บท 264: Chapter 264: Emerald Jade Record (Edited)
Professor McGonagall watched as Hermione placed the Time-Turner around her neck, and then she gave her some advice about the restrictions and taboos of using it. Hermione listened attentively, murmuring the words softly.
"Yodel, I'm sorry, there's only one Time-Turner, and I'm going to let Miss Granger keep it," Professor McGonagall looked at Tom with a hint of apology in her eyes, "The Ministry has only opened access to one. They believe that the more you send out, the higher the risk of losing control. And having two people using it together is a good way to keep an eye on each other. They found out you're from the same house."
Tom nodded, emotionless. In the end, it didn't matter whether he or Hermione kept it.
Professor McGonagall escorted the two of them out of the office. After leaving the office, the two walked together towards the Ravenclaw Tower.
"Tom, you can have the Time-Turner too if you want to keep it." Hermione called out to Tom, pulling the hourglass pendant from her chest.
"But Professor McGonagall told you to keep it." Tom didn't mind, but he was glad to see Hermione react this way. It was naturally a blessing to have two people on the same page.
Hermione blushed slightly. "Rules are dead, people are alive. I'll save myself the trouble of giving it to you."
Tom took the warm hourglass in his hand, examined it for a moment, and gently handed it back. "What difference does it make whether you hold it or I do?"
[Time-Turner (4 stars): A magical creation made by an alchemist that can travel back in time. However, if it goes back more than five hours, it will cause unpredictable damage. It is an imperfect alchemical artifact.]
[It's a pity that even the production of this imperfect Time-Turner has been lost.]
[Note: Anyone who tries to use a Time-Turner to change history is like a man trying to fish the moon out of the water; it's not so much a changer of history as an observer of it.]
The two of them walked slowly through the corridors of Hogwarts.
"That newspaper on the train, what was it about?" Hermione asked about what had happened on the train, wondering why Tom had a non-magical newspaper in his bag and why it seemed to be related to the summer adventure.
Tom took out the newspaper from his pocket and handed it to Hermione. It was a news article, probably about the discovery of an emerald tablet with some lines of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, among the treasures that Dr. Hunter had brought earlier. Many Muggle journalists immediately dubbed the tablet as the Jade Book.
"But the Jade Book isn't even from the same time as Menes," Hermione said, frowning.
Tom nodded, agreeing with Hermione. The first time he read the news, it seemed ridiculous to him, although he thought newspapers were all about catchy headlines.
What was the Jade Book? It was an emerald stone tablet that contained all the secrets of alchemy. In 1900 B.C., the Egyptian pharaoh Hermes, his legendary father, the god Thoth, and Hermes' eldest son, the high priest Thath, merged as the "god Hermes." This deity condensed the knowledge of alchemy into thirteen words, which were engraved on an emerald stone slab and transmitted to the world. This text became known as the "Emerald Book." During the Middle Ages, a copy of the Jade Book was hung in the workrooms of alchemists as the definitive guide to their work.
The problem was that the Jade Book was made in 1900 B.C., while Menes was active in 3100 B.C., and his first dynasty ended in 2850 B.C. Even with the second dynasty, which was also part of the Early Dynastic Period, it only extended until 2686 B.C., still 700 years after the birth of the Jade Book!
Well, the birth of the Jade Book was attributed to the 12th Dynasty of Egypt. How could the Jade Book be unearthed from Menes' tomb? It would be as ridiculous as unearthing the seal inherited from the First Emperor from the tomb of the Yellow Emperor.
But upon further thought, Tom believed there was a small possibility. Because the premise of what he had just thought was that the Jade Book was made solely by Pharaoh Hermes, but what if it wasn't? What if Pharaoh Hermes had consulted the works of his predecessors? Tom thought that the legendary Jade Book, like Chinese works, was a summary of the wisdom of those who came before.
It was most likely that the tablet Sara had taken from Menes' pyramid was a prototype of the Jade Book, which would fit with her previous mission.
He had wondered about the possibility of accessing the mysteries of alchemy in the ruins of the ancient city, but he had found no "coincidence" of that kind in the pyramid. He had asked Menes himself about alchemy, and Menes had told him it was his gift, that there was really nothing to be done about it, that it was innate. It was like being able to tell you the answer to a math problem, but the capacity to look at it and know how to do it couldn't be taught.
But now, it seems things are changing... Tom decided to ask Menes himself about the emerald tablet. It was the easiest and most direct way to find out. It might sound strange, but if he wanted to ask about the origin of a funerary object, it would be a good idea to ask the owner directly.
"What the hell, we'll ask Menes when we get back, and we'll give him a gift next time." Tom concluded the conversation.
"To be honest, I still don't want to go back," Hermione said with her hands behind her back and one foot extended, drawing a semicircle on the floor as if it were a circumference, and turning her head to look at Tom.
"Where did you hide the real Hermione?" Tom joked, pulling Hermione's arm and letting her snuggle into his arms. "The real Hermione wouldn't be lurking outside the common room after curfew."
"Oh!" Hermione wriggled, and not letting go, she let Tom have his way, "There must be a lot of people in the bathrooms already, I don't want to squeeze in with them, it's better if we go back later."
The two of them walked to the Ravenclaw Tower, but they only climbed the stairs, not reaching the entrance to the common room. They sat by a small window and gazed at the stars in the night sky.
"Is it cold?"
"Not really."
But Hermione nestled into Tom's arms anyway.
"Can you find the Big Dipper?" Hermione glanced at Tom sideways, and before he could answer, she pointed to the seven stars in the night sky and made two gestures.
"Tom, look, they're in a row, like..."
"Like spoons."
"That's it!" Hermione laughed cheerfully.
"You asked me a question, and I'm going to test you too," Tom's eyes focused on a star, "What is the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest in the northern hemisphere?"
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