Hearing the words "go to work," the voodoo doll's originally cheerful expression collapsed all of a sudden. It knew it. Where was there a free lunch in this world? A black-hearted fellow like Char, who would even exploit cursed things, how could he possibly let it eat so much flesh and blood for nothing? After just a moment of hesitation, the voodoo doll could only nod helplessly towards him. There was no way around it. Char gave so much.
Immediately, Char took out the guardian tree seed and had the voodoo doll cast a curse on it. The doll held one of his severed fingers in its mouth and started mumbling vaguely. In an instant, a cold and strange magic came out from it, coiling around the seed. But it hadn't even gotten close yet. The silver lines on the surface of the seed lit up slightly, and an invisible barrier appeared. The cursed magic emanating from the doll was impossible to get close to at all. And in his perception, he could still clearly perceive that the cursed magic was being annihilated.
This made him look surprised. After all, the nature of curse magic was extremely strange, and almost no magic could have a noticeable effect on it. Even the sacred magic that most wizards believed could restrain curses, in fact, most of the time, could only deal with fairly ordinary ones. When really encountering those powerful and strange curses, the effect of holy magic was also limited. And now, this guardian tree seed had an annihilation effect on curse magic. It could be said to be an extreme restraint. "As expected, it was the mutation seed that was spawned by the influence of the mythical Patronus Charm. The protective power revealed here is indeed far superior to that of the guardian tree of the past. No wonder even the cursed magic of the human-faced monster created by the existence of the temple on Delos couldn't cause any harm to me."
His eyes sparkled. "This is just the seed stage. If it grows to maturity, and the reward level is even upgraded to the highest legendary level, I'm afraid its protective power will also reach an incredible level. I'm afraid there are only a handful of dark wizards in the magical world who can break this layer of protection!" Thinking of this, he was naturally excited and expectant.
But soon, looking at the doll's curse and the slightly changed bonus sheen on the seed, his expression also became quite bitter. The scene before him indeed confirmed his previous guess. The conditions for increasing the reward level of this guardian tree seed were indeed to protect against dark magic. It was just that the voodoo doll in his hand, which had devoured his legendary flesh and blood, even if this process of feeding did not last long, in the magical world, it was also considered to be a quite powerful cursed object. But now, even with the doll using all its strength, the bonus luster on the seed fluctuated so slightly that it was almost imperceptible. If he hadn't been paying attention, it would probably be hard to notice that the epic luster had increased slightly. According to this progress, if he wanted to rely on the doll's curse to upgrade the reward level to legendary, he felt that even if he graduated from Hogwarts, he might not be able to wait until his seed was upgraded.
"Is there any way to speed up this process? Perhaps more and more powerful dark magic is needed?" After thinking for a moment, a place naturally emerged in his mind: the Room of Requirement. This was said to be where Hogwarts students had hidden contraband for thousands of years. Even Voldemort had hidden his Horcruxes in it. Certainly, he would not think of taking advantage of the Horcruxes. This thing was simply the definition of trouble, so it was better to stay away from it as far as possible. What's more, to use the seeds of the guardian tree to resist the dark magic on a Horcrux... no one could tell whether there would be any unexpected changes. Although the Horcrux crown left in Hogwarts did not carry the extremely powerful dark magic curse like the Resurrection Stone ring, the Horcrux itself was also synonymous with danger. In the original novel, Harry and his friends had almost fallen over the locket. In addition, there was the previous example of Quirrell, who had confidently gone to find Voldemort's remaining soul, thinking that he could subdue him, but had been killed instantly. Char didn't think he had the aura of a protagonist. There was no need to take such a risk. Let's leave the Horcrux to Harry in the future. But apart from that, maybe there was something else in the Room of Requirement?
Thinking of this, he also walked quickly towards the seventh floor of the castle. He walked with ease to the tapestry of the giant troll beating Barnabas with a club. Accompanied by the practice of Occlumency to clear away distracting thoughts, there was only one thought left in his mind. "I need a place to hide my stuff." Immediately, a smooth door emerged from the wall. When he opened the door and went in, a spectacular scene suddenly appeared before his eyes. It was exactly as described in the original book. Countless contraband items hidden by students over the past thousand years were piled up here like a mountain. There was a stale smell in the air.
