pertwk Chapter 117 The Importance of Gift Distribution and Inheritance
Chapter 117 The Importance of Gift Distribution and Inheritance
Chapter 117 The Importance of Gift Distribution and Inheritance
The morning sunlight streamed through the windows high up in the Ravenclaw Tower, casting bright patches of light on the dormitory floor.
When Karen woke up, he felt refreshed, all the fatigue from the journey gone. He quickly got up, made the bed,
His gaze fell on the bulging dragon-skin backpack at the foot of the bed.
His roommates woke up one after another. Wesley practically jumped out of bed, pulling on his robe as he urged, "Hurry, hurry! Eagle's Nest! I can't wait!"
Fabian, on the other hand, appeared methodical, carefully organizing his books and notes. Ernesto, already dressed, was wiping the lenses of his beloved telescope by the windowsill, seemingly focused, but Karen noticed his occasional wary glances at her backpack.
The four quickly washed up and gathered in the common room. At breakfast time, the atmosphere at the Ravenclaw table was relaxed. Karen's arrival attracted the attention of some classmates and received friendly greetings, but he and his roommates tacitly avoided discussing their trip to France, simply responding that they had enjoyed their holidays.
Wesley wolfed down his breakfast, his eyes constantly glancing at Karen's backpack at his feet.
Fabian ate his oatmeal porridge elegantly, but noticeably faster than usual. Ernesto, on the other hand, slowly sliced his sausage, seemingly unconcerned about the upcoming sharing, though his slightly forward-leaning posture and occasional glances at Karen betrayed him.
Finally, breakfast ended. The four of them stood up in unison, picked up their textbooks, and Karen grabbed her backpack. Together they left the noisy auditorium. They didn't return to the tower, but headed straight for the Eagle's Nest. The corridors were relatively quiet in the early morning, with only a few early risers hurrying by.
Pushing open the heavy wooden door of "Eagle's Nest," which was heavily protected and soundproofed, a familiar scent wafted out. It was a mixture of parchment, old wood, potion ingredients, and a faint metallic ozone smell. In the center of the room...
Karen's magic lamp emitted a steady, soft, warm white light. A long table against the wall was piled high with books...
Scrolls, maps, herbaria, and alchemical instruments. The magical plants in the corner huddled quietly under the lampshade.
"Alright! Now no one's bothering us!" Wesley took an exaggerated deep breath, as if the air here was especially sweet. He skillfully kicked aside a bench blocking his way, rushed to the long table, and looked at Karen anxiously. "Quick!"
"Quickly bring out the best stuff from the workshop so we can see it!"
Fabian was more composed. He walked to the window and checked if the simple warning runes they had set up were intact. Ernesto went straight to an inconspicuous brass safe in the corner, tapped a few points with his wand, and the lid slid open silently. He carefully took out a finely crafted brass planetarium wrapped in velvet and placed it in a designated spot on the table. "Full moon observation requires more precise positioning. This is better than a telescope; I brought it from home."
Karen smiled, placed her backpack in the center of the long table, unzipped it, and began taking out "little gadgets" for her roommates.
What Wesley received was a palm-sized brass mechanical bird shaped like a miniature golden thief. "Madame Lemaître said it's an automatic sentinel model. You inject a little magic to activate it, set its detection range, and it can fly up and patrol on its own. If it detects a magic source approaching outside the preset range, it will emit a very faint buzzing sound to alert you. Of course, the range is small, and the duration is limited; it's a practice piece, but it's very interesting," Karen explained.
Wesley was overjoyed. He carefully took the bird and stroked the smooth brass casing with great affection. "This is so cool! It's much more fun than a spyglass! We can put one in front of us to scout the way when we explore the Forbidden Forest!" He immediately tried to infuse it with a bit of magic. The little brass bird's wings trembled slightly, making a soft sound of gears turning.
Fabian received a sealed, fist-sized, transparent crystal jar containing powder that shimmered with a faint silver-blue light. "This is spore powder of 'Stardust Moss,'" Karen said. "It's a very rare magical moss cultivated by Madame Lemaître, which only grows briefly under specific celestial phenomena. It's not particularly useful on its own, but it's extremely sensitive to changes in the magical energy of its environment; its color subtly alters depending on the properties of the surrounding magical field. Madame said it might be helpful for your research into the relationship between Forbidden Forest plants and magical nodes."
Fabian's eyes lit up instantly. He took the crystal jar and examined the tiny, star-like powders under the light. "Fantastic! This is the perfect supplementary material for studying the relationship between plants and magical environments! Please thank Madame Lemaître for me! This is invaluable!" He was already thinking about how to use it to improve his plant magic atlas.
Finally, it was for Ernesto. Karen took out a flat ebony box, opened it, and inside was a smooth, palm-sized, dark gray stone slab. The slab was etched with extremely complex and precise concentric circles and spiral patterns, and in the center was a rice-grain-sized, milky-white crystal that emitted a constant, faint glow.
"This is a simplified version of the 'Star Orbit Calibration Compass'," Karen explained. "Mr. Lemaître said that this was a tool he used in his early practice of celestial positioning and magical trajectory simulation. Although its accuracy is not as good as a professional astrolabe, its advantage lies in its clear and intuitive structure, which allows you to manually simulate the subtle disturbances that the celestial trajectories produce on the local magical field. He said—it might help you better understand the interaction between celestial phenomena and terrestrial magic."
Ernesto was stunned. He looked at the stone tablet in the wooden box, then at Karen. "It seems you shared our story with Master Lemaître. Thank them for me, and thank you too, Karen."
After the gifts were distributed, the atmosphere in the Eagle's Nest became even more warm and harmonious. Wesley was fiddling with his little sentinel bird, Fabian was studying stardust moss spores, and Ernesto had already taken out his astronomical notes, calculating something by referring to the star track calibration chart.
Karen looked at them, then took out the large box of French magic candies, unwrapped it, and placed it on the table: "Alright, the research tools are all here. Now it's time to relax. What you got yesterday was just a part; there's more here."
The colorful and uniquely shaped candies immediately caught everyone's attention. Wesley grabbed a hopping chocolate frog, but the frog deftly broke free, kicking him in the face before hopping onto the table, causing everyone to burst into laughter. Fabian picked a pale green gummy candy, put it in his mouth, and closed his eyes to savor it. Ernesto, on the other hand, reservedly chose a gold-leaf-covered, expensive-looking chocolate with a liqueur filling, bit into it, and a satisfied look appeared on his face.
Amidst the lighthearted pleasure brought by the candy, the conversation naturally turned to more details of Karen's trip to France, though Karen skillfully avoided discussing certain sensitive topics.
"By the way, Karen," Fabian swallowed the candy in his mouth, then, remembering something, "what's the situation with the new direction you mentioned earlier regarding the exploration of the Forbidden Forest?"
When the topic turned to business, Cullen's expression became serious. He took out his research notes and turned to the page recording Dumbledore's request: "Yes. Professor Dumbledore told me that although Professor Victor's condition is stable, the root cause still exists and requires long-term care. The moonmoss we discovered earlier has been very effective, and I'm thinking of finding some similar resources that might help alleviate the continuous erosion on the professor's magical core, in conjunction with Madame Lemaître's treatment. However, there's no rush in this regard; we can take it one step at a time."