HP Nocturne and Evening Bell

Chapter No.17

The briar has been burning all summer, and the tiny vines in the corner of the wall climb up the wall silently. When the breeze blows, green waves ripple on the dark red wall.White lily-of-the-valleys were scattered on the grass, and a green snake slid past, shaking the petals slightly.The big cat Sillet squatted on the roof and closed her bright eyes.The yelling of the newsboy on the street corner could not break the peaceful atmosphere. The weather was hot, and there was a simple stool under the big tree. Hermione was holding a thick book, thinking about how to translate the following passage.

"Hermione." A voice hovering under the Shuiqinggang tree sounded.

"Tom." Hermione didn't turn her head.The hot weather made her a little sleepy, and the energy consumed to maintain the temperature by magic was too great. Taking advantage of the cool breeze today, she moved her work outside.

"Are you okay?" The voice finally got closer.

"I'm still thinking about how to translate this passage."

Tom stood beside him at last.

"Tom, why are you still wearing such thick clothes!" Tom was still wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, and he even put on a black robe.

"I'm not hot."

"Okay, this is at home, you don't have to dress so formally."

"I'm really not hot." Tom looked Hermione up and down. She was wearing a long short-sleeved dress with a white skirt that just reached her knees. He even saw a scar on Hermione's calf.

"You look too short."

"Is it short? This is my longest skirt. I don't have many skirts. It's more comfortable to wear pants."

"Pants! But I've never seen a girl in trousers."

Merlin, she almost forgot that this was the 30s, and women weren't allowed to wear trousers until the end of World War II, even though that was considered deviant.Oh the damn 30s!

"It's okay in the wizarding world." She decided to trick the boy in front of her.

Tom was still staring suspiciously at Hermione's face, as if pondering the truth of the statement.

"You'd better not wear it so short in the future, it's too revealing."

"I don't think it's revealing. Have you ever seen shorts that show off your thighs? It's more comfortable to wear in summer."

"No!" Tom seemed a little angry. He frowned, not knowing how to form words, "Do you want Mrs. Watson to faint? Do you want Virgil to stare at you and whistle?"

"What does this Jill have to do with it? Is it that serious?" Hermione thought that she might have underestimated the level of conservatism 60 years ago. Think about it, women have had the right to vote for only a dozen years. At this time, the magic world, There hasn't been a female magician yet.

"Okay." Hermione finally sighed.She brushed her long, curly hair back to cool her neck.

Tom beside him was a little stiff, and Hermione looked up at him: "What's wrong?"

Tom came over silently.

"What happened?" Hermione panicked.

Tom leaned close to Hermione's neck, lowered his head and remained motionless. After a pause, he finally got up and stood up straight: "Hermione, have you ever had a magic tattoo?"

"what?"

"On the back of your neck near your shoulders, there is a black magic mark. Is it a tattoo?"

"Tattoos? I've never had a tattoo." Hermione twisted her neck with difficulty, trying to see the tattoo Tom pointed out, but saw nothing.

"No, I didn't see anything."

"But I did see a black tattoo that moved and seemed to be breathing."

Tom's description reminded Hermione of the Dark Mark, and she couldn't help but queasy.

"Describe it in more detail."

Tom approached Hermione's neck again, the black hair brushed to the forehead fell silently, his black eyes were crystal clear, and his shallow breathing was close at hand.Hermione didn't move, allowing Tom to examine it carefully.I don't know how long it took, but Tom finally slowly expressed his conclusion: "A round mark, a black sphinx with S-shaped patterns wrapped around its body, and a faint watermark behind them, much like the letter G. "

"Sphinx?"

"I saw the introduction in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

"Does the sphinx have an S on its head too?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"That's the crest of House Sethlak."

"Cesslak is..." Tom didn't continue to ask in the end, he noticed that Hermione's face had changed into a panic expression, the book in her hand had already slipped to the ground, and her hands unconsciously rubbed the corners of her crumpled skirt .It was the first time Tom saw Hermione's expression like this. She seemed to have gone out of her body, leaving only an empty shell, and she was about to float away at any time.

Tom gripped Hermione's hand suddenly.Infected by the cold breath on her hand, Hermione got out of the chaotic state, and she smiled at Tom comfortingly: "I'm fine, I think I'm going to the study."

