Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Although Harry said he was fine, Ron had a feeling that something was wrong with him.

Specifically, Ron noticed that Harry was having more frequent nightmares lately.

Harry never showed any signs of having nightmares before.

But he had heard Harry crying for two nights in a row and knew that Harry was being woken up from nightmares.

This situation is somewhat different from the nightmares I've had before.

We used to be able to soothe them with glowing candles, but now even glowing candles are no longer effective. What should we do?

Ron hesitated, wondering whether he should tell Professor McGonagall about his discovery.

He had a vague feeling that Harry's recent nightmares might not be related to the ramblings of evil gods.

Nightmares created by the outside world can be resisted with various strange objects, but nightmares that linger in one's own heart can only be overcome by oneself.

In the darkness, Ron once again heard Harry's faint voice, the same voice he used in his nightmares.

"Mom, don't leave me."

"No, don't come any closer! No, no!"

"Mommy mommy……"

Ron was awakened by these fragmented whispers in his sleep. He opened his eyes, stared silently at the equally dark ceiling, and sighed.

How could he comfort Harry and get him out of this?

The only saving grace was that Snape probably knew the importance of moderation and hadn't been practicing Occlumency in the past few days.

Ron thought to himself: Harry's mental state has already been somewhat broken after only the second training session. If a third training session were to be held soon, wouldn't he be even more broken?

At this moment, he actually missed Mikel a little.

If Mikel were here, perhaps he could come up with something to comfort Harry; Ron felt he was still too clumsy with words.

Even if Mikel isn't available, Hermione, Draco, or Lin Xia would be fine.

Mikel, whom Ron was talking about, took two days to reach the oasis lake.

This lake may seem close, but it is actually quite far away.

As Mikel walked toward the lake, he realized that there was still a long way to go.

Fortunately, in the restricted area, his stamina seemed to be limitless. After walking for two days and two nights, he did not feel tired at all.

Finally, he arrived at the azure lake.

From a distance, it appears as a deep blue expanse, but up close, the lake reveals a profound green, with some areas even appearing pitch black, seemingly bottomless.

Mikel scooped up some water and stared at it intently, but the water did not materialize into the form of the forbidden book before his eyes.

He searched for a while and then tried another method.

Since the system said that this entire area was a scripture, he decided to immerse himself completely in it.

Mikel took a deep breath and stepped back a few paces.

Accelerate, sprint!
With a "bang," he jumped into the lake, splashing up white waves.

I jumped into the lake and discovered that it was a hidden paradise.

There was no feeling of suffocation as I had imagined, and even less of a feeling of drowning.

The moment he jumped, the space shifted instantly, and he found himself inside a wooden house.

The room was simple and cramped, only big enough for one person to sit down.

On the only table, there was already a banned book.

Mikel felt a slight chill; this was the magic he was about to learn.

Without hesitation, he sat down, put another leaf of clarity in his mouth, and took out all the Radiant Candles and placed them on the table.

He originally intended to light another candle only after one candle had burned out.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the system in his mind suddenly appeared and reminded him:

When the host is immersed in learning, he will forget all external distractions and will be unable to focus on observing the burning changes of the radiant candle.

It is recommended that the host light all the Radiant Candles. The system can absorb additional power from the Radiant Candles and gradually release energy based on the intensity of the evil god's ravings encountered by the host.

Mikel's eyes lit up. Wasn't this an energy collector?

If this feature can be used for a long time, he will have another way to save his life.

He quickly asked, "Can I still use this collection function after leaving the restricted book area?"

[This permission is only activated when entering a specific area. To use it permanently, the host needs to unlock the permission first.]

Mikel: "How do I unlock this permission?"

[Unknown, unanswerable!]

[Unknown, unanswerable!]

The system sent three warnings in a row and then disappeared without a trace.

Mikel was somewhat disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it too much. His immediate priority was to study the most powerful forbidden books in this restricted area.

He gathered the chaotic thoughts in his mind and lit all the radiant candles one by one.

