After much explanation, Wayne finally cleared himself of the pervert accusation.
"H-how did you know about the blood curse..." Astoria still retreated two cautious steps, the stray hair on her head standing up like a startled kitten's fur.
"This isn't exactly a secret in the magical world, is it?" Wayne said casually. "The Greengrass family's blood curse is different from those afflicted with lycanthropy, but there are some similarities. I just want to study it."
"If you're unwilling, that's fine too. Consider it unsaid."
Wayne was being quite reasonable.
Astoria didn't speak, merely walking over to Diana and extending her pale hand.
This time, Wayne didn't stop her, letting her interact with the unicorn freely.
Unexpectedly, Diana seemed to like Astoria too, nuzzling against her neck.
The pure aura emanating from the unicorn made the girl smile unconsciously.
Leaving Hestia to look after the girl, Wayne departed the area.
Led by Gardevoir, he went to check on the Thunderbird, Mia.
Recently, Hogwarts often experienced thunder without rain, and students frequently complained about the unusual weather.
Only Wayne knew that Mia was amusing herself by taking occasional flights.
After routinely feeding her red lightning, Wayne observed his bird.
Compared to the normal Thunderbirds, Mia's plumage shone more brilliantly, a radiant gold; her body was more agile and powerful, her sharp beak glinting coldly.
From their daily interactions, Mia's intelligence also far surpassed that of ordinary Thunderbirds - about that of a seven or eight-year-old human child, and still improving.
"I wonder how her combat ability is."
As the Thunderbird soared through the skies, Wayne lay steadily on her back, deep in thought.
The most straightforward comparison would be Snape.
If she could defeat Snape, she'd rank among this world's elite, capable of handling most Death Eaters.
If not, she'd remain small fry.
Blame the system for always using Snape as a magical power unit - now Wayne instinctively measured combat strength against him.
"I'll have Snape help test her when there's a chance."
After several laps around the area, the Thunderbird returned Wayne to the unicorns' dwelling.
The sudden gust of wind startled the sleeping Astoria and Diana.
Staring dumbfounded at the descending Thunderbird, the girl was speechless.
"This... this is a Thunderbird?"
"You're quite knowledgeable?" Wayne showed mild surprise.
In all of Britain, Mia should be the only Thunderbird - the climate here was too damp for creatures preferring arid heat.
"I've read about them." Astoria studied Mia before turning her curious gaze to Wayne.
First a Thunderbird, then unicorns, and that beautiful creature that had Apparated them earlier...Oh right, Wayne also had a Phoenix she hadn't seen yet.
So many rare and extraordinary magical creatures gathered around one person - it was truly remarkable.
Wayne waved Mia away as noon approached and asked:
"Had enough fun?"
"Mmm." Astoria reluctantly stroked Diana's back.
"Then let's head back."
The girl's cheeks flushed crimson as she stammered: "Y-you were going to examine me, weren't you?"
"You're agreeing?" Wayne looked at her in surprise.
"Mmm. Mother actually invited many people to examine me before. Having you look makes no difference."
Astoria's tone was flat: "The blood curse has taken thirty-nine members of the Greengrass family. I'll be the fortieth."
As she spoke, the girl showed no fear - if anything, there was a hint of relief in her voice.
The blood curse was simply too tormenting. Each attack brought suffering worse than death.
No one knew what this eleven-year-old girl had endured.
"Since you've agreed, come with me."
"Where?"
Wayne produced his case.
Upon entering, Astoria received yet another profound shock.
"If you'd like, you can play here after the examination."
Leading the girl to a bedroom, Wayne waved his wand, transforming a round table into a long, high bed.
"Lie down."
Astoria obeyed, but being too short, couldn't reach the surface and could only gaze imploringly at Wayne.
"Pfft—!"
Under the girl's reproachful stare, Wayne couldn't suppress his laughter, levitating her onto the bed.
"Right then, just lie still - no need to do anything else."
After this instruction, Wayne placed his wand against Astoria's arm.
Perceiving biological structures through magical power was originally an advanced Transfiguration training method, now repurposed by Wayne for diagnosis.
Having previously used this on Cho and Hermione, he knew precisely how a young witch's body should feel.
The moment contact was made, something felt wrong.
