Hogwarts Card System Chapter 039

This day’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class taught how to deal with Grindylows!

This creature isn’t native; it appeared after the convergence of the celestial bodies. It usually appears by the water, is blue or green, has skin like a toad, with slime and fins, some parts with scales, and webbed hands and feet with sharp claws.

This creature eats meat and people, both living things and carrion. It’s good at ambushing and swimming, and incredibly strong in the water, making it very dangerous.

This thing is far more dangerous than a Grindylow.

Although Grindylows live in water and attack humans, their main diet is small fish and shrimp. The primary danger is being scratched or drowned from being pulled underwater.

But Grindylows really eat people! Their combat power is also much stronger. And usually, they don’t appear alone.

“You… if you encounter… encounter Grindylows… you must… must be careful not to be pulled into the water. Otherwise, you’ll surely… surely die! Perhaps the Water Monster Expelling Charm is… is a good idea, if you’re far enough away…”

Professor Quirrell stammered as he explained the knowledge to the students.

However, he was truly unpopular. Except for a few students who diligently took notes, the other students were all daydreaming, completely ignoring him.

But at least some people were listening attentively. Hermione and Ted both keenly caught Professor Quirrell’s keyword: “Water Monster Expelling Charm.”

Hermione immediately raised her hand.

“G-Granger, Miss Granger.”

“Professor, what kind of magic is the Water Monster Expelling Charm?”

“Oh, the Water Monster Ex-Expelling Charm… that’s an Expelling Charm taught in fourth year, very… very difficult…” Professor Quirrell was always perfunctory and had no intention of giving students extra help, which was one of the reasons he was unpopular.

Other professors were willing to teach extra things, but Professor Quirrell? He seemed to be just coasting along for his salary!

Ted raised his hand.

“Epiphany, Mr. Epiphany.”

“Professor, since Grindylows came to our world, have they undergone any mutation or evolution? Have they produced new species with native aquatic monsters like the Grindylow?”

Ted was making an attempt, after all, he had previously seen Professor Quirrell’s paper on magical creature bloodline hybridization in Hagrid’s magazine.

Ted clearly saw a glimmer of light flash in Professor Quirrell’s eyes, and even his aura changed for a moment.

“Oh, this… this question is profound. Perhaps I can talk to you about it after class…”

Professor Quirrell, uncharacteristically, kept a student after class and discussed questions about magical creatures’ innate abilities and bloodline inheritance with Ted for about ten minutes.

To be honest, although Professor Quirrell was evasive, he seemed to have a deep understanding of this area!

If he hadn’t secretly conducted any hybridization experiments, Ted would eat the three-headed dog roasted!

This detention made Hermione very unhappy: Why didn’t he let me listen too?

Ted had to explain to her: After all, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Professor Quirrell to discuss topics like bloodline hybridization with a lady, would it?

After this breakthrough, Professor Quirrell seemed to appreciate Ted, no longer seeing him as just a good student who was good at studying, but as someone with whom he could give guidance and discuss in his field of expertise.

Hmm, if Professor Quirrell didn’t have a face on the back of his head, Ted would really suggest he go to the Muggle world to study genetics.

…

The night was deep, and Ted lay in bed, his consciousness gradually sinking into deeper darkness. As countless chaotic thoughts converged, a more solidified feeling appeared in his heart…

He had been trying to “meditate” these past two days!

Mainly inspired by a psychology book he brought to school.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, this is a work by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung.

In the study of psychology, Jung is an unavoidable figure.

After his break with Freud, he fell into self-doubt for a time.

Later, guided by a German sinologist, he read and studied ancient Eastern texts.

And this book was his process of studying the profound “collective unconscious.”

The so-called “Golden Flower” is actually the “Taiyi Jinhua” of Taoism, which is the Golden Elixir.

The Eastern books Jung studied back then were Lü Dongbin’s The Secret of the Golden Flower and I Ching…

In Jung’s understanding, the secret of the Golden Flower is the secret of the human mind, the secret of a person’s true inner life.

Jung concluded in his commentary: “My aim is to build a bridge for psychological understanding between East and West…”

Leaving aside Jung’s understanding of Eastern inner alchemy and destiny, this book did give Ted an idea.

That is, meditation!

India has meditation and yoga, and China has Zen meditation and sitting meditation… their purpose is all to enter a special mental state and feel the existence of consciousness itself.

Mind Mages progress by developing their inner selves, strengthening their beliefs, and tempering their minds.

Meditation would be of great help to him.

