Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 658 Confident Dumbledore

Chapter 658 Confident Dumbledore (Happy New Year)

In an instant, it was as if someone had pressed the mute button in the principal's office; even the sounds of breathing and heartbeats disappeared. The next second, everything returned to normal.

Dumbledore looked up, Snape stared intently at Shiren, and even the portraits of the other headmasters on the wall, and Fawkes on the branch, all turned their gazes toward him.

"What did you just say?" Snape quickly walked to Siren's side and asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"I said, I have a way that might fundamentally break Professor Dumbledore's curse," Siron said.

"That's impossible." Snape didn't mock Cyrus for overestimating himself, nor did he ask how he knew about the curse; he simply looked at him.

"You don't understand what you're talking about at all—that's impossible, the Dark Lord's curse is irreversible!" Snape pointed towards the door. "Now, get out of here immediately. This is not a place for you to play tricks."

Siren didn't move, still standing there watching Dumbledore.

Unlike Snape, Dumbledore was also surprised, but quickly recovered.

Behind Dumbledore, the former headmasters huddled together in a picture frame, whispering amongst themselves.

"you----"

Snape was about to say something, but Cyrus had already taken out his wand and swung it forcefully.

A beautiful, crystalline unicorn, as sapphire-like as it was, appeared in the principal's office.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Former headmaster Armando Dippert exclaimed in astonishment at the sight.

"Ghost Unicorn—Oh my god, is this a curse?"

"No, it's a real ghost," said another female principal, who was pressed against the edge of the picture frame, seemingly trying to get a better look.

"Poppinton wasn't lying, there really is a ghost unicorn at Hogwarts—child, how did you manage that?"

Sheren did not answer her question, but instead carefully observed Dumbledore's condition.

He had previously discovered with Sirius and Lupin at the Room of Requirement that not only unicorn souls reacted to dark magic, but the reverse was also true.

According to Sirius's later account, after Lupin cast the Fear Curse on him, he experienced a fear beyond the spell itself.

Rather than fear, Sirius felt it was more of a physical instinct—like a field mouse encountering a cat, or a snake in the grass being spotted by an eagle in the sky.

As for Lupin, he didn't know.

Or perhaps the unicorn's spirit reacted too quickly to the Echo Spell; before it could even react, it had already passed out.

If even Sirius Black can sense it, then Dumbledore must be no exception now.

And things turned out exactly as Sirius had expected. Although Dumbledore was trying his best to be patient, Sirius could still see that his body suddenly tensed up and his breathing became more rapid.

"Professor, how are you feeling?" Siren asked.

"It's terrible," Dumbledore said softly. "I feel like countless needles are pricking my body, especially—"

He glanced at his withered right hand.

"That's impossible!" Snape, who was standing nearby, had obviously noticed Dumbledore's gaze and exclaimed, "Your right hand can't possibly feel anything anymore. Even being burned by Fiendfire wouldn't make you feel the slightest bit of pain."

"I understand what you mean, Severus, and I know you're right," Dumbledore said softly. "But I have no reason to lie. I have indeed felt it again. It's not pleasant, but it's real."

As he said this, Dumbledore's cheek muscles twitched involuntarily, and a fine bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Meanwhile, Snape, who was standing nearby, also sensed something was wrong. His left arm suddenly cramped up, and the pain was right where the Dark Mark was located.

That was about it. If you ignored that, Snape even felt quite comfortable, as if he were soaking in a warm bath on a cold winter's day.

But there was a shark in the bathtub, constantly tearing at his left arm.

That's probably how Snape felt.

So when Xilun shared his guess, he didn't interrupt him. He just stood there listening quietly, occasionally frowning.

He frowned because he didn't understand at all how the unicorn's soul was formed, or why it had such a strong ability to counter dark magic.

"You noticed Dumbledore's right hand was acting up a while ago, didn't you?" Snape asked, looking at Cyren.

"That's right." Xilun nodded. "I saw it when school started; many people were like me."

"Then why did you only say so now?" Snape narrowed his eyes. "Since you knew this—that spells can destroy curses—why did you wait so long?"

"Because I didn't know that at the time," Siren shrugged and said, "I only recently discovered that myself."

"If I'm not mistaken—" Dumbledore seemed to have thought of something, "it's that Death Eater in Hogsmeade, isn't it? You said he was afflicted by his own corruption curse, but I haven't found any trace of dark magic on him."

"That's right."

"But Siren." Dumbledore struggled to his feet, but even this simple movement nearly exhausted all his strength.

"I'll go get you the potion!" This time, Snape didn't hesitate and quickly walked out of the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore, however, paid no attention to any of this and continued to look at Siron.

"There's something I have to tell you." He pointed to his right hand. "This is far more terrifying than the Corruption Curse."

""

"I know," Siren said, "but we'll have to try to see if it works. I think it can."

"Then let's give it a try." Dumbledore smiled, opening his arms. "Will this work?"

"That's possible," Siren hesitated for a moment, "but Professor, I also have something to tell you beforehand."

"What?"

"This process might be a little—no, it should be very painful," Siren said. "Last time, Remus just fainted."

"That's for sure. Even werewolves can't withstand the agony of their souls being torn apart," Dumbledore said. He had seen the Death Eater, so he could guess something was amiss.

"Professor, are you alright?" Siron asked. "Perhaps we can wait for Professor Snape to return and ask him to help make a potion to relieve pain—I think Professor Snape should know how to brew such a potion."

"I think it's best not to," Dumbledore shook his head. "If Severus were here, he probably wouldn't allow us to act so recklessly—yes, in his eyes, this is reckless."

"And Siren, believe me, I have experienced pain far beyond what you can imagine. It's not pain in the traditional sense, but a kind of despair like falling into an abyss. Even now, thinking back on that torment keeps me up at night."

"So it's alright, don't hesitate, just come on." Dumbledore opened his arms again, looking calmly at Shiron and the eager unicorn soul beside him, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Then, the unicorn's soul stirred, and after Siren nodded, it shot towards Dumbledore like a blue arrow.

"thump!"

With a dull thud as something heavy hit the ground, followed by Phineas Black's piercing scream.

"Help! Help! Cyren Ollivander, he killed Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office!"

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