Chapter 50: Ancient mystery

　　 Just as Matthew spoke, the small golden bell on Horace Slughorn's desk rang nine times.
　　 "Of course, but not too long!" The potions professor said gently. At the same time he picked a piece of pineapple compote and stuffed it into his mouth.
　　 Then he added: "After all, it's already very late. I think you don't want to be caught until the lights are turned off and you are still outside."
　　 "Yes, sir, but we won't turn off the lights until ten o'clock... So, I want to ask you something." Matthew said, "If you are free!"
　　 "Then ask, kid, ask..."
　　 Slughorn drank a small glass of wine, his cheeks looked slightly red.
　　 Matthew glanced at the old man who was half lying in the armchair in front of him, with a big belly and a relaxed face.
　　 Without hesitation, he spoke softly:
　　 "It's about my roommate, Draco Malfoy..."
　　 "Draco, oh, poor boy, I remember well!" Slughorn licked the icing on his fingers, and sighed with regret:
"It's so bad luck. I had such an accident when I first came to school, and I stayed in the school hospital until today...so that he has come in October now, and he hasn't even attended one of our parties...I just hope that Rozi The friend that Professor Er invited can help him..."
　　 "Yes, I'm sorry about that." Matthew echoed, "It's just that I'm a little curious, what happened to him at that time?"
　　……
　　Matthew Wickfield did not directly mention anything about the book.
　　 He was going to knock on the side first to find out what the book had come from.
　　 So, he asked when Draco Malfoy was attacked.
　　 Slughorn seems to be in a good mood, maybe that box of pineapple compote is very appetizing to him, or it may be because of today's banquet.
He glanced at Matthew, and said absently: "We usually keep this kind of things secret... Professor Rozier doesn't want the truth to be passed on to the entire Hogwarts, so that it will affect our teaching work. Quite unfavorable..."
　　 His words seemed to be rejection.
　　 But obviously, the ingredients for selling Guanzi seem to be more than the ingredients for rejection.
　　 After all, if he really wanted to resolutely refuse, he could just use a ready-made excuse to drive Matthew away.
　　 Matthew is also clearly aware of this. He quickly agreed and said, "Yes, Professor, President Rozier's words are right, this kind of thing must not be let outsiders know casually..."
　　 "...but I'm not an outsider, Draco Malfoy is my roommate." But he quickly turned again and continued, his voice gradually becoming a little low:
"Did you know that during the time he was attacked-I was the only person in the entire dormitory room, and my roommates were sent to the hospital, life or death unknown. I was very scared at the time, and I went to bed every night I will be awakened by nightmares at any time, I am afraid that suddenly, like Malfoy and the others, I will encounter something terrifying and die silently!"
　　 While talking, Matthew wiped the corner of his eyes pitifully:
　　 "So, Professor Slughorn. I beg you, tell me what happened, I can swear I won't tell anyone! That will at least allow me to sleep at night..."
　　 Slughorn gave Matthew a sympathetic look: "Poor boy, to be honest, I can understand the pressure you are facing, and I can understand it."
　　 "No, you don't understand..." Matthew shook his head:
"At that time, I desperately wanted to forget what happened that night, but every time I came to a crowded place, someone would come to me and ask me what happened. After all, I was the only one left in the bedroom, they I am very curious, but I am very scared! You don’t understand how desperate it is. Sometimes I even want to climb up to the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle and then jump out of the window..."
　　 Matthew talked, moved himself, tears have flowed from the corner of his eyes.
　　 "Oh, you can't do this!" Slughorn said quickly, "If you really jump down, you will have to stay in the school hospital for at least a week...Of course, it could be two weeks..."
　　He paused and looked at Matthew: "Do you need me to get you a towel, kid?"
　　 "No, no need!" Matthew quickly wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve. He didn't forget that Slughorn had just licked his own finger.
　　 "Okay!" Slughorn sighed softly, "Who might as well tell you the truth, it's actually not something particularly worth keeping secret..."
　　……
　　 Matthew sat down quickly, earnestly listening to it.
　　 If it weren't because it wasn't in class, he even wanted to take out paper and pen to take notes.
　　 "Matthew, do you know black magic?" Slughorn said earnestly.
　　 "Black magic?" Matthew blinked.
　　 "Of course, this is the old name, now it has been renamed Extreme Magic... Professor Rozier should have taught you in her class!" Slughorn changed his words and said.
　　 "Yes, but the textbook still calls it black magic." Matthew nodded and said.
　　 "That's because of the Wizards Examinations Authority, the old guys headed by Gusrda Marchban!" Slughorn shrugged and explained:
"They are very old, very old, and very prestigious. In the wizarding world... Although they have obeyed the new Ministry of Magic in name, they have never really identified with Gellert Grindelwald... But they It can only be used in this way to cause more or less trouble to Hogwarts. After all, the source of textbooks is subject to the control of the Wizarding Examination Administration..."
　　 "Of course, in the eyes of Professor Grindelwald, they are just clowns dancing by their graves." Slughorn suddenly said with some deep meaning:
　　 "However, the entire magical world, after all, is not the word of Master Grindelwald!"
　　 Matthew didn't quite understand what Slughorn's words meant.
　　 He can only nodded in a faint understanding.
　　 "Okay, let's get down to business!" Slughorn continued, "Let's call it black magic... Matthew, do you know the scariest black magic?"
