Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Dylan didn't chat for long before parting ways with Dumbledore. As he returned, night deepened, and only the sound of his footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Just as he was about to reach the door of the common room, a sharp cry of pain suddenly broke the silence of the corridor. It was Harry's voice, filled with unbearable agony, hoarse and torn, making one's heart clench.

Dylan's heart sank, and he immediately quickened his pace, turning back in the direction from which the sound came.

He quickly found Harry at the corner in the middle of the corridor.

Harry was curled up on the cold stone floor, his hands tightly covering his forehead, his body writhing violently in pain, his jaw clenched, veins bulging on his forehead, and large beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks, soaking his robes.

He kept letting out painful roars, the sound seemingly coming from the depths of his soul, filled with despair and torment, making it unbearable to watch.

Seeing this, Dylan did not hesitate at all, immediately drew his wand, and quickly chanted various healing spells.

Beams of silver light shot out from the tip of the wand and landed on Harry, but they were like stones sinking into the sea, doing nothing to alleviate his pain.

Harry rolled around more violently, and his screams became even more shrill.

"Wait!" Dylan suddenly stopped casting the spell, his gaze fixed on Harry's hands, which were pressed tightly against the iconic lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. This discovery made Dylan's heart skip a beat, and a bad thought instantly rushed into his mind.

As an excellent Quidditch player, Harry's physical condition has always been outstanding. Ordinary injuries would not cause him to lose his composure like this. Therefore, only when Harry has some kind of strong resonance with Voldemort, or directly confronts him, will he have such a heart-wrenching painful reaction.

"Could something have happened on Voldemort's side? Or is he influencing Harry in some way?" Dylan frowned slightly.

He raised his wand, aimed it at the struggling Harry, and calmly recited the spell.

Suddenly, a soft, pale blue light emanated from the tip of the wand and slowly enveloped Harry's entire body.

Miraculously, Harry's screams stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed a mute button. His body stopped rolling violently as before, and the pain on his face eased considerably. However, his brows were still tightly furrowed, and beads of sweat continued to seep from his forehead. Clearly, the pain had not completely disappeared, but had only been temporarily suppressed.

He waved his wand again, and as the incantation fell, a beam of light condensed into a shadow.

Shadow walked forward steadily and carefully lifted Harry from the ground, his movements gentle, as if afraid of aggravating his pain.

Dylan took the Marauder's Map out of Harry's pocket and lightly ran his fingertips across its surface.

"I solemnly swear I will not do anything good!" The familiar incantation rang out, and the Marauder's Map unfolded instantly, with dense footprints and names clearly visible on it. Thanks to Dylan's research and development and the connection and modification with the Map Chamber, the Marauder's Map now covers a much wider area than before. It not only includes every corner of Hogwarts Castle, but also the surrounding areas such as Hogsmeade Village, which can be clearly presented on the map.

"Traces revealed! Tom Riddle! Voldemort!" Dylan's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, scanning every name and footprint on the map. However, neither "Tom Riddle" nor "Voldemort" appeared on the map, nor were there any unusual footprints matching their characteristics. This meant that Voldemort was not in Hogwarts or the surrounding area at this moment.

“Not nearby…” Dylan’s brows furrowed even more. He looked again at Harry, who was being held in the shadows, and his doubts deepened. “If he’s not nearby, then what’s causing Harry’s pain? Could the problem be the scar on his forehead itself?”

To uncover the truth, Dylan closed his eyes and activated the magical power within him.

The next moment, he clearly 'saw' an extremely thin, thread-like substance extending from the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead. This thread was a deep, dark green, radiating a faint yet malevolent magical aura. It was as thin as spider silk. This dark green thread started from the scar, stretched all the way, passed through the windows of the corridor, and disappeared into the distant night sky.

Dylan stared at the strange, dark green thread, lost in deep thought.

"It's been known for a long time that there's some kind of special connection between Voldemort and Harry, but no one has ever discovered such a thread..."

Dylan stared at the dark green threads extending from Harry's forehead.

Could this thread be a physical manifestation of the symbiotic relationship between Harry and Voldemort's soul fragments? Or perhaps a bridge that allows them to sense each other?

Whenever Voldemort's power increases or he experiences a strong urge to kill, this sensation is transmitted to Harry through the threads, causing him excruciating pain—this is the root of Harry's current suffering.

"What happened to me?" Harry woke up.

"You passed out from the pain," Dylan said, without directly telling him the details. "Alright, go back and rest. We have training to do next."

"Dylan, you're finally here! We've been waiting for you for ages."

Cedric, who was not far away, happened to see Dylan walking over. He immediately put on a hearty smile, raised his hand, waved, and greeted him loudly.

Upon hearing the voice, Draco nodded solemnly to Dylan as a greeting.

Dylan strode forward: "I didn't expect you guys to arrive before me. It seems everyone is really looking forward to this duel practice."

“Actually, we just arrived not long ago, and we thought we'd warm up and stretch a bit beforehand so we wouldn't be rusty when we start practicing,” Cedric explained with a smile, flexing his wrists as he spoke, clearly ready to begin at any moment. “I see, that makes sense,” Dylan smiled understandingly, then turned to the three of them and asked, “Shall we start now? Or do you want to warm up a bit more and get a feel for it?”

Harry quickly handed Draco's wand back, afraid of delaying practice, and hurriedly replied, "No need to wait any longer! Why don't we start now? I can't wait!"

His gaze swept quickly across the grass beneath his feet. He took a few steps forward, bent down, picked up a smooth pebble, weighed it in his hand, and suggested, "I'll toss this pebble into the air, and the duel will officially begin the moment it reaches its highest point and begins to fall. That would be both fair and interesting. What do you think of this suggestion?"

