In the time leading up to the holidays, the atmosphere at Hogwarts was incredibly relaxed.
Dylan spent his days reading, listening to Harry and Ron's usual banter and discussions about... well, you know, the usual school stuff. Every now and then, he'd also slip into his enchanted trunk – the one that's bigger on the inside, naturally – to work on the Obsidian Restorative using basilisk blood.
You see, after some "encouragement" from Dylan – including making the basilisk witness its former master, the supposed Heir of Slytherin, in a rather sorry state at Dylan's hands – the basilisk had been behaving much better lately.
Especially after that one time Dylan released the basilisk from its restraints, wanting the creature to stretch its limbs a bit so its blood wouldn't lose its potency. The beast actually tried to sneak up on him from behind!
The result, of course, was Dylan simply fixing it with a stare from his Serpent of Finality eyes. Straight into the eyes!
And then, well, let's just say it involved a thorough… re-education.
Basilisk have high magic resistance, you say?
Then summon a thousand birds and have them peck its eyes out one by one!
After all, these were just small birds conjured by a flock charm, so even with their best efforts, they wouldn't be able to do as much damage as, say, a phoenix like Fawkes, whose one claw could probably blind it instantly.
But, on the other hand…
It was still the basilisk's eyes being pecked. Even if it didn't go blind, it would still hurt like blazes!
Roughly equivalent to a bloke getting a solid kick between the legs, if you catch my drift.
It wouldn't exactly render them useless, but the pain would be quite significant.
(Slytherin's basilisk was a female, mind you. If it had been a male, Dylan might have even had the birds go for a more… comprehensive approach.)
At the same time, Dylan Transfigured a bunch of the birds into roosters.
He placed them all around the basilisk – above, below, and on either side – like some bizarre sacrificial offering, with the basilisk right in the middle.
Then…
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
"Cluck cluck cluck!"
The basilisk, once again under Dylan's control, could only endure the crowing of the roosters and the pecking of the birds. Even as it trembled with pain, it couldn't even try to escape.
While all this was happening, Dylan was activating chapters from the Wormtail Revelation using Parseltongue and magic.
At the same time, he was using the already activated Wormtail Revelation to mentally pollute the basilisk.
And then there was his Cthulhu Gaze for good measure.
Anyway, ever since that incident, the basilisk, which had always been rebellious and untamable by normal wizards – not even listening to Riddle, the Heir of Slytherin – would now cower in the corner whenever it saw Dylan.
As for when Riddle last spoke to it…
Well, that involves another person's painful experiences.
Dylan wanted to experiment with the difference between Tom's Parseltongue and his own, so he brought Tom out of the shack.
Who knew these two – master and "pet" – were both so eager to cause trouble?
One tried to ambush him from behind.
The other tried to order the first one to ambush him from behind.
After Dylan had his fun with the basilisk, he turned around and brought Riddle back to the shack's laboratory.
The fact that the horcrux couldn't die gave Dylan even more room to experiment.
Like occasionally scorching the horcrux with Fiendfyre – not too intensely, mind you, but Tom would always scream like mad when it happened.
After all, Fiendfyre could actually destroy a horcrux, so Dylan was just being cautious.
Besides that, Avada Kedavra, Crucio, Expecto Patronum (wait, no, that's not right…), and the Cthulhu Gaze…
They all took turns.
Almost the entire day went by with Tom's screams echoing through the shack.
During this process, Dylan completely maxed out his spell refinement task for Avada Kedavra.
And he also discovered a rather exciting piece of news.
His "spell-that-ties-things-up" wasn't just limited to attacking physical targets!
It could even directly affect spirits and souls!
As long as the target was a male being, even if they were dead and had become a ghost – they could still be affected by the "spell-that-ties-things-up" on a spiritual and sensory level!
For Avada Kedavra and Crucio, Tom sometimes got used to it and could even endure it with just a muffled groan instead of a full-blown scream.
But this other spell was different.
Every time Dylan took a break from practicing the Killing Curse, he'd hit Tom with one.
