Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 111 Another exploration of Moonlight Moss

Chapter 111 Another exploration of Moonlight Moss

Hogwarts Castle slept soundly in the dead of night, save for the faint snores of the portraits and the whispers of the ghosts. In a quiet dormitory in Ravenclaw Tower, Cullen sat up silently and gently nudged Wesley on the bed next to her.

"Wake up, it's time." His voice was extremely low.

Wesley's eyes snapped open, his reddish-brown hair a mess, but his gaze instantly sharpened, and he became excited. "Roger!" He quickly and quietly began to put on his thick travel cloak.

On the opposite bed, Fabian sat up and quickly put on his glasses. "The map, notes, and protective badges have all been checked," he reported quietly, patting his bulging backpack.

Ernesto was a little slow, showing a hint of impatience at being disturbed from his sleep, but he still got up briskly. "Hopefully this time will go as smoothly as last time," he muttered, but his hands were busy organizing the equipment.

"Don't worry," Karen said, checking her wand. "We know the way, we have a clear destination, and we'll be back quickly. The map shows that the road is safe."

The four skillfully evaded Filch and Lady Lorris, who were on night patrol, relying on their previous experience and familiarity with the castle's secret passages.

They moved like shadows through the silent corridors and courtyards. The night wind carried a chill, stirring their cloaks.

They followed the route they had taken many times before and soon reached the edge of the forbidden forest.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: ①⓪①ⓚⓚⓢ.ⓒⓞⓜ]

"Stay close to me," Karen whispered, stepping first into the shadows. "Fabian, keep an eye on the route; Wesley, watch out behind you; Ernesto, watch your head and sides."

"Understood!" "Received!" "Got it." The three responded quickly, each performing their duties in perfect harmony.

Guided by the previously drawn map and Karen's directions, they avoided the known areas where the eight-eyed giant spiders appeared and the swamps, making their journey quite smooth. Only the occasional startled nocturnal creature and the sound of snapping branches breaking underfoot broke the silence. Karen's "Eye of Truth" constantly scanned the surrounding magical flow, vigilantly watching for any unstable energy clusters that might represent large magical creatures or dangerous magical plants.

After some time, they arrived at their destination. The trees here were relatively sparse, with only a few oak trees remaining. Moonlight poured down unhindered, carpeting the ground with a layer of silver frost. The most striking feature was the moonlight moss covering the ground. Like a living carpet of stars, it shone brighter and more vibrantly under the clear glow of the full moon than when they had last visited.

"This is it!" Wesley couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his eyes widening. "The light is even more beautiful than last time!"

"Quiet down, Wesley," Ernesto cautioned, but with a barely perceptible hint of admiration in his voice. "This sight is indeed—extraordinary."

Fabian immediately crouched down and carefully used tweezers to pick up a small sample of moss from the edge, placing it into a specially made magic glass bottle. "Sample collection point A, outer edge," he silently noted.

Karen didn't participate in their discussion. He took a deep breath, concentrated all his energy, and in an instant, the world changed dramatically before his eyes.

He saw countless slender, flowing "threads" of pure silver-blue light cascading down from the bright moon, gently soaking every patch of moonshine moss. The moss itself was like countless tiny magical nodes, absorbing the moonlight, its interior shimmering with complex yet stable paths of light. Even more wondrous was that this energy did not remain confined to the moss.

He saw several thicker, more condensed streams of silvery-blue light extending from the mossy area, connecting with the humped trees dancing around the moonshine moss. Their small bodies seemed to have become energy transfer stations, transmitting the more gentle and stable magic, initially transformed by the moss, back to the tree itself, nourishing the entire tree. This stabilized silvery-blue radiance also flowed through the tree's veins.

In the shadows at the edge of the clearing, a pure white unicorn, radiating a holy glow, stood quietly. A clear and powerful stream of silver-blue light, like a gentle rivulet, converged from the roots of the trees and flowed towards it. The unicorn lowered its head slightly, the tip of its spiral horn shimmering with a soft light, as if actively guiding and absorbing this pure natural magic, making its aura even more serene and peaceful.

"Even though I've seen it once, it's still astonishing!" Karen murmured to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it. He then took out the paper and pen he had prepared, and the mechanical quill pen drew the beautiful scene on the paper according to Karen's wishes.

Time ticked by. Karen finally put down his pen, let out a long sigh, and his eyes were filled with shock and a sense of accomplishment. He carefully rolled up the parchment that recorded the precious magic diagram.

"Finished?" Fabian, who had also finished recording, asked softly.

Karen nodded, his eyes still bright. "It's more detailed than what we observed last time. The core is in the magical nodes of these moonmoss." He pointed to the central area of ​​the glowing moss on the ground. He gestured to Fabian, "Collect samples from the core area, focusing on the few smallest pieces with the strongest light at the very center, being careful not to damage the whole."

