The wizards lit scented candles on the second floor of the White Tower. The quiet, cool fragrance helped them focus. Next, they would cast an obscure nightmare spell to help them slip into the Celestial central brain's dream.
This spell was said to be one of the origins of the Imperius Curse, [Imperio], and was invented by the dark wizard Herpo the Foul. But there was also another version of the story, claiming that witches of ancient Greece had created it so they could sneak into Muggles' dreams for amusement. Although the nightmare spell could be used to send dreams, the person who received the dream often would not remember what had happened after waking. Nowadays, the spell had nearly been lost.
Most of the professors were quite interested in sneaking into the central brain to explore. Snape and Grindelwald were the exceptions.
"Professor Snape, aren't you coming with us?" Skyl called enthusiastically. "Of the four Heads of House, you'll be the only one not participating."
"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore also persuaded him. "This is, after all, a work we poured our hearts into. It is like our child. Can you really bear to miss its growth?"
Snape was finally convinced. It was not that he had no curiosity. He was simply used to remaining solitary and unsociable, which was a kind of protective coloring.
In the end, only Grindelwald stayed behind. His reason was that someone had to remain awake in case an accident occurred.
The wizards conjured lounge chairs around the cultivation pool, and everyone lay down together. Then they waved their wands and said in unison, "[Nightmare Infiltration]."
Wisps of silver-blue smoke slowly drifted out of everyone's nostrils, floating eerily toward the Celestial central brain.
As the smoke entered the central brain, the wizards' consciousnesses arrived in the world of dreams.
The instant they entered the dream, the sensation was almost like drowning.
Everyone looked around. In this dark world, only their souls were glowing. They could all clearly see one another's forms. Since the thought-form that clothed the soul was tied to self-recognition, everyone's appearance had many personal characteristics.
Skyl was the brightest, most solid, and most vivid of all the soul entities. His form was almost no different from his real body. The others' soul entities were more or less ghostlike.
Dumbledore's soul entity had a clear outline, though his long beard, which hung down to his waist, was very blurry. Professor McGonagall actually had cat ears in the dream, and there were cat whiskers on her cheeks as well, which made her terribly embarrassed.
Professor Sprout's witch hat looked like a garden, decorated with many kinds of blooming flowers, though unfortunately they were all very blurry. The lower half of Hagrid's soul entity was mist, while his upper half was that of a large man in hunting clothes. Professor Flitwick was quite special. His soul stood on a stack of books, the same kind he used to stand on during class. It seemed those books were also considered part of himself.
James Potter's soul entity, by contrast, was rather blurry. His face was covered in a layer of mist. This was actually because Skyl had hidden his appearance. Otherwise, everyone would have recognized him.
Snape's clothing was very strange. His lower body wore jeans that were too short, while his upper body was dressed in an oversized shirt beneath an old black coat. The sleeves were long enough to hang down to his knees, making him truly look like a large bat. But his eyes had changed from black to emerald green, which made James feel an unusual sense of familiarity.
Everyone tried to speak in the dream world, but even the concept of language had not yet been born. They could only open their mouths wordlessly. A powerful sense of emptiness surrounded them. If their companions had not been beside them, this would certainly have been a terrifying experience.
Only Skyl could speak. He was almost unaffected by the dream. He said, "Movement in the dream world depends on imagination. Everyone, try moving closer to me."
Under the transfer student's guidance, the Hogwarts professors gradually learned how to move their souls. At this moment, they were like first-years longing for the mysteries of magic, filled with curiosity toward this fantastical dream world. They drifted here and there, their expressions excited. But before long, they felt sincere exhaustion.
"Don't get too excited. Every activity in the dream world overdraws your mental strength. If you become too tired, you will fall out of the dream. Now, everyone, gather around me."
In the dream, Skyl was still that same effortless wizard. Every word he spoke here was more effective than a spell.
The professors gathered around Skyl like a school of fish. He reached out and conjured a bundle of golden ropes, then had everyone tie one around their waist so he could pull them along.
"First, we'll go find Lady Ravenclaw."
In the empty dream, the sound of waves could be faintly heard. It was the strings of thought created by neural activity, howling around them. These strings of thought were invisible and colorless, but they would continuously scour the soul, stripping away emotions and memories. The rope in Skyl's hand glowed faintly gold, forming a protective layer over the souls and blocking the wind and waves.
Deep in the darkness, a speck of starlight appeared faintly. Skyl pulled the line of professors toward the light.
What finally appeared before everyone was a small patch of pale land, no more than seven feet across. A young girl was curled up on the ground, sobbing.
That girl was Helena Ravenclaw. She looked even younger than before, having gone from eighteen to ten.
Skyl drifted down beside Helena, and the professors stood on the cramped patch of land. At the same time, they all let out cries like drowning people who had been saved.
On this island in the sea, everyone could speak.
"Lady Ravenclaw." Skyl called to the girl lying on the ground. Helena clutched her head and cried.
"It's too frightening. I died so many times… There's nothing in this world… Give me your memories, or I'll fall again."
The pale land continuously broke apart beneath the tide of the strings of thought. Its edges, which looked like white marble, crumbled into sand and scattered away.
"What's wrong with her? Can we help?" Dumbledore hurriedly sat on the ground and gently patted Helena's back, while casting a pleading look at Skyl.
"As she said, what we need to do is provide memories and shape this land together. In that case, it's best to use memories we all share. That will effectively strengthen the thoughts."
"You mean?" Professor McGonagall was the first to react. "Memories of Hogwarts?"
"Yes." Skyl looked around at everyone. "We came from different places, but we gathered here together precisely because of Hogwarts."
Dumbledore's eyes lit up. He said, "In that case, let us sing the school song! I'll conduct!"
Hagrid and Flitwick agreed again and again.
"What are we waiting for, then? Professor Dumbledore, start us off!" Hagrid said.
"Exactly. Let the song invite our memories here! Whether they are joyful, sorrowful, bitter, or sweet, let them come rushing in!" Professor Flitwick said cheerfully.
Before anyone else could express an opinion, Dumbledore had already raised both hands. "Everyone choose whatever tune you like. Ready, sing!"
Even without rehearsing beforehand, the teachers and students present all began singing together by tacit agreement.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, dear old Hogwarts,
"Please teach us what we need to know,
"Whether we are bald old men
"Or children with bruised knees,
"…"
As they sang, everyone gradually smiled while looking at one another's faces. Skyl felt that this scene was a little too Disney, but unexpectedly, he found it rather comforting. Helena stopped sobbing in the song, as if listening to a lullaby. The wizards' words left their mouths and turned into rows of large golden letters, then scattered into rainwater and watered the pale earth beneath their feet.
Immediately afterward, the land expanded rapidly. From seven feet across to seven miles, then seventy miles, all in the blink of an eye. The rainwater dyed the land with color, the gray-yellow of soil, the emerald green of lush grass, and the rippling light of the Black Lake. The earth rose and fell, the Forbidden Forest emerged in the rain, and a towering ancient castle rose from the ground within a whirlwind.
"Return to us what we have forgotten,
"You only need to do your best, and leave the rest to us,
"We will study hard, until we return to dust."
The song echoed, and memories kept surging back like the tide.
The pitch-black dream sky above their heads gradually brightened as well. What appeared before the wizards was a magical school within a dream.
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