MTLNOVEL Chapter 166: Back Home
The moment Cael stumbled through the fireplace of his home, his entire body slumped against the wall, his knees nearly buckling under him. His heart thundered in his chest, pounding so hard it felt like it might crack his ribs from the inside.
Then it hit him.
He had done it.
His face lit up, flushed crimson with exhilaration as he staggered to the center of the room, breathing heavily, still gripping the stolen object—a relic shimmering faintly in his hand.
"Oh shit… oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, OH SHIT—!" His voice grew louder with every word, echoing through the house. His occlumency, usually blanketing his emotions like a heavy fog, melted away, letting the pure, raw adrenaline flood through him.
He threw his head back, laughing breathlessly as he paced the dusty floorboards. His entire body buzzed, his hands trembling—not with fear, but with the wild, impossible rush of victory.
"I just escaped…" He paused, panting, eyes wide as he leaned against the doorframe. "I just escaped a dozen Aurors…" His mind replayed the scene in the Ministry: spellfire lighting up the corridors, shouts of alarm, the heavy stomp of boots chasing after him.
"And I—" He laughed again, half-crazed from the adrenaline, "I just ran away from Mad-Eye Moody. Moody! One of the most dangerous, paranoid, bloody insane Aurors the Ministry has ever seen!"
Cael stumbled backward, collapsing onto the newly bought couch in the sitting room, kicking up . His entire body vibrated, every nerve alight. He couldn't sit still. He shot to his feet again, pacing circles around the room, hands running through his messy black hair.
"This can't be real… No way… There's no way I pulled that off."
The disbelief clung to him like fog, but the proof was heavy in his pocket—the relic, the stolen Door Key from the Department of Mysteries. The impossible mission completed.
He shook his head, pacing faster, nearly slipping on the floorboards in his socks. "I shouldn't have been able to do that. Not me. Not… the me I was before." His mind flickered to his previous life—the ordinary, average boy he had been. A boy with no courage, no boldness, no magic.
And yet… here he was.
He exhaled, slowing his steps, finally forcing himself to sit down. The flush of excitement was still warm in his cheeks, but slowly, reality settled in.
The Door Key.
He pulled it from his pocket, setting it carefully on the old table. The relic was small, metallic, inscribed with complex runes that glowed faintly under the dim lamplight. He turned it over in his hands, running his fingers along the carvings. It hummed faintly beneath his touch, but it didn't react—didn't activate.
Frowning, Cael pressed it again, whispered a spell or two, tried to nudge it magically—but nothing happened. It was dormant, locked.
A familiar chime echoed in his mind—the voice of his system cutting through his thoughts.
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully completed your mission: Retrieve the Door Key from the Department of Mysteries.]
Cael rolled his eyes, leaning back. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. But what good is it if it's basically a fancy paperweight? Can you help me activate it?"
[No, Activation requires specific knowledge. I recommend you Study your mother's research. The relic is ancient; so activating it requires mastery in runes, forgotten languages, and historical magic.]
"Figures…" Cael muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "Nothing's ever simple."
The system continued, its tone was very calm . [ I Suggested a few tasks for you One—Review all notes and journals left by your mother . Two—Begin advanced studies in runes and Latin. Latin was primary among magical scholars 1,600 years ago, it's very essential for deciphering the relic's mechanisms.]
Cael groaned softly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His mother's journals. There were dozens of them, left hidden in the underground study beneath the house. His next few months were about to be filled with endless research, translation, and study.
"Months," he muttered. "Weeks if I'm lucky… months more likely." He sighed heavily, pushing his hair out of his face.
Still, as much as the work ahead overwhelmed him, he couldn't deny the thrill in his chest. This—this was the first real step in uncovering the legacy his mother had died to protect. The beginning of unlocking the ancient history hidden beneath the magical world's surface.
He smirked to himself. Hogwarts' library—nearly a thousand years old—would be his next battlefield. If there were any clues left by the Founders, he'd find them.
But for now, he needed to catch his breath.
The next morning, Cael ordered a copy of the Daily Prophet, eager to see how much chaos his stunt had caused.
The headlines did not disappoint.
"INTRUDER INFILTRATES MINISTRY—Department of Mysteries Breached!"
He snorted, reading the bold print. The article painted the picture dramatically—a masked, unidentified infiltrator had bypassed security, infiltrated the Department of Mysteries, and escaped unharmed, despite facing multiple Aurors.
The piece was scathing toward the Ministry, with scorn aimed at Minister Fudge for his "ongoing incompetence" in protecting sensitive magical facilities. Even the Auror Department came under fire for allowing the suspect to slip away under their noses.
Cael's grin widened as he scanned the lines.
Another article detailed Julian Travers—the man whose identity Cael had borrowed.
"Ministry Official Abducted—Travers Interrogated, Cleared of Charges."
Apparently, Travers had been kidnapped and impersonated, though he had no memory of the incident, thanks to Cael's careful stunning spell. The Ministry interrogators had even used Veritaserum, and Travers had truthfully claimed ignorance of the theft.
"Poor man ," Cael muttered, smirking to himself. "Well, he's pure-blood. He'll land on his feet."
Indeed, the article reported that while Travers had been fired from the Department of Mysteries for the security breach, he'd likely find work elsewhere, thanks to his family name.
Setting the paper aside, Cael pulled out parchment and ink, scribbling letters to his friends: the Weasley twins, Hermione, Cassandra, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, and others. Light, friendly notes—no mention of Ministry break-ins, of course.
With the letters done, he descended to the underground study—the hidden lab his mother had once used. The place was dark, musty, littered with books, scrolls, and aged parchment.
Cael set to work immediately, organizing the research, cleaning away years of dust and neglect, turning the underground space into a proper laboratory once more.
Hours passed as he poured through journal after journal, his mother's neat handwriting filling page after page. There were notes on runes, cryptic translations, sketches of ancient artifacts. Latin phrases filled the margins—much of which Cael couldn't yet understand.
His eyes burned from the hours of reading, but determination kept him locked in place. This was his mother's legacy. Hidden truths, buried power, lost history—it was all here, waiting to be uncovered.
Weeks passed like this. Cael split his time between the house, Diagon Alley for supplies, and the underground study. Potions brewed in the corner, runes etched into stone, books piled high as he devoured every scrap of knowledge.
The Door Key remained dormant on his desk—a constant reminder of the mission ahead. But slowly, piece by piece, the puzzle started to make sense.
He knew it would take time—months, maybe longer—but Cael was ready. The first battle had been won. The war for the legacy had only just begun.
And as he looked toward the coming school year, toward the ancient halls of Hogwarts, he promised himself—he would find the answers, no matter how long it took.