For the next fifty Killing Curses, Dylan could hear the most delightful wails.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The last Killing Curse was flung out.
A burst of holy light erupted.
It struck Tom's horcrux – the diary filled with evil and dark secrets – directly.
In an instant, the diary looked as if it had been thrown into a raging inferno. It charred and blackened at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The pages curled, carbonized, and a pungent, burnt smell filled the air.
Tom's soul fragment was even more vulnerable.
It was instantly thrown to the ground by the powerful impact of the spell, landing face-first at Dylan's feet.
His once handsome face was now twisted with ferocity and pain. The emerald green eyes no longer held their usual arrogance and malice, replaced instead by a deep numbness.
His heart was as dead as a doornail!
He wanted to fight back, but he was too weak.
He wanted to run away, but he couldn't escape.
He wanted to plot – but he had no power!
No matter how he struggled, he couldn't escape the clutches of this madman!
The other guy literally did nothing but torture him all day long!
What a lunatic! A freak! A scumbag!
Tom's hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead, his skin becoming translucent and ethereal, and you could even faintly see the twisted muscles and bones underneath.
At this moment, Tom lay sprawled out, limbs contorted, his whole body trembling violently. Each tremor was accompanied by a painful whimper.
His hands clutched weakly at the ground, as if trying to grasp at the last shred of life.
His ghostly fingernails scratched against the floor, leaving no mark.
His robes, however, were tattered and torn, with wisps of black smoke rising from the edges. He couldn't even lift a hand.
He couldn't hold onto anything at all.
Dylan ignored him, turning his attention to his system panel.
On it were the spells he had already refined.
——————
**Spell:** Transfiguration
**Unlocked Characteristic:** Instantaneous Transformation
**Instantaneous Transformation:** When you use the Transfiguration spell, you can complete the transformation instantly, without any time delay. The moment you have the thought to cast the spell, the target will complete the form you have set!
——————
**Spell:** Avada Kedavra
**Unlocked Characteristics:** Intent to Incinerate, Corridor of the Dead, Trace of Annihilation, Echo of Death, Resonance of Curse
**Intent to Incinerate:**
When you use the Killing Curse, you will be able to use this characteristic to autonomously expand or close a circular field of destruction with a radius of four meters and a duration of four seconds, centered on yourself.
Within this range, the energy of the Killing Curse will permeate, attacking all living creatures that enter. One second of sluggishness, two seconds of paralysis, three seconds to reap life.
**Corridor of the Dead:**
After you use the Killing Curse, a corridor will form between the Killing Curse and you. You can immediately perform one instance of Apparition – the displacement distance will not exceed the range of your most recent Killing Curse.
**Trace of Annihilation:**
When you release the Killing Curse, a trace of annihilation rift lasting for 4 seconds will remain on the spell's path. The rift will cause a soul-searing effect on enemies who touch it, making them feel the pain of slow soul annihilation.
If they escape in time, the trace of annihilation cannot directly kill the enemy, but it will cause them prolonged torment.
**Echo of Death:**
When your Killing Curse misses its target, you can control the already cast spell energy to explode, forming a region of death echo with a radius of 4 meters lasting for 4 seconds.
Within this region, enemies will take magic damage every second and have a chance to trigger a state of fear, causing them to interrupt their spellcasting, leading to spell backfire, or causing them to want to flee.
**Resonance of Curse:**
After you use the Killing Curse to kill a target, the target's dying resentment (a portion of their soul) will condense into a curse mark.
As the number of marks increases, the range of your Intent to Incinerate and Echo of Death will gradually increase, your Corridor of the Dead and Trace of Annihilation will gradually widen, and your Dark Lord aura will become increasingly terrifying.
——————
**Spell:** Cruciatus Curse
**Unlocked Characteristics:** Unending Pain, Cruciating Hell, Pain Propagation
**Unending Pain:**
When you use the Cruciatus Curse, the unfortunate soul hit by your Cruciatus Curse will, in addition to the immediate excruciating pain, also have a pain curse left on their body.
