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"Professor, I think we can make a contract magic."
"What?" Dumbledore didn't quite understand what this meant.
"It's the kind of restraining magic." Kyle explained, "For example, if I want to use a Horcrux, I will be stopped directly... I think you should know this kind of magic."
"Ah, I do know a few of these spells..." Dumbledore said, "But there is no need for that, Kyle. I trust you as much as I trust myself."
"No, I just think it's safer this way." Kyle insisted, "And it's like adding an insurance policy for myself. If I'm bewitched by a Horcrux, maybe it can save my life."
Bewitched by a Horcrux?
Dumbledore thought about it and felt that what Kyle said seemed to make sense. After all, Horcruxes were too mysterious, and even he didn't know much about them, so it would be good to add an extra layer of insurance.
"If you insist... well, get your wand ready."
Kyle pulled out his wand and held his arm out as Dumbledore had requested.
Then Dumbledore stood in front of Kyle and did the same thing, placing the tips of his wands together.
"Wait a moment, Professor," Kyle said suddenly.
"Any other questions? If you don't want to continue, there's still time." Dumbledore thought Kyle regretted it, so he took the initiative to disconnect the link between the wands.
"No, Professor," Kyle said, "I just think that since it's contract magic, it's only fair that both of them abide by it, right?"
Dumbledore was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that this was what Kyle wanted to say, but he soon realized it.
"Well, I totally agree with you."
"Then you..."
"No problem, the two-way contract spell works on me as well."
Although Kyle's behavior today was a little strange, Dumbledore didn't care too much.
After all, he himself would never want to use any Horcruxes, so he readily agreed...
It doesn’t matter anyway, just think of it as playing with the kids.
"Be prepared and don't resist."
When their wands were placed together again, Dumbledore whispered a long spell, as if he was formulating the content of the spell.
It took a long time, about two minutes, and when Dumbledore finished, a golden thread emerged from the place where the two wands met.
The silk thread floated and split into two halves, then spread along the two wands to the wrists of the two people, connecting end to end like an exquisite bracelet.
The next second, Kyle felt a sudden burning pain in his wrist, but it disappeared in an instant.
When he looked again, there was already a circle of golden magic symbols there.
The magic pattern was very small. Before Kyle could see what it meant, it disappeared, as if it had never appeared.
Kyle tried moving his wrist and felt no discomfort.
"Okay." Dumbledore said with a smile, "Don't worry, it won't affect you in any way, and you can come to me at any time to remove this restraint."
"Can't I solve it myself?" Kyle asked, "Use any spell to solve it."
"No." Dumbledore explained, "Contract magic is different from the spells we usually use. Whether it is used or removed, the people involved in the magic must be present at the same time."
Kyle nodded and looked at his wrist again.
"You may find me a bit long-winded." Dumbledore put away his wand, "But I still want to advise you to destroy it as soon as possible.
"I have some achievements in alchemy. Maybe I can help repair the damaged Slytherin locket... Of course, the premise is not to use the Fiendish Fire Curse."
"I'll do it as soon as possible."
Kyle didn't say the exact time, because it depends on when Nicolas Flamel's letter arrives...if he doesn't run away with the crown.
At this moment, Kyle suddenly smelled the aroma of barbecue. He didn't know when a sumptuous lunch suddenly appeared on the table behind Dumbledore.
"Oh, today we have my favorite honey steak..." Dumbledore said happily, "Do you want the kitchen elf to prepare one for you? Or would you rather have lunch with your friends?"
"No need, Professor, I'll just go to the auditorium." Kyle turned around hurriedly, opened the door and ran out.
Dumbledore sat down at the table and thought again about Slytherin's locket...
When he thought that this was something left behind by Salazar Slytherin, he felt itchy in his heart. This was also the instinctive reaction of an alchemy enthusiast.
No, I still have to think of a way to cheat that thing... I'll borrow it to study for a few days, but what excuse should I use? Kyle is not easy to fool...
Dumbledore stared at the honey-glazed steak in front of him in a daze.
How about... exchanging it for Fox's feather?
A phoenix that was napping on a branch suddenly woke up, shook its feathers, and looked around suspiciously.
……
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 493: Paranoia and Moody
For the next period of time, the most popular topic in the school was still about Sirius Black.
News about him occupied an entire page of the Daily Prophet every day, and waiting for the owl to deliver the newspaper every morning became the most anticipated thing for some people.
In addition, Harry has been very excited recently. Almost every morning, he receives a package sent by owl, which contains but is not limited to various candies, clothes, or other novel gadgets.
But none of this has anything to do with fifth grade.
The professors seemed to be holding a competition to see who could burn out first. The assignments kept piling up and the demands kept getting higher, and even Kyle was not immune.
After all, not all professors would exempt him from homework, such as Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After two weeks of learning the Shield Charm, Professor Moody decided to give them a small test.
