Reading settings
Chapter 33: What It Means to Have Your Eyes Opened
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
Talk about a bombshell. This was a bombshell.
When William heard the words "Philosopher's Stone," his head started spinning.
As a wizard who had begun his studies with potions, William understood better than most what the Philosopher's Stone meant for the field of potion-making.
The Philosopher's Stone was not only the ultimate dream of alchemists but also the ultimate dream of potioneers.
To an alchemist, it meant turning stone into gold; to a potioneer, it meant the ultimate potion—the Elixir of Life.
An Elixir of Life that, once drunk, granted immortality without any side effects or the use of any dark magic.
It was like you were out with a friend, eating street food and shooting the breeze, when your friend suddenly blurted out, "Can't stay out here anymore. My dad's about to ascend to immortality, and he says he's taking me with him."
Just as you were about to laugh, the guy would summon a flying sword with a sword incantation and zip off using a sword-riding technique.
Although William desperately wanted to believe Hagrid was just bragging, he was very clear-headed at the moment. While Hagrid didn't have a father on the verge of ascending to immortality, he did work for the greatest white wizard, Dumbledore.
Perhaps he'd been cooped up in the pub for too long, and since Dumbledore himself had said William would be the best professor, Hagrid was barely holding anything back.
"Actually, the Philosopher's Stone is nothing much. Wrapped in a bit of waxed paper, it's only about this big."
Hagrid held up a finger, indicating the length of one knuckle. After a moment's thought, he shortened the indicated length by half.
"A tiny little piece, a red gem. Dumbledore even had me set up a layer of protections for it at the time."
At this, Hagrid's expression darkened, and he abruptly stopped, as if recalling something unpleasant.
But William was on the edge of his seat and quickly pressed, "What happened? Did someone break through the protections?"
Protections are set up to be broken. You can have thieves for a thousand days, but you can't guard against them for a thousand days.
"Yeah, I was tricked by a scoundrel I trusted. Thankfully, Harry found out and stopped him in time."
"Right, you should know about him. Harry, *that* Harry, he's a student at Hogwarts right now. Maybe you'll get to be his professor. He's a good kid!"
Speaking of Harry, Hagrid's eyes suddenly lit up, all his previous gloominess vanishing.
Harry?
What does Harry have to do with anything? I care about the Philosopher's Stone! The Philosopher's Stone!
William roared internally, but he couldn't very well interrupt Hagrid when he was in full swing. He had no choice but to listen to him ramble on about how cute and kind this boy named Harry was, while William politely feigned interest, nodding and making agreeable noises.
"You don't know, Professor William, when I first held him, he was just a tiny little thing, so small. Dumbledore asked me to bring him over, and I did as I was told. The next time I saw him, he looked exactly like his father, but his eyes... they're just like his mother's. So much like them, Professor William."
William expressed his deepest sympathy, then suddenly froze.
Harry, Harry—he seemed to have heard that name before.
If he wasn't mistaken, the movie he had watched was titled *Harry Potter*, wasn't it?
Wait a moment.
He suddenly realized something was wrong. If his memory served him right, the resurrection of the Dark Lord he remembered had happened when Harry was participating in the Triwizard Tournament. He remembered clearly that Harry hadn't graduated yet.
And according to Hagrid's recent rambling, Harry had already been at the school for a year.
Hogwarts was a seven-year school. That meant that within five years, that Dark Lord would certainly be resurrected.
*Hiss...*
William sucked in a cold breath. Why was he courting death like this? Wouldn't it have been better to just obediently serve his full year in Azkaban?
"Professor William?"
Hagrid's voice was filled with confusion.
The story was just getting to the climax, and his supportive audience had suddenly gone silent?
"I was just feeling a bit emotional. Why did things have to be this way?"
"Yeah, why did things have to be this way," Hagrid sighed along with him.
"Harry is such a good child, and his relatives treat him like that!"
"I wrote him a letter yesterday. I hope he likes the rock cakes I brought him—maybe his reply is already in my room."
At this, Hagrid's tone softened considerably (not that William could see his expression very well).
"Would you mind a short delay, Professor William? We can swing by the grounds, and I can check if Harry has written back to me."
