HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

The aftereffects of the magical upheaval forced West to stay in the medical wing for several days.

Perhaps because the seal had almost dissipated, West's magical flow became abnormal. He could not control the release of spells at will; either he could not release them, or the power was too strong, always causing some kind of damage.

He sat on the bed, staring at his trembling fingertips.

Just now, he used a levitation spell on the apple, and the apple suddenly exploded, its juice dripping down the table and onto the floor, forming a thin stream of water.

Lady Pomfrey cast a cleansing charm on him and sternly warned, "Mr. Wester, no magic is permitted until Dumbledore provides a treatment plan."

Ms. Pomfrey then confiscated his wand.

West lay back down on the bed, feeling helpless.

The other consciousness within his body seemed to have never existed; no matter how much West called out to it, it never appeared. West reasonably guessed that it had chosen to slumber in order to suppress the dark magic curse.

The Black Curse is spiraling out of control; they must merge.

Dumbledore may have been prepared for this.

West waited for Dumbledore's instructions, but Harry said he hadn't seen Dumbledore in the past few days and it seemed he had left Hogwarts.

West thus missed the last Quidditch match.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin are tied for first place." Harry's voice rang out as the door opened, followed by Draco's iconic platinum head.

"This is the most disgraceful result in the history of Hogwarts," Draco said.

Fearing that West's magic might cause another riot, Madam Pomfrey only allowed Harry and his friends to visit West for fifteen minutes each day.

Harry looked at West expectantly and asked, "You'll have to attend the year-end party, won't you, West?"

"That depends on Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey," West said.

Ron grumbled, "I see you're all done for, why won't Dumbledore let you go?"

Hermione frowned, looking at West thoughtfully.

Apart from Harry, the other three were unaware of the Dark Lord's curse. They were quite puzzled by Dumbledore's arrangements.

West was also troubled.

He hadn't seen Snape for several days. And the professor, too, didn't come to see him at all, most likely angry about his nighttime outing.

Snape was naturally furious. He ordered West to stop Harry from going out at night, but the two brothers ended up going out together.

Dumbledore arrived late the night before the year-end party, accompanied by a sullen-looking Snape.

Snape's gaze swept over West's rosy face, and he snorted coldly without saying anything.

"I think you've noticed it too; your magic is acting strangely." Dumbledore sat in a chair to the side, his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles as deep as a vast ocean, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

He continued, "I'll have someone take you back to Potter's old house—"

"Is that person trustworthy?" Snape asked, his tone blatantly questioning.

"...I believe he will not betray my trust," Dumbledore said, his expression unusually forlorn.

Snape remained silent, his face grim.

"Okay, when do we set off?" Vesti nodded and asked.

"Tonight," Dumbledore said, "the sooner the better, West. I'm not sure what effect the Dark Curse will have on children over ten years old—after all, no one carrying the Dark Curse has ever lived to that age."

"With the coordination of the Potter family's magic, if the fusion is successful, you might be able to control the Dark Magic curse," he said with a complex expression. "That would mean you would be proficient in any form of Dark Magic, West."

West understood Dumbledore's implied meaning. "Speak plainly, Headmaster."

"Make an unbreakable vow with me," Dumbledore looked at him, "and you must swear an oath never to use the Unforgivable Curse."

"Are you insane, Albus Dumbledore?" Snape said in a low voice. "Sometimes it's a necessary means of survival!"

"West is different, Severus," Dumbledore said, his gaze still fixed on West. "He is unlike any of us—I am too old to take any more risks, and the wizarding world cannot afford a third Dark Lord."

"He's just a child, you can't do this." Snape stepped in front of West. "I won't allow it."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then sighed. "West, what are your thoughts?"

"I agree," the boy's clear voice rang out.

Snape glared at him coldly. "Are you insane too?"

"Well, but I have something to say, Headmaster," West said. "You want to use Harry against Voldemort, but you have no designs on me?"

Dumbledore's eyes flickered for a fleeting moment, almost imperceptibly. "What do you mean?"

