Busy time always flies by.
When Scott tried his best to make all preparations, the time had come to June.
June 20th, this day is Tuesday.
After finishing his morning classes, Scott went to the top of the tower alone to visit Dumbledore after lunch.
When he saw Scott, Dumbledore already understood his purpose.
“Oh, Scott, are you ready to go now?”
“Yes, Professor.”
Scott replied.
“I’m going to go to the local library and check it out. Maybe I can get more information.”
As he spoke, he took out a piece of parchment and unfolded it. This piece of paper recorded the legend translated from the animal skin.
[A place of silence, a tower extending toward the center of the earth. ]
[Seven people set off and one person returned. ]
[One person died in the fire, one person died in the deep water, one person died in the top of a tree, one person died in the bottom of the tower, one person died in the falling rocks, and one person died in the subsidence of the ground. ]
[Six people died from the curse, and the one who escaped by chance could not escape the shadow of death for the rest of his life. ]
[The island of the Far North Islands, the place where the shadow of the standing stone points to the longest day. ]
Scott thought for a while and then said: “Although Midsummer Night in the UK is on June 23rd, it is only a Muggle holiday. The actual longest day is June 21st.”
Dumbledore also glanced at the parchment in his hand and said, “I wonder if you have ever thought about whether seven people is also a limit?”
Scott raised his head, “What do you mean?”
“This is just a hypothesis,” Dumbledore said, “but it is not impossible.”
Scott frowned.
He hadn’t thought about this problem before.
What if it really takes 7 people to enter the tower extending towards the center of the earth?
“If that’s the case…” He made a decision instantly, “Then forget it.”
Do you want him to find 6 people to accompany him to risk his life?
He couldn’t do such a thing.
Dumbledore comforted him and said: “As for the so-called prophecy, whether it is proactive response or passive waiting, it is just a different way. We can’t even distinguish between the two response methods which are better and worse.”
Scott knew what he meant.
Voldemort was once the one who actively responded to the prophecy, but everyone knows his fate.
Thinking of this, Scott also relaxed.
He smiled and said, “You are right. Even if we cannot enter the tower to retrieve the [Heart of the Sacred Tree] for this reason, we have no way of judging whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.”
“As long as you can figure it out.” Dumbledore also smiled, “We have never had a standard or better way to deal with prophecies.”
Scott nodded to show that he understood.
In fact, at this time, he suddenly thought of a possibility——
Maybe it was him who retrieved the [Heart of the Sacred Tree], broke through the passage, went to Avalon, and then awakened Salazar Slytherin?
This malicious “destiny” does not seem impossible.
But he thought about what Luna had said.
Luna once said during the summer vacation that the Sea of Oaks was not the end of his journey.
She said last time that he would get what he wanted.
If this adventure would lead him to a malicious “destiny”, Luna would not give him such “guidance”.
Unlike those unreliable magic props sent by Luna, Scott still has some faith in her magical “eyes”.
No matter what, he decided to go to Melanne Island again.
If he is too forward-thinking, he will not be able to accomplish anything.
At Scott’s request, Phoenix Fawkes took him and Dumbledore to Melann Island in the northern waters of Scotland.
“The rest is my adventure, Professor.” Scott said to Dumbledore.
What he wanted was for Dumbledore to go back and act alone.
Dumbledore said: “Oh, no, you are still a student, Scott. And I, am your Headmaster.”
Apparently, he didn’t agree with Scott venturing out on his own.
There were thighs to hug, and Scott didn’t refuse pretentiously.
Dumbledore asked Fawkes the Phoenix to hide first, and an old man and a young man walked into Kirkwall, a town located in the east of Melane Island.
Scott learned that although it is only a small city with a population of nearly 10,000, Kirkwall is the largest town, fishing port and capital of the entire Orkney Islands.
In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall, originally the residence of an earl, to a royal borough.
To this day, road signs here still read “City and Royal Borough of Kirkwall”.
Scott and Dumbledore were walking in the town. Dumbledore was very interested and seemed to be curious about everything here.
