great-warnovel Chapter 199 Thorns in Blood
Chapter 199 Thorns in Blood
Chapter 199 Thorns in Blood
Although Percy didn't explicitly agree, given his personality, the fact that he didn't explicitly refuse speaks volumes.
After a while, once we've communicated with the adults, we can use Maria to find the werewolves.
The children were enthusiastically engaged in sparring training, and Hermione would also take the time to give each of them some guidance, but her energy was limited, and most of the time they practiced on their own.
During this time, Cedric also returned.
It turns out that right at the beginning of summer vacation, he and his father went to a black market located in the Caspian Sea.
"That's a place where all sorts of smugglers and dark wizards gather, and all sorts of contraband circulates among wizards and Muggles. My dad managed to get a batch of antibiotics that came from the east through connections, but he wasn't confident he could bring them back by himself," the tall, thin boy said gently.
"Antibiotics? What are those?" None of the young wizards present had ever heard of this name.
"It's a highly effective medicine used by Muggles to treat various diseases, and it works very well, almost instantly," Cedric replied.
"Professor Lily also praised their invention, calling it a magic potion for Muggles."
"We need this thing, potions are enough, aren't they?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"Because we don't have enough potions," Hermione said immediately.
As for the minor illnesses of Muggles, antibiotics can solve the problem, which saves the wives more energy to produce swelling potions and anti-radiation potions.
"Oh right!" he exclaimed in realization.
"But why not contact the Order of the Phoenix? Mr. Amos would rather take you on an adventure—" Percy frowned as always, Cedric was a year younger than him.
"They don't trust unfamiliar wizards, so only I, as my father's son, am barely accepted to participate." He shrugged.
"Actually, there's not much danger, but this stuff is strictly controlled among Muggles. The small amount that leaks out is treated as a miracle drug by wild Muggles, and they fight over it fiercely."
"The whole process was thrilling but harmless; we didn't even experience any fighting. Did Dad only bring me along as a precaution?"
"Enough about me, what are you all doing here?" He looked around with interest. The children's secret hideout had been expanded quite a bit. Recently, in order to practice their transformation magic, they had also added a lot of intricately patterned furniture.
This makes the room look more like a proper little hall.
As he spoke, he saw the little werewolf behind the crowd, silently praying while holding the holy mark.
Even when not under the full moon's light, Maria deliberately maintains her werewolf form here to familiarize herself with her body and her mania.
"Wait!" Seeing Cedric about to reach for his wand, the others quickly stopped him and explained the situation before he understood what had happened.
He looked at the little wolf girl in surprise: "I said, when you go to fight werewolves, take me with you."
I can't miss something like this!
So the special training group gained another great member. Percy finally found a comfortable sparring partner. Cedric, who was only one year below him, was not only the prefect and the Quidditch captain of Slumberhouse, but also an excellent student. He could hold his own against Percy instead of just being bored.
The adults were surprised by how well-behaved the children were this year. They didn't cause any explosions, sneak out of the village to play, or complain to their parents about who bullied whom.
Besides helping the adults with chores during the day, they would gather together at night, doing whatever they wanted, but they were so tired when they got home that they would fall asleep immediately, which made their parents very worry-free.
Bill, the eldest brother, was sent by Madam Molly to infiltrate the children's group and gather information. He discovered that they were having a friendly match, and Bill, in a playful mood, took on everyone except Hermione.
However, Harry and his friends' strength still surprised him quite a bit. Of course, in the end, Hermione used gravity magic to pin him to the ground and he couldn't get up, which made the others breathe a sigh of relief.
So what if she has twelve zeros? She still can't beat our soon-to-be third-year Gryphon Queen!
Hermione told Bill about their plan to deal with the werewolves, intending to use him to give the adults a heads-up beforehand, and also to tell them in advance that she was going to buy wolfsbane potion, so that the adults wouldn't have too much trouble accepting it.
Of course, in her plan, Ginny and Luna were just to watch from the sidelines. They would only be sophomores next year, and it would be too much of a burden to make them fight. Even Maria, Hermione wouldn't have wanted her to go if she hadn't insisted.
After a few more days of consideration, Hermione finally came up with a suitable magic for Draco—the heretical Thorn magic!
This is heretical magic used by exiled sinners, and it is the kind of magic that the academy despises most.
Able to harm themselves with the thorns of sin, and summon blood thorns to attack their enemies—the sinners, their eyes pierced, found the stars of blood in their eternal darkness.
Hermione was actually a little hesitant about teaching Draco this spell, because it required self-harm and bleeding, and in terms of intensity, it wasn't particularly high. The Faded Ones had hardly ever used this spell; it was more like a fancy trick.
However, the magic of the Sinful Thorns is very peculiar; it does not rely on intelligence to cast spells, but rather on faith to be used as magic.
Previously, Hermione had thought this spell was a joke, both in terms of its activation speed and its strength.
They all seem rather ordinary, and there are much stronger alternative systems in the border areas.
But as the veil of the Shadowlands was lifted, the Faded Ones discovered a powerful spell called "The Thorn of Rejection" on the other side. Its terrifying power was comparable to Origin-level spells; even demigods could be harmed by the thorns of the Shadow Trees.
That is the power capable of sealing the gates of the gods.
Strikingly similar to the heretical sects, the Rejection Thorn is also a spell cast purely out of faith, and it also causes astonishing bleeding damage. However, compared to the blood thorns that sinners falter, these summoned physical black thorns are far more terrifying.
Hermione suspects that those condemned as heretics on the borderlands may be connected to the Shadowlands and the Shadowtree, and that Queen Marika, in order to completely erase the Shadowlands, also tried and exiled them.
If Hermione had considered the original Thorns of Sin and Punishment insufficient in strength and structure, and was therefore unwilling to teach them to Draco, now that there is the superior "Thorns of Rejection," this is a mature and long-term path.
Draco is clearly better at spiritual belief systems, as evidenced by his talent for Occlumency and his ability to react to mere touch of a holy mark. He also happens to be a wizard, qualified to use magic, and has also learned the equally torturous Crucifixion.
These elements, taken together, seem to fit well with learning the magic of the Heretical Thorn system.
"However, this magic hurts a lot. These thorns grow from your blood and will hurt yourself before harming your enemies," Hermione said to Draco, frowning.
"Born from blood—" Draco murmured.
"The glory of a pureblood family—ha!" He sneered.
"I can tolerate it, and I think it suits me well!" He raised his head.
Draco desperately needs a way to improve himself. Even though no one is isolating him now, and no one looks at him with strange eyes anymore, only those who have fallen into the abyss understand that the lack of security is something that, once experienced, is difficult to remove.