Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 314 Settling and Planning

The light from the two-way mirror dimmed completely. A brief silence fell over the Eagle's Nest, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the faint sound of wind coming from outside the window.

"Wow," Wesley broke the silence first, leaning back in his chair and letting out a long breath. "So, we really—we've gotten involved in something incredible, haven't we? Even Nicolas Flamel and Professor Castor think our work is outstanding." His tone was filled with incredible pride, but also with a hint of being overwhelmed by the "difficulty" of the task.

“Without a doubt.” Ernesto’s expression was much more serious. He gently stroked the brand-new research notebook in front of him, which had begun recording the initial discoveries of the Slytherin Laboratory. “This means that for a long time to come, and perhaps even throughout our entire studies at Hogwarts, we have a clear and extremely challenging goal. This is far more than simply completing a paper on the history of magic or mastering a high-level spell.”

Fabian adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses gleaming with scholarly focus: "Knowledge reserves—Master Nico is right, there is so much we need to learn. High-level variants of ancient runes, the profound principles of alchemy..."

The forbidden realm of magical biology, and even theories that may involve soul magic and bloodline magic—this covers almost all the advanced and even beyond the scope of our curriculum. Although we have Karen, that doesn't mean we don't need to learn about these things ourselves.

Karen nodded, putting away the two-way mirror and glancing at the preliminary data on the workbench. "Yes, it's tough. But that's precisely why we can't rush it. Slytherin's secrets have slumbered there for a thousand years; a few more years won't make a difference if we take the time to safely and systematically unravel them. Impatience is our greatest enemy." He paused, his tone becoming more action-oriented. "First, we need a clear plan."

He picked up a quill and wrote the words "Current Goal" on a new piece of parchment.

"Ernesto," Karen looked at him, "regarding the connection between the magical fluctuations at the bottom of the lake and the celestial phenomena, we need more precise data: the observation records you provided before were a great help; and the calculations from the last time have proven in this exploration that the time error is very small. Next, we will continue to cooperate and try to build a more reliable predictive model to determine the next most suitable window period for opening the entrance, and even more time points afterward. This will tell us how much preparation time we have left."

"Leave it to me," Ernesto readily agreed. "I will continue to record the celestial phenomena and cross-reference them with the data from the monitors we recovered earlier. After the last calculation, I asked Professor Sinister to help record the celestial phenomena during this period; her records will be more comprehensive."

"Very good." Karen noted this down on the parchment, then turned to Fabian. "Fabian, the translation and annotation work cannot stop. The major categories of the materials have been organized; now, the priority is to complete the organization of all specimen labels and scattered notes."

This is especially true for the parts involving materials handling and environmental documentation. This relatively safe and accurately documented knowledge forms the basis of our current understanding of Slytherin laboratory technology.

"Understood." Fabian patted the stack of parchment filled with fine writing beside him. "There are still many tough nuts to crack."

.

“Wesley,” Karen said, looking at her last roommate, “your previous work was invaluable. Continue this work and try to combine the information Fabian translated to reconstruct their possible functions and operating methods as much as possible. Even if you can’t be completely certain, listing a few possibilities will be helpful for the next exploration.”

"No problem!" Wesley said enthusiastically. "Maybe I'll even find one of those magical potions that Slytherin forgot to put away!" His joke lightened the mood.

Finally, Karen looked at himself: "And I, besides coordinating and continuing to study those magic circles and runes, also need to develop a personal study plan. Ancient things like Niven, advanced rune theory, and the history and magical practices of Slytherin's time—I need to squeeze out more time." He thought of the catalog of the forbidden books section of the library, and the questions he might need to ask Professor Flitwick and Professor Castor.

Over the next few days, the Eagle's Nest team's daily routine underwent a subtle but firm change. Attending classes, completing assignments, and participating in school activities, while Wesley and Ernesto's Quidditch training continued as usual, remained the main part of their daily lives. However, their free time was almost entirely occupied by research projects in the laboratory.

