Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

“Dylan, I really don’t know how to thank you enough!” Lillian watched as Harker’s breathing gradually became steady, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Her eyes reddened again, and her voice was full of sincere gratitude. “If we hadn’t met you today, who knows what terrible things Harker might have encountered, maybe…”

“No need to be so polite, it was just a small favor.” Dylan gently shook his head, interrupting her, and said sincerely, “Miss Lillian, I wonder if I could go into Harker’s room to take a look?” He explained, “Dark magic creatures don’t parasitize someone for no reason; there must be a reason for their appearance. I think we might be able to find some clues in his room, such as special items he’s recently come into contact with, or records he’s left behind. These could help us find the source of the dark magic creature.”

"Dylan, and everyone else, just call me by my name Lillian, there's no need to be so formal."

Lillian quickly stood up and walked deeper into the room. "His room is this way. I'll take you there."

She walked to a white door, gently turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open. The room was well-furnished and tidy. A poster on the wall stood out, its image full of mystery, creating a stark contrast with the rest of the room.

It was clear that Lillian's family was quite well-off. The room not only contained a sizable television, but also a VCR, an old-fashioned game console, and even a computer, which wasn't common at the time. It was fully equipped with various electronic devices, making it seem very modern. Just as Lillian was about to step into the room, Dylan gently stopped her. "To avoid any accidents, and so you can take care of him with peace of mind, Wood and I will go in and look for clues. If we find any letters, diaries, or anything that might involve privacy or require interpretation, we'll bring them out for your help to confirm."

"Don't worry!" Wood immediately stepped forward to chime in, patting his chest and saying, "Besides, we're all wizards. Finding clues is just a matter of magic for us. We'll definitely be very efficient and it won't take up too much time."

“Alright, thank you for your help.” Lillian nodded without objection, then turned and went back to the living room with Luna, who was carrying the coal ball, to continue keeping watch over Hackel and observing his condition from time to time.

After Lillian left, Wood put his hands on his hips, looked around the room with a hint of eagerness in his eyes, and turned to Dylan, saying, "Dylan, where should we start looking for clues? I'll try using a tracking spell first; maybe it can directly find traces of magic!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he drew his wand and pointed it at the center of the room. With the incantation, a puff of golden powder flew from the tip of the wand, swirling in the air a few times as if searching for something. However, after a moment, the powder gradually lost its luster and dissipated into the air without lingering or landing on anything. This meant that no trace of magical activity was left in the room. Wood put away his wand with some disappointment and explained, "This tracking charm has certain limitations. If the time interval between magical activities is too long, the residual energy will dissipate, and it will no longer be able to show its intended effect."

Dylan nodded, and said thoughtfully, "So it seems that the black magic creature parasitizing Harkel happened at least a few weeks ago. Only with enough time will the residual magical energy completely dissipate, leaving the tracking spell unresponsive."

Wood scratched his head, somewhat helplessly, and asked, "Dylan, what do we do now? The tracking spell didn't work, so are we just going to search here? Check the drawers and bookshelves for anything unusual or a clue?"

Dylan's gaze swept across every corner of the room, finally settling on the desk and bookshelves: "Let's start with the desk and bookshelves. People usually put important things, diaries, or letters in these places. Let's check them carefully first. Don't rush to use magic. Observe with your eyes first to avoid destroying any possible clues. If we really can't find anything, then we can use magic to assist in the investigation."

Wood immediately nodded in agreement: "Great! I'll take charge of checking the bookshelves and drawers, and you can take care of the desk and the area around the computer. If we divide the work, we can be more efficient!"

With that, Wood quickly walked to the bookshelf and carefully flipped through the books, occasionally picking one up to check for notes or letters tucked between the pages. Dylan, on the other hand, went to the desk, gently pulled open a drawer, and found some stationery, notebooks, and a few loose sheets of paper. He picked them up one by one to examine them, trying to find useful information. The room fell silent, with only the soft sounds of the two of them moving things around and the light footsteps of Coal on the floor. Everyone understood that finding the source of the dark magic creatures was crucial, not only to completely solve Harker's problem but also to prevent more people from being parasitized.

A moment later, Dylan was intently examining the bookshelf, which was filled with books of all kinds, as well as many neatly bound magazines. The variety was quite extensive—from science fiction and history books to popular science books, and even a few books on religion and mysticism with mysterious symbols on the cover. Clearly, Harker had a wide range of reading interests.

"Hmm, looks like I understand." Dylan smiled.

"Huh? What do you know?" Wood, who was looking for something, was taken aback.

“Then don’t worry about it.” Dylan took out a black match and, after confirming that no other clues had been missed, used a restoration spell to restore the room that had been ransacked to its original state—the scattered books automatically returned to their places, the open drawers slowly closed, and the notes and magazines on the table were neatly arranged, as if no one had ever touched them. After doing all this, Dylan and Wood turned and left Harker’s room.

Seeing the two emerge from the room, Lillian, who had been standing guard by the living room sofa, immediately stood up, her eyes filled with urgency and worry. She quickly stepped forward and asked, "How did it go? Oliver, Dylan, did you find any clues? Is that thing that's been harming Harker... still in his room?"

