The Baron soon returned with crowns and Uma.
"Here's the rest of your money, and the creature you wanted," the Baron said, tossing a bulging pouch to Harry.
Harry raised his hand, catching the pouch midair.
He pulled out his wand and gently tapped the bag, causing it to jingle and clink with the sound of coins.
"A pleasant transaction," Harry said after counting, tucking the wand and pouch away. He turned toward Uma and gestured.
"Avalach, can you understand me?"
Uma stared blankly, clutching his own head, babbling, "Uma, Uma!"
The Baron shook his head. "Seems like he doesn't understand a word. We've tried many times to communicate with him."
"I'm planning to take you to break the curse," Harry said softly.
Suddenly, the ugly creature's babbling grew frantic, "Uma Uma Uma Uma Uma!"
He seemed desperate to express something.
But the words that came out were always the same nonsensical, repetitive sounds.
Hermione took out her wand, her expression serious, and began inspecting him.
A dark glow emanated from Uma's body, spreading like a halo around the sun.
"A very sophisticated curse," Hermione frowned. "It's unlike any curses we've studied."
She initially thought the creature was simply twisted into this form by a single curse.
But the results of her magical scan shocked her.
The grotesque exterior was entirely crafted from a chaotic form of magic, similar to the essence that Yennefer wielded. The curse completely enveloped him, while his soul was trapped and bound underneath layers of dark magic.
Harry was not surprised by this.
He had personally witnessed Yennefer break the curse on Uma before and had been bossed around more than Geralt during the process.
The method to break it was already clear in his mind.
But maybe now, with different tools at his disposal, there might be a safer way?
He gently waved his wand.
Magic poured over the ugly creature.
"Uma Uma!" He screamed in pain.
A shadowy figure began to emerge from his body, tethered tightly as if rooted to his core. The more Harry tried to pull it out, the more Uma's body contorted painfully.
The Baron, face drained of color, stumbled back in fear.
Harry stopped the spell.
The shadow snapped back into Uma's body with a whoosh, and his form stabilized again, whimpering weakly.
"I suppose we need to extract his soul first," Harry muttered, frowning.
Hermione nodded. "Professor Snape would be delighted to handle something like this."
The Baron looked back and forth between the two, clearly unsettled.
Why...
Why could they do something so openly sinister right in his own home?
"Goodbye, Baron," Harry said with a wave of his wand.
The Baron was just about to respond when his eyes went wide with shock.
A man—taller than himself—emerged from Harry's belt, right out of that small, wrinkled hat. He wore tight-fitting, strange clothes, and his feet were shackled with chains.
"Open a portal back to Hogwarts," Harry said calmly.
Caranthir obediently cast his spell.
He was the first to step through.
Harry followed, leading Uma, and Hermione brought up the rear.
The Baron stared at the three disappearing figures and the shimmering portal left behind. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled a few words, then took another swig of his bottle.
He was starting to wonder if he was still dreaming.
They had come in a rush and left in a rush, taking that chunk of gold with them. The whole thing felt surreal.
And the man that came out of the hat...
He didn't look right. His eyes were odd, like a dazed fool, much like Uma.
But his ears...
They were pointed. An elf.
The Baron downed another gulp of liquor, trying to drown out the strange memories. Who cared? Maybe that witcher wasn't a good person, but neither was he. And the witcher did offer him a pure gold coin for the deal. Most importantly... he had given him news of his wife and daughter.
The shimmering portal faded, and the Baron didn't even look back.
On the other side of the portal...
It was the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
As soon as Caranthir stepped out, one of the portraits scurried off to notify Dumbledore.
"Harry?" Godric's voice echoed.
"It's me, Mr. Gryffindor," Harry replied, stepping through the portal. "Not going out for a stroll with the Sorting Hat today?"
Godric shook his head. "The weather hasn't been great lately. I need to preserve the canvas, you know."
"You all wait here for a moment. Dumbledore will be here shortly."
He had barely finished speaking when the office doors swung open.
"Harry, you're back already? It's only been a few days," Dumbledore said as he entered, his voice filled with surprise.
Harry replied calmly, "The clues were all there. We just needed to follow the trail."
"But it seems Miss Granger has grown quite a bit," Dumbledore tilted his head, examining Hermione.
Hermione blinked, a bit puzzled. "Huh?"
She didn't feel any different.
"Older folks tend to be sensitive to these things," Harry assured her.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Harry, I would prefer you call it the wisdom of age."
"Hmph," Harry snorted.
"Did you find that young girl, Ciri?" Dumbledore asked, his gaze finally landing on Uma.
Harry shook his head. "Not yet."
"But we found a crucial clue."
He glanced at Uma.
"This is the one cursed?" Dumbledore adjusted his glasses, slowly approaching Uma.
Uma seemed instinctively wary, backing up nervously and letting out muffled growls.
That reaction hadn't even happened when he was with Harry.
"Avalach. He's an Aen Elle elf. He hid Ciri in a place only he can reach," Harry explained. "The curse is quite intricate."
"There are ways to break it—using Elvish incantations or witcher potions."
"Yennefer did it that way when she broke the curse on Uma."
"But undoubtedly, those methods are painful and risky."
Dumbledore smiled warmly, with a touch of pride. "So you thought of coming to this old man for help?"
Harry nodded. "After all, you are the greatest white wizard."
"And what do you have in mind?" Dumbledore asked.
Harry pondered for a moment. "Use the Soul Extraction Curse to pull out his soul, then forcibly break the curse on his body. Even if the curse backlashes, the soul won't be affected. After that, we just put the soul back."
"A rather brute-force method," Dumbledore nodded. "But... Severus's Soul Extraction Curse is indeed skilled enough for that."
"Want to give it a try?" Harry turned to look at him.
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Powerstones?
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