Chapter 59: Trunk Renovation

Back home, Erwin immediately summoned Velora.

Velora was very happy.

At school, Erwin only let her out every night because he didn't want to attract too much attention.

Now that she was home, she could finally stay outside all day.

Immediately, Erwin cast a Muggle-Repelling Charm to prevent outsiders from accidentally discovering Velora.

He didn't want to be in the headlines of the London Daily the next day.

Looking at a house that hadn't been cleaned in nearly a year, he used [Scouring Charm] to clean it up with a whirlwind of magic.

Erwin had to admit that spells were convenient.

For such a large house, if it were cleaned manually, it would take five or six people several hours to complete the cleaning.

Wizards only needed a few simple spells to accomplish it.

While Dumbledore hadn't replied yet, Erwin decided to make a large suitcase these days, like Newt Scamander's.

When watching the films in his previous life, Erwin had envied Newt's suitcase; it was like carrying a Forbidden Forest with him.

However, at his current level, he couldn't replicate it to that extent.

‘It’s probably not built by him, maybe he inherited it, or had someone make it for him, though most likely he got it from his family…’

It was probably an heirloom of the Scamander family.

Although some of these pure-blooded families looked impoverished, their heritage couldn't be underestimated.

Just like the Weasley family, the clock in their house could show the current location and life status of each family member.

In the original timeline, when Mr. Weasley was admitted to St. Mungo's after being attacked, the clock had pointed to the hospital.

Erwin still couldn't figure out how that enchantment worked.

Although his current combat power wasn't weak, it was only an improvement brought about by the system's rewards.

If he were to fight Dumbledore now, without using [Avalon], Erwin, despite the powerful force of his spells, would be outmaneuvered by Dumbledore's masterful application of basic spells.

So Erwin never took any enemy lightly, because you never knew if they would suddenly hit you with a strange spell and end your life.

Studying more magic and constantly improving himself was what he should be doing now.

****

He came to a spare guest room and moved all the furniture out.

Erwin decided to use it as his temporary laboratory for studying alchemy and brewing potions.

Early the next morning, Erwin took out an empty suitcase and prepared to work.

The first step was to cast the [Undetectable Extension Charm] on the trunk.

To this end, Erwin drank a bottle of [Felix Felicis] and a bottle of [Invigoration Draught], just to make his [Undetectable Extension Charm] achieve maximum effect.

“Let’s do it.”

As he cast the spell, the space inside the box gradually expanded.

Erwin exerted himself to his fullest, finally making the interior space as large as two school playgrounds.

This was his limit.

If he continued to expand it, the space might become unstable and fail within a few months.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Erwin prepared to begin the second step.

Water and greenery.

He first went to Diagon Alley, bought some fast-growing plants, and planted them inside the trunk.

Then came the water source.

Erwin stood in the middle of the empty space inside the trunk, wand in hand, his mind calm and focused.

He began to cast a series of precise transformation spells. The ground trembled lightly as the soil reshaped itself under his will, forming a wide pit that stretched across nearly a thousand square meters and sank five meters deep. When it was done, he gazed down at it with satisfaction.

It felt almost like he was shaping a world of his own.

‘This is so cool…’

He drew out a coiled hose and connected it to a water supply outside the trunk. As the clear stream began to flow, he watched the pit gradually fill, the surface rippling with soft reflections from the light above. A smile tugged at his lips. This, he thought, was the perfect combination of magic and technology, each complementing the other, working together as if they were always meant to.

The passage of time within the trunk matched the rhythm of the outside world.

Day was day, night was night.

He liked that. It meant he would not need to conjure artificial light or lose his sense of time.

It made the space feel alive, as if it were part of the real world rather than a pocket of enchantment.

With patience and effort, the little world took shape.

‘In some time, this would be perfect.’

By the second year, Erwin estimated, the environment would stabilize enough to meet his survival needs.

He would be able to carry it with him wherever he went, a secret refuge hidden in plain sight.

When the space was ready, Erwin sealed it with a magical lock that responded only to his own magical signature.

Without it, the trunk appeared perfectly ordinary, revealing only a modest interior to any casual observer.

He spent the next few days purchasing furniture and small comforts: a sturdy bed, a lamp, a desk scattered with parchment and potion bottles.

As he arranged them, he felt an unexpected warmth in his chest, a sense of accomplishment that words could not quite capture.

When Hermione came to visit, her eyes widened the moment she saw the expanded interior. She didn’t live very far, and could visit.

She was utterly astonished by Erwin’s ingenuity.

Without hesitation, she climbed into the trunk and began helping him rearrange the furniture.

Together, they made the space feel less like an experiment and more like a home.

But when the excitement faded, Hermione’s expression turned thoughtful.

She reminded him in a quiet voice that performing the Undetectable Extension Charm without authorization was against wizarding law.

The Ministry of Magic had strict rules, and she worried that Erwin might one day draw unwanted attention.

Erwin only smiled at her concern.

He had already enchanted several bags with expanded interiors.

How else could he carry all his materials and potion ingredients? He saw no reason to worry, as long as he kept his work discreet.

The Ministry had far greater problems to deal with than a student’s trunk.