And their arrival also attracted the attention of many local residents.
Scott always felt that they were visiting the town and the townspeople were visiting them.
Of course, this was all caused by Dumbledore.
Before setting off, Scott had deliberately changed into Muggle clothes and carried a backpack. This kind of dress is undoubtedly very common here.
But Dumbledore was different. He still wore gorgeous wizard robes, pointed leather boots on his feet, and a pointed hat on his head.
This kind of dress is already very exaggerated, not to mention his long silver hair draped over his back and his long silver beard that also hangs down to his waist.
I didn’t realize it when I was in the magic world, but once in the Muggle world, Dumbledore looks like a very typical wizard who walked out of a fairy tale.
It’s so conspicuous.
As they walked, some children even ran over and talked to him boldly.
“Excuse me, are you a magician, sir?”
“Yes, I am a wizard.”
Dumbledore answered with a smile.
Because he looked very kind, several children asked questions at once.
“Great!”
“Then do you know magic?”
“Can you make candy?”
“Can you show us?”
“Oh, of course.”
Dumbledore stretched out his hand, grabbed a handful of colorful candies out of thin air and distributed them to them.
Amid the cheers of the children, the adults around who saw this scene also began to applaud.
They gradually gathered around and looked at Dumbledore with expectant eyes, as if they were treating this as a street magic show.
“Well done, old man.”
“You are the most attentive magician I have ever seen!”
“Thank you.”
Dumbledore still dealt with them calmly, and performed a few small “magics” under the enthusiastic expectations of the audience.
He conjured flowers and birds with his bare hands, triggering waves of enthusiastic applause.
Scott on the side could only watch all this happen in a daze.
“Oh, thank you, no thanks.”
Finally, Dumbledore politely refused the audience’s money to tip him.
“This is not a special performance, we are just here for sightseeing.”
Hearing him say this, someone immediately introduced the town to them enthusiastically and showed them the way.
They proudly claimed that the town has magnificent historical buildings. St. Magnus Cathedral is in the center of the town. Next to the church are the remains of the former bishop’s residence and the earl’s residence.
Scott asked about the library.
The residents proudly told him that Kirkwall has the world’s northernmost Carnegie Library.
The library was opened in 1909, and the building still exists, but the library itself has now moved to a larger building on Junction Road.
Following their instructions, Scott and Dumbledore came to the Carnegie Library on Junction Road.
Here, Scott successfully found more information about the Standing Stones of Stenness.
The “stane” in the name of the Standing Stones of Stenness comes from the dialect of the Orkney people.
In Old Norse, “stane” means “stone headland”.
1.2 kilometers northwest of it is the Brodgar Stone Circle, and 1.2 kilometers east is the Meshowe Barrow.
Several other Neolithic sites on the island are also nearby.
The Standing Stones of Stenness are generally flaky, about 30 cm thick, and 4 of them are 5 meters high.
Originally, there were 12 of them, forming a ring.
The diameter of this ring is about 32 meters, and it is surrounded by a circular trench with a diameter of 44 meters.
The entrance to the standing stones faces the Barnhouse Neolithic settlement next to Lake Harri.
There is a separate stone about 5.6 meters high in the northwest of the circle, which seems to be used to point to the location of the Brodgar Stone Circle.
Archaeologists have found charcoal, pottery and animal bones in the trenches around the standing stones. The ceramics here are related to the Skara Brae ruins and the Mayshowe Barrow.
In addition to these, Scott also learned some recent history.
In the 18th century, religious ceremonies were still held at the Stenness Standing Stones, and people at that time believed that they could communicate with the Norse gods through this place.
In 1814, Muggle archaeologists recorded the religious ceremonies and stone pillars here.
The most special one among the standing stones is called the “Odin Stone”.
There is a hollow cylinder on the stone, and local couples hold hands and pass through this gap to show their loyalty to each other.
In the past, Muggles also held other rituals that were considered magical here.
But now, the “Odin Stone” no longer exists.
