Curse-breaking isn't just a matter of casting Finite Incantatem or Finite and calling it a day. First, you have to watch the Muggles.
If a Muggle archaeological team decides to excavate a pyramid or an ancient tomb, the curse-breakers have to move first. They enter ahead of the team, identifying items imbued with curses or magic to ensure they don't fall into Muggle hands.
Of course, if something accidentally slips through into Muggle society, curse-breakers have to go retrieve it. That part is simple: a Memory Charm makes them forget they ever owned something unusual or met a wizard.
Naturally, this isn't a safe job. Since they primarily deal with ancient magic, curse-breakers need a broad base of knowledge and strong self-preservation skills.
Having never done this hands-on, Owen decided to observe how others worked first.
"Mr. Corlett, this is Curse-Breaking Room Three. Currently, we are working on a cursed golden goblet. You see, to break a curse, you must first trigger it. Once you identify the type of curse, you can apply the corresponding counter-measure."
Owen watched for a while, then turned his head. "Why not use Fiendfyre? It's powerful enough to perfectly neutralize most curses, even ancient dark magic ones."
The supervisor jumped in fright. "No, no, no, Mr. Corlett! These cursed items are extremely valuable and worthy of study. Solving the curse might allow us to gain deeper insights into the mysteries of ancient magic. If you use Fiendfyre, sure, the curse is gone, but the item won't survive either!"
Ah, so that's how it is...
Owen nodded, indicating he understood. After watching a bit longer, he went to rest. Starting tomorrow, he would officially begin his curse-breaking work.
Some say magic originated in Egypt. For one, the country's history is incredibly long. Compared to other ancient civilizations, the legends left by the pharaohs bear a striking resemblance to magic.
Thus, the theory that Merlin came from Egypt has quite a market among wizards.
The pharaohs were pragmatic people; they loved gold. Besides being valuable, gold is an excellent conduit for magic. A curse placed on gold can last a very long time.
Actually, the power of ancient magic generally doesn't match modern magic. However, over long periods, spells can mutate. Furthermore, ancient dark magic prioritized directness and efficiency. If it said it would kill you, it meant to kill you. The casters had zero psychological burden; in fact, they might even have enjoyed your demise.
Staring at a vase surrounded by black mist, Owen thought for a moment. Eventually, he put away his small wand and pulled out his large custom wand from his pocket.
This action caught the eye of a passing supervisor, who jumped in alarm. "Mr. Corlett, what are you doing?"
"This is my wand..."
"Ah... alright. Just be careful..."
The supervisor left the room but didn't go far. He peeked in secretly. The head of the department had mentioned that although this young wizard was sent by Dumbledore, their chat revealed he had some extremely dangerous ideas about curse-breaking. He needed to be observed—closely.
To break a curse, one must first draw it out. The most common method is tapping the object with a wand, using magic to trigger the dormant curse. Owen did exactly that. He tapped the vase gently with his large wand. The black mist suddenly accelerated, swirling rapidly before being completely sucked inside the vase.
"What does this mean? Self-consumption?"
Owen was confused, but his expression changed instantly. He casually transfigured a chair into a wooden cork, waved his wand, and jammed it into the mouth of the vase.
The curse, on the verge of erupting, was forcibly plugged back inside.
Owen was extremely sensitive to changes in magic. He carefully sensed the magical energy within the vase and congratulated himself on his speed. If he had been any slower, this room might not have survived.
"Mr. MGM, how is a situation like this usually handled?"
Owen couldn't find a corresponding solution in the operation manual, so he went to find the supervisor. After briefly explaining the situation, he asked his question.
When you're away from home on someone else's turf, it's best to respect the rules. If this were Hogwarts, he would have incinerated it with Fiendfyre long ago without all this hassle.
"If it's a curse set for a large-scale eruption..." The supervisor's face looked bitter. "Then we have no choice but to dispose of it. The item... doesn't need to be preserved."
"Okay, understood!"
Owen nodded and walked out. The supervisor froze. "Understood? What did he understand? I haven't finished my sentence... Oh no!!!"
He was too slow. By the time he reached the Curse-Breaking Room, the vase was nothing but a pile of white ash. Owen looked at him calmly. "Please don't worry about me. My control over Fiendfyre has been approved by Mr. Grindelwald himself."
"No... I... fine..."
It was too late to say anything now. It was already burnt. What could be done?
The second day's work was easier. A golden bowl, after being tapped, extended a large, hairy hand. Owen didn't act immediately. Instead, he sat aside and watched the hairy hand grope around as if searching for lost money.
Thoughtfully, Owen took out a bronze Knut and placed it in the hand's palm. However, the hand found no joy in the money. Instead, it waved around angrily in the air before Owen sliced half of it off with a Sectumsempra.
The hairy hand retracted. When it emerged again, it had become a pair of hands.
Now this was interesting. Owen was curious—was there some ancient magical creature sealed inside? Cut off one hand, and two grow back?
Would hands like these fear the Cruciatus Curse?
"Crucio!"
The best tool against curses is Dark Magic. And so far, the pinnacle of Dark Magic remains the Unforgivable Curses. In the days that followed, Owen's curse-breaking work became increasingly proficient. It also enriched his understanding of curses. Indeed, some were quite fascinating—things unseen in the modern era could be found here.
Of course, there were troublesome ones, like ancient viruses. But a Bubble-Head Charm provided perfect protection, followed by guiding Fiendfyre for a lap around the room...
Curse-breaking wasn't difficult. The difficulty lay in lacking the correct, diverse range of countermeasures.
But what made Owen happiest was the content of Hermione's letter:
Professor Lockhart's leg was broken. Madam Pomfrey complained that the bone was shattered too badly to piece together, so she vanished the entire leg bone and made him drink Skele-Gro, just like Harry had experienced.
Only Lockhart's behavior was pathetic. He wailed in the Hospital Wing every day, demanding Dumbledore send him to St. Mungo's. Dumbledore refused, saying such a minor issue didn't warrant the trouble. Then, Dumbledore personally took over the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
Reading this, Owen paused for a moment: Did the old wizard send me away just so he could scratch his itch for teaching?
The letter also mentioned that since the open class, more and more people were joining the morning runs. The Slytherins weren't hoarding secrets; they generously shared the training content and methods. Now, mornings at Hogwarts were very lively.
Owen cut up some meat for the delivery owl. After sending it off with his reply, he refocused his energy on the curse-breaking work. He was starting to get the hang of it. He found the job quite interesting—at the very least, after breaking the curses, he got first dibs on viewing all sorts of ancient magical artifacts.