bookbashuk Chapter 299 Confirmation of Time
Chapter 299 Confirmation of Time
Chapter 299 Confirmation of Time
Inside the Eagle's Nest, a fully formed three-dimensional magical chart floats in the air. It is the preliminary model that Karen and Ernesto collaborated on some time ago. It clearly shows the strong correlation between the abnormal magical fluctuations at the bottom of the Black Lake and the moon's movement in a water sign and specific planetary aspects, and based on this, it predicts that the next energy window will appear "some night in mid-to-late February".
Ernesto, clutching his astronomical observation notes, examined the charts with a scrutinizing look in his eyes: "Karen, the model's fundamental correlation is very high, and the predicted peak timing aligns with the major cycles of celestial movements. However, my observations during the holidays were not continuous; there may be minor unrecorded fluctuations or interfering factors. To ensure this prediction is reliable enough, it would be best to perform a reverse verification using longer-term, more systematic historical celestial data."
“You’re right, Ernesto,” Karen agreed, her gaze never leaving the shifting star chart. “The speculation needs to be confirmed, especially since it relates to our next move. We need to confirm whether this constellation combination has indeed consistently triggered anomalies at the bottom of the lake over a longer period, and whether its intensity is as regular as the model suggests.”
He immediately sprang into action. For the next two days, Cullen practically lived in the library, not only on the edge of the restricted section but also on every shelf in the general area that might be related to astronomy, calendars, and star records. He buried himself in the heavy volumes of the Hogwarts Astronomical Almanac (nearly fifty years old), the bound volumes of the Bulletin of the Magical Celestial Positions, and even some old, yellowed originals of private observational journals.
This was also a tedious and time-consuming project. He needed to extract from massive amounts of data the specific times in history when the Moon was in a specific range of Scorpio/Pisces and in sextile or trine aspect with Neptune/Pluto. Then, he had to cross-reference these times with the magical environment records of Hogwarts Castle itself. Fortunately, some of the castle's magical fluctuations were recorded in intermittent historical logs by some faculty and staff who were interested in them. Although not detailed, these logs were enough to determine the general periods of calm or activity.
He often sat for hours on end, surrounded by piles of open tomes, his quill pen flying across parchment as he calculated and recorded. Occasionally, Enes would come over to help him pinpoint the exact location of some obscure planet at a particular historical moment.
"Look here," Karen said, pointing to a calculation result, her voice slightly hoarse from long concentration, to Fabian and Wesley who had come to deliver dinner. "According to the Almanac, on November 5, 1978, the Moon entered 8 degrees Scorpio, forming a precise trine with Pluto—and at the same time, the Castle Magic Log showed an unexplained moderate magical disturbance detected in the Black Lake region that night," which perfectly matches our model predictions.
"And this," Ernesto added, flipping through an old "Observational Notebook," "March 20, 1985, the Moon at 19 degrees Pisces, Neptune sextile—the logbook notes 'Abnormally heightened magical activity in the lake's central region.'"
They meticulously checked every historical record point they could find. The process wasn't always smooth; occasionally, they encountered situations where the astrological conditions were met, but the logs showed no activity, or vice versa. Whenever this happened, the two would carefully investigate the cause: Was the effect masked by interference from other strong astrological configurations? Or was the monitoring array undergoing maintenance at the time, resulting in missing data? Or perhaps some other event occurred in the Black Lake itself, causing interference?
After a great deal of checking, verification, and elimination, the final result was encouraging.
"There are seventeen valid historical records," Karen summarized, her eyes shining with a tired yet bright light. "Fourteen of these records clearly documented varying degrees of magical activity in the Black Lake region, consistent with our model predictions. The other three calmer records, after analysis, indicate that one was during a period of powerful solar flare interference, another was during a large-scale mermaid festival at the Black Lake, and the powerful magic emanating from it may have masked the subtle fluctuations, and the last one might be due to a temporary malfunction of the monitoring array. Conversely, all the periods of abnormal lakebed activity clearly recorded in the logs, caused by non-biological activity, correspond to the celestial conditions in the model."
He took a deep breath and looked at Ernesto: "This means, Ernesto, that your previous prediction was entirely correct. The correlation model we built is reliable and effective. In mid-to-late February, there is indeed a very high probability that the ancient magic at the bottom of the lake will become active again due to the movement of the stars."
Ernesto smiled faintly, a satisfied look on his face. It felt good to have provided crucial help to the team and have it validated. "So, the next question is, how do we make our prediction of 'some night in mid-to-late February' as precise as possible? We need to know the exact day, and even the approximate time of day."
"Relying solely on the precision of historical data and the rough records in the castle log, it's difficult to achieve greater accuracy," Karen pondered. "Perhaps—we need more specialized astronomical assistance, and more detailed data."
The following morning, during astronomy class, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students gathered in the North Tower. Professor Sinister, as always, explained in her ethereal and calm voice the characteristics of the winter night sky and the subtle, potential influence of Mars' trajectory on certain aggressive spells.
