Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 12. Весна

Chapter 12. Spring
* * *

In early March, Lisa managed to pick the mechanical lock. It didn't make things any easier, as the three-headed dog remained vigilant and, what's more, even more vicious than before. Calling Fluffy by name, offering him meat, and following standard commands had no effect, and Lisa was nearly devoured. Amy intervened at the last second, slightly stunning Fluffy with a punch to the nose, and Taylor pulled Lisa away.

"You can't beat a dog you can't manipulate!" Amy said angrily.

"We can't rely on such flimsy assumptions!" Lisa replied no less angrily, pressing her hands to her temples.

"Any enemy can be defeated," Taylor said suddenly, remembering Quirrell's lessons. "You just have to choose the right time and place."

"Well, the place is obvious," Amy snapped. "So what?"

"The enemy knows about Fluffy and can come up with a plan, prepare everything to defeat the dog and move on, that's it!" Potter exclaimed, greatly agitated. "Lisa said the enemy's powers balance the headmistress's!"

"Well, the headmistress probably factored that into her plan!" Weasley persisted. "If the opponent is a Thinker, he won't be strong enough to get past the mutant dog!"

"But he is smart enough to make a plan, prepare everything, and then get through Fluffy!"

"Forbidden Forest," Lisa muttered.

"What?" her friends looked at her.

Taylor even took off her glasses and wiped them, then put them back on and repeated.

"What's wrong with the Forest?"

"Everything is right," Lisa replied briefly. "The Forest Guardians, the mannequins, they are needed by the enemy to pass through Fluffy. They are not taken into account by the system. They are trained to deal with dangerous animals, and so on."

"Whoever it was, they hacked the system and teleported a troll inside!" Amy plopped back down in her chair and glared at Taylor and Lisa. "Why can't they teleport something dangerous to Fluffy, like a bomb? Or take out Fluffy himself?"

“Schrödinger’s shield,” Lisa answered immediately.

"What?"

"A region of quantum uncertainty, where the concept of coordinates is blurred," Lisa hissed through clenched teeth. "It's impossible to teleport there, because the cape would simply be smeared across a random volume. Is there any doubt that the philosophical vial is there?"

"No," Amy and Taylor answered in unison.

The headmistress didn’t tell us for nothing.” Granger clicked her tongue and immediately gasped, clutching her head, “We’ll keep looking!”
*

“One of the most important moments in Cape history was April 30, 1945,” Professor Bins said, while the projector showed slides with pictures from World War II. "On that day, Director Dumbledore defeated the Dark Cape Eden de Wald, who controlled not only the top echelons of Nazi Germany, but also three-quarters of the capes of Europe. Although the damage from the battles between capes was limited, it became clear that in the future, in one of the battles, the Earth itself could be destroyed. And so the so-called Secrecy Statute was adopted...

"Lisa, you look a little pale," Taylor said with genuine sympathy.

"I'm gathering information, it's not easy," she replied. "We need to prepare for the next expedition; we might not have the chance to venture deep into the Forest again."

"The popularization of superheroes in films, comics, and stories," Jess Bins's voice could be heard. "In particular, the so-called Captain America starred in films about himself..."

"Isn't it possible to hack their systems without leaving Wormwarts?" Amy asked.

"Yes, it's possible," Lisa grunted, "if you're Headmistress Dumbledore!"

"The Tinkers' mass, stable reproduction of the pocket dimension technology has become one of the keys..."

"You shouldn't overexert yourself like that," Taylor said, placing her hand on Lisa's. "I can do extra reconnaissance during Quidditch practice; I just have to stick to the left side of the field."

"I have to," Granger replied through clenched teeth. "The Forbidden Forest is many kilometers away; you simply can't reach it from the training ground."

"The so-called Wards' program was also reformed into the school system we are accustomed to now, even though this required the elimination of..."

Taylor shook her head and looked reproachfully at Amy, who gave her usual cheek twitch and turned away.
*

"Tell us, Professor Snape, if we were to encounter a huge creature, how would manipulation help us?"

