Perhaps it was because the goal had been achieved, or maybe out of caution, but no further news of roosters being killed came from Hagrid's side. Glenn decided to temporarily put the matter aside, treating it as a loose end for now.
Not caring wasn't really an option, though. After all, they had witnessed the crime scene. The incident had left a small knot in Hermione's heart, and it would be best to resolve it sooner rather than later.
The recording device Glenn had set up might capture the culprit's physical information, which would naturally make it easier to catch them. But if the culprit was highly skilled and eluded detection...
They'd call for backup and bother Dumbledore with it.
Such a good resource sitting there unused—wouldn't that be foolish?
Although Hagrid's hut was outside Hogwarts Castle, it was still considered part of Hogwarts.
Dumbledore! Look at your Hogwarts. Is there any place safer than Hogwarts? It's practically turning into a sieve!
Of course, Hagrid was too embarrassed to trouble Dumbledore over this matter and had asked the two not to inform him for the time being. Otherwise, Glenn would have already dragged Hermione to report it.
Since they had done all they could for now, the two decided to set the matter aside. After all, they had something more important to do today...
Today was September 19th, and the two of them had turned thirteen!
The morning was reserved for Hermione to celebrate her birthday with her friends. In the afternoon, the two planned to use the teleportation door gifted to them by Lin Yingqing to visit their grandparents in Longguo (China) and spend a special birthday with their family!
As they had planned earlier, Glenn and Hermione had already sent letters to their parents and grandparents, informing them of this plan and receiving their full approval.
"Glenn, I'll be off now!" After breakfast, Hermione was whisked away by her friends, struggling to wave goodbye to Glenn.
Glenn nodded in acknowledgment, then got up and headed to the Room of Requirement to continue practicing alchemy, spells, and Classical Chinese.
The dueling club's system, badges, and leaderboard had been debugged and were now stable. After being tested by Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout, and Dumbledore, it was deemed capable of ensuring the safety of young wizards during duels. Glenn had also successfully received his reward from Dumbledore.
That said, Dumbledore's expression was less than pleased, his lips twitching slightly. He truly hadn't expected Glenn to produce so many dueling badges in such a short time, let alone the highly sophisticated leaderboard.
But a promise was a promise, and the old bee could only hand over a hefty stack of Galleons with a heavy heart.
With the dueling club project completed, Glenn now had more time for his studies.
Despite his previous focus on working for Dumbledore, Glenn hadn't fallen behind in his own learning. Whether it was basic spell practice, Classical Chinese, or soul magic, he had made significant progress. In particular, his research into soul magic had advanced to studying the Cruciatus Curse.
However, the Cruciatus Curse was truly advanced dark magic. Successfully casting it required not only precise wand movements and incantations but also a strong desire to inflict pain on the target, deriving pleasure from their suffering. Without this emotional component, the curse wouldn't cause the level of agony described in books.
The spell required emotional involvement, but Glenn couldn't quite grasp the feelings and sensations needed to cast it.
Glenn didn't have the habit or desire to take pleasure in others' pain. As a result, he could only rely on his willpower and imagination, but the results were far from ideal.
Fortunately, while a wizard's emotions influenced spellcasting, spells themselves also affected the wizard. Glenn's method of repeatedly attempting and refining the curse eventually allowed him to grasp the emotions required for casting it. His study of the Cruciatus Curse was progressing, albeit slowly.
Of course, Glenn didn't practice the Unforgivable Curses frequently. He disliked the way these spells affected a person, especially those that required negative emotions, as they interfered with his own thoughts.
Luckily, he had Hermione as his "healing package." Whenever Glenn noticed something off about himself after practicing the Unforgivable Curses, he would hug the little girl for a while to dispel the negative effects.
Hermione, already soft and sweet, became even more comforting after she began to faintly channel the sanctity within her. Hugging her now felt even more healing than before.
"Crucio." Glenn's pale wrist flicked slightly, and a red light shot continuously from his pale wand, striking the white mouse in front of him. The red light flared, illuminating Glenn's calm, pale, and expressionless face beneath the black satin mask.
Ignoring the pitiful sight of the mouse twisting, writhing, convulsing, and shrieking in agony on the table, Glenn focused intently on sensing the flow of magical circuits within himself.
It wasn't until he cast the Cruciatus Curse that he realized its effect on the soul was less "torture" and more accurately described as "cutting."
It was like a tiny blade capable of touching the soul. Depending on the caster's magical output and inner desire to torment, the depth of the cuts on the target's soul varied, which in turn determined the level of pain they experienced.
To study soul magic and deconstruct the magical circuits of the Cruciatus Curse, Glenn's repeated experiments had left him mentally drained. He had to stop casting, put away his wand, and incinerate the twitching mouse before leaning back on the sofa to meditate and recover his energy.
That would be enough research for today. Now, he just had to wait for Hermione to finish celebrating her birthday with her friends.
Glenn had intended to enjoy the quiet environment, but an unexpected knock at the door interrupted him.
Although the Room of Requirement's space didn't seem to be directly connected to the eighth-floor corridor of Hogwarts, Glenn couldn't sense who was outside. However, after a moment of thought and piecing together information, he ruled out a few possibilities and roughly guessed the visitors.
Neville and Draco, perhaps?
Raising his hand, Glenn opened the door to the Room of Requirement. Sure enough, Draco and Neville walked in.
"Glenn, this is so unfair," Draco grumbled, placing a large box on the table before pulling out a smaller box and setting it beside Glenn. "As your friends, how could you not tell us it's your birthday? Luckily, I asked Hermione earlier. Otherwise, Neville and I would've missed it."
He then smirked at Glenn. "And you and Hermione have the same birthday? What a coincidence. Childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven, huh?"
Glenn nodded and snapped his fingers. From the ring he wore, a container of chilled lemonade appeared on the table, along with four glasses. Moments later, the glasses were filled with the refreshing drink.
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