps, letting out soft breaths.

"Note that this is self-suggestion, not completely clearing your mind! Your magic must keep running; you absolutely cannot relax!"

During this time, the strange book also kept reminding Harry, and whenever Harry felt sleepy due to physiological rather than magical effects, it would wake Harry up immediately.

Harry didn't know how long he had been imagining that 'sound can hypnotize,' but finally, at a certain moment, a faint, almost imperceptible ripple appeared in the sound he made.

He suddenly felt an overwhelming drowsiness wash over him and soon fell into a deep sleep.

"Successful so quickly? Looks like you really have talent!"

Seeing that Harry had fallen asleep due to the magic of the sound, the pages of the strange book trembled slightly, seemingly quite pleased with it.

Chapter 138 Luna Lovegood can be considered a confidante.

The next morning, Harry woke up feeling refreshed, as if all his fatigue and frustration had vanished.

"Hey... Book Spirit, Book Spirit?!" Harry vigorously shook the strange book beside him, hoping for a response.

Of course, out of respect, Harry casually gave the other person a name.

He slept so soundly last night that he felt like he had suddenly fainted and had no memory of many things, so he wanted Book Spirit to talk to him about it.

He shook it for a long time, but the strange book in his hand didn't react at all, as if the Book Spirit didn't exist and last night's experience was just an illusion.

"The Book Spirit... right, communicating with it requires extreme emotional fluctuations~"

Remembering the strange book's guidance from yesterday, Harry tried to concentrate, silently repeating "I'm manic right now" hundreds of times in his mind. Finally, just before he was about to smash things in frustration, he successfully made contact with the Book Spirit.

However, the Book Spirit doesn't want to talk to Harry right now.

"From now on, I will no longer actively influence you. You can do your own things during the day. If you want to communicate with me, try to control your emotional fluctuations through self-suggestion, just like you did before!"

Okay~

Harry knew this was the start of a new phase of his training, and readily accepted it.

Of course, he also knew that the Book Spirit wouldn't help him cultivate for no reason, but at this stage, accepting its teachings would certainly not be a bad thing.

As for whether the other party had ulterior motives or ulterior motives, Harry just needed to be vigilant and deal with whatever came his way.

"Let's go and inspect the scene again. Hopefully, Hagrid hasn't gone to clean up the chicken coop yet."

There were too many unexpected events yesterday, and Harry's emotions were also affected by the Book Spirit, which made him a little too hasty when searching for evidence, and he might miss some small clues.

Moreover, looking back now, Lockhart's actions are quite suspicious. Considering the previous incident with Cho Chang, he intervened twice but only caused trouble twice. Could it really be just because he's an incompetent fool?

Furthermore, the timing of Filch and Mrs. Norris's incident, frankly, Harry didn't see it as Lockhart's alibi; on the contrary, it would only increase suspicion against him!

Thinking this, Harry hurried toward the chicken coop, only to encounter a blonde girl carrying a drawing board on the playground.

"Luna Lovegood, did you just get back from the Black Lake?" Harry asked, curious and concerned. "It's not safe at school these days, why didn't you have someone with you?"

"Because no one wants to stay with me, and it's safer outside Hogwarts Castle."

Luna Lovegood's answer remained the same, calm and matter-of-fact, showing no concern for being isolated. Her silver eyes gleamed with a knowing light.

"Ha... hearing you say that makes me a little excited."

Harry said that if he had met Luna Lovegood last year, he would have definitely given the intelligent girl a proper hug, even at the risk of being punched by both Hermione and Luna Lovegood.

It's safer outside than at Hogwarts... This is such a perfect match!

If Harry knew how to play any traditional China musical instruments, he would have immediately started playing a random tune of "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

However, Luna Lovegood was absolutely right. Chamber of Secrets was undoubtedly built inside the castle, so the monsters Chamber would only attack from inside the castle and would never venture out onto the playground.

The reason is actually quite simple: Hogwarts has a group of exceptionally capable instructors led by Dumbledore. Therefore, whether it was Quirrell Voldemort last year or the old monster of the Chamber now, these so-called bosses would surely die if they dared to be exposed to the light!

"So, you still haven't started painting today?" Looking at Luna Lovegood's still neatly arranged paint box, Harry knew that she still hadn't finished the 'homework' he had assigned.

"The lake's color is getting worse and worse; I don't want to paint this Black Lake on paper, and besides, I'm not in the mood right now..."

When the Black Lake was mentioned, Harry even detected a deep sense of worry in Luna Lovegood's tone.

Has the water quality of Black Lake deteriorated again in such a short time?

If this conjecture is true, is there some connection between this unusual change and the Chamber within the castle...?

"Where are you going?" Harry asked Luna Lovegood as he was pondering this.

"I'd like to go check the chicken coop where the incident happened yesterday again... Uh, do you want to come with me?"

Harry suddenly realized that he could have taken Luna Lovegood with him to investigate.

If she truly possessed tetrachromatic vision, perhaps she could use color perception to help her find more details.

"Sure, if you think I can help." Luna Lovegood nodded with wide eyes, very nicely agreeing to assist Harry.

"Let me help you with the easel and paints... Oh, and where's your necklace?" As the two hurried to the chicken coop, Harry, thinking that Luna Lovegood would be tired carrying the easel, put the things in his Space Ring for her.

At the same time, he also noticed that the cork necklace that Luna Lovegood used to wear was nowhere to be found.

"It was probably stolen as a prank by my roommate. It doesn't matter. I've lost more than one thing anyway. I'll just post a notice at the end of the semester to ask for it back." Luna Lovegood seemed quite indifferent to this kind of malice from her classmates.

Her eyes remained fixed on the ring on Harry's hand, a memento that should have belonged to his mother. She was clearly very concerned about it, but she showed no intention of questioning Harry.

Looking at Luna Lovegood beside him, Harry couldn't help but feel that he might be able to learn a lot from this girl.

Her composure in the face of adversity, and her magnanimous attitude towards isolation and targeting, are truly remarkable qualities that few people possess.

"Well... we were too late after all."

After the two arrived at the chicken coop, Harry could only sigh as he looked at the crime scene, which had been cleaned up and had only a few traces of blood left.

It's my own fault, really. When I heard yesterday that Filch and Mrs. Norris had been infected, I was too hasty and didn't tell Hagrid to continue to protect the scene before I left.

"Sigh, let's check again and see if there are any clues that haven't been disturbed." Harry shook his head helplessly and began to search the scene, which had been cleared of almost everything.

"It will happen, because perfection doesn't exist in this world."

"So no matter how meticulous a crime is, it will always leave a flaw in the end, right?" Harry smiled knowingly; Luna Lovegood's words had really given him a lot of encouragement.

She may not know how to conduct a professional crime scene investigation, or even what constitutes evidence, but she was willing to genuinely help herself and kept encouraging her.

The first and second Ravenclaw Monsters are investigating a case together; that sounds pretty cool!

Don't be surprised, maybe we could consider starting a campus Detective Society in the future?

"This should be what you're looking for."

After searching the empty chicken coop for a while, Luna Lovegood suddenly raised a sharp hair!