Ding-ling-ling...
The jingle of bells and keys colliding made a crisp, pleasant sound.
But to Mabel, hearing this sound always meant one thing—someone is about to be taken away.
She wasn't the oldest child in the dungeon, but she was the one who had been there the longest.
Because she possessed magical abilities, she was considered a valuable resource the moment she was brought to this place. The most brutal and body-destroying experiments were not conducted on her.
But as time passed and more children with magic were captured, Mabel's value diminished, and the experiments she endured grew increasingly cruel.
Yet even so, she never submitted to the organization.
Mabel is highly gifted.
If she had been willing to surrender to the organization—if she hadn't resisted even after losing all her memories, hadn't harbored deep hatred for them, and hadn't gone as far as to kill an important figure—she might have never become one of their test subjects.
During her years in the dungeon, Mabel saw countless children thrown inside. Within days, they would go from sobbing uncontrollably to recognizing their situation, growing obedient, and learning to comply.
The children always hoped that if they behaved well enough, they would be allowed to leave—that they could go home.
They clung to the belief that their parents and the police would come to rescue them.
It was this hope that kept them enduring the suffering.
But Mabel, who observed coldly from the sidelines, knew that day would never come.
Once, she had bitten a researcher on the arm. Furious, the man grabbed her by the hair and dragged her from the third floor all the way to the fifth floor.
To that place that was like hell itself.
Pointing at a mutilated corpse, the researcher sneered and said, "Do you see this, my dear Mabel?"
"If you weren't still somewhat valuable for research, this would be your fate!"
"Next month, two more underage wizards will be sent here. You won't be the only one with magic anymore! How long do you think your special status will last?"
"Don't be so arrogant, Mabel! Once you fall into my hands, I'll peel your skin off bit by bit... How about turning it into a nice pair of leather shoes? Your face would make the perfect sole."
Mabel barely heard what he was saying. Her ears were ringing loudly, and the pain on her scalp made it feel as if it had already been torn from her skull.
She was forced to lift her head high, unable to even close her eyes, she could only stare straight at the corpse.
Even though it was reduced to mere remains, the familiar curls made her recognize who it was—
That was the only person she had ever considered a friend.
Mabel couldn't control herself—she started vomiting violently, as if her very heart was about to come out.
Ding-ling-ling...
Right. The researcher who had once threatened to skin her alive was this very man—the one who likes to wear bells on his body.
Just hearing that sound made Mabel's whole body tense up and tremble. Fear and hatred surged through her instinctively.
Slowly, she turned her head toward the direction of the sound.
The researcher stumbled into the room, carrying a suitcase. His face mask was gone, and his chest was stained with a large patch of blood.
When he saw Mabel, his eyes widened in shock. "Mabel! You actually dared to escape!"
He quickly pulled out a gun and aimed it at her. Then, as if realizing something, he sneered. "Of course! The attackers are demons just like you. They must have set you free, didn't they?"
He looked down at the trembling girl sprawled on the floor and noticed the dark collar around her neck—it was impossible to miss.
The researcher thought he understood everything now.
That collar was designed to suppress a wizard's magical abilities.
Some young wizards, even without formal training, would sometimes unleash terrifying bursts of power, causing catastrophic damage to the lab.
So later, they developed these collars—if a wizard's magical energy surged beyond a certain threshold, the collar would automatically activate, forcibly restraining them.
And that "restraint" was, of course, extremely painful.
The researcher assumed that the attacking wizards had originally planned to rescue all the magical children. But during the battle, Mabel's collar must have been triggered, making her a burden. So they had abandoned her, leaving her here to die alone.
He quickly glanced around. Seeing no one else, he relaxed.
Grabbing Mabel roughly by the collar, he yanked her up from the ground and shoved her forward. His voice was filled with malice.
"Get up, witch! Stop pretending to be dead—I know you can still move!"
"Haley…" Mabel asked weakly. "Where's Haley? You took her… Where is she?"
