From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 75: Cutting out the Heart and Bones
"A closer relationship?" Ivy asked, tracing her fingers down the tear tracks on Cassandra's face. "What kind of closer relationship?"

Although Cassandra tried to remain calm, she couldn't hide the panic in her eyes. She swallowed and felt Ivy's fingers climbing up her shoulders. A kind of heat was transferred from his fingertips to Cassandra's skin, giving her many small goose bumps.

Cassandra hesitated for only a moment before pursing her lips to respond, but Ivy interrupted her before she could say anything.

"You want power?" Ivy's voice was so soft, almost a whisper, "But you need to understand that it doesn't come without a price. I'll give it to you, but only if you deserve it."

"Crucio," Ivy whispered.

The next moment, a cruel and evil magical aura bloomed from Ivy's fingertips, turning into red lightning and hitting Cassandra's shoulder.

Endless pain bloomed from the place where the curse hit, and the expression on Cassandra's beautiful face twisted again, but this time, she had no tears and could not make any sound. Only short gasps were squeezed out of her throat with difficulty, turning into a horrifying "hissing" sound.

The red lightning caused by the Cruciatus Curse did not disappear in an instant as usual, but continued to flicker on Cassandra's shoulder.

A few breaths later, a string of scarlet letters was firmly engraved on the skin near Cassandra's collarbone - "Crucio".

Ivy looked at the masterpiece on the girl's shoulder with satisfaction. It was inspired by the Dark Mark on Lucius Malfoy's left arm.

Voldemort left a name-calling curse and a locating curse in the Dark Mark, and used advanced dark magic to connect his magic with the Death Eaters. Therefore, the Death Eaters could notify each other through the Dark Mark on their arms, and even provide their companions with the coordinates of the Apparition.

Ivy's dark magic was clearly superior. Not only did he figure out the ins and outs of the Dark Mark simply by touching it with his arm, he even used his mastery of curse magic to carve an Unforgivable Curse on Cassandra's shoulder as a mark.

That scarlet spell wasn't just a variation of the Dark Mark; it was something far more terrifying. Through the curse, Ivy could connect each of the spells he'd carved, transferring a portion of the Dark Magic's power to the recipient. This would undoubtedly enhance the recipient's ability to cast Dark Magic to a certain extent. Furthermore, as the recipient's magical proficiency improved, it would also be transferred to Ivy through the connection between the spells.

Even more terrifying was the fact that the spell Ivy had carved was essentially identical to the cursed seal he'd used to unleash the chain "Avada Crunching the Melon." This meant that the lives of those who received the spell were constantly in his hands. With a single thought, he could complete the "Crushing the Melon" spell, regardless of distance.

"Perhaps it's not very beautiful?" Ivy stroked the string of scarlet letters on Cassandra's shoulder with his fingers, and then considerately used a small transformation spell to change the shape of the spell, turning it from a string of letters into a pattern that looked like water drops. Combined with the scarlet color, I believe that everyone who sees it will think it is an unconventional blood drop tattoo.

Looking at the drop of blood on the fair skin, Ivy nodded with satisfaction and said, "Now, you have obtained the power you have always dreamed of. Come and try it."

Ivy released the telekinesis that bound Cassandra, and the latter almost collapsed to the ground.

Ivy just watched all this with a smile, and had no intention of reaching out to help her up.

Cassandra panted on the ground for a moment, then with trembling hands she pulled her wand from her pocket and held it in front of her.

"Remember the spell?" Ivy coaxed. "The one I carved on your shoulder."

"Heart-crushing... bone-ripping..." Cassandra climbed up from the ground with her weak feet, muttering the spell that had brought her countless pains.

"That's right, Cruciatus." Ivy nodded and waved his hand to turn a chair in the room into a bleating sheep. "Come on, try it on it." The round, fat sheep with a pair of square pupils didn't seem to understand the situation. After looking around, it began to gnaw on the scrolls scattered on the floor.

"My spell strengthens your spellcasting ability," Ivy began to explain to Cassandra the mark on her shoulder, created by evil dark magic. "My magic is with you. Say it—Crucio."

"Hoo—" Cassandra took a deep breath, the tip of her wand still trembling. "Crucio!"

The scarlet magic turned into lightning, flew out from the tip of Cassandra's wand, and disappeared into the sheep's body in the blink of an eye.

However, nothing happened.

"No, no, no, that won't work." Ivy shook her head. "Crucio is an evil spell. You must have a clear purpose when unleashing it. According to my trick, you must enjoy the feeling of torturing your opponent from the bottom of your heart."

"Just like this." Ivy snapped her fingers, and dazzling red magic burst out from Cassandra's shoulders, quickly enveloping her entire body.

The pain brought by the Cruciatus Curse quickly took away Cassandra's strength. She arched her body like a shrimp scalded by boiling water and fell to the ground, twitching.

Ivy lowered her arms, ending Cassandra's torture.

"Try again." Ivy's voice was calm, as if he had done something insignificant, such as taking a sip of hot tea or eating a piece of bread.

Multiple near-death experiences had almost taken away all of Cassandra's strength. Her proud golden hair was wet with sweat, her lips were as white as paper, and her emerald green eyes no longer sparkled. Only her strong willpower was still supporting her from fainting.

Cassandra struggled to her feet once more, gathering her remaining focus and shouting with all her might, "Crucio!"

The scarlet magic reappeared, striking its target just as quickly as before. The sheep, leisurely chewing the note, tensed up, and before it could even utter a single scream, it collapsed to the ground, convulsing. Within seconds, it had transformed back into the chair.

"Clap clap clap."

Ivy clapped her hands. "Very impressive, Cassandra. I have a feeling you'll enjoy this power as much as you enjoyed torturing that poor sheep."

However, poor Cassandra didn't hear his words at all. She didn't even have time to check the results of her spell before she lost consciousness and fell to the ground again.

Xiaoyan, who had been squatting on a high place and watching the whole process with a proud expression, jumped down, shook his tail in disgust, and moved closer to Ivy.

"Good cat." Ivy narrowed his eyes and reached out to stroke the big cat's soft fur.

(End of this chapter)