Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 549-547: The Magic Network (4k)

The bar was warm and inviting.

Hermione's worries did not dampen Harry's excitement.

“I know, Hermione. Where are we going later?”

Harry gazed wistfully out the glass window.

"Joko's joke shop is just ahead—"

Justin said, holding two glasses of butterbeer.

"We can go to the Screaming Shack—"

Ron nervously offered his advice.

Sheen listened to their discussion while curling up in the soft chair.

Once it gets warmer, he should leave. The Hog's Head Tavern he's going to is still open today; and Professor Quirrell is waiting for him in Fairy Tale Place.

"call--"

It was still a bit chilly by the window; even Sheen's breath froze into frost.

"My dearest student..."

A cool, slightly teasing voice interrupted Sheen's thoughts.

In the magic mirror, a familiar face looked at him with a smile.

"professor."

Sheen's calm tone held a hint of inquiry.

"I've come to see you about that conjecture you brought up last time..."

Professor Terra was clearly sitting in her office, where the occasional creaking of machinery could be heard.

"Local Area Network?"

Sheen paused for a moment, then immediately understood.

"The feedback from Hogsmeade is quite good, isn't it?"

Professor Terra's silver hair fluttered slightly, and her face showed undisguised satisfaction.

"By the way, Vagado is fully equipped. Just as those gossipy journalists have said: the magic network will bring about the most radical innovation of the current century, and wizards who cannot keep up with the times are destined to be eliminated."

Professor Terra's eyes shone like stars when she said this.

Sheen stared at the mirror, looking slightly lost in thought.

The Local Area Network is a small modification by Sheen.

Just now, in Hogsmeade, the same sentence appeared on the wizard's magic mirror: the result of this modification.

Its main principle is a magic hand mirror that briefly connects a region, allowing them to transmit the same message.

In fact, the communication principle of the magic hand mirror lies in a few simple spells.

Linking spells, mapping spells, and activation spells.

What Sheen did was simply weaken the mapping function, allowing more magic hand mirrors to be linked.

In simple terms, a standalone Magic Mirror supports video calls, while a Magic Mirror on a local area network only supports text, and even then, it's just text typing from the Magic Mirror's central location.

Originally, Sheen designed this feature simply to make it easier to grind proficiency.

Since the Magic Hand Mirror's proficiency level wasn't increasing quickly, Sheen made reforms and added functions, which caused the proficiency level to increase rapidly.

Just like the internal space of the Wizarding Book, as Sheen expands, the increase in proficiency also becomes faster.

In the foreseeable future, Sheen will be able to place even more magical creatures inside.

"The Hogsmeade wizards have a 220% activation rate for the local magic network, far exceeding our expectations."

Professor Terra continued, raising her eyebrows.

"Two hundred and twenty percent...?"

Sheen thought he had misheard.

"Oh, there are many wizards willing to come to Hogsmeade to test the Localized Magic Network, even if it's just to hear how the weather is today."

Professor Terra's lips curled into a half-smile.

"The British Ministry of Magic, the Magical Congress of the United States, the German Ministry of Magic, the Norwegian Ministry of Magic, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Magic... a total of twelve magical governments have expressed their intention to purchase from the Emerald Workshop... 30,000 Galleons... annually."

Sheen was slightly surprised.

"Professor, please make the decision for me."

He replied.

"You are the only wizard in the entire magical world capable of creating a localized magical network, I think that's probably..."

Professor Terra's tone was subtle, tinged with amusement.

"I am merely your student, Professor."

Sheen said.

"Oh?"

Professor Terra's smile deepened.

"Let's put them aside for now. This price is far from enough to reach the limits of this magical technology... The function of the magic net can never be replaced by those messy paper airplanes and owl messengers flying with excrement."

In certain critical moments, the Magic Network's convenient communication and security technologies are enough to transform the entire Ministry of Magic—especially during capture operations.

It's easy to imagine that once the local magic network is connected, the Ministry of Magic will no longer need those annoying paper airplanes or owls.

In addition, the Ministry of Magic can quickly notify every wizard in case of any emergency.

