Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 3. Первые уроки в новом году

Chapter 3. First Lessons of the New Year
* * *

Taylor took a bandage out of her pocket and wrapped it around her arm.

"The flying carts are part of the Wormwarts system," Lisa noted, studying the transport closely, "but it's true, it's true.

"If anything happens, I'll take you all away!" Victoria exclaimed, raising her hand to the heavens.

“You don’t have enough hands,” Lisa giggled.

"Taylor can sit on my neck," Victoria said modestly, looking down, crushing the stone under her feet with the toe of her shoe.

"Okay, let's just get in and get there," Amy said angrily. "A flying car, big deal!"

"A high-comfort antigravity platform, each seating four people, is controlled from a central hub in Wormwarts. "Simply put, no one will be allowed behind the wheel, due to the lack of one," Granger declared, jumping onto the platform itself. "Therefore, the name 'flying cart' most accurately conveys the essence of our transport. What? I'm a growing Thinker, I need to develop my powers!"

As Taylor climbed onto the platform, which truly resembled a wheelless car hovering half a meter above the ground, she realized she, too, would need to work on developing her powers. This year, the Snitch wouldn't be so easy to catch in Quidditch matches, which meant she'd need new tricks and tactics!

Contrary to Taylor's expectations, no one in the Great Hall glared at her or reproached her for the train delay or anything like that. They simply glanced disapprovingly, nothing more, and didn't even make any particular gestures behind her back. The Sorting Ceremony went much faster this time, probably because Taylor was sitting in the Hall rather than standing among the first-years in line for the Sorting Helmet. Victoria Weasley, as expected, was sorted into Herofindor and immediately flew back to Amy, Taylor, and Lisa to boast about her success.

"It's okay, classes will start, and she'll leave you alone. You know what the workload is in the first year," Lisa noted encouragingly.

Taylor shrugged. There were no Dursleys in Wormwarts, which was already a lot.

*
September 2, 2022, Wormwarts

"It was boring swimming with the dogs," Victoria chattered as the four of them went down to breakfast in the common room, "but I took off and lifted the dog, and it immediately became fun, and Hagrid shouted at me."

"You'll have to go and apologize to her," Taylor said firmly.

After all, Rachel Hagrid had opened Wormwarts for her, not to mention she was the first Cape Taylor had ever met. Aside from her parents, of course, but Taylor barely remembered them. And overall, Rachel was a good person, except, of course, that Hagrid wasn't particularly fond of people, preferring dogs.

"Oh, of course, and she'll show us the Forbidden Forest, too?" Victoria continued to chatter.

People were looking at them; the youngest Weasley was speaking too loudly and beaming, but then, to Taylor's relief, it was over. Declaring that she needed to watch her figure and that breakfast was unhealthy, Victoria soared into the air and flew off somewhere toward the lake.

"Now don't break the rules!" Carol Weasley flew up and ran after her little sister.

"Is skipping breakfast a violation?" Taylor asked Lisa.

"It's all... complicated," she scratched her nose, hiding her invariable smirk under her hand. "Remember, I told you last year about the Houses and what the Wormwarts system is aimed at?"

"Yes, yes, I remember, the thirst for conflict, restraint, and so on."

"Not everyone succeeds in socializing and learning to curb their thirst for conflict enough to live among ordinary people and go to the dentist without fear," Lisa said, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows and puffing out her cheeks.

Taylor giggled behind her back, and Amy frowned, causing her freckles to seem to all converge into one spot.

"I'm not afraid of going to the dentist," she said.

"Of course not," Taylor replied, putting her arms around her friends' shoulders and towering between them, "and I'm sure Lisa didn't mean anything like that, we're not having a lesson in intelligence and intrigue with Snape, are we?"

Anyone else might have glanced over to see if Snape, the "Professor of Intriguebrewing," as Lisa had nicknamed him, was standing behind them. But Taylor, thanks to the insects, "saw" everything around her and knew there was no one behind them except the Patil sisters and Lavender Brown, walking fifteen meters behind.

"Yes, I just wanted to say that the rest of the capes live in enclaves, in pocket dimensions, alongside other capes," Lisa explained, "and that still requires some minimal level of socialization. If a student breaks away from the group... it could all end badly. For Victoria, of course, even her beautiful figure won't save her then."

“Okay, I’ll talk to her,” Amy sighed.

"Or Taylor could do it," Granger grinned, "and to keep it secret, the conversation needs to be held where the castle can't overhear it, that is, in the shower!"

"Or by putting on a Dragon armband," Taylor countered.

“That’s not bad either,” Lisa approved, “not bad.”

