Voldemort's curse

Sirius was having a great time playing in the water.

He and James had already figured it out; they took turns slamming their spells into the same mirror, each time they slammed it and took a half-step back, then slammed it again, causing the mirror to dent inwards and the creatures that had crawled out to be pulled back in.

James smashed things and cursed as he went, his voice booming and growing stronger with each curse. Sirius didn't curse, but his mouth was wide open, his excitement no less James's.

Peter sat in the corner by the bronze door, his hands covering his mouth, and didn't move an inch from beginning to end.

Regulus glanced at her twice, then looked away. Aksha was still waiting in front of him, her brown eyes slightly narrowed, a smile lingering on her lips, still concerned about his inquiries about her age.

His gaze held a hint of threat, but his Magic Power was functioning normally.

Regulus's gaze gradually moved past the expression on her face and landed on another scene in his perception.

Since his Magic Perception merged with his vision, he could see many things with his eyes open. He was used to seeing the professors he knew every day, but he hadn't looked at the one in front of him closely yet.

Such immense Magic Power gathered within his body, flowing simultaneously through several channels from his shoulders downwards, from his chest inwards, and from his core outwards, yet without the slightest sign of disarray.

Darkness and eeriness mingled within, deep and smooth, with the scent of fresh blood floating in one's senses, clear and without any fishy smell, blending with the night breeze and the scent of grass and trees.

Aksha's hand, which was fiddling with her shawl, suddenly stopped. She looked into his eyes, her previously casual expression now showing a hint of seriousness, and she tilted her head slightly.

Regulus's gaze was different from ordinary stares; the focus was somewhat unfocused, and it would occasionally shift slightly to the side as the Magic Power within her flowed.

Aksha's brown eyes flickered, her gaze shifting from Regulus's face to herself before returning to her own.

Her eyes twitched slightly upwards, and her eyebrows lifted. She didn't say anything, but the Magic Power within her began to stir.

Several operating channels converged at a certain point, and a thin layer of Magic Power spread out at the intersection, spreading towards the direction of perception, just in front of Regulus's perception that was merging with his gaze.

The details of the Magic Power before Regulus's eyes faded away, and in the blink of an eye, even the clearest flow was no longer visible.

Aksha was looking at him, the corner of her mouth turned up to one side, her joy was much more obvious, her raised eyebrows lingered, and she even raised her chin at him, her eyes bright as she waited.

They found it, and then covered it up.

The first time he ventured out to investigate, someone pointed it out on the spot, right in front of Nicolas Flamel. The super old man simply noticed it, casually remarked it, and then went about his business.

Dumbledore and the deans of the school probably discovered it long ago, but no one mentioned it.

He wouldn't constantly use his Magic Perception to stare at the professor; firstly, it's unnecessary, and secondly, it's impolite.

The woman in front of him also noticed his presence, which wasn't surprising. But after noticing, she not only blocked it, but then she stood there smugly, raising her eyebrows at him right now.

What she blocked was merely the passive perception that blended into his gaze. It was unclear whether she did it on purpose, only blocking for a moment to entice him to continue looking inside, or if this was simply her level of skill, and she only blocked for a short while before stopping.

Regulus guessed it was the former; she was waiting for him to probe inside, then blocking him out, playing back and forth like that.

He can increase his efforts, actively mobilize his spirit and Magic Power, and amplify his perception; that thin layer of Magic Power cannot stop him.

Regulus turned his gaze back to the slightly raised corners of her eyebrows, where she was looking at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Come on, try it."

Regulus twitched the corner of his mouth.

No way.

He gave a polite bow and looked away.

Aksha blinked, waited a moment, and then confirmed that the little guy in front of her had really stopped.

Her lips twitched slightly, her eyebrows drooped, and half of the interest in her eyes faded. She stared at him for a while, then her eyelids slowly narrowed back to the way they had when she was waiting for him to answer her age.

Regulus stood up straight, recalling the few Defense Against the Dark Arts classes he had already attended.

Her approach to dealing with dark creatures Taiyi from other professors. She knew most of what was written in the textbook, but she often talked about things outside the textbook.

If a student memorizes the answers from the book, she will point it out directly, saying that the answer in the book is wrong or right. But in a real situation or environment, she shouldn't do that.

Occasionally, when someone asks her questions based on the descriptions in the book, she can fill in the details about the local terrain and customs.

When it comes to things she's personally witnessed, even those who compile textbooks might not be able to compare to her.

In class, she truly embodied the demeanor of a professor, a far cry from the person now squinting and waiting for him to jump into the pit.

At her age, she could easily put on an act, but she deliberately didn't.

The young Wizards loved her.

The boys were exceptionally attentive in class and very active in their interactions. When she asked them questions, everyone, whether they knew the answer or not, raised their hands, and their voices were louder than usual.

A boy of this age might raise his hand ten times during a class just to get a glance from a pretty woman.

Girls also love to surround her with questions, from Magic to clothing, from clothing to makeup, and from makeup to earrings.

After class, there were always a few girls waiting for her in the Corridor or at the office door. The boys in class were happy to show off in class, and the girls after class were happy to show off in the Corridor.

But this is UK, and girls' eyes aren't necessarily all on the earrings; as for the boys—

The boy said no.

Regulus gathered his thoughts and noticed that Aksha was still staring at him. The feigned danger from before had disappeared, and she seemed to be patiently waiting for him to come to his senses.

