HP: The Boy who saw Magic

The oak door of the library closed gently behind the four of them, shutting out the noise of the corridor. Kevin took a deep breath, letting the smell of parchment and ink calm his nerves. Wesley couldn't wait to rush to the nearest empty table.

"Merlin's beard, this topic is too abstract!" Fabian pushed his glasses up and took a quill from his schoolbag. "'If magic is a kind of life, what does it want?' This is like a question in a philosophy class."

Ernesto pulled out a chair and sat down gracefully, his gray eyes gleaming with thought. "My father told me about a creature called Obscurus, which is like magic with life. Maybe it can be used as a reference."

"It doesn't count as a normal case. That's an extreme example. Let's check the bookshelf to see if there are any related theoretical books." Kevin stood up and walked towards the bookshelf.

Kevin's eyes swept across the bookshelf, and his gray-blue gaze stopped at the "Magic Theory" category. He noticed a heavy book with a gold-stamped spine, The Will of Magic: Thoughts of Ancient Alchemists. Just as he reached out to take it, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Looking for this?"

Kevin turned around and saw Cedric Diggory holding a copy of Dark Arts Defense Theory, a gentle smile on his face. Not far behind him, the Weasley twins were walking between the bookshelves, seemingly searching for something "interesting" to read.

"Are you also preparing for Professor Eisenberg's assignment? Let me guess. Your topic is not also 'If magic is a life, what does it want?'" Cedric asked, lowering his voice so as not to alarm Madam Pince.

Kevin nodded. "You too? This topic… is very special."

"Special? Crazy!" Fred came over at some point, holding a copy of Cooking Guide to Fantastic Beasts. "I'm going to write 'Magic wants to eat us.' How many points do you think I can get?"

"Zero points, plus a week of detention," George poked his head out from behind another bookshelf, holding a much more serious book, A Brief History of Magical Philosophy.

Kevin couldn't help but smile, but his thoughts quickly returned to the question, "What does magic want?" Professor Victor's question obviously meant something else. He thought of the strange runes that appeared on the rune stone, and the words "Nico was right."

"Kevin?" Fabian's voice brought him back to reality. "We found some information that might be useful."

Returning to the table, Kevin saw that his roommates had piled up a mountain of reference books. Ernesto was marking a thick ancient book, while Wesley was frowning as he read Introduction to Magical Energetics.

"I have an idea," Kevin said, flipping open The Will of Magic. "If magic really does have some kind of 'will' as the professor implies, then the ancient runes may be the key to understanding it."

Fabian's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Like the theory of 'material will' in alchemy?"

"That's right," Kevin nodded, secretly surprised at Fabian's sharpness. "Paracelsus once wrote that everything has a spirit, and magical energy is no exception."

As the discussion deepened, the four completely lost track of time. When Madam Pince began to urge the students to leave, they realized that curfew was approaching.

"We'll continue tomorrow," Ernesto closed the book carefully. "My father has a few books in his collection that might be helpful. I'll write and ask him to send them to me."

On the way back to the dormitory, the corridor of the castle was strangely quiet. The moonlight shone through the stained glass, casting mottled blue shadows on the ground.

"Do you feel," Wesley suddenly lowered his voice, "that Professor Eisenberg is a little… different?"

Fabian pushed up his glasses. "His teaching method is really special."

"It's not just the teaching method," Wesley shook his head. "Today in class, when he came close to me, I smelled a strange smell, like burnt cinnamon?"

Ernesto frowned. "Are you sure it's not the product of Fred and George's prank?"

"No!" Wesley insisted. "And his gloves… did you notice? The one on his left hand has strange patterns on the edge…"

Kevin's heart tightened. Under his True Eyes, those lines did emit ominous magical fluctuations. But before he could respond, a voice suddenly came from the shadows:

"Night travel is not a good habit."

The four of them turned around suddenly and almost bumped into Filch, who had appeared out of nowhere. The light from the administrator's oil lamp shone on his sunken face, making him look particularly gloomy.

"We just came back from the library, and it's not curfew yet, is it, sir?" Fabian quickly showed the note signed by Madam Pince.

Filch squinted his eyes and checked the note. He snorted reluctantly. "Go back to the dormitory! If you do it again, I will never let you go."

They left quickly before he could finish. After turning the corner, Wesley let out a long sigh. "Almost…"

"Shh!" Ernesto suddenly stopped him and pointed forward.

At the entrance of Ravenclaw Tower, a familiar figure was leaning against the wall. It was Professor Victor Eisenberg. Under the moonlight, his long golden hair glowed silver, and his black eye mask made him look even more mysterious.

"Mr. Hawthorne," his voice was soft but clearly heard by everyone, "could you come over here for a moment?"

Kevin's roommates looked at him with concern, but he nodded slightly to indicate that he was fine. Professor Victor turned and walked towards a fork in the road, and Kevin followed him, the two coming to a remote terrace.

"Before the meeting next Wednesday," the professor said straight to the point, "I want you to think about a question: Why can you see things that others can't see?"

Kevin's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Could it be that he knew about the Eye of Truth?

Victor didn't wait for his answer and continued, "Don't worry. Although your talent is rare, you are not the only one in the long history. Nicolas Flamel is very interested in your 'talent.' He believes… this may be the key to understanding the nature of magic."

"Do you know Mr. Flamel?" Kevin asked cautiously.

The professor raised his lips slightly. "We belong to the same research group." He took out a small silver instrument from his arms, which was shaped like a polyhedron constellation model. "Take this with you on Wednesday. It will… guide you."

Kevin took the instrument and immediately felt a warm flow of magic. In his True Eyes, the structure inside the instrument was incredibly complex, like a miniature magic array nested within itself.

"Go back now," Professor Victor turned and looked at the Black Lake in the distance. "Remember that magic is not a tool, but a partner. What it wants… maybe just to be truly understood."

"Also, use your talent well, but don't rely on it completely. It's not everything."

When Kevin returned to the common room, he found his three roommates waiting for him.

"Are you okay?" Fabian asked with concern.

Kevin shook his head and showed the silver instrument in his hand. "The professor just… gave me this."

Ernesto gasped. "That's… a memory constructor? The ancient books in my father's collection mentioned an advanced alchemical product that can store and reproduce memories!"

Wesley's eyes widened. "So Professor Eisenberg is…?"

"Probably an alchemist," Kevin whispered, "and far more complex than we thought."

Late at night, when all his roommates had fallen asleep, Kevin quietly took out the alchemy experiment notebook he had brought back from the abandoned classroom. Under the moonlight, he compared the structure of the silverware and found that the pattern drawn on the last page of the notebook was somewhat similar.

The faint handwriting on the parchment seemed to read: "Eye of Truth… See through appearances… Understand the essence…"

Kevin's heartbeat quickened. The 'Eye of Truth' described here seemed to be similar to his own 'Eye of Truth.' The mysterious alchemy chamber and the enigmatic professor, the meeting next Wednesday might solve more mysteries. But now, he needed to focus on the homework at hand. After all, understanding the "will" of magic might be the key to understanding everything.

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