Chapter 33. The Investigation Team.
"The Tooth-Expanding Curse (Densaugeo) is a relatively simple poison curse.
Its effect is straightforward: it causes the cursed person's front teeth to grow rapidly. The final size of the front teeth reflects the strength of the curse..."
Professor Fawkes noticed the hesitation on Lynn's face while explaining, so he stopped.
"Don't you think this curse seems useless?"
Lynn nodded. He felt that this kind of spell, which seemed only used for children's pranks, didn't deserve the level of a poison curse.
"Make good use of every spell you know," Professor Fawkes said earnestly. "A truly powerful wizard may not have many powerful spells, but he will definitely be able to use every spell he knows flexibly.
For example, the Tooth-Increasing Charm. On the surface, its effect is just to make the front teeth bigger, at most making the enemy look a little ridiculous.
But you must know that the mouth is one of the most important organs for every wizard. Even the most skilled wizard cannot cast all spells silently.
The Tooth-Increasing Charm can make the front teeth of the cursed person grow continuously, which will definitely affect their spell recitation.
Such an effect will be very useful in actual combat."
Professor Fawkes looked at Lynn, who had a knowing expression, and gently tapped the desk with his finger, asking,
"Do you know why the Tongue-Sealing and Tooth-Increasing Charms have similar effects, and the Tongue-Sealing is more effective at restricting wizards, but in the Dark Arts system, the former is not as good as the latter?"
Lynn thought for a moment and quickly came up with the answer.
"Because the tongue-locking and throat-locking effect is so good, it can completely shut down a wizard's ability to speak, while the incisor-expanding charm interferes with pronunciation.
And sometimes, the interference with a wizard's pronunciation while using a spell is more harmful than not being able to chant at all."
Professor Fawkes looked at him approvingly: "That's right, Lynn. The most important thing for a wizard is to use his brain effectively. In fact, most wizards in the magical world lack flexible thinking.
You clearly possess this talent, so remember not to waste it."
...
Lynn's first week at Hogwarts was not peaceful.
Hubert had disappeared after the attack. Some students said he was still in the school hospital, others said he had been sent to St.
Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries, and still others said he had been taken home by his parents to recuperate.
There was still debate about Hubert's situation, but almost all the young wizards agreed on who the murderer was.
In the days that followed, countless uninformed young wizards accepted Professor Fawkes as the murderer.
It was even said that some radical Gryffindors directly berated Professor Fawkes in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, saying he was unfit to teach the course.
No matter how you looked at it, Professor Fawkes' situation was very precarious.
During this time, Professor Dumbledore, the most prestigious professor at Hogwarts, also never showed up.
However, when someone asked about this, Professor McGonagall did offer an explanation.
She said Professor Dumbledore was currently handling some matters at the Ministry of Magic in the Soviet Union and wouldn't be back for a while.
The recent disputes at Hogwarts had little to do with Lynn.
He continued to live a fulfilling life, practicing spells with Cedric by the Black Lake in the mornings, and spending most of his free time in the library.
Professor Fawkes had given him several passes to borrow books from the restricted section, all related to Dark Magic.
He needed to learn some of the theoretical knowledge of Dark Magic before fully mastering its spells.
Individual tutoring was scheduled after dinner.
Professor Fawkes seemed completely unconcerned about his situation at Hogwarts, sometimes even jokingly telling Lynn how many parents of young wizards had sent him angry letters that day.
But Lynn knew that the professor scheduled Dark Magic lessons after dinner to avoid implicating him.
The young wizards who knew the "truth" might ostracize students close to Professor Fawkes if they couldn't vent their anger.
The weekend arrived quickly.
Normally, second-year and older wizards could go to Hogsmeade, a town near Hogwarts, for some fresh air.
However, due to the recent Dark Arts attack, Professor McGonagall canceled the outing.
The older wizards were quite dejected. However, the Weasley twins had approached Lynn the day before, subtly suggesting they had a special way to get to Hogsmeade and asking if Lynn would like to go with them the next day.
Lynn refused. Not only had the real culprit not been caught, but there was still danger surrounding Hogwarts. Even if there were no danger, he didn't know what he'd do outside.
Wasn't it better to stay put at Hogwarts?
On a weekend morning, while Lynn was practicing the poison spells he had just learned in his single dormitory, Professor McGonagall greeted two guests from the Ministry of Magic at the gates of Hogwarts.
One of them, a tall, bald, dark-skinned wizard with a gold earring in one ear, clearly dominated the group.
He seemed to have known Professor McGonagall for a long time, and the two exchanged a warm embrace.
"Professor McGonagall, it's been a long time," the wizard's voice was slow and deep.
"Yes, Shackleberry, time flies. You've become an excellent Auror now," Professor McGonagall said with satisfaction.
The newcomer was none other than Kingsley Shackleberry, an Auror from the British Ministry of Magic.
As he spoke, Kingsley simultaneously turned to introduce the other Auror from Hogwarts who had accompanied him.
"This is my assistant on this trip, Sevi Quirkley. He just became an Auror this year; though young, he has great potential."
Sevi, a tall, fair-skinned wizard, shook hands with Professor McGonagall.
"Hello, Professor."
"Hello, let's go in now."
On the way into the castle, Kingsley cut to the chase without further formalities:
"Professor McGonagall, we examined the attacked child at St. Mungo's Hospital.
He has obvious marks from the Crucifixion Curse, and the caster was very skilled, using the Crucifixion Curse to inflict extreme pain without causing mental breakdown. This is clearly the work of a seasoned criminal.
The child is now conscious, but the attacker used a forgetting spell to erase his memory. We haven't obtained any valuable information from the parties involved, so we came to the scene hoping to find clues about the dark wizard who attacked the underage wizard."
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(End of Chapter)