Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

That evening, Hermione had just finished a day of studying and was getting ready for bed when suddenly, her third eye seemed to be activated. But this time, it wasn't a bell or a ghostly disturbance; it was just a fleeting image.

In an instant, the dark ceiling before my eyes was replaced by a jumble of colors, transforming into a new scene—a surging blue energy gathered like a tide, then spread outwards in concentric circles like pulses, the buzzing energy illuminating everything in a deep blue.

"Wait, that looks...like...the power of Radiant Stone?" she asked in surprise.

The image of Tianmu disappeared in an instant, but the scent originating from the magic of the Radiant Stone never dissipated and lingered in the school.

"Strange, even if the professors have started researching sapphire magic, they shouldn't have such powerful energy, right?" Hermione frowned. Her third eye seemed to be revealing that a powerful sapphire magic force was gathering in the school.

Logically speaking, she should be the world's top user of Radiant Stone magic. Even if she is not considered highly skilled in the theoretical field, the Faded One has broken down and incorporated three Origin-level spells into her memory. In the Borderlands, it would be beneath her to wear a Double Sage Headgear.

But the Radiant Stone magic she sensed now was almost as strong as that of Teacher Seren, who was at the Great Perfection stage. The stable yet wild Radiant Stone aura seemed like it was about to explode at any moment, turning the user into a human head stone ball.

"Could it be that one of the professors researching sapphire magic has gone mad?" Hermione couldn't help but worry.

Since her paper was published, many professors have been very interested in this magic that controls radiation, and they have been exchanging and researching it. Although there are no plans to include it in the curriculum yet, everyone can basically flick their fingers to light up starlight. Because of this, the radiation intensity inside Hogwarts has dropped to an absurd level. Before, it could barely condense half a bright stone pebble, but now, even the starlight sometimes appears intermittent.

However, the significance of this magic lies precisely in this: bringing the rampant and chaotic radiation under control and transforming it into a more idealistic form. Since it can effectively control the radiation in an area, it should also be able to be used to clean up nuclear war ruins.

However, Hermione hasn't started writing her next paper yet, and she's still trying to replicate more advanced boundary magic using the methods of this world. So who exactly is manipulating such terrifying power of the Radiant Stone?

Surely Dumbledore isn't planning to create a star as big as the moon, is he?

Hermione felt she couldn't let it go unchecked; otherwise, if the next day she discovered that half of Hogwarts had turned into a crystal deposit, her and her brilliance magic would be permanently sealed.

After getting dressed again, she quietly went out, intending to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak, only to find that the other three first-year boys had already slipped out for a night stroll.

With no other option, she had to become self-reliant and strong.

"Transform into nothingness." A smoky magic enveloped the entire body—the magic used by the assassins of Seria Magic Town was also a type of night magic, its source being the eternal city of Noklon, which slumbered beneath the borderlands. If combined with invisible blades and swift, dim night magic pebbles, it would be a terrifying, invisible killer. Of course, that's what they originally did.

Upon inspection, it was confirmed that this different system of invisibility magic was indeed effective. Hermione stood in front of the mirror in the darkness, completely empty, without revealing any flaws.

If possible, adding an "Assassin's Footwork" prayer to eliminate sound, followed by a "Darkness" prayer to enhance concealment, would be even more effective. However, these two techniques from the Round Table Hall assassins are no longer usable after Hermione abandoned her faith in Twofinger. Of course, Twofinger probably can't project power across a world either.

In contrast, death-related magic such as spirit fire, while requiring faith, can be materialized in any world with a concept of souls. However, the Two Fingers and the Hall of the Round Table are different; unless Hermione re-establishes a faith in this world and uses that faith as power to perform prayers, these techniques are difficult to replicate. Similarly, the black flames used to hunt gods, a power derived from the goddess of death, cannot be achieved through magic alone, even though death exists in every world, because they originate from the goddess.

Fortunately, Hermione can use the Levitation Charm to reduce her body weight, which indirectly helps to mute her.

In the dark corridor, Hermione moved forward like a ghost. This was her first time traveling alone at night. Without two burdens and no longer having to worry about her invisibility cloak falling off, she suddenly found herself much more relaxed. However, tonight seemed really special. She walked for a long time without hearing the footsteps of the professor on night patrol.

The Heavenly Eye continued to take effect, with wave after wave of powerful radiance fluctuations acting like a bright lighthouse, guiding her in the right direction.

But when she found the source of the magical fluctuations, she had to stop in her tracks—the forbidden zone behind the fourth-floor corridor.

Hermione frowned. She could hear the rubbing of a giant creature slowly moving its massive arthropods behind the door—Aragog.

"What exactly are the professors doing?"

She looked down and saw a tiny spider slithering in through the crack in the door; it was the same kind she had seen when she went to see Hagrid.

"Are they collecting radiation energy?"

Hermione guessed that this was not impossible. Before she came to this world, wizards had already been researching how to control radiation, but their methods were rather crude. For example, at Cherokee, Hogwarts used its massive bodies to press down on the reactor core, using powerful magic to violently suppress the intensity of radiation.

And these little spiders that are close to the power of radiation, she previously thought they were just mutated species in the special environment of this world, but now it seems that they may have been specially bred by the experts in magical creatures?

The night was quiet. She thought for a moment and decided not to go any further. It didn't seem to be an out-of-control incident. It was just that the adults were doing something terrible. They knew better than she did about the dangers of radiation. There was no need for her to worry about it.

Thinking of this, she prepared to go back to her dormitory, cover herself with the blanket and go to sleep, pretending that she knew nothing.

But after turning around and walking a short distance, as she passed the one-eyed witch statue, which was also located on the fourth floor, a slight noise made her stop.

The next moment, the statue parted to the sides, revealing a dark opening. Hermione remained silent; the invisibility spell, still in effect, meant she didn't need to hide. She watched quietly as the opening opened and then slowly closed again.

She narrowed her eyes, slowly extended her silver-white staff, and tentatively flicked it in the air.

A cloak as white as water was lifted, revealing three mischievous little creatures hidden beneath—Harry, Harry, and their companions. Clearly, they had gone to find Hagrid.

The three were clearly stunned by the sudden emptiness above them. The next moment, a dark figure slowly appeared in front of them.

Ron was so frightened that he was about to scream, but Harry and Neville, who were beside him, immediately covered his mouth.

"You three are out out at night again," Hermione said irritably. "If Professor Potter catches you, he might turn you into a three-headed dog."

Harry was the first to react: "Hermione? You actually ran off alone? You know the Disillusionment Charm?"

The next second, he immediately exclaimed anxiously, "Never mind that! You have no idea what we saw! Hagrid is gone! And the place where he was recuperating has turned into a huge crater!"

Hermione was also taken aback, and immediately said, "Take me to see this quickly."