The Other Effect of the Curse

Veratia never imagined that lust could be considered a negative emotion.

She didn't realize this until several days later.

After noticing this matter, which could be either a big deal or a small one, Veratia, after careful consideration, summoned Cassandra from Britain.

After listening to Veratia's account of the situation, Cassandra smiled knowingly.

"Oh, I never thought a philanderer would worry about other philanderers." Cassandra looked utterly defeated, the small beauty mark at the corner of her eye trembling with her expression. "So, you're serious? You're actually worried that Harry's lust will lead him astray and steal away with another philanderer?"

"I'm talking to you about serious business, Cass," Veratia tried to remain composed.

"That's important too, my dear Veratia." Cassandra sat down opposite Veratia with a smile, her hands supporting her chin, her eyes shining.

She even went so far as not to use Veratia's surname, but instead used this affectionate nickname.

OMG, this is absolutely awesome!

Some kittens are just kittens, but some kittens—like Cassandra right now—only want to see the world burn brightly.

"Stop joking, Cass," Veratia said, rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "I'm serious, and I hope you can take it seriously too." Cassandra covered her mouth, "I've tried to be serious, but—"

My dear Veratia —this is simply the best punishment for a philandering cat like you!

Seeing that Veratia narrowed her eyes and her expression turned hostile, Cassandra decided to stop while she was ahead.

"Alright, I get it, Miss Veratia the Cat of Love." Cassandra raised her delicate eyebrows. "So, what do you need me to do? Do you want me to help you keep an eye on that walking Love Potion that's been switched on, or do you want me to solve this once and for all?"

"A permanent solution?" Veratia's interest was piqued. "You know about this curse?"

"I don't understand this curse, but I do have a way," Cassandra whispered in Veratia's ear. "All we need to do is sever the root of that little Troll, and everything will be solved. Don't you agree?"

"That's impossible." Veratia laughed in exasperation. "You'd really do that?"

"I can't bear to part with it," Cassandra said honestly.

"Then why did you suggest it!" Veratia slammed her hand on the table and stood up, shouting.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood, Veratia," Cassandra said with a smile. "Why are you so anxious?"

"Am I getting impatient?" Veratia sat down, trying to calm herself down.

Cassandra didn't speak, but simply looked at Veratia with a meaningful smile.

Anyway, whoever is anxious knows it themselves; I don't need to tell them.

"So—" Cassandra spoke again, "I do have a good idea, I wonder if you'd like to know about it."

"I don't want to hear jokes, Cassandra." Veratia rubbed her temples, trying to relieve the pressure. "What I need are practical, effective solutions."

Cassandra stood up and walked over to Veratia.

She leaned close to Veratia's ear and whispered several words.

The more Veratia listened, the brighter her eyes became.

But in the end, it turned into a hint of suspicion.

"Is this method really going to work?" she asked curiously.

"Perhaps it will work?" Cassandra said with a smile. "The decision is yours, after all, you are the highest-ranking woman in this family—don't you think so, my dear Minister?"

Seeing that Veratia was still pondering, Cassandra whispered that Veratia was adding fuel to the fire.

"Consider this a sacrifice you made for this family. Veratia, Sweeting and I will always remember your kindness."

"Okay," Veratia nodded and said, "Then I'll do as you say—well, but I need to rest for a day."

When Veratia said those words, it was clear that she was indeed exhausted.

I'm so tired.

"A day off?" Cassandra asked, puzzled. "Why should we rest? You should know how serious the situation is! How can you rest at a time like this?"

Veratia's face turned red.

"Don't forget," she said, still holding her head high, "He's the youngest Seeker in history—and the best Seeker in Hogwarts' history!"

"So?" Cassandra asked, puzzled.

"Stop pretending, Cass," Veratia slammed her hand on the table. "Don't act like you don't know how much trouble he can cause!"

In short, after staying in Vienna for a few more days and confirming that Harry's curse had no other effects, Harry was sent back to Hogwarts by Cassandra.

Harry visibly breathed a sigh of relief when he returned to Hogwarts.

In reality, the curse had no effect on him. To put it bluntly, Harry's personality meant that he didn't harbor much hatred towards others.

Voldemort has already died countless times, so what effect could he possibly have on him now?

Ron was visibly delighted to see Harry, whom he had "not seen for a long time," return to Hogwarts.

But Harry's first words made Ron's face immediately fall.

"How did you do on the exam?" he asked.

"Don't even mention it," Ron sighed. "The last History of Magic exam was a complete disaster. Sitting in the exam hall, I realized I really had a hard time remembering all those names, and I kept getting the dates mixed up. So I just skipped the fourth question. What was it again?"

"In your opinion, did the Wand Regulations contribute to or help better control the Goblin Riots of the eighteenth century?" Seamus said from the side. "I remember the question, but I have no idea what the answer should be, so I just wrote something down randomly. I hope Professor Binns won't be angry when he sees it."

"Professor Binns won't get angry. He's a ghost now, so even if he did, he wouldn't be able to harm you," Ron said with a grin. "Unless he can pull your soul out and punch you in the ground, but that's obviously impossible."

"Why do people need to study the History of Magic?" Neville concluded. "I really don't think this exam is necessary. Even without knowing the past, we're still living just fine, aren't we?"

"No, Neville," Hermione said. "Every discipline has its purpose, and the purpose of History of Magic is to let us know who we are. There are complex causal relationships and inherent inevitabilities between events, and understanding the meaning of history is to reveal the causal relationships and historical inevitabilities that exist in the historical process."

