Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 86 Discussion on Modification

Steam billowed from the Hogwarts Express, and the platform was bustling with noise. Cullen dragged his suitcase through the crowded aisle and finally found his roommates in the third car. Through the frosted glass window, he could see Wesley gesturing wildly, clearly telling some exciting story.

"Look who's here!" Fabian was the first to spot Karen, his eyes behind his glasses curving into crescents. Ernesto, standing next to him, immediately closed the Quidditch Tactics Almanac.

Wesley flung open the carriage door, his red hair flaming like flames. "Merlin's beard! We thought you were going to be late!" He snatched Karen's luggage, his movements so forceful they nearly bumped into a passing first-year student. "Come on in, I just bought some truffle cakes and pumpkin juice from the dining car, they're still warm."

Karen squeezed into the warm carriage, immediately enveloped by the sweet aroma of cake and the slightly bitter scent of hot chocolate. His seat, a window seat, had already been reserved for him, and the chocolate frog box on the small table next to him was already opened, with one frog missing.

"So," Ernesto asked first, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, after Karen was seated, "did your little sister receive our gift? Did she like it?"

"She loved it." Karen untied her scarf and pulled out several neatly folded sheets of paper from her inner pocket. "These are thank-you notes she asked me to bring to you, and she even drew a picture."

Wesley took the piece of paper covered in colorful stars, with a little red-haired figure drawn on it, and the words "Thank you, Brother Wesley, for the talking chess piece" written crookedly. Fabian received a "Flying Pony from a Storybook," while Ernesto's paper was covered in silver stickers that glittered under the light.

"She's such a little angel." Fabian carefully folded the painting and put it in his breast pocket. "She's much cuter than my cousins ​​who only know how to stuff slugs into my robes."

“Speaking of gifts,” Wesley suddenly lowered his voice and leaned closer, mysteriously pulling a small tin box from his robe, “you’ll never guess what Fred and George gave me—a box of biting gummies!” He opened the box, and the colorful candies inside were wriggling restlessly. “I accidentally dropped one on my brother’s bed, and now he refuses to share a room with me.”

"You actually dare to carry this with you?" Ernesto immediately moved half a foot to the side, his robe rustling against the chair. "What if Fang Yi and the others accidentally fall out?"

Karen smiled and shook her head, taking out a package wrapped in parchment paper from her bag: "These are gingerbread men my mother baked. She made extra to bring you." When the package was opened, a dozen or so exquisitely decorated gingerbread men were neatly arranged, mostly blue, with some in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff colors, ready to be given to Weasley and Cedric.

During the rest of the trip, the four shared stories of their Christmas holidays. Wesley recounted with great enthusiasm the scene of his family watching a football match, Fabian brought his dentist father's latest invention, "anti-cavity toothpaste" (which supposedly contained some kind of magical herb), and Ernesto mentioned that his father had finally agreed to let him run for Quidditch Seeker next year, his tone calm but his eyes shining with an unusual light.

The train sped toward Hogwarts amidst laughter and chatter. As the silhouette of Hogsmeade came into view, the four boys fell silent, gazing at the brightly lit village against the night sky.

"We've arrived in Hogsmeade," Fabian said softly, his breath condensing on the cold car window, his eyes behind his glasses reflecting the distant lights.

Back in the Ravenclaw tower, the four found their dorm room almost unchanged, except that the house-elves had thoughtfully added a few potted Christmas roses, and the holly bush had grown even more lush under their careful care. Each person had a new stocking stuffed with treats hanging by their bedside.

"Do you think these Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans might smell like smelly socks?" Wes poked the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that had been poured out of the sock with a quill pen.

Ernesto asked while straightening his clothes, "More than that, I'm concerned about whether you've finished Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration paper from before the holidays."

An awkward silence spread through the dormitory.

"I wrote three inches," Fabian admitted quietly, somewhat embarrassed, his fingers nervously twisting the edge of his robe.

"I—well—have a pretty good start." Wesley scratched his head, making his red hair even more disheveled.

Karen sipped her hot tea and pulled a roll of parchment from the box: "Don't look at me, I'm finished writing."

"I knew it." Ernesto sighed, taking a neat stack of papers from the bedside table. "As expected, only Karen finished, but it's surprising that Fabian only wrote three inches. These are mine; you can use them as a reference, but you must have your own ideas."

Wesley cheered and pounced on him: "Ernesto, you're the best pure-blood wizard I've ever seen!"

"Shut up, Cruz," Ernesto snapped, feigning seriousness, but the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth betrayed him.

