Chapter 419: Dark Magic Quill
Chapter 419: Dark Magic Quill
After the Christmas holiday, the weather remained gloomy, and everyone’s mood matched the skies. The presence of Umbridge made everyone uneasy, especially since she started using a Dark Magic-infused writing quill to punish students physically. Perhaps she felt that she was losing control of the situation at the school, so she resorted to violent measures to keep everyone in line.
For example, Harry’s progress in Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape was minimal, and the strained relationship between his father and Snape only made things worse. He found himself struggling to control his temper and ended up contradicting Umbridge during a class, questioning her classroom management and teaching methods. As a result, he was sent to detention with the Pink Toad. The next evening, when Harry returned from Umbridge’s office, he had fresh, white, healing wounds on his hands.
As soon as Harry returned to the Common Room, Ginny asked him what the detention with the toad involved. Although Harry didn’t want to worry Ginny and said it was just writing sentences, her keen eye noticed his slight wince when she took his hand. Soon, she discovered the scars on his hand.
"Is this what you call writing sentences?" Ginny looked furious, her red hair blazing like flames. Harry thought he saw a younger version of Mrs. Weasley. "That old hag! She’s insane! We should tell Professor Mcgonagall about this!"
"No", Harry said without hesitation, "I don’t want Umbridge to know she’s getting to me. She’d be delighted. Besides, Professor Mcgonagall can’t control Umbridge anymore."
"What about Professor Dumbledore?" Ginny suggested another option.
"That’s not possible either. I haven’t seen him around the school recently, and I think he’s avoiding me. I suspect it has something to do with my recent nightmares." Harry sounded dejected.
"Alright, if you don’t want to tell the professors, that’s fine. But your hand can’t stay like this." Ginny then led Harry to a corner of the Common Room. "Hermione, Liam, could you please take a look at Harry’s hand?"
Liam and Hermione looked up from their pile of parchment and saw the marks on Harry’s hand.
"Is Umbridge’s detention really about slicing your hand with a blade?" Hermione asked, looking shocked at the marks on Harry’s hand. "Do wizards allow such torture of students?"
"No, not exactly", Harry shook his hand. "She just made me write with a black writing quill. The words appeared as wounds on my hand, and it seemed to write with my blood."
"At the very least, it’s likely a Dark Magic artifact by wizard standards", Liam said, drawing his wand. "Hold out your hand, let me take a look." Harry was reluctant to show his wounds to his friends, feeling it might make him seem weak. But Ginny’s insistence won out, and he finally extended his hand.
"Light of Elendil." Liam tapped Harry’s left hand with his wand and cast the spell in Elvish. A silver light filled with vitality enveloped Harry’s left hand. Under the silver light, a faint black mist rose from the back of his hand and quickly dissipated.
"It’s a cleverly crafted Dark Magic artifact", Liam said, pulling out a ceramic box and handing it to Ginny. "Put this on Harry’s wounds, and they’ll heal quickly with no lasting effects."
"Cleverly crafted? How can you tell?" Ginny opened the lid and found a green ointment that smelled pleasant. She used her little finger to apply a small amount to Harry’s hand. "Wizards have many such artifacts that can inflict wounds without physical contact. My father encounters several every year."
“No, this is different.” Noticing that the others were all looking at him with curiosity, Liam decided to explain. “Usually, Dark Magic Artifacts have a clear Dark Magical Reaction. Even the wounds caused by these magic items would have the same Dark Magical Reaction, but Harry’s wound doesn’t show that kind of obvious reaction.”
After saying this, Liam turned to Harry. “Does your hand heal quickly after you finish writing a sentence, leaving only a slight pain, but the pain gradually accumulates until it becomes unbearable when you finish your detention?”
“No, I can handle it.” Harry focused on a strange point, and Liam looked at him helplessly. He immediately realized what Harry meant and said, “Yes, that’s exactly what I experienced.”
“This reaction suggests that the Dark Magic pen Umbridge made likely has a healing spell on its outer layer, which masks the internal Dark Magic fluctuations. If someone doesn’t destroy the quill, they won’t be able to detect the Dark Magic inside. As the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, no one can perform a destructive examination on her magic items,” Liam explained in a low voice.
“Can we find anything by tracing the origin of the pen, like illegal Dark Magic items?” Hermione suggested.
“Probably not.” Liam shook his head. “From what I know, Umbridge is a very cautious person. She wouldn’t leave any evidence. Besides, I think it’s likely that she made the pen herself.”
“How is that possible? Her?” Harry let out a derisive laugh. “That old woman who only makes us read books? Does she have that kind of skill?”
Liam finally understood why in the original story, Harry and the others were so carefree about holding their DA Meetings even when someone was mysteriously missing. In Harry’s mind, someone who had never shown any magical prowess in front of them was likely just another fraud like Lockhart from second year, so they naturally didn’t take her seriously.
“Don’t underestimate Umbridge. It’s true that her scheming has a lot to do with her rise to this position, but a mere flatterer couldn’t have climbed from the lowest ranks of the Ministry of Magic to where she is now.” Seeing that Harry and the others still looked unconvinced, Liam dropped a bombshell. “According to the intelligence I gathered, Umbridge can produce a cat-shaped Physical Patronus.”
“Merlin!” “That’s hard to believe.” Harry and the others widened their eyes in surprise upon hearing this. For Harry, as someone who could produce a Physical Patronus, he knew just how difficult it was.
“Why doesn’t she show off her magic then? I’ve never seen her use magic,” Ginny asked after a few seconds of silence. After all, wizards would respect those with great magical power, and if Umbridge had demonstrated her skill, she might have faced less resistance.
“Because she knows she’s here as a Ministry of Magic representative, and she has to play that role to the fullest. Using magic would put her on the front lines of the conflict. Umbridge is an extremely selfish person. She aligned with Fudge because he could offer her benefits, so she won’t risk everything for him.”
With that, Liam used his wand to dispel the remaining Dark Magic from Harry’s other hand, then put his wand away and said to Ginny and Harry, “Harry’s wound is healed now, but I suggest you try not to provoke Umbridge in the near future. There are more important things we can do than venting our frustrations.”
“You’re right; I’ll try to control myself,” Harry said solemnly, as Ginny helped him apply the ointment.
(End of Chapter)
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