Mysterious Journey

Chapter 863: The Half-Blood Prince? I've Heard of Him!

"How did you do that? It's impossible!"

Draco Malfoy grabbed Harry, asking with a serious expression.

As the Potions class was nearing its end, Neville's cauldron of potion had become almost pale yellow, and it didn't smell of such a pungent, spicy odor.

Judging from Professor Snape's final evaluation and expression, Harry had clearly succeeded in saving Neville.

You have to know, rescuing a nearly failed potion is much more difficult than brewing a perfect potion from scratch.

Draco found it difficult to judge which of the two seemingly impossible things was more challenging – 'Gryffindor gaining points in Potions' and 'reversing a failed potion in a quarter of an hour' – because Harry had done both in the same class just now. Accompanied by Professor Snape's seemingly understated "Gryffindor, five points," almost the entire class gave him their applause.

However, as a close friend, Draco Malfoy knew very well that this wasn't Harry's usual Potions level.

During the previous summer, he and Harry had lived together for a month at his Uncle Black's old house. Perhaps Harry did have some extraordinary talent in Potions, but it was far from reaching this professor-level standard.

"Alright, alright..."

Once the surrounding students had mostly left, Harry helplessly spread out his hands and roughly explained the ins and outs of the situation.

Anyway, there wasn't too much of a problem. Draco knew that he would occasionally go to Professor Snape for tutoring. Although clumsily damaging the Potions textbook was a bit embarrassing, Harry didn't feel that the subsequent remedies were wrong.

What's more, Professor Snape had told him to just grab this old textbook from the pile of old textbooks in the cabinet.

Harry winked at Draco Malfoy, trying to calmly say,

"...Well, that's roughly it. Lucky, isn't it!"

"Lucky indeed, huh,"

Draco Malfoy listened to his account, his expression gradually becoming grave and gloomy.

"You seem to think I was cheating, don't you?"

Harry was annoyed by the expression on Draco's face and subconsciously asked him after finishing speaking.

"Yes, you didn't actually have the confidence to complete that, did you?"

Draco raised his eyebrows, his face cold and his tone stiff.

"I thought you had matured a bit. You could have caused a disaster, right? Most importantly, it's been so long since the start of school. If I hadn't asked you, how long were you planning to hide it from us? The professor probably doesn't know about those strange notes, does he?"

"I just borrowed some different operating methods. It's not a big deal."

Harry waved his hand impatiently, seemingly not intending to continue discussing the topic.

"What's wrong, Draco? Are you planning to expose me to Professor Snape? Go ahead, then. That way, you can help Elena solidify her position at the top again, right? Would you do that?"

"You know I wouldn't do that—"

Draco Malfoy's pale face flushed slightly, and he said in a cold voice.

"It's just that I'm worried about something else now, Harry... So, you've been following the instructions of a stranger for the past month? The strange, unverified notes that appeared in the notebook?"

He seemed anxious and angry.

Harry didn't know what he had encountered this semester, so naturally, he didn't understand the worries in his heart.

Every Thursday night, Draco Malfoy had to go to a mysterious room in Hogwarts, under the protection of some of the most elite wizards in the current magical world, cautiously writing in a magical diary – if necessary, Draco would even enter Voldemort's memories as a young man to analyze and complete some assigned experimental tasks.

"Listen, Harry, you must be wary of those unfamiliar magic books in the magical world..."

Draco Malfoy thought for a few seconds and said with utmost seriousness.

"For example, the most famous cursed book, *The Wizard's Fourteeners*. Anyone who has read that book can only speak in five-line doggerel for the rest of their lives. Some books might directly burn out your eyes, some books contain evil spirits, and some might even take your body and soul..."

"It's nothing, Draco. It's just an old textbook that someone scribbled on. It doesn't have any magical power."

Harry suspiciously glanced at his friend, who was suddenly a little nervous, and shrugged uncomfortably.

"Besides, I've already been reading it for a month. Moreover, I only tried a few tips written in the blank spaces in the book. To be honest, Draco, Professor Snape also mentioned some of the content during class, so there's nothing strange about it—"

"Draco has a point."

Just then, Hermione's voice came from their ears.

"Perhaps we should check if there's anything wrong with it. I mean, it doesn't make sense, right? If this is really a Potions Master's textbook from when they were in school, then why haven't we seen the corresponding works in bookstores?"

"Then, inferring from the results, there are only three possibilities..."

Hermione Granger raised her fingers and confidently ticked them off.

"That wizard died before they could become famous, that wizard fell and became a Dark Wizard, or that wizard's theory had a fatal flaw, so that they ultimately failed to become famous—"

"In any case, let's try it first and see."

"Hey!"

Harry protested angrily. Before he could react, Draco grabbed the book *Magical Drafts and Potions* from Harry's bag, raised his wand, and chanted like he was holding a sharp dagger.

"Aparecium! Reparifarge!"

Draco neatly tapped the cover and solemnly recited.

This was a little trick Professor Gilderoy Lockhart had taught him. This spell can effectively detect disguises.

"Just like hunting in the forest, if a Dark Wizard intends to lure others, then they must have applied a disguise to the magic book. Perhaps this spell can't break the curse, but it can trigger the corresponding magical fluctuations."

