Turning a Turtle Over

Patter, patter~

Anton raced downstairs, jumped onto a stool in front of the bar, and stared seriously at Old Tom across from him. "How do I get to St. Mungo's Hospital?"

Old Tom shook his head, leaned closer, and said in a low voice, "St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries only treats wizards injured by werewolves. It does not treat werewolves."

"Damn it." Anton could not understand. "Werewolves are wizards who have been harmed too. Why aren't they treated like people?"

Old Tom gave a derisive snort, his tone faintly mocking. "If they merely turned into werewolves, people would not hate them so much. The biggest reason is that they turn others into werewolves too."

"They become mindless beasts whenever the full moon rises!"

People were not only afraid that a werewolf's bite would turn them into werewolves; they were even afraid of werewolf saliva and shed fur, believing those could turn them into werewolves too.

Old Tom leaned closer again and spoke in an extremely low voice. "If anyone finds out my bar serves werewolves, no one will ever come here again. Understand?"

Anton fell silent, thinking of ordinary people unfortunate enough to contract certain illnesses.

"I'll put him in my suitcase and leave soon," Anton said, looking earnestly at Old Tom.

Old Tom nodded, clearly relieved. "I like Young Wizards because you represent the future of the wizarding world, but that is all. This is already the greatest kindness I can offer."

"Lupin was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. I didn't expect it to hurt him this badly!" Anton pursed his lips and stared at Old Tom. "Where can he be treated?"

"The Cruciatus Curse?!" Old Tom was plainly startled as well. "Then you can't go to any legitimate hospital unless you can explain to the Aurors who attacked him."

This...

Anton did not dare involve any Aurors right now. His suitcase contained a Dark Wizard's corpse, a large amount of Dark Magic research material, and potion ingredients.

If the Ministry of Magic got involved, perhaps he could get away safely, but those things would probably be confiscated.

He had nearly died to obtain those spoils. Why should he hand them over to the Ministry of Magic?

Anton's expression shifted. "So there are hospitals that aren't quite so legitimate?"

Old Tom nodded, took out a small slip of paper from behind the counter, and wrote down an address. "Leave the bar and raise your wand. The Knight Bus will take you straight to this address. The doctor is a Goblin named Pedro. He likes gold coins."

"Thank you so much!" Anton accepted the slip with both hands, only to find Old Tom still holding on to it.

He stared at Anton. "Wizards and intelligent creatures who wander the Land of Chaos are extremely dangerous, kid. You need to be mentally prepared."

Anton nodded, carefully tucked the slip into his pocket, and looked sincerely at Old Tom. "I owe you one!"

Old Tom cackled. "I like the sound of that."

Anton hurried back to his room.

He opened his suitcase, carried Lupin inside on his back, then thought for a moment and found several clean cauldrons to pack Lupin's portion of food.

Having often gone hungry himself, he decided that when he had the chance, he would get himself a small Undetectable Extension Charm Bag and carry enough food for a year with him!

Of course, that was not the important part.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, he climbed into the suitcase and entered its inner space.

The inner space was not large, just a hall of around twenty square meters. It could not compare at all to the suitcase Newt had in the films.

The left side was packed with bookshelves and jars of potion ingredients. On the right sat a bed and several bags of wheat flour, while the corners held more jars and a water tank.

Anton rapidly searched through the materials.

He had to learn an offensive spell immediately!

Otherwise, he would have no means of resistance when danger came. Yet Lupin was unconscious now and could not teach him anything.

Other than the books and materials left behind by the Old Wizard.

The only thing he could hope to learn on his own right away was one of The Three Unforgivable Curses: the Imperius Curse. The Old Wizard had said that it was extremely similar to the Soul Transfer Curse he had taught Anton.

Learning the Imperius Curse was a very dangerous thing to do.

But he had no other choice.

First, it was said that such Dark Magic would erode a wizard's soul, making them twisted, evil, cruel, and cold-blooded.

