Night Excursion to the Restricted Section

At the far end of the Pensieve chamber, an entire wall was like a mirror.
This mirror was enchanted; it did not reflect the scene behind Wizette but instead revealed a dilapidated staircase.
Wizette habitually cast the spell *Ancient Magic: Self-Sculpting (Demonic Net Weave)*, and after a simple check, he passed through this mirror, entering the dilapidated staircase.
Compared to the storeroom, which remained clean, this staircase was clearly not maintained.
The stone steps leading upwards were damaged in many places, broken bricks lay scattered across the floor, a thick layer of dust covered the ground, and the ceiling was heavily draped with cobwebs.
Wizette looked down at the ground; with just two steps, dust on the floor rose into the air.
He feared that a few more steps would create a "cloud of dust" effect.
He ascended the damaged stone steps, and out of consideration for stealth, he did not sweep away the dust in the staircase.
Before pushing open the door to leave the staircase, he casually cast a mending charm, erasing his footprints on the ground, trying to keep everything in its original state.
Wizette suddenly had an idea: perhaps the guards who entered the staircase all had similar thoughts, which was why the dust in the staircase continued to accumulate.
Outside the staircase, there was also a spiral staircase leading upwards, at the very top of which stood a towering statue, with flickering flames dancing upon it, casting a brilliant golden light.
On either side of the spiral staircase, occasional candelabras appeared, also bearing dancing flames.
"The candles don't diminish, nor do they produce wax..." Wizette also developed a keen interest in these candelabras.
"If these places are rarely visited... and the flames never extinguish, then it must be a type of magical fire... How interesting!"
"How exactly is an eternal flame maintained? What magic is employed? What are the incantations and wand movements? Perhaps it's a Magical Ritual? Or are the candelabras Magical Artifacts..."
In that instant, many ideas sparked in his mind.
He reached into his pocket, confirming that the newly acquired notebook was still there.
With the notebook in hand, returning to the Pensieve chamber would still be relatively easy; he could come back then to study these magical flames.
Ascending the spiral staircase, Wizette now discovered that the statue's design was truly unique, depicting four human-faced mountain goats with their tails joined.
He gently pushed open the door at the top of the spiral staircase, entering a room also covered in dust and cobwebs;
Bookshelves and cabinets of various styles lined the walls, and grotesque masks hung on the walls;
Books piled high on the shelves, and several stacks of books on the floor were covered in cobwebs;
On the opposite mahogany bookshelf, there was a transparent cage, inside which a taxidermied bat hung upside down;
Many books were displayed here, among them a precarious stack almost reaching the ceiling;
Directly above the mahogany cabinet, there was also a portrait of a figure, depicting a wizard in a red pointed hat, constantly nodding as if dozing off.
Wizette slowed his steps, tiptoeing away from the portrait, to avoid waking the wizard in the painting and causing any commotion.
This was clearly a cluttered room; the pathways on either side were a bit narrow, and all sorts of objects could be seen at random.
Not only were there rusted, mottled suits of armor, dusty porcelain, globe models, desk lamps, telescopes, but even wooden mechanisms resembling torture devices...
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It wasn't until Wizette pushed open another door that he truly understood which area of Hogwarts he was in.
"This place turns out to be the Restricted Section... That Pensieve chamber, to be able to enter here, is truly excellent!"
A smile couldn't help but appear on his face; if this was the case, he would have to make frequent night excursions.
Wizette rarely entered the Restricted Section; the atmosphere here was a bit peculiar, with all sorts of mixed scents.
It smelled somewhat like rusted bronze, somewhat like congealed blood, somewhat like mossy earth, and even a bit like burnt eggs...
Compared to the books in the public sections outside, the books in the Restricted Section were clearly less docile.
Some cabinets, rather than being called bookshelves, might be more appropriately called prison cells; inside, the books, like gladiators, constantly bumped against the shelves, yearning for freedom.
Then there were even fiercer books, which needed to be chained and tightly secured to the shelves.
Despite this, these books did not give up struggling; the bookshelves constantly vibrated, emitting rattling sounds.
*Ultimate Dark Magic* *Exploring Supreme Dark Arts* *Potent Potions* *Untold History of Magic* *New Mysteries in the Darkness: The Rise of the Dark Wizard*...
*Unleashing the Self, Within It Zuo Ming Ke Ru Ni Wen* *Hollow Out His Head, Harvest Sweet Pain* *Merlin Ambrosius Once Said*...
In the Restricted Section, a large portion of books were closely related to Dark Magic.
Like that book *Ultimate Dark Magic*, Wizette held it in his hand and could clearly feel a strange sensation.
The cover material seemed to be human skin, abnormally cold yet one could feel a pulsing, the kind of pulsing of blood flowing through veins...
In this book *Ultimate Dark Magic*, he saw two familiar Dark Arts spells — Stupefy and the Gallows Echo Charm.
Having it in hand, Wizette had no reason to put this book down.
He suppressed the discomfort in his heart, read through the entire *Ultimate Dark Magic*, and only after confirming that the corresponding knowledge had appeared in his mind did he place it back on the shelf.
All the books that didn't need to be unchained and could be taken out to read, he absorbed and organized entirely in his mind, gaining a rich harvest.
Besides books related to Dark Magic, there were also some books related to Magical Creatures, which gave Wizette a sense of broadened horizons.
Compared to modern wizards, ancient wizards' exploration of the Wizarding World was clearly more frantic.
They not only observed Magical Creatures to study magic but also directly researched magic with Magical Creatures;
Wizards, through some sudden inspirations, combined themselves with Magical Creatures, thereby quickly acquiring certain magical talents.
This type of combination could involve performing Magical Rituals to seize the magical talents of Magical Creatures;
Or by more brutal methods of combination, so that descendants could acquire certain magical talents.
And books sharing related experiences could be found at will in the Restricted Section.
In truth, the success rate of this type of research was not high; only a few wizards could achieve their goals, while more wizards would lose themselves, thereby giving rise to new Magical Creatures.
Some of these Magical Creatures were merely ephemeral, leaving behind a mythological tale for Muggles, while if they could reproduce and survive, they would become new species of Magical Creatures, like the Sphinx.
Wizette increasingly understood the meaning of the Restricted Section's existence; some books were indeed not suitable for reading too early, as one could easily be influenced by certain ideas, leading to frantic actions...