Start by logging into the Old Man's Ring at Hogwarts

On his way to the Department of Mysteries, Zicomo encountered another Silent One on duty with Lukewood, presumably on patrol. Zicomo didn't bother with pleasantries and simply cast a Sleeping Charm and a Forgetfulness Charm on him.

Zicomo took the elevator to the ninth basement level.

Beyond the elevator railing was a simple corridor, at the end of which was a plain black door. It seemed the Department of Mysteries really didn't have much funding; they didn't even have basic decorations.

After opening the black door, Zicomo entered a circular room where everything was black, including the ceiling and floor. Twelve identical black doors, without any markings or handles, were arranged in an orderly fashion on the surrounding walls.

Blue candlelight adorned the walls, reflecting the faint candlelight onto the black marble floor, resembling a pool of dark water.

"What a strange place. Is this really the Ministry of Magic?" Hermione snuggled closer to Zicomo.

“Hmm, that’s how the Department of Mysteries is,” Zicomo replied.

“So what are you doing in a place like this?” Hermione asked.

“We’re here to find something and explore the area,” Zikomo said.

With that, Zicomo pushed open one of the twelve doors.

Behind the door was a long, narrow, rectangular room, very brightly lit. The room was empty except for a table and a large glass water tank in the center. On one side of the room, there was another door leading to the next room.

The water tank was enormous, filled with a dark green liquid, resembling a small swimming pool.

A swarm of white, jellyfish-like creatures swam in a dark green liquid. Zicomo, holding Hermione, took a closer look and realized they weren't jellyfish at all, but rather brains with tentacles growing from them.

Their tentacles sway up and down in the water, making them look like jellyfish from a distance.

Seeing such a bizarre scene, Zicomo was not afraid at all; in fact, he found it somewhat amusing. These brains reminded him of the totems of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Hermione wasn't afraid of them either, and even remarked with interest, "This place is a zombie paradise."

She was referring to the zombies in Plants vs. Zombies, whose favorite food is eating brains.

“Don’t underestimate them; in some ways, they are quite formidable creatures,” Zicomo cautioned.

He learned from Lukwood's memories that these bizarre brains could inflict severe mental damage on people through their tentacles. They were also immune to most magic; even spells like the "Disintegrate" spell might not be effective against them.

Zicomo told Hermione what he had learned, and Hermione was surprised that these strange creatures had such great abilities.

“In that case, we’d better not disturb them,” Hermione said.

Zicomo nodded and led Hermione quietly to another door in the room, opened it, and went next door.

The next room was a pitch-black room filled with planets. These planets weren't real; they were illusions, like holographic projections. However, they were much more realistic than holographic projections, making people feel as if they had truly entered outer space when they were inside.

Zicomo thought to himself, if this room were placed in the Real Lucaria Magic Academy, those astrologers would probably go mad and become intoxicated by it.

However, Zicomo only admired the view for a short while before leaving the room; what he was looking for wasn't there.

Chapter 166 The Room Locked Away with Love, Hermione's Affection

The Department of Mysteries didn't contain as many mystical forces and things as Zicomo had imagined. The next few rooms, apart from a messy office, were all empty.

Zicomo led Hermione to the next door, which was different from the others; it had a round lock in the center.

Even without opening the door, Zicomo knew what lay behind it. This house held the power of love.

In the original Harry Potter books, Dumbledore describes love as: more wondrous and more terrifying than death, more intelligent than humankind, more powerful than nature itself. It is perhaps one of the most enigmatic subjects the Department of Mysteries needs to study.

Zicomo reached out and touched the round lock; a burning pain shot through his hand, causing him to instinctively release his grip.

This greatly surprised Zicomo, who was a superhuman with superhuman strength, capable of killing a dragon with his bare hands. Even so, this lock could still harm him, truly living up to its recurring theme throughout the entire Harry Potter series.

Hermione looked at the burn marks on her cousin's hands and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's alright, you'll be fine in a little while."

Zicomo shook his hand, and soon the burns on his hand began to slowly heal.

"What kind of magic does this door have that could burn you?" Hermione asked curiously.

You see, she had never seen her cousin get injured before. She had seen Zicomo take a direct hit from her raging flames and emerge completely unharmed.

“Do you remember how Harry killed Quirrell?” Zicomo asked rhetorically.

“I remember, Harry pressed his hands on Quirrell’s face, and then Quirrell turned to dust,” Hermione replied.

That was, after all, the first time she had ever witnessed a murder, so it left a deep impression on her.

“Actually, Quirrell was burned to ashes, and that’s the power Harry used at that time,” Zicomo explained. “On the train to the start of first year, I mentioned that Harry’s mother used an ancient and powerful spell to protect him.”

That magic, and love, are linked to blood ties; it will burn anyone who tries to kill Harry. But this room before us holds the power of love sealed within.

Hermione was quite surprised after hearing this. She hadn't expected that something as conceptual as love could also be a force, although the way this force manifested itself was quite in line with the concept of love. Love is inherently intense and passionate.

