Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 76 The Mystery of the Five Runes

On Thursday, Karen planned to finish the weather forecaster in her spare time, but her packed schedule didn't give her the time, especially since she had alchemy class in the evening.

In the evening, after a day of classes, Karen stood in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, his fingers hovering in the air. He hesitated for a moment before gently knocking on the oak door. In his left hand, he held a dragon-skin bag containing a homemade quill pen and a half-finished weather forecaster.

The door slid open silently, and Castor stood with his back to the doorway in front of a wall covered with ancient maps. The curse on his left arm remained unchanged, showing no signs of erupting.

"Come in, Karen," Castor said without turning his head.

Karen tiptoed into the office, the door closing automatically behind him with a soft click. He noticed the office layout had changed again—the alchemy workbench, which had been in the corner, had been moved to the center, filled with various precision instruments and materials; the maps on the walls had been replaced with several ancient star charts, one of which had a strange constellation circled in red.

"Professor, I've finished replicating the automatic quill." Karen took the quill she made from her bag and placed it on the table. "I also tried to analyze the rune structure of the weather forecaster, but I'm still not quite sure about the function of the fifth rune."

Professor Victor turned around and picked up the quill to examine it closely. His fingertips gently traced the runic engravings on the quill, his gray eyes narrowing slightly. "The craftsmanship is exquisite," he commented, his voice carrying a rare hint of approval. "Better than I expected. Especially this harmonizing rune, the transition is so natural."

Karen responded happily, "Thank you for your compliment, Professor. I used the Eye of Truth to observe the flow of magic and adjusted the depth of the engravings a few times."

Professor Victor nodded, took a piece of parchment from his drawer, and wrote a few lines with a quill. The pen moved smoothly across the paper, the ink even, and the shorthand function worked perfectly. "Functional complete, magic circuit stable." He put down the pen, his gray eyes looking directly at Karen. "How long did it take you?"

"About six hours, including the time spent practicing on the copper coins," Karen answered truthfully, "but analyzing the rune structure took some extra time."

Professor Victor's lips curled into a slight smile: "Not bad speed, and there are no problems with the finished product." He walked to the bookshelf, took down an exquisite wooden box, and said, "Now, let's see your understanding of the weather forecaster."

Karen quickly pulled out her notebook from her bag; it was covered with rune connection diagrams and annotations. Professor Victor took the notebook, quickly glanced through it, sometimes nodding, sometimes frowning.

"You understand the basic structure correctly," he concluded, opening the wooden box and taking out several copper plates engraved with runes. "But your interpretation of the fifth rune is flawed. This isn't a simple stability rune; it's the core of the environmental awareness rune."

Karen leaned closer to examine it, and her Eye of Truth immediately caught the intricate magical patterns on the copper coin. Professor Victor ran his finger across the runes, explaining, "Look at the secondary connection here. It actually forms a feedback loop with the primary rune, constantly adjusting the output of the other four runes."

As the professor explained, Karen suddenly realized: "So when the external air pressure changes, this rune senses it first, and then fine-tunes the metal plate's sensitivity through the secondary connection?"

"Correct." Professor Victor's expression showed satisfaction. "Now, try to carve it out. Remember, the pressure at the turns should be even."

For the next two hours, Karen was completely absorbed in replicating the weather forecaster's rune system on the copper plate. Professor Victor stood by, occasionally correcting his technique. As the fifth rune—the complex environmental awareness rune—was nearing completion, Karen's wrists began to tremble, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Concentrate," Professor Victor's deep voice sounded in my ear. "The last stroke must be done in one go."

Karen took a deep breath, and the carving knife fell steadily, completing the final stroke of the rune. The five runes simultaneously glowed, fine magical threads flowing between them, forming a perfect pentagonal network.

"It's a success!" Karen couldn't help but cheer, but then her vision went black from exhaustion and she almost slipped off her chair.

Professor Victor quickly steadied his shoulder and handed him a steaming cup of chocolate. "Drink it. Completing the five-rune system for the first time was very taxing."

Karen took the cup, the sweet aroma of hot chocolate immediately invigorating him. He sipped it slowly, looking at the rune he had completed with satisfaction.

"Now, try to assemble the complete weather forecaster." Professor Victor took out the prepared glass sphere, metal sheet and other components from the wooden box.

Under the professor's guidance, Karen carefully installed the engraved rune base onto the bottom of the glass sphere, then added the specially treated metal sheet and the magical solution in sequence. When the last component was in place, a burst of iridescent light suddenly emanated from inside the glass sphere, and the metal sheet floated up and slowly rotated.

"This is amazing—" Karen held her breath, watching the metal plate sway slightly in the breeze blowing in from the window. In the Eye of Truth, the network of five runes was operating efficiently, constantly adjusting the metal plate's reaction.

