Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 296 Homecoming and Data Collection

Chapter 296 Homecoming and Data Recycling

The Hogwarts Express, puffing out its last steam, slowly pulled into Hogsmeade Station. A chilly Scottish evening wind instantly swept into the warm carriages, causing the students to shiver and murmur amongst themselves. Karen, Wesley, and Fabian disembarked with the flow of people; the cold air pierced their lungs, yet also brought a familiar sense of belonging.

"Every time I come back, it feels like a long time has passed, but it also feels like I just left yesterday." Fabian pushed up his glasses, and his breath quickly dissipated into the night.

"I'm just cold!" Wesley stamped his feet and pulled his scarf tighter around himself. "Let's hurry, the fireplace in the common room must be burning brightly!"

As they passed through the oak gates, the familiar sounds and warmth of the castle enveloped them. They didn't linger, but headed straight for the common room, entering the Ravenclaw common room. The starry sky dome slowly rotated, the fireplace crackled, and several students, perhaps those staying behind, were nestled in armchairs reading or conversing quietly—everything was almost exactly the same as when they left, except there were fewer people.

"Where's Enne?" Wesley looked around and didn't see their gray-eyed roommate. "He's not in the lounge."

"At this time, he's either at the Astronomy Tower or at the Eagle's Nest." Karen put down her luggage, her tone certain. "He definitely won't be idle while staying on campus."

"Should we go to the dorm to drop off our things first, and then go find him?" Fabian suggested.

The three of them carried their suitcases up the spiral staircase back to their dormitory. The four-poster bed was draped with blue curtains, the desk was neat and tidy, and Ernesto's bed was also made meticulously, but his suitcase was open and placed beside his bed, with several books and star charts scattered on the table, indicating that the owner had been in the dormitory recently.

After quickly putting down their heavy luggage and changing into more comfortable robes, the three of them set off again for the Eagle's Nest.

Karen skillfully unlocked the magical seal on the doorway and pushed open the unassuming door. The familiar scent of plants, parchment, metal, and faint potion ingredients wafted out. The room was almost exactly the same as when they left; the planting area, bookshelves, and practice area were all unchanged, except for the items on the alchemy table in the center.

Ernesto was indeed there. He stood in the center of the room with his back to the door, looking up at the glowing runes on the ceiling that Karen had arranged to simulate a simple star map. He held a notebook and a telescope in his hand, seemingly checking something. Hearing the door open, he turned around, a barely perceptible hint of pleasure flashing in his gray eyes.

"You're back?" His tone was somewhat calm, but those who knew him well could hear the welcome in his voice.

"I came straight here after I got off the train!" Wesley strode over and patted him on the shoulder. "How's it going, Ernesto? Feeling great having the whole dorm and Eagle's Nest all to yourself? Did you secretly use my flying broomstick's maintenance oil?"

Ernesto slapped his hand away in disgust. "Who would use that stuff that smells like expired butterbeer? The holidays were peaceful, except Filch seemed to be increasing patrols because of the previous students who stayed on campus causing trouble, as he always thought some students would sneak out at night to blow up the toilets. Nothing special happened." He looked at Karen and Fabian. "How were your holidays?"

"Awesome!" Wesley blurted out, gesturing excitedly. "Fabian saw a real fire dragon! Karen asked Professor Castor and the others to build an ultra-cool magical playground for his sister! I also got the latest '442' from Karen! Want to see it? I won it—"

Karen smiled, not interrupting Wesley's rambling. He entered the alchemy workshop and glanced at a lead box in the corner of the room, which was protected by multiple layers of protective and shielding spells. Inside was Tom Riddle's diary.

He walked over, a faint glow emanating from his fingertips, and carefully examined the seal on the lead box and the state of the magic within through his "Eye of Truth." Everything was as usual; the cold, seductive fragment of the soul was firmly contained, without any disturbance. He breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"The diary is quiet." Ernesto noticed Karen's movements, walked over and whispered, "I checked the seal every three days as you instructed. There was no contact, the magical fluctuations are stable, and there are no signs of any attempt to communicate."

"Thank you for your hard work, Enne," Karen said sincerely. Even with all the precautions he had taken, he was still on edge entrusting such a dangerous item to his roommate to guard.

"No problem," Ernesto shrugged, but it was clear he appreciated the trust placed in him.

Having confirmed that the most dangerous item was safe, Karen's thoughts immediately drifted to another matter. "What about the monitors?" he asked. "Where did you put the ones you recovered earlier?"

"Hmm." Ernesto walked to his workbench, opened a wooden box, inside which were neatly arranged seven or eight button-sized, subtly metallic-looking alchemical devices—the monitoring devices that Cullen had deployed throughout the castle before her vacation. "I retrieved the ones inside the castle, and those more easily accessible nodes in the underground pipes, on time. The data storage cores are all intact." He pointed to a small stack of small, silver-foil-like cubes next to the box, "I've put the rearranged ones back in the same positions as before."

