Hogwarts' Golden Glory

The Cruciatus Curse struck the shield.

There was no explosion, no sparks, no sound.

The spell was like a drop of water falling into the desert; it was absorbed by the shield, broken down, and dissipated into harmless magical turbulence in the air.

Nott's eyes widened: "That...that is..."

"An improved version of the ancient druid's purification runes." Kane withdrew his left hand, and the shield disappeared. "The original version could only defend against nature magic. I added a reverse magic analysis array, which can decompose most structured dark magic spells. The principle is actually very simple—any spell is the result of magic power being arranged according to specific rules. As long as the arrangement rules are analyzed, the spell can be disintegrated by impacting the nodes with the opposite flow of magic power."

He spoke as if he were explaining a math problem.

Nott felt a genuine fear. Not a fear of power—he had seen far more powerful wizards. It was a fear of this… this cool-headedness that treated magic like mathematics.

"You're insane..." Nott took a step back. "A monster..."

"Perhaps," Kane nodded, "but at least I don't need to torment others to prove my worth."

He finally drew his wand from his right hand—not his wand, but a seemingly ordinary beechwood wand, eleven inches long and without any decoration.

But Nott could sense the magical energy emanating from the wand: pure, refined, like steel that had been forged through countless trials.

"Now," Kane said, pointing his wand at Nott, "it's my turn."

Nott immediately retaliated. He knew he couldn't let this monstrous boy make the first move.

"Fierce Fire Assault! Shadow Bind! Flesh and Blood Wither! Soul Scream!"

A barrage of dark magic spells poured out like a torrential downpour.

Each one was a forbidden spell powerful enough to instantly incapacitate an ordinary wizard. Lucius's face turned deathly pale. He recognized several of the spells—they were the Nott family's secret dark magic, rarely used even by Death Eaters.

Kane still didn't dodge.

He simply raised his hands. His left hand maintained the silver shield of purification runes, while his right hand traced intricate trajectories in the air with his wand. With his movement, the magic in the air began to flow and recombine according to a certain pattern.

The first Fiendish spell struck the shield and dissipated.

The second shadow, as it approached Kane, was entangled and torn apart by the silver threads drawn by his wand.

The third Flesh Wither Curse was swallowed up in mid-air by a phantom of a phoenix made of light that suddenly appeared—it was Igor's projection.

The fourth soul shriek... made no sound at all. Because Kane had acted first, drawing a "Silence" rune in the air with his wand, completely erasing all sound from that area.

The whole process took less than three seconds.

All of Nott's attacks were ineffective.

The study fell into a deathly silence. Only the crackling of the fireplace and Nott's heavy breathing could be heard.

"You..." Nott's voice was hoarse, "What exactly are you?"

"Kane Malfoy," the boy said calmly, "a second-year student at Hogwarts, no, almost a third-year! A defense against the Dark Arts teaching assistant, a new ally of the werewolf tribe, and..."

He paused, his gray eyes unfathomable in the firelight.

"...Your nightmare tonight."

Nott completely lost the will to fight. He wanted to run, but his legs felt like lead. He wanted to shout, but his throat was tight. All he could do was watch Kane approach step by step and tap his wand lightly.

It is not an attack spell.

Instead, a strange silver powder was sprinkled from the tip of the wand, condensing into countless fine threads in the air. These threads coiled around Nott as if they were alive, moving so fast that he couldn't react in time.

"Moonlight Dust," Kane explained while controlling the threads, "is condensed from the light of a full moon, mixed with the blessing of a unicorn and the tears of a phoenix. It's specifically designed to counter dark magic. When it comes into contact with your skin, it will temporarily block the flow of your magic and trigger... a mild purification reaction."

The moment the word "slight" was uttered, the silk thread touched Nott's skin.

excruciating pain.

It wasn't physical pain, but the agony of having his magic forcibly purified and his darkness dispelled. Nott let out a piercing scream and collapsed to his knees. He felt the dark magic he had painstakingly cultivated dissipate, the magic he had acquired through forbidden means draining away.

"Let me go! The Dark Lord won't let you get away with this! You and your whole family will be—"

"Where is Voldemort now?" Kane interrupted him.

Nott spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Master will return! Once he's ready, all of you traitors will—"

"He's gone," Kane said calmly. "On the night of the full moon in Morag, Graber was dead, and the werewolf tribe is now mine. He fled with a severely wounded soul and will remain dormant for at least six months before he can act again."

Nott froze: "You...you're lying..."

Kane pulled a crystal bottle from his pocket. Inside was a wisp of black, struggling magic. "Recognize this? Voldemort's magical signature. A souvenir I brought back from Morag."

Nott stared at the wisp of black smoke, his face turning from madness to deathly pale, and finally to ashen.

He recognized it. Everyone who had ever served the Dark Lord recognized it. That cold, twisted, and endlessly resentful magical aura…

The Dark Lord... really escaped?

Was it this thirteen-year-old child?

"No...it's impossible..." he murmured.

"Perhaps." Kane put away the crystal bottle. "Now, answer my question: What were Voldemort's instructions to you? Besides testing my father, what else?"

Nott shut his mouth and stared at Kane with hateful eyes.

Kane nodded: "Very good."

He tapped his wand lightly, and the silver threads wrapped around Nott tightened slightly. Nott screamed again.

"You can choose not to speak," Kane's voice remained calm, "but I will use Legilimency. My Legilimency is different from the ordinary one—I've modified it, incorporating the purifying magic of the phoenix. The process will be painful, because I'm not purifying the surface thoughts, but the deepest memories. Afterwards, you may lose part of your sanity, or even suffer permanent amnesia. The choice is yours."

Nott trembled. He looked into Kane's eyes—eyes that held no threat, no anger, only the calm of stating a fact. And it was this calmness that convinced him that the boy would really do it, and that he really could do it.

“…Master said,” Nott finally gave in, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows, “if Lucius passes the test, he will be in charge of contacting the other wavering families to prepare for the next gathering…the location is at my uncle Nott Manor, and the time is one month from now…if he doesn’t pass…”

"You'll take over a portion of the Malfoy family's businesses to support Voldemort's return plan," Kane replied. "That makes sense. You definitely need funds to elevate your status within the family."