Regulus felt that if she waited any longer, she should probably find something to do herself.

I won't play with her, and she throws a tantrum?

Regulus refocused his gaze, his expression becoming more casual, and directly asked about what he was more concerned about, "Have you already encountered the curse of this course?"

Aksha's interest rekindled, and she immediately turned her attention to him. "You know that too?"

"With a new professor every year, it's hard not to notice," Regulus said, looking at her, and then casually asked, "Did you find it?"

McGonagall shifted her gaze from the water's surface, frowned slightly, but neither interrupted nor stopped her, her eyes lingering on Aksha's face.

Aksha stared at Regulus for a moment, then looked at McGonagall, and suddenly laughed, "Look closer."

She raised her right hand, her fingers curling together in the air in front of her chest.

The Magic Power that had been blocking Regulus's senses dissipated, and the Magic Power within her body gathered, flowing through several channels into her palms. The scent of fresh blood briefly appeared along with it.

Regulus's eyes widened slightly; he already knew what she was about to do.

He had seen quite a few curses. He could recognize the common ones and break those that he knew how to break. For those he didn't know how to break, he could crush them with Magic Power.

But he never expected it could be done like this—to pull the curse out of his body?

He mobilized his spirit and Magic Power, maximizing his perception, white light shone in his eyes, and light blue floated on the outer edge of his pupils.

In her field of vision, the Magic Power that had been united gradually separated, and the subtle changes in Aksha's hands became clear.

McGonagall's Magic Power also became active, though not significantly; it was simply being withdrawn.

Aksha's Magic Power traces back along the possession relationship, and a previously imperceptible entanglement gradually emerges.

Fine black lines appeared about an inch or two above her palm, each one extremely fine, so fine that its direction was almost invisible, and they converged toward her fingertips.

Aksha's smile faded, her brown eyes became focused, and the liveliness in her eyes disappeared, making her features appear much more aloof.

Her wrist slowly rotated, the fine lines spreading out several times before she gathered them back together. The Magic Power kept changing, with several forces pulling back one after another, causing more and more black lines to appear on her palm.

Finally, it coalesced into a ball the size of a thumb, with several thinner black threads still trailing behind it, pulling it back onto her body.

Regulus sensed carefully and saw that what appeared before her was the part of the curse that had fallen on her; beyond that, there was nothing else in sight.

The black lines reached the end of the fine lines on the outer side of the palm. There was nothing there, but there was something else that could be sensed. A line pierced into the void and extended to a place that could not be touched.

Theoretically speaking, following this connection, we could find Voldemort's location.

However, if someone were to use this curse to their advantage and follow it to Voldemort, Voldemort might also find out.

He glanced at Aksha.

Her attention remained focused on the area in front of her palm, clearly indicating that she knew exactly what she was drawing. While demonstrating, she maintained the existing connection for the more distant parts.

Regulus had even less reason to search further.

The professor isn't him, and the curse isn't on him; this isn't his business.

If Aksha could do this, Dumbledore couldn't. Let the older folks worry about these things; he's a junior wizard, he just needs to focus on his studies.

The next moment, Aksha closed her palms, the black lines dissipated, and several thin lines retracted into her palms. The intertwined mass dispersed into pieces and fell back into her body.

The attachment can still be felt, but the external shape has disappeared, leaving only a clean sheet of skin in the palm of the hand.

Regulus wasn't quite done looking. "Let's look a little longer."

Aksha's previously cold expression brightened again; the corners of her mouth curved upwards, and her whole face lit up with a smile.

"It looks easy for you, but I have to keep squeezing it."

Regulus withdrew his senses, and the light in his eyes gradually faded.

Her outstretched palm was fair and smooth, with a thin silver ring on her index finger and a slightly larger ring on her middle finger, set with an oval dark gemstone.

"Should we just leave it exposed?"

Aksha withdrew her hand, giving him a disdainful look. "What else do you want? For me to follow the curse back there?"

Then she changed the subject, her tone becoming more approving. "Voldemort put a lot of effort into this."

The Magic Power that had gathered around McGonagall receded, and she stared at the spot where the black markings had disappeared, her brows furrowed, her expression thoughtful.

Voldemort's curse was revealed for the first time.

Regulus felt relieved.

The man before him was quite old and capable; he certainly couldn't do this himself right now. He could handle ordinary curses, but he was helpless against curses created by someone of Voldemort's caliber.

Aksha's ability to pull the curse from her hand is impressive, regardless of how it actually performs in a fight.

Aksha rubbed her fingers together, still praising, "To be able to execute a curse to this extent, he really has the skill. Why didn't Little Albus keep people alive back then?"

Regulus snapped out of his reverie and became interested in the topic as well, "What has kept Professor Dumbledore for so many years—"

McGonagall's brow, which had been furrowed earlier, furrowed even deeper now. Her tone turned serious as she interrupted him, "You all know how he's used his skills."

She looked at Aksha, her gaze even more serious than before. "Should we let him stay at the school to teach students?"

Regulus quickly finished his sentence, his tone very sincere. "--I've had to clean up his messes for so many years."

Aksha glanced at him sideways and mocked him mercilessly. "You're just pretending to be innocent."

Regulus let her look at him, his expression calm.

Aksha turned back to McGonagall, completely ignoring the seriousness in her eyes, and said to herself, "I said his curse was well done."

Regulus chimed in, "Well done indeed."

Professor McGonagall didn't even bother glaring at him anymore.