"By the way, Dewey used Avada Kedavra on our men."
Mad-Eye Moody said to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore glanced toward the two people in the hospital beds.
For the first time, he looked surprised.
"Forgive me for saying so," Dumbledore said. "I'm afraid my eyesight has grown so poor that I can no longer tell people from ghosts."
Dumbledore's meaning was clear. The Three Unforgivable Curses were called unforgivable because once cast, they had no countercurse, could not be undone, and left no room for regret.
If either of these two Aurors had been hit by an Unforgivable Curse, they wouldn't be in this state.
They should have been dead already.
Dewey didn't seem like the sort of good person who didn't want to kill anyone.
If he didn't want to kill, he would have used a different spell.
People cast Avada Kedavra because they wanted to take someone's life.
Avada Kedavra wasn't a prank to scare children. It was one of the most famous spells in the Wizarding World.
Someone who had been tortured for over a decade in Azkaban couldn't possibly feel no hatred toward anyone.
There were only two ways to withstand Avada Kedavra: the first was not to be hit by it, and the other was the magic of love.
There was no other way to undo the curse.
But could two ordinary witches and wizards who were just going through the motions at work really have the magic of love?
Dumbledore sneakily glanced at the two Aurors in the hospital beds again. They looked rather sweet.
But they didn't seem like a couple, either.
Mad-Eye Moody was at a loss.
"You can look at them openly, Dumbledore."
Mad-Eye Moody grumbled, taking out his flask and swigging some liquor.
Dumbledore said he couldn't understand what had happened.
Just then, Mad-Eye Moody seemed to get some news from a colleague. His expression immediately turned serious.
"Something's happened, Dumbledore."
Mad-Eye Moody checked the message again, then stared at Dumbledore in surprise and said slowly, "Fudge has used his ministerial authority to lift our ban. He's allowing all Hit Wizards and Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses when they see Dewey."
Dumbledore was surprised that Fudge could bring himself to make that decision.
"What about Sirius Black?"
"No. Fudge hasn't lifted the ban on using spells against Sirius. But if he's caught, the most likely outcome is that a Dementor will give him a kiss."
Mad-Eye Moody said.
Dumbledore sighed and shook his head, deciding not to worry about these things anymore.
The most important problem before him now was Hogwarts' teachers.
He had to find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The children would be back at school soon, and the school couldn't be without a teacher!
The Ministry of Magic's Aurors across England were all searching for Dewey and Sirius.
So what was Dewey doing now?
He was eating little cakes.
He lounged with his bare feet propped up on the living room table. The Dursley family dared not complain.
Especially Dudley.
Poor little Dudley stood beside Dewey, sniffling over and over as he stared fixedly at Dewey's mouth.
His little cakes were being stuffed into the mouth of the great villain in front of him, bulging his cheeks before he swallowed them.
Vernon lay stiff as a board on the floor.
Don't get the wrong idea. Dewey hadn't hit him with an "Avada Kedavra."
Dewey had only knocked him out.
"Don't worry. At most, he's got a mild concussion. I'll fix him up."
Dewey said with complete confidence.
Two wands lay in front of him, while Petunia boiled water for tea.
"Ma'am, could I have more sugar, please? I want six times as much."
He called out to Petunia.
Petunia shuddered in fright.
The people at the Ministry of Magic would never have imagined that the criminal they were trying to capture would brazenly show up at the Dursley house, right at the scene of the crime. They didn't seem to understand the criminal mind very well.
The Ministry's people had just come by to erase the Dursley family's memories, and now Dewey had shown up to eat and drink. The Dursley family didn't dare defy him at all.
Dewey happily laid his Silver Sickles on the table and counted them.
This was the money he'd gotten from defeating his enemies.
As the saying went, a rich man was a man, but a poor man was hard-pressed. The right to mint money in the magical world wasn't in the hands of wizards. The Goblins of Gringotts were the true masters of its financial system.
Gringotts wasn't just a bank.
It was a vast financial institution.
Powerful wizards could provide for themselves through magic, alchemy, and other means.
The rest still needed a medium of exchange.
That was what Gringotts did, and they also held some power over financial regulation.