After the bell rang, the students began to pack up their things. Karen gave Ernesto a wink, and the two of them, carrying their textbooks, approached the podium.
"Professor, we have a question about astronomical magic that we would like to ask you," Karen said politely.
Professor Sinister looked up at them gently. "Is it about what was taught in class, Mr. Hawthorne, Mr. Griffiths?"
“Not entirely, Professor,” Cullen explained. “We’ve recently been working on a project about the connection between magic in Hogwarts’ local environment and astrological aspects. We’ve noticed a strong correlation between magical fluctuations in the Black Lake region and the Moon’s transit through a water sign. We’ve validated this using historical data and predict the next active window will be in mid-to-late February. But we want to understand further: within each water sign, are there specific sub-regions where magical influence is more concentrated or intense? Perhaps the traditional divisions of ‘force planes’ or ‘boundaries’? This might help us narrow down the prediction window.”
Professor Sinister raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, seemingly not expecting her student to be interested in such a niche and in-depth subject, especially given the solid groundwork she had laid. She pondered for a moment, then said, “A very profound and interesting question. There are indeed some very ancient theories, not part of the standard Hogwarts curriculum, that positize each constellation as having its own ‘plane’ and ‘boundaries,’ or even more subtle ‘degrees.’ As the moon transits these specific small areas, its symbolic meaning and magical guiding properties undergo subtle but potentially crucial changes.”
She picked up a quill pen and quickly drew a simple circle on a piece of parchment, dividing it into several sections. "For example, for Scorpio, traditionally, the earlier degrees, roughly between 1 and 10 degrees, are considered to be associated with more direct, transformative energies, while the later degrees may be more hidden, tending towards latent forces. The same applies to Pisces; the earlier degrees may lean more towards inspiration and dreams, while the later degrees may be related to sacrifice or transcendence. But these theories are very complex, and different schools of thought have different ways of dividing them—"
She glanced at the two students, their faces brimming with curiosity, and smiled. "If you're truly interested, you can look around the edge of the restricted section in the library. Perhaps you'll find scattered, critically examined discussions in chapters of books like *The Cycle of the Pinnacles: A Deep Discussion of Celestial Magic* or *The Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Moon*. But remember, these theories haven't been fully verified by modern, precise magical observation; they're more often seen as philosophical speculation or historical curiosity. They can serve as references and expand your thinking, but be cautious about relying on them to make precise time predictions. I'm glad some students are interested in this; feel free to come to me if you need anything else."
"Thank you so much, Professor! This has given us a very important direction!" Karen and Ernesto said in unison. Although the professor had pointed out the uncertainties of these theories, it was undoubtedly a valuable new clue for them.
Armed with this new information, the two threw themselves back into their work. They retrieved the obscure texts the professor had mentioned from the library and began studying their detailed degree division theories for water signs, particularly Scorpio and Pisces.
"According to the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Moon, the 15th to 20th degrees of Pisces is the mouth of the abyss," symbolizing acceptance and concealment—" Karen murmured as she wrote it down on a draft paper.
"And the 'Cycle of the Point' mentions that the area around the 8th degree of Scorpio is the heart of the undercurrents," resonating with the powerful underwater forces—" Ernesto compared another book with his own astrological calendar.
They used these ancient theories as a reference filter, overlaying them onto previously validated astrological-magic models, attempting to find potential "hotspot" degree ranges that would make magical responses particularly strong. This required extensive calculations and probability assessments.
The process is more abstract and mentally taxing than before. Often, in order to verify the validity of an old degree range, it is necessary to consult the views of multiple schools of thought and make a comprehensive judgment.
"If we take the two ranges of 15-20 degrees Pisces and 5-12 degrees Scorpio," Karen rubbed her temples, looking at the parchment covered with formulas and symbols, "and then combine it with the weighted calculation of the phase intensity between the Moon and Neptune/Pluto—then the model shows that there are indeed several time points in the week of February 18 to February 25 with a significantly higher probability than other time periods."
"Especially around the night of February 21st and the early morning of February 25th," Ernesto added, pointing to the corresponding positions on the astrological chart, "at these two times, the moon's degree falls exactly within those strong regions mentioned in ancient theories," and its aspects with the associated planets are also very favorable.
While they cannot give an absolutely certain time point like a precise mathematical formula, through this comprehensive analysis, they successfully narrowed down the broad prediction of "mid-to-late February" to a more specific time range of "February 18 to 25, with the evening of the 21st and the early morning of the 25th being the most likely".
"The margin of error certainly can't compare to that of a modern magical clock," Karen said, looking at the final conclusion, "but compared to before, we now have a much clearer target range. That's enough for us to make targeted preparations."
Ernesto agreed: "Yes, the focus now is on making thorough preparations for this window. At least we know which days we need to be particularly wary of."
T
Although the fog that had been lingering for days hadn't completely dissipated, the road ahead had become much clearer. The target, once a blurry halo, had solidified into several dates that could be clearly marked on the calendar. Karen looked at the finally defined timeframe, her heart filled with a mixture of anticipation and cautious determination for the next attempt.