“Of course I have no objection!” Draco was the first to speak, taking his wand with a hint of defiant provocation in his tone. “But Harry, you’d better react quickly, or you’ll be the last one to launch an attack before the stone falls to the ground.”

“How could that be?” Harry retorted immediately, his eyes brimming with confidence. “Draco, you should worry about yourself. Don’t let us catch you off guard and make you a laughingstock!”

“I have no objection either; this is quite a creative way to start.” Cedric smiled and nodded, then turned to Dylan, seeking his opinion, “Dylan, what do you think?”

"This way of starting is really interesting. It's not only fair and just, but it also tests everyone's reaction speed and on-the-spot judgment. It's very suitable for our current practice."

Dylan agreed, his tone tinged with anticipation, "Then let's do as Harry says, let's begin!"

All four of them were champions chosen by Hogwarts. Although there was competition among them, there was also a tacit understanding and mutual respect. The purpose of their dueling practice was to improve their combat skills in preparation for the upcoming third project. Therefore, there was no need to make it too serious. Adding some fun would actually make the practice more effective.

“Let’s stand a little further apart and keep a safe distance!” Harry said excitedly, taking a few steps back to create some distance between himself and the three of them.

Draco and Cedric immediately stepped forward and stood on either side of Dylan, forming a loose four-corner formation with enough space between each person for attack and defense.

Harry used his arm to throw the pebbles high into the air.

The gravel shot into the sky with a whooshing sound, drawing a brief arc in the sunlight.

Instantly, Cedric, Draco, and Harry all frowned slightly, their smiles vanishing and replaced by intense focus. Their eyes were fixed on the rubble in the air, their muscles tense, and their right hands gripped their wands, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Dylan didn't anticipate the events beforehand. Instead, like Cedric, Draco, and Harry, he looked up and watched the trajectory of the flying debris, feeling the flow of the surrounding air, immersing himself completely in this pure reaction exercise.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Everyone's attention was focused on the small pebble. As the pebble rose to its highest point and gradually slowed down, beginning to fall slowly, the four of them almost simultaneously raised their wands in perfect unison, without the slightest hesitation.

The moment Cedric, Draco, and Harry raised their wands, they stopped paying attention to the falling rubble and instead looked down at Dylan. They all knew that Dylan's strength far surpassed that of ordinary people. His amazing performance at the academy and his composure in handling various crises made them realize that if they wanted to gain an advantage in the duel, they had to join forces and strike first.

Just as they saw Dylan's fingers tremble slightly, as if he were preparing to cast a spell, the three of them almost instinctively drew a line in front of them while clearly chanting the defensive incantation: "Armor Protection!"

Having undergone rigorous training in the previous two projects, their magical control abilities were now vastly different. Their movements as they cast the Ironclad Spell were fluid and seamless, without the slightest hesitation. Almost at the same moment the invisible magical shield took shape, the three of them simultaneously changed their spellcasting gestures, each choosing a different attack spell, and launched a fierce attack on Dylan.

The next moment, three beams of magic of different colors shot out from the tips of their wands almost simultaneously, carrying a sharp momentum as they hurtled toward Dylan.

However, just as their attack spell was about to reach Dylan, Harry suddenly froze. A strange feeling of goosebumps swept over him, making him shiver. Then he noticed that the light around him seemed to have dimmed, and a heavy shadow quietly loomed over his head.

A terrifying thought instantly exploded in his mind: something was wrong with that falling piece of rock!
He looked up sharply and saw that the originally inconspicuous pebbles rapidly expanded and deformed during the fall, transforming in just a few seconds into a huge iron sword at least three feet wide, with a chilling gleam. The blade reflected the blinding sunlight and slashed down with a whistling wind, its momentum terrifying.

Harry knew that even if he managed to dodge the direct attack from the sword, the enormous impact of the greatsword landing would be enough to severely injure him and make him feel extremely uncomfortable.

In that critical moment, Harry's mind raced through a variety of options: defense, dodge, counterattack... Finally, he gritted his teeth, his eyes hardening with determination, and with a sudden jerk, he raised his wand, aimed it at the massive sword that was inches away, and clearly uttered the spell: "Expelliarmus!"

A dazzling red light burst forth from the tip of the wand, shooting towards the greatsword like an arrow, completely enveloping the entire blade. The red light lasted for a mere two seconds before gradually dissipating, and the majestic greatsword, in the instant the light faded, transformed back into the inconspicuous piece of stone it had been, landing with a "thud" at Harry's feet.

Despite successfully defusing the sudden crisis, Harry was still drenched in a cold sweat, his robes soaked through. He gasped for breath, bent down to pick up the pebbles, his heart still pounding wildly.

Meanwhile, Dylan remained calm despite the combined attack from Cedric and Draco.

With a flick of his wrist, his wand traced a smooth arc in front of him as he chanted, "Protect yourself!"

An invisible magical shield instantly formed, not only firmly blocking Cedric and Draco's spells, but also using the Ironclad Charm's reflective properties to deflect both spells back intact.

Dylan turned his head slightly and happened to see Ha using the Disarming Charm to neutralize the greatsword. A hint of approval flashed in his eyes.

Harry's understanding and application of the Disarming Charm has reached a very high level. The Disarming Charm is essentially a spell targeting weapons. It can be used to neutralize the attack of a transformed greatsword and precisely restore the greatsword to its original state. It is impossible to do this without a deep understanding of the core of the spell.

On the other side, Cedric and Draco's expressions changed drastically upon seeing the rebounding magic. They quickly dodged to the side, the two spells grazing their clothes before slamming heavily into the grass behind them, raising a cloud of dust and grass clippings, filling the air with the smell of earth. (End of Chapter)