Magic Spell

Kai Adler entered the Headmaster's office, and Dumbledore felt his presence immediately.

But he still finished the matters at hand with Professor McGonagall before slowly walking back to his office.

As soon as he entered, he saw Kai lying back in the chair, feet resting on the desk, eating snacks.

The old man wasn't annoyed; instead, he chuckled softly, walked over to the table, picked up a pastry, and took a bite.

"Do you know what sitting in that position means?"

"What?" Kai looked up.

"It means you are the Headmaster of Hogwarts, responsible for the future and safety of hundreds of students."

Kai pouted. "What a huge responsibility…"

He stuffed another piece of pastry into his mouth before slowly standing.

"Old Man, are you looking for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again?"

Dumbledore glanced at the letters scattered on the table. "That's right. Students must have teachers, mustn't they?"

"Then you'd better keep your eyes sharp this time. Don't find another good-for-nothing like Lockhart."

Kai smiled maliciously. "I even had to deal with him myself."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, his beard twitching. "Then you've really worked hard."

This startled Kai.

This old man can even retort now?

Shouldn't he be looking at me seriously, lecturing endlessly?

Who are you? What did you do to Old Man?!

Seeing his amused expression, Dumbledore smiled gently.

"Was I very scary before?"

"You are scarier now."

Kai pouted. "I came to find you about something serious."

Saying this, he pushed a wooden box across the table toward Dumbledore.

Dumbledore opened it and examined the contents.

Inside were a few rectangular pieces of parchment, simple and unadorned.

He pulled one out. On it, "Expelliarmus" was written in beautiful script.

This was the incantation for the Disarming Charm.

He could also sense a faint fluctuation of Black Magic flowing from it.

Looking up in surprise, he said, "This is… a magical talisman?"

Kai shrugged.

"I found many ancient documents in the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets. One recorded that ancient wizards could imprint Black Magic onto a medium, allowing ordinary wizards to channel Black Magic beyond their own ability."

"But I didn't find the Black Magic or the driving method—only this imprinting technique called 'talisman.' So I wanted to try combining it with modern Black Magic."

"But the effect isn't very good…"

He took the talisman back from Dumbledore's hand, and the Black Magic fluctuation vanished instantly.

Looking around the office, he tossed the talisman casually toward Dumbledore.

The talisman paused midair briefly, the writing glowing faintly blue. The next moment, a blue light shot toward the old man.

Dumbledore raised a finger without changing expression, and the light vanished at his fingertip.

"The power is decent."

Kai frowned, looking down at the talisman that had landed on the floor, its magic now completely gone.

"But this is a failed product."

"You can feel it, right? Just now, my Black Magic driving method used silent and wandless casting. I can cast much stronger Black Magic without the talisman. But if I channel Black Magic directly into it…"

He pulled out another talisman, charged it with Black Magic, and threw it forward.

The talisman floated gently down without sound or effect.

"For a wizard who can cast silently and wandlessly, this is useless."

"But for a wizard who cannot, this is just toilet paper."

He looked at Dumbledore. "Do you know anything about talismans?"

Dumbledore pushed up his glasses, taking a talisman from the box for a closer look.

"I've only seen mentions of such talismans in old documents, but the specific crafting method is unknown to me."

"Is there anything you don't know?"

Dumbledore smiled.

"Black Magic has been passed down for thousands of years, but I am only a mere hundred years old."

Mere hundred years old.

Kai pouted, Is this high-level Versailles?

"However, although I don't know how to make them, I do know where your problem lies."

Hearing this, Kai sat up straight, ready to listen like a good student.

"But first, I must ask you a question."

"I'll tell you anything!"

"What is the purpose of your research on talismans?"

Kai answered without hesitation, "Because of Hermione. I want to make such a talisman for her to carry. She's still young, and having a talisman that can instantly cast Black Magic would help her deal with many unexpected situations."

If she had this before, she wouldn't have been kidnapped so easily.

"Is that all?"

Kai blinked. "Of course. Actually, I thought about selling these talismans for profit, but then I realized: what if enemies bought them? They could use them against our own people."

He wasn't worried for himself, but Hermione and those two fools probably couldn't handle it.

Harry and Ron: ???

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

He was genuinely concerned someone might try to build a private force like Tom Riddle, and these talismans would be the perfect equipment.

But for now, this young man was still the idealistic fool who cared for others.

He looked at Kai with appreciation.

"Your idea is sound, but there is a misconception."

"What misconception?"

"Your imprinting method is ancient, but your Black Magic is modern."

Kai quickly caught on.

"You mean… modern Black Magic has been 'weakened' compared to the ancient kind, so they don't match?"

"That's right."

Dumbledore pointed at him.

"The driving method for these ancient talismans must correspond to ancient Black Magic. Modern casting methods are completely different."

Kai blinked.

"So, if I imprinted ancient Black Magic—like the Patronus Charm or the Fiendfyre Curse—the talisman would work?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment.

"Even if you imprint the Patronus Charm, the effect would likely be a weakened light shield. After all, each wizard's Patronus is unique."

"As for the Fiendfyre Curse, I do not recommend imprinting it."

Kai nodded in agreement.

Fiendfyre was extremely dangerous Black Magic. If not mastered, the curse could burn the caster to ashes.

He certainly wouldn't give that to Hermione.

But modern Black Magic and the talisman don't work well together…

Seeing Kai lost in thought, Dumbledore smiled softly.

"You already know modern Black Magic is weaker than ancient magic, but do you know how it was weakened?"

Kai looked up eagerly.

Dumbledore cleared his throat—a sign Kai knew a long explanation was coming.

Yet for Hermione's sake, Kai settled down, skillfully setting up a tea set.

"Long ago, ancient Black Magic was extraordinarily powerful. The strongest spells could move mountains and fill seas."

"But over time, it became clear that not everyone could master such power. Some, despite magical potential, never learned a single spell in their lives. This was a fatal flaw in passing down Black Magic."

"So the magic was improved by lowering the difficulty of casting."

"And weakened in power?"

Dumbledore gave a knowing look but neither confirmed nor denied, continuing on his own.

"You understand the difficulty of silent and wandless casting, yes?"

Kai nodded.

"I can tell you this: true ancient Black Magic had no incantations…"

Kai was stunned for a moment. A flash of insight hit him—he felt he had grasped something important.