Chapter 88 What Merlin left behind and what others transformed
Among Dumbledore's many honors, one is that of a first-class wizard in the Order of Merlin. The medal with the green ribbon is placed on the shelf in the principal's office.
Many people have seen this medal. There is a big "M" in the middle of the medal, which is very similar to the one on the lady's necklace pendant in the oil painting.
Charles observed the lady curiously from the sidelines, thinking that it would not be strange for Merlin's heirs to include women.
The lady in the oil painting smiled slightly, shook her head and replied: "Although I have studied with Teacher Merlin, I am still not good enough to inherit the title of Merlin."
Then she held up the necklace pendant hanging on her chest, took a look at it, and said with nostalgia: "Although I failed to inherit Merlin, Teacher Merlin gave this necklace to me, which represents his recognition of me."<
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Finally, she asked Dumbledore: "What year is it now? I wonder if this necklace is still there."
Dumbledore replied: "It is now 1992. I have seen this necklace at Nico Flamel's home. It is well preserved."
The oil painting lady was stunned for a moment, and then asked Dumbledore happily: "Did Nick Jr. make the Sorcerer's Stone?"
Everyone present felt a little strange. Everyone knew that Nico Flamel was over 600 years old this year. The lady called him "Little Nick" and did not react for a while.
Seeing that the other person was an acquaintance, Dumbledore told all about his acquaintance and cooperation with Nicolas Flamel. He also vaguely said that he planned to end his own life, but hid the matter about the Philosopher's Stone. The painting lady understood what Dumbledore meant and said calmly: "This is all his choice."
She continued: "You must be curious to know where this place is. This was originally a place where the inheritance of the Merlins of the past generations was stored. Many years ago, the knowledge of the Merlins of the past generations had lagged behind. The last Merlin and I saved some of the things that were still useful.
The things were taken outside and made into Merlin's Trial, and later we left England together."
"At the end of my life, I thought that the objects protected by the Merlins of the past generations still have some historical value, so I let my portrait wait for explorers."
"You are the third person to come here in so many years."
"The first explorer who came here transformed this place into a very hot place. He told me that since Merlin's inheritance has fallen behind, it might as well transform this place into a final trial for young people, and then erased it.
Most of my memories of this man."
"The second person who came here was a Slytherin student. He seemed to be looking for a way to fix something. When he came, he had great expectations for Merlin's inheritance, but there was nothing he wanted here.
So he got so angry that he almost broke me."
When Charles heard this, he thought that the entrance to the passage must have been collapsed by this grumpy old man. Judging from the collapse, it was probably many years earlier than Voldemort.
Others thought they were taking a history of magic class, but this lady's lecture did not have a hypnotic effect.
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. When he was young, he heard people mention Merlin's Trial. Many similar relics were found around Hogwarts, but they seemed to have been used some time ago. The oil painting lady looked at Charles with a smile and asked: "Young explorer, are you willing to try and challenge the trials left by your predecessors? It doesn't cost any money anyway."
Professor McGonagall took a step forward and asked: "Dear Witch, hello, I am Minerva McGonagall, Vice Principal of Hogwarts and Head of Gryffindor House. Can you tell me what the content of the trial is?"
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"I don't know what he will encounter." The other party's answer surprised everyone, "There are hundreds of trials behind the portrait. If you are lucky, you will only encounter the simplest one. If you are not lucky, you will encounter them all.
."
Charles was silent. The other person just emphasized "young", obviously he was talking about himself and not anyone else.
Others thought so too. Dumbledore patted Charles on the shoulder and encouraged him with a smile: "Go, you are a brave Gryffindor."
Charles feels like a Pikachu at this moment.
When the lady in the painting saw that the person agreed to their words, she pointed at one of them and said: "This young wizard with black hair, please start."
Snape originally thought that nothing happened to him, but at this moment he instantly turned into a stone statue and raised his finger to point at himself in disbelief.
Others also looked at Snape with interest. Apart from Charles, he was the youngest here.
Professor Flitwick raised his hand and patted Snape's lower back and said, "Go ahead. Merlin is also from your Slytherin House. As the headmaster, you are the most suitable."
The oil painting lady raised her eyebrows and said happily: "It turns out to be the dean. You can go in when you are ready."
After saying that, the oil painting moved aside, revealing a dark doorway.
Snape looked at the people around him and found that they all looked at him with encouragement and expectation.
He could only take a deep breath, hold the wand tightly, and walk into the doorway.
At this time, the oil painting lady began to give live commentary: "The first trial he encountered was the illusion of fear. He refused to broadcast live."
Dumbledore asked a little worriedly: "Is this dangerous?"
The oil painting lady smiled and said: "It was just a dream."
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like this was some kind of spiritual trial.
Only five minutes later, Snape came out. His face was horribly pale, his eyes were lifeless, his hands were trembling, and his head was covered in cold sweat.
Dumbledore hurried over and helped him sit down on the nearest stone chair. Charles had just made tea at the side, and Flitwick poured a cup and sent it over.
Everyone is curious about what could scare him into being like this.
It's just that Snape took the tea cup and drank it in one breath, then closed his eyes and shook his head. He didn't look like he was being asked what happened just now.
Charles felt a little timid when he saw him like this. I'm afraid it would be difficult for him to handle a test that even Snape couldn't withstand.
Many years later, Charles saw what Snape had dreamed from the Pensieve, and it was no better for him.
It was Charles' turn to go in next, and with the encouragement of Dumbledore and McGonagall, he walked into the dark doorway.
After walking a few steps, his eyes suddenly opened up, and at the same time a voice sounded in his mind: "Are you willing to share your experience with your friends?"
Charles thought for a moment and replied: "Yes."
At this time, the professors sitting outside saw a "picture within a picture" appearing in the oil painting. In the painting, Charles stood in the middle of a prairie with a blank look on his face, surrounded by a large group of snow-white sheep.