The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 73 Gaunt's Old House

Let's rewind a bit. Let's go back to the moment of the wish transaction.

"Please turn my beloved Becca Foster, who lives at 13% Raven Lane in Southwark, London, into a magical witch."

The genie's temporary vessel nodded. Cooper didn't dare look up, so he didn't see the seemingly living "gold" churning in Gerald's eyes for a moment. Then the genie claimed that he had granted Cooper's wish.

Upon hearing this, the young jailer hesitated, as if he wanted to renege on his debt.

The genie was not angered. He had seen similar situations countless times over the centuries, and he even understood them quite well:

After all, humans are such creatures that once they get 1, they start to covet 2. If they are certain that they can only get 1, they will not want to go back to the original 0.

That's a bit of a convoluted way of putting it. However, from the moment he made the contract and made the wish, Cooper had already lost his "..."

The option to "not give a wand" is not provided.

The reason behind it is very simple. If he refuses to keep his promise, Edmund will take away a third of his soul.

What? What happens when a human wizard loses a third of his soul?

It's not so bad. After all, there's still two-thirds of my soul holding me up, so I won't just collapse all at once.

At most, his organs are failing, his memory is a bit confused, and his magic is inexplicably waning; that's all.

However, all of the above only applies when Edmund directly extracts that one-third of his soul.

Generally speaking, he wouldn't be so rude. Edmund preferred to leave this small reward inside the other person, gradually figuring out their habits and imitating their words and actions.

Then, this small piece of soul will offer some "just right" advice at certain crucial moments that can determine this person's fate.

It's not hard to guess that no matter how reasonable these suggestions are, the final outcome will definitely be: make another wish.

No amount of effort or perseverance can compare to the speed at which one can reach the genie by confiding their wishes to him.

Why be afraid? We agreed on three wishes, one soul—you may have already made one wish, and nothing happened!

Ordinary wish-granters, these poor souls who hadn't even seen the magic lamp containing the demon god, but simply had the misfortune of encountering Edmund...

They didn't even have the chance to read the "Inscription on the Use of the Magic Lamp".

This is almost equivalent to starting a bizarre rule-based narrative where violating the rules will result in the loss of oneself, without any prior knowledge of the rules.

But things will be very different once Edmund manages to deceive the other third of their souls.

When you only possess one-third of yourself, it becomes difficult to make independent decisions. You must consult with another, stronger, and more assertive self within your mind: Is this approach feasible?

At first, you might think you're schizophrenic; but then you'll realize that things are much worse than schizophrenia.

Fortunately, this tragedy had nothing to do with the poor jailer Cooper.

He hesitated, but not for the sake of having both. He was simply afraid that Gerald's release would hurt him.

They were also worried that the other party was trying to get something for nothing.

Just as Cooper hesitated, Gerald opened his palm to him.

The next second, the genie's voice rang in Cooper's mind. The genie earnestly warned:

Don't do things you'll regret.

Do you also want to live harmoniously with me for the rest of your life, just like him?

Cooper immediately gave in.

He was indeed a softie, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to be bossed around by old Ned without complaint. What's worse, he also had that weakness and naiveté typical of British government employees.

Although he knew that releasing this monster would surely plunge the world into chaos, his wish—which involved the most important events of his life—was paramount!

The only barrier between him and Becca was whether or not they possessed magic. As long as Becca was also a wizard, they would be the happiest couple in the world.

Actually, I'm very curious.

Gerrard, in his own voice, stammered out malice:

"Are you sure that Muggle would truly appreciate your wish?"

Cooper was speechless with delight. Gerald chuckled twice, then waved his wand to open the cell door.

"Scrooge Barufeo, where is this prisoner being held?"

Cooper's lips moved as if he was unsure whether he should speak.

But other prisoners had already noticed the strangeness here. A hunched prisoner suddenly lunged against the bars, his yellowish eyes filled with fawning and longing:

"My lord, my lord—! Come closer! I beg you!"

He grinned, his missing teeth gleaming in a stark contrast to the lifeless atmosphere of his cellmates.

"I know—I know where Barufeo is, sir, I know!"

Upon seeing this, Cooper couldn't help but shudder, wondering why this person wasn't still crazy.