Taylor looked at her friend and decided to talk to her later. It was clear that Granger was a Thinker, and that this was how she used her superpowers to gather information, manipulate, and so on; however, it wasn't right to treat her friends in that manner.

At least, not without a good explanation.

After breakfast, classes began, the school year began, and Taylor felt herself getting better. The teachers and subjects were familiar, and even though the material was expected to be more challenging this year, Taylor believed in herself; she believed she could handle it.
*

Hannah McGonagall immediately began the lesson by checking the knowledge gained last year.

"Okay," she announced. "I see everyone remembers the rules for handling bladed weapons and firearms. This year, we'll be studying pistols and everything related to them, but not just theory and assembly/disassembly, but practical application. In Survival class with Professor Sinistra, you'll be using pistols in practice, in Planning class with Professor Flitwick, and in Intrigue class with Professor Snape, you'll be using them in calculations, not to mention classes with Professor Lockhart. Is everything clear to everyone?"

Granger was delighted, Amy was indifferent, but overall, Taylor sensed, the class was rather dissatisfied. Following Jack's lead, Taylor tried to understand what was going on here — after all, guns are a great supplement to superpowers. Was it possible that guns interfered with others' superpowers? Or did they not want to waste time on them, believing their own superpowers were more reliable and superior? Or was this a manifestation of that same thirst for conflict, the desire to fight, as they say, with fists and fangs?

There was no answer, but Taylor made a note to think about it later.

*
Jess Binns, the History of Capes teacher, wheeled up to the board in her wheelchair and informed the second years of Herofindor and Legendpuff.

"Last year, you gained a general understanding of the history of capes, their origins, and their influence on world events. This year, we'll examine in detail the foundational period, which some mistakenly call the "golden age of capes" — specifically, the years from 1908 to 1914, from the Tunguska meteorite impact to the outbreak of World War I. We'll also examine World War I itself, from the perspective of Cape history, and the contribution of capes, especially the early Tinkers, to the war, but that will be next year. The aftermath of World War I will also be addressed, as it was the event that saw many of the events that are now considered the unshakable foundations of Cape society. Let's begin with the aftermath of the meteorite impact."

Jess moved aside and released a projection that began to fly around the holographic board and mark the areas affected by the Tunguska meteorite on a three-dimensional map of the Earth.
*

On her way to the greenhouses where Ray Sprout, the dean of Legendpuff, was teaching, Taylor noticed something wrong with the surrounding landscape.

"Stop," said Lisa, beating her to it by a split second. "That tree wasn't here!"

Not far from the greenhouses, between them and the lake, stood a huge tree. Some kind of hybrid, which Taylor couldn't identify. Lisa, judging by her frown, also couldn't figure out what it was or how it had grown there. The friends looked at Amy, who shrugged and walked over to the tree to touch it and determine what was inside.

As Weasley approached, the tree suddenly lurched forward, its nearest branches bending, reaching toward Amy, who yelped and jumped back. The longest branch finally reached her, lashing out at her leg with a flexible branch, and Amy jabbed a finger in response. The tree swayed and rustled, its branches flailing angrily, trying to reach her, but Amy was already retreating toward her friends.

"A cross between willow, oak, sequoia, baobab, and larch," she said, rubbing her leg, where a welt from the stinging blow had swelled. "Damn it! Why can't I heal myself?!"

“But you can heal us,” Lisa sang sweetly, hugging the bent-over Amy from behind.

Ray Sprout, who had appeared from behind a tree, saw this and couldn't help but whistle, and Niceguy Lockhart, who had followed him, smoothed his golden hair with his hand and remarked conciliatorily.

"A student simply decided to help another student by carrying her on her back. The Capes of Indonesia also have a similar ritual associated with passing..."

"What are you doing here?" Ray shouted. "Didn't you see the signs?"

"There was nothing here, Professor," Taylor replied.

"Damn it, it's ruined everything again!" Sprout turned to the tree, annoyed.

"I think both sides learned their lesson," Lockhart smiled, looking at the dead branch that had fallen from the tree, which Amy had touched earlier.

Taylor felt her lips curl into a smile, despite herself. Professor Niceguy was simply magnificent, it seemed, as if he weren't a professor, but Taylor's classmate, no, best friend.

"Okay," Ray grumbled. "Thanks for your help, Professor, I couldn't have done it without you."

“Experience, experience,” Lockhart said, throwing up his hands.

"Go to the greenhouses," Ray said to Taylor and her friends, "and tell everyone I'll be there in ten minutes!"

"I'll show them the way," Niceguy offered kindly, "I just have a couple of questions for Miss Potter."