Over the next period of time, the victim will continue to feel periodic pain – angina.
Although the degree of pain is slightly less than when the spell was first cast, it will still seriously affect their actions and mental state.
**Cruciating Hell:**
When you use the Cruciatus Curse, you will no longer be limited to a single target. Instead, using this characteristic, you can autonomously expand or close a circular area of energy with a radius of four meters and a duration of four seconds, centered on yourself.
Within this range, the energy of the Cruciatus Curse will permeate, and all targets will be simultaneously affected by the Cruciatus Curse.
**Pain Propagation:**
When you use the Cruciatus Curse, the unfortunate soul hit by your Cruciatus Curse will transmit their angina to three enemies within a four-meter radius.
Over the next period of time, the unfortunate trio near the original victim will, along with the original victim, experience the "joy" of heart-wrenching pain.
——————
**Spell:** Sectumsempra
**Unlocked Characteristics:** Hidden Blade Concealment, Fatal Pursuit
**Hidden Blade Concealment:** When you use Sectumsempra, you can autonomously choose whether or not to conceal the traces!
**Fatal Pursuit:** After you release Sectumsempra, no matter how your target dodges or Apparates, your spell will follow the trajectory of fate, track the target, and accurately hit them.
——————
**Spell:** Occlumency
**Unlocked Characteristic:** Can You Even Read This?
**Can You Even Read This?:**
When you perform Occlumency, this characteristic will automatically analyze the magic logic and structure of the intrusion. Any magic that attempts to invade your mind will fall into chaos.
The key information you want to hide will be scrambled and reorganized, and the magic invading your mind will fall into a mental labyrinth.
——————
These were all the spell refinement characteristics Dylan currently possessed.
Not a lot, really.
And the only spell with all its characteristics unlocked was the Killing Curse, which he had only just finished.
Either way, ten thousand Galleons per task was a bit pricey.
Especially since Dylan didn't have time to go to Diagon Alley to exchange his Muggle money for Galleons.
Dylan had mostly been using his Galleons lately to buy potion ingredients or to expand the capacity of his trunk.
But after completing all four refinement tasks for the Killing Curse, Dylan was surprised to find that the spell had given him an extra characteristic for free!
This was why one of his spells had five characteristics.
And none of the Killing Curse's five characteristics were useless.
Intent to Incinerate could directly create a field, turning the area around him into a Killing Curse zone.
Corridor of the Dead was even more ridiculous. It could actually create a corridor between the Killing Curse's range and him, allowing him to Apparate once without any cost!
This basically meant that however far the Killing Curse could reach, he could fly just as far!
So, what if he just flung out fifty Killing Curses?
Wouldn't he just be flying all over the place?
Of course, Dylan had already tested this after unlocking the characteristic – it didn't work that way.
After all, it formed a corridor between him and the reached range of the Killing Curse. If Dylan fired fifty Killing Curses in a row, his position would change after using Apparition just once.
The corridor was fixed and couldn't allow him to Apparate again.
However, this ability was already useful enough in combat, especially during chases!
Dylan even felt it was better than Voldemort's flying charm!
Either they'd be killed by his Killing Curse, or they'd be constantly pursued by him, eventually being killed by his Killing Curse!
In short, once he set his sights on someone and wanted them dead, they were as good as gone!
As for the Trace of Annihilation, it would form an annihilation rift within the range of the Killing Curse's trajectory.
Even if his attack missed, anyone who later touched this rift would have their soul scorched.
This was quite suitable for ambushes or for use in crowds.
In a one-on-one fight, it wasn't as threatening.
However, this characteristic, combined with Dylan's fifty consecutive Killing Curses, would be a different story altogether.
His Intent to Incinerate field only had a radius of four meters – what good was that?
But the Trace of Annihilation was incredibly long!
With fifty Killing Curses, each one's trajectory would create an annihilation rift. If it were in an enclosed space…
In a single instant, he could turn the entire surrounding area into a death zone!