Ernesto's astronomical observations became more systematic. He even found a fixed observation point in the Ravenclaw Tower, recording star charts every night and drawing intricate correlation diagrams with Karen on parchment. After repeated calculations and comparisons, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the next window of magical activity that highly coincided with the previous anomalous peak was not too far in time.

"Look here," Ernesto said, pointing to a point on the chart, his voice brimming with excitement at the discovery, "the moon's trajectory..."

Considering the positions of the water signs and the aspects of these outer planets, the next optimal window is likely to be in mid-May, most likely on the night of the second or third weekend.

"Mid-May—" Karen pondered, calculating the time in her mind, "That means we have almost two months to prepare. Good, this is earlier than we expected, but it's enough for us to make more thorough preparations."

He shared this prediction with Wesley and Fabian, and they were all invigorated. A goal with a clear deadline made their efforts much more focused.

Karen's personal study plan quickly unfolded. He approached Professor Flitwick, explaining his "strong interest in advanced runes and ancient spell variants, especially those related to the era of the Four Great Masters, and his desire to build a more solid foundation in Charmsology," and inquired about directions for further study. While Professor Flitwick was somewhat surprised that Karen had ventured into such a profound field so early, he was more delighted. He generously provided Karen with a long reading list to help him define the scope of his research.

Meanwhile, Cullen also sent the book list to Nico and Castor via a communication quill, asking them to provide suggestions and selections from the perspectives of alchemy and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Nico replied quickly, adding several extremely obscure monographs focusing on ancient magical contracts and the system of authority runes to Professor Flitwick's list, and informing him that Hogwarts did not have these books, and he would try to obtain copies. Castor, on the other hand, simply crossed out several books on the list that he considered "theoretically flashy and misleading," and commented: "Master the basics first, then talk about mutation."

So, several thick, brick-like ancient books were stacked on Karen's bedside table next to his textbooks. He often immersed himself in the world of these ancient words and complex diagrams late at night by the warm yellow light, trying to absorb the knowledge that most modern wizards had long forgotten.

Group discussions within the Eagle's Nest became a regular event. At least three evenings a week, the four would gather to share their research progress, propose hypotheses, debate the meaning of a particular rune, or try to piece together fragmented information. The research notebook they maintained together grew increasingly thick, containing not only rigorous records but also various imaginative speculations and notes marked with question marks.

“I don’t think this device is entirely for injection,” Wesley said during a discussion, pointing to a complex instrument in a magical photograph. “Look at this groove and the filter structure next to it; it may have the functions of grinding, filtering, and mixing all at the same time. In addition, there are many traces of magical reactions all over it. I think it may be used to prepare some unstable reagents on the spot.”

“That makes sense,” Fabian agreed, flipping through his translation notes. “There’s a record here mentioning fresh Thestral tendon ablation fluid, which needs to be used immediately as its activity diminishes very quickly.” Perhaps that’s what was used for this treatment.

Karen would then help them decipher the questions about the ancient runes they discovered during the process: "This runic combination is generally considered to be 'solid' and 'protective,' but if an extremely tiny 'flow' variant is inserted in the middle, as Slytherin did in this circle, its nature completely changes, becoming more like an—energy buffer and regulator."

Sometimes, they would encounter bottlenecks, arguing endlessly about an undecipherable symbol or a contradictory experimental record. At these times, they would write down their questions and seek help from Nico using a quill pen. Nico's replies often pinpointed the key issues or offered a completely new perspective, providing them with a sudden enlightenment. Karen realized that Nico was intentionally cultivating her roommates' research awareness.

Daily studies and life continued. In Charms class, Cullen continued to excel; in Potions class, although Snape, as always, tried to find fault with Cullen, his precise movements left Snape with nothing to criticize, though Snape's cold gaze seemed to linger on him longer; in Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall praised his questions about the stability of certain transfigurations. But beneath these routines, a part of Cullen's heart was always tied to the secret at the bottom of the lake. He would occasionally stop when passing by the Black Lake, gazing at its deep surface, lost in thought, imagining the scene in that silent laboratory, contemplating the power and danger contained within that ancient knowledge.

Secret research has become a part of their daily lives, a heavy yet exciting burden.