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

He exhaled deeply, looked at Vizet, and said, "Vizet, based on my understanding of Voldemort, I can come to the same conclusion as you... It really was 'love'..."

His expression was extremely complex, mixed with a hint of pity, probably because he felt that Voldemort had truly severed all "love" and was an extremely pitiful person.

If Voldemort had seen Dumbledore's expression at the end of last school year, he probably would have been furious.

Dumbledore exhaled and murmured, "The ultimate 'death' curse... no wonder his Killing Curse is so different..."

He closed his eyes, as if recalling something, "Swift enough, accurate enough, even without chanting... I thought it was because his soul... was completely twisted by dark magic!"

Hearing this, Vizette was somewhat surprised. "Headmaster Dumbledore, Voldemort's Killing Curse... can actually be cast silently?"

Dumbledore said with a smile, "The ultimate 'Death' curse, exchanged for the ultimate Killing Curse. We've just discovered one of his secrets, haven't we?"

He strolled briskly around the room containing the Mirror of Eris. "Vizet, the spell is quite special... Do you know about the Potion of Devotion?"

Vizette nodded. "I know. This is the best aphrodisiac available today, invented by the 3rd-century wizard Diarmuid Ua Duibhne."

"It can induce an extremely strong sense of obsession or infatuation in users... In addition, it also has some similarities with 'compound decoctions'."

"Different people will smell the scent they like when they smell the 'Devotion Water' because they have different preferences... It's quite amazing."

“Absolutely correct!” Dumbledore clapped his hands lightly. “In fact, through my tireless investigation and piecing together of clues back then, I learned that the inventor of the Potion of Delusion was also the holder of the Command.

Vizette was somewhat surprised and guessed, "The incantation that Diarmuid obtained is the one that can concoct the most effective love potion?"

“That’s right, the invention of the Potion of Devotion was thanks to the Command Pact,” Dumbledore affirmed. “After that, Diarmuid also died because of the Command Pact.”

"At that time, he fell in love with the witch Granny Cornmark. In order to be with Granny, he made a spell pact and eloped with Granny using a bottle of love potion."

Vizette was puzzled. "Love potions can't bring true love, so why would he use such a method?"

"Perhaps it's possessiveness? Or some strange quirk?" Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "Aside from these unpredictable reasons, there's another important reason—Granny is already engaged."

"Granny's fiancé is Finn McCool, Diarmuid's good friend. Since then, Finn and Diarmuid have become enemies, and Finn has set out to find Granny's whereabouts."

“Diarmuid truly loved Grani deeply. When he lived with Grani, he would tell Grani any secret, including the contents of his command contract.”

"As time went on, Diarmuid grew tired of controlling Grani with the Potion of Devotion, and Grani's long period of obedience... gave Finn, who was lurking in the shadows, an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

"Finn learned from Grani, who had regained consciousness, the contents of Diarmuid's curse contract—that he must not fight with the Tepo Warthogs—so Finn created an accident."

"After this accident, Diarmuid broke the cursed contract and died under the tusks of the Tepo Wartboar... Vizette, what do you have to say about this past event?"

“The Tepo warthog must be a magical animal from Africa, right?” Vizette frowned slightly. “And I remember Diarmuid Ua Dublin lived in Dublin…”

“Headmaster Dumbledore, should I interpret it this way? Command contracts are optional, and Diarmuid Ua Duibhne chose a shortcut.”

"He thought that since the Tepo Warthog was in Africa, the binding force of the curse contract would be weaker. But he didn't expect Finn McCool to be able to find the Tepo Warthog and deliberately create such an accident."

“It’s difficult to manipulate a spell contract…because it’s usually closely related to the contracting party.” Dumbledore shook his head slightly. “But the target of the spell can be obscured.”

"In fact, that's exactly what Diarmuid did... The true meaning of this curse contract is... he cannot kill his own family members."

"And that Tepo warthog was actually his half-brother. His brother became a Tepo warthog wandering the mountains because of the failure of the Animagus."

“Headmaster Dumbledore, why do I feel that this is an inevitability beneath the surface of coincidence?” Vizet’s brows furrowed even deeper.

"The contents of the command contract are related to the Tepo Warthog. A failed Animagus is a Tepo Warthog, and also Diarmuid's half-brother..."

"Does forming a command contract mean being controlled by it and forced onto a predetermined path of fate?"

“A very interesting idea.” A hint of surprise appeared in Dumbledore’s eyes. “Such a possibility does indeed exist…”

"Unfortunately, very few wizards make spell oaths, and to some extent, they are prepared to break those oaths..."

"Therefore, all wizards with a command contract have reached a tacit consensus—never to reveal their command contract."

“Then… what about a spell in my situation?” Vizette immediately thought of herself. “Do I need to… fabricate a spell contract?”

"After all, there might still be wizards who can identify incantations. If I encounter that kind of wizard, perhaps it would be better if I acted more 'normally'?"

"To fabricate a command contract?" Dumbledore gave a meaningful smile. "Making a special command no longer special is a way to protect oneself, which is excellent!"

He recalled the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at the beginning of the semester, where Vizet did not use any other magic, but only transfiguration and incantations, to resolve the trouble caused by the sprites.

Just as Vizet was about to speak, Dumbledore immediately shook his head to stop him, saying, "Vizet, even if you're going to forge a command contract, don't tell me, don't tell anyone."

Chapter 187 The Curse, the Shackles of Fate

Moonlight pierced through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the outline of the castle and the words "For the greater good," casting a stark white glow.

