At Scrimgeour's bedside, Dumbledore held his forearm and examined it, his expression grave as he studied Scrimgeour's blackened hand.
Dumbledore already knew what had happened. He had not expected Voldemort to do this to Scrimgeour as well.
Kane and the Healer watched Dumbledore anxiously from the side.
Only after Dumbledore released Scrimgeour's forearm did Kane step forward. "Professor Dumbledore, how is the Minister?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "This curse is troublesome. There's no way to remove it quickly.
"Rufus is in poor condition. He needs to be stabilized first; then we can work on removing the curse.
"I know of some potions that could help him recover. As for removing the curse..."
Kane hurriedly said, "Professor Dumbledore, we've already brought in several Curse-Breakers, but none of them could do anything.
"Before you arrived, I was considering asking Mr. Weasley's son William Weasley¹ to take a look. His son worked as a Curse-Breaker in Egypt for many years."
"Bill?" Dumbledore nodded. "It would be worth having him look. He has plenty of experience.
"As it happens, he recently transferred back to Gringotts in England. I'll also speak with Horace and ask him to brew the potions for you.
"For now..."
Dumbledore raised his Wand and touched it to Scrimgeour's wrist. Silver threads streamed from its tip, forming a band of intricate silver patterns around Scrimgeour's left arm.
On closer inspection, the intricate patterns were made up of Ancient Runes.
"I can only suppress the curse for Rufus temporarily. But this hand of his..." Dumbledore glanced at the charred palm. "It will still need to be concealed."
"I'll see to it. Thank you, Professor Dumbledore." Scrimgeour's complexion had already improved considerably. "Sorry for the trouble."
"Don't say that, Rufus. We're both doing this for the Wizarding World." Dumbledore shook his head, his