Chapter 405: Mindset Problem

"A long, long time ago, the life of the vampire tribe was very difficult, because our own strength was not strong, but we had to rely on sucking blood to survive, which led to many compatriots dying at the hands of demon hunters," Mia says slowly. "During that time, vampire ancestors tried to learn wizard spells to protect themselves with magic. But the magic power possessed by vampires is very scarce, not enough to support the casting of various spells."

"So you need casting materials to reduce the consumption of spells, and it just so happens that Hades Blood is a usable substance that is also very convenient to use?" Harry summarizes. "This is the origin of Blood Magic, right?"

"That's right," Mia nods in agreement. "But there is another point that is equally important, which is the magical nature of Hades Blood. Its magic content is actually very high, but it is slightly inert. It can be said that most of a vampire's magic power is actually stored in Hades Blood in an inert form. Blood Magic helps vampires achieve spellcasting by causing resonance in Hades Blood. It sounds magical, but this is not essentially different from wizards mobilizing their own magic power to cast spells."

"This is also the problem you and Professor Snape are researching, right?" Harry echoes. "A wizard's blood does not have such a high magic content, so the effect of wizards using Blood Magic will be very poor. And blood is also very important to wizards, so it cannot be consumed too much at once."

"You are very good at summarizing," Mia says very politely. "Therefore, if you have any inspiration on this issue, please be sure to discuss it with me."

Summarizing is to make it easier for Ron to understand, Harry thinks, looking back at Ron, who seems to have something to say at this moment.

"By the way, Miss," Harry guesses Ron is concerned about the Moon Rider matter. "How much do you know about the Moon Rider?"

"I don't know, that's just a legend," Mia shakes her head very naturally. "The royal family, the Moon Rider, these are too far away for us. I just heard a few words about it when chatting."

"A few words are fine too," Ron looks at her eagerly.

"The Moon Rider is some kind of power possessed by the vampire royal family, an overwhelming power... that's all I've heard," Mia shrugs. "In fact, Harry, I came to find you for another matter."

"You speak first."

"It's about Nikola. I don't want him to get too close to a human girl," Mia says very seriously. "This is a harm to both of them."

"I certainly hope my players put more energy into the game, but I seem to find it difficult to interfere in other people's private lives," Harry says in a flat tone containing distress. "We tried to persuade them before, but... it doesn't seem to have any effect."

"Nikola is my only relative, so please take care of him," Mia stands up, then bows very formally to Harry. It seems she is preparing to leave.

"I can only say I'll try my best," Harry doesn't dare to give an absolute guarantee. After all, this belongs to a field he always feels he can't understand, and even suspects he has no talent for.

Except for some academic exchanges about Hades Blood, this conversation can be said to have no gains for both sides, which makes Harry feel a little frustrated.

Mia seems to know nothing about the Moon Rider, which doesn't match Greglio's information. However, if it can be determined that the Moon Rider is a trouble that needs to be solved urgently rather than some level-breaking game, then he can put down his concerns and use all means to deal with him...

"Blood Magic and Hades Blood, what are those for?" Ron suddenly asks. "And Nikola and Edith's romance—why did Mia say this would be a harm?"

"I'll answer you one by one," Harry organizes his thoughts. "Vampire Blood Magic is one of the few means that can cause effective damage to Kamen Riders, because they use blood as a carrier, giving the spell a physical form, so the armor cannot easily defend against it. And Hades Blood is a vampire's blood. Snape is researching how wizards can also use their own fresh blood to release Blood Magic."

"As for Nikola and Edith," when talking about them, Harry is still a bit upset. "Who knows what counts as harm? Maybe she wants to say that the lifespan theory will cause tragedy, maybe she is worried about them being expelled by McGonagall, or maybe it's just some prejudice of old conservative parents."

"Old conservative!" Harry suddenly claps his hands. "Could it be that the Moon Rider is, but, no, it shouldn't be the same thing."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Moon Rider is a restorationist within the vampires. The ancient vampire royal family strictly forbade intermarriage with humans. Originally, I suspected Mia was worried about this—but on second thought, he couldn't give up his restoration cause just to monitor and punish twelve-year-old children for puppy love here. Besides, when we first met the Moon Rider, they weren't together yet," Harry says, shaking his head. "It shouldn't be the same thing."

"What do you mean the Moon Rider is a restorationist?" Ron says, confused.

"Ah, it's about like this," Harry scratches his head. "Sirius got some information from Greglio before, I forgot to tell you..."

