"I'm not sure… but judging from the description, it does sound very similar," Wade said as he continued flipping through the spellbook.
Tom sighed regretfully. "Tch, what a pity. Slytherin recorded so little about it. If even he didn't know the effects of the curse, then there's no way he would've written down how to break it."
"Maybe we could try to locate that strange tomb he mentioned…" Wade murmured thoughtfully.
Tom frowned. "Don't tell me you're planning to explore it again?"
"No. If even Slytherin called it strange, that alone proves how dangerous it must be. Even if we did find out where it is, we'd be better off not taking that risk," Wade said seriously.
The more Wade learned about the world's Dark Magic, the more cautious he became.
He had seen far too many bizarre and unpredictable curses.
Even for someone as capable as him, there was no guarantee he wouldn't fall victim to one.
After all, he didn't have infinite health.
Even someone as powerful as Dumbledore had fallen victim to one of Voldemort's curses, hadn't he?
"Then what should we do? Tell Professor Dumbledore and let him investigate it?" Tom asked instinctively.
"Even Dumbledore, strong as he is, is still human. There's no guarantee he wouldn't get caught by it," Wade replied.
"Then… are we just going to stand by and do nothing?" Tom said in frustration.
"I have some new ideas, Tom. Don't worry. First we find the place, then we'll decide." Wade said thoughtfully.
Tom fell silent. Wade was right. Asking Dumbledore to go would be risky. Dumbledore was the pillar of the wizarding world; with Grindelwald on the rise, his safety was crucial.
If anything happened to him, no one could stop Grindelwald. Even Wade wasn't yet ready to face Grindelwald head-on. Tom could tell Wade's plans weren't fully formed.
After a moment, Tom asked, "Wade, can you try to trick Grindelwald into investigating it for us? If he dies, nobody will mourn him."
Wade looked at Tom in surprise. "That's an interesting idea, but Grindelwald isn't an idiot. You can't just use him as a pawn, especially after he's already taken a big loss."
"Ah… what a shame," Tom said with a face full of regret.
Wade smiled. "Seems you really dislike that old man."
"Of course I do. If someone pointed a wand at your throat, you'd have melted them already, right?" Tom scoffed.
"Exactly. I never hold grudges overnight. Even if I can't beat him, I'll at least make him miserable," Wade said with a smile. "All right, enough chatter. Pull that book out, and you go look for other volumes. See if you can find any record of that strange tomb, or—better yet—anything directly about the blood-curse animagi."
With a target, they had purpose.
Tom abandoned his earlier aimless wandering and began to search Slytherin's books with focus.
He even read the students' homework carefully.
Wade soon finished the experiment manuscripts and joined Tom, flipping through Slytherin's other papers. With Wade helping, the research went much faster.
Before long, they found some clues in a travel-like manuscript Slytherin had left behind.
[…On returning from Eastern Europe this time, the gains were considerable—especially that tomb! I must say, that tomb was the oddest place I have ever seen. Thanks to that place, I may well need a cane for the rest of my life…
This damned curse, I could not fully remove it alone! Still, I'm over sixty now; it's not strange to need a cane. I hope Godric won't mock me. Never mind, tomorrow I'll ask Helga and Rowena; perhaps they know something…
Thank heavens! With everyone's help I have at last rid myself of the curse!
Alas, my handsome looks are gone forever; Godric actually said I look like a baboon. I know he did not mean it, but I still took him to task. His sword is sharp, but my cane is hard as well…]
"That place is in Eastern Europe, and it contains a curse even Slytherin couldn't remove on his own… Tsk, who would've thought Slytherin's ugliness came from this," Wade muttered, repeating the key points from the manuscript.
"You were right, Wade. Even Dumbledore might not come out of that place unscathed… it took all four Founders together to lift the curse?" Tom said in shock.
"Mm. We'll have to take our time with this one," Wade murmured.
"Should we tell Dumbledore about these clues?" Tom asked.
"Of course. We don't need to keep everything secret. Sometimes, revealing a bit can earn us even greater help," Wade said as he began sorting the manuscripts.
"All right… then did you find anything else besides that Blood Moon Curse?" Tom asked.
"Yes, yes," Wade said, pulling a sheet from the stack of experiment notes and holding it right under Tom's nose.
"I don't want to look."
"Ah, right, I forgot you can't stomach this kind of thing. It's an experiment about reconstructing a physical body… I was thinking, if Nagini's bloodline remains cursed, I might be able to create a new body for her. Of course, that's only a last resort."
At those words, Tom quickly snatched the manuscript and skimmed through it.
"'The bone of the father, unknowingly given… the blood of the servant, willingly given…...'"
"Ah—sorry, wrong one. This is the one I meant!" Wade snatched back the parchment and handed him another. "Slytherin did quite a bit of research in this field. I just mixed them up."
"All right, all right…" Tom handed the experimental manuscript back to Wade, his face pale.
After all, Tom was still young and couldn't stomach something that gruesome.
Wade, on the other hand, didn't think much of it and even felt that Slytherin's knife technique in the illustration could use improvement.
After all, he used to study biological sciences, and things like dissection were just basic skills.
"Let's go. Time to leave." After putting all the books and manuscripts back in their places, Wade finally spoke.
"You're not taking anything?" Tom asked in surprise.
"I've memorized everything, so there's no need to take them… Oh, and don't forget Nokto Gaunt's remains. We have to give her a proper burial."
Tom: "…"
After all this trouble tonight, even though Wade claimed he didn't need Slytherin's inheritance, he was still the one who gained the most.
As for Tom, he had nearly lost his life and gained nothing but a few insights.
Even the rewards that should have been on Nokto Gaunt were nowhere to be found.
Clearly, someone else had come here after her, and the rewards on her body had probably been taken by that group.
However, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, Wade hadn't actually done what Tom imagined—he hadn't hoarded Slytherin's inheritance for himself.
Tom simply didn't want to accept those things anymore.
Otherwise, even if he took a few spellbooks right now, Wade wouldn't have stopped him.
After examining the door before them, Wade pressed his hand against the serpent-shaped pattern.
The wall in front of them began to turn, revealing a small hidden chamber behind it.
Tom didn't overthink it and followed Wade inside.
As soon as they both stepped in, the chamber rotated again. The wall they had entered through turned back into place, sealing them inside.
Then, the small chamber began to rise—it felt exactly like an elevator in the Muggle world.
There was a loud clattering sound.
When the ascent stopped, the door in front of them opened.
Wade and Tom quickly stepped out—only to find themselves in a familiar corridor, facing the equally familiar entrance to the Slytherin common room.
Wade turned around in surprise and saw that on the wall, which had just closed behind them, there was a tiny carving of a snake.
When he touched it again, he felt as if something had scanned over his body, and the next second, the wall swung open once more.
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