Besides that, if the Killing Curse missed and the Trace of Annihilation didn't harm the enemy, the next characteristic would come in handy.
Echo of Death was specifically designed to allow Dylan to control the magic to explode when the Killing Curse missed its target.
Although the resulting energy field wasn't as powerful as Intent to Incinerate and didn't carry the power of the Killing Curse, it would still damage the enemy.
More importantly, it had a chance to trigger a fear state in the enemy.
This could not only interrupt their spellcasting but also cause them to abandon resistance out of fear and only think about how to escape.
You see, having your spellcasting interrupted was no small matter.
At best, it could lead to the spell backfiring; at worst, it could cause the magic within your body to become chaotic, leading to even more serious consequences!
So, merely having the spell backfire was the best-case scenario.
As for the last characteristic, Resonance of Curse…
This characteristic was directly rewarded by the system after Dylan completed the four spell refinement tasks.
It could turn the targets Dylan killed with the Killing Curse into curse marks.
These marks could not only continuously expand the range of Dylan's existing characteristic fields but also continuously widen the Trace of Annihilation and the Corridor of the Dead.
It essentially encompassed all the previous four characteristics.
Dylan was naturally quite satisfied with these characteristics.
This also meant that his methods of tormenting people were becoming increasingly diverse. "At least my forty thousand Galleons weren't wasted."
In the afternoon, it was Charms class with Professor Flitwick, a joint class for Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Because Dumbledore had credited Harry and Ron with resolving the recent crisis, the Gryffindor lions had become even more enthusiastic about them.
After all, the people who could solve such a crisis were Gryffindors!
And they were the rumored saviors!
They had saved them once again!
They had saved Hogwarts!
They had saved the House from falling!
Being in the same House as Harry, and even in the same year, made these little lions so excited they practically wanted to put Harry on a pedestal.
However, compared to Gryffindor's pride, the Slytherins were noticeably less enthusiastic, especially Draco Malfoy.
That bloke had a face as long as a Hippogriff's beak.
Which was understandable, really.
Previously, he'd threatened or intimidated other students at every opportunity.
Now, his father had failed to oust Dumbledore from the Headmaster position and had instead been kicked off the Board of Governors.
This had made Draco reluctant to even stick his neck out recently.
And even so, he still had to endure the scornful glances from passing students from time to time.
Time flew by.
The holidays were approaching again.
And before that, the final outcome of the House Cup also needed to go through a formality.
Dylan and Neville arrived in the Great Hall together.
The Great Hall had been redecorated once again.
However, since Gryffindor had won the House Cup last year, the first thing you saw upon entering was a flamboyant display of red.
Hanging above the teachers' table was a proud, head-held-high lion.
Dylan casually found a seat.
"This color scheme won't need changing for the next few years," he thought.
Last year, because Slytherin had won the House Cup the year before, the Great Hall was still mostly green when the end-of-year feast began.
It only turned into a vibrant red after Dumbledore announced the winner of the House Cup.
And this year, since Gryffindor had won the House Cup the previous year, there was no need to change the banners or the colors.
Once all the students had arrived, Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table, his voice tinged with emotion.
"This year, we have had so many magical experiences. I have already explained the situation of the all-night party last time in detail to everyone."
"So today, on the last day before you leave school, I won't say too much more."
"I hope that the hardships and pains of this year can add bricks to the road of your growth and become one of your most important experiences!"
Dumbledore waved his wand.
Instantly, a series of brilliant golden words appeared in the air.
They showed the scores and rankings of the four Houses.
In first place, unsurprisingly, was Gryffindor, who had already been awarded extra points last time.
A whopping eight hundred and eighty-eight points!
Far ahead, surpassing the other three Houses by a significant margin, almost creating a gap!
Second place went to Ravenclaw, although they had tried their best to earn points for their House.
However, the year's unfortunate events had left everyone in a less-than-ideal state.
They had only managed to secure three hundred and twenty-five points for Ravenclaw.
Third place was Hufflepuff, with a modest score of just over two hundred.
And bringing up the rear was Slytherin – with a mere sixty-nine points.