"I can cast an Unbreakable Curse, on the condition that the Unforgivable Curse can be used on Voldemort and Death Eaters."

To protect those I love, I sometimes act against my will. I hope you can trust me; I will not use the Unforgivable Curse on the innocent.

You can use me as a pawn in the fight against Voldemort; I will do everything in my power to protect Harry.

Dumbledore was a madman, and so was West. Snape realized this only then.

West is not a simple child.

He and Dumbledore share a similar temperament; both are willing to stop at nothing to achieve their ideals.

"If you remember you were only eleven years old..." Snape felt helpless. Could it be that he couldn't even protect Lily's two children?

"Dean, if Voldemort comes back, you'll have to go back to his side, won't you?" West suddenly asked.

He didn't believe Dumbledore would give up such a useful pawn. Snape's identity was perfect for being a spy and transmitting information to Dumbledore.

Snape's face drained of all color, "You..."

"Once, you fell asleep at your desk, and I saw your Dark Mark showing," West said dryly, afraid of upsetting Snape.

Seeing Snape's increasingly grim expression, as if he wanted to deliver a fatal curse, West quickly grabbed his sleeve and said earnestly, "Professor, I want to help you."

Snape tugged at his sleeve, shaking off West's hand, and gritted his teeth, "Do I need a student's help?"

West remained silent and turned to look at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore raised his wand at the opportune moment. "You are too perceptive, West."

Then our oath shall be changed to—forbid the use of the Unforgivable Curse to harm the innocent. I will give you ample freedom.

"Don't betray my trust," Dumbledore said.

West breathed a sigh of relief and took the hand that Dumbledore offered.

At Dumbledore's urging, Snape was forced to become a witness to their oath.

Two flames intertwined to form a ring of fire that gripped West and Dumbledore's wrists.

"I swear I will not use the Unforgivable Curse on the innocent," West said, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his veins feeling like magma was churning, sending waves of burning sensation through him. "But I reserve the right to use the Unforgivable Curse against Voldemort and his minions."

After the oath was uttered, the ring of fire contracted into blood-red threads, tightening around their wrists like ropes.

Having achieved his goal, Dumbledore calmly rose and handed West's wand to him. "Perhaps you have something to say to Severus? I'll be waiting for you outside the Headmaster's office at ten o'clock tonight."

Dumbledore turned and left.

West frowned, looking pitifully at Snape, appearing utterly wronged. "Professor, it hurts so much..."

He was not lying. The establishment of the Unbreakable Curse brings unavoidable excruciating pain, and those who break the oath will be burned to death by the fires of their souls.

West was pale, and his back was almost soaked with cold sweat.

Snape scoffed, his face more terrifying than ever before. "I doubt Mr. West even knows where he went wrong."

Seeing that his attempts to charm her were ineffective, West reluctantly composed himself. "Professor, please believe me, I have my reasons."

Snape's eyes clearly told West—how I trust an eleven-year-old.

"...As Harry's brother, I won't allow Harry to become a pawn." West said, his eyes lowered. "But I know it's inevitable that he'll face Voldemort."

As his memories began to loosen, he finally managed to piece together a terrifying possibility from fragmented knowledge.

A fragment of Voldemort's soul may have landed inside Harry, which is why Harry resonates with him when he gets close.

Harry is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. This might terrify West.

What West doesn't know right now is whether Voldemort caused this unintentionally, or whether he was consciously creating Horcruxes.

If it's the latter, then that would be extremely frightening.

"I have to protect him, so I have no choice but to get involved." West looked at Snape. "Professor... I don't know if the fusion will be successful. What if something happens to me..."

He paused here and didn't continue.

He wanted to ask Snape to look after Harry, but Snape had no obligation to do so.

He couldn't take it for granted that he should ask the professor for help.

"...You'll be alright," Snape said stiffly.

He knew Lily; she wouldn't use uncertain magic on a child.

The Potters said their family magic could help West fuse, so it must work. They wouldn't risk their child.

"...Alright, Professor." West smiled, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "Then wait for me to return."