Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

The day I left Hogwarts was sunny.

The Hogwarts Express was parked on the grounds, belching white steam.

Speaking of which, retro trains like this were already obsolete in Muggle-world Britain more than 20 years ago.

Although hundreds of steam locomotives still run on heritage and mainline railways in Britain today, they are mostly used as special tourist trains or for promotional events.

Apart from tourists, almost no locals ride this old-fashioned train.

It's unclear whether Hogwarts will undergo any technological updates in the future.

Xavier found an empty carriage and put his luggage away.

He placed Bobo's cage on the shelf above the seat and stuffed some dried meat inside.

Then he sat by the window and watched the castle's silhouette gradually recede into the distance.

The towering towers, the pointed roofs, and the lit windows gradually shrank and eventually disappeared behind the hills.

-

Hogwarts is very mysterious; almost no one knows where it is, and over the past thousand years, countless secrets have been hidden within it.

As the best magic school in many people's eyes, even Dumbledore, as the headmaster, probably couldn't know the whole story.

Over time, Xavier began to speculate about the location of Hogwarts School.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is probably located in the Scottish Highlands.

This remote, mountainous highland provides the perfect natural barrier for the magic school.

Moreover, at this speed, the train journey from London to Hogwarts would take approximately nine hours.

Based on the history of railway network development, it can be inferred that only the railway network located in the center of Scotland could have traversed this route by the mid-19th century.

This further confined Hogwarts' location to the Scottish heartland.

The key point is that, in my past life, a big shot mentioned that there is a small town called Avimore that is very close to Hogwarts.

How close is it?

An average person could walk from Hogwarts to Avimore in less than a night.

This means the school must be within walking distance of Avimore.

Look out of the train again at the rugged hills and winding mountain roads that conceal Hogwarts Castle.

The Cairngorms, as the largest mountain range in Scotland, perfectly reflect the region's geographical characteristics.

Meanwhile, the lake next to the school is likely a saltwater lake in northern Scotland, so there is a high probability that there is a coastline in the area.

Based on all the information, Hogwarts is likely located in an area within walking distance of Avimore, near the Cairngorms Mountains.

And I heard there's a Muggle town called Duff Town not far from the school.

Xavier happened to know of a small town famous for its whisky, also called Duff.

"The cunning frog keeps touching your belly~"

Xavier pushed up glasses that weren't actually there.

Therefore, the school is probably located near the town of Duff in Mary, Scotland.

Of course, he made this guess only after he already knew a lot of information.

If you gave a few photos to some extreme geography enthusiasts, they'd probably dig up which remote valley Hogwarts was in no time.

Moreover, once satellites become widespread in a few years, will Hogwarts really be able to hide its location in the Muggle world?

Xavier felt his thoughts drifting.

"Could a wizard use his powers to shoot down a satellite in space?"

-

Xavier, who had been staring blankly for a while, snapped out of his reverie.

Spending so much time on the train can't be completely wasted just by spacing out.

He took out his notebook, turned to the latest page, and began to think about his next steps:

Continue to strengthen your body with magic;

Compile the professors' suggestions;

He studied the basic theories of alchemy, and for this purpose, he borrowed many books from the library.

Unfortunately, Hogwarts hasn't had an alchemy course in a long time.

When Xavier borrowed books from the library, Mrs. Pince was quite surprised, saying that no student had borrowed any books on alchemy from the library since 1952.

Alchemy is an advanced course exclusively for upper-year students, and only students who have passed the OWL exams and successfully entered Year 6 and Year 7 can apply for it.

It is also a special course that does not participate in the OWLs exam.

This course will only be offered if a sufficient number of students who are about to enter the sixth grade apply in that academic year.

Simply put, it means "a team needs to have at least five members to start".

"Hiss~ This is difficult."

Xavier sighed and made a heavy note in his notebook.

He seriously doubted whether Hogwarts even had an alchemy professor now.

For now, he can only learn about alchemy in a simple way, like reading an extracurricular book, and he has to put aside the matter of studying alchemy in depth for the time being.

But now there is another serious problem that urgently needs to be solved—

Xavier turned to another page in the notebook, which was filled with his thoughts on "traces".

This is one of his biggest headaches.

Threads of the Witcher – a spell used by the Ministry of Magic to monitor underage wizards for their use of magic outside of school.

The Ministry of Magic claims it will cast Threads on all wizards under the age of seventeen.

This spell will attach itself to the wizard, and if the spell is cast outside of school, the trail will sound an alarm, allowing the Ministry of Magic to pinpoint the location of the spell.

But Hannah had secretly told him that the Ministry of Magic was just bragging and that they had no way of detecting who was casting the spell.

"Traces" can only detect magical fluctuations in a certain area and cannot identify who cast it, so it is often used in conjunction with "Flashback Spell".

If a young wizard comes from a wizarding family and their parents are casting spells at home, the trail will call the police, but the Ministry of Magic will assume that it was done by an adult wizard and will not pursue the matter.

Muggle-born children—like Xavier—don't have this "cover."

No one in his family knows magic.

If magical fluctuations are detected at his residence, the Ministry of Magic will know immediately and will assume that he was responsible.

However, Xavier can feel free to cast a few spells at home without any problem.

The Ministry of Magic has no jurisdiction over Hogwarts, and it can't expel a student for something like this.

They just sent over a few warning letters.

However, Xavier did not want to deal with the Ministry of Magic.

Therefore, he needs his own spare wand and a suitable place to practice magic.

—In theory, a wizard can possess multiple wands, but the wands will choose the wizard; not all wands are willing to cooperate.

"Maybe I could find a less 'picky' wand at a secondhand wand shop?"

He glanced at the wand lying beside his seat—twelve and a quarter inches long, made of hornbeam wood with a phoenix feather core.

He wielded the wand with great ease, and his success rate in casting spells was consistently high.

Or perhaps—

"Spellcasting without a staff."