Chapter 229: Neville's Favourite
Neville found that apart from Herbology, he had developed a liking for another subject - Ancient Magical Languages.
It wasn't that he had a particularly strong affinity for ancient magical texts, akin to his skill in handling various magical plants. Quite the opposite, due to his poor mory, he was one of the few underachievers in the class. In the recent exam, his marks were only slightly better than Crabbe and Goyle from Slytherin.
He enjoyed Ancient Magical Languages because he liked the professor who taught the class. This reason was sowhat similar to why he disliked Potions class.
"Neville, your grades might not be the best, but your attitude is admirably earnest. That's what I appreciate about you," Professor Harp remarked to him after a class, presenting him with a personally crafted bookmark.
On it was a short story written in magical script that, according to the professor's words, covered the 127 theoretical ancient magical texts studied during the academic year.
With the help of the Ancient Magical Languages prodigy Hermione, he managed the translation:
"Narl was a clumsy person.
This clumsiness was sothing others told him, and over ti, he ca to believe it himself.
Narl enjoyed fashioning clay dolls; he had a natural sensitivity to the different characteristics of various types of clay. He liked watching as black, red, brown, white, and gray, the various colors of clay, took shape in his hands, transforming into intricate, adorable figures.
This enjoynt was pressure-free; it brought him comfort when he was sad.
His parents were busy, seldom spending ti with him—even on the most important Christmas, they barely managed a brief eting. His greatest wish was for them to spend more ti with him.
Quietly over two months, Narl completed a set of figurines. His mom, dad, and himself were all there, embraced, smiling joyfully.
He thought: When Mom and Dad see this, they'll surely ruffle his hair and say with smiles, 'Narl, you're the best.'
On Christmas day, Narl presented the gift to his parents. They looked at him in surprise, deeply moved by the exquisite doll. They apologized, saying: 'We've neglected you; you're not less than anyone. We swear, we'll be there for your growth.'
Narl was elated."
...
Neville carefully placed the bookmark within the pages of his Ancient Magical Languages textbook, his actions filled with caution and reverence, causing even Hermione to feel a pang of jealousy.
"Thank you, Hermione," he said sincerely.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing…" Hermione was sowhat unaccustod to his deanor, waving her hands dismissively.
Returning to her seat, Hermione found Ron wearing a mournful expression as he stared at his exam paper. "Hermione, your questions were too tough."
"Really?" Hermione looked surprised. "I based the questions on what was covered in class; each question had its prototype."
Ron displayed his sparsely scribbled notes in the Ancient Magical Languages textbook. "Not everyone's like you, jotting down every word the professor says. I'm in a normal state, unlike you. Don't believe ? Look at others." He protested, "Harry, Dean, Seamus..."
But Hermione completely disagreed. "My exam wasn't beyond the curriculum; it's your own issue." Suddenly, she turned to Harry. "Do you think the sa way?"
Harry was taken aback, diplomatically replying, "Hermione, this ti, half the class failed the exam."
Deflated, Hermione slumped onto her desk.
Harry opened his mouth, "Actually... it's not too bad. Professor Harp ntioned that the final exam is about this level of difficulty. It's quite instructive, isn't it, Ron?"
Ron quickly chid in, "Yeah, that's right, exactly."
Hermione turned her head away, looking towards the center of the common room. There was only Fred from the Weasley twins there, but he was surrounded by a crowd, excitedly showing off a heart-shaped couple's mirror in his hand. "It has two functions: text communication with virtually no distance limit, so you can chat with friends far and wide during the sumr break, and voice communication that currently covers the school grounds. Couples love this. Let
demonstrate," he said.
He shouted at the couple's mirror, "George, where are you now?"
A clear voice ca from the mirror, "I'm in the Ravenclaw common room. Do you want
to describe the layout?"
Fred said, "I've been there already, but so of our friends haven't." He winked at the others.
The voice from the mirror continued, "Then, let
take you on a tour of the Ravenclaw common room. I'm George Weasley." He cleared his throat, "Let's begin now—"
"The colors here are mainly bronze and blue, with stars painted on the ceiling and carpet. I also saw a white marble statue, besides various textbooks, there are so small ornants on the shelves..."
All in all, though different from ours, it looks quite fascinating. Having said that, I have to criticize a bit. Slytherin's common room is like a dungeon..."
Lee Jordan looked at Fred in surprise, "You guys have been to Slytherin's common room too?"
Fred grinned, "We were blindfolded and ran around in there."
George's voice from the mirror kept talking, "...there are small windows that overlook the Black Lake, but it's a bit worrying that you might get flooded in your sleep. Chains hang down from the ceiling, the decor is similar to Professor Flitwick's office, and the lighting is like will-o'-the-wisps—"
"George, you're getting off track," Fred interrupted him.
"Alright," the voice from the mirror said. Even though his face couldn't be seen, many young wizards could imagine George's shrugging expression across the mirror. He even pretended to smirk and continued, "Next, let's randomly interview a Ravenclaw student. Hello, what book are you reading? Your necklace is very pretty; it reminds
of the landlady of the Three Broomsticks. She's quite charming..."
"George!" Percy shouted at the couple's mirror in anger.
But a distant, dreamy voice of a young witch ca from across, "A Selection of World Jokes, a very interesting book."
"Really? I'm suddenly interested. Dad's joke book is too cliché. Who would be interested in a troll that sat on a kettle and went 'clonk'..." George said.
"It's Luna!" Hermione exclaid in surprise to Harry and Ron, who had co over to listen.
Ron, with a mix of worry and anticipation, said, "This girl is definitely going to surprise us."
Next, nearly the entire Gryffindor students heard Luna's slightly distant voice, telling a dry joke. No one laughed, but George across the mirror was quite interested, "Sounds good, but what's a lottery?"
Then, another cheerful female voice chid in:
"That's a kind of small card with stickers; you scratch the card to reveal different prizes, and sotis you're asked to guess a sequence of numbers..."
Percy in the common room was astonished, "Penelope?"
The voice from across asked with confusion, "Percy? Is this the couple's mirror? It's even better than I imagined... I was even thinking of confiscating it. Are you Fred or George? I rember I paid a deposit."
A slightly awkward voice from across, presumably George, sounded, "This is a prototype, not for sale right now. But if you need it, Fred and I can tie Percy up and give it to you."
After this point, Harry and his friends weren't sure what happened next because Percy snatched the mirror from Fred's hand, took the other half of the couple's mirror and went to a corner to have a private conversation.
Fred remained in place, looking at everyone with a smile, "That concludes this demonstration. Pre-orders are only three Galleons. Friendly reminder, the price will go up soon…"
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