Speaking of which, Eisen knows a lot about the Shrinking Spell.
When I lived at the Leaky Cauldron and in Diagon Alley, I was troubled by the inconvenience of carrying items, as I couldn't stretch without a trace. Therefore, I specifically learned both the Enlargement and Shrinking spells.
However, first-year wizards like Hermione and Harry obviously haven't learned this spell yet.
Although it's not particularly difficult, it does require a certain level of magical power from the young wizard.
Thus, Eisen wasn't sure if they could actually cast the Shrinking Curse successfully.
Moreover, even if they did manage to cast it, whether Norbert could be shrunk to a suitable size remained uncertain. Nevertheless, it was worth teaching them to try.
"Then I think the Shrinking Charm will be useful to you!" Eisen said, explaining the effects of the Shrinking Charm to Hermione and Harry.
"This spell is amazing! It will make carrying things so much easier in the future!" After hearing Eisen's explanation, Hermione exclaimed, her face flushed with excitement and admiration for him.
Harry's eyes also lit up.
Indeed, Eisen understood that Hogwarts students often carried a lot of luggage. Whether leaving or returning during the holidays, they had to haul large bags, which was quite inconvenient.
By teaching them the Shrinking Curse, he could help solve their current problems and ensure they wouldn't have to worry about carrying items in the future. If used in conjunction with a storage ring, the effect would be even better.
"By the way, where is Ron? Why haven't I seen him?" Eisen suddenly looked at Harry and Hermione, feigning a realization of Ron's absence.
After making this expression, even Eisen couldn't help but admire his acting skills. After all, he had seen Ron's injury through the scope and guessed that he might be at Madam Pomfrey's.
But he still maintained a puzzled expression.
"Well, Ron was bitten by Norbert, and he's in the hospital wing in pretty bad shape." As soon as Ron's name was mentioned, both Harry and Hermione looked worried.
"And to make matters worse, Malfoy found out from Ron that we were planning to send Norbert away on Saturday night—" Hermione's cheeks puffed up in frustration, her tone laced with anger.
"Sending Norbert away?" Although Eisen was already aware of this, he couldn't reveal his knowledge since he couldn't explain why he had been spying on them.
Afterward, Hermione and Harry told Eisen everything, which he already knew: how Hagrid won a dragon egg from a stranger, hatched it, and named it Norbert, and how Malfoy discovered this and learned about their plan to send Norbert away to Charlie in Romania.
They spoke one word at a time, and within a few minutes, they had explained the entire situation.
"So, Malfoy found out from Ron that you were planning to send Norbert away on Saturday night?" Eisen asked, showing a curious expression.
Malfoy had discovered that Hagrid was raising a dragon, but he had also learned about Harry's plan to send Norbert from the Astronomy Tower on Saturday.
Could it be that Malfoy was truly the trio's nemesis?
Eisen recalled that while observing earlier, he saw a letter sent back by the trio through Charlie, so he knew their plan.
However, from the two's explanations, it was clear that Malfoy had gone to the hospital wing to taunt Ron after class and had borrowed a book, thus uncovering their plan.
What was even more outrageous was that the note from Charlie was in the very book Malfoy had borrowed. What a coincidence!
As for why Ron lent Malfoy a book, Eisen speculated it was likely a compromise on Ron's part, as he was too afraid to report directly to Hagrid. It could only be said that Ron, Harry, and Hermione's luck had been quite unfortunate in this situation.
"That's right. That's why we came to ask Professor Eisen for help." Harry nodded helplessly.
"Alright, let me show you a demonstration. Watch closely—" Eisen said, pointing his wand at a thick book on the table. "Shrink quickly—"
The book then shrank rapidly in front of their eyes, transforming into a "toy" the size of a fingernail.
"Amazing!" Hermione exclaimed, her face filled with anticipation.
"By the way, in addition to the Shrinking Curse, you must learn the Enlargement Curse; otherwise, you won't be able to restore the item to its original size." Realizing he almost forgot about the corresponding spell, Eisen tapped his forehead.
"Grow quickly—" he said, pointing his wand at the shrunk book and casting the spell.
The fingernail-sized book quickly expanded back to its original size before their eyes in an instant.
Seeing that the two were eager to practice, Eisen interrupted them. "Hold on, this is a library. It's not a place for practicing spells!"
"There are still two days before you send Norbert away, so go back and practice diligently. I think you should be able to master both spells in that time."
After putting away his wand, Eisen winked at the two.
Then, as if remembering something, he took out a suitcase from the storage ring and placed it in front of them.
"This is the suitcase I used before, and I cast the No Trace Stretching Curse on it."
Seeing their puzzled expressions, Eisen continued, "If— I mean, if you still can't use the Shrinking Curse smoothly to shrink Norbert, you can try putting him inside. I believe its entrance is big enough for Norbert to fit in.
It's only two days; Norbert won't grow too large, right?"
"That's a great idea! Thank you, Professor Eisen!" Harry said, surprised, then expressed his gratitude.
"Alright, you should head back quickly. By the way, after you learn the Shrinking and Enlargement Curses, you can teach them to Ron, if he's willing to learn."
After finishing, Eisen waved goodbye to the two, reminding them one last time.
After all, since Ron also received a storage ring from Eisen, it wouldn't be a big deal to teach him these two spells.
The two nodded and left the library with their suitcases.
"By the way, Professor Eisen—" Harry suddenly returned, approaching Eisen to speak quietly.
This alerted Eisen to the fact that the trio had learned from Hagrid that, in addition to Lu Wei's guard, they also knew that Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell, and Professor Snape had all cast protective magic.
"Okay, I understand!" After thinking for a moment, Eisen nodded slightly in response.
It was clear the trio suspected Snape was close to solving the entire puzzle. Since Snape participated in applying protective magic to the Philosopher's Stone, he must know the methods of the other professors.
In the trio's eyes, once Quirrell backed down and Snape figured out how to deal with Lu Wei, he could easily steal the Philosopher's Stone.
So, perhaps Harry's intent in telling him this was simply to be cautious?
Eisen had to admit their reasoning was quite rigorous and seemed very logical. However, the truth was not quite like that.
But Eisen couldn't directly disclose the truth. On one hand, how could he explain everything he knew? On the other hand, he wanted to follow the plot to get closer to the Sorcerer's Stone.
Besides, as a bystander professor, he didn't need to be overly conspicuous, right?
I hope your like the chapter 😊.