Professor Victor observed for a while, then nodded and said, "It's functioning normally. It should rain tomorrow; you can verify its prediction accuracy."

He walked to an old oak cabinet, took out a roll of yellowed parchment, and handed it to Karen: "These are some common five-rune optimization schemes. Study them thoroughly before trying to improve your work."

Karen accepted the parchment with great delight and carefully put it in his bag. Just as he was about to thank him and leave, Castor suddenly asked, "Do you remember this Nicholas Flamel II you mentioned before?"

Karen's heart suddenly raced. Ever since he found the experimental log in the secret room, he had been curious about this person, but unfortunately, he had little access to clues.

"I remember, Professor," he admitted honestly. "I have no record of that name in the library, and I asked Mrs. Pince, but she had never heard of it either."

A strange glint flashed in Castor's grey eyes. "Because that's not his real name at all, which is obviously true." He walked to the corner of the office and took a black leather box from the shadows. "It took me some time, to be precise, with the help of Nicolas and Dumbledore, to finally confirm the true identity of this Nicholas Flamel II."

Karen held her breath as Castor opened the leather case and took out an old black-and-white photograph. The photograph showed a thin-faced young wizard, wearing the robes of Slytherin, his eyes so sharp they seemed to pierce through the paper.

Lucian Sinclair, who attended Slytherin from 1928 to 1935, was a genius in ancient runes.

After graduating, he served as a Charms professor at Hogwarts for three years. "Casto's voice was deep and calm. "He was also a core member of the Hermes Ring and had a close relationship with Nicolas Flamel."

"Why does he call himself Nicholas Flamel II? Why does the diary say Ravenclaw?" Karen asked impatiently.

"The first question is relatively simple." Castor put the photograph back in the leather case. "Lucian received guidance and help from Nico in his youth, regarding him as a mentor. According to Nico's recollection, Lucian did indeed jokingly say he wanted to be the next Flamel. As for the second question—"

Castor paused, his grey eyes fixed on Cullen. "We're not sure either. Lucian is indeed from Slytherin, and there's no evidence that he has any special connection to Ravenclaw. At least, my investigation hasn't found any link between him and Ravenclaw."

"So what happened to Lucian after that?" he asked cautiously.

“He disappeared,” Castor answered curtly. “He vanished suddenly in 1953 while conducting an archaeological excavation in Egypt and was never seen again. The official investigation declared that he may have died from a tomb curse, but Nico has never believed that claim.”

Castor added, "Interestingly, he was researching the combination of active runes and ancient alchemy before he disappeared."

Karen was about to press for more information when Castor stood up, clearly intending to end the meeting that evening.

"Regarding the specific contents of the journal, Nico expressed his wish to explain it to you personally. He will be visiting Dumbledore at Hogwarts next month, and an appointment will be made for you to meet then." Castor walked towards the office door, indicating the end of the conversation. "Also,"

Considering your foundation is already quite solid, starting next week, Saturday classes will be suspended. One class each Thursday evening is sufficient, unless you have a particularly urgent question.

Karen paused for a moment, feeling both relieved and somewhat reluctant. The twice-weekly instruction did take up a lot of his time, but the opportunity to learn from Professor Castor was truly invaluable.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor," he said sincerely, carefully putting away his homemade weather forecaster. "I will study the data you provided carefully."

After leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Karen didn't head straight back to Ravenclaw Tower, but instead went to the library. Although it was late, he was eager to find out anything about Lucian Sinclair.

Unfortunately, the library is already closed at this time, so I'll have to try again tomorrow.

When he arrived at the dormitory door, he heard laughter coming from inside.

"I bet he'll be back really late again tonight!" That was Wesley's voice.

"Should we wait for him?" Fabian suggested.

Karen's lips unconsciously curled up as he pushed open the door and saw his three roommates sitting on their respective beds, arguing about something.

"What are you doing?" Karen asked.

The three of them turned around at the same time. Ernesto looked at Karen and said, "So early tonight! We thought you were going to spend the night there."

Fabian continued, "Looks like your weather forecaster is finished?"

"Of course!" Karen took out the weather forecaster she had made from her bag. "Professor Victor guided me through its completion."

The three roommates immediately gathered around, curiously observing the metal plate suspended inside the glass sphere. Karen briefly explained how it worked, omitting some details, of course.

"That's amazing!" Wesley exclaimed. "How far in the weather can it predict?"

"The changes will likely occur within approximately 24 hours," Karen replied. "According to the above readings, it should rain tomorrow. We can verify that."

After another round of discussion, everyone drifted off to sleep, filled with anticipation for tomorrow.