Chapter 118: The Three Unforgivable Curses and the Cursed Fire Spell (Part 5)

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The next morning, Snape arrived early at the Slytherin common room and issued an announcement to all the Slytherin students.

"From today onwards, all students must return to their house common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is permitted to leave their dormitory after this time. Each class will be escorted by a professor. Without a professor present, no student is allowed to use the restroom. All Quidditch practices and matches are postponed, and no activities will be held in the evening."

As Snape escorted the Slytherin students to the Great Hall for breakfast, George approached him and asked, "Professor, have they found the basilisk yet?"

"No. The castle's pipes have been thoroughly searched, but all we found were some remnants of the basilisk's scales. We have not located its hiding place or the secret chamber," Snape replied. "Dumbledore has been temporarily suspended by the school board because of this incident. He went to the Ministry of Magic in London last night and has been detained there. Until we locate the basilisk and the true heir of the Chamber of Secrets, the school may be temporarily closed. So, be prepared. If you have any academic issues during the closure, you can find me in Spinners End."

Once the school is closed, all teachers and students must leave, and the Ministry will send Aurors to lock down the school and conduct a thorough search. They will not reopen the school until the basilisk is found and killed.

But even Dumbledore couldn't find the chamber's location, so Snape doubted the Aurors could manage it. The closure could take a while.

As the most talented and gifted wizard in Slytherin, Snape didn't want George's education to be delayed by this incident.

"Thank you, Professor."

George nodded, his eyes briefly flashing with determination. Dumbledore's detention in London meant that George could secretly visit the Restricted Section of the library to study Dark Magic.

After breakfast in the Great Hall, Harry and his friends found George again.

"I've decided. I'm going to tell Dumbledore about hearing the basilisk and the diary. Maybe that'll help catch it," Harry said. After thinking it over all night, Harry had made his decision. He wasn't going to hide things from Dumbledore and the professors anymore.

But George shook his head. "I just found out this morning that Dumbledore has been temporarily suspended. He's been detained by the Ministry of Magic in London and won't be back anytime soon."

"That's a problem. Without Dumbledore at the school, we'll probably see attacks every day!" Ron exclaimed in alarm, while Harry and Hermione also frowned.

With Dumbledore, the school's anchor, gone, they immediately felt anxious. Noticing this, George changed the subject. "Let's think this through for a few more days. Maybe we'll come up with some new clues. I'm planning to visit Hagrid. Since we've confirmed that the creature in the Chamber is a basilisk and not a giant spider, Hagrid's past accusation should no longer be an issue, and he shouldn't be affected."

"Okay, we'll go too," Hermione said, raising her hand eagerly, much to Harry and Ron's surprise.

It was unusual for Hermione to be this enthusiastic.

After breakfast, George and the trio went to visit Hagrid. Since it was Sunday, none of them had classes.

From Hagrid, they learned that the Ministry of Magic had come early that morning to notify him that the punishment banning him from using magic had been lifted. Although Dumbledore had been temporarily suspended, he had provided evidence proving that the creature in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk, not a giant acromantula.

As a result, the Ministry had overturned the previous ruling that had labeled Hagrid a murderer and restored his right to use his wand.

Hearing this good news, Harry and the others felt a weight lift from their shoulders.

By the time they returned from Hagrid's cabin, it was almost noon. George, finding a reason to leave the trio, went to find Lockhart to get a signed permission slip and then made his way to the Restricted Section of the library.

This time, however, he didn't feel the constant sense of being watched.

"Avada Kedavra, Crucio, Imperius, and the Killing Curse... Here I come!"

He settled in front of the computer and began, with careful precision, to copy the dark spells he had once been too afraid to touch.

It wasn't realistic to expect to memorize and understand all the complex and difficult dark magic in a single afternoon.

But he could copy everything down now and study it later.

So, he continued copying until it was 5:30 p.m., then borrowed a regular magical text before leaving the library in a calm manner.

For the next few days, he didn't return to the Restricted Section.

Once was enough; any more trips could raise suspicion. Besides, he had already found all the dark spells he was looking for. Now, it was a matter of slowly learning and practicing.

As summer approached, the castle's sky and the surrounding lake began to glow with a purple hue, while giant flowers, as large as cabbages, bloomed in the greenhouse.

But the atmosphere in the castle grew more tense.

With Dumbledore gone, fear spread rapidly like never before. Every face in the school looked anxious and uneasy. The sound of any laughter in the corridors felt harsh, strange, and was quickly suppressed.

Another Saturday arrived, and George sneaked into the Forbidden Forest to find a secluded spot where he could practice dark magic.

"Looks like it's not so simple after all," he sighed, just before noon, as he left the Forbidden Forest and began walking back to the castle.

Both the Cursed Fire Spell and the Three Unforgivable Curses were high-level dark magic. His self-study efficiency was simply too low.

But he couldn't ask any of the professors, including Snape, for help.

"Maybe… I need a master in this field."

At that moment, George suddenly thought of the diary and the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside it.

The soul in the diary was a fragment that Voldemort had split off when he was sixteen years old.

Though the sixteen-year-old Voldemort undoubtedly didn't have as much knowledge as his adult self, George believed that the younger Voldemort had still mastered quite a bit of dark magic.

Teaching him, a beginner, would be no problem at all.

He hadn't considered this before because at the time, trying to obtain the diary was too risky. It could attract Dumbledore's attention, and there was also the danger of being controlled by Voldemort's soul.

But now things were different. Dumbledore was still detained at the Ministry of Magic in London, unable to return anytime soon. George had enough time to devise a plan to seize the diary.

And with his current strength, especially after learning how to control the light magic that counteracted darkness and curses, even a fragment of Voldemort's soul would find it difficult to influence him.

As he walked and thought, a new plan began to take shape in George's mind.

He wasn't one to be inflexible. While having a plan was important, he also understood the need for adaptability.

As his strength continued to grow, many of his original plans needed to be adjusted to account for the changes in his power. This was the only way to efficiently increase his strength.

(End of Chapter)