"Now that you've said that, I understand even less," Neville said, raising his hand.

The people around burst into laughter, and even Hermione herself couldn't help but laugh.

On the very day Harry returned to Hogwarts, the Daily Prophet published another explosive piece of news.

The man whose name cannot be mentioned is back, Minister for Magic Sirius Black confirmed in a brief statement Friday night. The man whose name cannot be mentioned has returned to the country and is active once again.

"I regret to announce that the wizard who proclaimed himself the Demon King —oh, you all know who I'm referring to—is still alive."

"And they've become active among us again," Sirius said in his address to reporters, appearing remarkably calm rather than flustered. "It's also a pity that the Death Eater who escaped from Azkaban seem to have found their master, clearly due to the negligence of the previous Ministry of Magic. If Fudge had stepped up and led us to thwart Voldemort's plot, perhaps we wouldn't be so tense today."

When the word "Voldemort" was uttered, the surrounding reporters visibly gasped.

But the Minister's calm demeanor reassured them.

"We strongly urge the Magical World community to remain vigilant. The Ministry of Magic has published the ' Preliminary Defensive Guide for Family and Individual,' which will be distributed free of charge to all wizarding households over the next week. This is a necessary action."

However, one thing is certain: the person whose name cannot even be mentioned, along with a group of followers (whom everyone knows to be referring to the Death Eater), has returned to the public eye.

Furthermore, according to Mr. Dumbledore, Hogwarts Headmaster, President of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, defeated the Dark Lord more than once during his time at Hogwarts.

He mentioned the Prophecy about the boy who survived the ordeal, a Prophecy that has clearly been proven true—this the Boy Who Lived is the very nemesis of the Dark Lord himself.

At least we should believe that Hogwarts is absolutely safe; at the very least, the Dark Lord himself wouldn't dare enter Hogwarts and confront the Boy Who Lived and Dumbledore himself.

"The Dark Lord isn't stupid," Ron said with a grin. "It's one thing for him to fight Harry alone, but him going into Hogwarts to fight Harry and Dumbledore together? I have no doubt that Dumbledore could crush him without Harry even lifting a finger."

"It seems the Ministry of Magic is also taking action now," Neville muttered.

They were in the Common Room of Gryffindor, and Hermione was reading the Daily Prophet aloud to her classmates.

"Trust Sirius," Ron said with a shrug. "After all, he's Harry's Godfather, don't you think? I think—"—what's that?

He grabbed a handful of Chocolate Frog from a pile of things on the shelf and threw a few to Harry, Ginny, and Neville. He then tore off the wrapper from his own piece, swallowed it whole without even looking at the card.

The Chocolate Frog didn't even have time to jump; its two legs were kicking weakly near Ron's mouth, looking utterly pathetic.

"Really," Ron said. "But I think Harry will definitely get a Chocolate Frog card someday. Trust me— Harry's kids will see their classmates celebrating in their compartments on the train that they've drawn another Harry Potter card, while Harry's son will grumble irritably, 'What's so special about that? I have a real one at home.'"

Upon hearing Ron's words, everyone burst into laughter.

No one was alarmed by the Daily Prophet —after all, Voldemort had returned, but no one knew their whereabouts.

And Harry has thwarted Voldemort's plots more than once. With someone like that around, what is there to be afraid of?

"I can see that," Seamus said, sitting in his chair. "Even the Daily Prophet is saying good things about Harry." "No, Seamus," Hermione said with a smile. "You come from Half-blood family, so you should know about the Daily Prophet. They're always opportunistic; they side with whoever wins."

That's a valid point.

The students quickly dispersed; after all, it was getting late, and they should hurry back to bed.

After the exams, the students' lives immediately went from tense to extremely relaxed.

They hadn't really relaxed much throughout their fifth year, so enjoying this rare moment of relaxation felt a bit strange.

Even when I have free time, I feel guilty for doing nothing.

Fortunately, after a few days of adjustment, most people have returned to normal and are going about their business as usual. Some have even stopped going out and are sleeping soundly in their dorm rooms.

This resulted in the castle being unusually quiet, even on Sundays.

It seems that most people have already gone out to enjoy the sunshine and relaxation after the exams and the leisurely days before the final exams when there are no classes or homework.

Harry, Anne, Ron, and Hermione walked slowly down the empty corridor, gazing out the window; he could see groups of people floating in the air above the Quidditch pitch, and two students and a Giant Squid swimming in the lake.

"We'll be sixth graders School Opening," Hermione said, stretching. "Oh my god, it feels like it was just yesterday—our enrollment, the Sorting, it all feels like yesterday—"

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Ron said with a smile. "I still remember that afternoon when you pushed open the door to my and Harry's private room."

At the time, I was thinking, "How can there be such an arrogant little girl?"

"Heh." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and kicked Ron hard in the foot.

Serves you right for talking nonsense!

"Time really flies," Anne said, leaning against the wall and looking up at Harry. "I still remember what the Sorting Hat said to me when I was first Sorting —but I never imagined that I would become best friends with a Gryffindor."

"Anne, I heard that in your time, the four houses were very united, is that true?" Hermione asked curiously, "Even more united than the four houses are now?"

"Yes," Anne said with a smile, "It's all thanks to one person—the then- Headmaster, Mr. Black. Phineas Black. He must have been a good man." Hermione said with a touch of longing, "He was able to unite the four houses."