Chapter 54 The Guardian of the Secret

Now, who can tell me what properties the Mandrake has? Professor Sprout continued to ask.

Hearing the cry of a mandrake can kill a man.

Seeing that Maca didn't respond, Hermione had to answer by herself.

Exactly right, plus ten points. Professor Sprout said, Look, everyone, our mandrakes here are still very young, and there is no fatal effect yet...

She pointed to the row of deep-bottomed flower pots in front of everyone and introduced them to everyone. Everyone looked into the pots carefully. It was a kind of green seedling with purple in it.

Everyone come up and get a pair of earmuffs, said Professor Sprout.

The boys scrambled forward, after all, no one wanted to get a pair of pink fluffy earmuffs.

Maca followed behind and picked a pair at random.

When I tell you to put on earmuffs, make sure you cover your ears tightly, said Professor Sprout. I'll give you two thumbs up when it's safe to take them off. Well-- Put earmuffs on!

As for the lethality of the mandrake's cry, it is only after it has matured. And as long as you don't force it out of the soil, it won't cry.

Generally speaking, during the day, wild adult mandrake plants will always bury themselves in the soil in open places such as grasslands; and until evening, they will pull themselves out and wander on the grasslands all night.

Maca has already dealt with it many times, and for him, such a trivial matter as changing a pot for them is a piece of cake.

The earmuffs are cast with a very powerful sound-proof magic, and you can't hear any sound at all after wearing them. After Professor Sprout gave a demonstration, she motioned for everyone to take off the earmuffs and start assigning tasks.

One pot for four, there's plenty of empty pots here. The compost is in the bag over there—watch out for the poisonous tentacles, they're teething. She slapped a spiky crimson plant, It retracted the tentacles that had quietly reached for her shoulders.

After all, she greeted everyone to put on the earmuffs again, and started today's class.

The students just saw that Professor Sprout did it very easily, but it was not like that at all.

Mandrakes don't want to be pulled out of the soil, but they don't seem to want to go back either. They twisted their bodies, kicked their feet, waved their small pointed fists, and gnashed their teeth.

The other three students who were assigned to the Maca group obviously had the least effort.

Maca picked up a small shovel from the side of the flowerpot, loosened the surrounding soil for the Mandrake, and pulled it out with ease.

Its rhizome is like a very ugly baby, and the leaves are born on his head. Probably because it is still in its infancy, its skin is still light green, with some sporadic spots growing on it.

The little guy opened his mouth and was obviously shouting at the top of his voice, but with the earmuffs on, everyone couldn't hear it at all.

Maca held it in his hand, and directly covered the place where the leaves grew on the top of its head with his other hand, but saw that the little guy's mood immediately stabilized a lot.

He stuffed the little guy in his hand into another pot, and buried it again with new soil that had been mixed with fertilizer.

When class was over, most of the students were sweating profusely, their backs were sore, and their bodies were covered with mud. Only the Maca group seemed to be the most relaxed, not even a little bit of dirt.

Oh! How did you do it? the female Hufflepuff student next to Maca couldn't help asking.

This will make it think that it has burrowed into the soil again, Maca said calmly, It only works on juvenile Mandrakes.

Professor Sprout praised Maca habitually and added 10 points to Hufflepuff. Beside Sprout, Maca showed a happy smile on his face, but if you look closely, you will find that there is no smile in his eyes at all.

Hufflepuff's next lesson is a Charms lesson,

Professor Flitwick's teaching method is still so relaxed and casual. Obviously, everyone was relieved.

But such a comfortable atmosphere disappeared in the afternoon.

Not to mention that Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class is always so strict, the worst thing is Gilderoy Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

As soon as he entered the door of the classroom, there was a smile on his face, and his shiny teeth were so neat that one wondered if magic had been cast on them.

I... He casually picked up the textbook on the student desk in the front row, and pointed to his own photo, in which he was blinking.

Gideroy Lockhart, 3rd Class Order of Merlin, Honorary Member of the Anti-Dark Arts League, five-time Wizards Weekly Award for Most Charming Smile - but I don't talk about that, I don't smile Exorcising the female ghost of Wan Lun!

He speaks these words very smoothly, probably because he has practiced it so many times.

