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Chapter 746: The Mind Control Spell
Chapter 746: The Mind Control Spell
Professor Slughorn wanted to conceal the events of the day as if nothing had happened, but that was clearly impossible.
In a sense, the effects of the Love Potion were no different from the Mind Control Spell; both could make a person obedient.
The Love Potion even carried less risk, as it had an antidote, and thus wasn't considered illegal.
But Professor Slughorn was a Hogwarts professor, and if he were to be controlled and made to do things, no one could imagine the consequences.
Therefore, after receiving Professor McGonagall's message, Dumbledore rushed back to the school that very day.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Cona were also summoned to the Hospital Wing again.
As they arrived in the courtyard, they ran into Harry and Ron, who had just come down from the upper floors.
"What a coincidence," Harry said. "Did Professor Dumbledore call you too?"
"Obviously," Kyle replied.
"So, is the Headmaster finally going to punish Romilda Vane?" Ron asked excitedly, waving his arms. "I went to see her today, and instead of apologizing, she accused me of stealing food!"
Ron angrily waved his hand and pulled a branch from the bushes beside the courtyard, throwing it back as if it were Romilda Vane herself.
Kyle glanced at him, considering his words. It wasn't entirely wrong, as Romilda's initial target was Harry, and Ron had inadvertently spoiled her plan. Kyle felt something was amiss...
Soon, they arrived at the Hospital Wing.
The atmosphere was heavy, and Professor Dumbledore stood silently, his face expressionless.
Professor McGonagall and Snape were also present, assisting Madam Pomfrey in examining Rosmerta, who lay on a bed.
Like the two from earlier, Rosmerta had also fallen into a stupor, and Kyle wasn't sure if it was due to the Sleeping Spell.
Harry and Ron were startled by the scene before them, and with no one speaking, they closed their mouths and stood quietly to the side.
Soon, the tipsy Professor Slughorn arrived.
"Albus..." His voice carried from outside even before he entered. "I've said it before, it was Rosmerta who gave me the Love Potion. If you have any questions, just ask her..."
As Professor Slughorn entered, he suddenly froze. He, too, saw Rosmerta lying on the bed and was momentarily stunned.
"What...what's going on here?" He said instinctively, "She must be pretending, knowing she can't escape..."
"So, you're saying she used the Mind Control Spell on herself to avoid punishment?" Snape stood up, drawing out his words, "Forgive me for being blunt, but the punishment for using the Mind Control Spell is far more severe than that of the Love Potion."
"What did you say?" Professor Slughorn shuddered, sobering up considerably. "Mind Control Spell?"
"Yes," Snape replied. "And according to our previous observations, she has been under someone's control for at least three months."
"Three months...what's going on here?" Professor Slughorn asked, puzzled.
"That's what we're trying to find out."
Professor Dumbledore turned around and spoke calmly, but he wasn't looking at Professor Slughorn; his gaze fell on Ron.
"Oh, Mr. Weasley, I just noticed you're here too."
"Yes, yes," Ron said softly.
"Perfect," Professor Dumbledore said, looking at him. "Can you tell me what happened this morning? Be as detailed as possible, leaving nothing out."
"It's like this..." Ron carefully recalled everything that had happened that morning. "When I was picking up the gifts, I accidentally mixed up a box under Harry's bed.
"Inside was a Chocolate Cauldron, a gift from Romilda Vane for Harry, but I thought it was for me...no, I mean, I thought it was a gift from Harry, so I opened it and ate it.
"It turned out to be a Love Potion...and then Harry sent me here, that nasty Romilda Vane!"
"No, Ron, we went to Professor Slughorn's office first," Harry added from the side.
"Oh, right, that's how it was."
...
Ron spoke in a disjointed manner, with Harry filling in the gaps in his story.
Professor Dumbledore listened intently, and when they finished, he nodded slightly and turned to Kyle and Cona.
"Is that so? You met on the eighth floor?"
"Yes," Kyle confirmed. "We were on our way to a quiet place to brew a potion."
"Why not brew potions in the underground classroom?" Snape suddenly asked, narrowing his eyes and staring at Kyle with a grim expression.
"There's a magical chamber there, much better than the gloomy underground classroom," Kyle shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore should know about it."
Kyle wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt like Snape's expression had grown even darker.
"Indeed," Professor Dumbledore interjected. "Impressive, I'd say that ninety percent of the students don't know about that place, but you managed to find it."
Snape seemed to accept this explanation and stepped aside, remaining silent.
"Well, the situation is clear, isn't it?" Professor Dumbledore said. "Mr. Weasley's case was a misunderstanding and has nothing to do with Rosmerta. If anything, it's just a coincidence that they both experienced similar situations at the same time."