"Thank you so much, Enne." Karen picked up a data core, feeling the faint traces of magic remaining on it. "This saved me so much time."

"Hey guys, don't forget about us!" Wesley interjected. "What about the ones at the bottom of the lake, in the Forbidden Forest, and the rest? You didn't retrieve those." He looked at Karen.

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Karen cast her gaze out the window at the dark night. "Those need some extra preparation, and it's best if someone looks after them. Tomorrow, we'll go and collect them; we don't have classes tomorrow afternoon."

The next afternoon, the weather was still cold, but the sky was clear. The four-person team gathered at Eagle's Nest and began to divide the tasks.

"Wesley, Fabian," Karen handed the Marauder's Point map to Wesley, "There are a few remote monitoring points inside the castle and in the underground sewers. It's not convenient for Ene to retrieve them all by himself. I've marked them on the map. You two can take care of those, okay? Be careful. Although there's probably no real danger, some places might be in disrepair. You two must stay together and not separate."

"Leave it to us!" Wesley took the map, patting his chest confidently. "We'll make sure no one's missing! Right, Fabian?"

Fabian nodded, carefully examining the markings on the map. "No problem, we'll be careful. It'll be a good opportunity to see if any interesting fungi are growing in those pipes."

"Karen and I are going to the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest," Ernesto said, already prepared with thick gloves and a dragonskin coat.

Karen nodded and took the things she had prepared before going there.

The two teams split up. Wesley and Fabian, using Cullen's mark on the Marauder's Map, traversed the castle's corridors, abandoned classrooms, and even a sewer that required prying open loose slabs to access, searching for the hidden monitors. The process was somewhat tedious, occasionally requiring them to clear cobwebs or avoid puddles, but it wasn't particularly dangerous.

"Hey, look at this!" Fabian spotted a clump of moss emitting a faint blue glow at a damp pipe connection. "This fungus seems to have a unique affinity for magical fluctuations in dark and damp environments—"

Wesley, however, was more interested in the map itself: "This map is like a cheat code in a game! Filch and his cat are over here—haha, Peeves is in the trophy room; we'll have to avoid it when we go there."

On the other side, Karen and Ernesto arrived at the shore of Black Lake. The lake was partially frozen over in winter, and a cold wind swept across it, creating ripples. Karen quickly changed into his wetsuit, took a deep breath, and skillfully cast the Bubble Head Charm on himself, a huge bubble enveloping his head.

"I'm going down. If anything happens, the old way." Karen said to Ernesto, pointing to the simple bracelet on her wrist made from a quill pen. It could provide vibration alerts within a certain distance and transmit some short messages, which was much better than the previous one that could only sense vibrations.

Ernesto nodded, took out his binoculars, and cautiously observed the surrounding lake and the edge of the forbidden forest in the distance: "Don't worry. Keep an eye on the time; the water temperature is very low."

Karen gave a thumbs-up and stepped into the icy lake. The water quickly submerged him, blurring his vision. But for Karen, with his Eye of Truth, this was nothing; the surrounding magical flow instantly became clear. Following the route he remembered for deploying the monitoring devices, he swam towards the ancient-patterned rock face at the bottom of the lake.

The underwater world was silent and oppressive. Occasionally, seaweed would entangle the object, or a curious Grindylo would peek from the shadows in the distance, but sensing the steady magical energy emanating from Karen, none of them approached. He quickly found the first monitor, which Karen had previously secured to a crevice in a reef. Karen skillfully removed the data core, placed it in a specially made waterproof bag, and then continued searching for the next one.

About half an hour later, Karen surfaced. Although he was well protected, his teeth were still chattering. Ernesto immediately reached out and pulled him ashore, handing him a thick, magically warm towel and a bottle of hot drink.

"How are you?" Ernesto asked as he shielded him from the wind.

"Successfully—Achoo!" Karen sneezed, quickly drank a few sips of hot beverage, and felt her somewhat frozen body slowly warming up. "All three monitors have been retrieved. The lakebed—still the same as before, no reaction in that area."

"As expected." Ernesto nodded. "Let's go to the Forbidden Forest and warm up."

They walked along the edge of the forbidden forest and found the ancient ash tree. Karen skillfully retrieved the last few monitors in batches from several hidden branches.

All the data cores were eventually safely gathered on the Eagle's Nest workbench, piled up in a small heap. Looking at these little silver gadgets from different environments, recording the magical fluctuations of the long vacation, the four of them felt a sense of fulfillment.

"Mission accomplished!" Wesley stretched. "Now it's your turn, Karen. Hopefully, you can find something interesting."

"I hope so." Karen picked up a core from the underground sewers, her eyes filled with anticipation. "Thank you everyone, you've been a great help."

"Don't mention it," Fabian said with a smile. "We're also very curious about what secrets are hidden beneath the castle and the Black Lake."

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Ernesto simply nodded, his gaze also falling on the pile of data cores, clearly filled with the same interest in exploring them.