As magic and magical power were inherently subjective, Wayne struggled to define it precisely.
It was like comparing houses with identical layouts - Hermione and Cho's homes felt warm and lived-in, while Astoria's stood...
Empty.
With its very structure decaying.
He sought the source of this transformation, but after extensive probing, couldn't pinpoint the issue.
For more direct assessment, he discarded his wand entirely, using his hands instead.
"How peculiar..." After what felt like an eternity, Wayne finally gave up.
He'd found the root cause.
It was completely different from Nagini's blood curse.
Nagini's curse involved irreversible magical transformation and profound soul-level changes.
Astoria's body resembled more like self-harm.
Like two armies garrisoned within - each curse attack saw fierce battle between forces defending Astoria's body and those bent on destruction.
Yet both sides drew power from the girl's life force.
Pure internal consumption.
Seeing Wayne withdraw, Astoria finally exhaled in relief. Delicate beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Could you tell me about the origin of this curse?"
Wayne pulled up a chair and sat by the bedside, completely ignoring the girl's distress.
Right now, he just wanted to understand the source of this blood curse.
It took Astoria a long while to barely compose herself, shooting a glare at the boy.
"Do you know Morgan?"
"Morgan le Fay?" Wayne immediately knew who she was referring to.
The legends of King Arthur were myths to ordinary people, but to wizards, they represented an actual historical conflict.
Morgan was Merlin's enemy—both were wizards of formidable power.
Ironically, neither was purely human.
Merlin was conceived when an incubus visited an ordinary woman in her dreams, granting him immense magical talent, particularly in dream magic, transfiguration, and divination.
He was history's most astonishing Animagus, capable of transforming into all manner of creatures.
The claim often touted by Slytherin House—that Merlin had once studied at Hogwarts—was, in fact, true.
At the time, Merlin's dream magic had activated, accidentally transporting him over a thousand years into the future, where he inhabited a young wizard's body and spent a month at Hogwarts.
Seizing this opportunity, he absorbed vast amounts of advanced magical knowledge, enhancing his abilities enough to ultimately defeat Morgan.
One could say Merlin was the god of modern magic, roughly equivalent to Jesus in the eyes of Christians.
Yet even such a being had needed the power of the future to overcome Morgana.
Though few legends about Morgan survive, her strength could still be glimpsed through these fragments.
"I don't know the exact details, but there's one account..." Astoria bit her lip.
"Our family are descended from King Arthur. After her defeat, Morgana used her last ounce of power to curse Arthur's line with barrenness. Only with Merlin's intervention did it evolve into the blood curse we have today."
"Sounds increasingly far-fetched..." Wayne muttered.
"I don't know if it's true either..." Astoria said softly. "It's just something recorded in my ancestors' notes. But... does any of this really matter? Truth or fiction, it changes nothing."
Wayne tapped her forehead in exasperation. "How can an eleven-year-old brat sound so world-weary?"
Astoria turned her head away sulkily, thinking to herself: 'I'm an eleven-year-old brat, but you're only twelve yourself.'
"Alright, you've seen what you needed to. Can you let me go back now?" Astoria asked timidly.
"Go back?" Wayne smirked. "You think it's that easy to leave once you've entered my territory?"
The girl paled. "W-what are you going to do?"
Wayne clapped his hands, and Ho-Oh descended from the sky, landing beside him.
"It's a Phoenix..." Astoria's eyes widened. "Is that the Ho-Oh sister mentioned?"
"Correct." Wayne stroked Ho-Oh's smooth, warm feathers. "Now I'm giving you an opportunity. I can attempt to treat your curse, though the process will be quite painful. If the treatment actually succeeds, my fees won't be cheap."
"Is it Phoenix tears?" Astoria admired Ho-Oh's form. "Mother once obtained some from Dumbledore before, but they had no effect. Don't waste such precious materials then."
"Ho-Oh and Fawkes are quite different." Wayne chuckled. "And it's not through tears either. My Ho-Oh doesn't cry so easily."
"Then give it a try."
The kind-hearted girl lay flat without resistance, letting Wayne proceed.
Astoria wasn't stupid—she could tell Wayne had some mischievous tendencies at most, not truly a bad person.
