Chapter 274: Chapter 274: International Magic Guild (Part 1) (Edited)
When he saw the gloves, Tom sighed heavily. The familiar movements, the familiar style... it was Dumbledore! Tom hadn't really thought that every time Dumbledore appeared, he could perform so many tricks.
"Tom, what is this?" Hermione looked at the glove curiously.
"It's just a prank by Peeves."
"Peeves?"
"Yes, Peeves in human form with a long beard." Tom thought that Dumbledore and Peeves were similar in the "skin" department. But Dumbledore was firm in his skin, like dancing in front of an atomic bomb crystal, while Peeves was real skin, a total evil chaos.
After recognizing the owner of the glove, Tom didn't turn away, but followed him to the empty classroom with Hermione in tow.
Upon entering the classroom, Tom saw Professor Dumbledore sitting in a window seat in the back row, staring intently. A breeze entered through the open window, tousling his hair slightly. When the classroom door slammed open, it created a convection current with the window and swept a piece of parchment off Dumbledore's desk.
"Back row by the window, the best seat." Tom couldn't help but blurt out upon seeing this scene. But Dumbledore extended his wand and used a levitation spell to retrieve the parchment and change its style from schoolyard Japanese to fantasy.
"You're here?"
Tom: ...
"I didn't think you would come."
Tom: ...?
"Just now, a new organization was born in the magical world, the International Wizarding Union (IWU)..." (Nickname: Guild)
Dumbledore gave Tom an overview of his summer accomplishments: the International Wizarding Union, an organization dealing with magical events, the international equivalent of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, but for more dangerous events.
Its operation is simple, as wizards from all countries can join the Guild after passing their own Ministry's tests, and then they receive a commission to assist their local Ministry in solving difficult problems.
"Lately, there have been so many magical accidents that it's only a matter of time before the magical world is exposed." Dumbledore said, with some reluctance.
Tom frowned, not understanding why this had happened so suddenly.
"According to the confession of the Trackers, it seems that six years ago, the organization received some mysterious power, and suddenly it started to revive. Since the year before last, the power of the Trackers has been expanding by leaps and bounds. Now, the power of the Trackers has surpassed any other Ministry of Magic in the world. We must unite, first cutting off their tentacles around the world."
Dumbledore said, taking out two badges from his robe and placing them on the table. The badges were shaped like a six-pointed star, with the letter D in the center.
"I have permission for both of you to bypass the Ministry of Magic and become Class D members of the Guild; you can refuse."
Tom looked at the two badges on the table and didn't make a decision on his own. He looked at Hermione and realized that she seemed eager to give it a try.
"Don't you seem to be against it?" Tom felt relieved that Hermione didn't resist the idea. He didn't want Hermione to twist her will to join the guild because of him.
"I would like to be able to do something for the magical world, and if something goes wrong in it, we won't be able to escape, right?"
"How can a bird's egg survive when the nest is overturned?" Tom laughed, grabbed the badge, and placed it on Hermione's chest. Tom had a strong desire to join the guild because, as Dumbledore had just said, the rise of the Trackers was interesting.
Six years ago and the previous year, one when he had awakened to the system, and the other when he had enrolled. Tom's instinct told him that he had something to do with the rise of the Trackers. He had to investigate this mysterious organization. And what easier way to do it than to join the International Wizarding Union?
Dumbledore smiled as he watched the two of them put on the badges.
He took out two crystal balls from his pocket and handed them to Tom and Hermione. "Nicolas made these for the Guild. Place them under your pillows before going to bed, and you'll be able to travel to the International Guild of Wizards. Remember to bind them with a drop of blood before using them, the same goes for the badges."
Tom played with the crystal ball and felt a slight shock: this was real alchemy!
[Dream Crystal Sphere, Subsphere (3 stars): When you enter a dream, the whole world opens up before you.]
[Description: The owner of this crystal ball will share the same dream world and can use the stunning spell or a baseball bat to quickly fall asleep, with a series of functions to be developed.]
[Note: This is a magical creation that connects the owner's dreams and is a product of advanced alchemy. Only a master alchemist who masters the mysteries of alchemy can create it.]
The mother sphere would be a five-star first-class alchemy product, and only Nicolas Flamel, who knew how to make Philosopher's Stones, could have made it.
"I'll leave the two of you to continue with your lessons. If I recall correctly, I think you have to attend Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class." Dumbledore saw that Tom and Hermione had taken the badge and the crystal ball and didn't feel like continuing the conversation. He stood up from his chair and left the classroom.
With his departure, the series of tests that Tom had received earlier were activated again.
[Dumbledore's Trial (2): Use the dream crystal ball to travel to the International Wizarding Union.]
After the first class in the morning, Tom was supposed to join the Gryffindor students in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class. But the students, just coming out of their Divination classes, all the Gryffindor students had signed up for Divination, were not focused on the class, not even with Professor McGonagall standing at the podium.
Harry was like a spotlight, and the students glanced at him.
The lesson was about Animagi, Professor McGonagall's specialty. She was writing on the blackboard about the preparations for Animagus transformation. At that moment, Tom raised his hand.
"What's the matter? Mr. Yodel?" Professor McGonagall pointed at him, gesturing for him to stand up and speak.
Tom stood up. "Professor, people can transform into animals, so can some animals with human intelligence learn to be Animagi? For example, I have a very intelligent cat, can it transform into a human by learning Animagus?"
