A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 688 Preliminary Reconnaissance
On the day the October monthly exam results came out, the sky was overcast, the sunlight couldn't penetrate, and there was only a gloomy atmosphere that made people feel depressed.

A cold wind blew from the direction of the forbidden forest, carrying dampness and the smell of decaying leaves, sweeping across the surface of the great lake and creating tiny, icy ripples.

The ancient covered bridge at the back gate of Hogwarts, like a sleeping giant serpent, spans the steep cliff.

Charles stood alone by the bridge railing, his hand resting on the cold, rough handrail, his gaze fixed on the bottomless, dark valley below.

He couldn't help but wonder if some students might drop something like a Galon.

However, not long after, a pearly white, slightly transparent figure flew out from a high window in the castle corridor, passed straight through the cold air, and arrived on the covered bridge.

Nick, nearly headless, floated to Charles's side and, together they looked down at the dizzying abyss below. In an unusually gentle voice, he said, "Ah, dear Charles, are you here admiring... uh... the view?"

Charles turned and glanced at him, giving a slight nod as a greeting, without saying anything more.

Nick, however, seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, rambling on and on, his tone almost like he was comforting someone: "You only realize how precious life is after you're dead, how full of infinite possibilities it is..."

"Sunshine, delicious food, the friendship of friends, the joy of learning... Think of those wonderful things, child!"

"Any temporary difficulty is just a small footnote in the long journey of life..."

Charles became increasingly confused as he listened, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly. Finally, he couldn't help but interrupt, "Nick, have you misunderstood something?"

Nick was taken aback by his question. He carefully examined Charles's face and found him to be very calm, without any of the despair or dejection he had expected.

A hint of embarrassment crossed the ghost's slightly blurred face. He cleared his throat (though he didn't actually need to) and said somewhat awkwardly, "Um... cough cough... please forgive my intrusion, Charles."

"But seeing you standing alone on this bridge, looking down... you know, in the history of Hogwarts, this bridge, occasionally... just occasionally, has seen some young souls who couldn't think straight choose to end their journey here... um...."

“I don’t want to see any student, especially a bright young person like you, make an irrational decision.”

Charles then realized that Nick was worried he would jump off the bridge and commit suicide.

He was somewhat amused and exasperated. He shook his head and explained calmly, "You're overthinking it. I'm just here thinking about some things. There's absolutely nothing like what you're thinking."

"Oh! That's good, that's good!" Nick visibly relaxed, his pearly white skin seeming to glow even brighter. "I was being presumptuous. Old people tend to overthink things... Well then, you continue, continue thinking! I won't disturb you any longer!"

He smiled awkwardly, quickly floated away from the bridge, passed back into the castle's stone walls, and disappeared.

Charles shook his head helplessly and turned his gaze back to the deep valley.

Shortly after Nick left, a distinct but not loud flapping sound suddenly came from the heavy shadows below.

An unusually large owl with fluffy feathers struggled to take flight from the deep canyon beneath the bridge, flapping its wings with some difficulty as it flew erratically toward the castle's owl hut.

Charles's gaze followed the great owl until it disappeared behind the castle towers, then he slowly looked away, a slight smile playing on his lips.

That evening, in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, the warm air from the magical heaters dispelled some of the chill seeping in through the cracks in the doors and windows, and the atmosphere among the four people gathered there was somewhat heavy.

Seamus brought back a lot of drinks and distributed them to Charles, Harry, and the trio, then pulled up chairs to watch the fun.

Ron took the drink from Seamus, took a big gulp of butterbeer to moisten his throat, and then began to report on his afternoon's reconnaissance findings.

He looked disgusted, seemingly unfriendly towards the deep valley below the covered bridge. "It's no place for a human to stay down there!" Ron said in a low voice, speaking quickly. "It's so dark and gloomy, the sun can't shine through at all, it feels like winter has come early."

"The stone wall was covered in wet, slippery moss; it felt disgusting to touch!"

"The valley floor is piled with garbage accumulated over countless years: broken quill pens, scrap parchment, all sorts of candy and pastry wrappers... I guess people used to throw them off the bridge."

He took a sip of butterbeer and continued describing the key part: “I found the stone that looks like a gate, not far below the covered bridge, not too low, but not too high either, about… about the height of our Burrow.”

"Looking down from the bridge, it feels very deep, but it's actually even more exaggerated; the sky looks like a line."

"Many old vines were wrapped around the stone, and the leaves had almost all fallen off. It was dry and didn't look very sturdy."

Finally, he hugged his arms and shivered, emphasizing, "Most importantly, it's so cold down there, I can feel the chill seeping into my bones."

"If we're going down there, we'd better wear our thickest sweaters and cloaks, otherwise we'll freeze to death in no time."

As Harry listened to Ron's description, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Far from being deterred by the harsh environment, he became even more excited because of the confirmation of his target.

Hermione quickly jotted down key information in her notebook: "slippery moss," "garbage pile," "vines (potentially unsupported)," "highly analogous to the Burrow," and "low temperature."

"Well done, Ron!" Harry patted his good friend on the shoulder. "Now that we've determined the location and understand the surroundings, it's time for the next step!"

Hermione closed her notebook, looked up, her gaze sweeping over Harry and Ron before finally settling on Charles, who had been listening quietly the whole time.

Her expression was serious, but her eyes also shone with a firm determination.

“We are well prepared,” she said earnestly. “I also believe we can take action now.”

Harry immediately chimed in, saying decisively, "Then let's go tomorrow night, after dinner!"

Ron looked at Harry, then at Hermione, and finally nodded vigorously.

Charles met the gazes of the three men and calmly nodded.

“After dinner tomorrow,” he said seriously. “Don’t talk about this during the day tomorrow, lest it cause any complications. It’s best to forget about it.”

The trio nodded in unison.

Charles then looked at Seamus and said, "Seamus, I will contact you every half hour tomorrow night using my communication laptop."

"If I do not contact you within an hour, please inform Professor Dumbledore immediately."

Simo immediately nodded and said, "No problem."

Charles nodded, then gave Harry a deep look.

He was wondering if there would be another battle of the Department of Mysteries next year. If there were, and he wasn't there, and Voldemort tried to trick Harry again, things would get bad.

Now, by going through the entire operation during this expedition, Hermione can understand the steps involved and should be able to dissuade Harry from his reckless behavior, prepare him properly, and prevent him from foolishly falling into Voldemort's trap.

(End of this chapter)