Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Library Conversation (Part 1)
In the next few days, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to worry, they discovered that Quirrell was much braver than they had imagined.
Although they noticed that Quirrell appeared significantly paler and thinner, he didn't seem to be broken by Snape.
Every day after class, Harry, Hermione, and Ron would press their ears to the door while passing through the corridor on the fourth floor, listening carefully to see if Lu Wei's low, roaring voice could be heard inside.
To the relief of the three, Fluffy didn't have any accidents, and even Snape roamed the school each day, displaying an extremely irritable demeanor. It seemed that the Philosopher's Stone was still safe from Snape's grasp.
Perhaps it was because Quirrell, who directly faced Snape, felt tremendous pressure every day. As a result, whenever Harry, Ron, or even Hermione saw each other, they would smile encouragingly.
Ron even began to persuade other young wizards to stop mocking Quirrell's stuttering.
Of course, unlike Ron and Harry, Hermione, being a top student, had more on her plate. In addition to focusing on the Philosopher's Stone, she spent most of her time devising review plans.
To be honest, Eisen was puzzled as to why Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. Could it be that her bravery (adventurous spirit) was more prominent?
However, Harry and Ron couldn't care less when they saw Hermione color-coding all her notebooks.
Yes, in Ron and Harry's sense of time, there was still a long way to go before the exam. But for Hermione, it was only ten weeks away.
After all, the school had a rule stating that a first-year wizard must pass the exams for the courses they had taken before being promoted to the second year. Therefore, reviewing was extremely important for Hermione.
Hermione had a heated argument with Ron about this. Unfortunately for Ron and Harry, the teachers sided with Hermione, assigning them so much homework that they spent a considerable amount of time complaining.
Eisen sympathized with what the young wizards were going through, so he showed mercy and didn't assign much homework, only asking them to review what they had learned previously.
After all, Eisen was just a professor of astronomy, and his courses mostly counted as elective credits for students. Therefore, he didn't want to overwhelm them.
"It's terrible. I should have started reviewing a month ago. I don't know what's happened to me..." In the library, Hermione frowned, showing an annoyed expression.
"Look, Harry, Hermione is nagging again!" Ron rolled his eyes, winking at Harry beside him.
Soon, it would be time for the Easter holidays. But for the trio, this holiday was far less joyous than the Christmas break. After all, they were bogged down with tons of homework assigned by their professors.
As a result, Hermione, being a top student, devoted all her time to reviewing. She either recited potion-related knowledge or practiced wand movements daily. Harry and Ron had no choice but to spend most of their spare time in the library alongside Hermione.
While Harry and Ron often yawned, there was always more homework to be done, so they had to keep working hard.
That afternoon, while Eisen was studying ancient runes in the library, he was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the trio. Yes, to learn more about alchemy, Eisen had begun dabbling in ancient runes and potions.
However, despite making some progress recently, he still struggled to translate the knowledge he had acquired into a solid foundation. The reason Eisen devoted time to this was to delve deeper into the art of crafting magical items.
So far, Eisen had stored several supernatural properties in his possession.
But whether it was spellcasting characteristics or other traits, they were all excellent.
During this time, Eisen had speculated whether this was a grade—whether a magic item with a higher grade could reproduce extraordinary characteristics.
If Eisen could engrave a higher-level extraordinary characteristic from the next accessible Philosopher's Stone, it would be a significant breakthrough.
Even though Eisen had no way to confirm this conclusion now, he had already formulated a hypothesis and planned to explore it further. What if he could eventually refine the Philosopher's Stone himself?
"Why don't you quickly review your homework and come see me?" Observing Hermione's slight pride and Harry and Ron's annoyed expressions, Eisen felt a bit of a headache. At this moment, he was merely a passerby; why had they found him here?
"Professor Eisen, we can't remember any of this. What can you do?" Ron and Harry exchanged glances, placing "A Thousand Miraculous Herbs and Mushrooms" in front of Eisen.
Seeing this, Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"You mean you want me to help you?" Eisen was taken aback by Harry's statement.
"Yes, Professor Eisen, we think you can help us," Ron nodded, winking at Eisen in a way that seemed humorous.
Eisen paused for a moment, then noticed Hermione suppressing a smile behind the two, realizing they were likely joking. However, with their personalities, how could they suddenly backtrack like this?
"Well, I do know a way to make it easier for you to review!" After contemplating for a moment, Eisen decided not to call them out and instead said something intriguing.
"Ah, Professor Eisen, can you really help us?" Ron, who had initially lost hope, suddenly became interested upon hearing Eisen's words. He immediately asked impatiently, while Harry and Hermione stared at Eisen in surprise.
However, Eisen simply smiled and nodded without answering. He indeed knew some methods, but for them, it was likely that they wouldn't be able to apply them.
If they found they couldn't use them after he explained, it might lead to an even greater blow to their morale!
"What's the solution, Eisen? Don't leave us hanging!" Seeing Eisen's demeanor, Ron grew anxious.
"I know of three methods." Since they had come to jest at his expense, Eisen figured it wouldn't hurt to share. With that thought, he held up three fingers.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, surprise etched on their faces. Even Hermione was curious about the three ways Eisen could help them review.
"The first method—do you know about the Felix Felicis potion?" As he spoke, Eisen deliberately lowered his voice and glanced around to ensure no one else could hear.
"Felix Felicis? What's that?" The group looked at each other, and finally, Hermione, who was the most curious, asked.
"A very difficult potion; consuming it can bring good luck for the entire day, making everything feel effortless," Eisen explained slowly.
To be honest, the Felix Felicis potion, which adds a stroke of luck to people, is indeed a game-changing potion. However, it's unfortunate that brewing it is extremely challenging and can take several months, with no room for errors in the steps, or else it will fail.
"But I don't think you can use it because not only is it difficult to brew, but it also takes an incredibly long time—almost six months." Before the others could show their excited expressions, Eisen promptly pointed out the potion's drawback.