After leaving Dumbledore, Harry's expression became extremely complicated.
Dumbledore could not possibly be unskilled in dark magic. Harry and the others had agreed on that long ago. But Harry had never expected Dumbledore to be proficient in such a terrifying dark spell.
The Soul-Shattering Curse.
A spell that directly attacked and damaged the soul, and ancient magic at that.
This spell was similar to Avada Kedavra, but there were also significant differences. The Killing Curse directly tore the soul apart and extracted it from the body, causing immediate death.
The Soul-Shattering Curse, on the other hand, slowly crushed the soul, ultimately causing death.
Before death, however, the soul would not be extracted from the body, but would remain inside it in a damaged state.
This also meant that many wizards struck by the Soul-Shattering Curse did not even notice, because the spell's initial effects were not obvious. They would merely feel sleepy, become emotionally unstable, and find it difficult to cast magic.
This also meant that, unlike Avada Kedavra, it had a countercurse.
Before death occurred, the Soul-Shattering Curse could be lifted with a countercurse called Soul Repair, which would slowly restore the soul.
Well, Soul Repair was also ancient magic.
That was rather interesting. As the headmaster of a magic school in the United Kingdom, the very heart of modern magic, Dumbledore was actually so proficient in ancient magic.
On his way back to the Common Room, Harry unexpectedly, though not particularly surprisingly, ran into Umbridge again.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter." Umbridge wore a brilliant smile.
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." Harry did not cause trouble this time. He obediently greeted her and walked past.
The reason they had returned to Hogwarts rather than going straight to Weasley Manor or Black Mansion-even though less than a day remained before the