In addition to the Radiant Candle, Hogwarts also prepared other items for him that could resist the whispers of the evil gods.

So he asked the system, "If I consume all the other items, can I also collect their energy and then release the resistance one by one?"

This time, the system's mechanical voice answered quickly.

Yes, but the energy absorption and conversion efficiency of each item is different. Only the Radiant Candle can achieve the highest conversion efficiency; the others all suffer some degree of loss.

Mikel didn't ask where all the losses went.

He was well aware that the system was not omnipotent, and it was normal for it to experience some wear and tear.

As for whether this loss was genuine or intercepted by the system, he didn't intend to delve into the details.

Currently, he is the one who needs the system, not the other way around.

He knew how to distinguish which secrets to ask and which not to ask.

Furthermore, even if he asks the question, whether the system will answer is another matter entirely.

After spending a few minutes burning and consuming all the items that resisted the evil god's ravings, Mikel finally turned to the first page of the forbidden book.

The cover of this banned book is designed in the style of dragon skin.

Touching it evokes a sense of ancient, heavy history, and the surface feels warm and smooth.

Mikel mentally commented: Excellent.

The book's cover had no text on it, and Mikel had no idea what kind of banned book it was.

As he turned to page 1, the system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind once again.

[Should we block the raucous whispers of evil gods entwined in the forbidden book area to allow for more efficient transmission of knowledge?] After opening the book, Mikel heard a series of vague, fragmented whispers in his ears.

It seemed like someone was whispering in his ear, trying to convey some message, but he couldn't hear it.

A sense of crisis welled up in his heart.

Even though he had lit the Radiant Candle and had the Leaf of Awakening in his mouth, he still couldn't completely block out the evil god's ramblings.

If it were any other wizard reading such a forbidden book, wouldn't their situation be even more threatened?

Keep in mind that this is only the first page; as the content deepens, the level of the evil god's ramblings will continue to rise.

He silently repeated in his heart, "Yes!"

The next second, his ears seemed to go deaf, and he could no longer hear any noise.

He lowered his head and saw several large titles written on the first page of the book—

Methods for defending against and dealing with ultimate magic

Ultimate magic?

Mikel was puzzled, as the concept of "ultimate magic" did not exist in the current magical world.

Before long, he entered a state of concentration, and all the contents of the book were open to him. He experienced what it felt like to be a genius.

Once you've seen it, you'll definitely remember it and understand it completely!

At the beginning of his reading, he was able to get a little distracted and exclaimed, "This must be what it feels like for Hermione to read a book."

No, the power of the Forbidden Zone is like crowning me with the power of Ravenclaw. The original four Ravenclaws are probably in no different state than I am now.

As he delved deeper into the material, Mikel became increasingly focused, immersing himself in the knowledge.

He was so engrossed in reading the forbidden book that he failed to notice the candle on the table burning down at a visible rate the very moment he was reading it.
-
After struggling with the decision for several days, Ron finally told Professor McGonagall about Harry's increasingly strange behavior.

Harry wasn't having his usual nightmares; the Radiant Candles had no effect on him.

In the past few days, Harry's condition has become more and more haggard.

Although he participated in assessments during the day, no one who saw Harry would dare to say that he was in good condition.

Ron secretly went to Professor McGonagall's office to bring it up.

There were many automatic quills flying around McGonagall, busily handling official business.

Upon hearing this, all the quills around her froze. McGonagall pushed up her glasses and asked seriously, "When did you find out?"

Ron: "The day I practiced Occlumency, the day Snape returned."

McGonagall pondered for a moment and said, "I remember that was the second time Snape taught you Occlumency. Didn't Harry have any problems the first time he taught you?"

Ron shook his head: "No."

As if thinking of something, he added, "Perhaps the memory Professor Snape unearthed that time wasn't too serious. Harry mentioned to me that when Professor Snape used Legilimency on him, he had memories of the Dursleys flashing through his mind."

