Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

Cedric looked at Fred's injured leg and suddenly realized what was going on.

"Let me see." Eric took the anti-curse hat, tentatively channeling magic into it to attack the hat.

*Snap*, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the hat, easily breached by Eric.

Cedric and the twins heard the sound and looked at the hat in Eric's hand.

Eric immediately stopped, thought for a while, and then casually returned it to George.

In situations like this, just keeping a smile should be fine, right?

Cedric remained silent, looked up at the sky, and pretended not to see it.

Fred and George were quite easygoing. George said, "At least you've helped us prove one thing right: never wear this hat in front of you."

Eric looked at Fred's opponent, Clement of Ravenclaw, the same Ravenclaw prefect who had led Eric into the small room in the Great Hall.

What a coincidence, it's him again.

Chapter 106 The Soul-stealing Curse

Once was an accident, twice was a coincidence, and now he's run into Clement. Eric doesn't think this can be explained by fate.

With his mind set on it, Eric kept a close eye on Clement.

On the surface, Clement was no different from the others, a silhouette made of gray and white, but Eric noticed something unusual.

Eric had warned Cedric and Wood in the small room of the auditorium that Clement might have a problem, and now it turns out his intuition was right.

As Eric took a few steps closer, he immediately noticed a faint wisp of black smoke rising from Clement's head, somewhat similar to the black smoke emanating from the Dementors.

Black smoke?

Something doesn't look right.

Through observations of Dementors using Mental Stance, Eric knew that his Mental Stance could see through changes in the soul and emotions.

Now, the same black smoke found on Clement has also been discovered, just like that of the Dementors.

This indicates that Clement has been altered by magic.

Compound decoction?

No, it shouldn't be. Eric's mental state allows him to access a lot of information that is overlooked in the subconscious. If it were such an obvious method as compound decoction, Eric would have noticed something was wrong long ago.

Is that the Soul-Stealing Curse? An unbreakable vow? Or something else?

Eric knows a lot about methods of controlling people, but he lacks the clues to figure out what exactly is wrong with Clement.

These methods are all possible.

Eric asked Fred, "Did he use any unusual abilities when he dueled with you?"

Fred was puzzled: "Strange abilities? No, what's wrong?"

"fine."

Cedric looked thoughtful and exchanged a glance with Eric.

Eric nodded slightly, and Cedric understood, recalling what Eric had told him, and became secretly wary of Clement.

Clement walked over and greeted him: "Eric."

"Senior, congratulations on advancing." Eric said calmly.

Clement asked Fred with concern, "Are you alright, Fred?"

Fred clutched his leg and said, "It's okay, you played very well."

Clement nodded, then turned to Eric and asked, "I heard you had a fight with Professor Snape, Eric?"

Wow, everyone around Eric looked at him.

Fred and George were busy dueling and weren't in the same venue as Eric, so they didn't know about this.

Cedric, on the other hand, had become numb to Eric's actions.

He wasn't surprised at all when someone told him that Eric would become Minister of Magic tomorrow.

George gave him a thumbs up: "You're awesome! Everyone else is trying to avoid Snape, but you actually dared to beat him up. From now on, you're my brother."

Fred retorted, dissatisfied, "Then what am I?"

George said, "Do I look older than you?"

Fred angrily retorted, "My mother gave birth to me first."

Cedric was speechless. Was it really necessary for the twins to argue about who was older?

Eric said, "You misheard. Professor Snape only gave me some pointers on dueling techniques."

“You’re very good too.” Clement nodded. “I still need to prepare for the next match, so I’ll go first.”

Eric said, "Goodbye, senior."

After Clement left, Cedric asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Eric said, "I don't know."

"do not know?"

“I don’t know if it’s a soul-stealing curse or some other method,” Eric explained.

Cedric was startled and instinctively looked at Fred, who was lying on the ground still joking and bickering with George.

Cedric didn't ask Eric how he discovered it or what evidence he had to suspect Clement. There was no need to ask; Eric wouldn't joke about something like that.

Eric stopped them, saying, "Don't tell them. If we're defeated by this method, Fred will definitely be unhappy, and it will easily alert them."

Cedric said seriously, "The Imperius Curse has a range limitation. Unless the person who cast the Imperius Curse on him is extremely powerful, they must still be within the castle's perimeter. However, if it really is the Imperius Curse, it is almost impossible for us to find the person who cast it on Clement. The Imperius Curse is characterized by its ease of concealment and almost no trace left."