"An interesting question," Professor McGonagall said with a small smile. "It is true that there are many creatures in the magical world that are as intelligent as humans: Centaurs, goblins, house-elves, merpeople... and so on, but Animagus Transformation is an exclusive skill of wizards."
Chapter 275: Chapter 275: International Magicians' Guild (Part 2) (Edited)
"The reason is simple, because the process is simply too complicated for those magical creatures to perform, not to mention the fact that transformations require wands! Wands can only be used by wizards, magical animals can't use them..." Professor McGonagall explained to Tom the characteristics of being an Animagus.
In the end, she added, "I prefer to believe that there are little wizards who are born Animagi than cats or other animals that can take human form. If a cat can turn into a human, it must be some kind of unknown magical creature."
What Professor McGonagall didn't know was that this conversation would be the only interaction she would have with the students in this Transfiguration class. Afterward, no matter what she said, there was no response from the students: no questions were asked, no answers were given, and there was no further interaction, not even when she told a joke, which Professor McGonagall thought was funny, but there was no response.
Professor McGonagall felt like she was giving a lesson to the classroom wall. All the students in the class were sitting in the classroom, but their souls had gone somewhere else. Oh, Professor McGonagall realized, it seemed like everyone's souls had been taken by Harry Potter.
"Very well, let me show you how." She transformed into a tabby cat in front of the class, but the students remained distracted.
Professor McGonagall reluctantly transformed back to her original form.
"What's happening? Are these the first students who see me transform and don't applaud?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"The last Divination class..."
Professor McGonagall instantly realized, "Alright, Miss Granger, who among you is going to die this year?"
Harry raised his hand.
Professor McGonagall stared at Harry with her shining eyes. "Potter, Sybil has predicted the death of a student every year since she arrived at this school: Fred, Ron's brother, sitting next to you, has received such a prediction and is still alive and well."
It was clear that Professor McGonagall, just like Hermione, had no patience for Divination. Tom was sure that Hermione continued to attend Divination classes purely out of student instinct.
"Well, Mr. Potter, that's no reason for you not to do your homework tonight, and I assure you that if you die, you won't have to turn it in."
The joke managed to make the class laugh, and the atmosphere in the classroom lightened a bit. Amid the laughter, Tom continued, "And if Harry became a ghost? Like Professor Binns?"
Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and said, "Then you can take over Harry's part, Yodel. Anyway, you have plenty of time." She gave Tom a meaningful look.
"Oh, by the way," Professor McGonagall remembered something as the bell rang, "I need to see if your Transfiguration levels have dropped after the holidays, don't say I didn't warn you."
With that bombshell, Professor McGonagall left in a very good mood, leaving a classroom full of frozen students.
The prophecy from Professor Trelawney had shocked the Gryffindor students, but Hermione was not concerned at all. It was less important to her than the new stew being served in the kitchens. After the sumptuous lunch, Hermione left the Great Hall, rubbed her slightly swollen belly, and said to Tom, "That stew was exotic, sliced pork, vegetables, and strange white pieces stewed together, it had a pleasant flavor... but I hesitated before eating it! The taste of that white thing is very strange..."
Both of them chatted and walked back to the Ravenclaw common room, exchanging glances before returning to their respective dormitories, placing their crystal balls under their pillows, and taking a nap.
Tom was very curious about this so-called "International Union of Wizards." He couldn't wait, and if he didn't enter at noon, he would have to wait until nightfall.
Tom had had four classes in the morning,
This made him fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a room resembling a cabin with nothing more than a bed, a chair, and a nightstand. Bright light streamed in through the skylight in the ceiling, and through the window, Tom saw a clear blue sky. Strangely, the floor seemed to be trembling softly.
There was a book on the nightstand next to the bed.
Tom opened the book, flipped through the pages, and found lines of text flying out, as if editing a shared document.
Tom randomly flipped to a page and read it.
[Unidentified disappearance of Transcontinental Railway personnel]
[Mission rating: B, recommends an Auror lead a team to investigate]
[Mission description: Insufficient clearance to view.]
[Reward: 8000 points]
Tom raised his eyebrows, this thing created by Nicolas Flamel was interesting! Perhaps it's because this is a dream world, so it's easier to do things that are difficult to do.
Tom stepped out of the room and found himself on a small boat. It was a small boat, no more than seven or eight meters long and five or six meters wide, with hardly anything else besides the cabin: no rudder, no sails, no cables, nothing.
In front of the boat was a vast ocean, but the sea was strange, not blue or black, but pure white, and the boat seemed to be drifting on the clouds.
Tom spotted a ladder on the cabin wall and climbed up it. Once on the roof, the view opened up, and Tom saw Hermione's boat next to his, also on the roof.
They both had the same reaction upon seeing each other and couldn't help but smile.
"So, what are we going to do?" Tom asked Hermione out loud from the roof. "Didn't Dumbledore say that we would enter the guild when we fell asleep?"
Hermione shrugged, indicating that she wasn't sure. But as soon as they said that, the boat moved, rapidly advancing.
"This is outrageous," Tom said, slightly annoyed that he and Hermione had to shout every word... As the idea occurred to him, the two boats merged and became one, so he could stand beside Hermione.
"Good boy! That's very human," Tom exclaimed.
"It's a dream, after all," Hermione found it normal.
Tom glanced at the "waters" beneath the boat and saw that deep within those "clouds," a thousand strange images seemed to flash rapidly.
"I think it's someone else's dream," Tom speculated based on the few images he had seen, and Hermione leaned in and closely observed the remnants of the clouds.
After a while, the boat came to a stop.
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