After a slight hesitation, Harry feels that since Mia didn't say any useful information, it's better to tell Ron a little bit about what he heard from Sirius. These shouldn't be secrets, but they can barely soothe Ron's anxious mood.

"So the Moon Rider is nothing great, just an ambitious young vampire," Ron's tone sounds much more relaxed. "I think I might really be able to defeat him."

"Is that so? Is your state getting better?" Harry says pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I originally thought he was some kind of foreign agent," Ron touches his cheek. "But it's the same, if he dares to cause trouble at Hogwarts, I will defeat him."

Harry shrugs. It is certainly a good thing that Ron can have some confidence; it is much more comfortable than the desperate look he had before.

And with the passage of time, this confidence also begins to ferment slowly. Before going to sleep at night, Ron suddenly sits up from the bed and says righteously: "I have to go to the Room of Requirement."

"Oh?" Harry is already in his pajamas, lying on the bed. He doesn't really want to change clothes. "Now?"

"Right, I... I thought of a new move, I'll go practice it," Ron says unnaturally. "It's okay, I'll go by myself."

Harry hears the unnaturalness, but he thinks Ron probably just wants to go see the Mirror of Erised. He doesn't intend to object, so he follows up: "That's fine, I'm really too lazy to move."

A long time passes. Harry is sure he has read this book far beyond the planned progress. Finally, he decides not to wait for Ron anymore and pulls the bed curtains to sleep.

Early the next morning, at the dining table in the Great Hall, Ron suddenly says: "You are going to have class at the old bat's place today, and you will meet Mia, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Mia didn't say everything," Ron says seriously. "There is one thing worth paying attention to: why does Snape think Blood Magic can work on Kamen Riders?"

"Ah?" Harry is stunned for a moment. "It was deduced, after all... Eh? It seems a bit wrong."

"Right, we learned from Zhang Qiu that only spells with physical carriers can better threaten Kamen Riders," Ron says seriously. "But how did Snape know?"

"So, it must be that Mia recommended Blood Magic to Snape first, or more likely, Greglio recommended Blood Magic to the Ministry of Magic, and the reason Snape believes it is because there is historical record proving that Blood Magic is useful and effective."

"Historical record?" Harry is still thinking about the previous matter. He feels Ron's deduction is a bit arbitrary.

"What do vampires rely on to achieve revolution?" Ron taps the table. "Of course, it's Blood Magic. They relied on Blood Magic to defeat the Moon Rider back then, and then they overthrew the vampire royal family."

"So the Moon Rider has never been a threat. Vampires could defeat him once and can defeat him a second time. He is not pretending to be mysterious, just lonely and helpless, having to hide," Ron continues. "We just have to deal with a down-and-out vampire with a daydream. I can certainly defeat him, absolutely can, easily can!"

"I think you thinking this way is a bit dangerous," Harry shakes his head. "First of all, about the effectiveness, Ge Xuan Jun is after all one of the people who knows the Rider system best, and Snape is also very likely to have obtained the information from him; and back then, only the royal family was overthrown, but the Moon Rider himself might not have been defeated. He might have broken through and left—I say these things hoping you won't underestimate the enemy. Don't forget, after all, you didn't take advantage of him in the two times you fought him."

"And, why did you suddenly think of so much? Did you use the Inspiration Spell yesterday?"

"Ah, that's not it, it's just, I ran into... Hermione," Ron says embarrassedly. "She was practicing spells in the Room of Requirement."

"Hermione?" Harry says in surprise, and then he notices that Hermione happens to be sitting not far from them. She returns a big smile to this side.

"How could you—" Harry says in a low voice. "We shouldn't have dragged her into this."

"I originally just wanted to practice swordsmanship, I swear," Ron's face is red. "But I found she happened to be there, so I tried to chat with her awkwardly for a while. Maybe I shouldn't have made small talk about vampires, but you know, the pressure of chatting with Hermione is too great. She almost knows everything, and nothing else can arouse her interest."

"And, just asking her to help brainstorm, this isn't against the rules, right?" Ron says with a guilty conscience.

"It's indeed not against the rules, it's just not very good," Harry sighs. Hermione was just kindly explaining, but unintentionally caused Ron's mindset to slide to another extreme, which is a very worrying thing.

Hermione doesn't seem to realize this. When finishing breakfast, she reveals a beautiful smile to the two again. At that time, Harry almost didn't dare to look at Ron's expression. ===== CHAPTER 406 =====