"Of course not. I'd also like to get familiar with the school's layout. You know, I've never been to Hogwarts."
"Wonderful! No one knows this place better than me—oh, except maybe for those two, but I reckon I'm the best guide at Hogwarts."
Hagrid declared proudly as he strode forward.
The gates of Hogwarts were now in sight. Hagrid reached them a few steps ahead of William. He used his oddly-sized umbrella (which William had been curious about the whole way but resisted asking) to tap lightly on the gates, then took a key from his pocket and touched it to the gate's bars.
And then the gate swung open.
"Alright, Professor William," Hagrid said, putting the key away and turning to William with his arms outstretched.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"It's a great honor."
William gave a slight bow.
Hagrid smiled in response, then led William down a small path.
"This way leads to the Forbidden Forest. We'll reach the castle after we go past the greenhouses. My hut is right next to the Forbidden Forest."
"The Forbidden Forest?"
"The school's forest. There are a lot of magical creatures inside, so it's far too dangerous for the students. They just made a school rule forbidding them from going in there, and over time, it came to be called the Forbidden Forest."
Hagrid pointed towards the distant forest, of which only a sliver of green was visible, and explained this to William.
"Actually, those woods have been called the Forbidden Forest since before I took over the job. That guess was something the Weasley brothers told me. I was worrying all day about how to get them out of the forest, and that's what they told me."
*I'm sure that's probably right, but if I'm not mistaken, they likely made that up on the spot to distract you.*
William thought to himself but kept his mouth shut.
"Look, that's my hut over there, and next to it is the patch of land I've planted. My job is basically guarding the Forbidden Forest, communicating with the magical creatures, and stopping students from sneaking in."
William looked at the plot of land Hagrid pointed out and hesitated for a long while, refraining from asking if he was a farmer at Hogwarts.
Wasn't that plot of land a bit too big?
"If you don't mind, why don't you come in for a cup of tea? My rock cakes aren't half bad."
William accepted with pleasure.
The moment Hagrid opened the door, he froze on the spot.
---
PS: Too busy today, will make up for the chapter tomorrow.
(end of chapter)
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
Talk about a bombshell. This was a bombshell.
When William heard the words "Philosopher's Stone," his head started spinning.
As a wizard who had begun his studies with potions, William understood better than most what the Philosopher's Stone meant for the field of potion-making.
The Philosopher's Stone was not only the ultimate dream of alchemists but also the ultimate dream of potioneers.
To an alchemist, it meant turning stone into gold; to a potioneer, it meant the ultimate potion—the Elixir of Life.
An Elixir of Life that, once drunk, granted immortality without any side effects or the use of any dark magic.
It was like you were out with a friend, eating street food and shooting the breeze, when your friend suddenly blurted out, "Can't stay out here anymore. My dad's about to ascend to immortality, and he says he's taking me with him."
Just as you were about to laugh, the guy would summon a flying sword with a sword incantation and zip off using a sword-riding technique.
Although William desperately wanted to believe Hagrid was just bragging, he was very clear-headed at the moment. While Hagrid didn't have a father on the verge of ascending to immortality, he did work for the greatest white wizard, Dumbledore.
Perhaps he'd been cooped up in the pub for too long, and since Dumbledore himself had said William would be the best professor, Hagrid was barely holding anything back.
"Actually, the Philosopher's Stone is nothing much. Wrapped in a bit of waxed paper, it's only about this big."
Hagrid held up a finger, indicating the length of one knuckle. After a moment's thought, he shortened the indicated length by half.
"A tiny little piece, a red gem. Dumbledore even had me set up a layer of protections for it at the time."
At this, Hagrid's expression darkened, and he abruptly stopped, as if recalling something unpleasant.
But William was on the edge of his seat and quickly pressed, "What happened? Did someone break through the protections?"
Protections are set up to be broken. You can have thieves for a thousand days, but you can't guard against them for a thousand days.
"Yeah, I was tricked by a scoundrel I trusted. Thankfully, Harry found out and stopped him in time."
"Right, you should know about him. Harry, *that* Harry, he's a student at Hogwarts right now. Maybe you'll get to be his professor. He's a good kid!"
