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Chapter 925: Master of the Elder Wand
Chapter 925: Master of the Elder Wand
"Snape... You actually learned that Nosey's spell?" Kyle's words reminded Sirius of where he had seen that blade-like spell before.
Over a decade ago, right after their graduation, Snape, still a Death Eater then, had used this spell against them.
It had been too long, and with his years in Azkaban, Sirius couldn't recall it at the moment.
"But this spell is truly useful." Kyle waved his wand again, slicing a large spider that had crept up from behind into two halves.
"That's Nosey's spell too," Sirius muttered, still feeling a bit annoyed, "But Kyle, how could he have taught you this spell?"
"Could it be Conna?" Sirius asked with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Of course not." Kyle shook his head, "I found a book... yeah, it was Snape's old potion book from his school days. It not only recorded his insights into potions but also included many spells he invented, and Fiendfyre Curse was one of them."
"A potion book..." Sirius was stunned, and blurted out, "You mean he invented this spell during his school days?!"
"That's most likely the case." Kyle nodded, "Fiendfyre Curse is written in the latter part of 'Advanced Potion Crafting'. Judging from the progress, it should be from the first semester of seventh grade."
"Impossible..." Sirius sounded even more annoyed, "He must have stolen it, that Nosey..."
"If he did, do you think Headmaster Dumbledore would have let it slide?"
"Well... maybe he deceived Dumbledore."
Sirius kept searching for reasons, refusing to believe that Snape could have invented such a powerful spell like Fiendfyre Curse during his school days.
"Sirius, are you jealous?" Kyle looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Jealous?"
Sirius reacted like a dog whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up immediately.
"Me, jealous of Nosey? That's a joke! Why would I be jealous of him!"
"Perhaps it's because he can create his own spells?" Kyle suggested, seeing Sirius's agitated state, he guessed that this was probably the truth.
For a student, getting an 'O' in an exam wasn't difficult, and it wasn't uncommon to get 'O's in all subjects. At least in Hogwarts, there were a few students with outstanding academic performance every year.
But ninety-nine percent of students couldn't create their own spell before graduation, and most adult wizards couldn't do it either.
However, Snape... Kyle knew of at least five spells invented by Snape.
From the playful Toe-Growing Spell to the practical Ear-Plugging Charm, Tongue-Tying Curse, and the more combat-oriented Upside-Down Spell, Fiendfyre Curse...
With five self-created spells, Snape was a genius in the truest sense, and this didn't even count his achievements in potions.
But upon closer inspection, if not for these achievements, how could Snape have become the youngest Head of Hogwarts? It couldn't be because he didn't like to wash his hair, could it?
Snape became the Head shortly after Voldemort's downfall, when he was barely over twenty years old, setting a new record for the youngest Head.
At that age, even if Dumbledore wanted to promote him for some reason, he would still need outstanding achievements. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to pass the scrutiny of the Board of Governors and the parents.
Slytherin was different from the other houses; the parents of the students there loved to find fault. The fact that they had no objections to Snape's appointment as the young Head spoke volumes.
After Kyle explained all this, even Sirius fell silent, his mouth agape, lost in thought.
He had to admit that without personal bias, Snape was indeed far superior to them in terms of ability.
Unfortunately, he couldn't let go of his personal bias.
"He's still a Nosey," Sirius insisted, "And he's biased. No matter how talented he is, he doesn't deserve to be a professor."
"You two, don't talk about each other," Kyle smiled.
It was only because Sirius had been a professor for a short time; if he became the Head, Gryffindor might have won the House Cup five or six times in a row.
"Alright, enough of this."
Kyle stood up and looked at the empty arena, where there wasn't a single person left. He waved his wand forcefully in front of him.
The thin flame that connected the wand tip suddenly broke, and the uncontrolled Fiendfyre Dragon showed signs of collapsing.
Then, Kyle pointed his wand forward with force.
"Fiendfyre Confinement!"
The exploding Fiendfyre transformed into a long snake in mid-air, rushing towards the Death Eaters who were already terrified.
The Death Eaters tried to run, but as apparition was forbidden in Hogwarts, they had no chance of outrunning the Fiendfyre controlled by Kyle.
Soon, the entire arena was surrounded by Fiendfyre, and as it kept shrinking, the Death Eaters had no choice but to move towards the center, eventually crowding into an area the size of the Great Hall.
Some tried to break through, but without exception, they were all turned to ashes within seconds.
Unfortunately, Kyle couldn't completely turn the Fiendfyre blue for now, or they could have had more fun.
He had tried, but the yellow flame was the limit, and only the outer circle showed a slight hint of blue.
"Well done!" Sirius's eyes lit up, "By the way, this is also a spell you created, right?"
