[Duel Won!]
[Conditions Met: Victory Against Possessed Magical Opponent.]
[System Commencing Random Ability Extraction from Defeated Target: Igor Karkaroff.]
[Opponent Strength Assessment: Above Average. Drawing Two Abilities.]
[Extracting...]
Sean felt a slithering, insidious presence coil around his mind like invisible chains, followed by the phantom sensation of water flooding his lungs before both feelings crystallised into controlled power.
[Extraction Complete!]
[New Curse Acquired: Imperius Curse LV4]
[New Curse Acquired: Drowning Curse LV3]
Two extraction targets from one duel—Sean once again enjoyed this benefit.
In this battle against Barty Crouch Jr controlling Karkaroff's body, the system defaulted to Sean duelling two people simultaneously. So when the battle ended and Barty Crouch Jr self-destructed Karkaroff's body, the system separately extracted abilities from both Karkaroff and Barty Crouch Jr.
Karkaroff gave Sean a Level 4 Imperius Curse, directly upgrading Sean's previously Level 3 Imperius Curse to Level 4—quite a pleasant surprise. The second ability was a rather obscure Dark magic spell, the Level 3 Drowning Curse.
This spell could instantly fill a victim's lungs with water, creating a drowning state. Once drowning, speaking and casting spells became extremely difficult—quite an obscure and sinister assassination spell, very much in line with Durmstrang's character as a school that taught Dark Arts courses.
Of course, while Karkaroff's magical abilities were decent, they couldn't compare to what Barty Crouch Jr provided.
[Duel Won!]
[Conditions Met: Victory Against Elite Dark Wizard.]
[System Commencing Random Ability Extraction from Defeated Target: Barty Crouch Jr.]
[Opponent Strength Assessment: Exceptional. Drawing Three Abilities.]
[Extracting...]
A surge of malevolent power tore through Sean's consciousness—living flames that hungered to consume everything, threads of control that could bind minds and bodies alike, and the subtle art of disruption all flowing into him at once.
[Extraction Complete!]
[New Curse Acquired: Fiendfyre Curse LV4]
[New Curse Acquired: Puppet Curse LV3]
[New Jinx Acquired: Tripping Jinx LV2]
Among Barty Crouch Jr's magic, Sean was most interested in the Shield Charm, Blasting Curse, and Fiendfyre he'd displayed. Of these, Sean was most interested in the Shield Charm—that defence method with minimal consumption yet effortless deployment was truly enviable.
The Blasting Curse's extended usage, whipping out yellow flames like a whip, also made Sean extremely envious. Though Sean could research it himself with careful study, that would require time and energy—nothing beat getting it for free.
As for Fiendfyre, its pure destructive power was formidable.
The difficulty in learning Fiendfyre lay in how hard it was to control at low levels. One mistake could harm both others and oneself, and extinguishing Fiendfyre was extremely difficult. So Fiendfyre was easy to learn but hard to master—though "easy" was relative. In the original history, Crabbe used Fiendfyre against Harry in the Room of Requirement, but lost control, causing the fire to backfire and burn him to death, demonstrating Fiendfyre's danger.
Now Sean had directly obtained Level 4 Fiendfyre from Barty Crouch Jr. At this level, he could control Fiendfyre to form various animals, using animal forms to harness the fire. Not only did this increase power, but control became more precise.
With Fiendfyre now, he could start preparing for that matter ahead of schedule.
Just as this thought occurred, Sean saw Dumbledore approach.
"Sean, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Professor." Looking at Dumbledore, Sean knew he wanted to know about the Smoke Rope Curse but wouldn't ask directly—that would seem too eager and blunt. Actually, Sean had used the Smoke Rope Curse in front of Dumbledore to show an attitude: I'm opening my secrets to you, representing my sincere cooperation.
The Smoke Rope Curse was one of Sean's most combat-suitable spells—not only the highest level but also the most versatile. Now that Sean had joined the Order of the Phoenix, he would inevitably fight alongside Order members. Hiding things then would be suicide.
So rather than wait to be discovered and face trouble, it's better to demonstrate it to Dumbledore proactively and avoid future complications.
Of course, Sean could make this choice because his strength had reached a certain level. One semester as Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching assistant had brought Sean many improvements from Moody—comprehensive improvements. The only regret was not obtaining fourth-stage Transfiguration from Moody, which would have saved some time.
"Professor, how's Harry?"
"No major problems. Harry just passed out. Also, there are some small blood spots on his arm—I suspect blood was extracted."
"Blood extraction?"
Murmuring this, a spell suddenly surfaced in Sean's mind.
Enemy's blood, servant's flesh, father's bone...
So Voldemort had already started preparing for resurrection?
Seeing Sean frown, Dumbledore immediately asked, "Sean, do you have any thoughts?"
"Professor, I can't be certain, but the truth should be close. I think Harry's blood may be some kind of material for Voldemort's resurrection. Perhaps Voldemort wants to use Harry's blood to bypass the ancient protective magic Harry's mother placed on him, or perhaps he wants to obtain the power of the one who defeated him through blood. Voldemort knows many spells, including many ancient magics. I can't be completely certain of these guesses."
"I understand. I'll handle this matter immediately. Leave the rest to us. Go back and rest quickly. Earlier was unavoidable, so I asked for your help. Now that nothing's urgent, if I keep asking you to help, Minerva will be pounding my desk again. You know, Minerva can be quite frightening when she's angry."
Hearing this, Sean immediately guessed what Professor McGonagall had gone to see Dumbledore about during the first Apparition training class.
Simultaneously, Sean confirmed that his Smoke Rope Curse had passed muster with Dumbledore—he still chose to trust Sean and wouldn't enquire about its origins.
Of course, Sean had been in close contact with Dumbledore and Gavin multiple times before. If he really had any connection to Voldemort, those two couldn't have failed to notice. If he could fool both Dumbledore and Gavin, Voldemort wouldn't have been hiding for so many years.