The discovery of the Sunlight Charm's effect on the lycanthropy virus was a monumental breakthrough, but Ariana, with her characteristic foresight, immediately identified the next logistical hurdle.
"A direct application of the charm is impractical," she explained to Hermione and Daphne in the Room of Requirement a few days later. "It would require Professor Lupin to be subjected to a powerful spell every single day. It is inefficient and creates a dependency on a caster, not to mention the amount of energy required. The solution must be self-sustaining. We need to find a way to contain the magical effect of Lumos Solem within a physical object that can then release it slowly, a passive, continuous treatment."
The new project was born: the creation of a magical battery for sunlight.
Their research took on a new, feverish intensity. The Room provided them with arcane texts on magical containment, alchemical treatises on light-storing crystals, and ancient runic charts detailing symbols for energy regulation and dispersal.
Hermione became the expert on runic matrices, designing complex, interwoven patterns that could be etched onto an object to act as a magical regulator, controlling the flow of power. She discovered that the rune Sowilo, representing the sun, could be combined with Laguz, for flow, and Algiz, for protection, to create a stable dispersal array.
Daphne, using her knowledge of gemology and potion ingredients, focused on the vessel itself. "It needs to be something that can absorb and hold raw, pure light magic without degrading," she reasoned, consulting an ancient Greengrass family text on enchanted jewelry. "Gold is a good conductor, but it's too soft. A quartz crystal would hold the light, but it would release it all at once. We need something that is both porous to magic and incredibly stable." She eventually identified the perfect material: a Sunstone, a rare, shimmering crystal known for its natural affinity for positive, solar energies, encased in a setting of enchanted, rune-etched silver to regulate the flow.
Ariana, as the primary weaver, worked on the enchantment itself. The challenge was not to cast Lumos Solem, but to modify it. She needed to cast the charm not as a transient beam, but as a permanent, self-replenishing charge of magical energy that could be infused into the Sunstone. It was a piece of spell-crafting so advanced it bordered on the creation of a new, permanent magical artifact.
Their days became a whirlwind of secret, intensive work, a quiet, intellectual fervor hidden from the rest of the school, which was now buzzing with a new, more immediate excitement.
The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were due to arrive.
On the last Friday of October, the students of Hogwarts were instructed to line up in front of the castle to greet their guests. The air was crisp and full of anticipation. Ariana, Hermione, and Daphne stood together near the front of the Gryffindor and Slytherin lines, a united front that no longer drew as many shocked stares as it did looks of grudging respect.
First came the Beauxbatons delegation. A powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage the size of a house, pulled by a dozen magnificent, winged Abraxan palfreys, soared through the sky and landed with a thunderous but graceful crash. From it emerged the colossal Headmistress, Madame Maxime, followed by a procession of her students, all clad in beautiful, fine blue silk robes. They shivered slightly in the cool Scottish air, looking elegant and slightly disdainful. Among them were several girls of Veela descent, their silvery hair and otherworldly beauty causing a collective sigh to go through the male population of Hogwarts.
Next came Durmstrang. A dark, skeletal ship burst from the depths of the Great Lake like a phantom, its tattered black sails billowing in the wind. The Durmstrang students, led by their stern Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, marched up the lawn in thick, blood-red furs, their expressions grim and intimidating. At the head of their delegation was the scowling, world-famous Seeker, Viktor Krum.
That evening, at the welcome feast, the Great Hall was more crowded and louder than ever. The Beauxbatons students sat with the Ravenclaws, while the Durmstrangs joined the Slytherins. As the Veela beauties gracefully took their seats, an interesting phenomenon occurred.
In previous years, their presence would have been an overwhelming spectacle. But this year, the students of Hogwarts had their own standard of comparison. Whispers rippled through the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.
"The Veela are pretty, I guess," a fifth-year boy commented to his friend, "but are they Dumbledore pretty?"
"And look at Granger now," his friend replied, watching Hermione confidently debate a point of magical law with Percy Weasley. "She's stunning. And Greengrass looks like a princess."
A strange, unspoken consensus had formed. The visiting Veela, with their magical, pheromonal allure, were certainly captivating. But the resident trio of powerful witches at the Gryffindor table possessed a different, more compelling kind of beauty. It was the beauty of confidence, of intellect, of power held in serene reserve. The Veela's magic was a glamour, a trick of the light. The presence of Ariana, Hermione, and Daphne was a force of nature. Theirs was a beauty that was earned, not just enchanted.
The girls themselves were, of course, completely oblivious to this comparison. Their minds were on higher things.
"The dispersal rate of the Sowilo rune needs to be calibrated," Hermione was whispering to Ariana, under the cover of the feast's noise. "If it's too fast, the stone will be inert in a week. Too slow, and the suppressive effect on the virus won't be strong enough during the lunar peak."
"Daphne is correct about the silver casing," Ariana murmured back. "It acts as a natural magical insulator. We can etch the primary containment runes on the inside of the casing and the dispersal array on the stone itself. It creates a regulatory buffer."
As Dumbledore rose to explain the rules of the Triwizard Tournament and unveil the Goblet of Fire, the three girls exchanged a look of quiet, shared purpose. The boys could dream of eternal glory and Quidditch heroes. The visiting beauties could captivate the crowd. Their own focus was on a small, shimmering Sunstone, a complex runic matrix, and the quiet, revolutionary work of containing sunlight. They were playing a much bigger game, with stakes far higher than any tournament.