Soon we were again closer to the center of Prague, and it was already getting late in the evening. The somewhat prolonged journey and walking affected us quite obviously, and now we found ourselves in a small patio, a kind of courtyard at a restaurant, although in this case - a large and expensive cafe. There were very few visitors both inside and outside, and the time of year was chilly by local standards, but how can you frighten an Englishman with a slight chill and gradually clearing evening sky? I would like to understand at least a little bit in Czech, because the quarter chosen for a walk clearly did not imply the presence of tourists here, and there were no duplicate inscriptions in English, like the menu in the cafe, here. So after I pulled back a chair for Delphine and sat across from her, to my slight embarrassment, she was the one who had to deal with the order.
"I'm a little surprised, mentor," I smiled as we waited for the order. The night lights were already turning on in the streets, though the almost clear sky still gave off a blueness that changed to redness at sunset.
"What exactly are you surprised about?"
"You know the Czech language, and, apparently, you know how to handle ordinary money. You are guided in the city of ordinary people. You know, dealing with our pure-blood wizards sometimes assures me of the impossibility of what I see now."
Delphine smiled, fixing the thick braid of hair on her shoulder.
"Somehow, it so happened that I am trained to read and count, and I dare to hope that I have no lack of intelligence. And when you travel around the world, the skill of orientation in cities comes one way or another. And what's more, I can somehow distinguish between a cafe, an atelier, and a library."
"Don't get me wrong..."
"Don't worry," Delphine said. "I myself have repeatedly fallen into a stupor, seeing the inability of many wizards to simply navigate in three buildings or cross the road. There are things, the understanding of which is not taught, and it comes only in the course of long observations and subconscious analysis of regularity. For example, have you noticed that in England, people in the ordinary world, without noticing it, try to walk on the left side of the road, and in other countries - on the right?"
"Hmm, that's true."
"And it's simple - in England, cars drive on the left side, and in other countries, except Japan, if I'm not mistaken, on the right side. There is no such thing in principle in the magical world, and everyone walks where it is convenient. But many of the everyday regularity and things are the same for both worlds because we were divided not so long ago, and those who remember times without the Statute are still alive. The same cafes, libraries, publishing houses, specialty stores, etc., all have the same idea and concept, except the stuffing is different.
The waiter brought us our order, and we slowly began our meal, during which we remained silent, enjoying the local cuisine. Only when it was time for drinks and quiet time, and the sky overhead had finally darkened, giving way to electric but soft light, did we continue our conversation.
"And how, by the way, will the commission notify us to return?"
"Patronus or Golem," Delphine shrugged. "Speaking of golems, since we're in Prague. Did you know that this name for artificially created pseudo-intelligent objects owes its origins to Prague?"
"Honestly? No."
"Then you should definitely read both the legends of ordinary people and specific literature on transfiguration. It's not like we touched on golem building in detail, just the general basics and tenets. In general, in transfiguration, no one is particularly surprised to create something intelligent, but everything uses one or another pattern from the wizard's mind. The same statues at Hogwarts. Ancient design, but essentially no golem there - just a transformation and enchantment with a pattern of behavior and commands."
We sipped juice from our glasses, after which Delphine continued:
"And it was here in Prague that a famous thinker and master, not so much in transfiguration, as in the Kabbalah relevant at that time, was able to create a semblance of the soul and mind, enclosing it in a clay man. In Kabbalah, a long time ago, they tried to realize the legend according to which God created a man from clay, giving him a soul. This was implemented in the sixteenth century by Judah Loew. It was his work, almost a hundred years later, that gave rise to golem building. And the very word "golem" was taken by wizards to commemorate the origin of Judah Loew. Funny, by the way, that one of the forms of this word, 'goylem,' means 'clumsy idol, dummy.'"
"Even so? Goylem? Haha..."
Delphine smiled, too, realizing what I was getting at.
"In this light," I spoke through a smile, "one surname we know is seen in a very different light. And most importantly - right in the bull's-eye."
"As you name the boat," Delphine shrugged, continuing to smile, "so it will float."
As soon as we paid up and left the hospitable establishment, a tiny bird landed on Delphine's shoulder, dropping an equally tiny note in her hands and immediately flying away. Without any wands, Lady Greengrass enlarged the note and glanced at me as she read it.
"It's time."
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