HP's Foreign Land

Mrs. Vitrenko, the librarian of Durmstrang College, looked down at the pointer on the silver watch hanging on her chest. Whenever she did so, Heimdall felt inexplicably nervous, although he There has never been a bad record such as crumpled books that can only be found with a magnifying glass or delayed return deadlines.

Perhaps, Heimdall guessed, most of it was down to the lady's stern smile and the deep crease carved between her brows, which, even if Madam Vitrenko was not displeased, still suggested impatience.Like Heimdall, many students at the German School cannot get rid of this illusion of being at a loss.

"I have been notified by the principal." Mrs. Vitrenko took out Karkarov's authorization letter, and showed the signature at the bottom before Heimdall's eyes.

"Come with me when you're ready."

Mrs. Vitrenko turned around and walked forward without hesitation. Heimdall thought that she didn't intend to give himself time to "prepare". What's even more wonderful was that he didn't know what to prepare.

Heimdall touched his nose and followed quickly.As I walked, I thought about it. This time, the application for the use of the sages' room feels a bit rushed to the shelves.Too hasty, he judged.It seems that they don't know anything yet, but they are pushed to this point by the people who are more excited than the parties involved. What makes people laugh is that there are still a bunch of dead people waiting to watch the excitement...

From their conversation, Heimdall noticed that they didn't think he would succeed, and they took this result for granted, which invisibly added some pressure to his already vague concept.

After the application was submitted, the idea of ​​giving up occasionally flashed through Heimdall's mind. Considering that there would be no loss if he failed—at most, he would be talked about by the portraits who liked to gossip for a few days—he tried to repel the idea.

"Don't run!" Mrs. Vitrenko successfully stopped two second-year students who tried to use the library as a playground, and led Heimdall through the serpentine passage and climbed the cascading stairs while the surrounding students watched silently. .The library of the German school is like a four-story birthday cake. The highest floor is also the smallest floor. There are no bookshelves here, and it is usually not open to the public. Students can only stop at the third floor.

Today, Heimdall is an exception.

With a sense of novelty, Chief Strulusong climbed onto the wooden railing and looked down excitedly. The railing trembled strangely under his hands.Heimdall retracted his hands in surprise, and the carved reptiles on the railing that seemed ready to move due to the long-lost wizard's touch gradually subsided.

The students who walk into the library are not necessarily for the purpose of studying. There are always a few people who fish in troubled waters and put on a show. attention of such students.

They pointed curiously, and even called Heimdall's name to inquire about the situation, but were soon severely suppressed by Mrs. Vitrenko.

No noise is allowed in the library.

Everyone tucked their tails like they saw a cat or a mouse, and shrank behind the bookshelves, pretending to be busy.

Mrs. Vitrenko led him to a door with a beautiful horseshoe-shaped arch. The old black wooden door shone with oily luster under the reflection of the candles on both sides.Mrs. Vitrenko glanced around vigilantly, and then, she took out her wand and waved it lightly at the position where the door lock should be - Heimdall couldn't hear the specific reading - and the door creaked open.

It was only later that Heimdall saw that the door had no lock.

Madame Vitrenko turned her head to signal him, Heimdall stepped forward, and the door closed behind them.

Books of various colors and styles danced around them...Leaving aside unrealistic descriptions, to be precise, they were just a little plainly placed on the surrounding shelves.The tall and smooth dome is painted with exquisite oil paint, vividly recreating historical moments, and the white walls are nailed with scattered partitions, and the partitions are piled with books of various colors, which he has never seen before.

His eyes fell on the one closest to him, and he regretted that he couldn't read the words on the spine, so he couldn't understand the specific content of this dazzling book that was constantly falling with gold dust.

"Don't waste your time, they can't be read." Mrs. Vitrenko's voice sounded ahead, and Heimdall found her standing in front of a huge oil painting.

The main body of the oil painting is Durmstrang Castle, which he is familiar with, but the things painted around the castle made Heimdall frowned, secretly despising the painter's whimsy, there are no such wonderful animals and plants around the German school, There are only eternally frozen black mountains and never-melting white snow.In other words, here is a hell of life in another sense.

Maybe the painter just wanted to show Durmstrang in fantasy?Mr. Stulusson, an art layman, tried to interpret this lifelike painting. Unfortunately, he is not Victor. Apart from lamenting that he is a good painter, he has no way to analyze the inner world of the author through brushstrokes.

Chief Sturlusson struggled for a second and chose to give up.

Thinking of Mrs. Vitrenko's hint, Heimdall walked towards her and said in awe, "I can't even read the cover of those books."

Mrs. Vitrenko gave him a puzzling look, "They can't be read, there are no words in them."

What? !

A smile slipped across Mrs. Vitrenko's face, "These are all ostentatious decorative books. Wizards sincerely praise their flashy appearance. Decorating walls is their existence value. You can order them from ordinary household goods stores. Do not you know?!"

Heimdall took a moment to shut himself up. "I know about decorating books, but I didn't expect our library to use them."

Mrs. Vitrenko made that look that made one want to go crazy again, but fortunately she mercifully avoided the topic that made him burrow into the ground.

Under the signal of Mrs. Vitrenko, Heimdall handed over the application for the use of the Sage Room signed by the principal. After taking it, the wife carefully read it from beginning to end.Although such caution is completely unnecessary, it indirectly reflects the attitude of the German School to the opening of the Sage Room and the importance of the Sage Room to the German School.Heimdall swallowed, and the mood that had just eased up again.

Mrs. Vitrenko raised her right hand and waved her magic wand lightly under the headmaster's signature column. A line of words, like a new continent emerging from water, gradually took shape on the paper, slowly becoming clear, until it turned into the color of flames.

"This is the password." Mrs. Vitrenko handed the line to Heimdall.

Heimdall glanced at it and understood something instantly. He approached the large-scale Durmstrang landscape painting with a fictional theme, stood still and said clearly: "Everything is vanity."

The thick black like ink swirls and spreads up like a rising tide, covering the entire painting in a blink of an eye, leaving a wide and big black hole, and unknown things are looming in the depth of the hole.Heimdall looked hesitantly for a while, then looked back at Mrs. Vitrenko.

"I can't go in, I can only accompany you here, but I will wait here for you to come out." The rigid Mrs. Vitrenko showed an encouraging smile. "Good luck, kid."

The backside of the painting was pitch black as expected, and Heimdall didn't dare to move rashly, but his eyes wandered around, hoping to let his eyes adapt to the current environment as soon as possible.When he found a faint reflection hidden in the dark ink, and guessed that there might be something in this room, there was a soft popping sound above his head, and the bright light came unexpectedly in the next second. Unprepared, Heimdall hurried close your eyes.

After squinting for a while to adapt, Heimdall opened his eyes, and immediately, he was stunned by the densely packed paintings of all sizes.Overhead, the depths of the ceiling were pitch black, and the top seemed far away from the ground.Strange rustling sounds came intermittently from the depths of the darkness, as if there was something lingering, but Heimdall's intuition told him that there was no danger here.

[Oh, living person, I haven't seen a living person for many years. 】

is Russian.

Heimdall looked around, and found that the person who was talking to him was hanging on the wall directly opposite, and when he raised his eyes, his eyes met.

It was a middle-aged man with a big beard, wearing a black leather hat on his head, and a wizard robe on his body that looked very elegant and very old, with a string of strangely shaped white necklaces around his neck.The middle-aged man looked at him kindly, and Heimdall got encouragement from such eyes.

"Hello." Heimdall was very respectful. No matter what, he must be older than himself. "I'm Heimdall Sturlusson in the fifth grade. I want to apply for the right to use the Sage Room, and I'm here for review. Excuse me, what should I do? I don't even know who is reviewing me." Katenen said at the time The professor just told him that he would know when he came in, and Mrs. Vitrenko said the same. Heimdall is still confused.

The middle-aged man laughed, 【Do they still like to play tricks so much? 】

Heimdall laughed along, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this gentleman knew, and he didn't seem to object to telling himself.

[Simply speaking, auditing is to report passwords. ] The laughter stopped, and the middle-aged bearded man did answer Heimdall's questions as Heimdall hoped. [Starting from this room, there are a total of six doors blocking your way, each door requires a password, and six doors have six passwords.If the six passwords are completely correct, your goal has been achieved. 】 "The room of the sages is arranged behind the six gates?"

[Yes, the Sage Room will be opened for you. 】

"Where is the door? What about the password? You won't let me imagine it?"

【I am the first 'door' blocking your way. 】The bearded uncle embraced his chest in leisurely manner. [It is also your first reviewer. ] Heimdall immediately stood up straight, "...can I have the honor to know your name?"

The bearded uncle thought it was very interesting that he suddenly puffed out his chest and retracted his abdomen, as if he was facing a big enemy, so he said with a smile: "Rurik Bogolyubsky."

Heimdall was stunned, and then gasped, Rurik the red beard, one of the six founders of the school? !Being honored as one of the six sages... He said the six passwords of the Six Gates earlier, could it be the six sages who examined him?

"You and your five companions are responsible for examining me, aren't you?" Heimdall carefully asked for confirmation.

【I'm glad you figured it out right away. ] Rurik was pleased with his alertness.

Heimdall's cheeks twitched, "No wonder the principals don't like me..." No wonder Principal Beto didn't pass.

[You are the first fifth-grade applicant we have encountered in so many years. ] Rurik didn't mind pushing him again.

In other words, he is a [-] who dared to break through the level in fifth grade, Heimdall burst into tears.

"Is the audit difficult?" Heimdall couldn't imagine what kind of audit he would be subjected to. He hoped that the hardest would not exceed NEWT, and it would be best to reach the level of OWLs, but reality never let him do so.

Rurik's beard trembled, 【You are also the first person to ask this question. 】

Heimdall looked at him expectantly, but the latter just pushed him to the bubbling cauldron next to him.

According to Heimdall's visual inspection, the room is about ten square meters, and all of them are covered with oil paintings. He saw a few of them and found that these oil paintings kept repeating a certain scene, either vigorous, bloody, or sad. He reappeared before his eyes, some of which he had seen in history of magic textbooks.On the right side of the room stood a cauldron, which was the largest pot for boiling potions that Heimdall had seen since working in the cauldron shop in Diagon Alley.

