Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

Lux wandered aimlessly around Hogwarts Castle for several days, looking like a Niffler rummaging through the castle.

She even sneaked into the warden's broom cabinet at night, not to mention the suspicious statue bases in the corridors and the corners of abandoned classrooms. In fact, on a dark and stormy early morning, the Gryffindor students were horrified to see Lux solemnly rummaging through the trash cans outside the common room.

The result was nothing.

Aside from being covered in dust, being stared at suspiciously by the Hogwarts students several times, and successfully earning the new nickname "Gryffindor Digging Rat," she hadn't found a single trace of anything about runes.

"No... how could there be no one?" Lux slumped in the softest armchair in the common room, complaining to the fireplace, her hands unconsciously rubbing Lumi's fur. Lumi made a "plop plop" sound comfortably, brushing off a lot of dust from Lux's robe.

"LeBlanc clearly said there were runic fluctuations in Hogwarts, so is she locked in the Headmaster's office? Or hidden in the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin? How come I remember where that Chamber of Secrets is?"

"Pop pop pop..." Lumi snuggled closer to Lux, her voice ringing in Lux's mind: "Girl, if you can't find it, just forget about it. I think this place is pretty sturdy, it won't collapse anytime soon."

Lux sighed. Rationally, she knew Lumi was right, but the feeling of knowing there was a disaster looming but not knowing what to do was awful.

Frustrated, she brought up the system interface and stared at the long-running "Collect Runes" quest, unable to help but ask herself, "System, give me a straight answer. How much longer is this Void Invasion thing going to last?"

[The time estimate contains a large margin of error. Based on the current fluctuations in the energy of activated runes and the stability model of the world barrier, the first threatening void rift is expected to appear between 10 and 200 years from now.]

"10 to 200 years?!" Lux nearly jumped out of her chair. That timeframe was outrageous! "What's the difference between that and saying 'it'll happen sooner or later'?"

The rate of void erosion is positively correlated with the activity level of non-native runes. The higher the rune activity, the more frequently cracks appear, and the faster the world structure collapses. Current rune activity: extremely low.

The system's cold, impersonal message instantly extinguished Lux's anxiety, jolting her back to reality.

"Very low... 10 to 200 years... or even longer?" Lux murmured to herself, her eyes gradually brightening.

Yes, she was so terrified by the ultimate goal of "world destruction" that she overlooked the most crucial issue: time!

She has plenty of time. She has ample time to learn, to grow, to save up gold coins to buy equipment, and to upgrade her skills. She's only in first grade and hasn't even learned the most basic spells yet. What is she worrying about regarding the Void Invasion?

It's as ridiculous as a hero who can't even beat a slime right after leaving the starting village worrying that the Demon King will eventually destroy the world.

"Haha...hahaha..." Having figured this out, Lux couldn't help but laugh out loud, which drew a strange look from Anna, who was reading a book next to her.

"I'm fine, Anna, I was just thinking about something happy." Lux waved her hand, her mood instantly becoming incredibly relaxed. The heavy weight on her heart was lifted, and her mind immediately became active.

Since we have plenty of time, the most important thing right now isn't to frantically search for runes like a headless fly, but to solidify our foundation and improve ourselves. And to improve ourselves, we must first solve the problem of where to get our knowledge.

Miranda Gossack's notes were practically worn out. The spells recorded in them were indeed useful, but as she realized, they were almost all extensions and optimizations of Hogwarts' existing curriculum—extra supplementary packs for "good students." But for Lux, who had witnessed the various "skills" in the game, this was far from enough.

She thought of Dumbledore, after several encounters, especially Dumbledore's silent Legilimency.

Lux became acutely aware of the immense power and controlling nature that this future kind elder possessed in his youth—a protective control built on absolute self-confidence and the belief that "I know what's best for you."

Lux didn't want her secret to be exposed to Dumbledore's gaze without any reservation.

"Occlumency! We must learn Occlumency immediately!" Lux made the decision. "Otherwise, if Dumbledore finds out that I've been secretly learning Horcruxes, I'll probably be sent to Azkaban on the spot as a Dark Lord prospect."

Brain shut-off surgery must be put on the agenda!

But where can I learn it?

There is no book like "Occlumency: From Beginner to Expert" in the Hogwarts library.

Magic involving the mental realm and memory manipulation is clearly not part of Hogwarts' curriculum. Lux even suspects that very few people at Hogwarts currently know Occlumency.

Because this magic is extremely difficult to learn, anyone who possesses this ability can be called a master of mind control. As a magic, it doesn't even have a spell; it requires extensive practice through focused concentration to be effective.

This also makes it difficult to have a precise written description of Occlumency, making it one of the very few forms of magic that require verbal instruction and demonstration.

Dumbledore would definitely do it, but going to Dumbledore to learn Occlumency is no different from telling him not to use Legilimency on himself. Slughorn definitely wouldn't, since he was later bewitched by Tom and said everything, which doesn't seem like someone who has learned this kind of magic.

Once her thoughts were clear, Lux immediately thought of the best entry point: senior Miranda Goshak. The student council president's notes were her first valuable source of knowledge, and senior Miranda herself was a reformist with a critical spirit towards existing textbooks and teaching systems.

She immediately pulled out the well-worn notebook and headed straight for the library, where the young wizards at Hogwarts saw Miranda almost every day.

Soon, they found Miranda buried in a pile of heavy books next to the Ravenclaw table. Her chestnut hair was casually tied up, and she looked tired, but her intelligent eyes lit up immediately when she saw Lux.

"Lux? Long time no see." Miranda put down her quill, a gentle smile spreading across her face. "How's the notebook research going? I heard you did something big during the Christmas holidays, the Flying Kick Witch, right?"

"Uh... Senior, please don't make fun of me." Lux scratched her head a little embarrassedly and sat down opposite Miranda. "The notes are super useful. They saved me a lot of time figuring things out. They've been a huge help. I came here to thank you, Senior. By the way, there are some parts of the notes that I have questions about and would like to ask you about them."

Lux flipped open her notebook, pointing to several marked sections: "Like this one, the variations of the Disarming Charm that Senior Sister compiled, and the strategies for breaking the Ironclad Charm—they're all so ingenious! But…"

Lux changed the subject, feigning a perfectly timed expression of confusion. "I was wondering why textbooks almost never mention these slightly... um... offensive or defensive spells, like the Disillusionment Charm—wouldn't they be great for stealth and reconnaissance? And Legilimency and Oblivion—they might sound a bit... inappropriate, but if you're in danger, like being targeted by a dark wizard, wouldn't knowing what they're thinking beforehand or making them forget crucial information afterwards be an important means of self-protection?"

Miranda's smile faded slightly, a hint of deep empathy flashing in her eyes.