Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Just now, she sensed an unusual fluctuation emanating from this strange object.

This fluctuation was very different from the surrounding environment... no, to be precise, it was very different from the surrounding magnetic field, which immediately attracted her attention.

This strange object is shaped like a small shield, mixed in with other self-defense artifacts, and doesn't look particularly special.

As for the artifacts that can resist the whispers of evil gods, not only this artifact, but all other artifacts that enter the forbidden book area will emit an unusual fluctuation.

However, the fluctuations emitted by the other strange objects all had the same frequency in Lin Xia's perception.

Only the fluctuations of this shield-shaped object were somewhat erratic, seemingly containing several strands of consciousness.

She pondered for a moment, then refrained from touching the strange object, instead looking up at the boundless starry sky.

The stars are twinkling, and each star represents a piece of knowledge.

Within these stars, Lin Xia carefully sensed and discovered something astonishing.

That is, almost every star can resonate with her!
In other words, she has a special connection with the knowledge represented by each star.

She came here to gain knowledge, and since she felt a connection with these stars, Lin Xia no longer hesitated.

She closed her eyes slightly and calmed her mind.

The scene fell silent, and she could almost hear the whistling wind around her.

She could also smell the fresh scents of various soils and plants.

Although this is a restricted book area, the entire environment here is simulated using restricted books.

But every time Lin Xia entered, she felt as if she had truly entered a real scene.

Every flower, every blade of grass, and every tree here is so deceptive to the senses.

Soon, Lin Xia discovered that in a state of focused concentration, her consciousness was infinitely elevated, rising higher and higher...

It's even possible to touch the stars in the sky!
So this is how you read every star.

Lin Xia immersed her thoughts in a star that shimmered with purple light, surrounded by countless specks of stardust, making it look extremely mysterious.

And as soon as her thoughts collided with this star, a book automatically appeared in her mind—

Mysticism
-
On the other side, after Professor McGonagall left her office, she arrived at a mysterious space.

This space is used for studying deformed people.

This isn't the first time Professor McGonagall has come here recently; she's been visiting this space almost every two or three days as the end of the semester approaches.

This frequent visit attracted the attention of other researchers.

If Professor McGonagall came to convey the Ministry of Magic's message, that would be understandable.

But every time she came, she would just sit there for the whole day, silently watching them do experiments.

This made some researchers feel uneasy.

It's important to know that the research project on deformed humans is highly classified.

Aside from the researchers, only a few high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic knew about it.

To prevent the project involving deformed humans from being leaked, those who know about it are prohibited from visiting.

So, for several months, the only person who came in from the outside as a messenger to communicate with everyone involved in this project was Professor McGonagall.

But just last month, she suddenly brought three other professors with her.

This has already made some researchers very dissatisfied, who believe that she did not follow the rules.

“McGirl is here again. She didn’t notify us at all, she just kept watching us. Is she monitoring us and thinking we’re slacking off?”

"I don't want others watching my work, it makes me lose my passion for research."

"I always felt that she had ulterior motives for doing this. I should report this to Director Nicholson and let him handle the communication."

Since Hogwarts has provided us with the space for our research, we will certainly conduct it diligently and keep it confidential. She doesn't need to come every day.

That's why some academic research needs to be conducted in a relaxed atmosphere. If it's too tense and rigorous, it's easy to be surrounded by anxiety, causing thinking to go down a dead end.

Clearly, Professor McGonagall's frequent visits to the research lab have created a unique kind of pressure for the researchers.

None of the researchers could leave this mysterious space, including Nicholson.

All they could do was keep reporting to Nicholson, urging Hogwarts to stop sending anyone else.

At first, Nicholson didn't care, thinking that the Ministry of Magic might think the research was progressing too slowly, which was why they sent McGonagall to supervise it so frequently.

But later, Nicholson, who had been engrossed in studying Slytherin quills, suddenly realized something.

wrong!

The research on mutants has clearly made a major breakthrough. They have extracted the relevant active ingredients of the truth serum and applied it to mutants, causing them to utter the language of their own world.

Those words were not merely words; they also carried a certain truth.

Judging from the results, they have clearly made a major breakthrough, and the Ministry of Magic should be happy instead of sending McGonagall to monitor them.

Upon realizing this, Nicholson's expression suddenly became somewhat uncertain.

A vague guess crossed his mind.

McGonagall came not to supervise the researchers, but to supervise him!
So now that McGonagall is here again, Nicholson takes the initiative to leave his office and come to McGonagall's side.

McGonagall wasn't surprised by his arrival, but she didn't want to talk to Nicholson outside.

So she turned to Nicholson and said, "Let's go inside and talk."

Nicholson remained silent, but then walked into his office.

As soon as McGonagall entered the office and closed the door, Nicholson said bluntly, "Your arrival is affecting the morale of my researchers!"

"I don't know why you come here so often, but the results I gave you before have proven that we have made significant progress in our research on mutants."

The Ministry of Magic should give us more time to conduct in-depth research, instead of aggressively sending you here to supervise.

In addition, Nicholson said a lot more, mostly expressing his dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Magic's excessive power and his bewilderment at her frequent remarks.

These words were all spoken from the researcher's perspective.

After he finished speaking, McGonagall looked intently at Nicholson and said meaningfully, "I thought you knew."

Nicholson was taken aback.

McGonagall said calmly, "The reason I've been coming here so frequently isn't for those researchers, but for you. Nicholson, haven't you noticed how long you've been obsessed with this Slytherin quill?"

McGonagall said with absolute force, "If you want me to come over less often, fine, but I'm taking this Slytherin quill back."

“No!” Nicholson immediately refused. “I’ve already done most of the research on the quill pen. You can’t take it back. I have a feeling I’ll be able to figure out its function soon!”