"Haley?" The researcher let out a cold laugh.
"That girl has been dead for a while! Her heart was removed ten minutes ago! You want to know where she is? Probably inside the meat grinder by now! Stop stalling! If you don't want to end up like her, move!"
He jabbed the barrel of his gun against Mabel's head several times, shoving her forward.
In his mind, he was already planning ahead—if I run into any attackers, Mabel can serve as my shield.
And if the enemy turns out to be a wizard, she will make a perfect hostage.
If I manage to escape with Mabel, she will become my "valuable asset," a magical test subject I personally saved.
The non-magical children on the island, along with the buildings, equipment, and soldiers—none of that really matter to the higher-ups.
But wizards… even as test subjects, they are still considered precious.
If I can prove that I have minimized the organization's losses, I might even get reassigned to a better facility with better treatment.
As for the responsibility for this base's downfall? That would fall on Zeke and Veronica. What did any of this have to do with me, a mere researcher?
The man with the bells was lost in his own self-serving thoughts. When he noticed Mabel still dazed and unmoving, he didn't hesitate—he kicked her hard.
"Move faster! Do you want to die?"
Mabel had been so weak moments ago that she could barely stand. But strangely, after being treated so roughly, she suddenly felt… lighter, as if something inside her had shattered.
She could hear the sound of her own ragged breathing.
She could hear the blood rushing through her veins.
She could even hear the overwhelming surge of magic rising up inside her.
Crack!
She heard a faint crack... The sound came from very close by...
From the collar around her neck.
Mabel reached up and grasped the collar, only to realize that at some point, it had completely split in two. Right now, it was only barely holding its original shape.
The researcher saw her standing still and suddenly felt a wave of panic. But that panic was quickly overtaken by even greater rage!
It is one thing for the adult wizards attacking the base to defy me. But how dare this little lab rat—who had barely managed to survive under my control—rebel against me too?
His first instinct was to teach her a painful lesson. Without hesitation, he pulled out his oddly shaped gun.
Bang!
A blue energy beam shot toward Mabel... but it seemed to pass right through her... and struck the conveyor belt connecting axle instead.
The researcher stared at Mabel in shock, unable to understand why a "clipping error" was happening to a living person.
Black smoke began to rise from the girl's body. She slowly turned her head toward him—her eyes were completely white.
The place where the gun should have hit her dispersed like mist, transforming into writhing black tendrils.
The researcher was frozen in terror.
His mouth fell open in a silent scream, and his mind was shattered by fear.
Only when those black tendrils coiled around his body did he finally let out a bloodcurdling shriek!
…
Meanwhile, Wade had been checking on the young girl lying on the bed.
He couldn't understand—how was a child who had lost so much blood, whose internal organs had been removed, still alive?
It wasn't a relief. If anything, it was horrifying.
Wade stepped closer, waved his wand lightly, and cast several diagnostic spells.
Out of concern for the future, he had studied all kinds of magic, including healing spells. Detection magic was one of his specialties.
Moments later, Wade lowered his wand and his expression turned to one of shock.
She had been cut open—but her organs were still there.
To be precise, her heart and kidneys had indeed been removed at some point… but they had been reinserted in a very short span of time.
The only way to put organs back into a body as if they were USB drives—completely undamaged—was through magic.
This girl had no magical ability of her own, but her body had experienced magic.
The reason she hadn't died from blood loss, despite the floor being drenched in her blood, was because she had been given a high-quality blood-replenishing potion.
And the reason she remained unconscious… was because of Draught of Living Death
—Could it be Dumbledore?
Wade wondered, but quickly shook his head.
The sounds of explosions and violent crashes outside hadn't stopped. When he flew up earlier, he had seen several machines being hurled into the air, colliding midair before crashing down, scattering their parts everywhere.
Dumbledore had no time to spare. He wouldn't have come to rescue this girl.
Time...
A realization dawned on Wade.
—It was me.
He had saved this child.
—But why?