McGonagall asked, "What memories did Harry recall during his second Legilimency practice?"

Ron hesitated for a moment, "Harry didn't tell me specifically, but..."

He muttered, "I've kind of guessed it. Harry's been having nightmares these past few days, and he keeps calling for his mom at night. He's probably recalling the scene when his parents were hurt shortly after he was born."

Professor McGonagall gaped, covering her mouth tightly with her hand. "My God, how could this be? This memory is too terrifying for a child."

McGonagall was momentarily flustered.

She took a deep breath, her brow furrowed, and after a long while said, "I understand the situation. I will ask Snape about it. If Snape's training methods are incorrect, I will take over his Occlumency training."

Ron was secretly pleased and walked out of the office.

Inside the office, McGonagall's thoughts remained unsettled for a long time.

Harry is just a child; how terrible it is for him to witness the death of his parents!

Even if Snape wanted Harry to learn Occlumency as quickly as possible, he couldn't use such a forced method.

McGonagall tapped her knuckles lightly on the table, then stood up and headed to Snape's office.
-
During the afternoon assessment, Harry noticed that Ron was in a good mood and always had a smile on his face.

This made Harry a little puzzled, and he casually asked, "Ron, have you received any gifts lately? I rarely see you in such a good mood."

Ron's eyes darted around as he said, "My parents recently sent me some living expenses. It's a pity we can't go to Hogsmeade, otherwise I would definitely spend a lot of money and buy lots of candy at Honeydukes."

Harry said enviously, "That's great."

He envied Ron for having someone who cared about him, unlike him, who had no relatives in the world.

Because Ron was in a good mood, he completed the assessment quickly in the afternoon and scored very high on the test.

The professors who conducted the assessment praised Ron, saying that he already had the qualities of an outstanding student, which made Ron participate in the assessment even more diligently.

Harry thought Ron had fallen into the professor's trap of praise.

The professor wanted to use this method to motivate the evaluators to work harder.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall arrived at Snape's office.

There was no one inside, but a potion was being brewed in a small office cubicle. The potion was bubbling and boiling, and it was only a few steps away from being successfully brewed.

So she waited in the outer room of the office.

With the potion brewed, Snape will surely return.

Before long, the office door was gently opened, and Snape, wand in hand, pointed it forward with a serious expression.

When he saw it was McGonagall, his expression relaxed slightly, and he quickly put away his wand.

"What are you doing here? You can send me a message if you need anything."

McGonagall said with a serious expression, "I came here to discuss Harry's Occlumency training with you. Aren't you being too harsh on him? He's still a minor, and you've already shown him the scene of his parents' death."

Snape said coldly, "His mind is already showing signs of being invaded by Voldemort. If he doesn't learn Occlumency now, the more distracting thoughts he has in his mind, the easier it will be for others to crack his mind."

McGonagall took a deep breath: "But this kind of scene is still too cruel for a child."

Snape said coldly, "His parents are dead, cruelly harmed by Voldemort, and he must accept that fact!"
If he doesn't accept it and remains immersed in his beautiful fantasy, Voldemort can use this as a breakthrough to spy on Harry's life and further threaten his safety!

McGonagall looked at him intently: "But Snape, aren't you also lost in your fantasies?"

Snape's lips twitched slightly, and he said in an extremely restrained and stoic voice, "I didn't."

Before McGonagall could say anything more, Snape brought up another topic.

"You would never guess what I saw when I first invaded his brain."

Harry has been unhappy for the past ten years or so. He lived like a pig with the Dursleys, who cruelly abused him!

Snape said coldly, "For the first time, I have doubts about Dumbledore's plans. Can these inhuman relatives really protect Harry?"

McGonagall's expression changed drastically: "What did you say? This is impossible?!"

Snape pointed his wand at himself, and in the next instant, he extracted memory fragments from his mind, like silver threads, and transferred them to McGonagall.

McGonagall hesitated for a moment, then accepted the fragment of memory. (End of Chapter)