Hogwarts: From Luna's House to Godhood Through Intense Competition

The silver magic prop had changed its appearance, resembling the cross-shaped python pattern. The only difference was the pattern on the python's body, which was still a common pattern in ritual magic.

Vizette quickly asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, is this a... curse left by Voldemort?"

“Perhaps this is one of the sources of his power.” Dumbledore nodded slowly, examining the silver magical artifact, his expression much more relaxed than before.

"Actually... I thought it would be shaped like the Black Mage's Mark, but it turned out like this... Well, it's better this way... Much more aesthetically pleasing!"

“Headmaster Dumbledore, the Dark Mark you mentioned…” He took out his wand and waved it lightly, “is it like this? Surrounded by smoke!”

The tip of the wand spewed out a plume of smoke that formed the shape of a skull in the air. The skull opened its jaws and spat out a thick python.

“Yes…” Dumbledore nodded slowly, looking at the Dark Mark. “This is the Dark Mark. Could it be… that the command you initially received took this form?”

"Ha! You..." Dobby woke up slowly, but after seeing the Black Magic Mark, he fainted again, his head hitting the ground with a "thud".

“Yes!” Vizette waved her wand again, causing the smoke to dissipate in the air. “I’ll faint in the Chamber of Secrets later, possibly partly because it has changed and become a pure python pattern.”

Recalling what had just been said, he couldn't help but ask, "Headmaster Dumbledore, you also know about the Spells... and you said that if there's no reaction, that's the best outcome. Why is that?"

Chapter 183 The Contract of the Spell

Dumbledore's gaze turned complicated, and he said in a deep voice, "Command spells are an extremely ancient form of magic, possibly even predating ritual magic, such as Niven..."

"By 'forming a magical contract,' you gain a certain power... but you must also obey the contract and accept the limitations it brings."

“A magical contract?” Vizet noticed Dumbledore’s complicated gaze and re-examined the silver magical artifact.

"Is it a magical contract similar to an 'unbreakable vow'? If I break the contract, the price I have to pay is... my life?"

“This is one of the known punishments…” Dumbledore sighed softly. “As for what other consequences it might cause, I cannot be sure.”

"That's precisely why I don't want you to obtain the curse. It might bring some kind of enhancement, but you'll have to bear the burden of the contract for the rest of your life..."

“I don’t really care, but you… Vizette, you’re still very young, you have unlimited potential. The curse might not be a gift for you, but a limitation.”

Vizette immediately pressed, "To bear the burden of a contract for life? If I break the contract, will it affect those around me? How can I find out... exactly what kind of contract it made with me?"

"To be honest, this is the first time I've encountered something like this, so I don't know either..." Dumbledore interlaced his fingers and circled his thumbs back and forth.

He picked up a pen and paper from the desk. "Usually, to establish a spell contract, a certain spell has already been determined..."

"You need to use this as your goal to complete the spell contract, and find a suitable place... a suitable time of day..."

As Dumbledore spoke, he wrote down what he was saying, "Besides these, we also need to consider suitable ritual magic... suitable magical artifacts... and various supporting conditions..."

His writing is fast and steady; he can leave the corresponding words on the paper almost as soon as he finishes speaking a sentence.

"Once all conditions are met, the command will summon you, and you will need to respond to the command's call..."

"With the signing of the spell contract, one must live in accordance with the spell, and the spell will begin to take effect." As he finished speaking, the last stroke was also completed.

As Vizette listened to Dumbledore's words, she recalled Salazar Slytherin's memories of raising the Basilisk, and after sorting through the two together, she discovered the similarities between them.

For example, Salazar Slytherin's choice to raise the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets was a choice of location, and the alchemical magic circle and ritual magic circle were suitable ritual magic.

The call issued by the spell was, in response to Salazar Slytherin communicating with the Basilisk egg, the egg shaking in response...

……

Vizette looked at the clearly laid-out parchment. "Headmaster Dumbledore, if I want to know the contents of my contract with the Command Seals, I need to recreate these steps, is that correct?"

“I can’t guarantee that.” Dumbledore shook his head, tapped the desk with his finger, and a tea set and several delicate tea snacks appeared out of thin air on the desk.

"Because your situation is very special, I don't have a better way for the time being... Recreating the process of forming the spell contract can obtain complete information about the spell, which is worth a try."

“Then I’ll try this method first!” Vizet murmured. “Headmaster Dumbledore, I’ll design the whole process first, and please point out any problems I encounter!”

Seeing Vizet's serious expression, Dumbledore stroked his beard and a smile appeared on his face. "Of course, I'd be happy to help!"

Seeing such an expression shows that Wizette is quick to accept the situation and is not discouraged at all; she is actively seeking solutions.

……

Dumbledore picked up the teapot and began to pour tea. "You seem quite confident," he said. "So, where do you think we should begin?"

"Thank you!" Vizet took the teacup handed to him. "I wouldn't say I'm very confident, but I feel that since it has happened, it's better to prioritize solving the problem."

“Of course, that is indeed better!” Dumbledore smiled approvingly and added a few sugar cubes to his teacup.

Vizette took out her notebook and began writing, "A suitable place... the fourth floor... the room where the Mirror of Eris once stood..."

"In addition, Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets should also be verified; neither of these places can be overlooked..."