In 1814, a farmer named W. Mackay immigrated to Melan Island and owned a large piece of land near the standing stone.
Because he was quite dissatisfied with the locals who performed religious ceremonies next to the standing stone, he smashed the “Odin Stone” and knocked down another standing stone.
This action caused public outrage in the local area, and he was forced to stop this destructive behavior.
It was not until 1906 that the knocked-down standing stone was erected again.
But the broken “Odin Stone” could not be restored.
Seeing this, Scott said to Dumbledore: “Now it seems that in addition to the assumed 7-person limit, perhaps the destruction of the ‘Odin Stone’ will also cause the entrance to not appear.”
Dumbledore did not comment. He was very interested in the documents of these Muggle works and other works in the library.
While Scott was transcribing documents about the Stenness Standing Stone, he kept pacing in the library, picking up books on the shelves and reading them with great interest, and nodded repeatedly.
They stayed in the library for an afternoon, and before leaving, the old librarian suddenly spoke to Scott.
“Are you interested in the Stenness Standing Stone, kid?”
Scott was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes.” He replied, “We were going to visit there, so we came here to look up some information.”
Mr. Administrator grinned and said, “It’s already late today, so where are you planning to go tomorrow?”
“Yes.” Scott replied.
“You’d better change a time.” Mr. Administrator lowered his voice, “No one on Melan Island will go there tomorrow, especially in the morning.”
Scott heard this and immediately asked, “Tomorrow? Morning? Will anything abnormal happen there tomorrow morning?”
“Oh, unusual, yes.”
Mr. Administrator said softly.
“Tomorrow is June 21st, the longest day of the year. In the past, this day was the day when the residents of Melane Island held ceremonies there to communicate with the gods.”
Having said this, he spread his hands regretfully.
“It’s a pity that no one here believes in the gods of Asgard anymore.”
“So, what’s the anomaly?” Scott asked again.
“Impatient young man.” Mr. Administrator rolled his eyes at him, “You can just wait and listen to my story like your grandfather did.”
Scott looked back at Dumbledore, who was regarded as his “grandfather”.
Dumbledore just smiled slightly, looking very graceful and polite.
So, Mr. Administrator took the initiative to talk again.
“You should have read the record of W. Mackay destroying the Odin Stone.”
“Yes.” Scott nodded.
“Perhaps it is for this reason.” Mr. Administrator continued, “In short, on this day every year, the sunrise cannot be seen within the circle of Stenness Standing Stone.”
“Can’t see the sunrise?” Scott raised his eyebrows in surprise.
The administrator said mysteriously: “Yes, tomorrow morning, the place will be shrouded in thick fog, and people will lose their way after entering the standing stone circle.”
“That’s it?” Scott asked deliberately.
But Mr. Administrator just nodded and did not say anything more unusual.
“That’s just it,” he said, “but it would definitely be wiser to wait until the fog clears before going in there.”
Scott felt a little strange.
“Sir, the diameter of that ring is only 32 meters. Why would people get lost?”
No matter how dense the fog is, it is impossible to get lost.
“That’s a curse!”
Mr. Administrator lowered his voice and said excitedly.
“Anyone who approaches there on this day will surely encounter misfortune…”
At this moment, a young man ran over in a hurry.
“dad!”
He stopped Mr. Administrator.
“I don’t need you to look after this place for me anymore. You can go home quickly.”
As he spoke, he pinned a work badge with a photo and name on his chest, and said to Scott and Dumbledore: “I’m sorry.”
“Please don’t pay attention to what my father says.”
“He just…oh, my brother went there for fun when he was a child and couldn’t see the road in the thick fog…he had an accident.”
He explained politely.
“Because of this, my dad always thinks there is a curse there. In short, you don’t have to believe his words…”
At this moment, the substitute administrator suddenly began to refute his son’s words fiercely.
“Kevin! You bastard! I told you! The curse exists!”
“dad!”
Kevin quickly stopped him.
“Please, this is a library, please don’t yell, and please don’t mislead tourists from out of town.”
