After saying that Neville leaned forward again and said to Herman, " Herman, come on. Quirrell is definitely up to something; haven't you been through a lot with him lately?"
Ron nodded vigorously beside him, "Yeah! He beat you up so badly in class, your clothes were all torn. There must be something wrong with your mentality."
Herman was speechless.
Although he was indeed hit quite hard, he felt that his combat skills had improved rapidly after these few practical lessons, and at least he no longer subconsciously reached for his pistol.
Such opportunities to practice high-level skills under the supervision of a professor, yet in a safe environment, are extremely rare.
Moreover, Quirrell even gave him a private review after class and handed him books; by all accounts, he was a very responsible and dedicated teacher.
I didn't feel like I was being treated differently; on the contrary, I felt like I was a top student and was receiving special attention from the teacher.
Hmm, this seems like discrimination, but I'm happy with it.
But Herman felt he couldn't explain it to Neville and the others, and wanted to divert attention from Quirrell, so he changed his approach. "I think Quirrell is alright. Compared to him, isn't Professor Snape more suspicious?"
Neville frowned. "You can't doubt a professor because of personal preference. So what if he deducted a few points from your first class? It's normal for the dean to be strict."
Herman felt a wave of helplessness. What did he mean by "personal preference"? Didn't you all just decide Quirrell was a bad guy based on your subjective feelings?
Ron nodded in agreement, "And Professor Snape doesn't deduct points randomly anymore. Last time Seamus broke the cauldron, he just made him clean it up."
Herman glanced at Ron's serious face and thought to himself, "He's just faking it! It's because Harry's there. If our two schools don't have classes together, you'll be sorry."
Look at Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff after Potions Class; that's what a precipitous drop in scores looks like.
Now that things had come to this, Herman felt there was no point in talking any further, and he didn't want to get involved in the suspected Philosopher's Stone incident on the third floor.
Upon learning that it was still Nicolas Flamel's item, Herman guessed it was still the Philosopher's Stone. Feeling that the plot hadn't changed, he didn't care much anymore.
Since I can't give it to myself in the end anyway, I should focus on studying and improving my skills. There's also some Prophecy I don't know what it is that's chasing after me.
He stood up and said, "Alright, you guys take your time with the investigation. I still need to find the book."
Upon hearing "looking for a book, "Hugo seemed to have triggered a key phrase, as if a switch had been flipped, and looked up to ask, "What book are you looking for? Is it related to this week's Transfiguration assignment?"
Herman shook his head. "I'm looking for some Alchemy books; I want to learn how to make some small things."
Hugo's eyes lit up. " Alchemy must be very interesting, right?"
Herman casually replied, "It's alright."
After speaking, Herman turned and walked towards the Alchemy bookshelf. He took a few steps, paused, and glanced back at the three people. Neville had already lowered his head to flip through the book again, Hugo had started writing on the parchment again, Ron had buried his face in the pages of the book, continuing to unprofessionally keep watch.
Herman withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards the bookshelf, when something else suddenly came to mind.
The last time Professor Malin asked him to recommend a few talented students to try out as apprentices, he casually agreed.
Next time you go to Professor Malin for advice, you can mention Neville and Hugo and get them as apprentices. That way, they won't waste their time idly wandering around the third-floor corridor, causing trouble for their good teacher, Quirrell.
The books in the library were arranged very neatly, with even gaps between the spines and labels at the same height, as if someone had measured them with a ruler.
Herman walked around the Alchemy section and found all the books he needed in less than fifteen minutes.
He had to admit that Madam Pince had indeed put a lot of effort into organizing the bookshelves. No wonder she was so angry with students who rummaged through the books and didn't put them back in their places. Anyone would be annoyed if their carefully arranged books were carelessly messed up.
Herman sat down by the window, where a neatly trimmed lawn stretched out. The afternoon sun streamed through the glass, illuminating the open pages of the book on the table.
He arranged the books in order, first opening the book " Basic Identification of Alchemical Materials," intending to start reading from the first chapter.
The book was a bit tedious than he had expected. The first few pages were full of tables showing the density, melting point, and magic conductivity of various metals, with dense numbers crammed together like a swarm of ants crawling on the paper.
At first, Herman took notes while reading the book, recording key points for future review and to reinforce his memory.
But after flipping through it for a while, my mind started to wander, and my gaze involuntarily skipped over the book, getting drawn to the crafting of small items in another book that introduced basic alchemy.
One chapter described a quill pen that could automatically take notes. A small memory wire was embedded in the pen barrel, and as long as the user placed the pen tip on the paper, the thoughts in their mind would be converted into words and written down without them having to lift a finger. I felt that this would be perfect for me.
Another chapter describes thermostatic coasters that can automatically adjust heating or cooling based on the temperature of the liquid in the cup, keeping the beverage at the most suitable temperature.
Isn't this smart home technology? It must be a few years ahead of Muggle.
If you go to the Muggle world, set up a shell company, create a buzz, find investors, and then go public, you can achieve financial freedom ahead of time.
Indeed, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy have misled me.
Herman found it more and more interesting. These things didn't seem complicated, and the materials they required weren't particularly obscure. He felt like he could try making them himself.
He flipped through a few pages of the book, then stopped, pondering where to get the materials if he wanted to make these things, as if he had returned to the previous question.
He pondered this matter, and then purposefully began flipping through books, quickly finding the magic he sought in a book on processing materials.
The incantation roughly means to simplify complexity, or to Disassembly Charm.
Herman pointed to the Latin words on the page and read them aloud: Dissilio. The syllables were a bit of a mouthful, like a string of twisted iron chains. He memorized the transliteration in his mind to make sure he remembered it before continuing to read.
The effect was as Herman had hoped: applying the spell to an alchemical item would disassemble the finished item back into its original form, and the disassembled material could be used directly for new alchemical creations.
It seems that not all Alchemy are wealthy; they also have to be frugal and thrifty, mending and repairing, dismantling and rebuilding.
Herman's eyes lit up. If he could master this magic, he could extract materials from discarded alchemical artifacts, saving him a lot of trouble in purchasing them.
But the further he read, the more his brow furrowed. The hand gestures for the spell were incredibly complex. The movement path alone took up an entire page of diagrams. The wand needed to perform rotation, translation, and hooking motions simultaneously. The amplitude and rhythm of each step were required, and the book didn't provide precise values, only vague terms like "approximately," "slightly," and "more or less."