Chapter 37 The Screaming Shack
If anyone could find a way to get close to the Shrieking Shack, they could look through its shattered windows and see the remaining magical patterns on the floor.
If he was knowledgeable enough, he would have recognized that it was a forbidden dark spell used to remove the Unbreakable Vow.
The curse is drawn with the blood of one party to the contract, and life is sacrificed to break the forbidden spell of the oath that cannot be lifted.
Last night, after curfew, she followed Maggie's instructions and reached the dilapidated shack through a secret passage under the Whomping Willow.
As soon as she came out of the secret passage, Della saw Quirrell, who was tied up and looked terrified. Dozens of colorful little snakes were swimming around him, some of which were highly poisonous snakes that Della had seen in books.
As Della followed Maggie further into the room, she saw the book that had been opened to a specific page. The book felt as sticky and heavy as all the dark magic books she had touched before, with ominous bumps and grooves, announcing its past blood. The scarlet title on the folded page was particularly eye-catching.
'Unbreakable - The Broken Vow'
Blood, torture, and life are the underlying colors of this forbidden spell. If Della hadn't used a silencing spell, the Shrieking Shack would probably have been filled with disturbing howls again.
Being conscious was a torture to the poor young man who had been bewitched. The expressionless girl ignored his cries and pleas for mercy and kept taking his blood. She drew spells on the floor around him with her bare hands that would end his life. The snakes that had tortured his mind countless times slid around them silently, creating the most bizarre picture.
Not only was Quirrell unable to see through that expressionless face, even Della herself found it difficult to explain her feelings at the time. When the spell was finally drawn, the expression on Quirrell's face was the most painful Della had ever seen. If it weren't for the silent spell, his howling would probably pierce her eardrums.
The torture of the curse lasted only a few seconds, but both Della and Quirrell felt that these seconds were extremely long. When the spell took its last sacrifice - life, perhaps everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
Quirrell turned into ashes just as Dumbledore said, leaving no trace at all. Only the increasingly bright red curse pattern on the ground indicated the sin that had occurred here.
The curse pattern cannot be cleaned, and the confusion spell cannot cover it. It will even penetrate into the objects covering it.
The book said that only by applying pure unicorn blood would the bright red color gradually fade away within a month.
The blood that Voldemort prepared to curse Della so that he could possess her eventually became a tool for her to eliminate sin.
The silver blood was absorbed instantly after it came onto the ground. Looking at the spell diagram that dimmed instantly, Della didn't care about the dust on the floor and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
She frowned tightly, as if she was very confused, but her eyes staring straight ahead were unfocused.
Why, why, at about the same age, they were taking risks and dreaming, while I was experimenting with black magic on living creatures and taking the lives of wizards.
It wasn't panic at all, but sadness was Della's deepest feeling, which was why it seemed so tragic.
The familiar rough black robes came out of the door that Della had been watching. Even though the thick robes were covering their faces, their movements were obviously filled with excitement.
It seems that they have reached an agreement. Come to think of it, weren't they in the warm Gryffindor dormitory last night talking about the future?
The soundproofing spell blocked the short chirping of the black disc. Della watched the twins walk past her and go to Madam Pettyfer's Tea Shop. Then she lifted the invisibility spell on her body. She carried the Quidditch gear she bought at Davis and Bans' store and followed the excited twins slowly.
The confounding spell prevented the twins from sensing her presence. Della's face hidden in the hood showed an extreme gloom, which only faded slightly when the fresh decoration of Mrs. Pettyfer's tea shop appeared before their eyes.
The Confusion Spell faded the moment the twins turned around and looked at her. When they looked at her, Della ran towards them with brisk steps. When she ran in front of them, the gloom on her face had completely faded.
"Here, I bought the same Quidditch protective gear," Della's clear and intimate voice came from the upright hood. She stretched out her hand and handed over two identical bags. Seeing that the twins hesitated and had no intention of taking them, she quickly added, "Take them. Just consider it a congratulations. Anyway, the Malfoy family paid several years of money last time."
Hearing the familiar name, the two brothers jumped for joy. They finally took the bag and asked, "How did you know we had a deal?"
The voice came from the black robe on the left. Della tilted her head to look at him and said jokingly, "It's just a guess. You have to trust your intuition, young lady."
"Hey," the black-robed man on the right shook the wooden box in his hand at Della, and the heavy sound showed the considerable wealth inside, "We exchanged a lot of Galleons and Sickles. I knew we had a talent in this area."
"It seems that the lady can't avoid this cup of sweet tea~"
"Then I'm welcome." Della also laughed softly. The outfits of the three of them were out of place in Mrs. Pettyfer's Tea House, which was full of hearts.
Facing many inquiring gazes, the three of them found a secluded window seat and sat down without any discomfort. The twins even looked at the Hogwarts couples in the teahouse with great interest. Even though they deliberately lowered their voices, Della could still hear their slightly excited discussion.
When her eyes inadvertently swept out the window, the familiar pointed-cornered wooden house came into view. Della's body stiffened for a moment, as if she was pushed towards the wooden house by a pair of hands, and the twins sitting opposite her seemed infinitely far away from her.
"What are you looking at?" Della's action of looking out the window caught Fred's attention. He also looked out the window. In the vast expanse of white, there stood a dilapidated wooden house. "Ah, it's the Shrieking Shack."
"The Shrieking Shack?" Della's heart skipped a beat. Quirrell's howling face appeared before her eyes again. She tried her best to hide the trembling in her voice.
"It is said that disturbing howling could be heard from this house more than ten years ago, and it is indeed unreachable. Although it is said that no screams have been heard from it for a long time, the reputation of the Shrieking Shack still remains."
"Look at that fence. It's accessible. Many people go there. If you're not afraid, we can take you there to have a look."
"Forget it. I still prefer sweet candies to haunted houses." Della felt relieved. She shrugged casually. "Come with me to pick out some chocolates when we go back."
"It's my honor~" George and Fred responded in unison. Their tacit understanding alone was enough to bring joy to people. If it weren't for the small house outside the window, Della might be very happy now.
After the sweet tea, there was a bag of sweet candies. When they appeared again in a remote corner of the corridor on the third floor of Hogwarts, everyone was holding a package in their hands.
After saying goodbye to the twins, Della hurried to the Slytherin dungeon. She now eagerly wanted to return to her dormitory.
Della kept walking through the students who were going to eat, and didn't even pay attention to Draco who was looking at her, and went straight back to the snake's tail.
After closing the door and throwing away the candy, Della leaned against the door and slowly fell to the ground. When all the weight sank, she cupped her hands to cover her cold and pale cheeks. There was no focus in her widened pupils.
Maggie slid out from her neck and rubbed her cheek silently to comfort her.
"Shi-hasha-shi (Great wizards always do something extraordinary)."
"Haishi-Shashi (But why would I not care about taking a life)."
The girl responded with a low voice. Maggie said nothing more. He felt a little reluctant. Although Della never complained, he still regretted that he had deliberately kept Quirrell awake. However, this guilt was quickly washed away.
In the bright green light shining through the Black Lake, Maggie's dark yellow eyes flashed with a strange light.