Only Half a Year

"Young Wizard." Pedro the Goblin's diminutive body pressed forward as he stared coldly at Anton. "I know exactly what kind of person Fiennes is. There are too many apprentices he tortured to death to count."

"You don't love your Teacher as much as you imagine."

Pedro's words were like a giant arrow, instantly piercing the Young Wizard's heart. He visibly hesitated.

"This isn't a potion. It's Tears of the Two-Headed Siren. Anyone who consumes it by mistake will merely fall into an illusion. You only helped your Teacher have a pleasant dream."

The Young Wizard's eyes widened as he backed away. "You're lying!"

The goblin sneered. "I saw fear in your eyes. You don't love your Teacher—you're afraid of him. You fear him!"

"But you went against your Teacher's wishes and brought your uncle here to see me. Aren't you afraid that, once he finds out, he'll hit you with a Cruciatus Curse too?"

The goblin's words carried a strangely persuasive tone. "You had no way out to begin with, did you?"

Okay!

The emotional buildup was perfect, and the actor was cooperating wonderfully too.

Anton's eyes filled with terror and dread. He yanked open his sleeve, revealing the spell runes on his wrist, and said furiously, "What do you know? I have no way to resist my Teacher at all!"

The goblin lowered his head and glanced at it, his eyes full of contempt. "Fiennes only has some talent for the Cruciatus Curse. This sort of strange spell may seem difficult to undo, but to me, it isn't worth mentioning."

Oh!

He could deal with this too?

Anton's eyes lit up. "If I drug my Teacher, I can only run away. I'd be alone, with nowhere to go. I need some money."

The goblin sneered and tapped a finger against the pocket of Anton's Wizard Robe.

Clink, clink!

The sound of Galleons jingled.

"Young Wizard, don't push your luck!"

Fine, quit while he was ahead. Anton let out a deep breath, as though making up his mind. "You'll cure my uncle and remove the spell on my hand."

The goblin nodded. "And you will pour this bottle into your Teacher's food. Tell me, can you do that? I can only give you one year."

Anton nodded solemnly.

"Then, Mr. Rosier." The goblin turned to the middle-aged wizard watching the show from the side. "Would you mind acting as a witness and helping us cast an Unbreakable Vow?"

"With pleasure." Mr. Rosier drew his wand and looked cheerfully at the child and the goblin. They were about the same height—rather amusing.

He looked seriously at Anton. "Young Wizard, I must warn you: no one can break free of an Unbreakable Vow. The only person I know of who escaped the punishment of such a spell was Dumbledore, the greatest White Wizard of this century. Other than him, no one else has."

"If the person who makes the vow ultimately breaks it, then death will be his fate."

Anton did not look at him. That middle-aged man's eyes were far too piercing. He silently glanced at Lupin in the chair, pressed his lips together, and said, "I have no choice, do I? I'll pour the potion into my Teacher's mouth myself."

"Very good." Mr. Rosier gave Anton a curious look. "Please clasp hands."

His wand swished, and a pinkish-purple glow, like a rope, wrapped around Pedro and Anton's arms.

It flickered once, then vanished without a trace.

Yet Anton felt a strange realization: if he failed to abide by the vow, he really would die.

But...

Was it difficult?

He would go pour it in later.

Anton carefully put away the vial, only to see Pedro bring over an arm.

A grayish-white, dried, genuine human arm!

"White Hand." The goblin dangled the arm as though he were holding a plastic prop. "An arm containing a small amount of magic. A very common potion ingredient."

Anton's face was full of resistance.

Although, as the Old Wizard's experimental White Mouse, he had drunk all sorts of potions over the past two months, containing all kinds of bizarre things—

This was fucking human flesh!

He could not accept it!

The goblin grabbed Anton's hand and gently pressed the arm against his elbow.

"Huh?" Anton clenched and unclenched his fingers in surprise. The arm seemed as though it had always grown from his body, moving according to his will.

"How amazing!"

Even the little girl, Anna Rosier, came over after hearing the commotion and stared curiously at his arm with wide eyes.

Pedro curled his lip. "It's only a little trick. Other than making movements, you can't use it to grab heavy objects, nor can you hold a wand and cast spells with it."

As he spoke, he recited some strange, eerie incantation. A faint glow lit up around Anton's arm.

Before long, Anton even felt as though his eyes were playing tricks on him. He could no longer tell which part was his original arm and which part had been newly attached.

The incantation ended.

The goblin tore off the dried arm and pointed at the spell mark on Anton's wrist. "See? A flashy curse is completely useless. A simple Confundus Charm takes care of it."

Anton touched his wrist in surprise. It was pale and smooth, with no sign of the complex tattoo-like spell mark that had been there before.

The Goblin tossed the arm into Anton's embrace. "Normally, you can attach it to your body—anywhere will do. Your Teacher won't notice that the spell has been transferred. Take it off again when necessary."

"An ingenious idea."

Mr. Rosier applauded beside them in admiration. "I was also considering how to lift this curse just now. Master Pedro's method is truly brilliant. Excellent!"

The Goblin waved a hand as if he had done something utterly insignificant.

Yet the slight curl of his lips showed that he was quite pleased with himself.

"Your business is settled. Hurry back to your Teacher." The Goblin was clearly sending him away. With a cigar clenched between his teeth, he stared at Lupin. "A Werewolf, and injured by a master of the Cruciatus Curse. Troublesome."

"But it's nothing I can't handle." The Goblin held the cigar between two fingers and looked proudly at Anton. "Half a year is enough to resolve it."

Anton's eyes widened in disbelief. "Half a year?"

The Goblin cackled. "That's right. Only half a year."

Damn it, it actually needed half a year. Anton nearly lost his composure.

"Go on. I don't like human wizards here." The Goblin turned to glance at the middle-aged wizard. "Of course, my friends are excluded."

Then he looked smilingly at little Anna. "And our little princess is always welcome to come here and study Alchemy."

Fine.

He was the only outsider here.

Anton hesitated for a moment. "Can I visit my uncle during his treatment?"

The Goblin hesitated briefly. "You can visit once every two weeks."

Anton nodded. Fine.

Dragging his large suitcase out the door, he stared blankly at the sea, gripping the Old Wand as he wrestled with himself.

Where was he supposed to go next?

He felt like a fallen leaf separated from its tree, drifting wherever the current carried it, with nowhere to take root.

If Lupin had been with him, he could have considered going to live in the Muggle World, where the quality of life was better.

But alone, he'd better not.

He was just an undernourished ten-year-old kid. Without an adult to stand in front of him, even renting a place would be difficult.

In the end, he touched the Galleons in his pocket. "All right, wizarding world. I'm back."