　　 "This..." Matthew hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "I seem to have seen it in an after-school reading about Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It seems to be called...no..."
　　 "Unforgivable Curse?" Slughorn said before Matthew.
　　 "It seems to be, Professor!" Matthew nodded quickly.
　　 "It seems that I invited you to join the club. It really wasn't the wrong choice!" Slughorn laughed loudly: "Your extracurricular reading volume is very extensive!"
　　 "I just prefer the quiet atmosphere in the library." Matthew lowered his head somewhat "shyly".
　　 "Okay." Slughorn's face quickly became serious again: "The Unforgivable Curse? It's really scary, but it's far from enough to name them with ‘most’..."
"...In the true sense, the most terrifying black magic!" His voice suddenly became hollow and solemn: "These are the oldest and most mysterious magic... indescribable, indescribable, far beyond the normal wizardry. Cognitive, mysterious magic!"
　　 As soon as the voice fell, Slughorn's body trembled involuntarily.
　　 "So..." Matthew frowned and continued softly, "Draco Malfoy was injured because of the mysterious side magic?"
　　 "Professor Rozier thinks so." Slughorn replied: "She has a lot of experience in black magic research, so I agree with her point of view."
　　 "So, was someone using the mysterious black magic on Malfoy?" Matthew asked again, pretending to be a fool.
"This is unlikely. After all, I am still very confident about the safety factor of the Slytherin common room. Therefore, whether it is Professor Rozier's guess or my guess-we all think that the attack on Della Ke's, it must be just an item related to the mysterious black magic..."
　　 "...It's normal. Draco's father was always interested in that kind of stuff. It's a secret, so Draco might have touched them accidentally..."
　　 Matthew felt that he was very close to the answer.
　　 But he still asked quietly, "Is the item related to the mysterious black magic still in the Slytherin common room?"
"Hahaha!" Slughorn suddenly burst into laughter: "You don't have to scare yourself, my child. I was able to search your dormitory and its surroundings carefully. There will never be any. The fish slipped through the net!"
　　 "Could that be... that item left the Slytherin common room?" Matthew asked again.
"What do you think it is, a paper airplane?" Slughorn spread his hands towards Matthew and said with a smile: "That's impossible, my child. Hogwarts has a complete picture of black magic. , Powerful protective equipment, you can't run around with a used black magic item without being discovered..."
"...Moreover, Hogwarts' space rules also have extremely strict restrictions; without the consent of the principal, the transfer of anything in space is not allowed. Teachers including us are not allowed in Hogwarts. Apparition within the Watts campus...not to mention a black magic item!"
　　 "So what exactly is going on?" Matthew asked, frowning.
"According to our guess, the mysterious dark magic item that Draco came into contact with was mostly a very weak one... After attacking Draco Malfoy, it exhausted all its power. , So we didn’t find it.
Slughorn explained again:
In fact, this is the only possibility!

　　 "Then, if it is powerful...the mysterious side black magic item..." Matthew asked again.
　　 "You can only pray that you will never encounter something like that, unless you are a powerful wizard like Professor Grindelwald." Slughorn's tone gradually became serious.
　　 "Is it scary?" Matthew lowered his head.
"It's not just used to describe it as'terrible'." Slughorn shook his head: "That kind of thing is definitely not something a normal wizard can touch... It will slowly erode you, affect you, and even assimilate. You... before you know it..."
　　 "So... if, I mean if... if Mr. Draco Malfoy had been exposed to that kind of thing, what would happen?" Matthew asked in a low voice.
　　 His voice sounded a little trembling.
　　 This is also normal. An eleven-year-old child will inevitably not be afraid when he hears such terrible things.
　　 "I will kill him!" Slughorn said sternly.
　　 "Kill...Kill...him?" Matthew opened his mouth wide and stammered.
"Yes, although it sounds cruel, it will definitely be the best ending for that boy." Slughorn continued, "Even if I don't, Professor Rozier and even Green Professor Dewo will do this!"
　　 "Death is not the most terrible thing, UU reading www.uukanshu.com is far from it! If you really come into contact with the indescribable mystery, then you will face something more terrifying than death..."
　　 "It sounds scary..." Matthew smiled unnaturally. He seemed to say jokingly, "So in the future, if we encounter something like that, should we run away right away?"
　　 "Run?" Slughorn smiled mockingly: "The real mystery, you can't escape...because when you stare at it, it is staring at you at the same time..."
　　 At this moment, Matthew looked very pale.
"Oh, boy, did I frighten you... Obviously I should comfort you!" Slughorn said apologetically, "Don't worry, that kind of truly ancient and mysterious thing, all There are not a few in the world, it is almost impossible for you to meet them..."
"The one that Draco Malfoy came into contact with was just the simplest kind of mysterious dark magic gadget. It has definitely disappeared in Hogwarts... Otherwise, we must have found it! So, Relax, don't care about these mysterious things, and focus on more interesting things!"
　　 Slughorn comforted loudly over there.
　　 Matthew’s face gradually improved, he nodded: "Thank you, professor!"
　　 "Remember these things I told you, but don't tell them!" Slughorn waved his hand at him.
　　 "I won't say anything, sir." Matthew Wickfield finished speaking and left.
　　 When he left Horace Slughorn's office, his face was still extremely pale.
　　PS: It’s Monday, keep asking for recommendations!