Although Travers and Wilkes's group didn't directly clash with Alan, they still sent people to secretly monitor his every move. However, after just over a month, those responsible for tracking him were frequently ambushed; they were found either hanging from the ceiling in the corridors or stripped and locked in nearby women's restrooms.
When asked what had happened, these boys collectively suffered from amnesia and could not remember a thing. After several such incidents, the pure-blood students were afraid to track Alan anymore, leaving Wilkes and Travers gnashing their teeth in frustration.
Alan, however, didn't care.
Life at Hogwarts gradually returned to a peaceful rhythm. Since the Dark Lord's disappearance, the number of pranks at the school had soared, making the poltergeist Peeves increasingly active. In previous years, Peeves had rarely come out to play. Alan consulted Professor Flitwick about this phenomenon, and the Professor explained that Peeves was born with Hogwarts itself, making him the oldest and most unique entity in the castle, his energy closely linked to the school's atmosphere. He was fueled by the collective emotions and mischief of the students. During the years when the wizarding world was shrouded in darkness, the lack of laughter and pranks within the campus had caused Peeves to become listless.
This change infuriated Filch, who spent his days and nights patrolling the campus, catching pranksters almost every day. By now, toilet cleaning duty was booked well into next year.
Late one night, while routinely patrolling, Filch lingered near the library when a faint sound from the Restricted Section caught his attention. He paced toward the source of the noise, holding his kerosene lamp high, but he found nothing but empty air. He didn't even see a stray rat. Muttering curses, Filch checked the area repeatedly before finally giving up and walking away.
In a corner Filch had just passed, a figure abruptly appeared out of thin air.
It was Alan.
*That was close. I didn't expect some of the restricted books to have magical alarms. I almost got caught,* Alan thought, his heart still racing.
He was able to be here because he had finally mastered the Disillusionment Charm. In the second half of this school year, Alan's physique had finally met the requirements for using advanced spells, allowing him to spend significant time practicing the Shield Charm and the Disillusionment Charm. By now, he had elevated both to the level of mastery.
With the Shield Charm perfected, he could begin researching and replicating Lily's amulet. And with the Disillusionment Charm, it would be a waste not to utilize it for night excursions. During this time, Alan would cast the spell on himself every night and slip into the Restricted Section to examine the forbidden texts.
However, it was called the Restricted Section for a reason; many of the books were cursed or enchanted with alarms. Carelessly flipping through them was a risk, and Alan had nearly been discovered due to a small oversight.
Seeing that Filch had truly left, Alan cast another Disillusionment Charm on himself and continued his search. He was much more careful now, using "Finite Incantatem" and "Revelio" to check each book for traps before reading.
"Found it." After two hours, Alan finally found the information he was looking for.
*Runes for driving magical flow and energy storage. What I've collected over the past few days should be enough. It's a pity these are three-dimensional runes; the images in the book are only two-dimensional. It won't be easy to restore them based on flat sketches and text descriptions alone,* Alan mused.
He had recently begun researching temperature-control spells through the Charms Club. He learned that to affect temperature, one needed to master the control and flow of heat, which required runes capable of driving magical energy.
He had another idea regarding these runes. He envisioned developing a rune that could autonomously absorb external magic while driving its flow. At the same time, he was looking for ways to store that magic. Equipment like his monocle and Phase Boots currently drew power directly from his own magic. Alchemical tools that needed to be self-powered would require runes with storage capabilities—essentially magical batteries—to provide a continuous power source.
Professor Bones had taught him that while various magic storage runes existed, their effects were generally mediocre. Most alchemical items on the market relied on the natural energy-storage properties of the materials themselves. Therefore, combining magic-absorbing runes with energy-storage runes could theoretically extend the operating time of a device indefinitely. It was like adding a solar panel to a battery, providing both endurance and a way to recharge.
After comparing the storage runes he had learned from Professor Bones, Alan remained unsatisfied. He hoped the Restricted Section would provide more sophisticated data on energy storage and the direction of magical flow. The harvest this time was promising, but the materials were strictly theoretical, requiring extensive testing before the rune combinations could be restored.
*If I have to choose between propulsion and storage, I'll start with magic-driving runes first. It will allow me to accumulate data on magic absorption while furthering my research on temperature control,* Alan decided.
For the rest of the semester, Alan maintained a highly disciplined routine, interacting very little with his classmates. Meanwhile, the wizarding world launched a vigorous campaign to arrest Death Eaters. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was fully mobilized by Minister Millicent Bagnold, and many pure-blood families came under investigation.
Alan discussed this with Professor Bones, who believed these measures were insufficient to bring down the powerful families who had supported the Dark Lord. Many Death Eaters claimed they had been under the Imperius Curse or that they had been framed by people using Polyjuice Potion. Unless caught red-handed, it was difficult to secure a conviction.
"Isn't checking memories and using Veritaserum effective?" Alan had asked.
But this was a magical world; everything could be faked—including memories.