A week before the start of term at Hogwarts, after nearly ten days of non-stop effort, the Dumbledore family castle, which also served as the second base of the Fairy Tail Guild, was finally restored to its former historical glory.
That's right, it wasn't just the underground library; the entire castle had been renovated.
Because the castle was so far away, it was inconvenient to travel back and forth. So, the members of Fairy Tail would stay at the castle all day while organizing the books, often only returning home at dusk.
In the process, to ensure everyone had a place to eat and sleep, Victor took the opportunity to clean the entire castle, replace some old furniture, and restock all the essential supplies.
Now, the Dumbledore family castle had a new look. After organizing all the books, the members of Fairy Tail finally breathed a sigh of relief and began doing their own favorite things in various parts of the castle.
In the basement library, Hermione, Penelope, Scarlia, and Cho Chang were each engrossed in a book. For them, the ocean of knowledge was the most comfortable place to be.
In the kitchen, Justin and Cedric, two Hufflepuffs, were studying a wizarding recipe book they'd found somewhere.
In the living room not far away, Draco was curiously playing with a huge dragon scale, one of the Dumbledore family's collectibles, which seemed to have belonged to a now-extinct fire-breathing dragon.
In the highest attic of the castle, the Weasley twins were preparing to turn the space into their research lab.
Harry, Ron, Neville, and Ginny had gone exploring in the forest outside, looking for useful herbs and potion ingredients.
In the river valley next to the castle, Luna and Zoe were curiously examining small fish they'd never seen before in a pond, while not far away at the base of a waterfall, Sonia was practicing how to turn the cascading water into ice.
The members were all leisurely doing their own thing, but on the other side, Victor looked distressed, staring at a large purple python with venomous fangs, his mind in a tangled mess.
That's right, Dumbledore had returned from Albania, bringing back two things...
"Professor, it's not that I don't want to help, but this request is a bit of a tall order." Victor pinched the bridge of his nose. "To this day, no one has ever been able to find a cure for a Maledictus, or even help them retain or regain their humanity."
"I know, but I still want to try," Dumbledore said. "Nagini was very useful during the First Wizarding War. She used her ability to turn into a snake to gather a lot of valuable intelligence for us, which played a crucial role in our victory."
"However, she was always troubled by her identity as a Maledictus. She disappeared not long after the war, until I recently found out she was in Albania."
"Do you remember the Serpent Slave Blood Curse? I saw traces of experimentation on her. Tom met her after he graduated from Hogwarts and ultimately completed the curse he had been researching at school on her."
Victor sighed helplessly.
He didn't expect that after he had destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul on Quirrell, the original Horcrux would still show up in front of him for such a strange reason and in such a peculiar way.
Since he had enrolled at Hogwarts, he had actually done some research into the power of curses. Although the power of a curse is difficult to deal with and stubborn, it has two characteristics.
A curse can potentially be controlled, and a lower-level curse can be overridden and completely eliminated by a higher-level curse.
That's right, as long as they could find a curse more powerful and controllable than the Blood Curse, Nagini might have a chance to recover. So, after wracking his brain and using dialectical thinking and a process of elimination, Victor finally came up with an extremely risky method.
"Professor, there's a method we can try. But if it fails, the consequences are unpredictable."
"No matter what, the final outcome is nothing more than death," Dumbledore said, his eyes lowered as he looked at Nagini.
"Animagus. We need to complete an alternative kind of Animagus transformation," Victor said. "Professor, you must know about Quintaped, right?"
"Of course," Dumbledore nodded.
"McClivert used an irreversible Transfiguration to inadvertently turn all the members of the MacBoon clan into Quintapeds, and that, too, is a kind of curse."
"So, what kind of existence is the Animagus, which can also turn a person into an animal? You should know that this advanced Transfiguration spell appeared mysteriously in history. The origin of this magic is not mentioned in any magical history book."
"So now, let's assume that the wizard who invented the Animagus spell was also like the McClivert family, who unintentionally discovered a magic or curse that could turn people into animals and then studied it, eventually forming the complete Animagus Transfiguration spell we have today?"
Victor slowly explained his immature hypothesis.
"It's not impossible. Your theory is sound," Dumbledore replied after some thought.
"Then, assuming my hypothesis is correct, the Blood Curse on Nagini is an incomplete curse derived from Transfiguration! So, if we can find a way for her to become an Animagus, she should be able to recover. But…" Victor trailed off.
Even if he didn't continue, both of them knew how demanding the conditions for this theoretical magic would be.
If they were to follow the normal procedure for becoming an Animagus, it was impossible to even begin, not to mention that Nagini's current form might not be able to practice. Just the thought of her holding a wand to her heart and chanting a spell every day was out of the question.
"Professor, this is the best method I can think of," Victor stated directly. "I don't have a high enough level of Transfiguration mastery. If you want Nagini to become an Animagus, you may need to gather a group of highly skilled Transfiguration masters."
"But you must think carefully. If it fails, no one can predict what Nagini will become. If she turns into a dangerous creature similar to a Quintaped, you may have to personally send your old friend on her way."
"I understand…" Dumbledore nodded, then with a wave of his hand, he shrunk the cage holding Nagini and put it into his bag. "If the final result is bad, it's my responsibility to bear it."
"As long as you're mentally prepared," Victor nodded, then curiously looked at the large wooden box that was as tall as Dumbledore. "We've talked about Nagini, so what's with this box? I feel a very strange thing inside."
"This is my nephew, Aurelius Dumbledore," Dumbledore answered, gently placing his hand on the box.
"Nephew?" Victor's head filled with a question mark. "Since when did you have a nephew? And why are you keeping him in a box?"
"Aurelius has another name you should be familiar with," Dumbledore explained. "Credence Barebone…"
"Oh, I remember! It's him!" Victor suddenly realized. "That Obscurial who survived to adulthood and almost destroyed half of New York?!"
Prompted by Dumbledore, he suddenly remembered Credence's identity.
Credence Barebone was a relatively important character in the Fantastic Beasts film series. He was an Obscurial and carried the blood of the Dumbledore family.
To be honest, this was the first time Victor had heard the name Aurelius. He wasn't sure if he had missed it when watching the movies.
But why had he suddenly appeared and been locked in a box?
With that question, Victor curiously asked, "Professor, what is your nephew's current condition?"
"After the First Wizarding War, Credence lived with his father."
"However, as an Obscurial, even though Credence broke the norm, the Obscurus still affected him."
"More than thirty years ago, when his life was nearing its end, he suddenly left without saying goodbye, leaving only a letter before disappearing. He said he was going to find Nagini, his only friend."
"His father and I had always thought he was dead, but just a while ago, when I found Nagini in Albania, I suddenly discovered a strange presence."
At this point, Dumbledore opened the wooden box, revealing a dark, smoky, ethereal-like object inside.
"Is this… an Obscurus?!" Victor asked in confusion.
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "It's the Obscurus from within Credence, but with a bit of human consciousness fused into it. Nagini has been protecting it."
"The whole time?!" Victor raised an eyebrow. "Then, when Voldemort was experimenting on Nagini, did he not discover Credence's presence?"
"I don't think he did. Because when I found Nagini, I was quietly following her to a very hidden underground cave, and that's when I discovered the Obscurus," Dumbledore explained.
"So what do you want to do with it now?" Victor asked. "This thing is a ticking time bomb no matter where it is. If it goes out of control, no one other than you and I, at our level of power, can contain an Obscurus."
"He should be safe; otherwise, the local Albanian wizards would have discovered him years ago." Dumbledore closed the box again and continued, "I will return him to his father. What to do with him will be for his father to decide…"
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