Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 7. Тренировки, уроки и загадки Вормвартса

Chapter 7: Training, Lessons, and Wormwarts' Mysteries
* * *

Taylor wanted to return the salvaged calculator that had started it all to Chris, but it was in the infirmary, where students weren't allowed. A heated discussion ensued.

"It's possible to get in there," Amy said confidently over dinner. "Erik and Crystal are constantly wandering around Wormwarts, wherever they want, whenever they want, even after lights out."

"But how?" Taylor asked, excited and worried. "Don't they get caught? Filch caught us in a minute, and we were just lost!"

"No," Lisa shook her head, "it was all about my attempt to access the Wormwarts map. Tagg Filch is an ordinary person, albeit one with high authority in the system that controls Wormwarts. What the system doesn't know, Filch and his robot cat don't know, and you can hide from sight and sound just like that, using improvised means. It's safe to assume your brother and sister are using a Tinker device that makes them relatively invisible to surveillance systems."

"They didn't say anything like that," Amy answered thoughtfully.

"Of course!" Lisa snorted. "In Wormwarts, that's such an advantage I don't even know how to put a price on it! Tinker devices are banned from Wormwarts, so Eric and Crystal built one right here."

"Why do you think it's a device?" Taylor asked.

"Eric and Crystal aren't Tinkers!" Amy said at the same time. "They can fly, shoot, and put up force fields, but they... no, I would have known!"

“Oh, oh, not all at once,” Lisa grinned.

She leaned forward a little, confidentially touching both her friends with her hands and said.

"Let's talk after dinner and in our tower, okay?"
*

"Why does the conversation have to take place in the shower?" Amy asked suspiciously.

"Well, we could all use another wash of the solvent they used to remove the foam," Lisa said with an honest and open face, then couldn't help but giggle. "And no one can eavesdrop on us here!"

"It's because of the noise of the water, right?" Taylor asked, thoughtfully turning the faucet handles and trying to get the water to the perfect temperature.

"No," Lisa giggled, peering into Taylor's booth. "That's because there are places Wormwarts doesn't watch!"

Her gaze swept over Potter's bony, angular figure and immediately jumped to Weasley's soft, rounded form, also peering out of the stall with an angry expression. The stalls were lined up along the wall, with no doors, so anyone entering the shower could see everyone showering at once.

"Why?" Taylor shouts.

Lisa also returned to her cubicle and began to soap herself.

"Because imagine the scandal that would erupt if underage students were being filmed and watched naked!" Granger shouted, feeling a surge of amusement. "I'm sure Snape would appreciate that!"

"Don't talk about Snape, we have a lesson tomorrow!" Taylor responded.

"Let's set him up!" Amy shouted.

Lisa and Taylor looked out in unison, and Amy looked a little embarrassed.

"We'll fabricate a video... well, where is he... well, as Lisa said!"

"Yeah," Granger grinned, "I get it, but it won't work! They'll spot the fake right away! But it's a good idea, especially if you think of it as a year-long project on manipulating and exploiting information!"

"That's over the line," Taylor said firmly. "We're not being watched, so we're not going to overstep the line, okay?"

"Okay," Lisa agreed, "but still, if it's anything important, don't discuss it in the castle unless you want the headmistress to know! Showers, toilets, the Forbidden Forest, or Hagrid's hut, since we're friends now!"

"What's wrong with the headmistress?" Taylor asked, surprised.

"She's a Thinker, just like me, and when you're dealing with Thinkers, it's best not to tell them anything at all!" and even without seeing Lisa, even despite the sound of the water, one could easily imagine her smirking. "So you'll give Chris back the calculator tomorrow when he gets back from the infirmary!"

"And if we returned his calculator to him today, it would cheer him up," a voice came from behind.

Taylor had already finished washing herself and now stood behind Lisa, vigorously drying her head with a towel. Her long black hair stubbornly refused to be dried, but Taylor didn't give in, fighting it with no less tenacity than she had with Eidolorin's students just hours earlier.

"Somehow, Amy's relatives and other seniors bypass the surveillance systems?"

"That's one of the mysteries of Wormwarts that I hope to solve in time," Lisa smiled back. "I could do it much faster if Amy agreed to treat my headaches..."

"NO!!!"

"Well, no, then no," Lisa grinned and winked at Taylor. "Then let's dry off, get dressed, and go to bed."

Taylor just nodded, continuing to dry herself and thinking about something intently.
*

Snape made a gesture, and the screen on the wall flashed.

"Let's continue the topic we touched on in the last lesson," he said. "PHO, Parahumans Online, is the largest forum, news channel, and communication hub for capes, tying together the information space. Cape communities and enclaves may be physically scattered across the globe, not to mention those of us who live on our own, but PHO unites us, allowing us to talk to a cape on the other side of the planet as if they were just a meter away."

Thomas glanced around at the students.

"What does this mean? Who can say? Potter?"

Taylor thought for a second, then remembered Lisa's words from yesterday and said.

"It's better not to communicate there, so as not to give information to potential enemies - the Thinkers!"

