[HP] Complex Touch

Five days: Tuesday

The clock in the Hufflepuff common room struck midnight, and Ginny looked around again to make sure everyone had gone to bed.She promised her friends that she would go back to the dormitory and sleep as soon as possible, because they had classes tomorrow morning, but she didn't want to go to bed early at all.If Severus was going to read his father's book with Ginny, she'd jump at the chance, whether it was midday or midnight.

So she walked out of the common room, hoping that no professor or ghost wandered the corridors.Severus was meeting at the lake, and she needed at least fifteen minutes to get there.Ginny should probably have told him she'd be late.

Hiding in the shadows, avoiding all noise, Ginny finally left the castle.She kept as close to the castle as she could, striding across the grounds in case anyone looked out the window.But what does it matter?Even if she is put in confinement, in the next five days, she will not do as she is told.In five days, she was leaving.Ginny pushed the thought away and looked at the lanky figure of Severus sitting under a tree by the lake.

The moonlight illuminated the venue, and before she approached, he saw her, nodded to her, and stood up.Ginny ran over to him, brushing her hair out of the bun.

"Hello." She greeted, smiling when she saw the book in his arms.

Severus didn't respond, but motioned for her to follow him to the lake.The lake was full of moonlight, and the big trees shaded them.Ginny raised her eyebrows hesitantly.Severus noticed her hesitation, but moved forward silently.Ginny sighed and continued to follow behind him.

"Can you tell me why we must meet here at midnight?" Ginny called beside him.

He looked at her contemptuously.

"My father is the silent man of the Ministry of Magic. He handles and disposes of items that no one knows about. There are never any guests in the house, and there is no need to worry that someone will find out the information he put in the house." Severus said sharply she says.

Ginny opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off.

"Nonetheless, there are many protection spells cast on everything my father brings home. I've started working on protection spells while you were resting at Hogwarts so that when we meet again, the whole process will be easier .”

They stopped by the lake.It wasn't until she stood that she realized how cold it was outside.Both her and Severus' exhales turned into white mist.

"Thank you," she said, not knowing what he wanted her to say.

"The reason we're coming to the lake in the middle of the night is because I've unlocked many of the alarm spells in the book, but there are still some—"

"Then how can I read this book when I'm at your house? I opened it and nothing bad happened," said Ginny.

Severus seemed about to roll his eyes, but he just snorted hard.

"The alarm was not activated in the house. My house itself is under many spells. One spell doesn't hide much in my house."

Ginny nodded, looking at the book in his hand.Severus opened the book, and Ginny tiptoed to look at it, only to find it was blank.

"There's a different way to make words appear every day," he told her. "But I found a fundamental pattern."

Severus dipped his hand into the lake and took a sharp breath, she could only imagine how cold the water was.He smeared the pages with wet hands, and Ginny could not help a small cry—he was going to destroy the book—as she saw the words and illustrations gradually appear.

After a few seconds, the text and illustrations on the page appeared.

"You're so smart," she murmured in surprise.

"The combination of moonlight and water will make the words appear. It will be two days before we can read the book again," Severus said softly.

"We're still meeting here?" Ginny asked, reaching for the book in Severus' hands.

He gave her the book at once, tucking his hands into his cloak.

"Of course not," he told her, looking over her shoulder at the book. "We're meeting early in the morning in two days' time for words to appear."

Ginny nodded casually, flipping through the pages full of text until she found the page she had seen earlier.

Just as she remembered.

"That's what you're so interested in? A veil?" Snape sneered, walking away from her.

"Yes." She was out of breath.

Severus took off his cloak and spread it under a tree.Ginny looked up at him excitedly, and he motioned her over.

"Sit down," he said. "Let's take a look."

So she sat down and he sat on the ground next to her.Ginny tried to take off her cloak too, and let him sit on it, but he ignored her.They began to read the book, and there were several pages about the veil, a mysterious veil that no one understood.But many wizards and witches want to explore its secrets.The book contains its theory of magic and the stories of several mad wizards who took the initiative to pass through the veil.

Only one came back.Ember DeVito.

DeVito was sent to St. Mungo's because he seemed a little unhinged.That was 75 years ago, and it is said that he lived only a few months after his return.However, he wrote about his experiences in his diary.DeVito recounts life on the layers, the magic within the veil...and more.

Only a few passages from the diary are excerpted in the book, and all in all, DeVito says, there is only one layer that allows a wizard or witch to leave the Veil.Ginny didn't quite understand the concept of "layers", but Severus seemed to understand better.

"The magic power varies from region to region, Stiles," he told her as he read. "This veil is a very powerful magical item. I think what he meant was that the deeper you go into the veil, the less likely you can get out. It can hold you, like a devil's web around a victim." DeVito It was surprising that he escaped."

"But how did he escape?" she asked desperately.

They don't find a way out of DeVito in the book, or what lies beyond the veil.Only the layer of magic is mentioned above, the wizards who passed through the Veil disappeared and never came back, and the theory that the Veil's secrets will never be discovered.

Severus closed the book, there was nothing else to do with the veil.

"He went to the first floor." That's all he answered.

"What's next?" Ginny asked with wide-eyed eyes.

"I read the same stuff as you, Stiles. The difference between you and me is that you literally take what's on it, and I read between the lines for information...I create theories."

Ginny rubbed her eyes wearily.How long have they been out?They kept warm with many heating spells and the sun started to peek out.The text disappears quickly and cannot be seen again until two days later.At that time, Ginny only had three days left.

"What's your theory, Severus?"

He seemed to be waiting for her question, and immediately answered her excitedly.

"It's easy to get out of the first floor, maybe you can just walk out, and you can also apparate. However, if you go through the first floor and can't find your way, or don't want to find your way back, then you will never Become part of the veil. You are forever lost in it."

Severus paused.

"You're clearly looking beyond the veil, Styles," he said. "You want to find it and bring it back. But, whatever it is, is it really that important, and is it worth risking your life?"

Ginny glanced up at Severus, then stretched her legs out in front of her.Her bones creaked from holding one position for too long.When Severus understood that she wasn't going to answer his question, he stood up.

"Thank you for coming out." Ginny also stood up.

She took his cloak and brushed the brown blades of grass from it.He took it carefully and put it on his arm.

"See you on Thursday?" she asked.

Severus looked at her with dark eyes, trying to read something in her face.She still shows nothing.As far as Ginny was concerned, there was nothing else in that book for her to analyze, so there was no need for her to see Severus again.However, she felt that it might be a good idea to meet him so that he could continue to help her.Finally, he nodded.

The cold and the rising sun hastened their return to the castle.When they parted, she resisted the urge to thank him again, after which he returned to the dungeon while she made her way to the Hufflepuff common room.They parted in silence.