By borrowing the magic of Hogwarts, Victor Wick successfully suppressed the curse on Dumbledore, even confining it to his ring finger for a time.
This was the powerful magical foundation of the thousand-year-old Hogwarts Castle.
Now, Dumbledore only needed to stay within Hogwarts, avoid using magic, and spend his days drinking tea and reading books to ensure the curse did not worsen.
Of course, Victor hoped that everyone present would keep the matter of Professor Dumbledore's curse a secret.
Victor was determined to save Dumbledore.
At such a critical juncture, if the most powerful 'hero unit' was taken out of the equation, wouldn't all the responsibility fall on him?
He was a very busy man! There was still a Dark Lord waiting for his 'guidance' outside!
As Victor was leaving, he glanced at the portrait of Ariana on the wall.
In the painting, the girl's smile had vanished. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on Victor, full of pleading...
After understanding the nature of the curse, Victor had indeed come up with an excellent solution.
He simply needed to create a substitute doll for Dumbledore.
However, considering it would be quite unbecoming for a respected old wizard to carry a doll around all day, Victor decided to use a ring as the substitute instead.
He had previously obtained a strand of Dumbledore's magic to serve as bait.
Then, he would craft an artificial soul modeled after Dumbledore's and infuse it with that magic...
He had already successfully performed this experiment on a Chimaera.
It wouldn't fool a real person, but it was enough to trick the curse's underlying code and trigger its activation.
At that point, he would link Hogwarts' magic to the ring finger.
As long as Dumbledore did not use magic, the curse's power would naturally follow the only available magic source and flow into the ring.
The curse would then mistake the artificial soul within the ring for its target and launch its attack.
At this stage, Dumbledore's life would be saved, but Victor wouldn't stop there.
Because while Dumbledore's life would be preserved, he still wouldn't be able to use magic.
Since the curse had already permeated his body, even if the primary target shifted to the soul in the ring, the traces that had already invaded Dumbledore wouldn't fully dissipate.
Once Dumbledore used magic again, those dormant remnants—no matter how weak—would be reactivated and infect his soul once more.
This was not the outcome Victor desired.
Therefore, a second step was required... a thorough virus sweep!
He needed to install 'antivirus software' on Dumbledore to eradicate all the 'Trojans' left behind.
Once most of the curse power was lured into the ring, suppressing the remaining scattered fragments became much easier.
Three days later, Victor brought the ring to the Headmaster's office and placed it on Dumbledore's finger.
"Only three days..."
Feeling the suppressed curse power slowly trickling down his finger and into the ring.
Dumbledore looked at Victor with profound admiration. Clearly, the ring was working, and Victor had poured his heart and soul into its creation.
"A fatal curse I thought was certain death, and you've solved it in just three days... Victor, and you still say you're not a genius?"
"I'm no genius, just an overworked laborer forced into overtime... And don't get careless. This method is only theoretically sound. We'll have to see how it performs over the next few days. For now, it's just a temporary fix." Victor frowned, carefully monitoring the ring's condition.
In just a few seconds, that alchemical ring had become the most toxic dark magic object imaginable.
Once removed from Dumbledore's hand, this ring would kill whoever touched it instantly...
Dumbledore looked at Victor's dark circles and felt moved. "Victor, thank you for your hard work... You didn't have to push yourself so much."
With the curse power suppressed, Dumbledore would be perfectly fine as long as he refrained from using magic.
Victor hadn't actually needed to work day and night with such disregard for sleep to finish the ring.
But Victor had clearly devoted all his energy to saving him over the past few days.
"I'm not that noble... actually, I wasn't in that much of a hurry, but... I promised someone I'd get you fixed up as soon as possible," Victor said softly.
"Who?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
Who else could it be?
Recalling the way little Ariana had looked at him, pleading so desperately...
Victor couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
That silly girl had even begged Victor to pause the modeling work for her physical body, only hoping her brother could be cured as soon as possible.
Any normal person would have found such a scene hard to resist.
Victor didn't answer. Instead, he produced a pendant. "This is a Magic-Lock Pendant; put it on. For a wizard of your level, magic is cast with just a thought, so I'm afraid you might use it accidentally and ruin everything. I'll check on you again in a few days."
In reality, a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber had control over magic that was nothing short of mastery; even without the pendant, there was no real concern. Otherwise, Dumbledore would have succumbed during the three days it took to make the ring.