Eric said, "That's why I dare not draw any conclusions. We must first find the person who might have cast the curse on him before we can make any accusations, otherwise it would be baseless slander."

“Difficult.” Cedric pondered. “I can’t think of a good solution. On the surface, Clement’s performance today was perfectly normal. If you hadn’t mentioned the Imperius Curse, I wouldn’t have noticed that some of his little details were off. He’s not like the usual Clement at all.”

Eric asked, "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Cedric said, "I'm a year below Clement and we're in different houses, so we don't have much contact. But we're close in age, so I know him a little. He's a good student, which is why he's a prefect, and he's quite capable. But he's shy and introverted. To be frank, he's not the type of person who would come up to you and say hello."

Eric nodded, recalling how Clement had approached him and struck up a conversation as he entered the auditorium.

Before this, they had barely met, and even when they bumped into each other in the common room, they would only nod politely. Eric didn't even know the other person's name before.

Furthermore, according to Professor Flitwick, Clement refused Professor Flitwick's invitation to nominate him as the Ravenclaw representative after witnessing Eric use the Patronus Charm on the Quidditch pitch.

After Cedric said that, the matter became connected.

Would an introverted, shy person, who is even somewhat afraid of contacting strangers, take the initiative to approach Eric and strike up a conversation, reminding Eric to be wary of other opponents?

It is possible, but unlikely.

Furthermore, Eric's discovery of Clement's abnormalities through his mental state confirms that this person is problematic.

Cedric said, "If he is indeed under the influence of the Imperius Curse, then the wizard who cast the curse on him must be very powerful. Could it be Black? There have been rumors recently that he infiltrated the castle."

Eric said noncommittally, "It's possible, but if it involves Blake, then it's beyond our control."

Eric knew Sirius wouldn't do that, but he couldn't reveal that he knew.

Cedric thought about it and agreed with Eric.

Eric said, "Take Fred to the school infirmary first. If you run into Clement later, be careful; he might not be the same Clement anymore."

Cedric cautiously agreed, and George behind him asked, "What are you two whispering about? Come on, Fred, you're heavy."

George used a levitation spell to lift Fred up. Fred swayed in the air, looking panicked, as if afraid that George might accidentally drop him.

“Here they come.” Eric also took out his wand and first used a spell to do a simple hemostasis and immobilization for Fred, before having Cedric and George use a levitation charm to send Fred to the school infirmary.

The curse cannot completely heal the pain, it can only temporarily suppress it. For any serious illness or minor injury, the school clinic is always the first choice.

Chapter 107 Finals

Eric discovers he might have a knack for prophecy.

Just after he privately discussed Clement with Cedric, George, who had already advanced, found himself facing Clement in the next round.

The twins unexpectedly ran into Clement one after the other.

This was truly a coincidence.

The draw was conducted by Dumbledore and the heads of the four houses, using a very obscure spell, not a magic tool with fixed rules like the Goblet of Fire.

If someone can bypass Dumbledore and manipulate the lottery results, then Eric has nothing to say.

After Eric took Fred to the school infirmary, he and Cedric returned to the stadium to watch the game.

George had arrived at the venue before them and was fiddling with some magical props. Seeing them arrive, he said confidently, "Watch me. Once I win this match, I'll show off in front of Fred."

Cedric cautioned, "Don't be careless, George, and don't use those magical gadgets you made yourselves."

George wanted to continue joking, but he was taken aback when he saw Cedric's serious expression: "What's wrong?"

Eric said, "Listen to us, go all out, and don't try to win with items like the anti-curse hat; they're probably useless."

The rules of the Duel Club do not prohibit the use of potions, plants, and magical items, as long as they do not involve dark magic.

But apart from twins, few people are willing to invest too much in such small competitions.

Only the top three finishers in the competition receive prize money, and potions and other items that can be used in battle are generally very expensive.

Fred and George were simply there to have fun and test their products, which is why they were so unrestrained.

Neither of them cared about the outcome; they enjoyed the process.

Hearing Eric's words, George became serious, because Eric didn't sound like he was joking.

Over there, the referee was already urging George to enter the field.

George put away the anti-curse hat and other items, gave Eric and the other man a thumbs-up again, and walked onto the field.

"The duel begins!" After George and Clement were ready, the referee shouted, announcing the start of the match.

As soon as Clement made his move, Cedric exclaimed, "This is definitely not Clement himself. I sparred with him in Charms class, and this is definitely not the strength he should have."