At the beginning, he was also sensing the magic particles in the air with great interest, trying to find some dark magic items in here that could help the guardian tree seeds to upgrade their levels. But soon, he shook his head in disappointment. There were indeed dark magic items here, but most of them could only be said to be introductory products of dark magic. To give an analogy from his previous life, it was probably like a programmer just learning to write "Hello, World." In his view today, these were just some children's tricks, playing house. If he wanted, in a few days, he could use the dark magic of transfiguration to make a basket of items that were much more powerful than this. "Too... after all, the only people who hide things here are Hogwarts students. Unless it's a pervert like Voldemort, what kind of powerful magic can I learn? The things they thought they had to hide or they'd get expelled were actually just children's playthings. Not to mention that a lot of time has passed. The effectiveness of these items has been greatly weakened, and most of them have long since become useless." Even if a few students had really hidden something dangerous here, it had also passed with time. Either it was scrapped, or perhaps it had long since lost that dangerous characteristic. For example, he saw the iron cage that had appeared in the original work. Inside was the corpse of a young Quintaped. It still exuded a creepy feeling, but for him, it was completely useless.
"The most valuable thing in the entire Room of Requirement, besides this magical house itself, should be the Ravenclaw Diadem that Voldemort hid. As for the rest, even combined, they're probably not as good as the voodoo doll's curse for a few more days." He left the Room disappointed. If this place didn't work, was there any other place?
Right at this moment, a short figure appeared in his sight. Professor Flitwick was temporarily staying at Hogwarts because his travel plans had been disrupted by the previous storm. Now that the storm had passed, he seemed impatient to pack his suitcase, and he was holding his miniature, childish flying broom, getting ready for his summer plan to cross the Channel. When he saw Char, he greeted him cheerfully. "Char, I'm on the seventh floor, trying to find a perfect spot to take off. From now on, I will cross the Channel without stopping for a moment. You're an excellent pilot. How about you give me some guidance later?"
Char was stunned for a moment, then naturally nodded repeatedly. Professor Flitwick grew increasingly excited, reaching out to test the direction of the wind outside. "Almost there, almost there. The wind is about to change. I have to catch a ride." At this time, he seemed to have remembered something and said to him excitedly, "Oh, right, Char, have you read today's Daily Prophet? Big news!"
When Char was confused, Professor Flitwick pulled a copy of the paper from his belt, skipping right over the headlines that most of the time dogs wouldn't even read, and pointing to a report. His gaze also fell on it. "The Mosa Club has announced that it will hold the next Wizarding World Dueling Tournament ahead of schedule. The time is set for three years from now. The rewards are unprecedentedly generous and can fulfill any wish of the champion. This tournament uses an anonymous registration system. Regardless of identity or age, previous champions are also eligible to participate."
Char looked rather surprised. If he remembered correctly, according to Professor Flitwick, the next tournament would be at least seven or eight years later. Why was it suddenly ahead of schedule? And the reward was of a type that rarely appeared? Professor Flitwick was delighted by this. "That's great news for me. If it's another seven or eight years, my old bones might start to crack. But three years later, I feel like I'm still in my prime. Let's see, maybe I can win the double championship. Then I will have to ask the Mosa Club to make me a gold belt. You know, those gold belts you get in Muggle boxing. Just to tell you, I love watching boxing matches, especially that boxer named Ali. His footwork is as fluttering as a butterfly. He's almost fifty percent as good as I was in a duel!"
Right at this moment, the wind direction suddenly changed. This also interrupted his chatter. "Is the wind favorable? Then I really should set off now. See you next semester then." Immediately, he struggled to climb onto his child's broom and jumped straight off the windowsill. "Wahoo! Take off!"
Char watched his swaying figure. Some doubts arose in his mind. The professor's flying skills seemed quite worrying. Come to think of it, at that time, based on his height, even in Ravenclaw House, there was probably no chance of joining the Quidditch team. Could he really accomplish his plan of crossing the Channel? But soon, he suppressed such worries in his heart. After all, in the original book, Professor Flitwick had never had any accidents. Moreover, a master of spells had a hundred ways to deal with any unexpected situation. He shouldn't need to worry about anything. Instead, it was the news he had just mentioned that made him feel a little strange. The Mosa Club had suddenly decided to hold the tournament ahead of schedule? He glanced at the time on the Daily Prophet. Including submission, printing, etc., it seemed that the time when this decision had been made coincided with the time when he had survived the lightning. Although this was just his subconscious feeling, for the sixth sense that had given him warnings many times, he still chose to believe. Perhaps an uncharacteristic move by the Mosa Club... there really was some connection between this and what he had done before. Otherwise, it would be impossible that something like a duel competition was not mentioned in the original book, right?
At the same time, he also inexplicably thought of the formal qualification examination held by the International Herbology Association. The venue had been temporarily changed from Paris to London. Such a hasty decision had been incomprehensible to even a master of herbology like Professor Sprout, who had exclaimed that such a thing had never happened in previous years. It seemed a bit unpredictable. Thoughts flashed through his mind. He shook his head gently. The waters of the magical world were indeed much deeper than in the original novel. But what exactly was behind this? There was no point in just daydreaming here. Improve himself. There would always be more confidence to deal with various unexpected situations. Let's think of another way. See if we can quickly raise the level of this guardian tree seed. Even if it couldn't reach the legendary level, if it could make the minimum guarantee reach epic level, then he could use the ancient ashes on hand to ripen it. Even though it would be difficult to make it fully mature, the protective effect it brought alone would be enough to make him ignore most dark magic.