If the local magic network were mobile, its role in the Aurors' operations would be virtually limitless.

It means the complete elimination of information asymmetry.

How could the magic government not be excited?

"It's up to you."

Sheen nodded.

Terra sometimes wondered why she was so late, given that Hogwarts was such a wonderful place.

Can the coverage of the magic network be further expanded?

Terra was inwardly pleased, but outwardly remained calm and composed.

For any normal wizard, asking them to go further on top of their already extremely rare abilities is practically a pipe dream.

But as her only disciple, she never imagined the limits of his abilities.

This is a student she has waited seventy years to welcome.

"There is still plenty of room for improvement..."

Sheen answered.

He appeared to be staring at the mirror, but in reality, he was eyeing the control panel.

[Wizard Sheen, Alchemy Talent: Gold]

【Advanced Magic Hand Mirror: Expert Level (8900/9000)】

[High-Tier Wizarding Book: Expert Level (8500/9000)]

【Advanced Fairy Tale Cookies: Master Grade (1700/?) (Collapse)】

[Advanced: Three types of master-level high-tier alchemical creations can unlock master-level titles in the field of alchemy (1/3)]

He only reached the master level in practicing Magic Hand Mirror; there's still the legendary level above that. Moreover, his proficiency level hasn't even reached the master level.

If he were to reach the level of a master, or if the entire field of alchemy were to reach the level of a master, his limits would likely be dramatically increased.

In the mirror.

Terra remained silent for a long time, her eyes fixed on her disciple.

My frustration with the ceremony surged to its peak once again.

She subtly sent a message through another magic hand mirror:

[My dearest Minerva, about that matter… you know… a child this age… he is certainly very talented, but after all… I must say, Minerva, he needs a godmother, and no one is more suitable than me…]

"I hope you have fun, my... disciple."

Professor Terra paused on the word "disciple".
"One last thing, several newspapers are trying to acquire the workshop... I went there in person, and they are willing to give up some shares, hoping only to publish some news... After returning to the castle, you can come to the office to choose a few, my disciple."

"I see, Professor."

Sheen had anticipated this.

After all, the emergence of mobile phones or the internet has been a huge blow to print publications.

It can be said that once all the magic mirrors are connected to the same magic network, the newspaper will be dead in name only.

Who would rather buy a newspaper that takes days to arrive than look directly at the Magic Hand Mirror?
Just before the mirror returned to its calm state, Sheen caught a glimpse of a few words on Professor Terra's statistics sheet:
[Daily Prophet: 40% of its own shares exchanged for 5% of Jade Workshop's shares]

"?"

Sheehan seems to have misunderstood something the professor said.

Suddenly, a cool breeze ruffled Sheen's hair, causing the young wizards, who were engaged in their enthusiastic discussion, to turn their heads away.

The door with the three brooms opened, and Sheehan saw Neville looking over the rim of his cup and choking.

In his field of vision, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick walked into the bar amidst a gust of snow, followed by Hagrid, who was having an intimate conversation with a fat man.

The fat man was wearing a dark yellow-green bowler hat and a pinstripe cloak—it was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.

In an instant, the young wizards fell silent.

Harry, with butterbeer dripping from his mouth, clutched his empty glass. Justin paused, trying to find a way out...

Several teachers and Fudge walked towards the bar, stopped, and then turned and walked back towards them.

Hogwarts doesn't forbid young wizards from drinking alcohol, but it's not good if a professor sees them drinking.

So Sheen took out his wand and tapped it lightly on the table.

The six little wizards, along with their beer and glasses, all vanished without a trace.

[You have practiced the Illusionary Body Spell to master standards. Proficiency +300]

"Disillusion Spell?"

Hermione leaned closer to Sheehan and asked in a low voice.

Sheen nodded, then paused, realizing they were invisible.

"Yes."

He added.

The young wizards glanced gratefully at Sheen—though they could only see thin air.

Then they watched in suspense as the teachers and ministers sat down next to them, muttering and sighing.

Then, Ms. Rosmerta arrived, carrying a plate.