“Nicholson,” McGonagall said forcefully, “haven’t you noticed how obsessed you are with quill pens?”

"I can tell from your appearance that you spend most of your time studying the quill pen, only taking a small portion of your time to work. I gave you the quill pen so that you would study it in your spare time, not so that it would interfere with your work at the Ministry of Magic."

Nicholson's expression hardened. "But in fact, I haven't neglected the Ministry of Magic's work, have I?"

McGonagall looked at him meaningfully: "You know whether it has delayed you or not. With your abilities, you couldn't have researched it for this long."

Similarly, if you have the ability to research something but haven't figured it out after a long time, it means that thing is rejecting you; it doesn't allow you to research it.

"Don't you understand, Nicholson? You were rejected by Slytherin's quill; you couldn't possibly discover its power!"

"Impossible!" Nicholson's expression changed drastically, and in McGonagall's eyes, his expression could even be described as ferocious.

"I have a brilliant mind that comes along only once in a century. Even Tom Riddle would be impressed by my intelligence and have to admit defeat!"
He approached me more than once, asking if I wanted to join him and become his advisor, but I refused because I knew it was an impossible task.

I foresaw the consequences earlier than he did, and I was also more clear-headed and rational than he was.

The reason I didn't follow his path as the Dark Lord is because I'm not interested in that kind of thing.

Someone as intelligent as me is destined to be Slytherin's successor; I cannot be rejected by the quill.

"McGrey, this is non-negotiable. If you want the mutant experiment to continue, then Slytherin's quill must remain with me."

Seeing him like this, McGonagall knew without further probing that Nicholson had fallen into paranoia.

If this continues, Nicholson could very well fall into a daze, become increasingly paranoid, and then...

Tempted by an evil god, they fell into depravity.

For someone with such high intelligence, there is nothing that could lead him astray more easily than showing him higher levels of knowledge.

In McGonagall's view, Nicholson is actually very similar to Tom Riddell.

However, if the evil god wanted to seduce Nicholson, the price he would have to pay would be much higher, making it difficult to succeed.

Unlike Tommy Del, whose desires are relatively easier to satisfy.

Even without Tom Riddle, the Fiend would have targeted Nicholson.

Compared to ordinary high-ranking wizards, wizards like Nicholson, who are both righteous and evil and possess high intelligence, are more likely to cause chaos in the wizarding world.

McGonagall looked intently at Nicholson and said, "I hope you're right, and I hope you really do manage to figure something out."

I have only one piece of advice for you, Nicholson: never bow down to the world of evil gods in order to seek the so-called truth.

"Evil gods are merely alien species seeking to invade the magical world. They are unaware of the world's profound history. What they present to you is all native to us, merely processed and deliberately presented in a different form."

McGonagall said with utmost seriousness, "The consequences of Tom Riddle serve as a cautionary tale, and I believe you will be even more able to stay true to yourself than he was."

However, Nicholson did not appreciate these words; instead, he felt humiliated.

McGonagall actually compared him to Tom Riddle, a schizophrenic.

This is a huge disgrace!

“If you’ve come here just to say these things to me, then please leave now,” Nicholson said impatiently, dismissing him.

McGonagall said calmly, "Since I gave you the Slytherin quill, you haven't uploaded any reports related to it."

The professors within the school are already dissatisfied. This quill pen was found at Hogwarts and should be handed over to the Hogwarts professors for research, not to an outsider like you to study first.

To quell their anger, I'll come here periodically to observe as long as your report hasn't been uploaded.

As long as Slytherin's quill remains with him, Professor McGonagall's visit to observe him becomes insignificant.

Nicholson coldly replied, "Whatever!"

After McGonagall left the space, Nicholson looked back at the petrified Slytherin quill, his gaze somewhat fascinated.

He muttered to himself, "I didn't expect McGonagall to react so quickly. She not only strengthened the surrounding cordon but also came here personally to supervise me."

"I can't take you away for now, this damned space!"

The containment capabilities were already very strong, and now with the added surveillance of the Sage's Eye, the Sage's Eye can probably see everything I do inside every day.

Nicholson spoke as if he were talking to a quill, or perhaps to himself.

"Let's wait a little longer, I'm sure I'll be able to wait until then... and then I'll take you out."

You definitely don't want to be studied at Hogwarts; you want to go outside. I understand you. I feel the same way. I don't want to be trapped in one place forever..."

Nicholson didn't notice that a flash of crimson crossed his eyes when he said those words.
-
On the other side, escorted by the Magic Express, Ron quickly disembarked.

Harry won't get off until the next stop.

This time, he finally got off at the station in the magical world, not at King's Crossroads.

Ron and Harry had both signed up for the combat-type elite test and were supposed to go for the test as soon as school was out for break.

However, because the two registered too hastily, by the time the school sent their test requirements to the Ministry of Magic and the Ministry of Magic investigated and prepared, it was too late.

So the school sent them home first and they would stay for a week before going to the testing site.

There will be personnel to take them away at that time.

Ron returned to the Burrow. His twin brother, however, arrived a step earlier.

The Weasley twins were undoubtedly the most popular people in the house. Ron opened the door and heard a commotion inside. He simply called out, "I'm home!"

Got no response.

He didn't seem to care much and went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

After that, Ginny returned to the Burrow.

She was a little late because it took her some time to say goodbye to her friends.

Compared to Ron, Ginny received better treatment. Her parents asked her how her grades were at Hogwarts this semester and whether she was having a good time.
Ginny looked around but couldn't find Ron, so she asked, "Is Brother Ron back?"

Father Arthur casually remarked, "Ron? He seems to be back; he should be in his room."

This child always locks himself in his room during holidays and doesn't come out to talk to us. (End of Chapter)