Chapter 18 The Restricted Area (Patreon)

Maca never expected that a casual remark of his could change the course of history, something he should have anticipated but couldn't predict.

Because of him, Neville wasn't injured; Malfoy didn't pick up the Remembrall, and Harry wasn't caught by Professor McGonagall while trying to retrieve it, which led to the discovery of his natural talent as a Quidditch seeker.

To others, everything seemed normal, and even Harry, the person involved, didn't feel any sense of discord.

But Maca was different. He didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. This world he found himself in was a tangible and real world, a truth he understood since his time in Plymouth. But it was only now that he truly grasped the implications of what that meant.

Should he hold onto the world he remembered or should he let go of the past and experience it with his own body and senses?

Thinking about it, Maca shook his head.

Perhaps, from the moment he arrived here, he shouldn't have bothered with these troublesome thoughts. The wings of a butterfly instinctively flap without foreseeing the consequences of even the slightest change in airflow. Instead of worrying about uncontrollable things, it was better to calmly face the unknown future.

Maca never considered himself to be anything special. He might achieve a few small accomplishments, but that was about it.

"Enjoying life is what matters!" Maca sighed.

"That sounds like something an old man would say." Hagrid joined them, having watched the match from the Gryffindor side.

"Yeah! Maca always says things that only old men would say," Ron laughed.

"That's wisdom! You don't understand!" Hermione praised Maca enthusiastically, grateful for his help with the giant club.

"That's wisdom! You don't understand!" Ron mimicked Hermione's tone and said to Harry, who burst into laughter.

"Hmph!"

Blushing and angry, Hermione turned her head away from Ron. But Maca was walking beside her, and when Hermione turned, their eyes met.

"..." Hermione was stunned for a moment, then blushed slightly and turned her head away.

After the incident with the giant, Hermione's relationship with the trio had improved. It seemed to be because Harry and Ron were the first ones to arrive at the bathroom. Maca wasn't clear on the specific details, but it was a good outcome that the trio could continue to be friendly.

Before long, they returned to Hagrid's hut near the Forbidden Forest, where the host was preparing a strong cup of tea for them. Maca had come along this time, intending to continue his practice of brewing potions with Hagrid—he had been there several times before.

"It was Severus Snape," Ron explained to everyone, "Harry saw him with Filch, and Snape's leg was badly injured."

"Severus Snape injured?" Hagrid asked curiously, joining the conversation. "What did he do?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Maca exchanged glances, unsure of how to tell Hagrid, but ultimately, Harry decided to be honest.

"I found out some things about him," he said to Hagrid. "On Halloween, he was trying to get past that three-headed dog. It bit him! We think he was trying to steal whatever the dog was guarding."

Hagrid placed the teapot down heavily upon hearing this.

"How did you lot know about Fluffy?" he asked seriously.

"Fluffy?" Harry repeated.

"Yeah, the three-headed dog we saw."

"Yeah! It's mine. I bought it from a Greek bloke I met last year. I lent it to Dumbledore to guard—" Hagrid began.

"What?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Alright, no more questions," Hagrid said gruffly. "That's classified, understand?"

"But Severus Snape wanted to steal it!"

"Nonsense," Hagrid said again, "Severus Snape is a teacher at Hogwarts, he wouldn't do something like that."

"But why was he... yes, Fluffy... why would he be bitten by it?" Harry said loudly. "I heard him say it himself!"

"Let me tell you, you're wrong!" Hagrid snapped. "Listen to me, all three of you! You're meddling in things that have nothing to do with you, and that's dangerous. Forget about that big dog, forget about what it's guarding. It's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas—"

"Ah-ha!" Harry said. "So it involves someone named Nicolas Flamel, right?"

Helplessly, Maca glanced at Hagrid. He had only been involved in part of the situation, but he had a good grasp of the overall picture.

And Hagrid stood there, bursting with anger—he was angry at himself.

It was better to cancel the original plan. With Hagrid in his current state, Maca didn't think staying and practicing potion brewing was a good choice.

...

Time passed, and Hogwarts was getting colder even though it hadn't started snowing yet.