This test was supposed to be given last week, but the class was a disaster.
There were many students who recited the spell incorrectly, stood still in a daze, and forgot the hand gestures. Professor Moody was almost furious, and had no choice but to postpone the test for another week.
"I don't mind telling you in advance." Professor Moody said as he stood on the podium, "I will use the Leg Locking Curse this time. If you can't resist it successfully, then I'm sorry, you will have to jump around for the rest of the day."
Some people suddenly became nervous, but more of them looked indifferent.
"I know you must be thinking, it's just a leg-locking curse, it can be easily removed, even if it doesn't block it, it doesn't matter... right?"
Professor Moody laughed, and the scars on his face were all squeezed together, making him look even more hideous. "But you'd better give up this idea now. For the Auror's special leg-locking curse, ordinary antidotes are useless."
Then he asked everyone to stand on both sides, called them forward one by one in the order of the roster, and chanted the Leg-Locking Spell for them.
Kyle noticed that the effect this time was much better than last week. At least when Professor Moody deliberately slowed down, the first two people successfully cast the Armor Spell and used an invisible wall to bounce the Leg-Locking Spell back.
But when it came to the third person, things changed. One student, perhaps because he was too nervous, forgot the spell.
Needless to say, the result was that his two legs were stuck together so tightly that he could only hop back. He fell on the way and almost broke his nose.
When it was Kyle's turn, he stepped forward to the open space in the middle of the classroom.
Professor Moody raised his wand and a beam of white light quickly flew towards Kyle.
Some people keenly noticed that this time Professor Moody did not recite the spell loudly like before. The spell appeared directly without any warning.
"Armor protection!"
The white light bounced back and flew straight towards Moody, but he dodged it.
"Very good, that's more like it!" Professor Moody said loudly, "Reflecting the spell back to the opponent is the real purpose of the Shield Charm. The one that flies everywhere only shows that you haven't mastered it well enough... Very good, Hufflepuff, ten points!"
Professor Moody gave Kyle ten extra points, but not the exemption from homework that he wanted most.
After that, other people also carried out the test one after another, but the success rate was not high, only about half.
After class, those who failed could only hop out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom like rabbits.
"From the tone of his voice, I thought we were going to be attacked at any moment."
Mikkel limped up the stairs.
He failed at the beginning, and passed it during the make-up exam before the end of get out of class, during which time he fell down countless times.
"Yeah, that's right, talking like a paranoid..."
Ryan next to him tried to jump forward. He turned his head and looked to make sure that Professor Moody had gone far away. Then he whispered, "I heard that people in the Ministry of Magic don't like him. They think he is too neurotic... Even when he walked past him normally, he felt that person was going to hurt him."
"Professor Moody may be a little strict, but it's always good to learn more." Qiu, who was in class with them, said, "And the Armor Charm is also very important."
"I know." Ryan sighed, "But we have too many things to do. How can we have time to study the Armor Spell? If it won't appear in OWL, I still think it's more appropriate to put it in the sixth grade. At least then we won't have endless homework."
Ryan yawned and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, Kyle pulled him up in time.
"This is so inconvenient. Do you want me to help you untie it?" Kyle asked.
Professor Moody was right. The normal counter-spell was indeed useless. Some students had already tried it when the get out of class was over. However, the restoration spell should be able to work. If that doesn't work, there is still the end of all spells.
"Thank you... never mind." Ryan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
"Moody has a magic eye. Who knows if he is watching us from somewhere... Tomorrow happens to be the weekend. At worst, I can just stay in the dormitory and not come out."
Ryan was quite open-minded about it. He had to do homework in the common room all day tomorrow anyway, so maybe doing it this way would help him finish faster.
But before that, he still had to go to the underground classroom to finish the last Potions class of the week.
I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Snape seems to be more moody this time than before, which makes the Potions class even more difficult.
The basement classroom was as cold as winter, and even the door made an eerie creaking sound when it was opened.
"Quiet!" said Snape coldly.
In fact, there was no need to say this. As soon as everyone saw him come in, they immediately became silent and all their little movements stopped.
Generally speaking, Snape is the best tranquilizer in Hogwarts. Just standing there is enough to calm the entire school down, even better than Dumbledore.
"Today, we are going to prepare a demulcent, which can calm and soothe anxious emotions, and is also a common question in exams."
He said in a calm tone: "But before we begin, I must remind you that potions are a rigorous subject. Even the most expensive crucible cannot make up for a poor brain."
He looked around everyone's table and seemed to be looking for something.
After reading it all, Snape nodded with satisfaction, walked to the blackboard and waved his wand: "Here is the recipe... You'd better remember it firmly. If you are careless when brewing it, the person taking the medicine will fall into a deep, sometimes even inevitable, sleep."
Then he waved his wand again and opened the cupboard at the door.
"Get what you need yourself. You still have an hour and a half. Let's get started..."