"You may leave now," Professor Dumbledore smiled. "The kitchen has prepared Peppered Piglet today, and you mustn't miss it."
Ron immediately made his way out, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere.
"Kyle, hold on a moment. I have a few more questions for you." Dumbledore suddenly spoke up, stopping Kyle who was about to leave.
Kyle had no choice but to shrug at Cona and retreat back into the room, but Dumbledore had already turned his attention to Slughorn.
"Horace, can you tell us now?"
"What do you want to know?" Slughorn sat on the nearest bed and asked, "First of all, I must say that I don't know if she was under a Mind Control Spell, nor do I know what she intended to do to me."
"I believe the one who wanted to target you wasn't Rosmerta, but the person behind her." Dumbledore said, "Have you noticed any changes in her behavior recently?"
"Changes?" Slughorn pondered for a moment, "I didn't pay much attention, but if I had to say, it would be that she was too enthusiastic."
"Enthusiastic?"
"Yes." Slughorn said, "I remember it was the day before Christmas. I ran out of drinks and had to make a quick purchase.
"Even though the store was crowded, Rosmerta kept talking to me... She had never been this enthusiastic before.
"But I didn't think much of it. I assumed she was interested in the ball I was hosting. After all, many people attended that day, including the Minister of Magic. It's normal for her to be interested, right?"
"Cornelius Fudge?" Dumbledore frowned, "I don't recall him looking for me on Christmas day."
"He wasn't looking for you, he was looking for Kyle. I had announced earlier that Kyle would be attending the ball." Slughorn said, "But later, there was a change of plans. After learning that Kyle didn't attend the ball, he left soon after."
As everyone's gaze shifted to Kyle, he spread his hands, indicating that he knew nothing.
At that time, he was already at Nico's manor and had no idea that Fudge had come to the school looking for him.
But Dumbledore didn't seem to mind.
"So, what did you talk about with Rosmerta?"
"Nothing much." Slughorn pondered for a while, "Just some talk about the attendees of the ball... Oh, right, before I left, she asked me what gift I was planning to give you and highly recommended the aged honey wine from her store."
"But I remember, the gift you gave me was raspberry rum." Dumbledore said.
"Yes, it was brought by the Minister, also aged." Slughorn said, "So I told her that I had already prepared a gift, but I could buy that bottle of honey wine for myself."
"Was it the bottle in your office?" Professor McGonagall asked.
She remembered that Slughorn had mentioned having steak and candy in his office, along with half a cup of honey wine."
"No, Minerva, the aged honey wine Rosmerta mentioned was broken just as she was about to give it to me." Slughorn said, "I felt sorry for a long time."
"That's indeed a pity." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
But no one in the room was a fool, and they all understood what he meant.
Apparently, the person behind this wanted Slughorn to present that bottle of wine as a Christmas gift to Dumbledore.
And there must have been something added to that bottle of wine, so when they learned that Slughorn had already prepared a gift, they had to find a way to destroy it to avoid exposure.
Snape let out a cold laugh beside him.
Slughorn's face turned even redder, but fortunately, he had drunk quite a bit, so no one else noticed.
"And then?" Dumbledore continued without paying attention to Slughorn's embarrassment, "What about the Love Potion?"
"It happened yesterday." Slughorn glanced at the bed not far away, "I went to ask her if there was any new aged honey wine.
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Of course, there wasn't any. Just as I was about to leave, she suddenly gave me a pineapple candy, saying it was a new dessert.
"Because I had mentioned that my favorite is honey wine with pineapple candy, I thought she took my suggestion."
Then there was a long period of silence.
Dumbledore lowered his head, deep in thought.
Snape moved his lips, and finally, unable to hold back, he asked, "Didn't you find anything unusual about the candy?"
"You don't understand, Severus." Slughorn stammered, "Because everyone makes it differently, the color of the candy can vary, it's normal."
Snape didn't know what to say, so he coldly laughed again and turned away, not looking at him.
At some point, the sky outside gradually turned gloomy, and it started to rain. The raindrops hit the window, making a loud pitter-patter sound.
"Albus, do you know who did this?" Professor McGonagall walked up and asked.
"I will find him." Dumbledore said softly, and he looked at Kyle again, "When you went to the Three Broomsticks last time, did you notice anything different about Rosmerta compared to usual?"
"It was normal, no strange behavior... At least, that's what I saw. Or you can ask others, like Ron, who prefers to stare at Rosmerta instead of his own drink."
Unless they are arranged to do something special, like delivering the candy to Slughorn this time, people under the Mind Control Spell can't be distinguished from the outside.