There were several reasons for this outcome.
Firstly, Harry and Ron, in the latter half of the year, had been so focused on resolving the crisis in the Chamber of Secrets, including saving Hermione, that they hadn't had much time to get up to their usual rule-breaking antics.
(Or perhaps they did, but the professors didn't catch them.)
In any case, without their constant point deductions…
Well, even with Professor Snape occasionally deducting points from Harry in Potions class, Dylan could almost always earn them back in the same lesson.
It wasn't impossible to even earn double or triple the points.
Not to mention the previous all-night party, where Dumbledore blatantly favored Harry, awarding Gryffindor five hundred points in one go.
It was simply outrageous!
Furthermore, Slytherin had lost a lot of points due to Malfoy's constant bullying and misbehavior, which had earned him deductions from many professors.
Especially during the period when Dumbledore was temporarily suspended from his position as Headmaster.
Malfoy had practically treated the school as his own personal fiefdom.
He showed no respect for even Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, or the other professors.
The only person who could elicit even a slightly respectful attitude from Malfoy was Professor Snape.
Therefore, during Malfoy's reign of terror, Slytherin's points were deducted relentlessly.
It was already a miracle they had managed to get sixty-nine points.
Dumbledore allowed the students to discuss the scores for a while, then let the golden words float and drift until they were in front of everyone.
He then raised his voice, "Let us congratulate Gryffindor on winning the House Cup!"
As his words fell, the students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff applauded generously.
The applause from Slytherin was rather sparse, and many of the little snakes kept their heads bowed, not daring to look at their score that hadn't even reached a hundred.
Malfoy's expression was stiff, and his head was practically buried in the bowl in front of him.
The two cronies beside him wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to do. They raised their hands and then lowered them again, finally just sitting awkwardly on either side of Malfoy, glaring at anyone who looked their way.
After dinner, Dylan returned to the dormitory and began packing his things.
Neville and Seamus had already packed.
They hadn't really unpacked much since the last time they organized their belongings.
This time, they just casually stuffed some personal items they needed to take home into their trunks and were able to close them right away.
Harry hadn't packed his trunk yet either, and compared to Dylan's normal speed, his movements could only be described as slow and hesitant.
He really didn't want the holidays to start.
"Sigh," Harry sighed.
Dylan looked at him and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't want to go back?"
Harry nodded. "Of course not. It's not really my home."
"Then why don't you come back with me? Or you could go to Ron's house again. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would definitely welcome you."
Ron nodded in agreement. "Yeah, instead of going back to be mistreated, you might as well just come home with me."
Faced with this tempting choice, Harry hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
"Forget it. If I didn't go back, they'd definitely cause trouble for the school. They might even find all sorts of reasons not to let me come back to school."
Dylan tossed his pajamas into his trunk.
"You're right. After all, your guardians are still your uncle and aunt. If you're not of age, you have to discuss everything with your guardians before doing anything, otherwise the school can't do anything either."
Harry nodded helplessly. "That's why I said I have to go back there first."
Dylan didn't have much to put in his trunk – everything he needed to take was already in his inventory.
Including the trunk itself.
So Dylan just tidied up a bit and then started organizing the books in the dormitory.
While putting the books from his bedside table and desk into his portable magical library, he said, "How about this? Give me and Ron your home address and phone number. After you've been home for a few days, we'll give you a call."
Upon hearing this, the listless look on Harry's face instantly brightened.
"That's right! The wizarding world doesn't use phones, but Dylan's parents aren't wizards, so it's perfectly feasible for you to call the Dursleys!"
Harry's eyes sparkled. "Then you can just say you need to speak to me. They definitely won't dare to offend a wizard! Just say your family are adult wizards and they really miss me!"
Ron blinked. "Call? But I don't think we have a phone at our place, do we?"
Dylan shook his head. "No, you should have one."
Ron looked confused. "Huh? Then how come I've never seen it?"
Dylan chuckled. "I vaguely remember, near the end of the summer, before I said goodbye to you guys, I think I noticed Mr. Weasley secretly bringing a landline phone into the house."
