Dawn narrowed his eyes, but after glancing at the Transfiguration book beside him, he gave up on the idea.

No choice.

With his current level of mastery in runes, trying to replicate it from scratch would take at least two to three months.

And that would be a massive waste of time.

After all, the potential return wasn’t worth it. Even if he managed to create a copy, it would only be usable within Hogwarts, which meant there wouldn’t be much of a market for it.

Besides, the professors might not even allow it.

Even if he wanted to use it as a prototype to develop a version usable outside the school, the time investment would increase drastically.

So.

He’d have to put this matter aside for now.

Dawn sighed, muttered “prank over,” then rolled up the Marauder’s Map and tucked it into his robes.

Next.

From the pile of alchemical items left, he picked up the broomstick with the least damage. He had decided to craft a tool that would let him move in and out of Ravenclaw Tower freely.

Holding the broom’s cracked section before his eyes, he observed it closely.

Though the handle looked like a single piece, Dawn noticed that it was actually composed of two parts—an outer and an inner core.

Both surfaces bore separate rune circuits: the inner side of the outer ring and the outer side of the inner ring.

Comparing it with the same broom model he’d seen during flying class, Dawn concluded that this one had only lost three rune symbols along the crack.

It might not be too difficult to repair.

But soon enough.

He discovered the real problem.

Within the outer circuit, he found numerous runes that symbolized “secrecy.”

That meant…

If the outer shell was removed or destroyed, the inner circuit—where the real performance of the broomstick came from—would also be compromised.

Hmm… unexpected.

Dawn had originally thought that, given how Britain had pushed out flying carpets and had no fear of competition, and how Hogwarts never formally taught alchemy, their secrecy measures would be a little more lax.

He took a long look at it from various angles.

Realizing his current alchemy skills weren’t enough to bypass the outer runes, he didn’t hesitate any further. He cast a Severing Charm to separate the inner and outer layers entirely.

In the next moment.

With a surge of magic, he saw the circuits on both layers disintegrate instantly.

However.

From a normal point of view, the surfaces of the two pieces of wood still looked perfectly intact.

It was a sophisticated alchemical technique—one that concealed rune circuits within the structure.

But Dawn didn’t need to go that far.

He pulled out a dragon bone carving knife from his pouch and laid it across a magical core—some sort of unknown plant fiber that served as the conduit for magical flow.

He began carefully etching runes into the surface.

As the circuit lines connected, a white magical glow began to flow through them…

In truth.

Although during Professor Flitwick’s class, Dawn had once again confirmed that the runes and the symbols he saw were fundamentally different…

Even now, he still believed there must be a connection between the two.

Because he discovered that, even though the magic inside alchemical objects flowed like circuitry instead of mist…

Tiny shifting symbols still swam along those magical lines.

Which meant—

While runes were indeed unique, they weren’t so special that they were completely incompatible with his abilities or his understanding of magic.

Time slipped by.

The growing shadows finally nudged Dawn from his trance.

He turned to look out the window.

The sky in the distance was painted red by the setting sun.

Dawn put down his tools and looked at the rune circuit he’d only managed to carve one-twentieth of. He let out a helpless sigh.

But time was running out. He had no choice but to pack up his things and leave the classroom.

He had a midnight Astronomy class tonight—he couldn’t stay.

After dinner in the Great Hall.

Dawn stopped by the library to return the Transfiguration textbook. Then he headed back to his dorm to swap out the books he needed for class.

After a short rest, he followed the rest of the Ravenclaw students to the highest tower of the castle.

Since Astronomy class was only held once a week, each house had its own session.

Gryffindor’s was on Wednesday, Ravenclaw’s on Friday.

The young wizards used magical telescopes to observe the night sky, studying the motion of planets, the layout of constellations, and were expected to accurately draw star charts.

The Astronomy professor, Aurora Sinistra, was a stern and very private witch. Dawn rarely saw her outside class.

The starry sky through the enchanted telescope looked beautiful.

If his mind weren’t preoccupied, Dawn might have been able to enjoy it more.

An hour later.

The class finally ended.

Professor Sinistra didn’t keep them long. After assigning homework, she dismissed the students to rest.

Dawn deliberately lagged behind, putting distance between himself and the others. Then, at a turn in the corridor, he quietly slipped away.

Next.

He cast both the Disillusionment and Silencing Charms on himself, carefully navigating the eerily silent castle.

His destination was the Restricted Section of the library. He was searching for the book, “Mad Magic: Blood and Taboo.”

But as he passed the eighth floor…

A new idea popped into his head. He stopped outside the now-empty Room of Requirement.

“I want a room filled with the books from the Restricted Section. I want a room…”

He repeated the phrase three times in his heart, then gripped the doorknob that appeared and flung the door open.

But unfortunately—

The scene inside wasn’t what he hoped for.

The room was indeed filled with bookshelves and books.

But as soon as he pulled one out and opened it, he realized they were all empty shells. They looked like books but contained no actual content.

So… this shortcut doesn’t work after all.

Dawn couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

He put the fake book back on the shelf and left the Room of Requirement.

Fifth floor of the castle.

Luckily, Filch wasn’t here at the moment.

Dawn stared at the tightly closed library doors, silently hoping Dumbledore wouldn’t be keeping tabs on him here.

That had been his main concern when he avoided sneaking out at night.

°Alohomora°

Dawn used the Unlocking Charm to break the lock, pushing the heavy door open just enough to slip inside.

The library was pitch black, cold and eerie.

He cast °Lumos° to light up his surroundings, and suddenly remembered the Hand of Glory he’d read about in Borgin and Burkes, down Knockturn Alley.

It was a dark artifact made from the hand of a hanged man. Once a candle was placed in it, only the person holding the hand could see the light.

Dawn stroked his chin. He suddenly realized that in certain situations, that item could be very useful.

The Restricted Section was located in the back of the library.

It was separated from the regular stacks by a single rope.

In Dawn’s sight, he could tell the rope was enchanted—likely to alert a professor if anyone stepped over it.

“Troublesome…”

He extinguished the light from his wand.

Then whispered coldly, “Confundus Charm.”

One Confundus Charm wouldn’t be enough, so Dawn cast several in a row before stepping carefully over the rope.

He wasn’t sure if that would fool Dumbledore, but he had done all he could. The rest was up to fate.

Entering the Restricted Section.

Dawn didn’t waste a second. He lit his wand again and began scanning the shelves quickly.

[Advanced Curses in the Dark Arts]

[Leathercraft with Human Skin]

[Dreams and the Revelation of the Soul]

[Egypt: Secrets of the Mummies]

One after another, the titles flashed before his eyes.

Each one more intriguing than the last.

But fortunately, he remembered his true purpose. With his fingers gliding lightly across the spines, he began filtering through the titles, one by one.

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