The Secret of Ancient Magic

Roy hugged the book Dumbledore had given him and happily headed toward the Hufflepuff common room. As he walked, he imagined himself obtaining the Ancient Magic Vault, punching Grindelwald and kicking Voldemort.

When he returned to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room and stepped inside, Roy found that despite the late hour, every Hufflepuff student seemed to be waiting for him.

The moment the Hufflepuff students saw Roy return, they erupted into enthusiastic cheers. They had just heard from Headmistress Sprout that Roy had not been expelled for teaching those two Slytherin students a lesson.

Seeing the thunderous applause, Roy smugly asked, "What's this? Have I become our house's hero?"

Senior Tonks walked over, wrapped an arm around Roy standing at the common room entrance, and vigorously ruffled the golden hair of the boy who was a head shorter than her.

"Don't get too cocky, Little Roy. Maybe you'll become a hero once you put Snape in the hospital."

Was Haki Bee the kind of person to back down? He immediately patted his chest and declared that he would personally finish off that old bat soon enough. Roy's joke sent the common room into uproarious laughter.

No one knew where the Hufflepuff students had gotten the Butterbeer from. By rights, students were not allowed to drink this sort of beverage at Hogwarts.

Roy was dragged over and forcibly made to down two cups. Still, the Butterbeer really was quite tasty.

All the Hufflepuff students held a small celebration in the common room for Roy's heroic deed. They drank some Butterbeer and said a few things cursing Slytherin and Snape. Finally, seeing that it was getting late, everyone cleaned up and returned to their dormitories. After all, they still had classes tomorrow.

Back in his dormitory, Roy proudly showed off to Cedric and the others beside him.

"Well, well, looks like Roy Smee is pretty popular at Hogwarts after all."

Cedric smiled, patted Roy on the shoulder, and teased the extremely pleased boy.

"Then you'll have to give out more gifts at Christmas. After all, you're friends with everyone, right?"

At that, Roy's smile immediately faded. He silently calculated how many students there were in Hufflepuff. Oh, and quite a few Gryffindors were on good terms with him too.

He checked his pocket. Thankfully, Aisling had not taken the few Galleons he had saved, but this little money did not seem enough to buy so many gifts.

Roy awkwardly asked Cedric, "What do you think? Would it be okay if I gave every student a quill?"

Hearing Roy's words, Cedric looked at him strangely.

"You're not seriously giving me a quill, are you? If you really give me a quill, then all I can say is that you're not my brother. You're a stranger."

Connor and Gabriel beside them also looked at Roy strangely and began condemning him.

"Come on, Roy. That's way too stingy."

Watching these guys, possessed by some tough-guy spirit, want to disown their brother just because they heard about his gift, Roy could only say that he would give them truly meaningful presents when the time came.

Before going to sleep, Roy took out the book Dumbledore had given him and planned to read it.

The heavy book's title page could not be opened at all. However, when he poured some magic into it, the book's appearance changed. The previously unreadable book could now be opened.

Roy briefly looked through its contents. The book had been written by that fifth-year war god and detailed his experiences studying Ancient Magic, its methods of use, and the true history of the Goblin Rebellion.

The Ancient Magic Vault did indeed exist beneath Hogwarts Castle, but its original entrance was far from here. One had to travel northwest all the way to the coast. Later, after that fifth-year god of slaughter inherited the power inside the vault, he built a new entrance beside Hogwarts Castle. The book also contained detailed records of how to enter it.

As for why the true suppressor of the Second Goblin Rebellion had completely vanished from history, the book's author personally gave the reason.

"Ancient Magic is the direct application of human emotional power. Like the Obscurus of white magic, storing such powerful Ancient Magic in an ordinary human body causes tremendous damage to one's emotions. I did not want to become an emotionless block of wood. Thinking of how Professor Figg ultimately died to protect Ancient Magic, I eventually sealed the magic back inside the vault."

It seemed that excessive Ancient Magic would erode its holder's emotions. That was hardly good news. Roy thought silently as he continued reading.

"I used Ancient Magic to cast an Obliviate powerful enough to affect the entire world, making history completely forget my existence so that I could retire in peace. I do not know when someone will see this book, since the talent for Ancient Magic is extraordinarily rare. However, if you wish to obtain the inheritance of Ancient Magic, you must pass the trials I left behind. I do not want such powerful strength falling into the hands of evil people. After all, I too underwent many trials before inheriting it. But I must still warn you: no matter how great the power, it is not worth exchanging your emotions for it."

At the end of the historical section, the fifth-year god of slaughter left behind a single sentence.

"Want my treasure? If you want it, I can give it all to you. Go find it! I left everything in the world there."

What was this, searching for the One Piece left behind by the Pirate King? Roy found it hard to keep a straight face. One Piece would not even be published for another seven or eight years, much less in a book left behind a hundred years ago.

It seemed the price of gaining the Ancient Magic Vault's power was considerable. Roy decided to put it aside for now. It would not be too late to consider the treasure after he had mastered the techniques left behind by his "Pirate King" predecessor.

Roy closed the book and placed it on the bedside table. He drew the curtains around his four-poster bed and lay on the soft mattress, feeling his entire body sink into it. His thoughts gradually drifted away, returning to that turbulent era more than sixty years ago.

The time returned to just after Roy had left the Headmaster's Office. The house-elf received Dumbledore's order, took the handwritten note from him, and vanished from the Headmaster's Office with a pop.

All the portraits of former headmasters sleeping on the walls woke up. They had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the Headmaster's Office the entire time.

"He is a good child." Dilys Derwent spoke kindly, offering her assessment of Roy's character.

"Hmph. Sending his classmates to the hospital makes him a good student?" Phineas Nigellus Black, the least popular headmaster in history, appeared deeply dissatisfied with Roy's actions.

The portraits in the Headmaster's Office began arguing. Clearly, the former headmasters did not like Phineas Black very much. Several of them even cursed him outright.

Dumbledore merely sat in his seat, silently thinking. He listened to the quarrel coming from the walls without saying a word. One day in the future, he too would leave behind a portrait on the walls of this office. Who would be headmaster by then?

However, as a knock sounded at the door, the portraits on the walls began playing dead once more.

"Come in."

At Dumbledore's voice, Aisling, dressed in an exquisite robe and carrying herself with elegance, pushed open the door expressionlessly. Looking at Dumbledore seated behind his desk, she calmly greeted him.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore. You asked to see me?"