Fabian held his breath and, with extremely gentle care, used even smaller tweezers to remove fingernail-sized samples of moss from several points Karen had indicated, placing them into different crystal bottles. The bottles were immediately illuminated by the silvery-blue glow of the moss inside.

"Alright, mission complete." Karen took one last look at this magical area flowing with life magic under the full moon. The unicorn seemed to sense something, raising its head, its pure eyes gazing in their direction, then gracefully turning and silently disappearing into the depths of the forest. "We should go back."

The return journey seemed faster than the way there. The four suppressed their excitement, their steps light. Only when they were safely back inside the castle, walking along the familiar, empty corridors towards the Ravenclaw Tower, did Wesley finally speak, his voice a little loud in the silence: "Karen, how did it go this time? Was that moss really that magical? Could it really help Professor Victor?"

Ernesto didn't speak, but he also cast a questioning glance. Fabian, on the other hand, clutched the package containing the crystal sample bottle tightly.

Karen entered the dormitory, and after his three roommates had all entered, he closed the door behind him, activated all the soundproofing and protective magic, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sit down and talk." He walked to a table and spread out the precious magic map. Under the bright magic light, the intricate lines and symbols on the parchment, drawn with special magic ink and invisible to ordinary people, were now clearly visible, shimmering with a faint silver-blue luster, flowing slowly as if alive.

"Silicon!" Wesley leaned closer, captivated by the flowing light even though he couldn't see the details.

"Is this the flow of magic you observed with your alchemy instruments?" Fabian pushed up his glasses, carefully examining the nodes and path annotations on the diagram.

Ernesto also looked surprised: "This looks extremely complicated."

"In a sense, it should be considered a naturally formed, perfect magic circulation array." Karen's fingers traced the diagram.

Pointing to the core node of the Moonmoss region. "Look here, these nodes. In my observation, the magical properties they emit..."

The core principles are "stability" and "soothing." They act like natural, magical voltage regulators and filters.

"Although Professor Victor had previously stated that pure magic was ineffective against his ailment, Headmaster Dumbledore told me that what the professor needed was not pure magic, but rather resources with 'soothing' and 'stabilizing' properties. Pure magic is fundamental, but 'soothing' and 'stabilizing' are higher-level, more targeted properties."

Karen picked up the crystal vial containing the core sample collected by Fabian and held it up to the light. Under the "Eye of Truth," the small patches of moss inside emitted a soft yet resolute silver-blue glow, with a particularly stable, tiny point of light at its core. "And this Moonmoss in its core area possesses precisely this property! It can calm chaotic magical flows." His eyes gleamed with hope. "While I don't know if they can directly solve Professor Victor's problem, they definitely meet the requirements described by Headmaster Dumbledore!"

"Great!" Wesley pumped his fist excitedly. "Let's tell the principal right away!"

Fabian smiled and said, "This is a major discovery! These spectral data and samples are crucial."

Ernesto nodded, his eyes conveying approval and a hint of barely perceptible relief, though he didn't speak. He then frowned. "But, Karen, are you sure these things will work? Professor Victor needs someone like Nicolas Flamel to treat him; it seems quite serious."

Karen's excitement faded slightly, replaced by seriousness. "I don't know if they're strong enough. But they're the best we've found that fits the definition of 'pacifying' and 'stabilizing.' And at least it's a direction, a hope." He picked up a quill. "I must immediately put together a detailed report, make a copy of the diagrams, and send both copies to Headmaster Dumbledore and Mr. Nicolas Flamel. Mr. Flamel is a master alchemist; he'll surely see more."

The next day, Karen devoted all his free time to describing in detail the observation process, the form, frequency, and node strength of the magical flow, especially the specific manifestations of the "stability" and "soothing" characteristics exhibited by the core moonmoss sample. He carefully copied the precious original atlas, and rolled up the copied atlas, several bottles of core moonmoss samples, and the report filled with dense handwriting.

"Phobos!" Karen called softly. Snowflakes glided silently down from the perch and landed on the table, their large eyes looking at Karen.

"Good boy, this is very important." Karen carefully tied the package to Phoebus's strong leg. "First, send it to Headmaster Dumbledore, then fly to France and send it to the same place where Teacher Castor was last time. Be careful." He stroked Phoebus's smooth feathers.

Phobos gently pecked Karen's finger and let out a soft chirp, indicating that it understood. It spread its broad wings and silently disappeared into the deep blue sky before dawn through Wesley's open high window.

As the owl disappeared, Karen felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, but also a sense of peace. She had done everything she could.