An Unexpected Flaw

In the end, Adam settled on a preliminary treatment plan: use magic evolved from the Sleep Card to speed up Anne’s recovery, while treating her with the Purify Card.

That should bring Anne’s treatment results up to Adam’s original expectations, but he was still not satisfied.

This attempt made Adam realize that he knew far too little about souls. What he had managed to research so far was only possible because of the foundation he had built while studying the Spirituality Dimension.

But soul power was such an abstract thing. There were not many spells in the entire Wizarding World that dealt with it…

"Soul magic? I know a few!"

The moment Sebastian heard that it could help Anne recover faster, his mind began racing.

"Oh? Let’s hear them!"

Adam was startled. Had soul-related spells really been this widespread a hundred years ago? Just how many good things had the Wizarding World lost over the past century?

"The Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse, and the Killing Curse!"

The moment Sebastian finished speaking, he saw Adam looking at him strangely.

"W-what is it? Those curses… aren’t they… related to the soul?"

Sebastian was not entirely sure himself. That was what the books in the Restricted Section said, but as for how things actually worked… he could not see the true state of a soul, so how would he know? What if the books were just talking nonsense?

"…They are, actually."

Adam nodded with difficulty. He really had overlooked that. Come to think of it, he had never properly studied the three Unforgivable Curses.

It was just that Sebastian’s… breadth of knowledge… his talent tree… truly reminded Adam of an old acquaintance.

In that instant, Adam suddenly had the idea of taking Sebastian to the future and letting him have a chat with Bernard. Those two might have plenty in common when it came to Dark magic.

But that was only a passing thought. Sebastian, who was hopelessly obsessed with his sister, would probably never agree to be separated from Anne. As for taking Anne along as well…

Adam shook his head. Though they had not known each other for long, his Mind Dimension ability was enough for him to form a rough psychological profile of someone.

Anne was too content with peace and quiet. She only wanted an ordinary life without a ripple of trouble. She was not someone who could adapt to living in another era.

Before this, among the people Adam had taken to other times, Ariana had been the sort to go with the flow—If that era has lost my brother, then I’ll go—while even Regulus, the most settled of the rest, had once joined the Death Eaters to restore pure-blood supremacy.

At Sebastian’s reminder, Adam turned his attention to the three Unforgivable Curses, while Sebastian’s blazing sister-complex fervor still felt that three spells were not enough.

True, his knowledge was limited, and he lacked a profound family inheritance, so those were the only three soul-related spells he knew. But he had a best mate~

As a member of the Gaunt Family and Slytherin’s most legitimate living descendant, even if Ominis himself rejected his family’s pure-blood ideology, he surely possessed a great deal of magical knowledge.

Not to mention that, as far as Sebastian knew, there was a study at Hogwarts once left behind by Slytherin, and only members of the Gaunt Family knew how to open it…

"Sebastian! How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t know how to save Anne! And using Dark magic to save her is an utterly wrong decision! Dark magic cannot bring redemption. It only brings pain!"

Inside the Undercroft at Hogwarts, Adam was examining this hidden chamber—one he had learned of after becoming headmaster but had never entered—when a clear voice scolding someone came from the entrance.

Clearly, this was the Ominis Gaunt Sebastian had been waiting for.

Other than Voldemort, this was the first time Adam had met another member of the Gaunt Family.

"You can stop trying to persuade me. I absolutely… hm?"

Ominis stepped into the range lit by candlelight, and Adam noticed what was unusual about him—he seemed to be blind.

His face was angled toward the front of his body, likely so he could better perceive what lay ahead with his ears. The wand he held aloft emitted a red glow, seemingly from some kind of detection spell.

"A stranger? Again? Who is he?! Sebastian! You brought someone else into the Undercroft! Do you remember what you said last time? ‘Ominis, I swear this is the last time. I’ll never tell anyone else about this—’ Mmph—"

The two were clearly very familiar with one another. Ominis mimicked Sebastian’s pleading tone vividly enough that Sebastian hurried forward and covered his mouth.

"Ominis, please listen to my explanation first. Do it for Anne!"

The anger on Ominis’s face froze. After all, he knew exactly how much Sebastian cared about Anne. He would not joke about her.

Though he could not yet rule out the possibility that Sebastian had lost his mind again in his efforts to save Anne, as the childhood friend of both Sebastian and Anne, Ominis decided to hear him out.

So Sebastian introduced Adam to Ominis.

At first, when he heard that Adam was Yog’s friend, Ominis’s expression improved slightly. Their first impression of Yog had not been very good, but after getting to know him, Ominis had come to see Yog as reliable.

But when he heard the rest—that Adam could extract the curse from Anne, and had a boon that could purify it—Ominis’s expression darkened again.

No matter how he listened to it, none of it sounded realistic!

"So you’re neither a Hogwarts student nor a Hogwarts professor. How did you get into Hogwarts?"

Ominis did not choose to expose Adam to his face. He knew very well how irrational Sebastian became whenever Anne was involved. He only wanted Adam to leave first.

"Don’t be so quick to doubt me."

Adam smiled as he exposed Ominis’s real intentions. He was about to say something else when he suddenly saw an expression of extreme shock appear on Ominis’s face.

The other man’s emotional turmoil was so intense that Adam effortlessly saw Ominis’s thoughts at that very moment.

"Ah… So the flaw appeared in a place like this?"

Adam gave a wry smile and lowered his head toward his chest. There hung a necklace Adam had worn for a long time…

"You… that… How is that possible?"

Carefully sensing what lay ahead, Ominis was certain that his detection spell was not wrong, and so he fell into confusion.

Could his memory have been wrong?

He clearly remembered his father proudly showing him that object. It was the Gaunt Family heirloom, the legendary Resurrection Stone, a one-of-a-kind treasure in the world. His father had always worn it on his hand as a symbol of his status as family head.

But now… why was the same sensory feedback coming from Adam, and in such great numbers?

Shaking his head with a sigh, Adam reached up and touched the necklace, adding a layer of anti-detection magic before looking at the even more confused Ominis and Sebastian, who had no idea what they were doing.

"Well… in that case, let me properly introduce myself."