Speaking of Harry, Hagrid's eyes suddenly lit up, all his previous gloominess vanishing.
Harry?
What does Harry have to do with anything? I care about the Philosopher's Stone! The Philosopher's Stone!
William roared internally, but he couldn't very well interrupt Hagrid when he was in full swing. He had no choice but to listen to him ramble on about how cute and kind this boy named Harry was, while William politely feigned interest, nodding and making agreeable noises.
"You don't know, Professor William, when I first held him, he was just a tiny little thing, so small. Dumbledore asked me to bring him over, and I did as I was told. The next time I saw him, he looked exactly like his father, but his eyes... they're just like his mother's. So much like them, Professor William."
William expressed his deepest sympathy, then suddenly froze.
Harry, Harry—he seemed to have heard that name before.
If he wasn't mistaken, the movie he had watched was titled *Harry Potter*, wasn't it?
Wait a moment.
He suddenly realized something was wrong. If his memory served him right, the resurrection of the Dark Lord he remembered had happened when Harry was participating in the Triwizard Tournament. He remembered clearly that Harry hadn't graduated yet.
And according to Hagrid's recent rambling, Harry had already been at the school for a year.
Hogwarts was a seven-year school. That meant that within five years, that Dark Lord would certainly be resurrected.
*Hiss...*
William sucked in a cold breath. Why was he courting death like this? Wouldn't it have been better to just obediently serve his full year in Azkaban?
"Professor William?"
Hagrid's voice was filled with confusion.
The story was just getting to the climax, and his supportive audience had suddenly gone silent?
"I was just feeling a bit emotional. Why did things have to be this way?"
"Yeah, why did things have to be this way," Hagrid sighed along with him.
"Harry is such a good child, and his relatives treat him like that!"
"I wrote him a letter yesterday. I hope he likes the rock cakes I brought him—maybe his reply is already in my room."
At this, Hagrid's tone softened considerably (not that William could see his expression very well).
"Would you mind a short delay, Professor William? We can swing by the grounds, and I can check if Harry has written back to me."
"Of course not. I'd also like to get familiar with the school's layout. You know, I've never been to Hogwarts."
"Wonderful! No one knows this place better than me—oh, except maybe for those two, but I reckon I'm the best guide at Hogwarts."
Hagrid declared proudly as he strode forward.
The gates of Hogwarts were now in sight. Hagrid reached them a few steps ahead of William. He used his oddly-sized umbrella (which William had been curious about the whole way but resisted asking) to tap lightly on the gates, then took a key from his pocket and touched it to the gate's bars.
And then the gate swung open.
"Alright, Professor William," Hagrid said, putting the key away and turning to William with his arms outstretched.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"It's a great honor."
William gave a slight bow.
Hagrid smiled in response, then led William down a small path.
"This way leads to the Forbidden Forest. We'll reach the castle after we go past the greenhouses. My hut is right next to the Forbidden Forest."
"The Forbidden Forest?"
"The school's forest. There are a lot of magical creatures inside, so it's far too dangerous for the students. They just made a school rule forbidding them from going in there, and over time, it came to be called the Forbidden Forest."
Hagrid pointed towards the distant forest, of which only a sliver of green was visible, and explained this to William.
"Actually, those woods have been called the Forbidden Forest since before I took over the job. That guess was something the Weasley brothers told me. I was worrying all day about how to get them out of the forest, and that's what they told me."
*I'm sure that's probably right, but if I'm not mistaken, they likely made that up on the spot to distract you.*
William thought to himself but kept his mouth shut.
"Look, that's my hut over there, and next to it is the patch of land I've planted. My job is basically guarding the Forbidden Forest, communicating with the magical creatures, and stopping students from sneaking in."
William looked at the plot of land Hagrid pointed out and hesitated for a long while, refraining from asking if he was a farmer at Hogwarts.
Wasn't that plot of land a bit too big?
"If you don't mind, why don't you come in for a cup of tea? My rock cakes aren't half bad."
William accepted with pleasure.
The moment Hagrid opened the door, he froze on the spot.
---
PS: Too busy today, will make up for the chapter tomorrow.
(end of chapter)