"The right timeframe... Last school year, my encounter with Voldemort was at night, and yesterday I suddenly collapsed at night... It should all be around midnight... So, the time will be set for midnight..."

“Suitable ritual magic…” He took a sip of tea, thinking of the ritual magic circle transformed from an alchemical magic circle in Salazar Slytherin’s memory.

He picked up his wand and pressed it against his temple, using mental magic to search for related memories. He managed to draw the ritual magic circle and marked some points of interest.

"Duplicate!" He tapped his wand on the notebook, casting a copying spell to create a copy of the page from the ritual magic circle.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, take a look at this ritual magic circle. Can we use it directly?"

Dumbledore took the pages. "Alright! Let me see..."

The situation was indeed as he had imagined; Vizet was actively seeking a solution.

Perhaps it should be said that the whole process went more smoothly than he had expected, making things much easier for him.

It's likely that Snape kept the weekly private lessons going after the last school year because of this convenience.

……

While Dumbledore carefully examined the pages, Vizet continued to refine the process of concluding the command contract based on her memories and her own understanding of ritual magic.

He would also ask Dumbledore questions from time to time, trying to understand anything he didn't understand, so as to help him better comprehend the spells.

Through these Q&A sessions, he realized that he didn't have a high need for magical items or auxiliary items, and finally decided on the only auxiliary item—a fragment of a basilisk's molted snake.

In the process, he also sorted out the whole sequence of the commands, starting with his encounter with Voldemort in the previous school year, and how he obtained the commands by chance.

Secondly, there was the encounter last night. Touching a fragment of the basilisk's molted skin triggered the "Wizard's Handbook," which is why the "Commands" were recorded in the "Wizard's Handbook."

Based on everything he had seen before, he came to his current conclusion: the basilisk's molted snake fragments are the key condition for recreating the process of the Command Contract.

Having identified this crucial point, Vizet had essentially completed the entire process for concluding a command contract.

After all, with Salazar Slytherin's experience in raising the Basilisk as a reference, and with Dumbledore providing guidance and answers, accomplishing all of this wasn't too difficult...

Chapter 184 The Cursed Contract Established in 1945

Dumbledore put down the page of the ritual magic circle book and murmured, "It's more complete than I imagined... Except for some lines that aren't rounded enough, I can't find anything to modify."

“I’m really not good at drawing.” Vizette smiled slightly, then suddenly thought of Luna, who was good at drawing.

In fact, his painting skills have improved compared to before.

After all, Luna would always correct him when he was drawing the fairy magic circuits, giving him many opportunities to learn and improve.

“No one is omnipotent.” Dumbledore blinked. “Regarding those auxiliary items… is it only necessary to obtain fragments of the basilisk’s slough?”

“Yes!” Vizet nodded emphatically. “Because I already have the command, I just want to know the contents of the contract and the effects of the command.”

"The role of the auxiliary tools is to guide me, to guide me to find the answers to all of this, rather than to facilitate the formation of the command contract."

Dumbledore smiled with satisfaction and asked casually, "You seem to know a lot about Command Seals... Is it because of the help of the other Guardians?"

“The reason I suddenly fainted last night was because of this…” Vizette said truthfully, “Until you tell me the details of the command tonight, I will be able to put it all together.”

“This is not surprising.” Dumbledore finished his tea in one gulp, looking at Vizet’s sincere face with a touch of emotion.

In fact, he had mentioned Parsleyan when he was chatting with Harry that morning.

He then asked Harry if he had heard anything strange on the night of the Halloween dinner.

Harry's reaction was different from Vizzett's. He stood there in silence for a while, then shook his head and said nothing.

However, Harry was willing to keep the matter of Vizzet a secret and would not reveal anything about what happened last night.

In fact, Harry needed to drink Bone-Growing Elixir last night to grow bones, and usually no one would ask him about it.

As the discussion that began in the morning continued, the students found it increasingly difficult to say who they had heard the story from.

Vizette said, "Headmaster Dumbledore, there's still a long time until midnight. Shall I go and prepare the basilisk molt fragments and the ritual magic circle now?"

"Oh?" Dumbledore pondered for a moment. "How do you plan to tell Severus?"

Without hesitation, Wizette said, "Tell Professor Snape the truth."

“Hmm…” Dumbledore murmured, “I’ll take care of this. The ritual magic circle is just a piece of cake.”

Vizette stared at the teacup in front of her in silence for a moment before slowly speaking, "Headmaster Dumbledore, do you think Professor Snape... would create a curse with particularly harsh conditions?"

Dumbledore showed no surprise. "It seems you know quite a bit about Severus's past..."

He nodded readily. "I am indeed worried about that... Judging from the timing of this attack, Voldemort may not have been truly eliminated."

"It's not worth paying any price until we fully understand his secrets. Only by knowing the secrets of Voldemort's resurgence will our next actions be more meaningful."

“So…at least until then, I don’t want Severus to come into contact with Commands. He’s a very talented wizard, and he’s still young; he shouldn’t be controlled by Commands.”

"The more powerful the incantation, the stricter the contract that must be fulfilled. Perhaps for those who are eager for quick success, incantations are the fastest way to become stronger."

"But... as someone who's been through it, I have to say that the Command is a kind of shackle. Using it is like drinking poison to quench thirst; it's a last resort."