Letting the animals go off to find their own food, Cohen pulled out the book the system rewarded him with and stepped out of his enchanted trunk.
To make sure his "evil plan" and his subsequent studies went smoothly, Cohen had specifically returned to the Room of Requirement with the Baron. The Baron, naturally, was very curious about how long Cohen had been cooped up inside his magical trunk.
"So, what did you do to that woman who looks like a toad?" the Baron asked, sidling up to Cohen. "Did you use the Cruciatus Curse on her, or something?"
"I was going to use the Cruciatus Curse in the end," Cohen sighed, "but those tiny pig-like creatures killed her... It doesn't matter, it's over now. I've got important things to do."
"You aren't going to study, are you?" The Baron looked at the thick book tucked under Cohen's arm, disbelievingly. "Don't pretend to work hard. I haven't seen you read a book since first year!"
"That's because every time I try to read, you're off having a wet dream," Cohen said, without a hint of mercy. "Alright, I'm going to study. If you want to mate with that grey owl, please go to the Owlery. Just because Harry and the others won't let you do this in the common room doesn't mean I'll allow it here. Can't you have some boundaries, you old pervert?"
As he spoke, Cohen glanced at a female grey-feathered owl that the Baron had brought with him. It was hooting at the Baron in a very suggestive manner.
"I don't even wear clothes, so why would I need boundaries?" the Baron retorted. "You wouldn't understand. Being naked in front of humans is a very exciting—"
"I see you're reminiscing about the good old days before you had feathers for clothes," Cohen said dryly.
---
Finally, under the might of Cohen's threats, the Baron took the grey owl and flew off to the Owlery.
Cohen was finally able to settle into a comfy armchair and see what exactly was written in this book, Ancient Magic.
The text inside looked handwritten, but Cohen had never heard of this book, so it might never have been published.
The first chapter was about the differences between ancient and modern magic.
He skipped it.
It basically said that ancient magic was a broad category of using a specific, special kind of magic, rather than a fixed spell.
It sounded a bit like reading Theoretical Magic Defense...
The second chapter was about the history of ancient magic and the reasons for its decline.
Bushgomon? Is this a textbook or something? Teach me something cool! Where are the curse marks? The mass Avada Kedavra?
The third chapter was about the gifted people who can use ancient magic and the standards they must meet.
This seemed worth reading, since he wasn't sure if he could actually learn this stuff.
> The study of ancient magic has an incredibly strict standard for talent. Only wizards who can see spiral-shaped traces of magic can understand, control, and use abilities related to ancient magic. This talent is difficult to pass on through heredity.
>
> The only known case of someone gaining the ability to use ancient magic without normal wizarding heredity is the medieval wizard Merlin, who was born from the union of a Nightmare and a Muggle woman. This might be the direct reason he could use ancient magic.
Wait, what?
What kind of ridiculous history is this?
Merlin was half-human?
And he could still get into Slytherin House?
Well, considering Slytherin has a few half-blood students, this wild story suddenly doesn't seem so wild anymore...
Still, Cohen noticed a familiar word.
The child of a "Nightmare."
If this wild story is true...
This kind of magic is too demanding for humans, but it's just right for a Dementor.
The best way to know for sure is to test whether he can see the "spiral-shaped traces of magic" that the book talks about.
The fourth chapter was about the locations of the ancient magic guardians' ruins.
> Ancient magic often represents a destructive, powerful force that is difficult to control. Because it is full of mixed emotions extracted from countless lives, it can easily lose control. This power must be protected, so many wizards with a shred of conscience sealed this magic in various locations...
Cohen knew about this—playing video games had paid off. The main story of Hogwarts Legacy was the protagonist going around and looking for these places where ancient magical power was sealed. Most of them were already empty, with only one left deep beneath Hogwarts.
If that eighteenth-century protagonist from the game didn't take the evil route and keep it all to themselves...
It should still be somewhere deep beneath Hogwarts...
In that case, it'll just have to be a little gift for a certain power-hungry Dementor.
The evil path that the previous protagonist didn't take, Cohen was more than happy to walk.
The next few chapters were all about how to use and practice ancient magic, and there were even some personal anecdotes, as if the person who wrote the book was a master of ancient magic...
But when Cohen closed the book and tried to find the author, he saw a handwritten, cursive name on the cover.
Merlin Ambrosius.
A wild story is one thing, but they didn't even try to make the forgery look real. This book was clearly written in modern English, so how could it have been written by Merlin in the Middle Ages?
And the very first chapter is "The Difference Between Ancient and Modern Magic"...
But even if the system gave him a fake book, at least the location of the ancient magic ruins it listed should be correct. As for the practice methods and techniques, Cohen would just have to try them out once he confirmed he could see the "spiral-shaped traces of magic."
Now, the only thing to worry about is how to get deep into the Hogwarts dungeons to find it.
The dumb way would be for him to leave his body and just dig through the dirt to find it, but Cohen was too lazy to spend months on that. It would be even more mind-numbing than blowing up the school.
The smart way is to retrace the path of the "fifth-year protagonist" from the game, find another "Chamber of Secrets" in the school, and use it to get to the vault where the ancient magic is stored.
This will take Cohen some time, since he's mostly forgotten the location.
He only remembers that there was a spiral staircase on the way, but Hogwarts has an endless supply of cylindrical spiral staircases...
Maybe wandering around the castle for a few days will let him find a familiar spot and remember.
---
By the time Cohen returned to the common room, the Gryffindor students had already finished dinner and come back.
"Cohen, where did you go? I didn't see you, so I brought you some food," Harry said, pointing to the stew and steak he'd saved from the Great Hall. "Everyone's going on about how Umbridge finally showed her true monstrous colors... and some people are even guessing that Fudge is a shape-shifter, too..."
"And about the Dementors, the Ministry has already put out an announcement. The first and second pages of the evening paper are all about Umbridge being fired and the Dementors suddenly escaping from Azkaban." Hermione was still poring over the newspaper, as if trying to find something. Then, she let out a cold laugh. "Ha! You should hear this: 'Recently, the Ministry of Magic discovered that the Dementors of Azkaban were acting unusually, suspected to be the result of a subversive activity by the shape-shifter Dolores Umbridge, who was lurking inside the Ministry.' 'Recently'... Do they mean a month or two ago?"
"I'm more concerned about who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be," Ron said, scribbling nonsense in Trelawney's dream diary. "It can't be another Umbridge, can it? I mean, I hope the next professor isn't sent by the Ministry again... Do you think Professor Lupin could come back and teach for another year?"
"Not very likely," Cohen said. "Because of what Snape 'let slip,' everyone knows he's a werewolf now. Parents won't allow him to teach students."