Victor did this because he was worried that if Dumbledore caught a glimpse of Ariana, his emotions might spike, causing his magic to flare uncontrollably.
After all, most of Dumbledore's power was rooted in 'love,' making it extremely sensitive to his emotions.
Dumbledore followed Victor's advice and hung the pendant around his neck.
Almost immediately, he felt his vast magic settle into total silence.
After so many years as a wizard, this was Dumbledore's first time experiencing what it was like to be a Muggle...
For his own magic to be suppressed so directly proved that Victor had indeed forged a unique magical path of his own.
"Oh... the style of this pendant is quite handsome. I like it very much," Dumbledore said with a smile.
Victor shrugged. 'Ariana picked it for you. You'd like it even more if you knew.'
Of course, if the matter of summoning souls weren't so inconceivable, and if Ariana weren't worried that Dumbledore's reaction would be too intense for the locket to handle—pleading with Victor not to say anything yet—he would have brought her to Dumbledore already.
"How is the situation on the other side?" Dumbledore asked about Voldemort after admiring his new pendant.
"I plan to give him a physical body. One that's not very easy to move." Victor shrugged and smiled. "I'm afraid he'll run away."
Dumbledore understood Victor's intent immediately.
While Voldemort was attached to Quirrell, he could easily seize control of the body and flee or even counterattack at the first sign of trouble.
But if he were given a body that was difficult to move and had been tampered with, it wouldn't be easy for his soul to break free and escape...
"Oh, Victor... you're truly wicked! But I like it!"
"Keeping him right under our noses is indeed much more reassuring than before," Dumbledore praised Victor's plan sincerely.
In the past, with Voldemort hiding in the shadows, Dumbledore always felt a sense of unease.
But now, with Voldemort right there where they could see him, it was far more comforting.
As long as Victor kept Voldemort occupied, hunting for Horcruxes wouldn't be as urgent as before.
"The situation is looking great. The advantage is ours..." Dumbledore remarked with emotion.
"Hey! Don't say that!" Victor quickly cut off Dumbledore's flag-raising. "I'm leaving now. The Dark Lord must be getting impatient..."
Seeing Victor rush off to deal with Voldemort right after solving his own problem, Dumbledore felt a wave of guilt. He had once said Victor's work wouldn't be too taxing, but now he couldn't honor that promise.
"Victor, thank you again for your hard work..."
"Triple pay!" Victor held up three fingers. "It's not really about the money; I just care about your attitude as a leader!"
Dumbledore felt those words were a bit strange.
"Over the next few days, I'll meet with the Board of Governors to discuss hiring more professors." Dumbledore decided to help lighten Victor's load.
"I don't have many suggestions for the other posts, but... for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, you should find someone truly vile, the kind the Ministry can't even touch. That position is cursed; don't waste it on a good person." Victor waved his hand and left the office.
Dumbledore was moved. Even while so busy, Victor hadn't forgotten to look out for others?
"Good boy... I really didn't misjudge you!"
Victor left the Headmaster's office and pulled out a Communication Stone.
"Hello? Dorcas... are you free?"
"Yes, do you want me to come over and keep you company?"
"No... I want you to help me find a deserted island, the more remote the better. Preferably in international waters, the kind not even a Muggle map can find."
"Tsk... what do you want a deserted island for?"
Dorcas Meadowes was clearly disappointed. This dog of a man hadn't contacted her in ages, and when he finally did, it was to ask for a favor?
"I want to find a place for my retirement. You know... that wicked old man Dumbledore has been exploiting me. My heart is tired... I need to prepare for my future life of leisure!"
"You're badmouthing Professor Dumbledore like that... does he know? Fine... I'll find it for you," Dorcas said helplessly, though her tone lacked any real enthusiasm.
Victor blinked and started 'painting a big pie' for his ex-girlfriend. "Find a place with good scenery. You know, once I retire, I probably won't be living there alone..."
"I'll go look right now!" Dorcas's tone turned excited instantly.
Hanging up the Communication Stone, Victor let out a tired sigh. 'Simple. I knew I could handle you.'
Next...
"Dear Mr. Dark Lord, it's your turn!"
"I hope the sweet dreams I've prepared for you will keep you from being bored during your long hibernation."
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