Some Small Patterns of Cards

Dewey's recent raids had two targets in mind.

One was a wand, as well as revenge.

The other was the Marauder's Map.

To be precise, the primary target was the little rat, Scabbers.

As it turned out, Scabbers was not with Ron, so they had to settle for their second choice: obtaining the Marauder's Map from the twins.

Sirius was, of course, familiar with this item.

When he first got his hands on it, he had stroked it with deep affection.

"The Marauder's Map," he said to Dewey. "An old friend. When we kept Lupin company, we used it to go to Hogsmeade, and we used it to dodge those students."

"Hogsmeade was a place we frequented."

He spoke to Dewey, but Dewey had little patience for his stories, as they were fleeing for their lives at the time.

Now, Sirius could finally talk.

Next, they would have to face a furious Ministry of Magic and Aurors who had completely cast aside all taboos and were free to use Dark Magic.

Dewey did not think the two of them could take on so many Aurors.

Two fists are no match for four hands; even a hero cannot withstand a crowd.

Leaving London was the priority. They departed the city with surprising speed and managed to secure two Flying Broomsticks.

This was the reason Dewey had sought out Sirius.

As a descendant of a pure-blood family and an old-school orthodox wizard, Sirius always had strange and unconventional connections.

Even after being locked away for over a decade, some of his channels still functioned.

Dewey called this "networking."

They were currently on their Flying Broomsticks, fleeing toward the outskirts.

While on the broomstick, Dewey organized his cards, listening to Sirius's past with half an ear.

Among the two recent battles, there were a few new cards that Dewey quite liked.

[Expecto Patronum]

[Expecto Patronum: The famous Patronus Charm. Only those with a righteous heart can use it—or perhaps those who merely feel they have a righteous heart.]

["Oh, dear, you look just like a giant toad in that pink sweater."]

The purple card dropped by the Hit Wizards was the Patronus Charm.

The drop rate was delightful; he felt like a lucky god.

The Patronus Charm was not a spell that every wizard needed to master.

Its primary function was to deal with Dementors; without specific needs, adult witches and wizards would not go out of their way to learn it.

For these Hit Wizards, it was just about the most common spell they used.

There were also several hexes, all blue cards.

The first was Reducto.

[Reducto]

[Reducto: You can use Petrificus Totalus first, then follow up with Reducto. Want to see your enemy's ashes? Perhaps you also need to learn how to summon wind and rain; a set of magic to grind someone to dust.]

["Bitch, stay away from my daughter!"]

The second was Petrificus Totalus.

[Petrificus Totalus]

[Petrificus Totalus: I want you to look like a statue.]

["I'm sorry, Neville, it's not like that."]

The third was Locomotor Mortis.

[Locomotor Mortis]

[Locomotor Mortis: Stand straight, good boy. Trust me, your legs still won't be able to move.]

["You look much better standing up than you do slouching around."]

There were a few other hexes, but Dewey looked them over and didn't care for them.

When it came to torture, he still preferred Crucio above all else.

A large number of white cards were also common spells: the Reparo charm for repairs, the Lumos charm for illumination, and the rest were just mediocre.

Dewey thought carefully and decided to stick to his old rule: specialize in a few, dabble in others, and disenchant the rest for dust.

First, based on their upcoming actions, he had to learn [Expecto Patronum].

Regardless of its power, the significance contained within this card alone was enough for Dewey to take it seriously.

Then, he needed some hexes to hold his ground.

Locomotor Mortis.

Petrificus Totalus.

Reducto.

He had to learn at least one of these cards.

Dewey Jones pondered for a moment before making his choice.

He did not dismantle Petrificus Totalus or Reducto; these two cards made for an excellent combination. By casting them in quick succession, he could send his opponent to their end with an effect no less lethal than Avada Kedavra.

The difference was that Avada Kedavra was unblockable.

Petrificus Totalus and Reducto, however, could be intercepted.

Using these two spells meant there would be no need for cremation; he would blast his target straight into ashes.

He dismantled the remaining essences.

Dewey received 3,750 points of essence.

Dewey saw his character panel update:

[User: Dewey Jones (Pseudonym)

Learned Cards:

[(Apprentice) Protego (Level 5)](White Common)

[Stupefy (Level 4)](White Common)

[Apparition (Level 2)](Purple Epic)

[Avada Kedavra (Level 1)](Purple Epic)

[Obliviate (Level 3)](White Common)

[Finite Incantatem (Level 2)](Blue Rare)

[Animagus (Special Card)]

[Petrificus Totalus (Level 1)](Blue Rare) *10

[Reducto (Level 1)](Blue Rare) *2

[Expecto Patronum (Level 1)](Purple Epic) *12

Title: None

Magic Power: 80

Magic Essence: 4100

Duel Points: 4]

The number of Expecto Patronum cards exceeded Dewey's expectations.

The reason their drop rate was so high was that they frequently used Expecto Patronum while in Azkaban.

The last time they used Expecto Patronum was, well, the last time.

Back when they were in Azkaban.

It was practically their daily mandatory coursework; they had to deliver meals to the depths of the fortress right on schedule.

The Hit Wizards would never enter the fortress themselves.

The task of delivering food fell to the Patronus.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered domesticating magical creatures to enter Azkaban and act as jailers.

The attempts failed.

Even overly intelligent animals would fall into depression in Azkaban.

They might not be killed by Dementors, but the ancient fortress used to imprison criminals was a site of Dark Magic; even without Dementors, the place would drive animals away.

Survival instinct.

If they tried to keep dogs inside, the Death Eaters in the deepest cells would kill them.

They had tried that before.

As for other forms of magic, please, who cared about the thoughts of a few cogs in the machine (the Hit Wizards)?

The British Empire and the Ministry of Magic were cut from the same cloth.

The Ministry of Magic had its own unique circumstances.

The mere fact that they had attempted to use animals was already a rare sign of progress.

Many people treated even the mention of Azkaban as a taboo.

Seeing so many [Expecto Patronum] cards, Dewey chose to prioritize upgrading that spell first.

With 12 Expecto Patronum cards, he could upgrade [Expecto Patronum] to Level 3 and still have 3 purple cards left over, which would be worth 1,200 essence if dismantled.

Dewey was in no rush to do so; he upgraded Petrificus Totalus to Level 3 and began to consider his next upgrade path.

If cards reached level 5, they would gain a prefix, becoming "Apprentice" grade and seeing their power greatly increased.

The safest path now was to upgrade all the remaining white and blue cards to the Apprentice prefix, ensuring his strength was maximized.

There was no need to hoard too much essence; if he were caught, he would surely die.

Keeping this essence served no purpose.

Facing a dangerous figure like Dumbledore, the best outcome was not to be caught at all, rather than relying on hidden cards after being captured.

Stupefy was at level 4.

Seeing this, Dewey did not hesitate and boosted Stupefy to level 5.

He copied 10 white cards, consuming 1,000 essence.

After doing this, Dewey saw that a prefix had indeed been added to his Stupefy.

Apprentice!

Dewey breathed a sigh of relief.

The remaining essence was not enough to copy purple cards to a level where they could be upgraded.

Dewey looked at Obliviate, Petrificus Totalus, and Reducto.

Better go with Obliviate.

A level 4 Obliviate required 800 essence, and a level 5 Obliviate required 1,000 essence, totaling only 1,800 essence.

Dewey added points to bring Obliviate to level 5. Unlike Stupefy and Protego, the level 5 Obliviate underwent some changes to its card face.

The Apprentice-level Obliviate could now be targeted and directed!

Furthermore, Obliviate had transformed into a [Blue Card].