Chapter 345: Corrupted Students
The Dwarf‑ring was too dangerous to touch. Kael quickly took out a mithril box and locked it inside, to be dealt with later.
Then his gaze returned to Eamon.
"Mr Eamon, can you tell me where you got this ring?" Kael asked. "Or who gave it to you?
"And who gave you that vial and told you to pour it into the food?"
Under that sharp stare, Eamon felt as if he had been laid bare, with no secrets left to hide.
He trembled, tears spilling down his face, fear and lingering shock warring with confusion in his eyes.
"I… I cannot remember who gave it to me," he stammered. "I think it was someone from my house, but I cannot recall his face at all. I only remember he said something to me, and then my head went all foggy, and all I wanted was to do what he said…
"Then he gave me the ring and told me to put it on. And he gave me the vial and told me to sneak into the kitchens and pour it into the food and drinks…
"But the Head of House said no student is allowed to go anywhere alone, so I talked my two roommates into coming with me to 'get some extra food'. Lots of people in Dragon House do that when they miss a meal or get hungry later, so they did not suspect anything.
"Headmaster, I do not know why I did it. I never wanted to hurt my friends, so I stunned them instead… Please do not expel me. As long as you do not expel me, I will accept any punishment…"
The more he spoke, the harder he cried. He clearly dreaded expulsion more than anything.
With his gift for Legilimency, Kael could be sure Eamon was not lying.
Gandalf and Galadriel, in their own ways, could read hearts as well.
A silent look passed between the three of them, and their expressions grew even more sombre.
Kael laid a hand on Eamon's shoulder and spoke gently. "There is no need to be so afraid, Mr Eamon. No one here is going to expel you. I know none of this was truly your will. You have felt the ring's pull yourself, have you not? Even we, your professors, are not immune to its enchantment. How much less you. You need not carry this as a burden of guilt."
He turned to the other two boys and smiled. "And I do not think your friends here will hold it against you. Do you?"
Both roommates shook their heads at once. They had heard the whole story and knew Eamon had been under the sway of a wicked ring and the one who gave it to him. There was nothing left in them to blame him for.
"Good. Then, I must trouble you two to take Mr Eamon to the hospital wing and leave him in Madam Amanda's care," Kael said. "And I must also ask that you keep what happened here to yourselves. Can you do that?"
The two boys nodded quickly, promising not to speak of it. Then they helped their roommate up and led him away towards the infirmary.
Peeves's blow with the bat had struck Eamon hard on the back of the head. Though Kael had healed the swelling, the brain was a delicate thing, and a proper healer needed to examine him.
More importantly, Eamon had worn the Dwarf‑ring for some time and fallen under its influence. The harm done within was not something that could be mended in a day.
They would likely need Elrond, the greatest healer in Middle-earth, to act before the ring's taint was cleansed completely.
For now, the most urgent task remained the same: find Saruman, still hiding among the students.
Kael's anger burned hot. If not for a stroke of luck, with Peeves stumbling upon Eamon under the ring's control and stopping him in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Students and staff alike might already have consumed food and drink laced with the Black Death Plague. The school would be in chaos.
So Kael ordered all students to return to their dormitories at once and stay under the direct watch of their Heads of House.
Then he, Gandalf, and Galadriel set out for the Dragon House common room.
Eamon might not remember the face of the one who had given him the ring and the vial, but he recalled that it had been someone from his own house.
It was the only lead they had, and Kael meant to follow it straight away.
When they entered the Dragon common room, every student in the house was present save Eamon; some fifty‑odd children stared back at them, full of puzzlement and curiosity.
Kael did not bother with explanations. He raised his wand and began checking them one by one, at the same time watching their faces and listening for the faintest off‑note of thought.
Under the white light of his detection spell, the students stood in line, whispering to each other in confusion but obeying.
One after another was examined and passed over with no sign of taint, until they reached a first‑year witch. As the light washed over her, a faint darkness rose from her skin, like smoke writhing against the purity of the spell.
Gasps broke from the crowd.
The girl herself stared at the shadow rising from her with blank astonishment.
Kael, Gandalf, and Galadriel all frowned, their expressions turning hard.
The girl had clearly handled the ring and borne the mark of Dark magic. But she was not Saruman.
Saruman must be another student entirely, using her as a cat's‑paw to deliver the ring and the vial of plague to Eamon, while he himself stayed hidden and untouched.
After asking Marglas, Head of Dragon House, to escort the girl to the hospital wing for treatment, Kael turned at once to the other three houses.
To his mounting anger, he still did not find even a hint of Saruman's true form.
Instead, he uncovered several more students who had handled the Dwarf‑ring and were stained with a residue of darkness.
Every one of them was a child from Kael's own lands.
If not for this thorough examination, their hearts and wills might have been twisted little by little without anyone noticing, until they grew into Dark wizards.
"What in Arda is Saruman trying to do?" Kael ground out between his teeth. The fallen wizard had trampled on every one of his bottom lines. If Saruman had stood before him now, Kael would gladly have tested the Cruciatus Curse at its full strength.
Gandalf and Galadriel were no less enraged. To use such venomous methods on children filled them with contempt.
It was hard to reconcile this Saruman with the comrade who had once stood beside them in battle. How could he have sunk so far, become so cruel, so utterly without scruple?
Every student carrying a trace of darkness was sent to the hospital wing.
Madam Amanda fussed over them, her heart aching for their plight, and cursed the unseen enemy with every breath.
Kael, Gandalf, and Galadriel joined her, working together to drive the remnants of Dark power from the children.
But those like Eamon, who had worn the Dwarf‑ring too long and whose spirits had been gnawed upon by its influence, could not be wholly cured, not even by Galadriel with all her strength.
So Kael sent for Elrond in distant Rivendell, carefully keeping the matter from Arwen's ears.
When Elrond came to Hogwarts and saw the students who had been scarred by a Ring of Power, his brow furrowed.
When he learned that Saruman was likely behind it, the usually mild Elf‑lord's eyes flashed with disgust and a cold, hard anger.
Elrond more than lived up to his name as the finest healer in Middle-earth. With the aid of Vilya, the Ring of Air, he was able to mend most of the harm the ring had done, cutting short its reach and sparing the children from further warping of their hearts and wills.