"Wrong, Potter! Minus one point from Herofindor!"

"But, sir…"

"Another point for arguing!" Snape snapped.

Lisa angrily raised her hand and rolled her eyes, but the "art of intrigue" teacher pointedly ignored her.

"A Thinker will conclude even from what you don't write, Miss Potter," Snape said sarcastically. "Thinkers are thinkers because they know how to process information, and the absence of information is still information. However, we'll cover countering Thinkers in our senior years. Now, let's return to the topic of the lesson. So, who's going to answer? Miss Greengrass?"

The Eidolorin girl, sitting next to the telekinetic girl who had lifted chunks of earth into the air during yesterday's battle, immediately responded.

"We can use PHO to manipulate information, and if we approach the issue skillfully, this information will become known to all capes on the planet."

“That’s right,” Snape said, his thin lips forming an approving smile, “two points to Eidolorin!”

Greengrass's gaze turned towards Taylor, and her eyes literally flashed with an unbearably bright white light.

"Wow," Taylor muttered, "I think she doesn't like me. Why?"

"For defeating Eidolorin yesterday," Lisa immediately whispered right into the ear.

It should be noted that over the past few days, Taylor had become somewhat accustomed to her friend's manner of leaning over, tickling her with her hair, touching her shoulder, and whispering unexpected things directly into her ear.

"Malfoy and ideas of pureblood superiority are very popular on Eidolon," Lisa continued, "so it's no surprise. This is just the beginning; after you crush them at Quidditch, then they'll really hate you!"

Her voice was full of confidence in victory, but Taylor still didn't like the idea of ​​anyone hating her. Like Snape, who stopped and said.

"Minus one point from Herofindor. Since you're neither watching nor listening, Miss Potter and Miss Granger, I assume this information is extremely important?"

"Of course, Professor," Lisa replied with her usual smirk. "I was saying that this year, Herofindor will defeat Eidolorin and take both the House and Quidditch Cups."

"Over my dead body," Snape almost hissed.

"That shouldn't be hard to arrange," Taylor muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something, Miss Potter? No? Then would Miss Granger be so kind as to answer my question about the topic of the lesson?"

"Yes, Professor!" Lisa stood up, almost demonstratively adjusting the skirt and jacket of her school uniform, adorned with the Herofindor colors. "To successfully plant information and spread it quickly on the forum, you need to do the following."

She continued talking, and Taylor noticed Snape's gaze change, becoming appraising. A certain interest appeared on his face. Emma Dursley, with the same expression, assessed the size of her future profits as she looked at the customers who wanted to see her face and body in their product catalogs.

Taylor felt a little scared for her friend.

The Quidditch field was a vast expanse of land, spread out between Wormwarts and the Forbidden Forest, northeast of the lake.

"My brothers and sisters have all competed and are competing in Quidditch," Amy chattered on the way to the field, "and I'd love to compete too! You're so lucky, Taylor, I don't even remember such young Tacticians being selected for the team!"

"Just because you don't remember doesn't mean it didn't happen," Lisa chuckled, rubbing her temples.

She really wants to be on the team. She's happy for Taylor. She's envious of Taylor. She wants to be on the team, but she asked her family and was turned down. She was turned down, given a different assignment, a duty to her family, the healing. She thinks she can help the whole team with healing.

Lisa's eyes widened with satisfaction. All she had to do was get on the team and get Amy on board, and the headache problem would be solved! Maybe in a couple of years, but a Thinker always has to think long-term. Not to mention that with Amy's help, they could work with Sprout and Hagrid's plants and make excellent pain-relieving concoctions.
*

Carlos Wood was already waiting on the training ground, accompanied by the rest of the team. Taylor recognized two of them, the Weasley twins.

"Hi, Eric!" Amy called.

"I'm not Eric, I'm Crystal," she replied.

The students around laughed, and Amy turned red.

"No, really!" Eric intervened. "I put some cotton wool, and she wound the tape."

The players choked with laughter, Amy snorted angrily, then burst into tears and ran away. Lisa hurried after her.

"Finished?" Carlos asked. "Let's get started. This is Taylor Potter, our new Tactician, presumably our new Tactician. McGonagall insists on it."

Taylor saw the smiles fade from faces and the students straighten up.

"This is Eric and Crystal Weasley, along with Dean Johnson, Dennis Spinnet, and Browbeat Bell. I, Carlos Wood, am the team captain and also the Flag Protector."

Taylor's face showed confusion, and Carlos said.

"Let's start with the rules. The Quidditch field is modular and changeable. You can change the surface, what's on it, the landscape, and set traps or mounted weapons — harmless, of course. Each team is assigned a so-called base, a plot of land and underground, and the Captain and Tactician determine exactly what will be set up at the base. The enemy, of course, doesn't know this, just as we don't know how their base is structured. The Flag Protector is not allowed to leave the base and must guard, well, the flag itself, which they can carry, hide, or whatever they like. Points are awarded for all Quidditch actions — disabling traps, destroying weapons, capturing enemies — and the most points are awarded for capturing the flag. In addition to losing points, if the enemy takes the flag, all of our base's defenses are considered destroyed and are removed from the field."