"Speak more clearly, Potter," Thomas Snape replied coldly.

"I'm going to the store..."

"With Granger, to buy her some headache remedies," someone added in a whisper, causing laughter.

"And suddenly a huge… rhinoceros runs out at me!" Taylor said, realizing at the last moment that she shouldn't mention the three-headed dog. "He's not friendly and is getting ready to attack me!"

"Manipulation, of course, won't help you," Snape replied with a smile, "but if you read the title of the textbook on my subject, it also includes 'the art of using information.' Since you want ready-made answers, Potter, and don't want to think..."

"I didn't say that, professor!"

"Then you'll lose a point for interrupting the teacher," Snape continued without missing a beat. "So, let's consider the situation Potter presented us with. What can anyone say about this, beyond the obvious exclamations like: 'Is the Master somewhere nearby?'"

*
In an attempt to organize and foresee everything, calculate plans, and also pick pain-relieving herbs, Lisa overexerts herself and fainted right in the middle of Professor Sprout's lesson.

"Very interesting," Ray said, pulling down Granger's eyelid. "Judging by the dilated pupils, the general skin tone, hm, hm, the ingestion of forbidden plants from the Forest. Miss Weasley, if you please."

"I can't treat heads," Amy grumbled.

"I'm not asking you to do that," the professor chuckled. "Detox Miss Granger before she gets any worse. I've already notified the doctor; medical robots are on their way here. It's just..."

He rolled up the sleeve of Granger's suit and continued confidently.

...if this mixture of ++illusory oregano from the Forest and my pain-relieving cacti is not quickly eliminated, Miss Granger could spend several months in the infirmary, not to mention the risk of losing her power altogether.

The students began to whisper excitedly. Amy sat down next to Lisa and took her hand.

"That's the problem with Thinkers," Sprout said, turning to the giggling students and raising his voice. "And those who follow their advice! And also the problem with the overconfidence that comes with superpowers!"

The students fell silent, Lisa's back arched, and blue-black sweat appeared on her skin.

"Tinkers are workaholics, forgetting to eat and wash, developing spinal curvatures from sitting in the same position for twenty hours! Thinkers suffer from headaches and overloaded abilities! Gunners often can't see flying objects, triggering a shooting reflex, while Masters multiply creatures or view others as potential puppets!"

The impromptu lecture was interrupted by the appearance of three flying medical octopuses. Two grabbed Lisa's arms and legs with their tentacles, and the third began to grope her body and face, wiping away sweat mid-flight.

“So how is it?” Taylor asked quietly.

“She’ll live,” Amy shrugged.

"We need to visit her at the infirmary and rescue her from there!" Potter said decisively.

Amy just sighed. Yes, Lisa was a friend, better than her numerous siblings, but still, sometimes you just wanted to hug this very friend and strangle her. To stop her from being so clever and smirking as if she knew all your secrets, big and small.

"Hello, Lisa," Doctor Pomfrey smiled kindly. "So we meet at last."

She held a five-cc syringe in her hand. She squirted a stream, removing the air, and quickly wiped Granger's hand with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. Lisa jerked indignantly, but the octopus robots held her securely.

"What is this?"

Lisa tried to read the Doctor, but she had already deftly thrust the needle in. A feeling of weakness instantly overwhelmed her.

"Standard sedative, sleep, come on," Granger heard through the haze, and she felt someone stroking her head.

Lisa passed out with a smile on her lips.

"System, start recording!" commanded the Doctor. "Lisa Granger, twelve years old, first year at Gryffindor, Thinker – 6. Standard exhaustion from overuse, aggravated by the use of painkillers. According to information sent by Professor Sprout, Illusory Oregano in concentrations exceeding the permissible level, and a decoction of painkilling cactus, with the use of cactus needles, judging by the color of the nails. Also... vasodilator pills, apparently brought with him, and some unknown mixture of plant origin. A Tinkerl device on her shoulder, automatic injections, the mixture has been sent for analysis. The standard course of treatment is one month, but if serum F-2-3-7/1 is used, there is a ten percent chance of instant recovery, a sixty percent chance of recovery within a week, and an eighty percent chance of minor side effects. An IV drip for 24 hours, with saline solution number three, and a sedative every six hours to stabilize the body. The serum will be administered tomorrow, March 26, at the same time. End of recording!"