Second, if anyone discovered him casting an Unforgivable Curse, the most likely outcome would be spending the rest of his long life in Azkaban.

Anton angrily waved a fist at the unconscious Lupin. "I'm risking everything for you. From now on, you'd better be my Teacher and bodyguard."

It was not merely his fondness for one of his favorite characters from the Harry Potter series. Lupin was kind, tolerant, and powerful.

He was an exceptionally trustworthy and reliable person.

Anton could even hand his suitcase over to someone like him for safekeeping without worrying that he would open it privately.

And in the entire Harry Potter story, he could not think of anyone else like that.

In this world that seemed familiar yet was actually so strange, he needed Lupin.

That made this risk worth taking!

The Old Wizard's books were roughly divided into two sections, placed on two separate bookshelves.

The bookshelf on the left was filled with books and experimental records on Potion Brewing. Research on the Eye of the Wizard potion alone occupied half an entire shelf.

The bookshelf on the right concerned spells.

And most of its contents were surprisingly observations of various spells through the vision granted by the Eye of the Wizard potion.

All kinds of strange records and illustrated volumes filled half a shelf.

Finally, at the very bottom of the furthest corner, he found a notebook. Written on its cover were the words—"The Apprenticeship Journey of the Great Alex Fiennes."

"Pfft." Anton grinned. "That old man was pretty narcissistic."

He opened it.

July 22nd, late night, heavy rain.

Teacher's stinginess with knowledge is simply outrageous! Even as his Apprentice, I must contribute enough before I can trade for the knowledge of a single spell.

The learning process is so difficult that I have decided to master only the most basic offensive and defensive abilities, leaving all my remaining opportunities for my favorite subject, Potions.

For offense, I chose the Cruciatus Curse. For defense, I chose the Shield Charm.

Everything else can be replaced with magical items. For example, for rapid movement, I can choose a Flying Broomstick sufficient for my needs.

December 3rd, late night, blizzard.

I fell in love. Auroro is a clever girl, and she chose the same approach as I did.

Her specialty is spells, and she clearly possesses remarkable talent for them.

Our union is a process of compensating for each other's shortcomings.

My deep understanding of the Cruciatus Curse often leaves her amazed, and I am quite proud of that.

She also has many wonderful ideas about the Imperius Curse, the Soul Transfer Curse, and a whole series of spells that alter the deeper layers of the soul.

"Found it!"

Anton's eyes lit up.

According to the book's introduction, the Imperius Curse, one of The Three Unforgivable Curses, was not a simple fixed spell.

It differed from the Cruciatus Curse and Killing Curse, the two spells that harmed the soul.

The Imperius Curse was more inclined toward precise and subtle manipulation of the soul.

There were dozens of Soul Curses in the same series.

The spell most similar to the Soul Transfer Curse Anton had learned was not the Imperius Curse, but the Displacement Soul Curse.

This witch Auroro vividly compared the spell to—turning a turtle over.

The effect of the Displacement Soul Curse was quite interesting. It twisted a person's soul by one dimension, preventing it from properly aligning with the body. The final result was similar to the state of Sleeping Beauty.

Anton quickly memorized the various key points marked in it.

He planned to study it on the road.

Though that was not very safe, Lupin lying beside him had already turned extremely pale. He might not be able to wait for Anton to slowly learn the spell.

"It's too risky." Anton sighed. "Luckily, the two spells are similar. I should be fine!"

He casually flipped through the later pages, then suddenly stared wide-eyed at one of them.

May 29th, noon, ~.

Auroro went mad!

She killed Teacher, killed everyone, and she even tried to kill me!

Fortunately, she wanted to kill herself even more. She cast dozens of vicious curses on herself, blasting herself into a pile of pieces.

I swear that for the rest of my life, I will stay far away from these terrifying soul-type spells.

Anton swallowed, suddenly wanting to forget what he had just memorized.