With the arrival of December, after a heavy snowfall, everything was draped in white, and the winter sunlight cast a golden glow over the ancient castle.
Early in the morning, a few young wizards were having a snowball fight in front of the castle gates.
Standing at the window of his office, Tewell immediately spotted the familiar figures of the Weasley twins.
The two of them were using magic to control a snowball, chasing each other's heads relentlessly.
This was a new variation derived from the Lumos Ball game.
After the students learned to release the Lumos Ball from the Lumos Charm, Tewell taught them to control the Lumos Ball with the Levitation Charm to attack another Lumos Ball.
Of course, only third-year students could do this for now, while the other two years still played the Lumos Ball game twice a week.
To accommodate multiple students playing the game simultaneously, he quietly expanded the area behind the classroom.
"Snap."
George's snowball hit Quirrell, who was passing by, squarely on the back of his head.
This was the second time, and judging by Quirrell's expression, they would probably face severe punishment again.
"That idiot's days are numbered," the ring said gleefully. "What's your plan when the time comes?"
"Your true form still needs him to get the Philosopher's Stone. He won't die so easily."
"Life and death aren't up to him. He's not like you. How else can Quirrell prolong his life?"
Tewell's gaze shifted to the Forbidden Forest.
"Of course, it's the unicorn. The Forbidden Forest has all sorts of treasures."
"That's so wicked. If it were me, I'd rather die than touch unicorn blood."
"Don't pretend. That's not like you."
"Hehe, I'll try to be more convincing next time," the ring said, flattering.
Tewell would never believe the nonsense of this ring. As the soul of Voldemort, it constantly attempted to drain his life force and lure him into the addiction of dark magic.
All the flattery, friendliness, and such were just disguises for the evil lurking within.
However, the Forbidden Forest did indeed pique his curiosity.
The reason could be traced back to Neville.
Ever since discovering that Neville's magic would abruptly cut off, he noticed a problem.
Is the output of magic akin to a kite or a cannonball?
The difference lies in the former being accompanied by a controllable magical thread, while the latter is not, once released, it's out of control.
According to conventional understanding, spells like the Levitation Charm that can be controlled by the caster are kites, while spells like the Disarming Charm are cannonballs.
If it weren't for Neville, Tewell would have held this belief for a lifetime, or rather, it would have been the viewpoint of everyone in the magical world.
But Neville was different.
His magic always seemed to be tethered to a thread!
In other words, Neville's kite didn't have a broken string but would suddenly plummet!
This indicated that the thread pulling the kite might have another one.
Conveniently, Tewell made a breakthrough in soul research.
Combining the two, he discovered another thread hidden beneath the magic—the will.
Through his research on Neville during this period, his understanding of magic and souls had been further elevated—every bit of magic would tug at a strand of the essence of the caster!
Even if it was the Disarming Charm being cast, your will would still exist, only that no one had noticed this, leading to the seemingly uncontrollable nature of such magic.
Of course, Tewell couldn't guarantee that he was the only one who realized this, but regardless, this discovery greatly enhanced his control over magic.
However, investigating the source of willpower was extremely taxing on both his magical and mental faculties.
Despite this, he was excitedly in his office all night, meticulously examining the source of willpower behind every bit of magic, even if it meant depleting his magical energy.
The Wallet of Traceless Extension Charm—leading to his body;
The Book Protected by Magic—leading to an untouchable void;
The Ironclad Badge made by Davis and Vance—leading to a small house in Hogwarts.
And,
The Hogwarts Badge he brought—leading to the depths of the Forbidden Forest!
If the spell caster dies, logically, it should lead to the void, where it is likely the world of the dead.
But this badge actually leads to the Forbidden Forest!
Does this mean that the maker of the badge is not only alive but also likely living well in the Forbidden Forest?
This discovery sent shivers down his spine!
However, amidst the panic, he considered another question—
If the badge could help him delay death, could the maker of the badge help him avoid death?
His body was still trembling, but this time, he was not afraid, but excited!
After pondering all night, he decided to explore the depths of the Forbidden Forest!
Fortunately, it was the weekend these days, and he had plenty of time to study the secrets deep within the Forbidden Forest.
After making some preparations and restoring his magical powers.
At noon, Tewell avoided the students and headed towards the Forbidden Forest.
Having been at Hogwarts for three months, this was his first time entering the Forbidden Forest, but standing on the edge, he realized the eerie nature of this forest.
One word to describe it—vast.
Standing in the castle and looking down, the Forbidden Forest was at most just an ordinary forest, larger than usual forests, but only about twice as big, and one could see the peaks at the end with a glance.
But standing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Tewell's senses told him that the forest was deeper than he had imagined.
This was quite strange.
How could the forest be so large that it felt even deeper?
This discovery made him more cautious about the Forbidden Forest. As soon as he reached the edge, he took out his wand.
He left a magical sensor on the edge to facilitate his perception of the distance he traveled.
Following an obvious path deliberately carved out, Tewell moved forward.
This should be the path Hagrid opened to facilitate his patrols of the Forbidden Forest.
But inside the Forbidden Forest was much like any other forest, except for the sudden appearance of acromantulas, it was completely normal.
After dealing with another acromantula, the trees here became denser, with only dappled dim light indicating that much time had passed.
Pulling out his pocket watch, it was now six in the evening, meaning he had been walking for five hours.
But he had prepared to stay in the Forbidden Forest for two days, so after a brief rest, he continued on.
After another hour of walking, Tewell suddenly noticed that the woods became much denser, no longer like before where there was enough space between the trees to pitch a tent, and the vegetation on the ground became denser as well.
The Forbidden Forest seemed even more eerie.
Normally, forests would have significant gaps like those in front because the leaves needed sunlight for photosynthesis to grow.
Without sunlight, small trees covered by shade couldn't grow, not even sprout.
Similarly, without the sun's arrival on the forest floor, flowers and grasses struggled to grow.
Even in pristine forests untouched by humans, animal tracks would create clearings.
But this place was different; the presence of plants was much stronger here, while animal tracks became very scarce.
This gave Tewell a sense of illusion.
This forest seemed unfathomable and endless.