Chapter 181: Forbidden Books and Curses

The next morning, Wade read about the fire in Little Hangleton Village in the Daily Prophet. 

The article speculated that a dark wizard was conducting a sinister experiment, which had burned down an abandoned vagrant's shack. The Ministry of Magic detected traces of Fiendfyre at the scene.

Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident.

The article made no mention that this was the former Gaunt family house, let alone that the family was notable for being descendants of Salazar Slytherin. 

Whether this omission was due to a perceived lack of relevance or simply because the younger Ministry employees no longer knew the shack's true origins, Wade wasn't sure.

But Wade was certain that Dumbledore wouldn't overlook this fact.

He glanced toward the breakfast table, where the elderly headmaster was recommending the lamb chops to Professor Flitwick, and there was a thick stack of newspapers beside him.

Wade lowered his eyes and picked up another newspaper.

This one was published by Muggles, and was sent to him specifically by his dad. The article featured a clear aerial photograph of the site: the flames had burned a perfect circle in the woods, leaving nothing but charred earth within, while the area just outside the circle remained untouched.

The newspaper described the event in a sensational tone, concluding with a mysterious suggestion that the burned area might have been left by an alien spacecraft landing.

Meanwhile, another paper's author speculated that this was a precision weapon test conducted by a foreign nation and proceeded to launch a full-blown critique of Britain's defense, military, technology, and bureaucracy, claiming the country was on the verge of collapse.

Wade: "..."

He couldn't help but chuckle softly and set the newspapers aside.

Breakfast was porridge again.

The house-elves had finely minced the meat and vegetables to ensure he could swallow everything easily without the need to chew.

While the porridge looked a bit unappealing, the elves had thoughtfully sprinkled a fine layer of minced parsley and sesame seeds on top, making it look much more appetizing.

The Great Hall was quieter than usual, as most students hurriedly finished their breakfast and rushed out. The maze had reopened today, and many students had even skipped breakfast to queue up early.

After finishing his meal, Wade went to the library, as he did every morning, to borrow and return books. 

Thanks to Lockhart, he could now easily borrow any book he wanted from the Restricted Section, and each time he did, he would hear Madam Pince complaining about Lockhart's overly relaxed policies.

Wade suspected that the librarian had figured out what was going on—particularly the real source of his permission slips. But Madam Pince never commented; as long as he presented a signed slip, she would allow him to borrow any book he wanted.

Though she often complained, Madam Pince never questioned the authenticity of the permission slips nor confronted Professor Lockhart about them.

Wade wasn't sure if she treated every student this way or if he was receiving some sort of special treatment.

He didn't dwell on it, and simply brought the books back to the umbrella room, where he eagerly absorbed all sorts of knowledge. Lately, he had spent a significant amount of time studying curses.

Voldemort was an expert in curses; even Dumbledore couldn't break the curse he cast on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.

To stand a chance against Voldemort, Wade knew he couldn't afford to be ignorant about curses. Without Harry's blood magic protection, anyone else would be at a disadvantage.

From his reading, Wade learned some fascinating, ancient methods of cursing—some of which he'd only heard about in childhood fairy tales, not realizing that wizards could actually perform such spells.

For instance, the Jelly-Legs Jinx was a form of curse, though short-lasting and more often used by students as a prank.

The Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse were also curses that required a powerful emotional intent to cast.

These types of curses had short-lived effects, and Wade had learned how to counteract them during his studies at school.

But there were curses that lasted longer, left deep impacts, or even ran through family bloodlines. These curses require high-level skill, intricate preparation, and powerful magic.

For example, there were blood curses that could turn a person into an animal or form an unbreakable bond between two people—a blood pact.

In the realm of ancient curses, there were even spells that could permanently transform a person into an animal or plant, put someone into an endless sleep, or doom someone to constant misfortune; these were much more complex.

Such curses could also have hidden, negative repercussions on the caster.

Wade was deeply absorbed in his reading when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Wade," Michael said. "Put down the book! It's nearly eleven; we need to get going!"

Theo and Ryan were already waiting by the door.

Wade blinked, a bit confused. "Get going?"

Michael raised an eyebrow. "You didn't forget, did you? Today's the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff match!"

Wade finally remembered.

Last night, he'd been too wrapped up in the joy of having destroyed the Resurrection Stone Horcrux and had stayed up late, completely forgetting about his own house's Quidditch match.

Because the Gryffindor and Slytherin match had been postponed by two weeks, its schedule finally collided with the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match.

After entering December, the high-altitude winds became piercingly cold. None of the heads of houses wanted to further postpone their matches, fearing it would negatively affect their players' performance. 

As a result, both games were scheduled for this weekend.

When they arrived at the stadium, it was already crowded, but unlike yesterday's match, the crowd wasn't so sharply divided.

Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were generally well-liked, and students from other houses mingled within the teams they were supporting.

Wade even noticed a few Ravenclaw students sneakingly taking off their scarves to blend into Hufflepuff's supporters.

When confronted by other Ravenclaws, they defensively said, "We're not betraying anyone…but it's Cedric, after all!"

"It's his very first match, you know… he needs all the support he can get."

"But we need support, too!" Ravenclaw's Seeker, Dalton, exclaimed in frustration and waved his arms. "Do you think I'm up there just chasing bugs?"

"Of course, you're bringing glory to our house, dear."

His girlfriend kissed him on the cheek to reassure him.

But as soon as Dalton started smiling, she added, "Oh, by the way, you're an adult now, so be careful in the air… try not to knock any of the younger students off their brooms."

Dalton's smile instantly vanished.

He watched helplessly as his girlfriend walked off to the other side of the stands. Desperate, he turned to two younger students nearby and asked, "What about you two? Are you going to cheer for Hufflepuff too?"

Wade and Michael exchanged glances.

Michael patted Dalton on the arm and said, "Of course, we're cheering for Ravenclaw! Go team!"

Dalton looked slightly more reassured, though he still muttered something like "pretty boys" under his breath and stalked off angrily to the Ravenclaw side.

"Quite formidable opponents, aren't they?"

A dreamy voice spoke from nearby. Wade turned and saw Luna holding a scepter adorned with a papier-mâché eagle perched on top of a long branch. 

She'd crafted it with surprising skill.

If Dalton had seen Luna just now, he probably wouldn't have felt quite so aggrieved.

"Hello, Luna."

Wade tapped the eagle with his wand, and it instantly seemed to come to life, glanced around and let out a high, resonant screech.

The people around them were startled, and turned their heads to look in Wade and Luna's direction.

Luna ignored the attention, nodded in satisfaction, and said cheerfully, "Much better. Thank you."

With that, she held up her scepter and strode gracefully toward the front of the railing. The eagle let out the occasional call as she went, and people stepped aside to let her pass, this even drew glances from the Hufflepuff team members.

Wade also spotted Cedric, holding his broom.

Tall and handsome, with a defined face and a faint smile, Cedric stood out. Though only a fourth-year, he was nearly as tall as Ravenclaw's seventh-year team captain beside him.

With his sturdy build, Cedric seemed more suited for a Beater than a nimble Seeker. But his calm demeanor suggested he wasn't worried about losing.

A whistle blew, and the match began.

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