harry potter book of crimes

"...You want...to take them away?"

When Joshua saw Maka leading a group of ragged children out of the dungeon, there was obvious panic on his face.

Maka just glanced at him and continued walking forward. Behind him, the injured children supported each other and kept up with his pace silently.

Unlike Joshua, who had already been tortured and distorted his mind, these children have only just accepted the torture, and some part of their hearts has not yet been invaded by obedience.

Even though they still dare not speak, their actions are surprisingly consistent.

"No, no...you can't take them away...the master will..."

"Do you want to go too?"

Maka stood still and interrupted him.

"...Me? No, no...I..."

"Your master has abandoned you, hasn't he?" Maka still stood there without looking back.

"...I...but...mark..."

Hearing the word "mark", Maka couldn't help but feel moved. He suddenly turned around and looked at Joshua calmly, but his eyes were unusually sharp.

"So..." Maka looked at him and said, "If I help you remove the Mark of the Deathly Hallows, will you want to leave with me?"

"Go, remove? It's impossible...I..." Joshua said incoherently, his hands tremblingly placed on his chest, where the brand mark was.

"Do you want to leave with me?"

No matter how shaken he was in his heart, Maka's voice remained as calm as ever.

Perhaps only when a certain level is reached, the "master" will give these children marks. According to Maka's previous observations, the brand mark should be completed by some kind of black magic.

"I...leave?" Joshua looked at Maka blankly, and after a while he said calmly, "Where can I go..."

"Think for yourself."

Maka dropped these words, then turned around again and walked in the direction she came from.

Joshua stood at the entrance of the dungeon, watching Maka's back getting further and further away from him, seeing that the children were not even interested in looking at him, and his hands gradually tightened.

After living here for so many years, he has never considered what it would be like if he was free, but now, this reality is clearly before his eyes.

Can that wizard who is younger than himself... be able to remove the mark given to him by his master? The mark that tortures him day after day, year after year... can it really be removed?

Maybe it's possible? That wizard is terrifyingly powerful... Maybe it's possible?

"...I want to go with you!" Joshua suddenly shouted, "I don't want to be beaten anymore! I want... to live the same life as when my mother was still here!"

The page of memory that had been dusty for a long time quietly opened in his heart, and the faded picture seemed to be displayed before his eyes again.

"...Really?" Maka finally turned around again, looked at him from a distance and said, "It's a pity that I can't give you that kind of thing... If you want it, you have to work hard on your own. I can

What I’m giving you is just an opportunity.”

After that, Maka led the children towards the restaurant, and Joshua, who was dazed, quickly caught up with them.

…

"Take off your shirt and sit down on the chair."

In the dining room of the monastery, Maca lit the firewood in the fireplace and then urged Joshua.

Joshua was entangled with some complicated emotions in his heart. He removed his clothes in silence, revealing his thin upper body with the same scars.

On his chest, the Deathly Hallows mark with a faint black and purple aura was actually not conspicuous, because the strange tendons spreading around the mark were much more eye-catching.

After he sat down on the armchair, Maka came to him with the staff and carefully explored the mystery.

"...There is no doubt that there is a curse attached to the mark. But..." Maka frowned slightly, sensing the magic power fluctuations in it, "Huh? What is this extra magic point?"

Unlike ordinary wizards, he can clearly sense magic power at close range, and it will be easier for him to analyze magic spells. Soon he discovered something suspicious in the obscure and complex magic power fluctuations.

He immediately took out a stack of manuscript paper and placed it on the table next to him. Sometimes he would lightly touch the brand mark with his magic power, and sometimes he would write and draw as if he was calculating something.

However, just when he once again observed the magic feedback and leaned forward to perform the deduction again, his hand holding the quill suddenly stopped.

Although he is particularly good at analyzing magic spells, it also takes time, and the analysis is still far from complete.

What caused him to terminate the deduction process was a particularly obvious wave of magic power!

Maka suddenly turned around, throwing away the quill in his hand, and gripped his staff again. What he saw in his eyes was the black-purple light emanating from the Mark of the Deathly Hallows on Joshua's chest.