The Doctor rubbed her dry, narrow palms with satisfaction and went to drink tea.

"We have to save her!" Taylor almost screamed.

"It'll happen again! She'll overexert herself again and end up there!" Amy snapped.

"So, make sure this doesn't happen again!"

"But..."

"I'm going to save Lisa," Taylor snapped, hooking the band around her shoulder. "She's been lying there motionless for over six hours! Tied up! Who knows what they're doing to her?! It could be worse than a troll, remember what Chris told you!"

"Oh well, so what if they stuck it in his..."

"Are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming," Amy sighed. "But you'll have to clean her up yourself!"

“It’s okay, I can handle it,” Taylor twitched her cheek. “Let’s go!”

The rescue mission was a success. The band allowed them to suppress the identification devices and enter, while the Doctor's tablet, thoughtfully carried by several hundred flies (using pre-woven threads attached to the tablet by spiders), allowed them to issue commands to the medical robots.

"Rescuing a maiden from the robot's tentacles," Amy suddenly giggled.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor frowned.

“Oh, nevermind,” Weasley said, embarrassed, not wanting to tell anyone that she had suddenly remembered the contents of some of the discs that Eric had hidden so carefully that it had been simply impossible to resist looking at them.

On tiptoe, but panting loudly under Granger's weight, they made their way out of the infirmary.

“Where to now?” Amy asked.

"In the shower," Taylor replied immediately. "Everything important and secret always happens in the shower!"

It wasn't that the three friends were shivering as they made their way through the Forbidden Forest, but they were nonetheless nervous. The branches cracking underfoot made them shudder, and the mud and slush swore quietly. A chilly, warm breeze blew, and it was clear that the Forest would soon be clothed in green. But for now, the bare tree trunks offered virtually nothing, and this served as an additional source of nervousness.

"Are you sure the band is blocking all surveillance and recording devices?" Amy asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes," Lisa answered wearily. "It's the so-called Zion effect, discovered back in the early days of capes. True, no one has managed to replicate it except Dragon."

"By the way, where did the Dragon and the Founders disappear?" Taylor suddenly asked.

"They disappeared somewhere," Lisa shrugged. "Eden de Wald probably enslaved them, too; that's why they took so long to deal with her. So what?"

"There's nothing for five hundred meters around," Taylor replied, "but if the mannequins are hiding in the ground, my insects won't smell them!"

"It's okay, the mannequins are nothing with the bandage," Granger grinned, "it's the animals in the Sphere that are dangerous, but luckily we have Amy!"

"Fighting close together with your hands tied isn't exactly comfortable," Weasley snapped.

A three-meter mannequin glided past, about a hundred meters away, without paying any attention to the three brave students.

“Well, I’m saying…,” Lisa began, and then a howl rolled through the forest.

Thin, high, piercing, it became deeper and deeper, gained strength, and one could discern that it was not just one animal howling, but a whole pack.

"Hagrid's dogs," Lisa muttered, puzzled. "Something doesn't add up."

"We have to leave. The band won't hide us from the dogs," Amy declared immediately.

"Yes, we need to go deeper into the Forest," Lisa responded. "Otherwise, what was the point of this whole expedition?"

"Let's move on," Taylor said after a moment's thought. "We're Rachel's friends, her dogs know us, so the most we'll get is a punishment, a loss of points, or detention, or both."

And they moved on.

"It's unbelievable," Taylor whispered. "This can't be!"

"What's going on, what's going on? I hear sounds, what's going on?" Lisa whispered.

