Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

Hermione's daily bickering with Lucius did not affect her mood.

She began to devote herself entirely to writing her thesis on the magic of pyroxene.

The entire month of November slipped away in calm yet turbulent days.

Inside Hogwarts, it was warm as spring, but outside, the raging icy winds had driven all living things on the surface back underground. December was like the end of the world for this world.

In Hermione's memory, every winter, she and her parents would huddle together in a deep burrow, using the food they had stored up in advance to get through the coldest days. Of course, there were also lucky times when they would dig out hibernating snakes, frogs, or mice that had dug in the wrong direction, which would be a delicious meal.

But now, sitting by the warm fireplace, Hermione frowned slightly, trying to transform the knowledge in her mind into the format required by Professor Flitwick.

This is no simple matter. Anything that humans devise to make things difficult for them is a hundred times more challenging than the dilemmas set up by nature.

She had to strictly adhere to the standards of the journal *Postwar Spells Research*, breaking down her theory section by section and citing and annotating it in the correct places. But alas, she couldn't actually cite the conclusions of Queen Renara of the Full Moon, nor could she openly write "This is a tribute to the Origin Mage Russet."

For many inexplicable passages, she could only vaguely gloss over them with innate feelings or some kind of intuitive understanding.

This also put Professor Flitwick in a difficult position; clearly, such a approach would be hard to get past the professor.

Hermione could only keep running to the Charms classroom, where the ideas and theories she couldn't describe in the language of this world would be transformed through Flitwick's understanding.

This led to a rapid improvement in Hermione's level of magical theory. At the same time, Flitwick was amazed by the little girl's extraordinary understanding of magic, unaware that it was the culmination of countless genius wizards from another world.

"Regarding the three theories I just mentioned, you can find references in the library's 'A Brief Analysis of Triadic Theory,' 'The Secret of Aldi,' and 'Echoes of Magic,' issue 13, and cite them in your paper. This will lay a solid foundation for your theories," the half-elf professor said with a smile. His conversation with Hermione had also been very beneficial to him, which made him very happy.

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said sincerely. If it weren't for Flitwick's heartfelt help, she probably wouldn't have been able to even finish the beginning of her thesis.

On the way to the library, Harry and Ron suddenly appeared from the side.

"Hermione, it's really not easy to catch you now!" Ron complained.

"You disappeared as soon as get out of class ended, and Ron and I looked for you for ages," Harry explained.

Hermione has been busy writing her thesis lately and hasn't gone on a night out with the two of them for a long time. However, since learning that Professor Lily already knew the whereabouts of the Invisibility Cloak, Harry has also kept quiet, afraid of running into his mother's gun.

Professor Lily is currently maintaining a friendly, unaware attitude, but Harry can't guarantee how long this friendliness will last, given that the Christmas holidays are just around the corner.

However, judging from their expressions, after holding back for so long, they probably can't resist the urge to go out at night again.

Thanks to Hermione's keen senses, the three of them could always avoid the professors' patrols when they went out at night. Without Hermione, their nighttime adventures would be as terrifying as a horror story.

"What are you up to now? I'm busy writing Professor Flitwick's paper, and I probably won't have much time before Christmas," Hermione said.

The two men led Hermione to the garden in the central courtyard in a secretive manner. Once they were sure no one was around, Harry said with a hint of excitement, "I overheard Mum and Professor McGonagall talking. They seem to be planning something that will keep them busy until Christmas!"

"So what?" Hermione asked. Whatever the professors were busy with was none of their business; she was busy until Christmas too.

Ron said with exasperation, "This means they won't have time to keep an eye on us lately!"

Harry's eyes lit up: "This is a great opportunity for a night out!"

Hermione slapped her forehead: "So you all went to such lengths, monitoring the professors' schedules, just for this nighttime outing?"

Ron looked puzzled: "Is there some other purpose?"

Hermione sighed. "So where are you planning to go for a night stroll? Haven't you had enough of Hagrid's rock cakes yet?"

Harry: "Didn't you say you wanted to check out the restricted area on the right-hand side of the fourth floor?"

Hermione stared at him in shock. As expected of an elite member of Gryffindor, he seemed to embody the spirit of Gryffindor accumulated over millennia.

"I was just kidding to scare Hagrid, you guys are actually planning to go?"

Harry chuckled sheepishly, "We weren't planning on going, but then we thought about your white flames..."

Ron chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! Even if you encounter ghosts again, you can scare them away with a fire!"

Harry said enticingly, "Let's go see. Don't you want to know what's on the fourth floor? And where all those ghosts went?"

Hermione said irritably, "Yeah, we'll be wearing invisibility cloaks, carrying spirit fire, and barging right in, while your mother is waiting inside with her cauldron, ready to stew you into a delicious pot of toilet cleaner."

Harry hesitated. "Surely...it shouldn't be that bad? Aren't they busy?"

Hermione was exasperated: "Then you two should at least find out what they're busy with! Hagrid already warned them to watch out for the fourth floor, I don't believe they're so busy that they can't spare a moment for patrol."

After shooing away the two overly energetic boys, Hermione continued walking towards the library with her thesis in her arms.

It's obviously impossible to explain the magic of Brilliant Stone in a single paper, and Hermione didn't intend for everyone to become an Origin-level wizard.

In this paper, she only intends to briefly explore the basic theory of Radiant Stone Magic, such as how to condense the power of radiation and how to operate it more safely and efficiently. As for mature magic, she only plans to publish two: Radiant Stone Magic Shard and Starlight. These are two basic magics that even the most inept magicians in the Borderlands can learn.

As for whether the magic of radiance will flourish in this world, whether it will be divided into several classrooms like in Rhea Lucaria, with different schools of radiance magic being studied in depth, or whether it will quietly become just another ordinary spell among many, Hermione doesn't care much. She has too much magic at her disposal, and each type has a bright and great future.

The quiet study time didn't last long.

That evening, while Hermione was working on her paper in the common room, Harry and Ron arrived again.

This time, they were panting heavily, their faces flushed, and their eyes shining like two newly detonated nuclear bombs, as they surrounded Hermione's table.

"We know what the professors are going to do!"

"Oh my god, that's a huge deal!"

Hermione looked at the two of them, and her head felt even bigger.