Thinking about this, Hermione suddenly became curious about what exactly was going on in the room.

"Is there any way to open this door?" Hermione asked.

“The way to open the door is simple; it only requires a simple unlocking spell,” Zicomo replied.

"Really?"

Hermione's voice was filled with doubt. If that were really the case, then why didn't Zicomo use the unlocking charm, but instead reached out to touch the lock?

"Really?!"

A hint of mockery flashed in Zicomo's eyes. He wasn't lying, but he had overlooked the preconditions.

Only those who deeply understand what love is, or those who possess love, can use the unlocking spell to open this door.

Although he knew what love was, his understanding of it wasn't profound. And the so-called "possessor of love" refers to someone like Harry, who carries the power of love within him.

Zicomo didn't fit either of those criteria, so he never even considered opening the door. He just kept quiet to tease Hermione.

However, what happened next left him speechless.

Hermione stretched out her cat paw and said to the lock, "Alohomora!"

The door lock clicked open!

Zicomo couldn't believe it; he was certain Hermione didn't possess any power of love. In other words, she was able to open that door because she had a profound understanding of love.

Is it reasonable for a fourteen-year-old girl to have such a profound understanding of love? Even if you include the time Hermione spent in the Zen Garden, she's only almost sixteen, isn't she?

Where did she learn the meaning of love? Could it be from her parents? It couldn't be from him, could it?

Unbeknownst to Zicomo, he had inadvertently guessed the correct answer. It was indeed he who gave Hermione a profound understanding of love.

During the month Hermione was preparing for her Animagus journey, Zicomo and she lived together in the Zen Garden, essentially cohabiting for a month.

Because she had a mandrake leaf in her mouth, which made it difficult to speak, Hermione focused more on thinking.

At first, she was just thinking about the problems she was encountering in her studies. Later, she couldn't help but think about the night Lani first arrived, the conversation she had with her mother in her room, and her feelings for Zicomo.

It was around that time that Hermione gradually came to understand her own heart. She recalled the time she spent with Zicomo, every moment filled with beauty.

Hermione was surprised to find that her heart was already filled with Zicomo's image, and she knew that she had fallen in love with Zicomo.

Hermione has never been an indecisive person. Now that she has realized her feelings, she naturally chooses to accept them.

As for giving up and choosing to distance herself from Zikomo, she had never considered it. She had long been accustomed to her dependence on Zikomo, and she was afraid she would go crazy if she left him.

Zicomo discovers that Hermione's recent haughty and affectionate personality is not actually influenced by the Animagus, but rather is an involuntary expression of love in front of someone she likes.

Of course, Zicomo was unaware of Hermione's feelings. Not because he was slow to react, but because he simply hadn't considered it. Who would have thought that a teenage girl had already grasped the meaning of love?

Moreover, unlocking the door in front of us only requires a deep understanding of love. The love mentioned here is not specified in terms of what kind it is; it can be love for family, love for lovers, or even love for friends.

"Cousin, let's go in and take a look quickly."

Just as Zicomo was racking his brains, Hermione's voice made him temporarily stop thinking.

Zicomo opened the door, but the scene behind it greatly disappointed him, as there was nothing inside except a stone tablet.

The inscription on the stone tablet looked like scribbles; he couldn't understand a single word.

“Cousin, this seems to contain the ancient magic you mentioned before,” Hermione suddenly said.

"Huh? You recognize the writing on this?" Zicomo asked, somewhat surprised.

“I don’t know it, but I think I can understand what it means,” Hermione replied.

Upon hearing this, Zicomo had a certain guess in his mind.

His inability to understand it may be related to his lack of profound understanding of love.

Another thing that intrigued Zicomo was why he had been burned by the power of love when he touched the lock earlier, but was perfectly fine walking in now. Could it be that the power of love dissipated after the door was opened?

What he didn't know was that the power of love hadn't dissipated, but rather a portion of it had transferred to Hermione.

As Hermione stepped through the door, she felt something enter her body. But the sensation was fleeting, and Hermione dismissed it as a hallucination.

It was precisely because the power of love was transferred to Hermione that she was able to decipher the inscription on the stone tablet. And because Chicomo was holding Hermione, he was spared further burns.

In other words, Zicomo's guess was actually wrong.

"So what does the stone tablet say?" Zicomo asked.

“It said: ‘The power of love is invisible and intangible, yet it is everywhere. Different kinds of love have different ways of being expressed, but no matter what kind, love is the greatest power…’ Then it mentioned a spell, the one Harry’s mother used on him, but I can’t describe it,” Hermione said.

Zicomo seemed thoughtful; he suspected that Dumbledore had been here.

In the original book, he told Harry that Harry possessed all the energy in the room, while Voldemort had none.

Zicomo had always been curious as to why Lily, a wizard from a Muggle family, would learn an ancient spell. Moreover, it seemed that only Dumbledore knew the secrets of this spell.