Hogwarts Wasteland: The Witch from the Borderlands

At the top of the tower at Hogwarts, a soft blue light pierced through the gloom, illuminating the surrounding sky.

Since that night when they talked with Professor McGonagall, Hogwarts officially announced the news of the Brilliant Stone. In no time, even on non-holiday days, countless wizards rushed over through various channels.

The official explanation was that Hermione, a natural user of Brilliant Stone magic, became the best reference point for Hogwarts, which helped them stabilize the bomb. This also made Hermione a little famous again, but the adults didn't care much about her, just thinking that Hogwarts was lucky to have recruited such a student who could be used as a specimen.

The advantage is that her paper will receive more attention, which may result in her receiving more royalties the next time she submits it.

The students were also talking about this treasure containing infinite power. They speculated about the principle of the Brilliant Stone, and imagined Dumbledore wielding the Brilliant Stone, defeating the Dark Lord with a single Death Ray, sweeping away the goblin rebels and the crazy Muggles, and establishing a new order for the world.

Dumbledore simply adjusted the light at the top of Hogwarts Tower to a deep blue, but not a radiant one; it was a pure, slightly warm light.

That was as if to say, "No more pretense, we're laying our cards on the table, we do have pyroxene as our energy source."

The walking castle was no longer as shaky as before; instead, it exuded a majestic and powerful aura. Thanks to Hermione, the Brilliant Stone could now recklessly amplify the surrounding radiation to enhance its own energy.

This also caused the radiation concentration to drop sharply in the areas where Hogwarts passed. Although this was still a drop in the ocean for the whole world, it was enough to drive people outside crazy.

What the students didn't know was that the stability of the Brilliant Stone made Hogwarts even more powerful and aggressive. This moving castle could now be used almost as a mobile war fortress, using the Brilliant Stone's enormous energy to launch devastating saturation attacks on any large unit. Of course, the peace-loving magic school, which carried the hopes of the European wizarding world, would not do such a thing.

With various forces sending people in, the school became chaotic, and the scene of Christmas not long ago was showing signs of repeating itself.

But none of this mattered to Hermione. She continued to plan her famous time according to her own schedule. In fact, she did not quite agree with Professor McGonagall's approach, not about the public disclosure of the pyroxene, but about her own plans.

Preparing for defeat before victory may be the approach of an experienced chess player, but from Hermione's perspective, losing courage before facing an enemy makes it difficult to gain an advantage in the confrontation. Nevertheless, she will still earnestly fulfill the professor's instructions.

After learning that the Brilliant Stone was stable, Lucius, the openly known spy, was so distracted in class that he almost detonated the Muggle fragmentation grenade used for teaching. After that, he gradually became anxious and irritable. His roars could often be heard outside the Defense Classroom, and the declining grades of the various houses were basically his doing, even Slytherin was not spared.

He began to live a secluded life, no longer dining at the teachers' table in the auditorium, and always walking hurriedly down the corridor, draped in a black robe.

The other professors tacitly treated him as if he didn't exist, and aside from occasional academic exchanges, they hardly paid any attention to him.

Even in the practical classes that Professor Flitwick and he took together, the two maintained only a superficial peace and no longer exchanged any extra pleasantries.

"Did you hear? Draco seems to be dropping out of school!"

In the common room, Hermione tossed the newly made wizard chess set to the Weasley twins in exchange for their fresh third-year textbooks, only to hear some shocking news.

"Dropped out?! Has he gone mad? Is old Malfoy going to transfer him to Durmstrang?!" Ron asked loudly.

"But isn't Durmstrang a stronghold of the Vigilantes? Is old Malfoy planning to send Draco to join the army?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Hermione has recently learned more about the wizarding world and is not puzzled by what Harry said.

Of the three magic schools in Europe, Durmstrang was originally known for its teaching of dark magic and was also the alma mater of the Dark Lord Grindelwald. After the Dark Lord defeated Dumbledore and set Paris ablaze, the school quickly sided with the Usurpers and became a source of fresh blood for the Usurpers. Originally, the school did not accept Muggle students, but after the Usurpers took over, they became open to all.

All children brought back to the school are subjected to militarized management and brainwashing. Wizards who emerge from this school are cunning, warlike, and highly disciplined, while also possessing unparalleled fanaticism and worship for the Dark Lord. This makes many pure-blood families reluctant to send their children there. In their view, if a child enters Durmstrang, their original surname will be taken away, and they will become a lackey who serves the Dark Lord wholeheartedly, a lackey who serves the so-called "greater good."

Another magic school, Beauxbatons, had very close ties with Nicholas Flamel. After the Dark Lord killed him, Beauxbatons was destined to be unable to side with the Vigilantes, but they lacked the power to fight back. Therefore, the school transformed into a specialized alchemy school. They collected and organized most of Nicholas Flamel's legacy and established a large-scale alchemy workshop to produce alchemical tools for wizards, goblins, and even Muggles all over the world. Of course, they charged different prices for different clients.

They also recruit from all backgrounds of young wizards, but if one parent is a wizard, they are unwilling to send their child to work in the workshop from a young age. Although they can indeed learn very advanced alchemical knowledge and all the students who come out are top students in alchemy, their dark circles and baldness, which even potions cannot cure, are really not flattering. Moreover, alchemy is not safe and harmless, and every year a considerable number of students die from explosions and forbidden alchemy.

Therefore, Beauxbatons is the smallest of the three magic schools, but the richest, and also has the most amicable relationship with goblins and Muggles. Of course, when facing other wizards, especially Grindelwald's followers, they will show deep hatred and irreconcilable enmity towards goblins.

As for Hogwarts, this magic school that has been around all over Europe, it is the last choice for all pure-blood and wizard families. Even though it has been carrying a bomb for fifty years, in the eyes of wizarding parents, it is far better than the other two choices. At least it hasn't exploded yet, right?

Here resides the most powerful white wizard, who, despite his narrow defeat at the hands of Grindelwald, is still the only one capable of standing against him. It is also the best-preserved and most complete magic school, and in the minds of all wizards, Hogwarts will always be the pinnacle of wizarding education.

Of course, many families also choose to homeschool their children, and there are quite a few of them. Wild wizards, who would have been discriminated against before the war, are now considered to be the norm. Even though Hogwarts is the school that admits the most children from pure-blood families, Slytherin's population is only a few people per year. Many pure-blood families choose to have their family's ancestral painters or house-elves teach them. Although the knowledge may be outdated, it is safer.

"It can't be that old Malfoy is planning to personally teach Draco, can it?" Ron said sarcastically, using as much exaggerated an expression as possible.

While the others were still speculating, Hermione knew this was a sign that Lucius was preparing to run away.

Whether they were planning a big heist or trying to escape after being discovered, it was unacceptable to leave their only son in someone else's hands.

Lucius's move is imminent; I need to remind the professors to prepare. No, the professors definitely know this sooner than I do.