Whether Horace Slughorn was a saint or not, Rolf did not know, and it was difficult to know.
This old cunning man was very strict in his words. Not even Dumbledore could get the information he wanted, let alone Rolf.
He has this free time, why not enjoy this trip?
So, after Horace and Niles left, Rove and Shirley left the room together and headed to the exclusive first-class deck.
There were few passengers here and there were no reporters, so the two of them walked side by side without changing their appearance. Rolf also introduced the origin of the "Mayflower" to the girl with the ponytail.
Shirley listened quietly and occasionally asked a few questions. When she was approaching the deck, she suddenly remembered something and grinned:
"Rolf, I seem to know...why you were recognized by the reporters at the port before."
Luofu looked at the girl with the ponytail and saw her pointing at the black suitcase in his hand. He suddenly understood and said with a dumb smile:
"It turns out that the box exposed the identity."
Yes, no matter where he goes these years, he has carried this black box with the Scamander family crest on it... Even if he changes his appearance, he will be recognized by reporters at a glance.
This is the price of being famous!
Luo Fu was a little helpless. He thought for a while and said softly:
"It seems that I will have to ask Tony to make an alchemy item similar to the chameleon system in the future and put it on the box so that it will not be recognized."
"Chameleon system...what is that?" Shirley asked.
"The technology used in the TARDIS in Doctor Who," Rove explains:
"It can automatically change its shape and blend in with the surrounding environment smoothly, so that others will not notice any abnormalities."
"Doctor Who" is the longest science fiction TV series in the Muggle world and a well-known "national drama" in the UK. It tells the story of a guy who claims to be a doctor, riding in a time machine called the 'TARDIS', and his female companion.
Stories of adventures in different time and space.
Although Shirley grew up in a convent, she stayed at Luo Fu's house last summer and saw a lot with him, so she knew something about it.
She blinked and asked doubtfully: "Isn't the TARDIS that the Doctor rides in always shaped like a blue phone box?"
"That's because the Chameleon system of the TARDIS is broken and has never been repaired." Rolf smiled, picked up his box, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and said:
"Speaking of which, our box is really similar to the TARDIS. The inside is bigger than the outside. It's a pity that it doesn't have the ability to travel through time and space."
"This is simple." Shirley said softly with a smile on her face: "Just install a time converter in the box."
Luo Fu's eyes lit up, and he felt that this operation was really feasible.
The two of them walked and chatted, and soon reached the deck and walked to the railing. Looking down from here, they could see Captain Carlos giving orders loudly.
The sailors climbed up and down the three tall masts, busy fiddling with the rigging and heavy sails.
Shirley saw a row of stone gargoyles in the form of birds on the railing. They were very small and cute. She observed them for a while, but couldn't tell what kind of magical creatures they were, so she asked in a low voice:
"Rolf, what kind of animal is this?"
"The Divine Kingfisher." Rove said, "A legendary magical animal. It is said that when it flies over the ocean, the storms and waves will calm down."
"Therefore, ships on long voyages usually have statues of the sacred kingfisher. Before sailing out to sea, sailors would also pray to the sacred kingfisher to bless them for their safe return and avoid encountering storms."
Shirley smoothed her hair from her temples, looked at Luo Fu, and whispered, "Is there really such a magical creature?"
"Supposedly..." Luo Fu pondered: "But no wizard has actually caught the divine kingfisher, not even a photo has been taken.
As rare as the unicorn, a large number of skeletons and specimens exist in the world, and it even appeared in front of wizards all over the world at the International Federation of Wizards held in Bhutan more than 60 years ago."
"But let's just say there is no such thing..." Luofu paused briefly, narrowed his eyes, and continued:
"There are many sighting records of the divine kingfisher. The earliest records come from the Sumerian epic "Gilgamesh". Do you still remember the great flood?"
In the first grade History of Magic class, Professor Binns taught the first lesson on the Sumerian "Epic of Gilgamesh".
Shirley's memory was still fresh in her mind. She nodded and said:
"A tsunami from the Mediterranean Sea flooded the Mesopotamia region of the Mesopotamia, and the earliest wizarding country - Eridu - was destroyed."
"But the wizard Utnapishiddin escaped." Rove continued: "He encountered a ghost ship in the Persian Gulf and hid in the ship, thus escaping the great flood."
The young man tapped the statue of the divine kingfisher with his fingers, and said in thought:
"Later, Utnapishiddin found a bird on the boat, and he released the bird. It fell on the sea, and the flood quickly came down... That bird was the divine kingfisher."
"In "Homer's Epic", the ancient Greek wizard Odysseus encountered a storm when he left Avalon.
It was also the appearance of the divine kingfisher that calmed the storm and allowed him to leave the island smoothly."
"In later generations, there were still many wizards who claimed to have seen the divine kingfisher." Luo Fu raised his eyes and looked into the distance, and said slowly: "Including...grandpa."
Shirley said with some surprise: "Grandpa Newt has also seen the Kingfisher?"
"Yes." Rolf nodded: "I heard from my grandfather that when he was young, he once took a Muggle fishing boat and chased a Cromer sea snake."
"Then he encountered a storm in the North Sea. Just when the fishing boat was about to be capsized, he saw a bird appear on the sea surface and fly around the boat. The wind and waves disappeared inexplicably."
"It seems..." Shirley murmured: "The Divine Kingfisher is not just a legend."
At this time, the sailors on the deck turned the cable and the ferry began to weigh anchor. After a while of shaking, the hull separated from the port.
The heavy towing rope was tightly stretched, and the crew pulled down a huge sail against the wind and hung it from the crossbar of the crossmast.
Rolf watched the Mayflower sail away from the port of Dover with its white sails in the wind, and suddenly laughed.
Shirley turned her head, looked at the boy's side face, and asked softly: "Rolph, why are you laughing?"
Luo Fu lay on the railing, swayed his feet slightly, and whispered:
"I suddenly remembered the divination class. Professor Trelawney told me... that in the last event of the Triwizard Tournament, the boat I was riding in would sink, and then I would fall into the water and drown."
"I told her at the time that the last event of the Triwizard Tournament was not in the Black Lake and there was no water... She then changed her story and said that she fell into the sea during the summer vacation when she encountered a storm on a boat."
"Look, aren't we on the Mayflower right now?"
"..."
Shirley thought for a moment, frowned and asked, "Did Professor Trelawney enter the realm of true prophecy at that time?"
"No." Rove smiled and said, "So, Professor Trelawney's predictions don't need to be taken seriously."
Shirley breathed a sigh of relief, but she still stood up straight, facing the statue of the sacred kingfisher, and prayed devoutly:
"God Kingfisher... I hope you can protect Luo Fu and have a safe journey."
Luofu put away his carelessness and said seriously to the statue: "The Kingfisher... I also hope that you will protect Shirley and have a safe journey."
The girl with the ponytail turned her head and smiled sweetly at Luo Fu. She leaned slightly to the right, her body pressed against the young man, and her head rested on his shoulder.
The two stood cuddled together on the deck, looking quietly at the sea.
…
…
(Happy New Year to everyone in 2024, and I hope all my book friends are safe and sound.)