Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 317 The Past (Part 3)

In just one night, news of Kitty's curse spread throughout Hogwarts, and everyone was filled with dread. But apart from Harry and his friends, no one knew that the necklace should never have been touched by her.

The attackers behind the scenes have a deeper objective.

After leaving the Room of Requirement, Harry and Ron completely forgot about their conversation with Hermione and didn't ask her any more questions. From this perspective, Hermione's magic was indeed very effective.

It's not perfect, and some people can still spot it. Fortunately, those who can spot it won't warn Harry and the others.

A week passed just like that, and on Monday evening at eight o'clock, Harry arrived at Dumbledore's office on time.

Pushing open the door, he found Dumbledore sitting wearily behind a table. Seeing him enter, Dumbledore smiled. With a wave of his hand, the Pensieve flew out of the adjacent secret chamber and landed between the two.

"You've been very busy lately, Harry," Dumbledore said.

Harry knew Dumbledore was referring to Kitty, so he seized the opportunity to ask, "How is Kitty now, sir? She was transferred to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Sicknesses the next day, and we haven't heard from her since."

"The situation is not good," Dumbledore said. "She only touched the necklace lightly, and we found a small hole in her glove and a burn mark on her index finger. If she had worn the necklace around her neck, she probably would have died instantly."

"I have to thank Professor Snape; he stopped the spread of the curse... Now, the people of St. Mungo's are reporting to me every hour about Kitty's condition, which has improved considerably, and I think she will recover soon."

Harry was relieved to hear this. He could tell that Dumbledore seemed particularly eager to talk today, so he asked directly, "Where have you been all this time, sir? We haven't seen you at Hogwarts at all."

"Oh, you know, the Ministry of Magic has been in a tough spot lately, and I was called in to help out... but don't worry, I haven't forgotten our promise." He said, pulling three small bottles from his pocket and placing them neatly next to the Pensieve. "I'm not late today, Harry."

Harry watched as Dumbledore poured one of the bottles of memories into the Pensieve, and in that brief moment, he said, "Sir, Professor McGonagall should have told you my guess, about Draco Malfoy, right?"

"Yes, she said it all." Dumbledore stirred the Pensieve with his wand, letting the memory, which radiated a soft light, melt into it.

"And what's your opinion?" Harry asked, but Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

"I will conduct a thorough investigation into everyone involved in the Katie incident, but let's begin now, Harry..." he said, taking Harry's hand and leading him into the first memory.

After the familiar dizziness subsided, Harry found himself in a tavern. The tavern was crowded, but he couldn't make out the faces of anyone except one person.

"That's Karaktarch Burke, the founder of Borgin Burke," Dumbledore said, leading Harry to Karaktarch's side. "Listen carefully, this is crucial..."

Harry suppressed his questions and listened carefully to Karaktakus's words. It was an experience of a transaction. It was simple, but the items traded were not.

"...We always hear people say things like 'This is Merlin's,' and she said something similar, saying it was a Slytherin thing...I looked closely, and it did indeed have the Slytherin mark on it. I used a few spells to figure out if it was real or fake..."

"...It's priceless! But that woman didn't know its true value. So, guess how much I paid?"

"Ten Galleons!"

"...No, no, no, this is just business, it has nothing to do with anything else, and we're both very satisfied...she needs those ten Galleons..."

"...If I give her too much, do you think she can keep it, given her sickly appearance...?"

Harry was glaring angrily at the smug yet ruthless Karaktaku when he suddenly found everything around him spinning. The next second, he and Dumbledore were out of his memories.

"What are your thoughts, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"He only gave me ten Galleons!" Harry was still indignant.

"Ten generous men, Karaktakus Burke, as he said, were the limit for Helena at the time," Dumbledore said.

"She can use magic!" Harry said.

"Perhaps, but I think she may have lost the ability to cast spells," Dumbledore said. "I remember you learned in your first year that successful spellcasting requires a wizard's strong and unwavering belief."

"I remember in the last memory, Helena couldn't even cast a Restoration Charm properly under her father's oppressive power. I think that after she became pregnant and was abandoned, the enormous blow greatly weakened her power; she later didn't even want to pick up her wand to save her own life..." Dumbledore pushed up his glasses. "Helena is a fragile person; she needs a firm goal to gain the ability to cast spells. And after experiencing so much, it's clear that she has given up on herself."

"Remember how you saved Sirius from the Dementors by the Forbidden Forest a few years ago, Harry? Unwavering faith is an essential element of spellcasting."

With that, Dumbledore tapped his wand on the Pensieve, putting the memory back into the bottle, and then opened another bottle and poured it in.

"This part is from my memory; it's very accurate and can help us discover something crucial..."

The two entered the memory again, and this time Harry found himself on an old street in London, where a man in a purple velvet suit was crossing the road in the distance.

"That's me when I was young," Dumbledore said, then pulled Harry along and followed. They walked along the road for a while, then passed through an iron gate into a bare courtyard containing only a gloomy, old-fashioned building.

Dumbledore walked up the steps, knocked on the door, and soon a somewhat disheveled girl came out.

"Good afternoon, I have an appointment with Mrs. Cole," Dumbledore said.

The girl looked puzzled, and after thinking for a long time, she turned around and called inside, "Wait a minute... Mrs. Cole!" Then, she stepped aside and said, "Come in, she'll be here soon."

They entered the house, and before the door behind them could close, a very thin woman walked quickly toward them.

"Good afternoon." Dumbledore smiled and extended his hand. "I am Albus Dumbledore, as arranged with you."

Mrs. Cole blinked, as if recalling whether such a thing had happened, but in the end she extended her hand, shook hands with Dumbledore, and said, "Alright, let's go to my room."

They entered a room that served as both a living room and an office. Mrs. Cole first invited Dumbledore to sit in a less wobbly chair, while she herself sat behind a table piled high with things.

"I remember you came to discuss Tom Riddle's matter, didn't you? Are you a relative of his?" Mrs. Cole asked.

"No, I am a teacher. I have come to invite Tom to study at our school," said Dumbledore.

"Oh? What kind of school is that?"

"Hogwarts, madam."

(End of this chapter)