## Chapter 181: Restricted Books and Curses
The next morning, Wade saw the news of the fire in Little Hangleton in the Daily Prophet.
The article stated that a Dark Wizard was suspected of conducting evil experiments, burning down an unoccupied vagrant's house. The Ministry of Magic, after monitoring, found traces of Fiendfyre.
Fortunately, there were no casualties in the incident.
The newspaper made no mention at all that it was the Gaunt family's house, let alone their glorious history as descendants of Slytherin.
It was unclear if they thought it unnecessary to mention, or if the young Ministry of Magic staff no longer knew who that "vagrant's shack" once belonged to.
But Wade was certain Dumbledore wouldn't overlook this detail.
He looked towards the breakfast table; the old headmaster was recommending today's lamb chops to Professor Flitwick, and a thick stack of newspapers lay on the table beside him.
Wade lowered his eyes and picked up another newspaper.
This was a Muggle daily, specifically sent to him by Ferdinand. The newspaper featured clear on-site photos, taken from an aerial view.
The flames had burned a perfect circle in the woods, leaving nothing but scorched earth inside the circle, yet not harming a single blade of grass outside its boundaries.
The newspaper described the incident in an exaggerated tone, mysteriously suggesting at the end that it might be traces left by a landed alien spaceship.
In another newspaper, however, the author believed it was a secret experiment by a certain country with highly precise strike weapons, and launched a comprehensive critique of Britain's defense, military, technology, bureaucracy, and so on, concluding that the country was not far from ruin.
Wade: "..."
He chuckled softly, then set the newspaper aside.
Breakfast was still porridge.
The House-elves had finely minced the meat and vegetables, ensuring he could smoothly swallow it without needing to chew.
The mixed porridge didn't look particularly appetizing, so these adorable little creatures sprinkled a layer of finely chopped celery and sesame seeds on top, which made it look much better.
The Great Hall wasn't very crowded, as students rushed out quickly after breakfast. The maze reopened today, and many students even ran to queue up early in the morning without eating.
After eating, Wade, as usual, went to the Library first to return and borrow books. Thanks to Lockhart, he could always borrow the books he wanted from the Restricted Section, and he always heard Madam Pince complain about Lockhart being too casual.
Wade suspected that the librarian actually knew many things, such as the true origin of his permission slips. But Madam Pince never said more; as long as a permission slip was presented, he could borrow books from her.
Although she complained, she neither questioned the origin of the slips nor confronted Professor Lockhart.
Wade didn't know if Madam Pince treated every student this way, or if he was receiving some special treatment here.
Wade didn't dwell on it; he simply took the books back to the Umbrella Room, eagerly absorbing all sorts of knowledge, and recently spent a significant amount of time studying content related to curses.
Voldemort was an expert in curses; the curse he placed on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorship couldn't even be lifted by Dumbledore.
To deal with Voldemort, if one didn't understand curses and didn't have the protection of blood magic like Harry, they would likely be at a disadvantage.
From the books, Wade learned some interesting and ancient cursing methods, some of which he had seen in fairy tales as a child, never imagining wizards could actually do them.
Simple ones, like the Jelly-Legs Jinx, were actually a type of curse, not lasting long, and mostly used by students to joke with each other.
The Killing Curse and the Cruciatus Curse were also curses, requiring extremely strong emotions to cast.
These effects were all short-lived, and what Wade primarily learned at school were methods to resist these spells.
Among curses, there were also some that lasted a long time, had far-reaching effects, and could even be passed down through bloodlines, requiring advanced skill, complex preparation, and powerful magical strength.
For example, the blood curse that turns people into animals, or the Blood Oath that establishes an unbreakable bond between two people.
And among ancient curses, some could permanently turn people into animals or plants, or make them sleep forever, or keep them perpetually unlucky, which were even more complex.
The caster themselves might also be subject to some hidden, negative influence.
Wade was engrossed in his reading when someone suddenly patted his shoulder.
"Hey, Wade," Michael said. "Put the book down! It's almost eleven, we should go!"
Theo and Ryan were already waiting at the door.
Wade paused, then asked, "Go?"
Michael raised an eyebrow: "You didn't forget, did you? Today's the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff match!"
Only then did Wade realize.
He had been so caught up in the joy of destroying the Resurrection Stone Horcrux yesterday that he stayed up late and indeed forgot about his house's Quidditch match.
Because the Gryffindor and Slytherin match was postponed by two weeks, it ended up clashing with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff match.
After December, the high-altitude winds were biting cold. The heads of the houses didn't want to postpone their matches further, to avoid negatively affecting their players' condition, so they simply scheduled both matches for this weekend.
They arrived at the pitch, where many people were already gathered, but unlike yesterday's match, they weren't clearly divided.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were both quite popular, and their respective cheering sections included students from other houses.
Wade even saw a few Ravenclaw students secretly remove their blue and bronze scarves and blend into the Hufflepuff crowd.
When discovered by their fellow Ravenclaws, they argued defensively: "We're not betraying... but that's Cedric!"
"This is his first match, well, you know... he needs more support..."
"But we need support too!" Dalton, the Ravenclaw Seeker, waved his arm angrily. "Am I catching bugs when I'm flying in the sky?"
"Of course you're fighting for our house's honor, dear."
Dalton's girlfriend kissed his cheek and comforted him.
As he smiled, she added, "Oh, right, you're already an adult. Be careful up there... don't knock any younger students off their brooms."
Dalton's smile vanished instantly.
He watched helplessly as his girlfriend walked towards the stands on the other side, then looked despairingly at the two younger students beside him and asked, "What about you two? Are you going to support Hufflepuff too?"
Wade and Michael exchanged glances.
Michael patted Dalton's arm and said, "Of course we're supporting Ravenclaw! Go Ravenclaw!"
Dalton felt a bit better this time. He muttered something about "pretty boys" and stomped angrily towards the Ravenclaw team.
"Quite the strong opponent, wouldn't you say?"
A ethereal voice came from beside him. Wade turned to see Luna, holding an eagle scepter.
Looking closely, it was a long tree branch with a papier-mâché eagle on top. The girl was quite skilled with her hands.
If Dalton had seen Luna just now, he probably wouldn't have been so indignant.
"Hello, Luna."
Wade said, tapping the eagle with his Wand. It immediately became much more lively, looking around twice, then opening its beak and letting out a high-pitched, clear shriek.
Everyone nearby was startled and looked in their direction.
Luna ignored the stares, nodding contentedly and saying cheerfully, "That's much better, thank you."
With that, she held her scepter and strolled leisurely to the front railing. The eagle chirped occasionally, and people on both sides moved out of the way. Even the Hufflepuff team kept looking over.
Wade also saw Cedric, holding his Flying Broomstick.
He was tall and handsome, with distinct features and a faint smile. Although only a fourth-year, standing among the Ravenclaw team, he was not much shorter than the seventh-year team captain beside him.
Such a sturdy build would ordinarily not be suitable for a Seeker, who needed agility. But his expression was calm, and he didn't seem worried about failing.
With a whistle, the match began.
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