Chapter 21: The Appointment Letter and the Curse
"Tap, tap, tap!"
The rhythmic tapping woke William from a deep sleep. He rubbed his face, and just as he was about to curse, he suddenly remembered he was no longer in Azkaban—there was no need to fit in with the group by swearing anymore.
Still drowsy, William walked toward the source of the sound.
It was a large, brown owl, perched outside the window and rhythmically tapping on the glass with its hard beak.
Seeing that William was awake, the visitor stopped, spread its wings, and let out a sound like a cooing hoot.
When the window was opened, this creature, so enormous it was almost unrecognizable as an owl, flew in, landed on the table, and began to rummage through the clutter of its own accord.
Before long, it found a small iron box and opened it—inside was a small portion of owl feed.
Because owls were nearly as numerous as wizards, every inn kept a small box in the rooms for them, but this particular guest was clearly making itself at home.
Without waiting for William's invitation, it began to eat on its own, extending a leg toward William as it did so.
A pale yellow letter was tied to it. William untied the letter. He had been about to say something, but the visitor seemed to have interrupted the usual procedure.
So, he could only unfold the envelope.
His address was written in emerald green ink. On the back of the letter, the wax seal was perfectly intact. A large capital 'H' was encircled by four animals—it was the Hogwarts crest.
This should be the appointment letter, but it was the kind with absolutely no collection value.
William thought with self-deprecation.
At this moment, aside from a lunatic, probably few people would be willing to receive this appointment letter. Otherwise, why would Hogwarts have gone all the way to Azkaban to find him?
Quickly breaking the wax seal, William pulled out several sheets of parchment from the envelope.
The first page was the letter.
Dear Mr. Li William,
We are pleased to inform you that your application for employment has been approved by the Hogwarts School Authority and the Ministry of Magic. (Did I really write that thing?)
Your appointment letter, along with allowances for your work attire, settling in, living expenses, and travel, are attached.
The new semester is scheduled to begin on September 1st. You are required to submit your textbook requirements and course schedule application for the new academic year one month in advance, as well as submit a report to the School Authority for your classroom and course funds for the new academic year.
We will notify students to purchase the new academic year's textbooks by sending a follow-up letter. If there are any other omissions, you may visit the Deputy Headmistress's Office for consultation on any Monday or Wednesday before August 1st.
Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall
On the second page was William's appointment letter.
It wasn't much different from a Muggle appointment letter. The only thing that concerned William was his position—on the paper, the line "Wizarding Self-Defense Studies" just didn't seem right, no matter how he looked at it.
Although the appointment letter stated it was a lifelong position, William felt there was a high probability he wouldn't be collecting a second year's salary.
Following that were miscellaneous items—a list of textbooks used by previous professors, the Ministry of Magic's teaching syllabus, the scope of the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams, important notes for the position, a suggested clothing list, and a series of other things he didn't need to worry about for the time being.
At the very end of the letter was a considerable sum of money—he wondered if it was meant as hazard pay.
Three hundred Galleons, and this was just the advance. His salary wasn't mentioned in the letter; it would most likely be discussed in person after he arrived at the school.
In any case, his only options as a professor were to go to Hogwarts or flee overseas. If he dared to go on strike, the Ministry of Magic would immediately issue a wanted notice for him.
'I became a professor just like that? Couldn't they have at least had a little ceremony?'
William stared at the letter before him, complaining internally. But the owl, having finished its box of feed, walked over and began to gently nibble at his fingers.
"What's wrong? Not enough to eat?"
William asked with a smile, but the owl immediately started pecking at the appointment letter again.
He subconsciously took another look and only then discovered that the appointment letter consisted of two pieces of parchment folded tightly together. At the very bottom, between the seals of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, there was a space that required a signature.
"Mail it back? Alright then."
William picked up the quill on the table and boldly signed his name. It wasn't the neatest signature, but it was legible.
Placing one copy of the appointment letter into an envelope from the table, he tied it to the owl's leg, then watched as his visitor spread its wings and flew up toward the sky.
[You have been cursed. A new Treasure Chest has been obtained.]
???
William was completely stunned—how did he suddenly get cursed?
Couldn't this broken system come with an instruction manual? Why did it keep popping up with new features from time to time?
He hoped the card this time would be a good one, preferably something that could dispel the curse directly.
With this hope in mind, William opened the Treasure Chest.
On the purple wooden chest, a massive eye suddenly opened. Then, a purple mist flowed out from the eye, coalescing in mid-air into three purple cards.
[Curse (Curse of Gangrene) Paralysis: You have been cursed by a wicked and powerful enemy. As this caster's magic power recovers, you will encounter one accident after another. These accidents will not directly claim your life, but you will eventually lose control of your body.
Duration: Permanent, until the caster dies.]
[Curse (Curse of Gangrene) Mind Loss: You have been cursed by a wicked and powerful enemy. As this caster's magic power recovers, you will encounter one accident after another. These accidents will not directly claim your life, but you will eventually lose all your memories.
Duration: Permanent, until the caster dies.]
[Curse (Curse of Gangrene) Fated Death: You have been cursed by a wicked and powerful enemy. As this caster's magic power recovers, you will encounter one accident after another. These accidents will not claim your life the first time, but you will eventually fall to the curse.
Duration: Permanent, until the caster dies.]
A difficult choice of one out of three now lay before William.
In other words, was it shit-flavored curry or curry-flavored shit?
The last card was an option he could ignore outright. After agonizing for a while, William chose the first option with grief and indignation.
He immediately opened his Inventory to check the card's information, hoping to get more details from the system.
It had already happened—if he had known beforehand, he would have preferred to obediently serve out his one-year sentence in Azkaban. But since the bet was lost, he could only think of a way to remedy the situation.
There was no use in blaming fate. Right now, minimizing the losses was of the utmost importance.
Curse of Gangrene: Extremely difficult to dispel, takes effect once a year, almost impossible to evade.
Just that simple sentence, nothing more.
Extremely difficult and almost impossible—the latter was obviously more terrifying, but "extremely difficult" alone described something that even Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard, couldn't remove in ten years.
Only one option remained. He had to find a way to escape the first year's death trap, and even if he couldn't, he had to reduce the damage to a minimum—like losing a leg.
Then, before the paralysis set in, he had to find a way to kill that Voldemort in the shortest time possible!
(end of chapter)