Nothing happened.

The textbook was still a textbook, old, dirty, with curled corners.

"Oh, Draco, that's not nearly enough..."

Hermione Granger seemed to suddenly become interested, pulled out her wand, and tapped it as well.

"Finite Incantatem! Reveal Your Secrets! Verminculus! Depulso! Super Small Bangy!"

Still nothing happened.

Even in the face of Hermione's ultra-small dose of Explosion Charm, the old cover didn't show any magical phenomena that people were expecting, except for a small, shallow pit – which made Elena, who was watching the fun from behind, a little disappointed.

"Are you done?" Harry asked angrily, "Are you still waiting to see if it will do a few backflips?"

"Looks like there's no problem," Draco Malfoy still stared at the textbook suspiciously, and said, "I mean, it really looks... like just a normal, old textbook with some strange notes written in it."

"Very well, then I'll take it back."

Harry said, preparing to reach out and snatch the textbook back from Draco Malfoy.

However, the textbook did not return to his hand.

The old textbook suddenly shook, flapping like a bird in the air, and finally stopped on the last page of the back cover. They saw a few lines of small, dense handwriting at the bottom of the back cover.

It was exactly the same as the messy, small handwriting in the blank spaces of the textbook.

"This book belongs to the Half-Blood Prince"

……

"So that's how it is, this book is also written by the Half-Blood Prince?"

Elena reached out and waved, saying softly in a rather strange tone.

In the next moment, the old textbook hanging in the air fell into her hands like a swallow returning to its nest. Since activating her Veela magical bloodline, she had become very proficient in this most basic non-verbal Accio spell.

For simple, lightweight small objects like books, she could easily manipulate them at such a close distance.

If it were at any other time, this magical skill without any fanfare would surely attract many envious eyes.

However, at this special moment, the attention of the three little wizards present was all focused on the girl's words.

"Wait! A-Also?"

"Do you know who this is?"

"The Half-Blood Prince?"

Hermione, Draco, and Harry reacted quickly and asked in unison.

"Unfortunately, not completely. I just happened to have seen another one—"

Elena tapped the old textbook, which looked a bit old, with a look of interest in her eyes.

I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it...

I never expected that the esteemed Professor Snape would have the skill of "antique forgery".

This did surprise Elena a bit, but upon closer examination, it wasn't impossible. After all, the potion brewing process was originally a meticulous job, and the relationship between antique forgery and potions was also quite close.

Of course, as a kind-hearted "prophet," she wouldn't be so bad as to directly reveal the answer.

"Um, let me think... Ah, that's right, I remember!"

Elena pretended to think hard for a few seconds, and gently patted her forehead.

"Harry, do you remember I told you before that I saw a record about your mother in a book? The title of that book seemed to have the words Half-Blood Prince on it... But I don't remember exactly where I put it..."

"Eh! That's right, I remember now, Big Sister Elena, you seemed to have said that before!"

Harry Potter was slightly stunned, and his eyes quickly brightened.

"Big Sister Elena, do you think, do you think..."

He glanced at the old textbook with some excitement, and an idea began to surge uncontrollably.

"What I want to say is, do you think the author of this book could be my dad?! Mr. Hagrid said that my parents were very excellent when they were in Hogwarts, and the Half-Blood Prince knew my mom, so if that's the case..."

"Perhaps, but I suggest you don't rush to recognize your dad. It's not good."

Elena twitched the corner of her mouth and glanced at Harry helplessly.

This kid's imagination is really terrible. James Potter would definitely beat this unfilial son to death if he were still alive.

Wait—

It seems like we can make things even more interesting—

Just as Elena subconsciously prepared to deny it, the little demon soul in her mind suddenly started dancing.

If Lily's son starts calling the "Half-Blood Prince" dad, would the cold-faced, warm-hearted, and conscientious Prince decide to agree or not? Should he deny it directly or not?

This seems like a very subtle and very exciting question!

"So, why not just ask Professor Snape directly?"

Elena's voice suddenly became excited, and her eyes sparkled with eagerness.

Just right, on the other hand, she could also observe the arrangement of the "Half-Blood Prince" himself for this matter up close – these things were too strange and too weird. There must be something very interesting in it.

"Eh?! Go directly to ask Professor Snape?!"

Harry was slightly startled and glanced at the old textbook with some reluctance.

In the past month, he had unswervingly followed the advice in this "Potions Secret Manual" to operate.

And from the current results, with the help of the operation guide and his hard work, he might even have a chance to shake the dominance of the Elena and Hermione combination – even if there was borrowing involved, the final operation was ultimately completed by him personally.

"Don't worry, I won't be jealous of your notebook. It is destined to be yours."

As if guessing Harry's thoughts, Elena glanced at the little boy meaningfully.

"I'm just very curious, well, just like you. And I don't think Professor Snape will scold you. He's the one who asked you to choose it in the first place. Honesty and frankness should not be blamed. This is a very valuable courage and quality."

"On the other hand, since you can't be 100% sure that the content of this book is correct for the time being, why not just ask the professor and ask for the professor's opinion? If there are not too many mistakes, and it really helps your study, I think the professor might even allow you to keep this book as extracurricular reading material... What do you say?"

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Yay!