After everyone changed into their pajamas, Karen suddenly took out three beautifully packaged small boxes from the trunk: "I almost forgot, these are return gifts from my family. They are all small items without magic."

Fabian opened his box; inside was a specimen pendant made of a four-leaf clover. "A four-leaf clover," he said with delight, his fingertips lightly tracing the glass surface, "Lily found it? I love it."

Ernesto's gift was a vintage-style astronomical clock keychain. "Good taste," he commented briefly, but Karen noticed that he casually attached the keychain to the most conspicuous place on his backpack.

Wesley received a hand-stitched soccer ball-shaped amulet, supposedly containing a "lucky clover" from a patch of grass in the English Premier League. "This is so cool!" he exclaimed, immediately hanging the amulet on his bedpost, his red hair swaying with excitement. "I'm going to wear it to every Quidditch game!"

"Oh, right, and this too!" Karen sat cross-legged on her bed, pulling out the book, *The Muggle Gadget Modification Guide*. "We need to talk about this, Wesley. Where did this book come from?"

Wesley, who was busy adjusting the amulet's angle, turned around when he heard this: "Oh, that one! I saw it at a used bookstall in Diagon Alley before Christmas. I saw that the contents were related to alchemy, and the owner said it was a unique copy, not even available at Hogwarts. I thought you would like it, so I bought it."

"I guess it's because they're afraid of getting caught by the Ministry of Magic," Fabian leaned closer, his glasses reflecting the candlelight. "You know, the Muggle Protection Act."

Modifying Muggle items is prohibited.

Ernesto scoffed, "A stupid rule. If Muggles themselves don't care about their belongings being modified, why does the Ministry of Magic care so much? Besides, wasn't the Hogwarts Express a modified Muggle item? The Ministry just doesn't want ordinary wizards to modify things on their own."

"Wait a minute," Wesley suddenly widened his eyes, "Karen, you haven't already tried to modify something, have you?"

Karen smiled slightly and took out the modified brass watch from her bag: "In fact, I've already completed one."

Three heads immediately crowded around. Karen put the watch on Wesley's wrist, pressed the crown, and a white light swept over his entire body. The watch's small dial immediately displayed: "Slight paper scratch on the right index finger."

"Merlin!" Wesley exclaimed, nearly jumping out of bed. "How did you do that?"

"There's a blueprint for a diagnostic watch on page 37 of the book." Karen flipped to that page, where a sheet of paper filled with his notes was tucked inside. "I made it according to the design in that paper."

Fabian carefully examined the contents of the drawings: "This is a modification of St. Mungo's detection spell into magical runes! This author is truly a genius; no wonder you asked about the origin of this book."

"Furthermore, it visualizes the effects of spell detection," Ernesto explained, "allowing people to intuitively understand their physical condition."

Karen nodded: "Because of this, I have a new idea. I'm going to try a more complex application, combining the Ironclad Charm with the watch."

1

"Ironclad Charm?" Wesley whistled. "Didn't you say you were going to build an autonomous defense system?"

"Exactly." Karen's eyes gleamed with excitement in the candlelight. "But an autonomous defense system is still a long way off. This book has given me an idea. If detection spells can be converted into magical runes, then armor spells should be able to as well."

Fabian suddenly slapped his forehead: "My uncle has a protective badge! He says it can ward off some simple curses. Maybe I can write to him and ask if I can borrow it to study."

"Be careful, Karen," Ernesto warned sternly, his brow furrowed. "Magic runes are no joke. My father said that a rune misplaced can cause a magical backlash."

The four sat around Karen's bedside, having a lively discussion. Although most of their ideas were just wild and imaginative, Karen felt a warm current flowing through her heart from her friends' concern.

"Genius!" Ernesto exclaimed, praising one of Cullen's modification ideas. Wesley yawned, his joints cracking slightly as he stretched. "I just hope Professor McGonagall doesn't question me about the details of my paper tomorrow..."

Fabian stood up and drew back the dark blue curtains: "Gentlemen, while the discussion is exciting, don't forget that there's Potions class tomorrow morning."

"Snape's class!" Wesley cried out, collapsing onto the bed, making the bed frame creak. "Why is the first day back from vacation so cruel?"

Karen smiled and closed the notebook, the parchment rustling softly. "Go to sleep. The transformation plan can continue tomorrow."

After the group said goodnight to each other, the dormitory fell into darkness, with only the faint starlight filtering in through the window. Karen gazed at the curtains of the four-poster bed, her mind already beginning to formulate the experimental procedures for tomorrow.