But this question brought him back to where he could get large quantities of things that came with powerful dark magic. He thought about it carefully. The things in the original work that had left a deep impression on him were just those few. The Basilisk, a product of dark magic, was definitely one of them. But the risks were a bit too high. Not to mention that it was the key to the second year of the original story. He didn't want to tear the original plot apart so early. After all, it would definitely be deviated, just like the Philosopher's Stone. But any reference was better than no reference. And except for the Basilisk, any powerful dark magic he could know of... either it was the curse on the Resurrection Stone ring, or the large number of Inferi in the locket cave. But these were, without exception, all about Horcruxes. He didn't want to get involved in this mess. "Except for these, is there nothing else—" In a time of deep thought and contemplation, a gust of wind blew by. It flipped the Daily Prophet in his hand, making a loud noise, and revealed the front-page headlines that even dogs wouldn't read. His gaze was subconsciously drawn over.
What caught his eye was the sanctimonious look of the old fox Fudge at a press conference. Without a doubt, this was a report produced for political propaganda purposes. Professor Flitwick hadn't even glanced at it. It was indeed the old wizard's accurate judgment of the nature of the paper. Char didn't care at first, but after a closer look, he was somewhat surprised by the content of the report. "To ensure the safety of all citizens of the British wizarding community—to ensure that people's lives are not poisoned by dangerous objects and creatures—I, Fudge, declare that the Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will jointly investigate every corner of the wizarding world and search for any place where dark magic items may exist. The public is welcome to provide clues—" This was a declaration that dark magic items would be strictly checked and confiscated.
In his mind, the events of that summer vacation mentioned in the original book immediately came to mind. Mr. Weasley, who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, had been working overtime that summer. Lucius Malfoy had had to go to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley and sell a large number of his family's dark magic items to Borgin. It all seemed to be connected. It must have been because of the action announced by Fudge. But compared with the original, this time, Fudge seemed to have launched the attack earlier. As for the reason, Char chuckled. Due to the previous disappearances, there was no doubt that the people in the magical community were feeling insecure. At this time, Fudge did this to naturally increase his support rate. Such a thing would undoubtedly offend the pure-blood families that possessed the largest collections of dark magic items. It was hard, tiring, and offended people. Naturally, it was left to the Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, who were responsible for this. A conspiracy that killed two birds with one stone. He was afraid the Auror Office and the Department would be fooled by Fudge again. If old Fudge had had half the skill he had in political maneuvering during the war, he wouldn't have been nailed to the pillar of shame in the original book.
But now, he didn't care about the struggles and undercurrents within the Ministry of Magic. What he cared about was the impact that this incident itself would have on him. As thoughts turned, his eyes gradually brightened. Yes. If you wanted to know where there were the most dark magic items, that must have been in the collections of various pure-blood families. Last time alone, the Malfoy family had given him dozens of cursed jewels. It was conceivable how many dark magic items there were in their family. As for other pure-blood families, even if they were not as powerful as the Malfoys now, whose ancestors hadn't been rich? The Gaunt family had been able to dig out a Resurrection Stone back then. It wasn't surprising that something came from these old families. If he wanted to obtain a large number of dark magic items to upgrade the level of the guardian tree seeds, then now, while all the pure-blood families had to deal with this kind of contraband, was undoubtedly a good opportunity. After thinking for a moment, he returned to the small greenhouse, picked up his pen, and wrote a letter to the Malfoy family.
At the same time, because of today's Daily Prophet, the Malfoy family was in a state of chaos. Lucius Malfoy was frantically directing his house-elves. All the dark magic items that his family had treasured for many years were quickly taken out and counted. Some extremely secret and special ones he had to handle himself. This made him, who was always keen on maintaining his aristocratic demeanor, grit his teeth. "Damn it. Your Ministry of Magic is fighting among itself. Why are you involving us?" From now on, the entire summer vacation, maybe people from the Ministry would come to check often. Calculating the time left for him to deal with these prohibited items, there wasn't much left. In a hurry, he hurried to Knockturn Alley. With his brain, of course he could foresee it. All the pure-blood families should be hurriedly preparing to deal with various dark magic items now. The sooner you acted, the better the price. Don't think that he was extremely generous when it came to spending money. The last time he had helped Char, he had gotten dozens of cursed jewels in the blink of an eye, and those valuable Dittany seeds had also been given to him on the spur of the moment. But he could manage such a large family business. It was naturally impossible without a miserly character. Otherwise, in the original book, after the Firebolt had come out, Draco had almost gone crazy with greed. With the Malfoys' financial resources, buying a Firebolt was not a problem. If he had really spent money that lavishly, there was no way he wouldn't have bought it for him. So to some extent, Lucius was still "thrifty and frugal."