The writing had become somewhat blurred, covered with pitted and uneven black magical traces, adding a touch of desolation to Nurmengard.

An elderly man with white hair sat lazily on a bed, leaning against the stone wall with one leg propped up on his back. He gazed at the pale moonlight outside the castle through the cracks in the stone window.

He sighed softly, "A curse, a shackle from fate... Perhaps I shouldn't have pushed him so hard back then, so he wouldn't have been bound by those shackles..."

Serena Pendragon looked at a magazine called "Natural Herbs." "Grindelwald, you just think... that you should be the one putting the chains on him, right?"

“To be honest… I’ve already met Dumbledore. Do you really think you… can put shackles on Dumbledore? I always feel that you are the one who is shackled.”

Gellert Grindelwald lowered his head, blinked, and seemed to be reminiscing about something.

His eyes were noticeably different; his right eye was a bright azure blue, while his left eye was a dull dark blue.

When he blinks, only his right eye blinks, while his left eyelid only trembles slightly.

“Ah, that’s an interesting idea,” Grindelwald murmured. “Do you really want to discuss this? I could talk about it for a whole day and night.”

“Of course not!” Serena Pendragon put down “Natural Herbs”, stood up and said, “I just happened to be passing by, so I came up to take a look.”

"By the way! This book, 'Natural Herbs,' brings good news. Hogwarts has started cultivating mandrakes again, and I believe that in a few years, there should be more mandrakes available."

“Hogwarts actually did that once in the last century,” Grindelwald chuckled.

“If you hadn’t set your sights on Mandrake and dug it all up to deal with the Isaiah Society, it probably wouldn’t have become a rare medicinal herb again.”

"To be honest... if it weren't for the Guardians' special status, hidden in the annals of history like the Isaiah Society..."

“I think… if there were a black wizard ranking list, your name would be there, at least in the top two.”

Serena shrugged. "I'll take that as a compliment. I was just acting in self-defense... at most, my methods were a bit too aggressive."

"As for the mandrakes, it's obviously because they're effective. And the biting cabbage and devil's net are also quite good."

“Yes! They work quite well!” Grindelwald nodded. “The magical plants you found useful are now relatively rare medicinal herbs…”

“It’s alright, it’ll be over soon anyway.” Serena handed Grindelwald the book “Natural Herbs”. “How about it? Want to use it to pass the time?”

"Why don't you help me find 'Transfiguration Today'?" Grindelwald looked out the window at the moonlight. "I need the one from 1894 to 1925."

Serena carefully put away "Natural Herbs" and said meaningfully, "Do you want such an old 'Today's Transfiguration'? I know what you want to see!"

“Hmm,” Grindelwald responded. “By the way! There will be a major incident in Mumbai early next year… around February or March. You can go and take a look.”

Serena looked at Grindelwald's left eye. "Your third eye has recovered?"

“Not as good as before…” Grindelwald shook his head slightly, “Only occasional snippets can be seen…very fragmented.”

"After being in a coma for so many years, this is the only major event I've pieced together... and I'm not even sure if it was something Isaiah would do."

"No problem!" Serena waved her hand. "Since it's a major incident, it's most likely the work of the Isaiah Society; it's hard for anything to go wrong. Let's go!"

Grindelwald nodded in agreement. "Yes, I remember 'Transfiguration Today'."

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"A certain detection spell, a prophetic ability, a certain potion, or even a careless remark... could expose a command contract. Vizette, you must understand this..."

"Therefore, even if it's fabricated, you still need to be wary of these methods. Only by increasing the authenticity of the spell contract will your 'fabrication' have any meaning, right?"

Dumbledore looked at Vizet with a deep gaze, his expression carrying a hidden meaning.

Noticing Dumbledore's gaze and smile, Vizet realized the deeper meaning behind his words and nodded slightly. "That's right, we need to make it a habit... that's how we can move from the 'illusion' to the 'real'."

Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction. "Very good! It seems you have understood."

"Headmaster Dumbledore, how do we use the Command Pact to deal with Voldemort?" Wizett asked.

Dumbledore stroked his beard. "It's a very complicated process... It's still important to explore his secrets."

"Perhaps Voldemort has already made his choice... In the end, he will deliberately expose his weakness... and destroy himself?"

"I don't quite understand," Vizette said, puzzled.

“This is not something you need to worry about,” Dumbledore sighed. “Let’s go! Now that we’ve confirmed there are no problems with your spell, we should go back and rest.”

“That’s right, tomorrow is Monday, and we have classes to attend!” Vizet looked at the Mirror of Erised beside her. “Headmaster Dumbledore, can this mirror… stay here for the time being?”

Dumbledore nodded and said, "Of course, if it's helpful to you..."

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As soon as Dumbledore turned the doorknob, he discovered that there was already an extra person in the headmaster's office.

Hearing the noise behind him, Snape, dressed in a black robe, turned his head slightly.

He said in a low voice, "As long as you don't lower yourself to that level and don't eat expired candy because you're craving it, you won't get poisoned or swollen."

"Also, the black tea with its fishy smell doesn't seem to suit your taste... So what do you plan to do with the piece of snake slough?"

Dumbledore strode to his seat, looked at Snape with a smile, and said, "I used it to investigate something, and then I got some good news."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "About the Dark Lord? Or... Lockhart died suddenly while practicing his signature in the middle of the night? I hope he doesn't become a ghost."

“You guessed right, it’s about Voldemort’s secret,” Dumbledore said bluntly. “My earlier judgment was correct; we can defeat Voldemort with ‘love’.”