"Strictly speaking, it's only half," Kyle put down his wand and shook his head, "This spell belongs to Professor Dumbledore. I just made some changes based on the original."
Kyle had spent a long time studying the Fire-Clearing Charm, a spell that manipulated the form of fire and was a type of Transfiguration Charm.
As a Transfiguration Charm, it wasn't limited to a single shape; it could be a straight line or a circle, depending on the caster's intentions.
"That's already very impressive," Sirius said, "By the way, you must have some original spells of your own, right?"
He seemed a bit spell-struck, determined to surpass Snape. Even if he couldn't do it himself, he wanted to find someone to represent him.
Kyle was the person he was looking for.
"I do have an original spell, I guess," Kyle replied after some thought.
When it came to original spells, he had indeed experimented with many, but most of them were rather chaotic, like rapidly growing eyelashes or tangling hair.
These were mostly pranks that Fred and George had come up with before they graduated, and Kyle, bored, had tried them out to see if they could be cast as spells.
They were more of a way to pass the time.
The only truly noteworthy original spell he had was the Wild Growth Charm, the one he used to control trees and vines.
Kyle quite enjoyed using this spell, especially in densely wooded places like the Forbidden Forest, where its power could reach over 200% or even higher.
Unfortunately, the Death Eaters hadn't headed towards the Forbidden Forest, so he couldn't use it instead of the Fiery Flame.
"Impressive! You're much better than that Nosey, Snape," Sirius boasted, "But why didn't you kill those Death Eaters?"
"Because the Ministry officials are here, too," Kyle said, glancing towards the castle.
At that moment, Amelia Bones and Scrimgeour, along with the Aurors, had joined the battle.
They must have dealt with the traitors within the Ministry first, which was why they hadn't arrived earlier.
"The Ministry officials?" Sirius frowned, "What about them? You've already killed quite a few."
"It's different," Kyle shook his head, "They didn't witness what I did before."
"Let me put it this way," he continued, "If I were to kill hundreds of Death Eaters right in front of the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Auror Office, what do you think they'd think?"
Sirius's expression changed.
Even if he wasn't well-versed in these matters, he understood the situation now.
The Ministry valued stability, and there were already few wizards. Every wizard was connected by a complex web of relationships, and any two pure-blood wizards pulled at random were likely to be related.
So, killing hundreds at once was out of the question, and even a tenth of that number would be a huge problem.
After all, over a decade ago, even the most heinous Death Eaters were usually sent to Azkaban instead of being killed outright.
Everyone was well aware of this, including Kyle and Sirius.
Take Godric's Hollow, for instance. Kyle had killed over seventy Death Eaters, and while it sounded impressive, no one knew how much Dumbledore had worked behind the scenes to keep Kyle from facing the Wizengamot.
One such incident was enough.
If Kyle were to kill all the Death Eaters present, perhaps they wouldn't say anything now, but once the war was over, the Ministry officials would definitely come after him.
Of course, this was just one reason; the most important factor was stability.
Who wouldn't fear a powerful wizard who killed without hesitation? It was an instinctive reaction.
Dumbledore was already quite rule-abiding, and even with Hogwarts under his protection, he couldn't dispel the suspicions of some.
If Kyle were to go on a killing spree in front of everyone, he would instantly become the enemy of all wizards and naturally take Voldemort's place as the second Dark Lord.
This was probably the story of the dragon-slaying warrior becoming a dragon himself.
As for the previous incident, that was a different matter.
After all, the Ministry officials hadn't been present, and the situation was chaotic. He was protecting Hogwarts, so it didn't matter how many he killed, as few people knew that he had cast the Fiery Flame.
The few who did know, like Sirius and Professor McGonagall, were on his side and wouldn't reveal the truth.
Sirius opened his mouth but couldn't think of what to say for a moment... He knew the Ministry's actions were wrong, but he also found their logic compelling, which was contradictory.
Moreover, in a sense, he was one of the beneficiaries.
His crimes from over a decade ago were not minor; he had betrayed the Potters, destroyed a street, and killed twelve Muggles. Yet, he was only sentenced to Azkaban.
Kyle glanced at the increasingly intense battle at the castle and muttered, "Even if those Death Eaters need to be killed, it can't be by my hand... At least, no one else can see me doing it."
However, Kyle's voice was soft, and Sirius, lost in his thoughts, didn't hear him.
After dealing with the threats on the field, the two were about to return to the castle to support the others.
But as they passed the Whomping Willow, Kyle caught a glimpse of two pairs of shoes fleeting by.
In the middle of the night, seeing two pairs of shoes moving on their own was a bit eerie.
Fortunately, Kyle was a wizard himself and quickly figured out the reason... The Invisibility Cloak was too small to cover two people.
"You go back and help," he said, turning to Sirius, "I'm going to search the area to see if there are any Death Eaters who escaped."
