Goblin Pedro was a renowned doctor in places as chaotic as the Wandering Wizards' settlement.
He was also a wise man who had mastered all kinds of ingenious Goblin magical machinery and large Time-Turners.
But when it came to Potions, healing, and research into the human body and soul, he was clearly far behind the Old Wizard.
The clearest example was that Anton had been allowed to stay in the Goblins' home.
He followed the crooked staircase all the way up and pushed open the door. The second floor was a forest filled with the rich scent of earth.
Above him stretched a vast sky, with a light drizzle falling.
In the distance, the edge of the forest was nowhere to be seen.
Only when he looked back did he spot a stone archway.
Anna Rosier stepped out through it, as though passing through a transparent ripple in the water.
Seeing Anton's keen interest, she explained, "A Portal. Goblin magic. Much cleaner than Floo Powder in a fireplace."
With that, she turned and headed down the stone path to the left. "I'll show you where you'll be staying."
The little girl had clearly received excellent training in posture. Her steps were graceful, and what was interesting was that no matter how she walked, she never looked at the ground. Her gaze stayed level, and her head remained perfectly still.
Anton found it exhausting just to watch.
The path wound on for a while before opening into a clearing. Vines climbed over the shrubs, forming a low wall around a small open space.
Three tall Oak Trees stood there, each with a Treehouse built where its branches forked. A staircase made of Wooden Planks wound around each trunk down to the ground.
Anna pointed to the tree on the left. "The one with wind chimes hanging in the window is mine. Choose whichever of the other two you like."
Then she added, "Put any clothes that need washing in the bucket by the back door. The House-elves will take them to be washed. They'll leave your meals on the table by the window at mealtimes, so you'd best not put anything else on it."
Anton was taken aback. "There are House-elves here?"
He hadn't seen any since he arrived.
Anna smiled faintly. "A good House-elf is one whose presence goes unnoticed."
Anna showed little warmth toward his arrival. She followed proper etiquette, explained what she needed to, then turned her haughty head and left.
Anton didn't mind. Although he was in a child's body and looked about the same age as her, he was actually a man in his twenties. He had little interest in chatting with a little kid.
He casually chose the Treehouse in the Oak Tree on the right and climbed the steps.
He pushed open the door. The Treehouse was just as large as it had looked from the outside. Inside were a bed that seemed very soft, a desk, a wardrobe, and a small round table beside the window.
It wasn't big, but it was very clean.
Well, this would be his temporary home for now.
He had just spoken with Lupin for a few minutes, but the poor boy had fallen asleep again. Pedro could do nothing to help.
The Old Wizard had mentioned some Potions that might ease his condition, but Anton would have to search through the long list in his memories to find them.
And so, he found himself with nothing to do.
When Anton was little, he'd had plenty of dreams. After he grew up and became a corporate drone, he was left with just one: getting a good night's sleep.
Yet somehow, in this perilous world, he'd developed a habit of never sitting still.
There wasn't much to unpack, so he simply headed into the forest, followed the path to the stone archway, and continued out the other side.
There was nothing here but trees.
It was the perfect place to practice Charms.
"Soul-Reversing Charm!" He swung his Wand. A translucent, faintly blue light flashed and struck a tree.
The spell consumed very little Magical Power. Clearly, it hadn't been fully cast.
But that was enough for him to practice it over and over again.
He had to make this Charm a reflex—not the Cruciatus Curse.
"Soul-Reversing Charm!"
"Soul-Reversing Charm!"
"Soul-Reversing Charm!"
They said that after reading a book a hundred times, its meaning would reveal itself. As he cast the Charm again and again, Anton began to sense the faintest hint of something.
But he couldn't think through what it was.
At that moment, his mind was filled with the intense emotion of "resistance" that the Charm required. All he could do was repeat the same actions.
It was a very contradictory situation.
If he wanted to study the Charm properly, he needed to stay rational. But casting it required emotions so powerful they bordered on extremity.
"What kind of Charm is that?"
A voice suddenly came from behind him. Anton was so startled that he nearly fired a spell in its direction on reflex.
Anton turned to look. It was the little girl, Anna.
Anna watched him in confusion. "I can't cast Charms yet, but I've memorized every spell in The Complete Book of Charms. I've never heard of that one!"
Anton raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it was left out."
"Impossible!" Her expression was resolute. "The Rosier family has a long history of magical tradition. They couldn't have left anything out."
"Oh? What spells are in it?" Anton asked, intrigued.
"My favorite is the Patronus Charm. I'm looking forward to being able to cast magic one day, so I can have a Patronus to keep me company." Anna spoke without haste.
Anton looked her up and down, then shook his head. "That Charm requires happy memories."
This little girl was a rigid model of an "elegant lady." She barely showed any emotion at all. Even when she was unhappy, the most she'd do was sneakily roll her eyes. She was as stiff as an exquisitely carved piece of wood.
He couldn't understand how a magical family had managed to raise such a wooden person. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing if she were a real aristocrat, but Wizards needed to be able to feel their emotions intensely. Raising her this way seemed ill-suited to making her a Wizard.
Anna had no idea what he was thinking. She lifted her proud little chin. "Of course I have happy memories."
She tilted her head slightly. "My mother's Animagus form is a Rabbit. She loves me, and I love her. Maybe my Patronus will be a Rabbit."
Sure, whatever makes you happy.
Anton curled his lip. He didn't want to meddle in other people's business, so he prepared to continue practicing.
"I've answered your question, but you still haven't answered mine," Anna asked again. She furrowed her slender brows slightly to show that she was upset.
"..."
Anton waved his Wand. "It's a kind of Dark Magic used to displace souls."
"Dark Magic? No wonder." Anna suddenly understood. "There isn't any Dark Magic in the Complete Book of Charms my mother left behind."
That doesn't seem right.
The Rosier family was a famous Dark Wizard family.
Anton couldn't make sense of it. "No one in your family knows Dark Magic?"
Anna shook her head. "My mother didn't. After she married into the Rosier family, someone offered to teach her. She was reluctant, but said she'd give it a try."
"My Aunt was learning with her, and then something bad happened."
Anton suddenly thought of the Old Wizard's Witch lover. She'd gone mad from studying Dark Magic and blown herself to pieces.
"My Aunt went mad."
Anton fell silent. Was the price of learning Dark Magic really so steep? Could even a Pure-blood Family not escape its harm?
Anna sighed. "It was because my Uncle had found another woman outside the home and even brought a child back with him. My Aunt couldn't accept it. She rode her Flying Broomstick into the sky, then jumped off and fell to her death in front of my Uncle."
"..." Anton's mouth twitched.
"My mother thought learning Dark Magic brought bad luck. She never touched it again after that."
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