Marlene stared at one of the pages for a long time, her fingertips slowly tracing the edge of the page, then closed the book, looked up at Herman, her gaze much more serious than before:
"This is the personal alchemy notebook of a Goblin named Kramer. To be honest, its level isn't particularly high. But the system recorded in it is completely different from wizarding Alchemy; the naming of materials and the logic of energy transfer are also different." She paused for a moment. "Where did you get it?"
"I traded it for from a Goblin merchant."
Marlene nodded, not pressing for details. " Goblin are very strict about passing down Alchemy and rarely share it. If other Goblin find out about this book, it might cause you some unnecessary trouble."
She didn't return the book to Herman, but placed it on the table. "If it's convenient for you, could I borrow it for a few days? I've always been interested in the alchemical system of Goblin, but what I've encountered before are only scattered fragments. I've never seen such a complete personal notebook before. I've also tried to trade for it, but most Goblin are rather rigid."
Herman answered almost without hesitation, "Of course."
Marlene, on the contrary, felt a little embarrassed. She shook her head slightly. "I can't take your things for nothing. One of the fundamental principles of Alchemy is equivalent exchange."
Since you are a first-year student and probably don't yet have a systematic understanding of Alchemy, I can prepare an alchemy learning plan suitable for you, following your pace, neither too fast nor too slow.
Although I don't know how much longer I'll be at Hogwarts, you're welcome to come and ask me anything while I'm still here.
Herman was about to politely decline, but Marlene raised her hand to stop him. "Equivalent exchange, remember that word. A good Alchemy applies the laws of alchemy not only to Alchemy itself."
Herman nodded, Marlene put the book away. They then chatted briefly about the basics of identifying alchemical materials. After a long while, Marlene looked up at the sky outside the library window, stood up, and said:
"I need to go to the Restricted Section to look up some information tonight, so we'll stop here for today. I'll let you know when I've finalized my study plan."
After saying that, she turned and walked quickly into the depths of the library, her dark blue robe disappearing in a flash among the bookshelves.
Herman watched Professor Marlene enter the Restricted Section, then returned to his own table.
Draco had completely collapsed onto the table, her face buried in her arms, only her eyes showing, and the temperature in her eyes was three degrees lower than the cold air in the library's cellar.
Her school robe sleeves were crumpled from her own grip, the Transfiguration notes lying open on the table had barely been turned, and the quill pen lay to the side, its ink long since dried.
Herman had barely sat down when she let out a muffled question from her arms, "Are you finally done talking?"
As Herman said, "We're done talking," he stuffed his Transfiguration and quill back into his bag, a little puzzled. What was wrong with the young lady this time?
"Do you even know what time it is?" Draco raised her head slightly, resting her chin on her arm, her hair slightly disheveled. "Do you remember how we didn't get a proper meal yesterday because we were waiting for you? We survived until morning on the little snacks we had in our bags. Today, I think we'll have to eat other people's leftovers again!"
Herman opened his mouth, wanting to say something to ease the tension, but after racking his brains, he couldn't find a suitable excuse.
He missed a meal yesterday, and if he's hungry again today, not only Draco, but even his own stomach will protest.
He turned to look at Harry, Harry had just closed her black book and was leaning back in her chair, looking at him casually.
Her expression was much calmer than Draco's, but Herman noticed that she remained seated, her hands already packed, clearly waiting for him as well.
Herman's mind raced.
There's no hope of eating in the Great Hall; at this hour, the banquet hall is just empty plates. So, the only place in the castle that might still have food is the kitchen.
Where was the Hogwarts Kitchen? He remembered reading in the original book that there was a painting of a big pear next to the Hufflepuff House room, and if you scratched the pear, it would turn into a doorknob, and the kitchen was behind it.
Hufflepuff students often go out for a late-night snack, where the House-elf are said to be able to do anything.
"Come on," Herman stood up, "I know a place where there's still food."
Draco looked at him suspiciously. "Are you sure?"
"The kitchen next to the Hufflepuff Common Room." Herman tried to sound confident, adding details to avoid Draco eating him right now, "There's a picture of fruit; you can go in by scratching a pear. That's where the House-elf make their food."
Harry stood up and glanced at him, her eyes filled with both scrutiny and confirmation, as if she had known about this place all along but had just kept quiet about it.
Draco hesitated for two seconds, then stood up from her seat, patting the wrinkles on her robe. "If you can't find it, you won't be getting a good night's sleep tonight."
Herman wisely didn't reply, but simply turned and led them toward the library entrance.
The corridor on the first floor of the castle seemed longer in the evening than in the daytime, with candlelight flickering in the brackets on the wall, stretching and shortening the shadows of the three people.
Herman, guided by instinct, made two turns, then was led astray by a staircase that took an unexpected turn, finally stopping in front of a stone door whose destination was unknown.
Draco's patience was clearly nearing its limit. She stood there, arms crossed, and the concentration of resentment in the air was visibly rising.
"Are you sure you know the way?" Her tone was so calm it sent chills down your spine.
Herman opened his mouth. "The general direction is correct; Hufflepuff's lounge must be inside the castle."
"The general direction, inside the castle." Draco repeated these words, none of which sounded plausible.
At that moment, Harry pulled a neatly folded piece of parchment from the inside pocket of her school uniform.
As she unfolded the parchment, Herman remembered seeing this map-like object on her way to the Transfiguration classroom on her first day of class. Neville and the others were there too, but she was too embarrassed to join them.
This time, he quickly went over and saw that it was covered with fine lines and markings, like a regional map, indicating the direction of several corridors and staircases.
The ink flowed slowly across the paper, and whenever the stairs changed, the map would update instantly, as if it were alive.
The map's strokes aren't very refined; the style has a somewhat hasty and sloppy feel, clearly indicating that its creator wasn't particularly concerned with aesthetics but rather with practicality.
"What is this?" Herman asked.
Harry turned the map around and compared its position to the corridor in front of her. "This is the Marauder's Map made by the Godfather, a somewhat abridged version. He made a more powerful version and left it at the school as a souvenir for the younger students. I hope I can find it sometime."
She paused, tracing a line on the edge of the map with her finger, "This version has limited coverage and lacks many features, but at least it won't let people get lost in the castle."
Draco leaned closer for a look, her voice tinged with suppressed curiosity. "Did your godfather make this himself?"
"He did this with his friends when he was in school, and then he made another one on his own later." Harry paused slightly when she said "friends," Draco obviously didn't notice. Only Herman, who knew the inside story, would have noticed that momentary pause in her tone. The so-called friend was her father.
After Harry finished speaking, she put the map away, turned, and headed to the left of the corridor. "This way, stay close, the stairs are about to change."