Taylor felt her lips spread into another smile, fading somewhere behind her ears. Amy and Lisa were smiling too, the former as if she'd forgotten about the tree strike, the latter about her habit of finding the bad in people. Taylor agreed, though; there was nothing wrong with Professor Lockhart. He'd praised Taylor for her good grades in Defense Against the Dark Powers, started talking about last year's classes, inquired about Professor Quirrell, and then the conversation naturally turned to the tragic events that had occurred at the end of the previous school year. Taylor told her story, Lisa added, Amy chimed in, Lockhart asked questions, and before they knew it, they'd found themselves in the greenhouses.

Ray Sprout walked in quickly, almost running, and immediately shouted.

"So, students, have you all seen the huge tree near the lake? Well, it's best not to go near it, as some of you have learned from your own experience!"

"What is this, Professor?" asked one of Alexanclaw's students (they were taking a plant growing lesson together).

"It's a fighting tree!" Sprout declared proudly. "I haven't taught it how to dig itself out yet, but it can already fight with its branches!"

He glanced at the students and sighed.

"Has no one read Tolkien?"

"Did he seriously breed an ent over the summer?" Lisa muttered under her breath.

"But I'm not just drawing your attention to the tree because it's best not to go near it!" Ray raised his voice. "This year, we'll not only be studying plant growing further, but we'll also be growing... combat bushes! These are the younger grandchildren of the combat tree, just right for second-year students!"

"Excuse me, Professor, but why do we need them?" asked Lavender Brown.

Taylor noticed that Lavender's legs felt incredibly solid, almost like they were no longer alive, and that her upper body was slightly swollen. She wondered if Brown had also collided with the tree. Perhaps even harder than Amy, since she'd resorted to her Changer powers.

"Besides the fact that you need to develop your plant-growing skills, they make an excellent living fence! No burglar or gopher will slip through these fighting bushes! I see the question on your faces — do fighting bushes really attack everyone? Of course not! As you grow them, you'll care for and train them, and by the end of the school year, the bush you've grown should consider you its master! Now grab your aprons, gloves, and these helmets, and let's get started!"

"If anything goes wrong, Amy can handle them," Lisa whispered in Taylor's ear.

*
Taylor was looking forward to her DADP class on Friday, and not just because she enjoyed the subject.

"You do realise that Professor Lockhart isn't Quirrell, don't you?" Lisa asked at lunch on Thursday.

Somehow, the trio became somewhat isolated from the rest of the students. Granger attributed this to the adventures they'd shared, calling them "experiences that truly bring people together."

"And that's wonderful!" Amy suddenly answered instead of Taylor.

"Listen, friend," Lisa narrowed her eyes, "what was going on with you and Jack? He made dirty advances towards you and promised to show you his Dark Cape?"

"You were there," Amy grumbled reluctantly after a long pause, "and you heard everything."

"Well, not all of them, I was cut up a bit there, so I might have missed a couple of bits of information."

Amy languidly picked at her salad with her fork, her head down.

"Don't push," Taylor intervened, turning to Granger. "If she wants to, she'll tell you, right, Amy?"

"I don't like it when people hide information from me," Lisa drummed her fingers on the table. "Especially when it's my best friends."

"You won't like what you hear," Amy muttered without raising her head.

"Then don't tell!" Taylor nodded.

"You can write," Lisa grinned, but then stopped herself. "Okay, okay, Amy, you're my best friend, how can I make it up to you? Let me give you a warm hug!"

"Thank you. No need," Amy continued looking down and picking at her salad with her fork. "I'll tell you later. Maybe."

Taylor thoroughly enjoyed Professor Lockhart's lesson, though his teaching style was radically different from Jack Quirrell's. Niceguy unleashed a swarm of miniature flying balls—drones on the students, feigning helplessness. The students' task was to work together in teams to rescue the professor. Niceguy was simply amazing at his job: he flew near the ceiling, suspended by a pack of drones, and the students rushed to the attack, rushing to help the "helpless victim." The girls were especially eager, but the flying mini-robots proved cunning creatures. They, too, huddled together, fired weak blasts, and deftly dodged the students' attacks.

The outcome of the battle was decided by Taylor, who deftly entangled some of the robots in webbing and disabled others by striking the weak points Granger had identified. Having bound them with webbing, Taylor created spheres that were actively attacked by the Blasters, led by Parvati Patil. Niceguy cheered the students on from above, then deftly leaped down, clapping his hands.

"Well done, everyone!" he declared. "Mini-drones may be a weak opponent, but not everyone has my charm and experience."

He pretended to brush dust off his elegant suit and continued.

"The ability to quickly form teams, cooperate, and distribute forces is crucial, and we'll return to this lesson again and again. And twenty points to Miss Potter for her mastery of Tactics."

"I am the Tactician, Professor!"

"I know," Lockhart smiled, "I know."
* * *

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