In LOTR with Hogwarts Sign-In System!

The Dittany had finally matured! Kael looked at the two tall, vibrant plants but felt no pang of pity. He pulled out his cleavers and, with two decisive strokes, severed both Dittany plants at their roots.

He set up a small cauldron, roughly chopped the Dittany into manageable pieces, and began to steam them. Once the Dittany was thoroughly cooked, Kael extinguished the fire and filtered out the fibrous residue with a cloth, leaving only the concentrated juice. He then reboiled it until the liquid evaporated, leaving a thick, verdant extract at the bottom of the cauldron.

This was it: the wizarding world's essential Potion, the Essence of Dittany. It was renowned as the only Potion that didn't require a wand for stirring and was simple to create. Yet, its healing effect was remarkably potent, capable of mending most injuries, save those inflicted by Dark Arts.

Kael packed the Essence of Dittany into two jars, one large and one small. He kept the larger jar for himself, a precious reserve for future contingencies. The smaller one he intended for Drogo Baggins, a token of gratitude for his generous hospitality.

Drogo looked at the potent ointment in the jar, his brow furrowed with surprise and curiosity. "Kael, what is this?"

"This is a Potion I've made," Kael explained. "It can heal wounds. I'm giving it to you for emergencies." To demonstrate, he retrieved his pet mouse from its cage. With a small knife, he made a shallow cut on its body. The mouse immediately began to bleed profusely, letting out a series of distressed squeaks.

Drogo gasped, staring at Kael as if he were performing some dark magic. However, his shock turned to utter disbelief as Kael applied a tiny dab of the green extract to the wound. Before his very eyes, the cut sealed, and the bleeding ceased, healing at a visible rate. Drogo was left dumbfounded. This was nothing short of a miracle!

He looked at the jar of Potion in his hand, feeling it instantly become impossibly heavy. "Kael, this... this is too valuable! I cannot accept it." Drogo swallowed hard, refusing with genuine difficulty. He wasn't ignorant; such a divine Potion, capable of rapid healing, was worth a fortune.

Kael smiled, shaking his head, and gently placed the Potion jar back into Drogo's hand. "No need for formalities, Drogo. This is my gift of gratitude. Besides, making this Potion is not difficult for me. Please, accept it."

Drogo finally relented, accepting the Essence of Dittany at Kael's insistence. Their bond deepened further, forged by this act of profound generosity. With the Essence of Dittany now in his possession, Kael felt an added layer of security, bolstering his confidence.

For the next while, Kael made frequent trips to the Old Forest. He never ventured deep, staying strictly on the outskirts. He would engage the sentient trees in skirmishes, gathering a few more branches, then retreat without lingering. What made Kael tirelessly repeat these expeditions was the remarkable rate at which his magic and combat skills improved through continuous sparring with the trees of the Old Forest.

In these highly focused battles, not only did his control over raw magic strengthen, but he also gained invaluable practical experience with the spells he had learned from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, Jokes, Jinxes & Pranks, and Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. Each spell's effect proved strikingly noticeable. Of course, during these heated exchanges with the Old Forest, injuries were inevitable. But with the rapid healing power of the Essence of Dittany, he was reinvigorated, ready to challenge the trees once more the very next day.

Kael treated the sentient trees of the Old Forest as his personal training ground, utterly unaware that they harbored a simmering, vengeful resentment, silently plotting his demise.

Kael had been in Bucklebury for two months, the longest he had stayed anywhere apart from Hobbiton. Following his personal rule of exploring nearby areas, Kael decided it was time to venture deeper into the Old Forest for another sign-in attempt. Moreover, the branches he had gathered from the Old Forest over the past weeks amounted to dozens of types, including ash, poplar, cypress, holly, redwood, and more. But while these woods seemed suitable for making wands, they all shared a peculiar sensation of magic obstruction, clearly not matching his unique magical signature. He needed to go deeper to find the right wand wood for him.

Thus, after making preparations and bidding farewell to Drogo, Kael ventured alone through the High Hay, once again stepping into the Old Forest.

As soon as he entered, Kael felt an immediate unease. This time, the Old Forest was unnervingly quiet. It was completely unlike his previous visits, where it would furiously attack him on sight. An unnatural stillness settled upon the forest, a stark contrast to its usual belligerence. This silence felt wrong, ominous. Kael heightened his senses, remaining vigilant, but he didn't retreat.

He continued to walk deeper into the forest, but the system still remained silent. This made Kael doubt whether the Old Forest was a sign-in location or if he needed to reach its heart for the system to activate. He pressed on for some distance, and soon, a distinct path materialized before him. It appeared abruptly, as if recently cleared, the trees on either side of the path parting, forming unnaturally neat, vertical walls.

Kael eyed the surrounding trees warily. The malice emanating from them was palpable, and he had to concentrate fully to guard against their sudden attacks. As soon as he stepped onto the newly formed path, the trees quickly closed in behind him, forming dense, impassable walls of wood that completely blocked his retreat.

At the same time, the surrounding trees launched a frantic assault. Thick branches lashed out, and gnarled roots burst from the ground, attempting to ensnare or impale him.

"Protego!"

"Leg-Locker Curse!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Kael immediately cast a defensive charm, then used the Leg-Locker Curse to bind the tree roots, following up with a Petrificus Totalus to immobilize the attacking trees. Having sparred with these trees for so long, Kael was intimately familiar with their attack patterns, responding with practiced ease. He even managed to snatch a few new types of wood from the immobilized trees.

But what gradually unsettled Kael was the sheer number of trees swarming from all directions. They pressed in relentlessly, leaving him no escape route, only the narrow path leading deeper into the forest's heart. Kael had no choice; rather than exhaust himself battling countless trees, he was forced to follow the path deeper into the forest. He understood that the trees intended to force him to their core, which was why they had created this ominous path.

If it were anyone else, they might have hesitated. But Kael knew what lay in the deepest part of the Old Forest, and so, without hesitation, he followed the path. Behind him, the path was quickly reoccupied by the closing trees, slowly disappearing, as if it had never existed.

Under the trees' persistent encirclement and pursuit, Kael ran until nightfall. The mist in the forest, coupled with the increasingly dense canopy, completely blocked out the moonlight. Kael had no choice but to cast a Wand-Lighting Charm just to see the ground before him.

Gasping for breath, Kael finally emerged from the suffocating embrace of the forest and arrived in a clearing. There were no tall, dense trees here, only low shrubs and a wide expanse of grassland. A small river snaked through the valley, and a towering, ancient Willow stood prominently by its bank.

This tree, Old Man Willow, was terrifyingly immense. It was taller and more vast than any other tree in the forest, its branches like slender, gray arms, crisscrossing and reaching towards the sky. Its twisted, gnarled trunk was interspersed with huge cracks, like a monstrous, grinning mouth, emitting faint creaking sounds with the movement of its branches.

***

(End of Chapter)

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