The Secret of the Forbidden Forest

With December's arrival, a heavy snowfall blanketed everything in silver. Winter sunlight shone down, draping the ancient castle in a golden glow.

Early in the morning, several young wizards were having a snowball fight in front of the castle gates. Standing by his office window, Tver immediately spotted the familiar figures of the Weasley Twins.

The two used magic to control a snowball, constantly chasing each other's heads with it.

This was a new variation that had evolved from the light-orb game.

After the students learned to separate the light orb from the Lumos Charm, Tver taught them to use the Hover Charm to control the orb and attack another orb.

Of course, only third-year students could manage this for now. The other two years were still playing the light-orb game once every two weeks.

To accommodate several students playing at once, he had secretly expanded the area behind the classroom.

"Smack."

George's snowball happened to hit the passing Quirrell squarely on the back of the head.

This was already the second time. Judging by Quirrell's expression, he would probably punish them severely again.

"That fool won't live much longer," the ring said gloatingly. "What will happen to your plan then?"

"Your original body still needs him to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. He won't let him die so easily."

"Life isn't something you can preserve just because you want to. Unlike you, how else could Quirrell forcefully prolong his life?"

Tver turned his gaze toward the Forbidden Forest.

"Unicorns, of course. The Forbidden Forest has every kind of treasure."

"Eugh~ That's far too evil. If it were me, I'd rather die than touch unicorn blood."

"Stop pretending. It doesn't suit your character."

"Hehe, then I'll make it more convincing next time," the ring said ingratiatingly.

Tver would never believe the ring's nonsense. As a fragment of Voldemort's soul, it was constantly trying to drain his life force and lure him into becoming obsessed with dark magic.

All its flattery, friendliness, and the like were merely disguises for its evil heart.

But the Forbidden Forest truly did pique his interest.

The reason had to start with Neville.

Ever since discovering that Neville's magic could suddenly cut off, he had realized something.

Was the magic one released a kite or a cannonball?

The difference was that a kite came with a controllable magical string, whereas a cannonball did not. Once fired, it could no longer be controlled.

By conventional understanding, a spell like the Hover Charm, which could be controlled by its caster, was a kite, while a spell like the Disarming Charm was a cannonball.

If he had never encountered Neville, Tver would have held that belief for the rest of his life. Or rather, everyone in the wizarding world shared that view.

But Neville was different. His magic was always tethered by a string!

In other words, Neville's kite did not have its string cut, yet it would suddenly fall!

This showed that the string pulling the kite might very well have another line attached to it.

As it happened, Tver had made a breakthrough in his research on souls. Combining the two, he discovered another line hidden beneath magic—

Will.

After studying Neville for some time, his understanding of magic and souls had improved further—every bit of magic was tethered to a trace of will connected to its source!

Even when casting a Disarming Charm, your will was still present. It was merely that no one had discovered this, making spells like the Disarming Charm seem uncontrollable.

Of course, Tver could not guarantee that he was the only one who had realized this. But regardless, this discovery had greatly improved his control over magic.

However, tracing the source of will consumed an enormous amount of both magic and mental energy.

Even so, carried away by excitement, he had remained in his office all night, sparing no magic as he carefully examined the source of will behind every trace of magic.

The wallet enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm—led to his body;

The books with protective magic cast on them—led to an unreachable void;

The Shield Charm badges made by Dervish and Banges—led to a small house in Hogsmeade.

And—

The Hogwarts badge he had brought with him—led deep into the Forbidden Forest!

If the caster had died, it should logically have led to the void, which was likely the world of the dead.

But this badge actually led to the Forbidden Forest!

Did that mean the badge's maker had not only survived, but might even be living safely in the Forbidden Forest?

The discovery sent a chill down his spine!

But after the initial panic, he considered another question—

If the badge could help him delay death, could its maker help him avoid death altogether?

His body was still trembling, but this time, it was not from fear. It was from excitement!

After thinking it over for an entire night, he decided to enter the Forbidden Forest and investigate!

As it happened, it was the weekend, so he had plenty of time to investigate the secrets deep within the Forbidden Forest.

After making some preparations and restoring his magic, at noon, Tver avoided the students and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

He had been at Hogwarts for three months, yet this was his first time entering the Forbidden Forest. But merely standing at its edge, he immediately noticed something strange about it.

One word described it perfectly—vast.

From the castle, looking down, the Forbidden Forest appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary woodland. It was larger than most forests, perhaps about twice the size, and the mountains at its end could be seen at a glance.

But standing at the forest's edge, Tver's senses told him that it stretched far deeper than he had imagined.

That was very strange.

The forest was only so large—how could it feel deeper?

This discovery made him even more cautious of the Forbidden Forest. The moment he reached its edge, he drew his wand.

He left a magical marker at the boundary, making it easier to sense how far he had traveled.

Following a path that had clearly been deliberately cleared, Tver stepped forward.

This was probably the trail Hagrid had made, so he could patrol the Forbidden Forest.

But the Forbidden Forest was much the same as any ordinary woodland. Apart from the occasional Acromantula that suddenly appeared, it was entirely normal.

After dealing with another Acromantula, the trees around him grew denser. Only the mottled, dim light told him that a long time had passed.

He took out his pocket watch. It was six in the evening, which meant he had been walking for five hours.

But he had already prepared to spend two days in the Forbidden Forest, so after a brief rest, he continued deeper inside.

After traveling for roughly another hour, Tver suddenly noticed that the woods had become far denser. It was no longer spacious enough to pitch a tent between the trees, and even the vegetation on the ground had thickened.

It made the Forbidden Forest seem even more eerie.

Generally speaking, forests left considerable gaps like the ones ahead. That was because leaves needed sunlight for photosynthesis in order to grow.

Saplings covered by larger trees could not grow at all; they did not even have the chance to sprout.

Likewise, beneath the shade of the trees, without sunlight reaching the ground, most flowers and grasses found it difficult to thrive.

Even untouched primeval forests were the same. In fact, animals would tread out patches of open ground with their tracks.

But this place was different. The plants had far too strong a presence, while signs of animal tracks had become exceedingly scarce.

It gave Tver an illusion.

This forest seemed bottomless, endless.