I see you've all bought my complete book - great. I thought we'd start with a quiz today, don't be afraid, just to see how you're reading and understanding...

After distributing the papers, he returned to the podium and said, I'll give you 30 minutes, now...start!

Maca flattened the test paper in his hand on the table:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? 2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? 3. What do you think is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement so far...

Maca just glanced casually and frowned.

This paper has a total of 54 questions, and all of them are asking for some detailed information about Lockhart. Maca wanted to throw it aside, but after hesitating, he still filled in some messy answers.

There's no need to cause trouble. Maca thought lightly.

And the rest of the class was even more irritating.

Probably because the group of Cornwall elves prepared for the lion cubs made a mess in the last class, the little badgers actually read his novels on the spot in this class.

When he read Xingqi, he even pulled the students to act together. Maca sat in the back and wrote the research notes of Potions by himself, without even looking at the podium.

At night, Maca leaned against the window by herself while everyone else was asleep. Looking at the cold moonlight outside, he couldn't help but recall what happened after the school-opening dinner.

That night, he immediately went to the Ravenclaw Tower to find the bronze kitty eagle. But no matter how he called, there was only the emotionless questioning sound of the bronze door knocker. For some reason, the bronze eagle did not appear, let alone take him to Rowena's secret room.

...Is it because of my current state?

In fact, Maca is very aware of his current state.

In the past, as a little liar who relied on deceiving people for food, he was undoubtedly best at covering up his true emotions, and wearing different masks when facing different people.

But because of this, he knew better that he did have his own emotions.

Just after the journey that Rowena brought him, his emotions completely disappeared!

I'm afraid it's a curse, but it doesn't seem to be a bad thing— Maca thought naturally, then shook her head suddenly, No, this kind of thinking is probably because there is no emotion, and the criterion for judgment has become single. Start with reason.

That night, he leaned against the window and pondered for a long time, but the more he thought about it, the more difficult it was for him to sort out his thoughts.

Reason told him that this feeling is very good, not only will it be of great help to the research work, but it will even make the handling of things more sensible.

For example, he has decided not to participate in any incidents in the second grade, not even close to the little lion trio, and he wants to avoid mutations like last semester as much as possible.

Although as long as he stays at Hogwarts, it will always affect all the people and things that intersect with him, but it is still necessary to reduce the range of changes as much as possible.

Things that are completely out of your control are always scary. Moreover, these matters have nothing to do with him. What he should care about is the mission left by Rowena and the improvement of his own magic knowledge, that's all.

But is such an idea really correct? Maca doesn't know, or in other words, he has lost the angle of judgment he is best at right now.

After a while, Maca finally lay back on the bed, but the experiences after being taken away by Rowena were always entangled and lingering in his mind.

...

... Alani, this is your first mission after training. You are the smartest and strongest guardian. I hope you can carry out the will of my sent to carry out every mission in the future. Task.

By the window of the castle, an old man in long robes turned his back to this side, speaking slowly in his deep voice.

Maca was standing in the center of the room, frowning, constantly confirming the situation in front of him.

What's the purpose of Rowena bringing me here? Maca looked at the old man, but glanced around the room from the corner of his eyes.

... Alani, take the mission away! We will start from the eagle's nest today, and I will wait for your good news.

The old man turned around, with a kind face, but his eyes were as sharp and aggressive as a vulture, and he was looking straight at Maca.

Yes. Maca lowered her head subconsciously, burying her face in the shadow.

He glanced at the table in front of him, and there was a roll of parchment sitting there quietly, with blood-red sealing paint firmly fixed in the middle.

Picking it up casually, after a slight nod, Maca left the room without saying a word.

When he walked out of the room, Maca suddenly had a lot of memories that did not belong to him. For a moment, the dizziness forced him to lean against the wall of the corridor, and he recovered after a long time.

Bu-Tahir Alani? Assassin's assassin? Maca looked puzzled, Does this have anything to do with the Tome of Truth?

Although his mind was still full of confusion, Maca at least understood the current situation - he guessed that he might be in a state similar to Dumbledore's pensieve.

It's just that compared to the Pensieve, the formation formed by the regular runes is obviously much more realistic.