Maka frowned, sensing the change in magic power, and cautiously took a step back, placing the staff in her hand between him and Joshua.

Immediately afterwards, Joshua suddenly fixed his eyes on him, and the cowardice in those eyes had completely disappeared. What Maka could feel at this moment was a kind of indifferent depth.

"...Hello, kid."

Joshua spoke without warning, but his tone seemed full of vicissitudes.

"Do you still like the gift I gave you?"

Maka finally confirmed what he was deducing just now - it should be a magic spell that can connect over a long distance and forcibly control the soul of the person being cast.

"...What do you mean?" Maka looked directly into those eyes and asked, "The parchment of New Mengadri?"

A meaningful smile appeared on the other party's face.

"Stop joking!" Maka sternly said, "Your plot will not succeed! I will not let you hurt any of my friends! As long as I am here, you can't even step into Hogwarts!"

"Yes, I believe you have the strength," the other party nodded slightly, "but why don't you think about it carefully, where are you now?"

As soon as these words came out, Maka's face suddenly changed. After a brief shock, his face was filled with strong anger. But before he could say anything, the other party smiled softly.

"Well, what a kind boy..."

"Joshua" turned his head, looked left and right, and nodded calmly.

"No wonder Albus would choose you. This should be to his liking, because 'love' is his truth!" He said, and sighed again, "Rescued a group of people who were trapped in the dungeon and waiting to die.

Not counting the child, you want to save even this child, you are a real Hufflepuff."

"But, can you save everyone in this world?" He looked at Maka and asked.

"This is none of your business!" Maka glared at him and said sternly, "Professor Dumbledore has kept you there for so many years, and you haven't had the slightest remorse? I'm warning you! If you dare to say anything to Huo

If Gvoz takes action, I will find you even if I search every inch of the world!"

"Really?" The other party nodded seriously and said, "I will wait for that day to come! In addition, as a good friend of your teacher, I want to give you a message - you might as well go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible.

,how?"

"What happened to Hogwarts! Please speak clearly-" Maka roared.

"Hmm...you do have a very interesting wand!"

As soon as he finished saying this, the black-purple light on Joshua's chest suddenly dimmed again, and the depth in his eyes gradually faded, turning into a look of confusion.

When Maka, who was standing in front of him, saw this, the anger on her face suddenly disappeared and she regained her usual calmness.

"Hiss—" Maka frowned and muttered softly, "It's just a few steps away from tracking her. It's a pity."

Although he was indeed a little angry, he was not that angry yet. In fact, from the moment he saw the parchment in Nurmengard Tower, he began to suspect Grindelwald's purpose.

The content on that piece of parchment was very simple. Greenwald used it to tell Maka that he was going to make a comeback and restart the great cause of subversion that was terminated by Dumbledore.

In it, he also specifically stated that Hogwarts without Dumbledore would be completely destroyed.

However, what is the point of leaving such a complete "criminal notice"? Is it just to provoke people who go there?

Yes, it was a provocation! Maka noticed the suspicion on the spot.

There is no doubt that the guy who left this kind of text, if he is not an idiot with an IQ below the passing line, must be trying to divert other people's attention.

But, what exactly does Gellert Greenwald want to do? Maka still doesn’t have any answer to this question.

In line with the principle of "the enemy's weakness is one's own weight", Maka smashed Nurmengard on the spot, and she did it cleanly and decisively, releasing her anger to her heart's content.

Even if he only had doubts in his heart at the time, that was all.

And just now, Grindelwald appeared inexplicably, making Maka suspicious again. Because the other party's appearance this time was too sudden and made no sense.

"As your teacher's good friend, I want to give you a message." Would the first-generation Dark Lord, who would do anything to achieve his goals, say such a thing?

Anyway, Maka doesn’t believe anything she says.

Of course, even so, he had to go back. Even if he knew that the other party had ulterior motives, the safety of Hogwarts was indeed a key point that he had to care about.

"But there's no need to be so anxious..."

Maka picked up the quill pen from the ground, checked whether the pen tip was broken, then dipped it in ink and continued to deduce on the manuscript paper.

Just now, while he was pretending to express his anger, he sensed something else from the activated brand mark...