Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 151 Punishment

In a fleeting moment, Little Barty clearly sensed that the student of his master in front of him truly wanted to kill him.

Compared to the holiday period, Ekko's strength seems to have improved significantly.

No, that's not right!

He didn't perform at his best during the holidays!

The Soul-Stealing Curse, when used at full power, clearly took effect at the beginning, but in an instant, Ike broke free.

Next came that spell, which was indistinguishable as either an explosion curse or a shattering curse.

Floating helplessly in the air, Little Barty felt that at least half of the bones in his body were broken.

"Do you want to die, Barty?"

Ike's tone remained icy, but a sense of fear crept in.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Little Barty suddenly coughed, and bright red blood splattered from his mouth. Ike frowned slightly, and the blood that had splashed onto him floated in the air.

Just then, the students in the classroom, who had been shocked by Ekko's actions, finally came to their senses. Except for a very few, the rest of them retreated in unison, moving away from Ekko.

"Ike..." Stuart, Terry, Michael, and Anthony didn't move, and Hermione even slowly moved towards Ike.

"Don't get agitated, Ike, put Professor Moody down first..." Hermione advised cautiously, but Ike didn't even turn his head.

She could clearly see their mouths moving, but she couldn't hear what they were saying.

Slowly, Hermione got closer and closer, reaching out to touch the golden threads still surrounding Ike.

She didn't know what these threads were; they weren't in books. She had only heard Ike mention them once, that they were his "last line of defense."

It's safe to say this thing is dangerous.

"what!"

He tentatively reached out his hand, and as soon as he touched the gold thread, his fingers felt as if they had been electrocuted.

"Hermione!"

Harry, Stuart, and the others gathered around, but the golden threads visibly expanded outwards by a large circle.

"Go find the professors!"

Hermione shouted, spreading her arms to block the onrushing crowd. Just then, Ike, hidden within the golden threads, moved!

"Bang!"

As Ike swung his wand, Moody was flung away violently, but as if there was a barrier, he stopped abruptly in mid-air before flying very far, with faint ripples appearing on his back.

"Stop standing there! Go find the professors! Bring them all here!" Hermione's temper flared as she looked at the group of people huddled together behind the professors.

Fortunately, this time someone finally moved, and they all ran out.

She screamed all the way, very loudly and noisily...

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Like a sandbag, Moody's limp body swayed back and forth in mid-air, his bright red blood still suspended there, and increasing in volume.

"Do you know what this is, Hermione?" Terry asked in a deep voice, looking at Ike who was ruthlessly torturing Moody with a serious expression.

"Ike only said that this was his 'last line of defense,' and it seems to be related to ancient magic." Hermione was anxious and tried to reach out again.

The result was the same.

"It looks like he's locked himself and Moody together, that's why he can't hear us," Stewart said seriously. "And looking at his eyes, is that...blood?"

Several people stood around, but they were helpless. Hermione anxiously looked towards the door, hoping the professor would come in even a second later. But Moody had already been thrown around like a bloody mess by Ike, and no one came.

Turning around, Hermione gave Harry and Ron, who had been watching from behind, a shove and ordered, "Ron, go find Professor McGonagall! Harry, go find Dumbledore!"

"I'll go find Professor Flitwick," Terry said immediately, and Michael added that he would go find Snape.

"Those guys are completely unreliable; I don't know where they've gone."

The four of them ran out of the classroom quickly, and Anthony followed them out. He stood guard in the corridor, ready to shout if a professor arrived.

Hermione and Stuart stood guard cautiously to the side, watching helplessly as more and more blood droplets floated in the air.

"Hurry, Professor!"

Suddenly, Ron's voice came from beside him, and Anthony also called out, "Professor McGonagall, over here."

Turning around, I saw Professor McGonagall running in with a serious expression, followed by Ron, who was panting heavily.

"I...I...I met...someone on the way..." Ron said to Hermione, barely able to breathe.

"Professor McGonagall..." Hermione looked like a frightened quail, her head bowed. Professor McGonagall simply patted her shoulder, then drew her wand, and a red beam of light flew straight towards her.

"boom!"

As if something had exploded, the golden threads expanded outwards again. Professor McGonagall remained calm, holding her wand horizontally in front of her chest, and a silver shield appeared, firmly protecting herself and Hermione and the others beside her.

Professor McGonagall slowly stepped back before putting down her wand.

"Has anyone gone to inform Dumbledore?"

"Harry's gone," Hermione replied, then asked with concern, "Professor McGonagall, what about Ike...?"

"Miss Granger, you need to know that what happened to Strade is very serious."

"Attacking a professor is wrong."

"But Professor, Ike was killed because Professor Moody used a Possessed Curse on him..." Professor McGonagall interrupted Hermione before she could finish.

"As far as I know, everyone has been subjected to the Soul-Stealing Curse by Moody, and it's been going on for a long time."

"But it's different!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly, "The Imperius Curse... it must be different! Otherwise, this spell couldn't be triggered!"

"Miss Granger, you know about this magic?" Professor McGonagall said seriously. "I don't expect you to hide anything from me. You know how serious this is."

"I'm sorry, Professor, I... I only know that this is Ike's 'last line of defense,' that's what he told me." Hermione lowered her head; she understood the meaning behind Professor McGonagall's words.

"Will Ike be fired?"

"I cannot guarantee that, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall shook her head slightly, then glanced solemnly at Ike and the bloodied Moody.

He raised his wand and shouted, "The Sorting Hat, come here!"

Just as Hermione was wondering why Professor McGonagall had summoned the Sorting Hat, a red light suddenly flashed in the classroom, and Dumbledore and Harry appeared.

"Dumbledore, what kind of magic is this?" Professor McGonagall asked directly.