This is also why, more than a decade ago, so many Death Eaters chose to use being under the Mind Control Spell as an excuse to escape the Ministry's scrutiny. With a little manipulation, even an Auror wouldn't be able to tell.
"Why not ask Rosmerta herself?" Slughorn asked curiously. "I believe she should know who asked her to do this."
"In fact, we did ask her," Dumbledore said, "but she knows nothing. That person has never shown their face, and when we were about to inquire further, she fainted from weakness."
"So... well then..."
The room fell silent once more.
The rain grew heavier, and to avoid drawing the students' attention, Rosmerta was sent to St. Mungo's.
Snape also left, and Dumbledore wanted to stop him, but he ignored him and disappeared into the corridor not far away.
"Didn't he hear what just happened?" Kyle asked tentatively, looking in the direction Snape had disappeared.
It was indeed rare to see Snape going against the Headmaster.
"No, he heard it," Dumbledore said with a complex expression, "but we have some disagreements on certain matters, and if not for the seriousness of this situation, he wouldn't even appear in my presence..."
"Disagreements?" Kyle muttered, but upon noticing Dumbledore's increasingly complex expression, he wisely refrained from asking further.
The two returned to the Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore waved his hand, and immediately, a plate of steaming Peppered Piglet, several slices of toast, and a bowl of corn chowder appeared on the table, obviously prepared for Kyle.
Kyle didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat. "After eating the Peppered Piglet, he raised his head and asked, "The person who used the Mind Control Curse on Rosmerta should be Malfoy, right?"
"I believe so," Dumbledore said, "Only a Hogwarts student could make the shop owners let down their guard."
"So, his target this time is you?" Kyle asked.
"I'm glad he's targeting me," Dumbledore said, as if he didn't mind someone plotting against him.
"But Mr. Malfoy seems to have made a mistake," he continued, "Horace wouldn't easily part with a bottle of Oak Aged Honey Wine, and the Raspberry Rum he sent me was only because he didn't like it himself."
"Indeed," Kyle nodded and continued eating the Peppered Piglet, thinking about all that had happened.
From the available information, it wasn't hard to know that Malfoy had initially planned to target Dumbledore. He used the Mind Control Curse to control Rosmerta, making her sell a special bottle of Honey Wine to Slughorn, who would then give it to Dumbledore.
It had to be said that his plan was good, and no one would suspect him, except for one thing—Slughorn had already prepared a gift... The Raspberry Rum sent by Fudge, which was also the most suitable gift.
With the plan foiled, he had to think of another way.
And so, the incident this morning occurred.
"He probably wanted Horace to assassinate me in the castle," Dumbledore said calmly, "As a professor and my old colleague, if Horace really wanted to do this, there would be many opportunities."
Kyle glanced at Dumbledore, not entirely agreeing with this statement.
Recently, Dumbledore had rarely been at school, and it was hard to even meet him, let alone kill him.
If it was about dealing with himself, there was a chance.
Kyle narrowed his eyes, thinking that it wasn't impossible.
"Perhaps, in Mr. Malfoy's eyes, I'm easier to deal with than you," Dumbledore suddenly spoke, bringing Kyle back to his senses.
Dumbledore poured himself a cup of red tea. "But I have to say, he made a mistake."
"Making Slughorn drink the Love Potion at school?" Kyle asked.
"No," Dumbledore shook his head, "he chose the wrong person.
"Although Horace isn't skilled in combat, he is a Potion Master, and the Love Potion can only have an effect for a short time, it can't control him forever, at most an hour."
Dumbledore gave a relatively conservative time estimate.
Kyle didn't doubt this point.
"What should we do next?" he asked, "We can't let him continue like this, right?"
Dumbledore didn't answer, only looking up at the portrait on the wall.
"So far, that map hasn't changed at all," a witch said, "We've been watching."
"He doesn't plan to act immediately," Dumbledore whispered, "Is it because he hasn't found another Vanishing Cabinet?"
"No, he has found it," Kyle said, "During this Christmas break, the house-elf who was helping out at the Weasley's Joke Shop saw Malfoy go to Knockturn Alley.
"The day I returned from the Malfoy Manor, I also went there, it's at Borgin and Burkes, I saw it, regardless of size or the patterns on it, it's exactly the same as the one at school."
Dumbledore's eyes lit up.
"This is indeed good news," he said, "You always bring me different surprises, but why did you tell me so late?"
"Professor, didn't you forget that I came to find you after I returned from the Malfoy Manor," Kyle said calmly, "And it was twice!"
"There's no other way, there's always emergencies," Dumbledore's expression looked a bit awkward, quickly changing the topic, "Alright Kyle, you can go back first, I need to carefully consider this matter."
(End of Chapter)
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