What he didn't expect was yet to come. This man had set a good example; in this level of the prison, there were actually a few other prisoners who were still conscious. They all trembled as they approached the edge of the cell, calling out longingly and bitterly.

"Please have mercy on me—I will give you anything!" That's what they say.

Gerald ignored Cooper, who was still in a state of confusion, while Edmund, hidden inside Cooper, was overjoyed, which reassured the battery.

"I never expected today to be such a bountiful day."

Edmund sighed softly, then raised his voice:

"Misery souls, sinners—as you see: one wish for another!"

"I can free you from your cage, but you must find me something, specifically: a magical stone."

"This is a simple targeted transaction. Who agrees and who disagrees?"

No one among the prisoners wanted to object; they were willing to do anything as long as they could leave Azkaban!

Cooper tried to stop him, but how could he stop a wizard with a wand?

Until then, he had not realized that he had lost his magic. It was only after being punched and kicked by the released prisoners that he gradually came to his senses.

But by the time Cooper was crying out for an explanation from the cunning "demon," the genie had already manipulated Gerald, leading the dozen or so prisoners who still had their senses onto the small boat.

With Dementors swarming overhead, Edmund, based on the information in those Muggle magazines, handcrafted two engines.

The small boat had barely left the restricted area of ​​Azkaban when Gerald and his crew Apparated away.

The group landed in a mountainous area about 4-5 miles from Little Hangleton, and the strange group apparated between two steep hillsides.

As soon as they landed, the prisoners were stung by the dense nettles and hopped around. At this moment, some of the more cunning prisoners had become greedy, but they were not stupid and did not dare to act rashly. Instead, they looked down at their feet.

The man’s name is not important, nor is the crime for which he was imprisoned in Azkaban.

Importantly, this group of wizard criminals who still retained their rationality:

They were either in prison for a short time and had not yet had their hope and reason completely drained by the Dementors;

Or they are truly ruthless and cruel. So cold-blooded that they are not tormented by their "most tragic memories" and do not lose their motivation to live due to a lack of happiness.

This self-proclaimed clever fellow is clearly the former.

Everyone else followed Gerald in silence, and even though their calves were itchy from the stinging nettles and they were shivering in the cold wind, no one dared to complain.

Everyone watched coldly as the old, white-bearded swindler groped around on the ground for a while before picking up a rather "special" pebble.

No one could say for sure whether the Dementors had stolen his happiness or his brains. The old man, holding aloft the barely-star-shaped stone, danced around excitedly:

"My lord! My lord! I've found what you needed!"

Gerald stiffened, moving his head first and then his shoulders, staring at the other man with a deathly gaze:

"Are you sure you want to submit this as a satisfactory solution?"

The old swindler hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Having fulfilled one of his master's wishes and thus redeemed a third of his soul, Gerald thought to himself:

He might really be tired of living.

"That's a pity," he said calmly. "You've got the wrong person."

Suddenly, the nettles on the ground grew wildly. The liar, who wanted to deceive the genie, only had time to let out a scream before those supposedly soft and light plants strangled his neck. No matter how hard he scratched, he couldn't break free. The other fugitives watched this scene with grim expressions, and not one of them was willing to step forward to help him.

In less than five minutes, the fugitive who dared to defy the rules of the genie was strangled to death.

No one will mourn for him.

Some might feel a sense of shared fate, thinking he'd be better off staying in Azkaban, even if he might one day be devoured by Dementors and become a living corpse—

But that's better than dying a horrible death on the first midnight after regaining freedom for trying to deceive the devil.

But that didn't matter; no one would grieve for the death of a fool. Seeing Gerald's display of skill, the fugitives finally fell silent.

Most of them weren't locked on the third floor, so they had no idea that the old man had shaken his finger earlier.

They "destroyed" a Dementor.

Only now did they finally realize the truth and start thinking about how to fulfill the other person's wish.

Gerald said he was looking for a magic stone.

The smarter fugitives boldly guessed that their destination should be that dilapidated house covered in moss by the mountainside.

It's ironic, really. If the family in that house hadn't died out, at least a few of these people should have remembered their family name.