In his previous life, he had seen and heard a lot of related information and videos. Especially some for sleep aid… he didn’t know if they would be useful.

Well, now he’s trying it out.

After a few days, the effect was very good. That feeling of consciousness gradually deepening, then detaching from the body and spreading outwards, or exploring inwards, was quite wonderful.

There are many terms for this, such as inner vision, brain vision, spiritual vision, and so on.

As a Mind Mage, Ted could keenly perceive the differences and guide his mind and spirit to pursue the correct path.

And today’s attempt was exceptionally smooth.

His spiritual consciousness had already penetrated the dormitory walls, even extending through the corridor, all the way to the common room.

He felt a presence here, no! Two presences.

“Who’s there?” asked the Grey Lady in a low voice, in front of the Ravenclaw bust, mourning her mother.

Ted’s consciousness tried to communicate with her: “Lady Grey?”

“Is that you? Ted Epiphany? What magic did you use to communicate with me? Where are you?” Although the Grey Lady was already a ghost, she was startled by Ted, who appeared and disappeared like a dragon.

Ted: “Wait a moment, I’m coming.”

Ted, dressed in pajamas, holding his glowing wand, arrived at the common room.

Here, only the stars and moon decorating the walls and ceiling emitted a faint glow, like being in a field outdoors.

“Good evening, Lady Grey.” Ted greeted.

The Grey Lady nodded, “Hello.”

Actually, this wasn’t their first meeting. When Ted played the piano, she would always listen nearby, and Ted would always notice her.

Lady Grey was curious about Ted speaking to her from a distance just now, “What magic did you use to speak to me just now?”

Ted explained, “I’m conducting some mental explorations, and I did that unintentionally just now.”

The Grey Lady’s expression was a bit solemn: “Mental exploration is no small matter. I think you should try it after a few more years of study.”

“You’re right,” Ted replied. Without the Mind Mage profession, Ted wouldn’t touch anything so deeply involving the mind before his fifth year, it would be very dangerous.

“Madam, you’re here because…” He changed the subject.

“Ghosts are always very idle, I…” The Grey Lady hesitated. The perfunctory words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t say them.

She knew a little about this boy, especially his piano playing. It was like an old friend she had never met.

She suddenly didn’t want to lie to him, perhaps many words had been held in her heart for too long.

“I’m here to pay my respects to Lady Ravenclaw…” she said.

Seeing that Ted didn’t speak or press further, she reached out to touch the statue, but her hand could only pass through it.

“She, I mean Lady Ravenclaw, she is my mother. My name isn’t Grey…” As soon as the words left her mouth, the Grey Lady seemed to relax.

“My name is Helena, Helena Ravenclaw.”

Ted nodded, waved his wand, pulled a chair over, and sat in it.

“I guessed.”

“You guessed?!” Grey, oh, Lady Helena exclaimed.

“Yes. You can’t be Lady Jane Grey. That poor lady died at the age of 16, less than five hundred years ago. But you were already here before Nearly Headless Nick came to the castle…”

Everyone in the castle thought the Grey Lady was Queen Jane Grey of England, who was deposed 9 days after the Tudor dynasty ascended to the throne and beheaded the following year by Queen Mary Tudor, also known as “Bloody Mary.”

But Jane Grey was secretly executed in the Tower of London at the age of 16. It has been less than five hundred years since then.

But this ghost lady in front of him was not Jane Grey. She was Helena Ravenclaw.

“You…” Helena wanted to say something, but didn’t.

She remembered that handsome and eloquent boy from forty years ago. He had tricked her back then!

But she felt that this little boy in front of her was different from the boy who had tricked her.

Ted and Helena talked for a long time. Unknowingly, Helena spoke of her foolishness back then, and her regrets of many years. And the endless loneliness of wandering in this castle, a despair with no end in sight…

Being a ghost is not a good way to preserve consciousness, but rather the lingering of a departed soul that dares not or is unwilling to move on. And Helena had been lingering for nearly a thousand years.

It wasn’t until dawn was breaking that Helena realized she had truly delayed him for too long. He needed to sleep.

Ted smiled: “Don’t worry about me. I can enter deep sleep; an hour is usually enough.”

He bid her farewell and slowly walked upstairs. Suddenly, he stopped and said to Helena, who was about to pass through the wall: “By the way, Helena. Perhaps I shouldn’t mention this, but at that time, I sensed another presence in the common room besides you…”

“Another presence?” she muttered.

“Yes.” Ted pointed to the bust of Lady Ravenclaw, “Perhaps there’s something hidden within it, or perhaps it was my illusion.”