Taylor nodded, feeling like she was losing the thread of the story, and with an effort of will she pulled herself together and concentrated.

There's only one way to win in Quidditch: finding the SNITCH: A Way to Kick Ass Outsiders. Until the SNITCH is found, the battle will continue.
T.N.

"Even if night falls?"

"Even if night falls," Carlos nodded. "Most SNITCHES are found like this: when the enemy is overly tired, when too much time has passed, and everyone has started making mistakes, when the Tactician has missed something. But these are bad, worthless SNITCHES, I'd say. A good SNITCHES always happen unexpectedly, suddenly, quickly, and the enemy is defeated before they even realize it. Those are the types of SNITCHES that get the most points."

“I see,” Taylor replied nervously, biting her nail.

"The Tactician leads the team in battle, issues commands, and develops battle tactics that lead to victory. Of course, the enemy Tactician is the primary target in battle, but they are also protected accordingly (the Weasley twins grinned), and if caught up in the pursuit, they can easily fall into an ambush. The other five capes can attack, defend, or combine attacks—there are no limits."

"What's a captain for? To guard the flag?"

"Including, but it's not really necessary, anyone on the team can guard the flag. It just so happens that out of everyone on the team, I'm the most invulnerable when it comes to face-to-face combat. And the captain also commands if the Tactician is, so to speak, dropped out of the battle."

"What if the captain drops out?"

Then the remaining players fight as best they can. While the Snitch and the flag are worth the most points, it's still possible for the enemy tactician to find the Snitch but still lose because their team lost too many points in the process.

“I see,” Taylor nodded, not really understanding it.

Her head was spinning, but she decided to figure it out during the training.

"Of course, the Tactician needs to know the abilities of everyone on his own and the enemy team, so first a quick overview, and then we'll set up a training field and get started."

"Will everyone put on jetpacks?"

"Not everyone," Carlos replied. "Crystal, for example, flies on her own, Dennis prefers a board, Dean works from the ground, but can also take off in his special armor, and so on. The battle is fought in three dimensions; you can take off, you can land, you can burrow underground, create walls, create barriers, if your strength allows it."

"And the Tactician has to take all this into account?" Taylor sighed, knowing the answer.

"Of course, he's the Tactician!" Wood declared. "Well, let's get started!"

I hope it was worth it, Taylor thought, preparing to memorize.

In addition to lessons and homework, there were also Quidditch practices, which were very, very interesting, but still exhausting and long.
*

"Pull yourself together, Taylor," Quirrell's voice rang out. "You've already missed the third blow! What's wrong with you?"

"Quidditch practice, Professor," Taylor replied wearily a couple of seconds later.

"I understand," Jack said, stroking his beard. "But in battle, the enemy is unlikely to give you time to rest, sleep, wash, and change clothes."

"Yes, Professor," Taylor replied, "the enemy will take me by surprise, and then I'm half lost."

"Exactly. You want to learn how to fight, right?"

"Of course!" Taylor immediately agreed.

It was generally a joy to agree with Professor Quirrell, because he said correct, reasonable things, and he went to meet the wishes of his students, within the framework of his subject, of course.

"Then you must be the one who catches enemies off guard. Be the one who sets the rules of battle."

"Be a Tactician," Taylor muttered.

Her shoulders straightened, she stood up straighter, grabbed her baton, and assumed a defensive stance. Mosquitoes and bees began to fly out of her clothes.

"Excellent, Miss Potter, a point for Herofindor!" Jack smiled broadly. "Let's continue!"
*

"Come on, I'll put it on," Lisa said, using wide strokes to rub the ointment into the base of Taylor's neck and upper back.

"Lisa! Not a single insect will be able to come near me!" Taylor exclaimed.

"There are more than just insects in the Forbidden Forest, you know."

"I can handle the small stuff, Amy can handle the big stuff, no need to get dirty! We're just going to pick some herbs for tea, not planning an expedition to a parallel world! We already visit those places every week with Sinistra!"

"What are you shouting about?" Lisa sighed, raising her hands to her temples. "Yes, we'll go a little further, the herbs there are more powerful, and anyway, I'm interested in what's going on in the Forbidden Forest, where they take the students for lessons, okay?"

“Well, you could have just said so right away,” Taylor immediately waved her hand.

"The Forbidden Forest is called Forbidden because they take the failed experiments from all the Cape labs there," Amy said a little nervously, "that's what Carol told me."

"Just think about it," Lisa chuckled, "it would have been easy to put up a high wall and keep everyone out, right? Or even a force field? But no, the students are taken there for lessons, and the forest is still called Forbidden! There's some other mystery of Wormwarts hidden here, and I want to solve it!"

Taylor and Amy looked at each other and shrugged.

"Forward to unknown mysteries!" Lisa exclaimed pompously, then burst into loud laughter.

* * *

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