Everyday Life of a Top Student at Hogwarts

Chapter 273 The Ancient Surveillance Network

Chapter 273 The Ancient Surveillance Network

Over the next few days, Karen took the time to explore the basilisk chamber and its connecting sewer system that he had discovered last semester. With his Eye of Truth and his newly acquired Parseltongue, he discovered three more faint magical nodes, all similar to the one on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, but with even weaker energy.

On Wednesday evening, the Eagle's Nest was brightly lit. Karen laid out several parchment sheets filled with diagrams and analyses of magical flow on the large worktable in the center. Wesley, Fabian, and Ernesto gathered around, curiously examining the complex charts and Karen's notes.

"So, you've been sneaking off these past few days to investigate these—ancient rock formations?" Wesley scratched his reddish-brown hair, looking at the drawing with snake-shaped stone statues and strange patterns, his face full of confusion. "What's the point of this?"

"Why don't you come and see my new research on broom evasion techniques?" He was holding a small Quidditch tactic model in his hand.

Fabian adjusted his glasses, leaned closer to the blueprints, and carefully examined the magical flow marked by Cullen: "Wesley, Cullen must have put a lot of effort into this for a reason. And I've never seen these patterns or structures in any books; they look very ancient. What are they for? And are all these things from Hogwarts? Cullen, where did you find these?"

Ernesto pulled out a magnifying glass, his eyes scanning sharply between the Black Lake Chamber's structural diagram and the Forbidden Forest's node illustration, then glanced at the marked diagram of the underground waterways. His grey eyes gleamed with thought. "According to what you just said, Karen, these locations all require Parsleyan activation—this is clearly related to Salazar Slytherin, or at least to his descendants. Putting everything else aside, these two seem to function completely differently. One actively guides energy to a certain place, while the other, according to your description, appears to be an abandoned sensory point." He looked at Karen. "Have you reached any conclusions, Karen?"

Karen tapped a few drawings with her wand and began to organize her thoughts: "I've combined this exploration with some nodes that showed faint magical reactions that I found sporadically when I went to explore the castle's sewer system last semester."

He pointed to the point at the edge of the Forbidden Forest: "Combined with the previous sporadic discoveries, Ernesto and I have similar ideas. That point at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and those almost vanished nodes we occasionally sensed in the sewers, likely belong to the same system—an ancient observation network, probably left by Slytherin himself, covering key areas inside and outside the castle."

He paused, organizing his thoughts: "This network might require Parseltongue to activate and access, allowing casters to monitor certain areas of the castle from specific locations, or to receive information from other nodes. It could be used for defense, or it could be used to—satisfy some kind of surveillance desire of Slytherin himself, or his successors." Karen's voice was calm, but the content of his words made his roommates feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"That sounds kind of scary," Wesley put down his Quidditch model, his expression becoming more serious. "It's like there's always an eye watching us."

"After a thousand years, most of this network has obviously become ineffective," Karen continued, tracing the lines representing the broken magic threads with her wand. "The magic source is depleted, the nodes are damaged, and the connections are broken. Only a very few, like the one by the Forbidden Forest, retain a last trace, but they are also essentially useless. Riddle, the fragment of Voldemort's soul from his youth mentioned in the diary, knew of these points' existence, but likely considered them all useless, so he merely used them as bait to lure me into exploring them, thus making me more reliant on his knowledge."

Then, he moved his wand to the diagram of the Black Lake Chamber, emphasizing the hidden patterns on the statue's base and the flow of magic heading into the lake's depths: "As for this one by the Black Lake, the situation is more special. On the surface, it also appears to be an empty decoy used to lure me. But—"

He emphasized, "There's a deeply hidden secret here that even Riddle might not know. This guiding array is incredibly sophisticated; it cleverly disguises itself as a natural feature, continuously channeling energy into the depths of the Black Lake. Its purpose is unknown, its destination unknown. But this means that what Slytherin left behind may know more and be more concealed than we do, or even than that self-important heir."

Fabian took a breath: "Hidden beneath the surface—Slytherin's caution and suspiciousness are indeed well-deserved."

Ernesto nodded, his tone barely concealing his interest in the legacy of one of the founders of Hogwarts and his disdain for Riddle: "Hmph, it seems that the heir to Slytherin is nothing special after all, not even understanding the complete arrangements left by his ancestors. So, Cullen, what do you plan to do next? That clue at the bottom of the lake—it sounds dangerous."

"At this point, it's just recording and speculation," Karen said calmly. "Exploring the lakebed requires thorough preparation and cannot be undertaken rashly. I will continue to study the patterns of this guiding array, attempting to analyze its possible destination and purpose. Meanwhile—"

He looked at the blueprints: "The discovery of these observation nodes is also very valuable. They reveal a unique contribution Slytherin made to Hogwarts' defense system, or rather, its surveillance system. Although the network is mostly paralyzed, its design principles and the ancient magic it uses are worth studying. Perhaps we can find some inspiration from them to improve our own 'Eagle's Nest' defense system, or perhaps they will give me more inspiration in other areas."

Upon hearing this, Wesley finally regained his interest: "Improve the defenses? That's great! Is there anything I can help with? Like testing the defense strength or something?" He patted his chest, looking like he was ready to be a human punching bag at any time.

Fabian pondered for a moment and said, "If you need to analyze those ancient patterns, I can help you look up some books about ancient magical architecture; perhaps there are similar records."

Ernesto pondered for a moment: "The Griffith family's library seems to have some notes about the early days of Hogwarts. I can ask if they have any relevant content when I write home next time. But don't get your hopes up too high; if there were anything truly extraordinary, our ancestors would have found it long ago."

Karen looked at her three roommates and smiled slightly. "Thank you. We still need more basic analysis. Once I have a more concrete idea, I'll definitely need your help. Especially the locations of those scattered nodes in the sewers; perhaps we need to find some time to conduct another unified investigation and draw a more complete map of the remaining network."

The discussion lasted for quite some time, with the four engaging in a lively exchange about Slytherin's intentions, the possibility of a surveillance network, the dangers of the Black Lake's secret, and the direction of future exploration. Inside the Eyrie, the lights cast the shadows of the four young Ravenclaws on the wall, as they faced ancient puzzles, using their wisdom to reason and plan, filled with a passion for exploration and knowledge.