“It’s gone. There’s no trace of dark magic energy left in the room.” Dylan shook his head slightly, handed the black match in his palm to Lillian, and said with certainty, “I believe the source of Harker’s parasitism is this black match. It has residual negative energy on it that is the same as that of the dark magic creature. I need to take it back and study it carefully. Perhaps I can find more clues about the mastermind behind it.”

Just then, Harker, who was on the sofa, slowly woke up. He first let out a low groan, then laboriously turned his head, looking around the familiar living room environment with a dazed expression. His gaze slowly moved, and when he caught sight of Lillian's familiar figure, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. He struggled to sit up from the sofa. "Harker! You're finally awake!" Lillian exclaimed in surprise, quickly stepping forward to carefully help Harker lean against the back of the sofa. Her voice was full of concern as she asked, "How are you feeling now? Is anything bothering you? Are you dizzy, or is there any pain in your body?"

“No…” Hackel shook his head slightly, a weak but gentle smile on his face. “I just feel like I’ve had a very long nap. My head is a little dizzy, and my body feels a little lightheaded. Other than that, I don’t feel anything special.”

He glanced out the window instinctively, noticing a noticeable change in the angle of the sunlight. Puzzled, he asked, "What time is it? Strange… I remember… we went out to play earlier, right? How did we get home so quickly? What happened?"

“A lot has happened…” Lillian sighed softly, sat down on the sofa, and explained to Harker in as gentle a tone as possible everything that had happened that afternoon—how he was controlled by the dark magic creature, how he became manic and ferocious, and how Dylan took action to use magic to strip away and seal the dark magic creature.

"I...I've been parasitized by a dark magic creature?" Harkel's expression turned to one of utter astonishment upon hearing Lillian's account. His eyes widened in disbelief. Somewhat defiant, he nimbly stood up, twisted his waist, and moved his limbs. Aside from a slight weakness, he felt no discomfort. He then said, even more confused, "Why do I feel nothing? No pain, no dizziness, just like usual. It doesn't seem like I've been parasitized by any terrifying creature."

"And what about this? Do you remember it?" Dylan held up the black match in his hand at the right moment and handed it to Harker, asking calmly, "Mr. Harker, have you ever seen this black match before? Or rather, have you ever used it in any special activities, such as the psychic games popular among Muggles like 'Bloody Mary'?"

Harker's gaze fell on the black match, his brows furrowed slowly, and his eyes became somewhat complicated, as if he was trying to recall something. The atmosphere in the living room instantly quieted down, and everyone's eyes were focused on him, waiting for his answer, hoping to get key clues about the mastermind behind the scenes from him.

Coal Ball, nestled in Luna's arms, curiously peeked out, watching Hackl's changing expressions, occasionally letting out a soft whimper, as if urging him to remember as soon as possible.

After a moment, Hacker's vision cleared, and a look of realization crossed his face, tinged with lingering fear: "This black match... I think I vaguely remember it. It was probably last month when I was at a party with some Muggle friends. Someone brought this and said we should play a psychic game called 'Summoning the Lady of Death,' claiming we could see the spirit of a countess from history. I thought it was interesting, so I joined in. I don't remember the specifics of the game, but I remember we sat around the match, chanted some strange incantations, and then the match lit itself, and the temperature around us suddenly dropped. At the time, I thought it was just a coincidence, or someone playing a prank. After we finished, I took the match home and casually tossed it in the corner of my desk. I never imagined... that it would be parasitized by a dark magic creature."

"Who introduced you to this game? Were there any other participants?" Dylan pressed immediately, his gaze becoming increasingly focused. "Do you remember that person's name or physical characteristics? How did they know about this game, and where did they get this black match?"

Hakeel's expression turned somewhat troubled, and he shook his head, saying, "I don't know much... That person is a friend of a friend of mine. I only know that everyone calls him 'Hasage,' but I don't know his specific name or background. There were quite a few people at the party, probably more than a dozen, mostly young people around my age, most of whom I didn't know."

After listening to Harker's account, Dylan had already formed a preliminary judgment: "It seems that this person called 'Hasage' is very likely a pawn of the mastermind, or even the mastermind himself. He takes advantage of the curiosity of Muggle youths about psychic games to lure them into participating in rituals. In reality, he is collecting negative emotions to cultivate dark magic creatures, and you are the chosen 'medium'."

“I can’t remember almost anything else. I’ll call someone to ask.”

When Hacker returned, his expression was complicated, indicating that there had been no results.

That is indeed the case.

Dylan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind racing: "The situation is more complicated than we anticipated. Not only do dark magic creatures parasitize their hosts, but they also erase the hosts' memories of games and rituals. They can also cause physical symptoms in the hosts, such as Aaron's high fever. In this way, even if someone exhibits abnormal behavior, it will only be assumed to be a common illness, making it difficult to associate it with dark magic creatures. The mastermind's methods of concealment are truly ingenious."

"What should we do now?" Lillian asked anxiously. "If many students have been infected, we can't possibly search for and rescue them one by one, can we? Besides, we don't even know who they are or where they are."

"The most important thing now is to find the person named 'Hasagi' and the Gutao store he mentioned."

Dylan said firmly, "As long as we find the source, we can know the complete process of this evil ritual and how dark magic creatures are cultivated. Only then can we find a way to rescue the victims in large numbers and fundamentally stop the conspiracy from continuing."

He turned to look at Haker, "Haker, think back carefully, besides the name, did that person named 'Hasage' have any other distinctive features?" (End of Chapter)