Too many people have died on this island. Sure, this girl is pitiful, but why did I risk using a Time-Turner outside of school for her?
He had once promised only to use the Time-Turner for academic purposes.
Granted, Wade rarely followed that promise—but he had always limited its use to Hogwarts or its surroundings.
Reversing time outside of Hogwarts could easily be detected by the Ministry of Magic. If that happened, he could lose his Time-Turner privileges—or worse, be punished for violating the restrictions.
At that moment, a scream rang out.
Wade glanced at the unconscious girl on the bed, quickly pouring a vial of healing potion onto her wounds before sprinting toward the source of the noise.
As he rushed through the door, he arrived just in time to see a man being lifted into the air by a strange, black substance—
—then violently ripped apart.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Wade's pupils shrank in shock.
This black, ominous energy... it reminded him of one thing—
An Obscurus!
When a wizard suppress their magic too much, or endure severe physical and psychological abuse, their latent magic could manifest as a dark, uncontrollable force—an Obscurus.
It is wild, destructive, and constantly burned away at its host's soul.
But this phenomenon… in the movies, it had only ever appeared in the Dumbledore family—
First in Ariana Dumbledore, Albus's sister. Then in Credence Barebone, his nephew.
Wade had never imagined he would witness it in a random girl.
But then again, considering what it takes for an Obscurus to form—suppressed magic, relentless abuse...
Isn't that exactly what Mabel had been suffering every single day?
Not just Mabel. Every young wizard in this facility was going through the same torment...
Every single one of them is a potential host for an Obscurus.
No wonder Dumbledore had warned: This will lead to catastrophic consequences.
And judging by what Wade was seeing, those consequences had already begun.
But the real question is—would it get even worse?
…
In the mere seconds that Wade spent thinking, the Obscurus had already obliterated the researcher.
Now, it rampaged through the entire building.
Conveyor belts snapped apart.
Machines twisted and crumpled like paper.
Walls bulged outward before violently bursting open, sending bricks flying in all directions.
The sheer, feral magic filled the entire space, making it hard to even breathe—let alone fight back or stop it.
The Obscurus moved as fast as lightning. Wade hurriedly cast Protego and several barrier spells around himself to barely ensure that he wouldn't be killed instantly.
This is the power even Grindelwald had coveted…
Even though its host was just a young girl with undeveloped magical abilities, it still possessed such terrifying strength.
For the first time in a long while, Wade felt weak again.
He didn't know if Mabel still had control over herself, but the Obscurus didn't attack him—even though he was right next to it. Instead, after wreaking havoc around the room, it suddenly plunged through the floor, shooting downward.
The sounds of machinery being destroyed echoed one after another. The entire building trembled under the assault.
The Obscurus is likely obliterating the laboratories below—the same ones that had tormented Mabel for so long.
But what about the dungeons? The other children were still down there!
Wade felt a slight tug on his pant leg.
Looking down, he saw the two small magical dolls he had left behind earlier.
"We're sorry." One of them spoke softly.
"We failed our mission."
"We couldn't protect her… Her magic was too terrifying. We couldn't even move." The other one explained.
Then, both of them hung their heads in shame.
"It's not your fault… Even I can't handle an Obscurus."
Wade smiled bitterly and shook his head. He gently placed the two puppets beside Haley's bed.
"This time, protect her instead. I need to go."
"Understood."
The two puppets responded in unison. They obediently sat next to Haley, watching as their master turned and left the room.
One second later—
Their round eyes widened in shock as they saw someone else climb in through the window.
Their tiny mouths opened into perfect circles.
Wade chuckled softly, and pressed a finger to his lips to signal them to stay quiet.
He approached the bed and checked Haley's wounds once again.
With a sigh, he muttered, "Her healing is too slow… My potion-making skills are still so far behind Professor Snape's…"
As he spoke, he uncorked a crystal vial and poured its contents over Haley's wounds.
Before his very eyes, the injuries began closing up at an astonishing speed.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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