[154] A Quiet Before Devastation

Hall circled the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor three times. I need a room suitable for studying alchemy.

He opened the door. A bright room filled with various bottles and jars, with a spacious workbench in the centre, appeared before him. He whistled and entered.

He walked to the workbench and pulled out a large six-fold piece of dragon-tree parchment from his pocket.

Just as he had thought. The idea behind the Marauder's Map was interesting. He had already considered the method before asking Sirius.

First, the paper. The Marauder's Map remained hidden until the Weasley twins discovered its secrets because a specific activation code had to be recited. Otherwise, it looked like ordinary parchment.

"The sap of the Revealing Tree, combined with dragon-tree parchment, should achieve this effect."

Hall had already prepared the paper. He did not intend to replicate the map exactly. As he had told Sirius — it was useful, but some functions were too cumbersome.

Since it could display names and add special markers to specific individuals, why not simply indicate the student's house directly from the name colour?

Gryffindor — red. Slytherin — green. Hufflepuff — yellow. Ravenclaw — blue. Professors — enlarged, bolded, with flashing warnings. Outsiders — bolded black. Anyone whose identity could not be detected — a large X for emphasis.

"Even a map does not have to be a flat plan." With his S-Rank alchemy knowledge, Hall thought rapidly. The above effects were not difficult. The only challenge was the model itself.

"I want to directly replicate Hogwarts to scale."

He chanted the activation spell, tapped his wand, and a scaled-down version of Hogwarts projected onto the parchment. From there, he could zoom in on specific areas, revealing hidden passages, terrain, and real-time population movement.

"This has become a massive project." He checked his panel:

Available Galleons: 112,103 Galleons, 4 Sickles, 11 Knuts

Hall stroked his chin. "Upgrade. I earn money so I can spend it when I need it."

"Upgrade Alchemy."

Ding!

Available Galleons: 112,103 Galleons, 4 Sickles, 11 Knuts

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100,000 Galleons Deducted

Remaining Available: 12,103 Galleons, 4 Sickles, 11 Knuts

Alchemy Upgrade: SS

The problems that had been troubling him were instantly resolved. The answers appeared naturally in his mind.

"Looks like the money was well spent." His smile looked stiff. Those were Galleons he had painstakingly earned. He had not even earned this much in the Triwizard Tournament, and it was gone in a blink.

He looked at the parchment on the workbench. He had already invested so much. He refused to believe he could not catch a little bug.

"Helena," Hall called.

Hogwarts held no secrets for Helena. The hidden, intricate passages within Hogwarts — invisible and impassable to normal people — were all backdoors opened by Slytherin for her. She appeared in the Room of Requirement, curled in a ball, her eyes fixed on Hall with a chilling gaze.

I thought you had forgotten me.

"Helena, have you had fun these past few days? Did you miss me?"

You are the one having fun! You did not even help me find a master! You had fun without taking Helena!

Hall paused. How best to explain? "Helena, I am not lying to you. The Triwizard Tournament is a troublesome event. It cannot be solved through external force. If I brought you along, it might not be fair to the other contestants."

Bringing Helena? Would the outcome even be a question? Absolutely not. Her power was completely unbalanced.

Hmph. Bad guy.

Helena loosened her coiled body, swam towards Hall, and wrapped around his wrist like a snake-shaped bracelet.

Hall sighed. As long as Helena was happy.

"Helena, do you know what secret passages are at Hogwarts?" Hall asked as he constructed the complete shape of the castle.

Helena grew excited when she saw the Hogwarts he had built. She straightened, wanting to pounce.

Master! Inside the castle!

Luckily, Hall grabbed her in time. "Wait! Your master is not in there! This is a replica I created!"

Helena slumped down. Master... Master is gone again...

Hall reached out and gently stroked her. "Trust me. I will find a way to reunite you with your master."

Helena licked his wrist. The snake believes you now.

Under Hall's reassurance, her spirits returned to normal. She watched as he used alchemy, magic, and Revealing Tree sap to construct a scaled-down model of Hogwarts on dragon parchment.

This castle looks so beautiful. Perfect for rubbing against scales.

"...Alright. After we finish this, I will handcraft you a Hogwarts Castle model that you can actually rub against when your scales itch."

Hall is the best!

Helena, who had been sulking, was instantly appeased. What could Hall do? Such a silly snake. If it were not Slytherin's basilisk, it would have died a hundred times over. Old soul, young heart. Besides spoiling her, he had no other choice.

Even with SS-Rank alchemy and Helena's help, creating the enhanced map in one go was no easy task.

"In reality, it is quite difficult." Hall's confidence from the first day had waned considerably by the third day. Alchemy was truly difficult. He could foresee that without his SS-Rank talent, creating it would have been even more challenging.

"So how exactly did the Marauders manage to create the Marauder's Map back then? Could one of them have had exceptionally high alchemical talent?"

He shook his head. No point dwelling on it.

"Thankfully, my map is finally almost complete today!" Thinking of this, he was filled with renewed energy. Three days. A full three days. He had spent all his free time in the Room of Requirement. Even the perceptive Draco, and Ron, had asked if something had happened.

"Speaking of which... I need to find a way to improve Ron's awareness of scams." He meticulously manipulated the final steps, establishing a stable connection with Hogwarts Castle. "Being lied to by me is not a big deal. No one will go too far with him. But what if someone else lies to him?"