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Chapter 594: Change
Chapter 594: Change
Starting from the next day, Liam and his classmates attended their regular classes and exams during the day, while they went to Dumbledore's office to practice Magic at night. Fortunately, Liam and his companion could spend an hour each day sleeping in other worlds, so the seven days didn't feel too exhausting.
"Should we be able to finish by tomorrow morning?" On the seventh night, Dumbledore asked Liam and Hermione, who were circling the light array, stepping in a specific pattern and continuously waving their wands and chanting spells. "I can feel that the Curse is about to reach its limit of compression."
Dumbledore raised his left hand, and it was clear that the first half of his palm had turned the dark green of the Omen of Misfortune. "I can barely move these four fingers now."
"This spell is quite powerful. If you hadn't blocked part of its magic power and received timely treatment, along with my specialized Magic, your lifespan would have been reduced to just one or two years", Liam said to Professor Dumbledore. This spell was similar to the one Voldemort had placed on the rings, and due to Voldemort's accumulated experience, it was even more deadly.
If not for the fact that Liam had recently created the Rose Madonna and visited Uncle Kiu in the Mr. Vampire world, and then represented Mao Mountain in a debate, winning the Wu Hou Star Purification Technique and the accompanying lamp, he would have had a much harder time dealing with the Curse on Dumbledore.
Even with Dumbledore's weakening of the Curse, it was still very challenging. Fortunately, the Wu Hou Star Purification Technique was perfectly suited to solve this problem. In fact, because Liam's goal was to remove the Curse rather than extend Dumbledore's lifespan, the Magic became significantly easier, eliminating the risk of unexpected scenarios, such as someone suddenly bursting into the Headmaster's Office and knocking over the lamp.
Finally, the first rays of the eighth day's dawn streamed through the Headmaster's office windows, bathing the room in a golden hue. Dumbledore, following Liam's instructions, placed his left hand on the Life Lamp.
At this point, the Curse Voldemort had cast had been entirely compressed to Dumbledore's ring finger. The ring finger, placed above the Life Lamp's flame, had become skeletal, turning a deep black and emitting wisps of the Omen of Misfortune's black smoke.
"Please bear with it", Liam said, pulling out the Blade of the Enemy from his Spatial Bag and gripping it with both hands. He then swung the blade at the ring finger, which was now concentrated with the Curse. A white light flashed, and the ring finger fell straight into the Life Lamp.
However, the cursed finger did not fall into the lamp. Instead, the flame inside the lamp transformed into a lingzhi shape, catching the finger. Then, all the flames from the other lamps spread out and connected, forming a Magic Array that enveloped Dumbledore and the others.
"This is all normal", Liam explained, commanding the Magic Array to continuously channel magic power into the Life Lamp. The flame in the Life Lamp, bolstered by the additional power, quickly shifted from red to yellow, then to a blinding golden and white, and finally to a sky blue. Despite this, the three people standing close to the flame felt no heat.
Under the sky blue flame's burning, the finger continuously released dark green smoke. However, this smoke was immediately surrounded by the flame and burned away. This stalemate lasted only a couple of minutes before the dark green smoke ceased due to exhaustion. With no smoke to obstruct it, the flame quickly enveloped the finger, and in a matter of seconds, the finger turned into a wisp of blue smoke and vanished into the air.
"Everything is over, Professor. The ritual was a complete success, and the Curse on you has been completely removed", Liam said to Dumbledore, watching as all the lamps on the floor slowly extinguished.
"Thank you, and this time we really did trouble you", Professor Dumbledore exhaled, then continued, "I truly thought I only had a year left to live. This time, I really must thank you for saving me."
Dumbledore paused for a moment before speaking more seriously, "Also, I’m truly sorry for putting you in a position where you had to face enemies at the School."
"Since we have the ability, there’s nothing wrong with facing enemies in battle", Hermione said. "We can’t let dangerous people come into contact with our classmates who don’t have the ability to fight."
"No, what I mean is that I’m sorry for putting you in a position where you had to kill. Taking someone’s life is always a terrible thing, and it should be the responsibility of adults like us. Students like you shouldn’t have to bear that burden."
"Headmaster, as I told you before, we don’t choose war and killing, but the current situation forces these things upon us. I think in the days to come, our hands will likely be stained with more blood", Liam said. "Moreover, I believe we have the ability to face the harsh realities of the battlefield."
"——Well, I can’t treat you like ordinary children anymore", Dumbledore didn’t try to persuade Liam as he had before. After a moment of thought, he spoke seriously to Liam and Hermione, "I understand the need to fight with all your might in battle, and I know that holding back is extremely foolish. However, I still hope you won’t be drawn to the act of killing and will stay true to yourselves."
"We promise", Hermione and Liam clasped hands, looked at each other, and nodded in unison. Hermione then said, "We will only use lethal means when necessary and can assure you that every act of killing will be to save more innocent lives."
"That’s good", Dumbledore stared into their eyes, and upon seeing their clear and determined gazes, he nodded in relief. "I’m glad you understand this. I hope your souls will never be clouded by blood and lose their way."
After putting out all the oil lamps, Liam and the others bid farewell to the Headmaster and left the Headmaster's Office. For them, the biggest gains from this encounter were twofold. First, by successfully saving Professor Dumbledore’s life, the days ahead would be much easier than in the original story. They could also draw Voldemort’s attention to ensure their own safety.
Secondly, through the previous battles, healing, and conversations with Dumbledore, Liam and Hermione were now truly recognized as warriors. This recognition would make many things easier for them. At the very least, killing Death Eaters in battle would be seen as acceptable.
This was a small issue with choosing to stand with Dumbledore’s side. Most people, even those in the Order of the Phoenix, were averse to killing, even if the enemies were heinous criminals. This made Liam and Hermione, who had been influenced by him, feel somewhat out of place. Even from the basic principle of proportionality between crime and punishment, some members of the Order’s insistence on non-lethal methods sometimes seemed overly rigid.
Fortunately, through today’s series of events, Headmaster Dumbledore had tacitly approved of Liam and Hermione’s actions, allowing them to fight without being overly restrained. This was crucial because, unlike Dumbledore and others who had adapted to subduing enemies without killing, Liam and Hermione’s combat instincts, honed in the midst of blood and carnage, would be very uncomfortable if they were not allowed to kill in battle.
After this matter was settled, Liam and the others finally got some rest over the next few days. During this time, some classmates still tried to ask what had happened that night, but after Hermione described how she killed a Death Eater, these classmates stopped pestering them.
Many classmates even subconsciously distanced themselves from Liam and Hermione, and only their friends and Reading Club members continued to treat them as they always had. This made Liam realize that the British Wizarding World had been at peace for too long, and the cruelty of the last war had made everyone reluctant to be drawn into another one.
It seemed the situation wasn’t yet optimistic. To get most people ready to fight Voldemort and his followers would require more time, and what was lacking now was time.
Liam could only pray that the full-scale war would be delayed, the longer the better.
(End of Chapter)
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