After all, given the Gaunt family's style of doing things, their descendants almost always spend more time serving time in Azkaban than they are free, so it's hard to say where their home really is.

That said, why did Edmund invite these unlucky guys to explore Gaunt's old house?

Remember this: when you decide to do something bad, the most important thing to learn is: don't tell anyone you're going to do something bad.

Out of wariness of Dumbledore, Edmund did not ask his mother in the letter what the investigator who was ordered to investigate the Resurrection Stone but "ran away with the money" had investigated, or what conclusions he had reached.

He directly dispatched a battery to the Soman family's butler, who obtained the answer directly from the archived information. According to the investigator, Marvolo Gaunt, a descendant of Slytherind, once possessed a black gemstone ring, which he always boasted to the Ministry of Magic officials who came to question him, saying it was a "symbol of his family's status."

However, the design and color scheme of this ring are inconsistent with the craftsmanship and fashion of Slytherin's era.

Moreover, rumors circulated that someone had seen the "Peverell family" mark on the ring's surface, and the three Peverell brothers were the legendary owners of the Deathly Hallows.

Therefore, the investigators felt this was a valuable lead and should continue to investigate.

This sounds like a completely unsubstantiated inference, and has nothing to do with the word "reliable".

However, considering that this meticulous wizard truly vanished without a trace, a thorough investigation revealed records of her traveling to Little Hangleton, England, using Floo Powder. It's not entirely impossible that she hasn't appeared since.

Whether it's true or not—Edmond was already planning to do something in line with the Halloween spirit:

Such a dramatic, large-scale prison break, causing such a commotion, should have alarmed Dumbledore, giving the old man quite a headache. That's one point;

On a whim, we unearthed so many villains. They can't be turned into batteries and kept alive just because "whoever kills Cain will be punished sevenfold." They're just unstable factors. Secondly, we need to properly consume them.

Thirdly, haha, it was naturally to ask the nearly insane Scrooge Balfio for the Summoning Charm.

Edmund hasn't forgotten!

A gust of cold wind blew by, revealing the fugitives' thin prison clothes. Shivering, they looked like a group of bald rats, a truly pitiful sight.

Half a snake's corpse was nailed to the Gaunt's doorframe, presumably prevented from decaying by magic. But perhaps a disbelieving, starving owl repeatedly pecked at it, tearing off half of the dead snake's body.

The "doorplate" is in quite a state of disrepair, yet no one has replaced it, suggesting that the Gaunt old house has indeed been uninhabited for a long time.

Edmund manipulated Gerald to blast open the lock with "Door Open." Gerald tilted his head, gesturing for the escapees to go first. He then stopped the prisoner who was deliberately walking slowly because he was carrying Balfio.

"You're 100% sure he's Balfeo, the one who went to jail for using the Summoning Charm to brutally kill Muggles, right?"

The fugitive, who had been carrying this walking corpse all the way, was covered in sweat and nodded hurriedly:

"Boss, how could I dare lie to you? It's 100% him, 100%!"

Gerald nodded and said stiffly:

"Then you're quite lucky."

But he wasn't going to explain why the other man was lucky. Gerald raised his head and said to the other dozen or so fugitives:

"Go find it—don't look at me like that, do you really expect me to give each of you a magic wand?"

"Hurry up and go find it! Get moving, use your eyes to see, use your hands to dig! I'm looking for a jet-black stone."

It might have been made into a ring. Bring me everything similar!

Many of the fugitives showed disgust, while Gerald picked up his wand expressionlessly.

These prisoners, who had barely escaped, ultimately valued their lives. No matter how much they loathed this filthy and eerie house...

They had no choice but to turn their attention to dust, rats—and, perhaps, deadly, defensive magic.

The smartest among them were the most eager. They had also deduced from the snakeskin doorway that this place must have once belonged to a wizarding family, and thus thought that if they could find a magic wand—

Even an old wand that has been discarded by its owner, if held in your hand, is an opportunity to renegotiate with Gerald, that annoying "creditor".

He has so many criminals at his disposal, there's no need for him to go against his wizard self again—that's what many intelligent people think.

Rather than searching for stones, they were more like looking for a chance to turn things around.

Therefore, this time it was these clever fugitives who became cannon fodder, running into Voldemort's "trial".