Only after arriving at Borgin and Burkes, Borgin's reception of him was completely different from the smooth and flattering appearance in the original book. He seemed to be certain that in such a short time, he was the only one who had the ability to finish the Malfoy family's collection. He lightly picked up a list that Lucius had brought. Borgin coughed. "A piece of tattered and dirty human skin, weathered by hundreds of years, for thirteen silver Sickles and twenty-four copper Knuts. This tattered porcelain tea set, made of eighteen pieces of crafts, can brew fishy, smelly black water, ruining good tea. It's useless. Price: one gold Galleon."
Lucius looked at him, his face suddenly turning dark. He gritted his teeth. "What do you mean? So low a price?"
Borgin grinned, showing his blackened teeth. "Mr. Malfoy, that's not the case. Borgin and Burkes is a trustworthy company. These things of yours are indeed priced at this price. If you think it's inappropriate—" He sneered. "Why not just hide it at home? Or we can go to the wilderness and find a place to bury it. But I bet the Aurors have a thousand ways to find them. By then, tsk tsk, I imagine there will be quite a few of your old friends waiting in Azkaban."
Hearing the word Azkaban, Lucius's face turned pale. This was indeed what he was most worried about. That wasn't a place for human beings to stay. Those crazy Death Eaters who had followed Voldemort were willing to go to Azkaban. He didn't want to. For a while, he was furious. But it was obvious that Borgin and Burkes were going to take advantage of the situation. He had no choice. He could only comfort himself secretly in his heart. Just some collectibles anyway. Just give it away. Just think of it as losing money to avoid disaster.
Borgin naturally saw every change in his expression. A hint of pride flashed in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he was really grateful to the Ministry of Magic. This allowed him to receive a lot of treasures at such a low price. As for the Ministry's inspection, he was not afraid at all. The shop had been open in Knockturn Alley for many years. He certainly had a trump card. He guaranteed that even if Mad-Eye Moody came, he wouldn't even think about finding any trace of prohibited items. Now, he just had to wait for Lucius Malfoy to give in. He could make a fortune himself.
Right at this moment, the crystal ball that Lucius carried with him began to feel hot. He quickly stepped aside, carefully blocking Borgin's sight. He looked into it. On the other side, Draco Malfoy spoke hurriedly. "Father, Char has a letter." Then, the handwriting of the letter appeared in the crystal ball. After seeing the content, his spirits suddenly lifted. The letter had actually asked him whether the Ministry's actions would cause trouble for their family. If necessary, he could help get rid of those dark magic items. Seeing this letter at this moment, Lucius felt like a huge stone had been lifted from his heart. Borgin and Burkes was indeed a shop that had been in Knockturn Alley for many years. There must have been some tricks. However, compared to Char, who had been able to use some strange dark magic to make the Marcus family disappear in the North Sea without even being tracked down by the Ministry, that was not on the same level. Heh heh. Char was able to possess such powerful dark magic in Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's nose. How could Borgin compare to this level of accomplishment? Since he was willing to help, then why should he let Borgin slaughter him? Lucius was even more filled with emotion. No wonder people said that Hufflepuffs were honest. Look, look! Char had just seen the report and had taken the initiative to come and help me. What a nice little badger!
So the next moment, after he put away the crystal ball, he strode up to Borgin and took the list back. The confident smile on Borgin's face suddenly froze. "Mr. Malfoy, what do you mean?"
Lucius glanced at him and sneered. "Not interesting. I just won't sell it to you." Finished, he left Knockturn Alley, leaving behind Borgin and Burkes with a look of astonishment on their faces. Look at this. Someone bid higher than me. Intercepted? But a moment later, a hint of sarcasm showed on his face. He dared to lower the price so much. Of course, he had his support. After all, dealing with dark magic items was time-consuming and tiring. To retain most of the item's functionality while removing any dark magic from it... this was a very difficult thing. He dared to say that in the entire British wizarding world, he was the only one who had the means to dispose of so many items in such a short time. Only he could prevent the Aurors of the Ministry from finding any trace. Lucius might now feel that he had found someone else, but Borgin was sure that it wouldn't be long before he discovered that their family had too many items to deal with. He would come again. "Only until then... but it's not that price. As for that colleague who wanted to steal my business—" He narrowed his eyes and sneered. "I haven't come across such an idiot in years." He slowly returned to the store, stroking something covered in black cloth that looked like a statue. There was a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. "Wait until this busy period is over. Be good to him and teach him a lesson he will never forget." Accompanied by his movements, behind this statue covered with black cloth, the shadows cast by the light, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but it seemed like a living thing, moving slightly.
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