Malfoy Manor, basement.
"He deserved it?"
Voldemort came to stand before the bound Muggle and asked Lucius.
"Yes, Dark Lord."
"He did something unforgivable to a thirteen-year-old girl," Lucius said firmly. "The Muggles all wanted him dead, but their laws protected him."
Voldemort nodded, then turned to look at Neville and Luna, who were following behind him.
"Are you sure you want to watch the whole thing?" he asked the two children. "It might be a little brutal."
"I'm sure, Teacher. He deserved it," Luna said resolutely.
Neville nodded too, but he looked a little nervous, and his right eye seemed rather unfocused.
His vision in that eye was getting worse and worse. It looked as if he might go completely blind.
Voldemort had tried to treat it, but he couldn't find a way.
"Very well. Stay here, then. You can learn a little about curses while you're at it."
Voldemort was silent for a moment, then said to the two children, "Senior Abhu was cursed by his enemy, but he cursed the other person first. Only then did that person use a human life as the price to curse him in return. You understand the situation, right?"
The two children nodded vigorously.
"Usually, returning the sacrifice to the curse is enough to solve the problem."
As he spoke, he suddenly smiled. "It's just like Hogwarts signing an employment contract with me for Defense Against the Dark Arts. The curse I left on the post would be lifted."
"Teacher, weren't you the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor last year?" Neville asked, puzzled.
"That was in Quirrell's name, not mine," Voldemort said with a smile. "But back to the curse."
The two students nodded at once.
"What I just described applies only to ordinary wizards. A master of curses like