Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 368 Trap!

"very good."

Grindelwald looked up and glanced at the faces that were either suppressing elation or filled with anticipation mixed with a hint of fear. He nodded gently. "Now that everyone who's supposed to be here is here, let's begin—and don't forget to remind your master later that he owes me a favor."

"Igor, let's begin."

"Yes."

Karkaroff nodded respectfully to Grindelwald, then drew his wand and pointed it at the altar of the resurrection ritual—where a huge, exquisite cauldron stood, containing a deep purple potion, its surface reflecting an eerie luster in the sunlight. The cauldron's walls were inscribed with magical runes of various precious materials, now glowing faintly and reacting magically with the potion within, stirring it and causing it to flow slowly, occasionally creating ripples on the surface.

At the very bottom of the crucible was an unlit brazier, which Karkaroff was aiming his wand at.

Then, as Karkaroff chanted a complex and intricate incantation in a low voice, pale blue magical flames began to ignite in the brazier. And when the first spark touched the bottom of the cauldron, the potion inside abruptly changed from its original purple to crimson, and began to boil violently. Large amounts of steam billowed out, making it almost impossible for the surrounding Death Eaters to see Karkaroff and Grindelwald's faces clearly…

"That's sufficient, Lord Grindelwald!"

They were startled when they heard Karkaroff shout that, and then they saw Grindelwald take a small bottle-shaped object from his pocket, walk forward, gently tap the bottle opening with his wand, and slowly pour out the contents of the bottle...

At this point, the Death Eaters were almost completely silent—they all knew what was in that unassuming little bottle, which Dumbledore had publicly revealed to the world three years ago—Voldemort's soul, which he had once sealed away.

Now, with Dumbledore falling into a trap and ultimately being defeated by Grindelwald, their poor master, who had been a wandering ghost for eleven years and imprisoned in a small bottle for three years, is finally about to regain his former power and see the light of day again, joining Grindelwald to lead them in restoring the glory of pure-bloods...

Then, under everyone's focused gaze, wisps of gray mist poured from the bottle in Grindelwald's hand, slowly falling into the boiling potion in the cauldron. Even through the thick steam, they could clearly see that when the first wisp of mist touched the surface of the potion, a burst of intense light suddenly erupted from there, catching the Death Eaters, who had been watching intently, off guard and causing them to be momentarily blinded.

The next moment, the entire pot of potion began to evaporate at an incredible speed. A thick column of steam shot into the sky, then quickly dispersed and spread high in the air, eventually enveloping a large area, including all the Death Eaters, in this crimson steam...

"Wait, is this kind of reaction... what a resurrection ritual should produce?"

Many Death Eaters coughed from the steam and frowned in surprise—these potions should be used to rebuild their masters' bodies, so why were they evaporating everywhere like this?

If the steam hadn't been free of toxicity or negative effects like hypnosis or paralysis, they would have suspected that Grindelwald and Karkaroff had conspired to stage a scene and wipe them all out here...

"Wait, this steam..."

Suddenly, several Death Eaters, whose expressions were shifting between anger and uncertainty as they discreetly drew their wands to analyze the composition of the steam, suddenly changed their expressions and began to shout, "No! Run! This steam is..."

boom!!

At the center of the altar, Grindelwald suddenly drew his Elder Wand again and struck it heavily against the enormous cauldron that was slowly shimmering with light. The next moment, the complex runes on it burst forth with an incredibly dazzling brilliance. This light, upon illuminating the potion vapors billowing in the air, began to create a new and unknown reaction. The Death Eaters didn't know what this meant, but they vaguely sensed that the change in the vapor's composition was definitely not a good thing…

"Grindelwald! Karkaroff! What are you doing...?"

A Death Eater was about to question Grindelwald in front of him, but he was surprised to find that he had lost the ability to speak when he was halfway through his sentence. This was because of the potion vapor that had been harmless just a moment ago, which made them look at it without any suspicion, but whose composition changed immediately when it was exposed to the light!

"Oh no! This is a trap!"

The Death Eaters, deprived of their ability to speak, roared inwardly, gripping their wands tightly as they retreated hastily, trying to escape the steam's embrace. Then, to their despair, they discovered that not only had the Apparition barrier, which Karkaroff had just closed, been quietly reopened, but an incredibly sturdy barrier had also appeared around them, trapping them firmly in place!

If they were still able to chant spells, they might be able to focus their fire on one spot and shake the barrier a little. But at this moment, everyone had lost the ability to speak, and relying solely on the greatly weakened staffless spellcasting was simply not enough to cause any damage to the barrier!

"Then I declare—"

A hoarse, cheerful voice suddenly reached their ears, causing them to turn towards its source—Gellert Grindelwald and Karkaroff had somehow retreated beyond the barrier, and even the massive shield that had once enveloped Durmstrang Castle had vanished. Grindelwald was laughing heartily as he shouted towards the castle:

"The true third event of the Triwizard Tournament now officially begins!"

As those words fell, something incredibly terrifying entered the minds of the Death Eaters through their eyes, threatening to instantly destroy their already fragile sanity—

Gellert Grindelwald's aged face suddenly melted away like a wax figure, then reformed into another form, with long white whiskers still sprouting from his chin...

In front of everyone, he transformed into Albus Dumbledore.

Beside him, Dumbledore, who had been "knocked unconscious," sprang to his feet with a nimble movement, grinning and waving to the people in the castle and cages. Then, his face and limbs began to change, just like Grindelwald's before, gradually revealing his true form...

It's Alastor Moody.

(End of this chapter)