"Hagrid's dogs are fighting mannequins!" Taylor, unaware that she was biting her fingers, said. "It's... unbelievable, it looks like her entire pack is there, fifteen of them, all life-size! And... Hagrid's with them! She's furious... shouting something, giving commands. Oh!"

"What? What?" Lisa shook her.

“I’m definitely not going there,” Amy snorted.

Away from the mannequins, a figure, just like back then, during the match! The robots don't notice it... it's attacking Hagrid's dogs! Something in its hands, huge and metallic!

“I see,” Lisa muttered.

"What do you see?"

"He's looking for a weapon against the dog, against Fluffy. He's convinced that conventional means won't do the trick; he needs power against power, and now, using the Sphere robots, he's attacking stealthily, testing. Hagrid's power in the dogs is the same as in Fluffy; what took the dogs, will work with Fluffy," Lisa muttered. "Is the figure completely sealed?"

"Yeah, I can't get inside," Taylor replied despairingly. "The helmet, the armor, everything is smooth and impersonal, like those very mannequins!"

"Either he hacked the system, locking some of the robots onto himself," Lisa muttered, "or he made a deal with Alan Gramm, who gave him control, blocking the transmission of information to Wormwarts. Either way, the Headmistress doesn't know, and that will give the evil stranger time to find a way and then use it on the Fluffy."

“We have to do something,” Taylor clenched her fists.

"What? How are you going to use insects, a handful of insects, against two-ton dogs, impenetrable robots, and most likely the Dark Cape?"

"I don't know," Taylor replied, biting her lip, "but I'll think of something. There has to be a way, there always is, you just have to figure it out, come up with it, figure it out."

She froze, focused. Lisa listened to the sounds of battle, noting how they were gradually increasing in volume. There were not only howls, but also growls, squeals, and the crackling of robots being destroyed. Amy stood leaning against a tree, unaware that the bark and trunk of the tree enveloped her like armor.

"What a great idea!" Lisa exclaimed, turning around. "Let's hide in the tree!"

"No, we have to help!" Taylor shook herself, coming out of her trance.

"My power is useless," Amy said immediately.

"My power is not worth much in a fight," Lisa grinned.

"It's okay, I already found the snitch!" Taylor replied, narrowing her eyes.

For a few seconds, everything remained the same, then a frantic yelp of a dozen dogs erupted. Taylor winced and jerked her head, and Rachel's cries of dissatisfaction and anger could be heard. The sound of robots breaking ceased, replaced by the crunching of trees. Taylor stood staring into space, directing the swarm on the battlefield.

“And what was that?” Amy asked later.

"If you're facing two, pit them against each other," Taylor replied. "My swarm found its way into Hagrid's dogs and bit their real bodies, directing them toward that sinister figure in a suit."

"And?"

"If Taylor had managed to identify someone, she would have told us right away, back in the Forest," Lisa noted. "There's no point in desperately running all the way to Wormwarts and then announcing the name."

"Yes," Taylor sighed. "It's a man, that's all I can tell."

"But how..."

"It's better not to ask," Taylor waved her hand dismissively. "He retreated too quickly and disappeared; pursuing him would have been impossible without having to make a detour around the scene of the fight."

"This is not to mention that the robots could go into combat mode, simply attacking everyone," Lisa added.

"Okay, so the expedition failed, so what now?" Amy persisted.

"It's much simpler," Taylor sighed. "I understand what needs to be done. We were starting from the wrong tactic: why chase the enemy when you can wait, and he'll come to you? My insects will guard the door on the third floor, weave webs and nests, and no one will be able to get through unnoticed."

"And then what, are we going to fight him?"

"We might not have to fight," Taylor replied, not entirely confidently. "First, we need to understand who our enemy is, and then build our tactics and strategy from there."

"So, we wait and don't run anywhere?" Amy clarified.

"Yes. Especially since exams and annual projects are coming up soon."

Amy, who had become cheerful, grabbed her head with Lisa's gesture.
* * *

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