Envisioning Conceptual Spells and Doubts About the Deal!

[Yes! Conceptual Spell—Restore to Original can allow the host to restore anything to the state it was in at any point in its past.]

"Thump, thump..."

Dudley's heartbeat involuntarily quickened. He was thrilled. If he obtained this reward, he would truly soar to new heights!

Revive loved ones, annihilate enemies—none would be able to stop him!

Harry's parents, Dumbledore's family—the return of the dead would no longer be a dream!

If Voldemort dared swagger around in front of him, Dudley could directly restore that ugly bastard to the state he had been in inside his mother's womb. He wanted immortality? Dudley would let his rebirth end in premature death!

Dudley's imagination ran wild, one novel idea after another bursting from his mind. Excitement filled him as he held the golden cup in his hands, the corners of his mouth unconsciously rising into a silent, sinister grin. He said nothing, and looked rather terrifying.

He had long suspected that SS-Rank and SSS-Rank Regret Events hid something major. As expected, he had been right!

There had been no means of resurrecting people in the original story. The so-called Deathly Hallows—Resurrection Stone—was merely a piece of junk that could summon false images of the dead, describing the beauty of the afterlife and luring its users into suicide.

Yet Dudley's system had unlocked so many Regret Events that could only be resolved by reviving the dead. It would certainly provide him with a cheat capable of accomplishing that.

Now, the resurrection cheat had arrived. Everything had come full circle!

"Calm Mind!"

Suddenly, Dumbledore raised the Elder Wand and cast a Tranquility Charm on Dudley. When he and Harry saw Dudley holding the cup and grinning foolishly, they had initially thought Voldemort's Soul Fragment within the cup was causing trouble. But after examining him closely, they discovered that was not the case.

Dudley was simply losing his mind all on his own.

So the old man Dumbledore directly cast a spell to make Dudley calm down.

Dumbledore had practiced the two spells jointly developed by Dudley and Harry only two or three times before mastering them proficiently. He now used one of them with great ease.

"Cousin, are you all right?"

Seeing Dudley's expression return to normal, Harry hurriedly asked with concern.

"I'm fine!"

Dudley answered his cousin mildly, then shot Dumbledore a glare and said irritably, "Dumbledore, have you never seen someone happy before? Why cast a Tranquility Charm? What a buzzkill!

"I guided Harry in developing this spell primarily to counter the Killing Curse, not to counter someone else's good mood!"

"All right, Dudley, it was my mistake! I simply saw you smiling so... absurdly that I thought you had unknowingly fallen under an evil curse."

Dumbledore smiled as he begged forgiveness. He could tell Dudley was not truly angry.

"You've got that completely wrong! I wasn't cursed—I hit the jackpot!"

Dudley could not help growing excited again, but he quickly remembered something and hurriedly composed himself. He continued, "Dumbledore, do you have anything else to do?

"If not, hurry to Sirius's house again. Find that House-Elf, Kreacher, and make him hand over Slytherin's Locket. I have a feeling that it is also one of Voldemort's Horcruxes!

"Bring it back. Just like Hufflepuff's Cup, do not destroy it. Bring it to me and keep it here for now. Once we have devised a foolproof method of separating the soul, we can discuss it together!"

"Wonderful! Dudley, so your Seer Bloodline had acted up just now! Professor Trelawney trembles all over and shakes her head when she makes prophecies, yet you make strange little laughs. How remarkable!"

Dumbledore said joyfully, almost incoherently. Whenever there was something that could weaken Voldemort, he was always eager to do it.

He rose, intending to act, but then remembered several minor matters and sat back down.

"Dudley, there are a few more things. I'll be quick.

"You asked me to wipe out all the Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban. I was unable to complete it entirely. Bellatrix died, but not completely. She became a ghost, lingering on that isolated island of Azkaban. She cannot travel far from it, and she is not easy to destroy.

"The fault lies in my use of 'Fire God Leads the Way,' an advanced form of magic created by fusing the Fire-Making Spell with Transfiguration, rather than the Killing Curse. Only killing someone with the Killing Curse or a Dementor's Kiss can ensure that no ghost remains in this world.

"I overlooked that at the time."

"A ghost? The reason for its formation is worth discussing, but there is no rush. We can talk about it later. So what if that Death Eater became a ghost? She cannot cause trouble anymore, so let her wander around Azkaban for now!"

Dudley considered it for two seconds, then spoke indifferently.

"Also, there is the matter of these two House-Elves I brought back.

"Lucius Malfoy is a Hogwarts governor, a wealthy and influential aristocrat, and a former Death Eater. He is accustomed to judging the situation, the sort of two-faced man you mentioned. After seeing the power and methods I displayed, he gave me a House-Elf to curry favor with me. That is perfectly logical.

"However, Barty Crouch, a vanguard in the fight against Voldemort, the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and current head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, sought me out of his own accord and traded a precious House-Elf to me at a low price. That is somewhat abnormal.

"He is not a Death Eater. He has always stood on the side of justice, and he is upright and old-fashioned. He does not seem like someone who would take the initiative to give gifts and build connections.

"The only reason I can think of for him is that, back when he headed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he sent Sirius to Azkaban without a trial.

"Now that I have taken Sirius out of Azkaban, he should have received the news as a senior official of the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps he gave me a gift because he did not want me to hold him accountable afterward.

"But that offense was not particularly serious. After Sirius was arrested, he never said a word or offered a single defense for himself. A trial would not have produced any result either, and I had no intention of causing Barty trouble over it.

"He is an upright old wizard who does not fear trouble. Even when his own son became a Death Eater, he showed no mercy, sending him to trial and imprisoning him in Azkaban.

"So, I have never been able to settle my doubts over why he took the initiative to trade a House-Elf to me at such a low price. I hope you can help me analyze it, Dudley."

"When you traded yesterday, didn't you use Legilimency to read his thoughts?" Dudley asked.

Dumbledore scratched his head helplessly. "Dudley, I am not a voyeur. I cannot just cast Legilimency on everyone I meet.

"Besides, Barty's magic is not weak. He may even have practiced Occlumency. Even Legilimency might not reveal the answer, and he would notice it, souring our relationship.

"I do not want to do that. After all, he came to show me goodwill!"

Dudley nodded in understanding, then changed his question.

"You said his son was a Death Eater and was sent to Azkaban. When you went on a killing spree in Azkaban the day before yesterday, did you kill his son?"

"Of course not. His son died in prison long ago. If Barty tried to curry favor with the man who had just killed his son, then no matter how upright he was, none of this would make sense!"

Dumbledore replied as though it were only natural.