The Unforgivable Curses were unforgivable because the emotions required to cast them were extremely intense.
One had to be utterly determined to kill someone, torture someone, or control someone. Having such thoughts and putting them into practice was the real reason casting an Unforgivable Curse meant going to Azkaban.
So, under normal circumstances, it was impossible to cast the Cruciatus Curse on a rock—unless someone had developed a firm desire to torture that rock.
Adam looked at Bernard, who had suddenly fallen into an awkward silence, and spoke calmly:
"If you'd used a cockroach or a Flobberworm, I wouldn't have been nearly this reassured."
He would rather make himself want to torture a rock than find a living creature...
"I... I was leaving myself a way out!"
Bernard stiffened his neck.
"If you'd reported me back then, the Flashback Charm would have shown that I'd never used the Cruciatus Curse at all!"
The Flashback Charm recreated the target of a spell, and a rock clearly did not count.
"Then why didn't you leave yourself a way out this time?"
Seeing Bernard unable to answer, Adam smiled faintly.
"The fact that you wanted to test this in the first place means you had those pure feelings yourself, doesn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't care so much, or use such a costly method to test our friendship. You could have chosen a way that wouldn't affect you at all..."
Seeing Bernard on the verge of becoming angry from embarrassment, Adam immediately changed the subject.
"Your way of 'leaving yourself an out' is still rooted in ordinary legal systems. Muggle police have limited methods of gathering evidence. But wizards not only have Veritaserum, they even have Pensieves that can replay memories—there's one in our headmaster's office. Don't think about using similar methods in the future. You might end up screwing yourself over."
Bernard froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Come to think of it, what were the Dementors and the Wizengamot you mentioned before?"
"Dementors are the guards of Azkaban. They're a kind of..."
They became so absorbed in their conversation that, when they got dressed, they were both embarrassed by their wrinkled, waterlogged fingers.
When they returned to the dormitory, just as their roommates were wondering why they had taken so long washing up, Bernard took the initiative to tell everyone what had happened that day.
Their roommates all wore expressions much like Adam's when he had first heard the reason.
They did not really understand it, but...
They wanted to say they could forgive him, but Bernard using the Cruciatus Curse to fight and protect them that day did not seem like something that needed forgiving.
"Don't do anything so thrilling next time."
Uther sighed helplessly.
"Unforgivable Curses and the like shouldn't be used unless it's truly a life-or-death situation."
Adam's gaze toward Uther shifted slightly. Good lad, why did that sound a little criminally chargeable too?
After that day, no one mentioned the matter again. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the end-of-year feast. During that period, the only news about Harry was that he had missed the final Quidditch match, allowing Slytherin to win the Quidditch Cup after all.
Combined with the House points Gryffindor had lost because of Harry and the others, this year's House Cup would undoubtedly fall into Slytherin's hands again... right?
"Don't be so quick to feel sad. How about some Taro Pie?"
At the teachers' table, Professor Dumbledore was announcing the current scores of the four Houses, while Adam was handing out snacks. After giving some to his roommates, Adam stuffed one into Cedric's hand as well. It was piping hot and looked as though it had just come out of the oven.
Good food should not be wasted. Cedric took a bite while it was hot. The smooth taro paste filling complemented the crisp crust perfectly, lifting his mood considerably.
Delicious. Recommended for the shelves.
Before Cedric could give Adam his review, he witnessed Professor Dumbledore's performance.
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin."
Professor Dumbledore clapped a few times for the House currently in first place. With a kindly smile, he continued speaking just as the Slytherins gradually developed an ominous feeling.
"However, several recent events must also be taken into account..."
"...Gryffindor receives 50 points!"
"...Gryffindor receives 50 points!"
"...Gryffindor receives 60 points!"
"...Gryffindor receives another 10 points!"
During the feast, the Slytherins were somewhat dazed. The scarlet and gold decorations all around them were especially glaring beneath the candlelight.
"What exactly happened?"
One Slytherin could not help asking.
"Damn Dumbledore! This is blatant favoritism!"
His classmate viciously stabbed his fork into the ribs in front of him.
"Shut up. Can't you see Professor Snape hasn't said anything?"
Rather than drawing agreement, that classmate's words earned him a round of eye rolls.
If Professor Dumbledore had truly given those Gryffindors points purely out of personal bias, how could Professor Snape possibly allow it?
"But... he didn't explain anything at all!"
That was what angered the Slytherins most. If he had explained how one could earn 170 points, perhaps they could have...
Adam felt that they should stop dreaming. Otherwise, once Voldemort returned, their parents might not survive.
Although Gryffindor had ultimately won the House Cup, Slytherin was the only House in the entire Great Hall that was unhappy—there was no helping it, since they had made too many enemies by winning the House Cup year after year.
"Cheers~"
For example, Adam and the others clinked their colorful sodas together to celebrate Slytherin missing out on the House Cup.
After the end-of-year feast, there was truly nothing left to do. All of Hogwarts had already sunk into the atmosphere of the holidays. The only minor incident was that report cards were handed out on their final day at Hogwarts.
"God, Adam, you really are a monster—"
Klon bounced over to peer over Adam's shoulder, then let out a howl.
"We were all sleeping in class! How did you get an O in History of Magic?!"
Eugene had originally patted Klon's shoulder comfortingly, but after hearing that, he lowered his head to look at the O beside History of Magic on his own report card and quietly withdrew his hand.
Better not provoke him any further...
Even though none of the five dormmates had failed a single subject, Adam getting Os in every class was still a little ridiculous. The other four pinned him down and demanded that he cook them something delicious to soothe their feelings.
So, that night, they had hot pot right on the round table in their dormitory.
Although all four complained that Adam was being lazy, this method of tossing in whatever they wanted to eat turned out to be surprisingly popular.
"Then it's settled."
After dropping some shrimp paste into the hot pot, Uther looked at the other four.
"Come visit me in Egypt during the holidays, okay~"
"We'll try."
Although everyone nodded, going abroad was ultimately not something they could decide for themselves.
It was not a matter of money. None of the five came from families short on funds. But if their parents could not make time, a group of underage children could hardly fly to Egypt by themselves.
"If it comes down to it, I'll have my father negotiate with the British Ministry of Magic..."
"Let's not trouble your father."
Adam reached out to stop Uther from thinking any further. His father was Egypt's Minister for Magic; a few children going abroad on vacation did not need to become a diplomatic matter.
"Let's go home and discuss it with our parents—I'm sure at least one of mine can make time. If not, I can ask my grandparents to take me. If it really comes to that, we can meet up first, and then have one of my family members take us all together."
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