The Goblins made up a substantial part of the Wizarding World. These fellows were nothing like House-elves, who meekly accepted everything.
They bred Magical Creatures, had the right to mint money, could use magic, and could even forge powerful magical artifacts.
The Sword of Gryffindor, for example, had been made by Goblins.
More importantly, Goblins didn't accept wizard rule.
The only reason they obediently did as they were told was that they didn't currently have the power to resist wizards.
That was all.
Their rebellions had been crushed by wizards.
If they ever got the chance, they would surely rebel again.
Goblins were the sort of creatures with a rebellious streak in their bones.
So if Dewey wanted to get rich, his first thought wasn't to rob Gringotts.
His first thought was war.
Conquer the Wizarding World, take control of Gringotts, force the Elves to work for him, and after the war, he'd have a mountain of money!
"What nonsense."
Dewey shook his head, driving the terrifying thought out of his mind.
He took his feet off the table and pulled the money out of his pocket.
He'd gotten thirteen Silver Sickles and dozens of Knuts from the two Aurors at the Ministry of Magic.
Together, they weren't even worth a single Galleon.
"Pathetic."
Dewey said disdainfully. Luckily, he didn't need a medium of exchange. He was already the most dangerous fugitive in all of England, according to the television.
His reputation couldn't sink any lower.
While the neighbors hoarded grain, I hoarded guns; the neighbors were my granary.
Just like now.
Dewey tallied up what he'd gained on this trip.
A large number of Cards. Those were what he liked most.
[Stupefy]*16
[Finite Incantatem]*8
[Alohomora]*12
[Obliviate]*8
[Impedimenta]*4
[Accio]*28
[Reparo]*30
[Muffliato]
[Scourgify]*18
From their Cards, Dewey could tell how dull these two Aurors' lives had been.
They used Reparo most often, followed by Accio.
All kinds of things came flying to them.
And then there was the cleaning spell.
Of the troubles they faced in their day-to-day lives, the ones that needed fixing were the most common, and they weren't very dangerous—at least, not before they ran into a madman like Dewey.
That meant that after all that effort, nearly beating these two Aurors to death, he'd only gotten a bunch of White Cards.
Even if he broke down the White Cards, it would be hard to upgrade the Unforgivable Curses twice.
"So why am I so fixated on the Unforgivable Curses?"
Dewey wondered aloud. A spell, if used well, could kill with Stupefy, too. If you stunned a wizard flying at high speed, a traffic accident could kill him just as easily.
So which little darling should he upgrade this time?
Dewey sat there alone, laughing and muttering to himself under his breath. He looked just like a madman.
Seeing him like that, Dudley didn't dare cry anymore.
He huddled up in fear, a little ball of flesh, trying his best to make sure Dewey couldn't see him.
Petunia came to bring them tea. Seeing Dewey like that, she fearfully pulled the chubby boy into her arms.
Dewey ignored them. He was choosing which spells to invest points in. In any case, he'd seen how powerful Protego was.
For his own safety, he'd definitely put a lot of points into Protego.
Then he'd choose an offensive spell.
Stupefy.
He thought that spell was pretty good.
And after that, he ought to learn the spell every criminal most needed to know.
Obliviate.
Dewey quickly settled on his plan. He looked up at Petunia. She was holding Dudley close, and when she saw Dewey looking at her, her teeth chattered as she said, "Please, please don't hurt us. We can give you money. We'll give you anything you want..."
Dewey ignored Petunia.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I won't do anything inappropriate to Mr. Dudley, as long as you meet my request.
"So could you get me some little cakes, like the ones I had earlier?
"And some honey, too. Thank you."
He broke down all the spells he'd obtained this time, keeping only Finite Incantatem, Stupefy, and Obliviate.
Among them, Finite Incantatem was a rare Blue Card; the rest were ordinary White Cards. Even a powerful spell like Obliviate was an ordinary White Card, which puzzled Dewey.
Breaking them down gave him 2,325 Essence, and with the 25 Essence he'd had left over from last time, he now had 2,350 Essence in total.
His next plan depended on whether these spells were any good!
Before you continue