Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 140 Assassination Arrives!

Aside from having to work overtime to produce the Basilisk Warning Device, this Christmas was quite relaxing and comfortable for Avada.

Due to the frequent petrification incidents and Snape's shocking explanation, the entire Hogwarts was filled with unease, and the atmosphere of Christmas this year was unprecedentedly oppressive and tense—thus, the gift exchange, which had always been the most troublesome part of Avada Kedavra's life, was quietly downplayed.

Among his friends, Baron was busy working overtime with him, Harry and his friends were in the crucial stage of preparing Polyjuice Potion and couldn't be distracted, his roommates didn't bother him much after learning what he was doing, and most of the other friends he could talk to had chosen to leave school...

After spending half a day making a batch of cookies and candies and distributing them to his classmates, friends, and the orphanage, he was free of all other worries and could continue to fully recuperate, enjoy the life of sleeping until he naturally woke up, and take some time to make the Basilisk warning device.

"Phew, I haven't felt this comfortable in ages..."

After a long-awaited experience of being woken up by the eight o'clock morning sun, Avada opened his eyes contentedly, feeling an unprecedented lightness and comfort in his mind. The soreness that had plagued his eyes for years had completely disappeared. He stretched his limbs out of the covers, letting his bones crackle for a while before retreating back in like a turtle—what could be more comfortable than snuggling in a warm bed on a winter's day?

He lay there for an unknown amount of time before being woken up by the protesting sounds from his stomach.

"What a blunder! I should have prepared the food and put it by my bedside last night..."

Reluctantly, he got out of bed, washed up, put on his clothes, and left the lounge. He took a detour and went straight to the kitchen, intending to get something hot to eat. Breakfast in the cafeteria had definitely ended by now; if he wanted something to eat, he'd have to go to the kitchen…

Then, unsurprisingly, he encountered a group of familiar faces in the kitchen.

"Hey, Merry Christmas, Harry, Ron. You guys overslept too?"

Avada picked out a few pieces of bread, spread some sauce on them, and put them in the oven. He then greeted the two familiar faces who were wolfing down their bread on the table with a smile.

"Ken?"

Harry and Ron paused, startled by the familiar voice, and looked up to see Avada, even more surprised: "You stayed at school?"

"Yeah, is there anything strange about it?"

He chuckled. "I probably won't be leaving the lounge area much during this holiday, so I don't need to worry about the petrification curse. Besides, isn't there that warning device that appeared out of nowhere?"

"Oh, right!"

Harry seemed much more excited at the mention of the warning device, while Ron's expression was somewhat subtle: "Do you have that warning device with you?"

"...It seems not. What's wrong?"

Avada touched his clothes and shook his head—he didn't need the thing himself. His magical senses were no less than a spider's. As long as the basilisk dared to get within a certain range, he would definitely be able to see its life force and spiritual power.

"Make sure to carry it with you at all times!"

Harry said somewhat excitedly, "Yesterday I was walking with Colin... oh, you don't know him, Colin Creevey, a Muggle-born student..."

"He must have been chasing her."

Ron ruthlessly sabotaged the situation while cutting the butter.

"Uh, that's not the point... Anyway, when we were walking together, the warning device on his body suddenly went off, and almost the next second, I heard it again!"

"The basilisk has struck again?!"

Avada was startled: "And then?"

"Then we followed the instructions, glanced at the nearest classroom, and rushed in with our eyes closed."

Harry recalled with lingering fear, "We were inside with our eyes closed for almost ten minutes, during which time the alarm kept going off, and the sound I heard was even getting clearer and clearer... I'm afraid that attack was aimed at Colin."

"Finally, after the alarm completely stopped and the sound disappeared from my ears, we dared to run out and return to the Gryffindor common room as fast as we could. That device really worked, and it proved once again that the killer was indeed the Basilisk!"

"You're Muggle-born too, right? You absolutely must wear that device! The Basilisk is active again now, that thing could really save your life!"

Harry reminded him again, this time with a serious expression.

"……I see."

As Avada took his bread out of the oven, he nodded in reply, "I'll take that with me."

To be honest, he was quite happy despite his nervousness when he heard the news—he and Baron had finally created a product that was truly effective against the Basilisk and could protect the students, and had also successfully saved Colin Crevet from the attack in the original story.

Furthermore, as news of Colin Creevey's affair spreads, and with the warning devices activating more and more frequently, the students will eventually be completely convinced that the culprit who petrifies people is indeed the Basilisk, no longer believing the lie of the so-called "Will of the Castle." This will escalate to protests to the Board of Governors and Snape, allowing the news to spread throughout the entire British magical society. At that point, it will be the perfect opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the die-hard pure-blood faction!

Hopefully things are going well with Dumbledore, although we still don't know exactly what he's up to; and hopefully he's prepared a way to clear Snape's name and exonerate him...

"The person who invented this must be a genius."

Harry exclaimed, "When you made the crowing badge, Hermione looked up information about basilisks and learned that spiders are especially afraid of them, but we never imagined it could be used like this!"

"It would be even better if it weren't a spider."

Ron sighed in frustration.

"..."

"This is only because I was afraid of developing countermeasures and the backlash from inferior products, so I didn't publish the manufacturing method to encourage students to make their own warning devices. Otherwise, the whole school would be covered in spiders..."

Avada thought to himself, "This Basilisk warning device is something only four people besides my three roommates know about—himself, Baron, Fred, and George. To avoid any complications, they all agreed to keep it a secret. Of course, there might be some people who, like Shabi and the others, guess that Avada and his group might have made it, but that's just speculation and won't have much impact."

After having breakfast and saying goodbye to Harry and Ron, Avada slung her bag over her shoulder and headed to the library.

Although this Christmas holiday was unusual, he still had all the required homework. He planned to cram all his holiday assignments into today, and then use the remaining time to focus on implementing his plan…

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

In his magical senses, a long, blazing life force silently slid into the wall not far from him, its tip containing an extremely complex dark magic structure. Now, that dark magic was extending from the wall through a crack, landing directly on him…

Moreover, there were no isolation measures in place.

"The basilisk..."

"You want to kill me?!"

Avada maintained a steady, unhurried pace, his entire body tense, his gaze fixed straight ahead, never wavering even slightly.

(End of this chapter)