Dumbledore slightly raised his hand, then stretched it out to the side, just in time to catch the Sorting Hat that had traveled a long way.

"Just right."

Dumbledore handed the Sorting Hat to Professor McGonagall, who was standing nearby, and then drew a wand that looked like a finger bone.

"I'm sorry, I've never seen such magic before." Dumbledore said, as he traced a path in the air with his wand, leaving a trail of red thread.

"But I can see the composition of this magic..."

"It must be said that Mr. Strayder's research into ancient magic and ancient runes has reached an extremely profound level. Under other circumstances, this magic would be enough to earn him a Merlin Medal!"

More and more red threads appeared in the air. Dumbledore continued, "Guardian, Steadfast. Automatically triggers when subjected to potentially fatal damage, protecting yourself..."

"Hmm... there's also restraint and confinement?"

"To bind the enemy, to imprison... no, to seal off, to seal off an isolated space, for a final... act of resistance?"

Dumbledore stopped, raised his hand to remove the red thread that had covered the gold thread, and started drawing again.

"I almost misread it! What an amazing talent!"

"Albus!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just amazed," Dumbledore said. "In short, it's a variant of ancient magic that Mr. Strayed has modified."

"After I've wrapped these gold threads around it, you can cut it open."

"We must hurry, or we may lose Mr. Streid and Moody forever."

"Yes, Albus," Professor McGonagall replied, putting away her wand and drawing a sharp sword from the Sorting Hat.

"This is... the Gryffindor sword!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's right, Miss Granger," Dumbledore explained, manipulating the red thread to slowly wind around the gold thread, "This is indeed the Gryffindor sword, which only a true Gryffindor can wield..."

"Now, Minerva!"

Suddenly, Dumbledore swung his fingerbone-shaped wand forward, and the red threads wrapped directly around the golden threads. Professor McGonagall, without hesitation, swung her sword down with both hands.

"Click, click"

Like the sound of shattering glass, cracks appeared out of nowhere in the air. As Dumbledore waved his wand again, all the threads vanished.

"Stop!"

With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore caught Moody as he flew out with tremendous force. Before he could examine Moody's injuries, a huge beam of red light flew toward him.

"Click!"

A silver-white shield appeared, and the red light falling on it produced only a crisp sound.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Get Moody to the school hospital, please. He seems to have a lot of broken bones; it looks like he'll be staying there for a long time." Dumbledore turned to Hermione and the others beside him, winked, and even made a joke, seemingly unconcerned about the rain of spells raining down on him. He only returned after Stuart, Harry, and Ron had magically carried Professor Moody out.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As if taking a stroll, he walked step by step toward Ike, who was still continuously casting spells. The silver shield was like an impregnable fortress, and even when it was struck and scattered with silver light, it still stood firmly in front of Dumbledore.

"It's time to stop, child."

The tip of the staff gently touched Ekko's forehead, and wisps of soft white light, like mist, slowly spread out. Under the effect of the white light, the bloodshot color in Ekko's eyes gradually faded.

Emotions were revealed again...

"It looks like you've woken up, Mr. Strayed," Dumbledore said with a smile as he put away his wand.

"Professor... Hermione..." Ike regained his senses slightly, but was immediately overwhelmed by overwhelming fatigue and weakness, and collapsed.

"Ike!" Hermione shouted as she ran over, snatched the unconscious Ike from Dumbledore's hands, and shook him, but he didn't respond at all.

"Alright, Miss Granger, Mr. Strayed just fainted from exhaustion. That spell required an enormous amount of magic, and even with his current level of magic, it wouldn't be an easy task, let alone the many spells he threw at me." Dumbledore said with amusement, "I think this old man really needs someone to comfort him."

"And..." Dumbledore pointed to the soft silver light that had quietly enveloped Ike, "this ancient magic that he altered also protected him."

"Take him to the school clinic."

After watching Hermione and the others leave and chasing away the students who had come to watch after hearing the news, Dumbledore used a Restoration Charm to repair the wall that had just been blasted down.

"Looks like I'm late." Snape had arrived sometime earlier and was standing in the doorway, looking at Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall inside the classroom.

"It is a little late, but the matter has been resolved," Dumbledore said.

"Oh, what a pity," Snape sighed, as if he were genuinely regretful.

"Alright, Severus, we still have some things to discuss." After restoring everything to its original state, Dumbledore flicked out another beam of white light. "Let's go to my office. I've already notified Philius and Pomona; they're probably waiting for us now..."

Back in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore poured a cup of tea for each of the four Heads of the House, put the Sorting Hat back on its shelf, and then sat down in his own seat. He then recounted what had happened to Professors Flitwick and Sprout, who were not present.

"This is troublesome. I must say, the nature of this matter is very serious and difficult to handle." Dumbledore rubbed his forehead, looking quite troubled. "How should we deal with Mr. Strand?"

"Attack the professor, destroy a classroom, expel him—that's the only option," Snape's cold voice rang out, seemingly impatient. "Perhaps we could also strip him of his right to use a wand."

"No, according to Dumbledore, it's clear that Moody did something very dangerous to Ike, which led to everything that followed," Professor Flitwick immediately retorted. "You can't blame Ike entirely; expulsion is too harsh!"

"Moody's in the school hospital right now, Felius," Snape said. "Poor Moody, I hope he's alright, or Strayder will be spending the rest of his life in Azkaban."

"Alright, Severus." Dumbledore stopped Snape, who was about to continue, and looked at Professor McGonagall, who had been silent ever since she rescued Moody. "Minerva, what are your thoughts?"

"Mr. Strand did indeed commit a serious violation of school rules," Professor McGonagall said, frowning. "But what Felius said is also true; this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Strand."

"I believe... confinement, and deprive Mr. Strand of his right to travel to Hogsmeade."

"The timeframe is... one semester."

(End of this chapter)