This pot is estimated to be quite old, eight or nine out of ten are older than his age, and its wall thickness, depth and other dimensions obviously do not meet today's international standards.

The firewood flickering red under the pot was ignited with a clang, and there was the sound of water gurgling in the pot.

Heimdall approached the cauldron and looked into the cauldron. Just as his eyes touched the rippling water surface, a shrill cry sounded, "Don't step on my feet!" The frightened Heimdall twitched back.

It was one of the pot's feet that made the loud noise. There were three of them, which circled the bottom of the pot and were part of the pot.This pot foot looks like a Cornell elf, which is uglier than a British elf from a human point of view; it wears a pointed hat similar to a wizard hat, an inverted triangular face, and a big and long hooked nose. , deep eye sockets, big eyes, a typical bad guy face; wearing a short jacket, wearing a thick belt, staring at a pair of high boots under his feet, staring at Heimdall's dissatisfied one.

"Sorry, I didn't pay attention."

"Damn wizards, they never pay attention to their feet!" Pot Foot was still cursing.

One of its companions made a different noise, the one facing east said, "Nonsense! Didn't step on you at all!"

"How do you grow your eyes, you can see this direction?! How do you know you didn't step on it! Wizards like to lie!"

"You're just an idiot, don't be so cynical!"

"Can't Guojiao be cynical?!"

"Stop arguing, I'm so annoying." The third pot foot wanted to calm things down, um, Ning Jiao.

"We haven't found a reason to quarrel for so many years, don't hinder us!" The other two said in unison.

Heimdall thinks these quarrels are funny, but it is not his purpose to come here to watch the quarrels. He is trying to attract attention.

"What do I need to do next?"

The three pot feet stopped making noise.

"Choose a book." The last peacemaker said.

Heimdall looked around, "Where are the books?"

The weird rustling sound from overhead that he had almost ignored suddenly became coherent and clear, and then, a large number of things flew down from the distant darkness. At first he thought it was bats, but after they fell into the bright background he realized You can clearly see that there are a huge number of books swooping down.

They slapped their respective covers around Heimdall, as if luring Heimdall to choose themselves.

"What should I do?" Heimdall asked.

[Choose whatever you want. 】A certain sage said.

Heimdall looked around in a daze, and stretched out his hand to hold a book with a purple cover. At the moment he selected, other books jumped up at the same time, like a dark cloud flashed before his eyes, and returned to the book. The dark depths overhead continued to lurk.

[After you have chosen, throw the book into the pot, and your first assessment question will appear. ] Heimdall couldn't laugh or cry, it turned out to be such a joke.

"Hey, kid, I know what you're thinking, but luck is also a component of strength." Guo Jiao said to him. "All the topics here are derived from Rurik's wisdom. There is no distinction between high and low knowledge."

Having been taught a lesson by a pot foot, Heimdall found himself unable to refute, sadly.

"Sorry." He threw the book in his hand into the cauldron.

Heimdall belatedly thinks about the possible meanings of the surrounding paintings, the reappearance of history, is this level a test about the history of magic?If the guess is correct, the six sages are six different types of exams?

"Oh oh oh oh, here comes your topic!" Maybe it's really been a long time since I haven't worked, and the three pot feet are very excited.

Purple-red lines rose slowly from the water, and slowly formed a paragraph above the water surface. Heimdall looked at those words obsessively, and after a while, he surrendered, "I don't understand."

The pot feet laughed.

Heimdall was furious, "I mean I can't read the language!"

The pot feet laughed even louder.

Chief Sturlusson was very sad and angry.

【Stop teasing this kid. 】As soon as the boss spoke, the pot feet really settled down.

The words on the water turned into Russian that he could understand.Heimdall wondered if that was the language of the legendary Kievan Rus.

Heimdall cheered up and looked at the exam questions——

From 892 AD to 997 AD, a large-scale century-old war between giants and giant monsters broke out in Eastern Europe. Because of this battle, the largest giant colony in Eastern Europe collapsed.

Please name the three leaders who led the giant tribe to fight at that time.

"You're in luck." The pot feet seemed to think the question was simple.

Heimdall exhaled, NND, I knew it was not that simple, it was completely beyond his existing knowledge, and also beyond the scope of textbooks.A week ago, he had no choice but to give up on this question. At that time, he only knew that there was a self-mutilation war fought by giants themselves in the last century, and he really didn't understand the battle between two giants.

But, who let him have a good pen pal!Merlin, you really didn't give up on me, even if I immigrated to Iceland, you still love me!

Director Sturluson was very happy. He had a discussion with his pen pal last week about the strange lifestyle of trolls. In fact, it was the pen pal who told him that he had to keep his mouth shut and read it, but he benefited a lot from it. , voila, now it's time to use it.

"Little face is flushed, she doesn't look depressed, but happy." A pot foot revealed deeply.

Without further ado, Chief Stulusson quickly walked up to the sage and announced the pass code.