"A small glass of violet water—"

"mine."

Professor McGonagall said.

"Four pints of mead—"

"Thanks, Rosmerta."

Hagrid said.

"A glass of iced soda with whelk and cherry syrup—"

"Ok!"

Professor Flitwick smacked his lips as he spoke.

"Then you are redcurrant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, darling."

Fudge's voice said,

"I must say, it's so nice to see you again. Would you like some too? Come join us..."

"Oh, thank you very much, Minister."

Ms. Rosmerta sat down, wearing sparkly high heels.

The professors blocked Sheen's path, so he could only listen to their conversation along with everyone else.

"What brings you to this remote place, Minister?"

Ms. Rosmerta's voice came through.

Sheehan saw Fudge's obese lower body shift slightly in the chair, as if checking if anyone was eavesdropping.

However, master-level illusion spells are very difficult to detect.

Then Fudge whispered:

"What else could it be, honey? It's Sirius Black, isn't it? I bet you heard about what happened at school on Halloween Eve, right?"

"I have heard some rumors."

Ms. Rosmerta acknowledged.

"Did you tell everyone in the bar, Hagrid?"

Professor McGonagall asked, annoyed.

Hagrid tensed up, embarrassed.

"Do you think Blake is still in this area, Minister?"

Ms. Rosmerta asked in a low voice.

"I believe it still exists."

Fudge said briefly.

"Did you know that the Dementors have searched my bar twice?"

Ms. Rosmerta's tone was a little sharp.
"It scared away all my customers... It's bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, darling, I don't like them either."

Fudge said awkwardly,

“Necessary precautions… I’m sorry, but you see… I just ran into a few. They were very annoyed with Dumbledore—he wouldn’t let them into the castle grounds.”

"I don't think so either,"

Professor McGonagall said sarcastically,

"How can we teach when those terrifying creatures are roaming around everywhere?"

"Yes, yes!"

The thin Professor Flitwick shrieked, his feet dangling a foot off the ground.

"However,"

Fudge argued that,
"They're here to protect everyone from even worse threats... We all know what Blake is capable of..."

"You know, I still can't believe it,"

Ms. Rosmerta said thoughtfully,

"Of all those who have sided with the Dark Lords, Sirius Black is the one I least expected... I mean, I still remember what he looked like when he was at Hogwarts. If you had told me back then what he would have become, I would have said you had too much mead."

"You know less than half of it, Rosmerta."

Fudge said gruffly,
"Few people know the worst things he ever did."

"The worst?"

Ms. Rosmerta's voice was full of curiosity.

"You mean, it's worse than killing so many innocent people?"

"of course."

Fudge replied.

"I can't believe it. What could be worse?"

“You said you remember what he looked like at Hogwarts, Rosmerta,”

Professor McGonagall said softly,
Do you remember who his best friend was?

"Of course I remember,"

Ms. Rosmerta chuckled.
“I’ve never seen them apart, have I? Those few times they were here with me—oh, they made me laugh so hard, like a duo, Sirius Black and James Potter!”

Harry's large wine glass fell to the ground with a loud clatter, and Ron kicked him hard.

Professor McGonagall looked over here, examining the first table in front of her with a puzzled expression.

That's Sheen sitting up there.

"Exactly,"

Professor McGonagall said,
“Black and Porter are the leaders of their little group. Sure, they're both incredibly smart—absolutely brilliant—but I don't think we've ever seen such a pair of troublemakers—”

"I do not know."

Hagrid chuckled.
“Fred and George Weasley could be a match for them.”

"You'd think Black and Potter were brothers!"

Professor Flitwick interjected,

"inseparable!"

"you do not say,"

Fudge said,
Potter trusted Black more than any of his friends. That didn't change after graduation. Black was James and Lily's best man at their wedding. Later, they made him Harry's godfather.

Of course, Harry knew nothing about it. You can imagine the torment that knowing these things would cause him.

Harry's body was trembling, and Ron and Justin were trying their best to hold him down, otherwise Professor McGonagall would find out about Sheehan.

(End of this chapter)