Hmm... The Unicorn added many points. In the girl's mind, a Unicorn would never be so affectionate with a true villain. Since the treatment was for her benefit, she naturally wouldn't object to further treatment.
"Bite down on this." Wayne conjured a wooden stick and shoved it into Astoria's mouth. Before she could react and resist, he cast a Sticking Charm.
"Mmmph!"
Ignoring her struggles, Wayne added a Full Body-Bind Curse for good measure before saying, "Ho-Oh, you may begin. Keep it gentle."
"Chirp!"
Ho-Oh was already well-practised in curse removal. It swiftly summoned white sacred flames—though in smaller quantities, their energy significantly diluted.
The moment the flames touched the girl's skin, her eyes flew wide open as sweat poured down like rain.
"Hold on," Wayne comforted. "If it hurts, just scream."
'How am I supposed to scream when you've gagged me?!'
Astoria screamed internally. Unfortunately, her upbringing had been too proper—she'd never learned any colourful language about family trees, so the worst she could manage was calling Wayne a big meanie.
Tears and snot streamed down the girl's face, all traces of cuteness and beauty obliterated. No face could look attractive making such an expression.
Wayne took the opportunity to observe the black mist rising from her body, even experimentally capturing a small portion for study.
Sizzle!
The mist grew so dense it corroded parts of Astoria's clothes, dripping onto the floor as black sludge.
Finally, under the dual assault of pain and humiliation, Astoria passed out.
Ho-Oh retracted its flames.
Wayne collected the sludge from the floor before scribbling notes in his notebook.
"Blood Curses are just a classification of curse magic, not fixed in manifestation. Any curse inheritable through bloodlines can be called a Blood Curse. Currently, two types have been discovered..."
Without doubt, Blood Curses were also a form of ancient magic—now thoroughly lost to time. Even Nicolas Flamel's home and the Restricted Section held scarce records.
Wayne wanted to reconstruct a Blood Curse based on those afflicting Nagini and Astoria.
That way, whenever someone displeased him, he wouldn't need to confront them directly—just curse the bastard from home. How convenient.
...
About an hour later, Astoria groggily opened her eyes. The wooden stick in her mouth had been removed, and her body had regained mobility. She sat up dazedly, looked at herself, then at Wayne beside her, and let out the loudest scream of her life.
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Hiss!
Wayne hastily put down his quill and covered his ears.
"Stop screaming!"
Turning back, he suddenly remembered he'd forgotten to drape a robe over Astoria and quickly summoned one of Hermione's spare outfits left in the room.
"Make do with this for now. Change into your own clothes later."
Astoria dressed at lightning speed, though Hermione's clothes hung loosely on her smaller frame.
As she changed, the girl gradually regained her composure.
She felt an unprecedented lightness in her body—the persistent weakness that had plagued her was gone.
"How do you feel?" Wayne observed her changing expression.
"Thank you, Wayne." Her voice sounded clearer now, though it trembled slightly, and her eyes reddened again.
"Don't you—" Before Wayne could finish, Astoria had already thrown herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Ah..." Wayne sighed, gently patting the girl's back.
She'd ended up crying after all.
"Just this once..."
It took quite some time before Astoria's emotions stabilised.
"Wayne, am I... cured now?"
"Far from it." Wayne shook his head, watching disappointment flicker across her face before adding, "But a few more sessions should do it. You'll fully recover by the end of this school year at the latest."
Tearfully, the girl nodded vigorously.
...
At dusk.
Astoria whispered the password and skipped into the Slytherin common room, heading to her dormitory to write to her mother.
"Astoria! Where have you been?"
A voice rang out. The girl turned to see Daphne storming towards her.
"Do you know I've been looking for you all afternoon? You—what's with those clothes?"
Mid-sentence, Daphne froze, eyeing her sister suspiciously.
The oversized garments hung loosely—clearly two sizes too large—and most tellingly...
These definitely weren't clothes from home.
"Explain yourself! Where have you been?" Daphne spoke with rare sternness.
"I went to see the unicorn," Astoria said meekly.
"See the unicorn? Then why these clothes?" Daphne studied her sceptically.
Suddenly, images from certain books that older students had shown her flashed through Daphne's mind...
A boy and a girl. Alone together.
Daphne saw stars.
'Wayne!'
'My sister's only eleven!'
'If you must, take me instead!'