"No problem," Sirius didn't suspect him, as he had been mocked by a group of cunning Death Eaters on the Quidditch pitch earlier, and he was eager to vent his anger.
As Kyle prepared to stay outside, he suddenly rushed into the castle alone and swiftly confronted a lone Death Eater.
After he left, Kyle turned and returned to the vicinity of the Whomping Willow.
He glanced down and noticed several distinct footprints on the ground, which disappeared under the Whomping Willow.
Just as Kyle was about to proceed, a branch suddenly lashed out at him.
Kyle dodged and pointed his wand at a stone on the ground.
The stone flew up and swiftly passed through the dense branches of the Whomping Willow, striking a spot on the trunk.
Instantly, the agitated Whomping Willow became still.
Without hesitation, Kyle hurried forward and jumped into a hidden passage beneath the tree.
Once inside the secret passage, the loud clamor and impacts of the battle outside diminished significantly, and he could vaguely hear the rustling sounds of something crawling from an unknown source.
Kyle quickened his pace.
This was probably the only unsealed passage, as Harry had always used it to meet Sirius Black, who was protecting him in Hogsmeade.
Even after Sirius left Hogsmeade for other missions, Harry would occasionally visit this passage a few times.
But why would he come here at this time? Weren't they searching for the Erumpent, which was believed to be a Horcrux? Kyle frowned, as this passage led to the Screaming Cauldron. Could it be that the snake also enjoyed cold drinks? But at this moment, Harry and Voldemort seemed to be in sync, so he probably wouldn't make a mistake.
Kyle wanted to catch up with Harry and the others as soon as possible, but the passage was too narrow for him to move quickly. Then, he heard voices.
It was a high-pitched voice, cold and emotionless.
"I need you to pledge your loyalty to me, Draco, it's time..."
It was Voldemort.
Kyle stopped in his tracks and saw two pairs of shoes standing ahead, which must be Harry. If he continued forward, he might startle them.
If they accidentally cried out at this moment, it would be interesting.
But he never expected that Voldemort would actually abandon so many Death Eaters and come to a cold drink shop alone. What was he thinking!
Kyle narrowed his eyes, trying to observe the situation inside the room through the crack in the door.
From his angle, he couldn't see anything, but he could hear the voices clearly.
The arrogant Voldemort made no attempt to hide his thoughts.
It seemed that Lucius and Narcissa were also in the room, as if they had come here after leaving the Quidditch pitch.
"It is Draco's honor to fight for the Dark Lord," Lucius said excitedly, with Narcissa agreeing beside him. Only Draco Malfoy, the person in question, remained silent.
Until Voldemort spoke again...
"So, Draco, are you ready to offer your life?"
"Wait... Wait, Dark Lord..." Lucius's voice suddenly turned dry.
"I may have... misheard... Draco, he just helped you kill Dumbledore."
"You didn't mishear, Lucius," Voldemort said calmly. "After Dumbledore died, I realized something. It seems that the Elder Wand doesn't work for me."
Voldemort seemed to have stood up, as his voice came from a different direction.
"This legendary most powerful wand hasn't shown the miracles it should have. I thought hard for a long time and finally found the answer.
"The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its previous master. It was you, Draco, who killed Dumbledore."
A depressing sobbing sound came from the room.
"Master... Dark Lord... Draco did it to fulfill your command..."
Lucius's voice became strained, as if squeezed from his throat, and the previous excitement was gone.
"So you will receive the honor that other Death Eaters will never have," Voldemort said calmly.
A dull thud echoed in the room, as if someone had fainted and their head hit the floor hard.
That must have hurt.
"Answer me, Draco, are you willing to help me conquer this wand?"
Draco Malfoy remained silent, either too scared to speak or unable to do so.
When Voldemort wanted to do something, he never consulted anyone; he only informed them.
This time was no exception.
Something in the room burst, like a balloon but with a softer sound.
Then, there was the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor.
"Master, I believe Draco is not the master of the Elder Wand," another voice spoke, it was Snape.
"Are you trying to oppose my decision, Severus?" Voldemort's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction, as if something was crawling.
"I wouldn't dare," Snape said. "But Master, I was there that day. Dumbledore was killed by the Killing Curse you left in your wand, and Draco had nothing to do with it.
"Or to put it another way, how can a mere tool for transporting the wand gain the recognition of the Elder Wand?"
The rustling sounds in the room disappeared, as if Voldemort found Snape's words convincing.
"Then Severus, tell me, if I had killed Dumbledore, why wouldn't the Elder Wand submit to me?"
"I believe... Dumbledore wasn't the true master of the Elder Wand," Snape said calmly.
"Then who is its master?"
"I believe... Grindelwald!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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