Harry had only learned that day that vultures were considered sacred birds. Otherwise, he would have shown off his Animagus form long ago.
What did a bald head matter? It was a sacred bird!
Even if only some people thought so.
As for vultures being able to see souls, that was rather interesting.
Harry mulled it over, then quietly activated Magic Perception.
It was a mental ability, and likewise remained unaffected by this world.
The moment Harry looked, he noticed something was wrong.
Two lines of blood-red writing had appeared on the enormous stone block before them.
Harry paused, switched off Magic Perception, and looked again. They were gone.
He switched it back on, and there they were again.
Was this writing on the level of magical power or the soul?
Harry was astonished. Just then, he once again saw that little black cloud drift out of the stone block. It was just as he had suspected.
It was something on the level of the soul.
"Hermione, do you have any paper and a pen in your bag?" Harry asked quickly.
"Of course." Although Hermione did not know why Harry was asking, she immediately took paper and a pen out of her bag.
For a top student, whatever else her bag might lack, it could never be without paper and a pen.
Harry wanted them so he could copy down the blood-red characters on the stone block.
Yes, that was right. Harry could not read them.
Harry actually possessed a considerable amount of knowledge now. After all, he had received the knowledge passed down through Ravenclaw's legacy.
And Ravenclaw's store of knowledge included quite a bit about languages.
At the very least, Harry could get the gist of Europe's written languages.
But he did not recognize the blood-red writing on