"Hermione, you seem different somehow."
Parvati looked Hermione over and said it with open curiosity.
"You seem prettier... and somehow more approachable too..." Said Fay Dunbar.
Hermione could hardly have been happier. Chin lifted high, she looked like a proud little swan. She shot Lavender a glance and gave a smug little huff.
Lavender huffed back, though she looked more flustered than anything else. She no longer had the face to stay in the dormitory, so without saying a word, she opened the door and stormed out.
"This has to be some kind of precious magical item!"
"It might even be worth thousands of Galleons. I've never heard of anything like it..."
All at once Hermione felt that the gift was far too valuable. After thinking it over, she carefully took the earring off and placed it back inside the box. Amazingly, the moment it returned to the box, it turned back into a leaf.
"This is too precious. I have to return it to Altair!"
Hermione pressed her lips together.
Even though she was reluctant to part with it, she still decided to give it back. Just like her dorm mates had said, this leaf was probably an extremely valuable magical object. It was only a birthday present. She did not want Altair spending so much on her.
Even though, deep down, Hermione was very happy.
She lowered her head and looked at the leaf inside the box. Her cheeks flushed faintly as she carefully closed the lid, then drew in a slow breath.
The air in the dormitory was fresh and clear, carrying a special sort of magic that made people feel refreshed and bright-minded.
"I wonder where Altair is right now. Mm... I'll return it to him at lunch."
Hermione put the small gift box back into her schoolbag, then sat down by her bed and pulled out a book to read.
A vine had climbed up the railing at her bedside, and on it bloomed a pale pink flower, giving off a soft, delicate fragrance. For the first time, Hermione felt that reading in the dormitory might actually be even nicer than reading in the library.
...
Altair, naturally, knew nothing about any of this. At the moment, he was in the Room of Requirement, watching his self-stirring cauldron.
"I can probably brew around a thousand bottles of basic Orc potion. The base materials for Uruk-hai potion are enough for about four hundred bottles. Centaur blood can be obtained in the Forbidden Forest, but trolls..."
"The heart tendons from one troll are only enough for about ten bottles of Uruk-hai potion. Five hundred trolls... where exactly am I supposed to find that many?"
Altair let out a sigh.
This was difficult.
Trying to assemble an army of five thousand Uruk-hai was proving to be far harder than he had expected.
First, he had to brew five thousand bottles of basic Orc potion. Then he had to create five thousand ordinary Orcs and harvest their souls. After that, using Orc souls, troll heart tendons, centaur blood, and various other potion ingredients, he would finally be able to brew Uruk-hai potion.
It had to be said, the exchange conditions for those key characters were absurdly harsh.
But once the exchange succeeded, the rewards would be enormous. A twenty percent unlock rate would let him directly unlock one of the One Ring's special abilities.
"I can only start with the old wizarding families. The Malfoy family should have quite a few things in their collection too, right? Or maybe I should just find a way to loot Gringotts and use the money to buy what I need. The wizarding world isn't limited to London, after all..."
"I can wait until the holidays and go buying things in other countries..."
As Altair watched the cauldron bubbling away, his thoughts drifted to Hermione.
"Even if it's only a leaf, it's still from Rivendell's Moon Oak. It may not be anything unusual in Middle-earth, but here, it's a one-of-a-kind magical item."
That leaf had cost Altair twenty story points. It was a leaf from Rivendell's Moon Oak.
Rivendell was an Elven sanctuary, and its Moon Oak had grown for over a thousand years, tempered and blessed by countless workings of life magic and nature magic. Every single leaf carried its own special power.
It could keep the wearer free from dust, draw them closer to nature, keep their energy high, sharpen their concentration, and more.
For someone like Hermione, who loved books, it made a very suitable gift.
After brewing a few more bottles of Orc potion, Altair put away the cauldron and headed to the Great Hall for lunch. He still had a History of Magic class in the afternoon, and he was already mentally prepared for sleep.
...
By the time he reached the Great Hall, Altair spotted Hermione.
The girl waved excitedly at him, as if afraid he might somehow fail to notice her.
"Altair!"
Altair went over and sat beside Hermione. She looked at him shyly, then took the little gift box out of her schoolbag.
"Thank you for the gift, but it's too precious. I can't accept it."
"Precious? It's just a leaf..."
The corner of Altair's mouth twitched.
"Of course it is. Parvati and Fay said that this is a magical item worth at least several thousand Galleons... and it really is very magical..."
Hermione rattled on for quite a while before Altair finally understood. He let out a soft laugh.
"Then it seems they misunderstood. This thing isn't worth several thousand Galleons. It's just a leaf that's had magic cast on it. For most people, it wouldn't be all that useful."
Altair opened the box and took out the Moon Oak leaf.
Whenever someone touched this leaf, it would turn into an earring.
"This is a leaf from a Moon Oak. When moonlight shines on it at night, it changes into the shape and color of the moon. Wearing it lets you be bathed in nature magic, making your mind clearer and your energy stronger. Other than that, it doesn't really do much else."
"Oh, right. The first time the leaf is removed, because it has stored up quite a lot of magical power, it affects the surrounding environment. It's basically the same as casting a natural growth spell on the plants around it."
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T/N:
100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter