Chapter 33 The Book of Truth (Patreon)

Maca explored the interior and discovered that the chamber, though not particularly large, was mostly occupied by bookshelves.

Looking down, he noticed two metal tracks on the smooth stone floor, allowing the shelves to slide horizontally.

As a result, only one person could pass through the narrow gap between the bookshelves, while the rest were tightly packed together. If someone needed to access another shelf, they could push it to adjust the gap according to their needs.

"Why isn't there an expansion charm in this place?" Maca wondered aloud.

It was indeed difficult to believe that this was Rowena Ravenclaw's secret room. There was no trace of magic present, not even a charm to expand the space. Instead, the physical space was utilized to its fullest, making the chamber appear quite cramped.

"Didn't I just mention it? The space within Hogwarts has been reinforced!" exclaimed the Bronze Kitty. "Reinforced, got it? Any spells related to space are ineffective here, unless they were established before the reinforcement. Nothing else will work."

"In other words," Maca said, gazing thoughtfully at the surroundings, "this place was created later on?"

The bronze eagle blinked and flew to the top edge of the bookshelf, observing Maca as he flipped through the books for a while.

"Smells like that old chap Saracha, always setting things up without giving any explanations," it muttered softly.

After a moment, seeing Maca engrossed in reading, it said, "Don't delve into those books for now. You'll have plenty of time to read them later."

"Now, come over to this side of the desk." The bronze eagle soared into the air, flapping its wings before landing on a small eagle stand on the desk.

Maca reluctantly closed the book, taking a sniff but still holding onto it, reluctant to put it back.

"Have a seat, have a seat. It's been a long time since anyone sat here," Kitty stretched its wings and said. "Open the middle drawer. There's a box inside. Take it out."

The drawer contained nothing but an old wooden box with bronze corners.

"What's inside?" Maca asked curiously, but hesitated to open it right away.

"Don't worry! It's just a piece of paper. Rowena called it the 'Scroll of Truth,' or at least that's what we assume," Kitty explained.

Maca carefully opened the box and found a rolled-up paper tied with ribbons, resting on a delicate blue cloth.

Just as he was about to pick it up and uncover the secret, Kitty interrupted him.

"Now, you have a choice," it said. "You can open it, read it to the best of your ability, and help your school resolve a past issue. Alternatively, you can close the box, leaving the problem untouched and allowing the next person to make the choice."

Maca couldn't help but freeze, furrowing his brow as he asked, "What's in it for me? Or, on the other hand, what's the downside?"

"If you choose the latter, will you still be able to read the books here?"

Maca's interest in the books was evident. He had briefly skimmed through one of them and recognized their significant value.

"Of course, you can still read the books. Regardless of your choice, or even if you choose not to decide, you can come here anytime. But remember, this choice is a one-time opportunity. That's something you must understand," Kitty calmly replied.

Maca listened and was about to close the lid of the wooden box, but just as he was about to do so, he paused, his hand frozen in mid-air.

He remembered what Kitty had just said: Rowena had called it the "Scroll of Truth."

This meant that, for Rowena Ravenclaw, this scroll contained something that could be called "truth."

"I'm afraid that all the books here combined are not as important as this thin piece of paper in the box." He couldn't help but think so.

"What is the trouble with Hogwarts? Can you tell me first?" Maca hesitated.

The hawk shook its head rather humanely as it said, "I don't know about that. Maybe that raggedy hat will know! Its owner has a quick mouth, so it might slip up at some point."

After a pause, he changed his tone to a serious one and said, "But I would like to remind you that Rowena did not tell me the answer to this question. Are you sure you want to know?"

After hearing this, Maca's brow furrowed more tightly.

To be honest, people with a bit of intelligence would not choose to pick it up, but Maca could not restrain his curiosity and desire to know. He knew that ever since he had received the Hogwarts admission letter, he had been inexorably caught up in his quest for magical knowledge.

Maca, as a person, was originally quite fond of exploring such mysterious knowledge. He could hardly refuse the "Scroll of Truth" that was right in front of him, even though he already knew that there might be a big problem waiting for him.

As expected, after a long hesitation, he opened the lid again and put his hand inside...

The next morning, the sun was just rising, casting the first rays of sunlight on Hogwarts Castle. Many students were still lingering in their sleep, but Maca had already woken up early.

Or rather, he hadn't slept much at all last night.

When he was sent back to the Ravenclaw common room door, the bronze eagle that had fallen back onto the door handle opened the door for him in passing, and then he was stared at coldly by Helena for a long time.

He said many kind words before taking the trouble to pacify the not-so-tempered ghost lady. After that, he smiled and talked with her about many things, and then dragged his tired body back to the Hufflepuff student dormitory.

"The next test will be when you have gained something from your research on the 'Scroll of Truth'." These were Bronze Kitty's last words.

As he lay in bed thinking about how long he could sleep, he found that he couldn't sleep at all. His head was filled with the strange words he had read on the "Scroll of Truth."

Maca had read many books about ancient magical texts but had never seen a text like that.

The strokes circled around a bit like a calligraphy font, but each word was clearly separated. At a glance, it seemed to be written randomly by children, but upon careful comparison, one could find strict rules, obviously a special kind of writing.

What was even more amazing to Maca was that each character did indeed contain magic.

As he looked at them, the characters would emit magical fluctuations and convey various different messages to him. Although he didn't quite understand what those messages were saying, it didn't stop him from being fascinated.

And the key thing was: when Maca tried to pick up a quill to copy, he found himself writing what looked like an ordinary character, but he couldn't feel anything in it.

He lay in bed for a long time thinking about it until dawn, but he couldn't come up with anything valuable.

The next few weeks passed fairly quietly.

After his last visit to Ravenclaw's chamber, his days became much busier. Although Hermione still visited often to discuss a few things about his studies, the rest of his time was filled with various research.

"Should I apply for a Time-Turner?"

One day, Maca was sitting at the library reading table, looking at the stack of books in front of him, and couldn't help but think this. But in an instant, he dismissed the idea himself.

"I always feel that there will be more things to study, I'd rather not..."

Maca shook off the curiosity about the Time-Turner in his head, stretched lazily to refresh himself, and was about to delve back into his research when a voice came from behind him.

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Maca turned back and immediately saw the enormous figure of Hagrid.

Hagrid was trudging and stomping toward Harry and the others not far away, hiding something behind him. He was wearing a moleskin coat and looked out of place.

Maca recognized it at a glance. It was a book about dragons.

"Dragon?" Maca blinked a few times, his expression slightly confused.

He observed as Hagrid lowered his voice and whispered to Harry and the others before departing. Shortly after, Hermione went to the spot where Hagrid had turned and returned with several books.

"Hagrid always wanted a dragon. He mentioned it to me when we first met," Maca overheard Harry saying.

"But it's illegal," Ron remarked. "The law banning dragons was officially passed at the Wizard Congress in 1709, and that's common knowledge. If we kept dragons in our backyard, it would be difficult to prevent Muggles from noticing."

Ron paused again while speaking.

"Moreover, taming them is extremely challenging and dangerous. You should see all the burn marks on Charlie's body from the wild dragons in Romania."

"But aren't there any wild dragons in Britain?" Harry asked curiously.

"Of course there are," Ron replied. "There's the common Welsh green dragon and the Hebridean black dragon. I can tell you that the Ministry of Magic has the task of concealing the existence of these wild dragons. Our wizards have to cast spells on the Muggles who regularly encounter wild dragons to make them forget all about it."

Hermione leaned forward as if about to say something, but before she could speak, she turned back.

"Maca, would you like to come along?" she asked. "To Hagrid's cabin."

Maca pondered for a moment and realized that she also needed a break.

"Well, let's go and have a look! Maybe Hagrid really did manage to acquire one, and I think it would be fascinating to have the opportunity to see such a powerful creature up close." He smiled and nodded.