One thing worth mentioning was that, thanks to Maca's relentless efforts, he successfully developed a new type of invisibility potion. Not to mention the long hours of practical training, even the process of perfecting the potion recipe itself was arduous and hard to put into words.

Fortunately, it was finally completed.

That night, Maca drank the potion and immersed himself in the Restricted Section of the library. He was eager to explore the dangerous and mysterious dark magic!

Previously, he had gained some knowledge about dark magic through magic books he ordered from Flourish and Blotts, and he had even learned some spells related to dark magic. However, those were carefully selected materials approved by the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts professors. If he wanted to truly understand the fundamental differences between dark and light magic, he had to take a look inside the Restricted Section.

"Ugh..."

The first book Maca opened had extraordinary characteristics of dark magic. As the reader flipped through its pages, a terrifying face protruded, emitting a soul-chilling scream.

He quickly used his wand to tap the book, smoothing out the magical disturbance, and the face returned to its original appearance.

"This scream seems to be a cry from the soul, not actual physical sound waves," Maca furrowed his brow and recalled, then turned to the book's title page.

"The weight of the soul is the burden that guilt cannot bear—Laguna Bastos."

Below the words "weight of the soul," there were a few small numbers and letters written: "0.675 ounces/cm."

"An ancient unit of measure?" Maca speculated, "Is this the weight of the soul? How was it measured?"

He quickly skimmed through the contents and discovered that it was a book delving into the study of soul magic. Although it was purely theoretical and lacked any practical applications, it was undoubtedly a typical dark magic book.

After reading for a while, Maca sensed something was off—this book still had a subtle magical disturbance that made him uncomfortable. It was only when he closed the book that the unsettling sensation disappeared.

Later on, he continued to browse through several more books, all of which explored various dangerous and mysterious magical knowledge. Some of them even resisted being opened, struggling to close themselves again.

"The more one tries to delve into the essence of magic, the more intertwined it becomes with one's humanity and identity. What does this truly mean?" Maca left the Restricted Section and sat by the library window, relaxing his tense nerves caused by the dangers of dark magic.

Filch seemed to have come to inspect the commotion, but Maca didn't even spare him a glance, simply stepping aside as he passed to avoid a collision.

Mrs. Norris looked at Maca in confusion, who was currently under the effects of invisibility, but she didn't notice anything.

To Maca, the contents of those banned books questioned the reader's character and true nature. Some books even had magic cast upon them that constantly made the reader feel deeply questioned from their soul.

"No, there are a few books in there that I can't casually read at the moment." Maca wiped the fine beads of sweat on his forehead and returned to the dormitory to sleep. He needed to clear his mind and rest.

A few days later, Maca, who had prepared half a dozen of the new type of invisibility potions, affixed small waterproof labels to the bottles. The labels clearly displayed the new names he had given them—Fairy Concealment Potion.

They seemed quite good, but in reality, he had just rearranged the words "fairy" and "invisibility," revealing his laziness without a doubt.

Then, he secretly went to the territory of the Whomping Willow outside the Forbidden Forest.

Since some time ago, at Maca's request, Professor Sprout, the Herbology teacher, often brought him along to take care of this peculiar plant that liked to attack people.

Professor Sprout was the Head of Hufflepuff House. She was a very kind and optimistic person, always showing undisguised favoritism towards her students in the House.

Maca, who excelled in his studies, had undoubtedly become her most beloved student. So far, Professor Sprout had never refused to provide him with assistance!

This even included granting Maca permission to use a section of the greenhouse and taking care of the Whomping Willow together.

Of course, although part of the reason was curiosity about this plant, what Maca was primarily interested in was the secret passage beneath its roots that led to Hogsmeade.

Now, standing just out of reach of the thrashing Whomping Willow, Maca didn't attempt to rush in and search for the so-called "knot" that could calm it down. The tree trunk had so many scars, he had no idea which one it was, nor was he interested in trying them one by one.

Instead, he took out a small metal whistle, placed it on his lips, and blew gently. The soundless waves traveled directly toward the Whomping Willow, causing it to tremble and become still.

"It looks quite beautiful, covered in greenery," Maca commented as he observed it, "if you don't disturb it, that is."