Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 282 Discoveries at the Edge of the Forbidden Forest

Chapter 282 Discoveries at the Edge of the Forbidden Forest

Saturday morning was cool, the air filled with the scent of earth and fallen leaves. Karen and Fabian had arranged to go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Karen's main purpose was to re-examine the ash tree node left behind by Slytherin, with its serpentine grooves, to install the new monitoring plate, and to carefully check for any new changes in the area and its surroundings after the full moon; she had only come to collect the monitoring device previously. Fabian, on the other hand, was simply driven by his love of plants and wanted to go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to find some herbal samples for his extracurricular herbalism research.

After a brief greeting to Hagrid and resolving his reputation issue, Karen was even able to swagger into the Forbidden Forest right in front of Hagrid. Once inside, they soon arrived at the ancient ash tree.

"Still the same," Karen said, carefully scanning the rough, serpentine groove with her "Eye of Truth." The magic within the groove remained weak and intermittent, like a candle flickering in the wind. "Most of the node's functions have indeed failed. The energy loss is severe; it's almost impossible to sense where it's transmitting information. Only a faint stream of magic flows towards the castle."

He carefully removed the monitoring board that had been in use for a week, replaced it with a new one, and reset the recording instructions.

Fabian wasn't particularly interested in the magical node; his attention was completely drawn to the ground and vegetation around the tree roots. He crouched down, put on gloves, and carefully brushed aside the dead leaves and soil to examine them.

"Strange—" Fabian muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?" Karen asked as she finished her work and came over.

“Look at the soil here, Karen,” Fabian said, picking up a bit of soil with his fingers. “It’s grayish in color, and the texture is very poor, lacking vitality. Logically speaking, the soil at the edge of the Forbidden Forest should be very fertile due to the accumulation of fallen leaves and humus. But around this tree, especially the area directly below this groove, it feels like—it’s been drained dry by something.”

Upon hearing this, Karen also activated her "Eye of Truth" and looked at the ground. Sure enough, in the normal soil environment full of natural life and magic, the area directly below the node appeared unusually "dark" with extremely low magical activity, as if it were a barren land in a magical sense.

"Is it like the node excessively absorbed energy from its surroundings before it failed?" Karen speculated.

"Possibly," Fabian nodded, continuing his investigation. "But life always finds a way—look at this!"

He gently parted the inconspicuous crack at the base of the tree, where a small shaded area had formed due to rain erosion and root growth. And there, in that barren soil, grew a small, unassuming cluster of white mushrooms.

These mushrooms have small caps and slender stems, making them look somewhat frail, but they do indeed grow in this magically barren area, appearing even more vibrant than some of the surrounding grass.

"This is amazing!" Fabian's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a treasure. "In this area where magic and soil nutrients are scarce, ordinary plants would struggle to survive, but these mushrooms actually grow? How do they get their energy?"

He carefully collected several mushroom samples, along with some soil from the roots, using a small shovel and tweezers, and placed them in a specially made sample bag.

"Perhaps they can absorb that tiny bit of negligible magic leaking from the nodes?" Karen guessed, though he didn't know much about mycology.

"Very likely! And they might not just be absorbing it, but transforming it!" Fabian seemed quite excited. "I need to go back and examine them under a microscope, and test their magical properties again. If they can truly adapt to this low-magic environment, and even convert the residual magical energy into some kind of nutrient that promotes their growth, then perhaps it could provide us with new ideas for cultivating some rare magical plants that require high soil magic but struggle to survive in ordinary fertile soil!"

When the topic turned to familiar territory, the usually mild-mannered and taciturn Fabian became quite talkative. Although he hadn't yet confirmed whether the mushroom's properties were as he suspected, he had already begun to envision how to utilize these properties to improve the formulation of greenhouse soil.

Karen smiled, watching his friend's focused expression. He turned his gaze back to the fissures where the mushrooms were growing and the paths along which their roots were spreading. In the vision of the "Eye of Truth," the mycelial network of those mushrooms emitted an extremely faint, soft aura, identical in origin to the residual magic of the nodes but entirely different in nature. They were indeed absorbing something.

Suddenly, Karen noticed something. He crouched down, getting even closer.

"Fabian, look at the growth pattern of these mycelia."

"Hmm?" Fabian leaned closer.

In Karen's eyes, the trails of those delicate mycelia spreading beneath the soil were not chaotic, but rather faintly revealed a very weak, radial pattern, as if growing along some predetermined, but long-lost, path.

"Look," Karen said, gesturing to the marks on the ground, "aren't they a bit like—growing along a path of magical flow that might have existed around this point before? Like iron filings aligning along magnetic field lines?"

Fabian looked closely and, although he couldn't see the flow of magic, he could vaguely see a regular radial structure from the density and direction of the mycelium distribution, with the center roughly pointing to the serpentine groove.

"I understand what you mean!" Fabian exclaimed in sudden realization. "These mushrooms not only absorbed the residual magic, but the growth of their mycelium may have subconsciously outlined a small part of the original, complete magic transmission network at this node! Although the network is now broken and the energy flow is interrupted, this once-existing path may still have a subtle influence on the growth of the mycelium!"

This discovery excited both of them. Karen immediately took out parchment and a quill pen and carefully drew the general pattern of the mycelial distribution, marking the direction and relative density.

"This might provide clues to reconstruct a small part of the structure of this surveillance network," Karen said, looking at the sketch. "Even if it's just the tip of the iceberg, it's better than having no clue at all."

Fabian nodded in agreement: "It seems I've gained a lot from this trip. I've not only found a new strain that might be very useful, but I've also indirectly helped your research."

"Let's help each other." Karen smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Your botanical knowledge always provides unexpected perspectives."

The two explored the area for a while longer. Fabian collected samples of other plants, while Karen confirmed that there were no other hidden magical traces or dangers nearby. The edge of the Forbidden Forest was unusually quiet, with only the rustling of the wind through the treetops and the occasional birdsong, creating a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere. They could even see some centaurs flashing through the trees in the distance, but they didn't approach.

"That's enough, let's go back," Karen suggested, glancing at the sky.

"Okay, I need to hurry back and process these samples." Fabian carefully held his collection bag.

On the way back to the castle, the two discussed their findings. Fabian talked at length about how he planned to test the mushroom's magical conversion efficiency and its potential for improving soil. Karen, on the other hand, pondered how to compare the patterns outlined by the mycelium with other Slytherin nodes he had previously discovered, trying to piece together a larger picture.