He could feel that he had forever lost something... What... was it?!
He didn't know; it was a very subtle feeling. Like a sudden shift in the wind, or a photograph with a suddenly adjusted color tone... He didn't specifically understand where the change came from... but a chilling sensation rose from the bottom of his heart.
Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out.
"No... don't!"
Huckleton looked up, towards the source of the sound.
It was Jason Williams.
At this moment, tears streamed down his face, which was filled with sorrow: "No... don't... what have you done..."
He looked at Howl in fear, drawing his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!!"
However, nothing shot out from his wand.
Seeing this scene, an answer surfaced in Huckleton's mind.
An answer he could never accept in his life... "No..." He frantically drew his wand, and with a clatter, the wand fell to the ground again.
His hand reached down, nails scraping against the hard stone, twisting and cracking.
However, he ignored the stinging pain in his fingertips, only frantically and helplessly grabbing the wand quickly...
"Stupefy—Scourgify—Petrificus Totalus—"
However, his wand offered him no answer.
"No… don't!!" For some unknown reason, a surge of strength erupted within him. He stood up and grabbed Howl's collar.
"Why… you might as well just kill me…"
For a Wizard to be stripped of his ability to cast spells—such a fate was more agonizing than death. All his pursuits, all his ideals, were utterly destroyed.
Howl looked at him calmly, offering no answer.
He didn't need to offer an answer.
Loreton walked over. He had already heard Huckleton's roar and seen them foolishly waving their wands.
"Jones, thank you," Loreton said quickly, all his myriad surprises needing to be buried deep within his heart.
"When the time comes, let me see the confiscated items first," Howl said with an indifferent smile.
"Of course!" Loreton nodded decisively, "Even if the Ministry of Magic doesn't allow it, I'll make sure they do."
As he spoke, he snatched Jason Williams's wand, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Jason Williams had a tragic, burned face.
It was caused by Dark Arts, incurable like his limp.
"Is that why you covered yourself with the Confundo?" Loreton took a deep breath, repeatedly telling himself that it was just his bad luck; after choosing such a dangerous job, it was indeed possible for tragedies to occur.
Just like him today, if it weren't for Jones, he would surely have lost his life here.
But no matter how much he tried to comfort himself, he knew very well that a work accident was one thing, and the Ministry of Magic's compensation was another… The Ministry of Magic also bore some responsibility for him reaching this point. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly, out of nowhere.
Then, ropes appeared on the ground, binding the several people together.
He turned back to Howl, asking about their next move.
Should they continue deeper, or return the way they came?
"Of course we have to go in and see," Howl looked at Huckleton, "I'm very curious, why did you guide us in here?"
"I wanted to… use your hand… to deal with the giant snake statue on the opposite bank…" He answered stiffly, then the disgust on his face quickly resurfaced, "Go on, I Curse you, I Curse you to meet with misfortune there.
Howl Jenkins, I Curse you with my life—"
The next moment, his tongue suddenly swelled up, like an inflated balloon.
Although he couldn't cast spells, by using some occult knowledge, he could barely touch the fringes of magic in certain areas.
"Let's go," Howl turned back.
Harry glanced at Huckleton and quickly followed Howl.
More than the fate of these people, he was curious about the effect of that Curse.
"Uncle Howl, was that a Curse that turns Wizards into ordinary people?"
"Mm," Howl nodded, "Depriving them of their right to cast spells is a type of magic that combines rune arrays.
Although it's not classified as Dark Arts, I think this magic is even more evil than Dark Arts."
As he spoke, he pouted, "If this guy were just a simple bad person, I might have just dealt with him directly.
Unfortunately… as a thief, he also has many stolen cultural relics and ancient texts that need to be traced, so they can't just die off."
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