"That's too generous, old Dao…"
Bill's voice went dry. He tried to pull the ring off.
"We're brothers, aren't we?"
Douglas cut him off. Those eyes, always carrying a hint of mischief, turned deadly serious.
"You're on the front lines, dealing with ancient, lethal curses every day. It'll be far more useful in your hands than gathering dust on a shelf back home."
"Wear it." Douglas's gaze left no room for argument.
Bill looked at him, his blue eyes glinting.
He didn't argue further. With a firm nod, he settled the ring on his finger.
Only then did Douglas truly smile. He turned towards the pile of ashen bones and shattered black basalt fragments.
Bill followed, his gaze falling on the bronze amulet lying in the dust.
"This thing…" Bill's brows knit together. "It's a trap. Should we destroy it?"
"Destroy it? What a waste."
Douglas shook his head. His wand traced a single, ancient character in the air—囬.
Prevention is better than cure.
A semi-transparent magical barrier instantly encased the Ankh amulet and the surrounding debris. Douglas wasn't about to let these life-draining artifacts stir up trouble when he wasn't looking.
"It's a perfect teaching specimen, Bill."
A light sparked in Douglas's eyes, the kind of excitement a scholar feels upon finding a rare sample.
"A Horcrux. Or rather, the Ancient Egyptian version of a Canopic jar. A failed, primitive, but structurally intact experimental prototype of a soul container."
He circled the pile of fragments, appraising it like a piece of art.
"You're planning to take it back to Hogwarts?" Bill sounded incredulous. "To show the students?"
"Of course. High-level Defense Against the Dark Arts shouldn't just be about common pests."
Douglas pulled a velvet pouch from his robe pocket. He cast a careful Levitation Charm, loading the black basalt shards into it one piece at a time.
The pouch's mouth cinched shut on its own. A simple, glowing golden 囚 rune appeared on its surface.
"There's no better way to teach ambitious young wizards that the soul isn't a toy than by showing them a real, failed immortality experiment."
He finished with the fragments and turned his attention to the bronze amulet.
This was the dangerous part. The siphon valve connecting the soul fragment to living vitality.
He scanned the chamber, his eyes landing on the millennia-dried white bones beside the sarcophagus.
More precisely, the remnants of linen wrappings clinging to them, long devoid of any moisture or life force.
"Using what's at hand."
A flick of his wand, and several strips of wrapping, brittle as dried leaves, floated up.
"Incarcerous."
The linen strips swiftly coiled around the bronze amulet, layer upon layer, until it was a small, drab, gray ball.
Mummy wrappings thousands of years old, completely devoid of life energy—the perfect insulation.
Douglas stuffed the linen ball into the velvet pouch.
"There. Horcrux Version 0.5 Beta Test Kit, successfully recovered." Douglas clapped his hands together, mission accomplished.
Bill watched the whole practiced routine and shook his head.
Only this guy would find a failed Horcrux in a thousand-year-old tomb and think, teaching aid.
"Do we just head back now?" Bill asked, looking around the sealed stone room.
"Ankh-Ka's story is over. His experiment failed. His shadow is contained."
Douglas walked to the empty sarcophagus and peered down at the mercury-like liquid of the Lethe Curse, still flowing sluggishly at the bottom.
"But the curse he left behind is still active."
He extended a finger, stopping a few centimeters above the liquid. The protection of his Mind-Sealing Charm still held, but he could feel that gentle, inexorable erasure trying to seep through his defenses.
"This tomb's design is one giant magical circulatory system. The seven jars outside collected emotional energy to maintain the tomb's basic functions. And this Lethe Curse here? The core defense mechanism."
Douglas straightened up and looked at Bill.
"This place," he said slowly, "can't just be left to rot."
Bill's guard went up instantly.
"Old Dao, you're not thinking of packing up this curse and taking it too, are you?"
"Nothing that drastic."
Douglas grinned. That light was back in his eyes. The I've got a wild idea light.
"I was just thinking…"
"Thinking what?" Bill asked, watching Douglas's eager expression. The corner of his mouth twitched. He and Charlie combined didn't have half the bizarre ideas this guy did.
"What do you think about converting this place into an overseas field site for Hogwarts' Ancient Egyptian Dark Arts and Curse Defense Practical Course?"
Douglas said it with the same casual tone as discussing what to have for lunch tomorrow.
The tomb chamber plunged into a deafening silence.
Bill sucked in a sharp breath. It felt like ice in his lungs.
"Old Dao, have you gone mad?" His voice cracked.
"This is Egypt! Under the jurisdiction of the Egyptian Ministry. And a tomb like this? The moment Gringotts hears about it, they'll mark it as a 'potential treasure trove'!"
"I know." Douglas nodded, as if Bill had just listed minor, irrelevant details.
"That's exactly why I said, in Hogwarts' name."
He began pacing the chamber, his footsteps echoing.
"Think about what we've found. A proto-Horcrux. A completely new type of magic lock based on emotional resonance. A written curse that strips memory. And the preserved shadow of a millennia-old former Dark Wizard."
His finger ticked off each discovery, his gaze finally settling on the ring on Bill's finger.
"If we hand all this over to the Egyptian Ministry, the most likely outcome is it gets sealed away, layer upon layer, and then completely forgotten. If the Gringotts goblins find it…"
He paused, his tone turning sardonic.
"They'll pick this place clean. Anything of value becomes a numbered item in a vault until the end of the world."
"But if this place belongs to Hogwarts," Douglas's eyes shone, the light in them outshining the glow from his wand tip, "it becomes a living classroom. Students can experience the intricacies and dangers of ancient magic firsthand, not just read dry descriptions in a book."
His voice was infectious, painting vivid pictures in Bill's mind. He was making it sound almost reasonable.
"We could have the upper-year students come here for field studies. Let them feel the magical drain of the Faceless Wraiths firsthand. Learn how to use water to placate a curse, not just fight it. Even, under absolute safety protocols, experience a taste of the Lethe Curse's power."
Bill felt a surge of excitement, but reason yanked hard on the reins of his imagination.
"Will Dumbledore agree? This could cause an international incident! Hogwarts opening a branch in Egypt? The magical world would explode!"
"Dumbledore will agree." Douglas smiled with confidence, a smile that showed a deep understanding of the Headmaster.
"He understands better than anyone that Voldemort's threat is imminent. And Voldemort's power stems from the very misuse of these ancient, forbidden magics. Letting students understand the source of the enemy's power in advance is the best defense."
"As for international incidents…"
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