Ahead, seven or eight stone statues of spiked clubs and axes stood up in a staggered pattern. But the two men didn't even flinch, completely ignoring them.
As Draco knocked a stone statue away, he said, "In TV shows and novels, it's often written that if your partner is very busy, the one left alone at home can't stand the loneliness..."
"You dare!" Hermione turned around fiercely, pointing her wand at him, "I'll send you to Azkaban for further studies!"
So, do you think you need a bodyguard?
Draco laughed loudly.
Hermione looked at his smug yet handsome face and couldn't help but smile, "Since you... are still somewhat useful, I'll reluctantly agree."
Draco laughed again and put his arm around her shoulder, "Yes, Minister."
Passing through the remains of the last stone statue, the space suddenly became tranquil; it was a circular Pensieve.
The dome is not high, and in the center stands an ancient stone basin, which ripples with silvery-white water of memory.
On the high platform beside the stone basin, a thick book with a cover made of dark gold leather lay quietly.
The spine of the book is engraved with spiral patterns that no one can decipher.
Draco stepped forward and reached out to touch the book.
Before my fingers even touched the leather, the pages began to flip rapidly with a "whoosh" sound, even without any wind.
The next second, the entire book transformed into a golden stream of light and went straight into the distorted spatial rift next to the Pensieve.
"It... ran away by itself?" Hermione murmured unconsciously.
Draco withdrew his hand, and said thoughtfully, "Let's look at the Pensieve first."
Hermione nodded, and the two exchanged a glance before simultaneously plunging their heads into the silvery liquid. After a dizzying moment, the surrounding scenery instantly changed.
They seemed to be above an ancient village. Besides Rookwood and Rackham, whom they had seen before, they remembered two other wizards, a man and a woman.
They were looking down at the cracked earth below, where the river had dried up and the crops had withered.
The wizard Rackham raised his wand, and a dazzling white light shot into the sky.
Immediately afterwards, dark clouds gathered, and a torrential downpour began.
Rainwater touched the ground and flowers bloomed; the once barren earth instantly sprouted tender green plants.
"This is... summoning wind and rain?" Draco wondered.
The scene shifts, and a little girl tilts her head back, letting the raindrops fall on her face, her eyes full of surprise.
The scene shifts again, and a graceful young woman is standing in front of the four guardians, conversing with them.
And with that, my memory abruptly ends.
Draco and Hermione looked up.
The two returned to the Pensieve in reality.
Just then, the golden streak of light flew out from the spatial rift again, Accio straight for Draco. Draco reacted quickly and caught the book steadily in his arms.
"That little girl, is it Morgana?"
Draco stroked the book cover and nodded, saying, "Probably. Judging from how she can converse with Professor Rackham, she probably also possesses the ability to sense Ancient Magic."
"I never imagined that Ancient Magic could control the wind and rain..." Hermione exclaimed in astonishment. "This is beyond our current understanding of magic."
"Not only that, if this power is used in the wrong place, it could also unleash a massive wave," Draco said in a deep voice.
"But the memories stop there, making no mention of the core of Ancient Magic, nor of what happened to Morgana afterward. What are these memories trying to tell us?"
Hermione fell into deep thought.
"Who knows?" Draco shrugged.
"Perhaps they want us to know first that the original purpose of Ancient Magic was protection."
"Let's read the book first. Now that it's back, the answer must be in the book," Hermione said, pointing to Draco's side.
Draco turned the page, Hermione leaned over to take a look, immediately dumbfounded. "What kind of weird symbols are these?"
Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at the pages filled with distorted symbols and strange lines, and she said:
"I can't recognize a single word."
[System scanning in progress... parsing Ancient Magic text... parsing complete.] Draco didn't speak; streams of eerie blue data were flashing across his retina.
Draco's eyes cleared instantly. He quickly flipped through the pages, and after a moment, he closed the book and began to explain:
This book is called " The Book of the Keepers ".
Draco's sudden words startled Hermione.
"The place we are in now is called ' Athenaeum '."
"According to records, this place was built by the four Keepers of Ancient Magic I just remembered, with the purpose of passing on Ancient Magic."
"What about Morgana?" Hermione asked anxiously.
Draco turned a page, his expression becoming somewhat serious:
"Although Morgana possessed talent, she misused Ancient Magic. She attempted to extract human emotions to enhance the power of her magic, leading to an irreversible tragedy."
"The book says that to inherit Ancient Magic, one must pass a series of rigorous trials."
"Trials? What kind of trials?" Hermione's eyes lit up; this was the part she was most interested in.
Draco flipped to the middle of the book, his finger pressing on a noticeable tear where the edges of the paper were jagged, clearly indicating it had been forcibly torn off.
"The specific details of the trial..." Draco pointed to the tattered mark, saying helplessly, "It looks like it was torn off."
Hermione's reaction surprised Draco; her gaze instantly locked onto the gap.
Without speaking, he stretched out his finger and ran it along the uneven edges of the paper, feeling the lingering roughness.
"It's not just as simple as tearing it up."
She looked at Draco:
"Think about it. The book just disappeared and reappeared on its own, which means it has a spirit or is controlled by some kind of rule. If the trial content was torn out, there are only two possibilities."
"First," Hermione held up a finger, "The one who tore the page out is one of the Guardians."
"They didn't want those who came after them to get the answers easily; discovering the truth through exploration was part of the trial."
"Second," she held up her second finger,
"A trial participant has been here."
"He wanted to complete the trial alone and monopolize the Ancient Magic, or perhaps he couldn't complete the trial at all and didn't want to abide by the Guardians' rules, so he tore out the contents."
"Then prevent others from inheriting, while finding a 'shortcut' for yourself—like Morgana, abusing your power."
"Whatever the situation, it's very tricky," Hermione analyzed. "Without the trial content, we don't know what to do, and Rookwood may have information we don't know about and has already started his operation."
"Don't panic." Draco closed the heavy book. "It's the same reason, honey. Without the physique to sense Ancient Magic, ordinary wizards can't even access trials and such."
"They want to obtain the power of Ancient Magic, and they have no choice but to use me as their sole 'medium'."
Upon hearing this, Hermione mentally reviewed the information she had just received.
My memory does emphasize Morgana's special physical condition, and looking at it now, Draco's logic is impeccable.
"You're definitely key when it comes to 'irreplaceability.' But Draco, don't get too cocky."
"Because you are the only medium, it also means you are the most dangerous target. Those who protect you, or those who want to seize power, will not be kind to you."
"Then let them try." Draco scoffed, putting the book into his personal storage pouch.
"Let's go, I'm hungry. Even if it's to save the world, we can't go hungry."