Dylan thought for a moment. "That phone should be hidden in that small storage cupboard on the second floor."
Ron's eyes widened. "What? He actually got a Muggle phone and kept it a secret from us!"
Dylan shrugged. "Actually, when I said goodbye, Mr. Weasley was even more reluctant to let me leave than you were, because I told him I could help him turn that phone into a magical one."
"But I haven't had much time to do it since then. I don't know if they've already connected the phone line, or if Mr. Weasley has taken it upon himself to modify the phone into a magical one."
Dylan shook his head. "I don't know either. Just ask when you get back."
Ron pouted. "Alright, but anyway, if we do have a phone at home, Harry, you should give me your phone number."
Harry immediately nodded. "Writing letters is too troublesome, and the Dursleys might even refuse to accept them, so calling is better."
Harry had a vivid memory of the Dursleys' phone number. He quickly wrote it down on two slips of paper and handed them to Ron and Dylan.
"Please! It would be best if you called me the day after tomorrow. I really don't want to stay at their place for even a moment longer!"
Harry wrung his hands anxiously. "Just thinking about having to endure two whole months of only talking to them if you don't call makes me feel like I'm about to crack!"
Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "I know you're about to crack, but don't crack yet. I'll call you."
Ron also nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Harry, I'll call you too. But the day after tomorrow… wouldn't that be a bit too early? Your aunt and uncle definitely won't let you out."
Harry paused slightly, then nodded in agreement. "You're right, let's make it a bit later – but please, as soon as possible!"
Ron gave an OK sign.
Neville and Seamus exchanged glances, both feeling sympathy for Harry's home situation.
But there was nothing they could do.
After packing their things, they went to sleep.
Dylan woke up early the next morning.
Not just him, but Harry and Ron were also awake.
Carrying their personal belongings and luggage, they left the dormitory and, led by Percy, left Hogwarts.
Finally, Hagrid took them to the Hogwarts Express and helped them board.
Hagrid had also been released recently. His first action, needless to say…
It wasn't even to reassure Dumbledore or to offer comfort to Harry.
Instead, when Harry ran over to see him, Hagrid asked Harry to tell Dylan if he could meet him in the Forbidden Forest that evening.
Dylan also happened to not have collected rent from Hagrid – er, I mean!
Not collected Norbert's food fund from Hagrid for a while.
This time, Dylan had heard that because Hagrid had been framed by Tom back in the day and had even taken the blame for fifty whole years, and now the Ministry of Magic had arrested the wrong person again, Hagrid had received a large sum of money as compensation from the Ministry when he was released.
Dylan wasn't after the money. He just wanted Norbert to see how much the person who had taken it to Hogwarts as an egg and carefully cared for it loved it.
You could say Hagrid had given it a second life!
It had been so long since it had seen the person who had given it life, they should get reacquainted, lest they become strangers.
Sure enough, Dylan quietly snuck into the Forbidden Forest under the cover of night, using Coal's ability to travel.
Hagrid immediately handed him a whopping fifty thousand Galleons!
And a large bag of fresh, high-quality meat!
Enough for Norbert to eat for a whole month!
Dylan was drooling… no, he was moved to tears.
He thanked Hagrid profusely on Norbert's behalf and then happily accepted the money and the meat.
When the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross Station, before they parted ways, Harry said to Ron again, "It would be best if Mr. Weasley called me. Adults are always treated with more caution than children."
Ron nodded.
Harry added, "As for how to make a phone call, you've definitely learned by now, right? Do you need me to explain it to you again?"
Ron shook his head. "No need, I've already remembered. Besides – they might have already started using the phone by now, so they might not even need me to teach them."
Harry scratched his head.
"Anyway, Dylan can call me first. If they don't agree, then it's all up to you and Mr. Weasley."
Ron thumped his chest in assurance. "Don't worry! I've got this!"
Dylan glanced at him, said goodbye to the group, and got into the car home.
(End of this chapter)