True anger is silent.
After Severus left in a hurry, Amortentia and Dumbledore stood on either side of Hermione's bed, their gazes downward. The emotional surge of these two preeminent wizards of the modern era caused tumultuous waves in the invisible world's magical ocean, as the portrait of the previous headmaster on the wall recoiled from the restless magic, and each one fell silent.
Finally, Dumbledore took action.
He chanted under his breath, drawing an arcane trajectory with the Elder Wand he held, the tip gradually gathering a holy light that emanated from it. The light grew stronger and stronger, until it seemed as if a full moon hung at the tip of Dumbledore's wand!
Amortentia could see that Dumbledore was casting an extremely ancient spell, and he remained calm, waiting quietly for the result.
Dumbledore's eyes, which were the color of the sea in the half-moon frames, looked incredibly serious. The chanting-like incantation sound in his mouth stopped, and his wrist moved downward slowly, pushing the 'moon' at the tip of the wand into Hermione's body.
Amortentia's eyes flashed with a glint of sharp insight, and he quickly withdrew the suppression on Hermione's innate magic and curse.
In the realm of magic, the magical toxins that had spread throughout Hermione's body were like a bowl of clear water poured onto a sizzling hot plate, instantly evaporating at the touch of the bright moon Dumbledore had conjured. The moon 'crushed' over Hermione's body, and wherever it went, all the black toxins within her were purged.
Outside, the faint black smoke that had risen on Hermione's body dissipated quickly as the viper was vanquished, and her face regained its blood-colored hue.
This was certainly a welcome change, but neither Dumbledore nor Amortentia had any signs of joy in their eyes.
The bright moon had finally cleansed Hermione's body and moved towards her right arm, where the curse was lurking.
This seemed like a war, integrated into Hermione's body, the 'moon' that had settled on her shoulder separated out into numerous white strands, like soldiers charging blindly towards her upper arm.
And as if sensing that destruction was imminent, the cloud in Hermione's upper arm violently rolled, as if trying to escape, but its path was blocked and it could only accept purification while shaking.
Victory was within reach, but Dumbledore still controlled his magic with great care, for if the bright moon, which contained immense magical power, were to go out of control first, Hermione, whose own magical reserves were exhausted, might lose her life under his spell first.
The white threads hit the dark cloud with an incredibly high frequency, as if a heavy rain was washing away impurities on the ground. Gradually, as time passed, the dark cloud, which was shaking violently, became lighter and lighter.
The war within Hermione's body had some impact on her, and as she slept, her right hand began to twitch uncontrollably. Under her fair skin, the veins and meridians twisted and contorted like worms, looking quite grotesque.
Amortentia brought his index and middle fingers together and gently placed them on Hermione's forearm.
He did not interfere with Dumbledore's attempt, but if things went wrong, he needed to act immediately.
Huh——
In the moment when the dark cloud completely dissipated, a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere by the bed. The eyes of Amortentia and Dumbledore instantly converged, both showing a look of surprise.
Under the dark cloud, there was nothing. It seemed as if the curse had been completely cleansed!
"There's no curse -"
Dumbledore's astonishment caused him to speak aloud. His brow furrowed, and his expression was extremely serious.
A curse without a seed?
Amortentia's lips tightened, and it was completely incomprehensible.
Amortentia had once analyzed the Blood Curse and successfully mastered this evil spell invented by the sinister Helga Hufflepuff.
Any curse must have a core, also known as the "seed," and directly dismembering the seed means that the curse has been completely eradicated.
Amortentia and Dumbledore both assumed that the seed of Hermione's curse was hidden beneath the dark cloud, but they didn't expect that after peeling away the outer disguise, its core was empty.
"Amortentia!"
Just as Amortentia was deep in thought, lost in thought, Dumbledore's old face suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly.
Amortentia's eyes instantly locked, and without any warning, the dark cloud that Dumbledore had just dispelled reappeared and re-attacked Hermione's right forearm, even stronger than the initial one.
There was no time to ponder how the mysterious event occurred. Dumbledore dared not experiment on the weak Hermione, so he immediately withdrew the 'bright moon' that was pressing into her body, allowing it to dissipate into the air, while Amortentia used his fingers to concentrate and strengthen his magic, completely sealing off magical flow within a certain area.
After completing all of this, Amortentia retracted his fingers and Dumbledore dispelled the pointed moon with a wave of his hand. The two people's gazes converged above Hermione.
"What's your opinion, Amortentia?" Dumbledore asked solemnly.
"Curses must have a core -" Amortentia furrowed his brow, and his eyes kept flashing with thoughts. "This is certain. The curse that Hermione is under seems to have its seed and the curse itself separated, only then can it end. But why does the curse reappear after it's dispelled?"
"This reminded me of the curse on the staff of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Department-"
Dumbledore's brow and eyes flickered with a hint of exhaustion.
Indeed, this is very similar. Amortentia also used to be a professor of the Dark Arts Defense class, and the curse that this position suffered from was a contract curse. When he accepted the job, the curse immediately appeared, but the seed of this powerful curse did not exist in his replacement potion made with a witchcraft doll.
"Do you think—"
"I do not believe it's Voldemort's handiwork -" Amortentia paused slightly, then shook his head and said, "From any angle, there's no need for him to harm Hermione at this time."
Dumbledore naturally understood this, but the question is, how many powerful dark wizards could have such strength to cast a curse that even the two of them couldn't remove?
It must be found out who cast the curse. The consensus between Amortentia and Dumbledore was clear.
Not only because the seed of Hermione's curse is very likely still in the hand of the person who cast it, but also because regardless of whether Hermione inadvertently offended someone, to poison a young wizard from Hogwarts in such a cruel way during her studies is undoubtedly a serious provocation against Hogwarts.
If the person behind Hermione's curse is not found and made to pay the price they deserve, how can the head of this school face these young wizards?
Especially for Hermione, a student from the muggle world, her parents had never heard of Hogwarts before, and even the concept of magic remained in the realm of myths for them. But they still sent their child here, and Hogwarts must give them an answer.
"They're here..."
Dumbledore, who was silent, suddenly lifted his head, and to his surprise, the sound of the stone creature moving outside the door could be heard.
It was Professor McGonagall, accompanied by Harry.
"Aberforth, Amortentia..."
Professor McGonagall was panting heavily, looking like she had run all the way from Hogsmeade, her neatly tied up hair was disheveled, and her robe was soaked in mud.
Upon seeing Hermione lying awkwardly in the hospital bed, her eyes instantly moistened, and her expression was full of worry.
"Hermione—"
Professor McGonagall's voice was thick with moisture, her voice shaking as she asked fearfully, "She is Hermione—is she okay?" The fear in her voice was palpable. She feared hearing bad news.
"Dumbledore reassured her, "Don't worry, Minerva. Miss Granger's injuries are under control."
"How is Ron?"
Amortentia looked at Professor McGonagall and asked.
He had seen Ron faint at Hogwarts earlier, but he had no time to deal with it.
"He's been checked by Alastor," Professor McGonagall sniffled, "He suffered some blows, and Poppy is treating him now."
Amortentia nodded, finally turning his gaze to Harry.
"So, Mr. Potter, I assume you witnessed everything that happened. Could you please tell us everything you know?"
(End of chapter)