Looking at Hermione's flamboyant back, Tom engraved the name Seslak deeply in his mind.

Hermione, who almost ran as soon as she walked, rushed into the study all the way. She took down the package placed on the top of the bookshelf, and tremblingly untied the knot on the package.A black booklet lay quietly in the package. The booklet was dilapidated and a few pages had already been lost. The yellow pages were full of strange symbols and were scrawled.This is the only information about Seslak that Hermione got from the Bojin shop. The legendary descendants of Seslak suddenly disappeared. This booklet is in the corner of the cabinet, showing traces of the owner.

"Miss G, I don't think you did this?" Mr. Bokin looked suspiciously at Hermione's wide black cloak and the face hidden in the shadows.

"Do you think I need to buy through you then? I look so stupid?" Hermione said emphatically.

"Of course, miss, I made a mistake. This is the booklet we found. I can't guarantee that there is any key information in it, but I can be sure that this is not the diary that records secrets. It is said that there is a diary in that diary. The incantations and engravings unique to the Seslak family, but this booklet looks very ordinary. I only know the text on this booklet is a tribal language in the Mesopotamian Plateau, but I don’t know much about it. Not too many, I'm afraid I can't help you decipher it, I'm sorry, please keep this booklet carefully, I believe it will help you in the future."

Mr. Bokin's dignified words were like a boulder pressing on Hermione, and she could guess the tragedy of the scene.Who on earth is also looking for the secret of returning to life through time and space?Is her every move being watched?The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, she secretly apparated to explore the Mesopotamian plains several times, and finally found the same symbol on the hanging garden temple in ancient Babylon.She struggled to decipher the meaning of the symbols, but she was still at a loss. She only knew that this booklet roughly told about the black magic that the Seslak family was good at devouring life. They exchanged life for life, and exchanged the eternal imprisonment of the soul for irreversible changes.However, how the spell works, and what price will be paid by the caster and the caster, she is still completely unable to decipher.What impressed her most in the whole book was the huge Seslak family crest on the back cover. The weird sphinx and the mysterious Gothic letter S echoed each other, like lives co-existing, examining the souls of prying eyes.But now, this strange family emblem appeared on her body.

The history of the ancient Seslak family is not glorious. This family is rich in all kinds of lunatics and strange legends. The alchemist Seslak is the 140th generation of the Seslak family. His enduring affection for his wife and the secret of the island's lightning night.

When looking up the information, Hermione just had a glimmer of hope, but she didn't expect to have a tattoo of the Seslak family crest on her body, and only Tom could see it!What kind of role did this emblem full of black magic power play?It was no accident that she met Tom through 60 years of time. Perhaps the Dark Lord was the unavoidable reason why she came here.

It seemed that she couldn't give up the clue of Seslak.The booklet in front of her eyes seemed to be on fire, it was astonishingly hot, Hermione let go, and found that someone had cast a tracking spell on the booklet.Fortunately, she had protected the house with magic and cast a confusion spell. She resolutely broke the tracking spell on the booklet, and wisely did not reverse the tracking spell. Now revealing her location is tantamount to taking the bait. She still has a chance to find out everything in the future.

Gently stroking the invisible tattoo, Hermione decided not to tell Tom too much, she knew that with his ability to seek knowledge, he would know all this eventually, and her identity would be revealed one day.And when that day comes, it may be his own death.

She cast a lot of spells to hide the dilapidated booklet. At least in the study, Tom couldn't find any useful clues for the time being.Stretching her wrinkled cotton skirt, Hermione couldn't help laughing when she thought of Tom's theory about clothes, forget it, there is no need to panic, she is not a blind person waiting to die, not to mention that the clues are gradually becoming clear between chance and chance .

She simply tied up her long disheveled hair, and went downstairs to greet Tom who was leaning on the door frame: "Tom, are you hungry? How about having Yorkshire pudding today? I just learned it."

Seeing that Hermione had completely returned to her usual indifferent appearance, Tom finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, his doubts grew. A Muggle-born witch, why does she have the mark of a pure-blood family?According to his understanding, some ancient families would tattoo their family crests on the wives of the family to show their identity and belonging. Does Hermione have a fiancé from the Seslak family?Thinking of this possibility, Tom narrowed his eyes.