Chapter 51: Passive Awakening of Ancient Magical Talent

Although David was not someone who liked to meddle in other people's affairs, he possessed an insatiable curiosity and a strong desire to learn.

Therefore, he decided to disguise himself with the Disillusionment Charm and go check out what was happening.

If he happened to encounter a situation he could handle, David wouldn't mind earning a few merit points.

Even though the system's merit point store hadn't refreshed anything interesting lately...

Although the Disillusionment Charm could not provide one hundred percent invisibility, aided by the cover of night, David silently approached the source of the noise.

"No! Wake up! It's me!"

"Hiss-roar!"

"Boom!"

"I cannot hurt you! I... please snap out of it quickly... I'm begging you..."

"Boom!"

"Ugh... I... I'm losing control... I can't hurt you, I can't..."

David found the voice extremely familiar.

Hiding behind a large tree, he cautiously poked his head out and looked toward the clearing not far ahead.

Since the trees there had been knocked down, the bright moonlight illuminated the chaos ahead.

After clearly seeing the people there, David's pupils constricted slightly.

Amidst the chaotic ruins, Aurelius was in a disheveled state, desperately dodging the attacks of a giant snake!

That giant snake was also very familiar to David; it was none other than Nagini, who had once briefly regained her sanity before letting him and Tom go!

Well, the current situation was quite clear. It must have been an old reunion, and then, for some reason, Nagini had lost her mind again.

After that, Nagini, with her bestial instincts taking over her primary consciousness, regarded Aurelius as a midnight snack...

Aurelius certainly lived up to his status as a member of the Dumbledore family.

Even when faced with Nagini's tempestuous attacks, he was still able to wave his wand and flexibly use various spells to defend himself.

However, from the looks of it, Aurelius was not doing very well.

If his body were in good condition, Nagini certainly wouldn't have been able to hurt him, but right now, Aurelius's physical state was far from fine.

This could be seen from the dark wisps constantly escaping from his body.

Without a doubt, Aurelius was barely able to suppress the Obscurial inside him anymore...

If this continued, either Aurelius would be swallowed whole by Nagini, or he would completely lose control in the end, transforming into an Obscurial and tearing Nagini to shreds!

David sighed. There was no way he could stand by and do nothing now...

During his stay at the Hog's Head, Aberforth had treated both him and Tom very well.

He had also asked Aberforth for guidance on many spells, and Aberforth had never once refused his inquiries.

Now that he saw Aberforth's son in danger, he simply had to do something...

Fortunately, saving Aurelius wasn't too difficult; he just needed to Apparate away with him.

David gauged the direction of Aurelius's retreat and Apparated ahead of time to appear right there.

Seeing someone suddenly materialize in the direction he was fleeing toward, Aurelius was startled.

"You..."

"Hold on tight!"

"Crack!"

David grabbed Aurelius and vanished from the spot instantly.

Just as their figures disappeared, Nagini's gaping maw lunged forward, biting down on nothing at all...

When David and Aurelius reappeared, they were already in the second-floor corridor of the Hog's Head.

Aurelius gripped David's arm tightly.

"No... I can't stay here! Take me away! I... I'm about to lose control!"

As Aurelius spoke, the dark mist erupting from his body grew even denser!

David felt a mild headache coming on. "My friend, you knew your own condition, why on earth did you run out?"

"I... I saw an old friend. I... I only thought about seeing her one last time... If nothing unexpected happens, this should be my final time seeing her... So..."

"You should hurry back to the attic. I heard Professor Dumbledore helped reinforce the protective magic up there," David frowned and said.

"It's useless... Once I came outside, those magic spells stopped working."

"Tsk... This isn't just irresponsible to yourself, it's irresponsible to the lives and property of others as well!" David said solemnly.

"I... I am sorry... but..." Aurelius's eyes were filled with sorrow.

Seeing Aurelius like this, David found it hard to say anything more.

He Apparated again to take him away from the Hog's Head, appearing deep within the Forbidden Forest where there was nobody around.

"You... you must leave..." Aurelius leaned against a tree, forcefully pushing David away. "I can't hold on much longer. If I lose control, I will attack every living thing around me..."

"Will you be alright?"

"I feel like I won't die just yet... As long as I push through this period... Go, leave now!" Aurelius was finding it difficult even to speak.

David didn't hesitate, turning and vanishing on the spot.

The very instant he disappeared, a violent surge of black fog erupted, sweeping fiercely through the area and turning that patch of the forest into absolute ruins...

Standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, David could still faintly hear the vibrations echoing from afar.

The violent fluctuations of magic, even from a great distance, left David shaken.

As expected of an Obscurial... the commotion they make is truly massive...

However, David had no intention of doing nothing and just waiting around.

He felt he had to find a way to notify Aberforth. At this moment, Aurelius desperately needed him.

Only... how was he supposed to tell Aberforth?

Going straight to tell him was definitely out of the question; if he did that, he wouldn't be able to hide the fact that he had learned how to Apparate.

Moreover, wandering around the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night instead of sleeping was hardly something easy to explain...

Just as David was pondering how to fabricate a reasonable excuse,

suddenly, a foul, fishy stench rushed toward him from the side!

"Shield Charm!"

David cast a Protego spell without a moment's hesitation!

No sooner had the shield formed than a gaping maw chomped down heavily upon his magical barrier!

"Bang!"

David, along with his Shield Charm, was sent flying backward into mid-air!

"Nagini?! I almost forgot about you..."

At this moment, Nagini, whose teeth were aching from the collision, let out an angry hiss and lunged to bite at David in mid-air once again!

"Crack!"

David vanished mid-air, reappearing directly behind Nagini.

In the blink of an eye, he could only resort to short-range Apparition.

However, the current David was fundamentally different from the David who had first met Nagini.

He gently waved his wand, casting a Transfiguration spell.

The withered branches on the ground suddenly seemed to come alive, writhing instantly.

The next second, countless thick vines lashed out, attempting to bind Nagini in place!

However, Nagini's strength was simply too immense. Before she could be completely wrapped up by the vines, she lashed her tail fiercely toward David!

"Boom!"

David was struck directly, slamming hard against the trunk of a large tree.

Had it not been for the protection of his Shield Charm, he would hardly have been able to endure that blow.

Even so, David was left with a buzzing head.

Furthermore, a massive crack had appeared across his Shield Charm.

After all, although David's magical power was on par with an adult wizard, his physical body was still only eleven years old and exceedingly frail...

Just as David was preparing to Apparate away, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

It wasn't the danger posed by Nagini that triggered this intuition, but rather...

David quickly turned his pockets inside out, dumping out a handful of shattered glass fragments...

It was the glass bottle that had contained the ancient magic power... except that the magical energy inside had completely vanished.

David finally realized what felt wrong, because he discovered that something within his body had suddenly awakened.

At that very moment, he could clearly sense a strange and powerful force waking up deep inside him...

The feeling was just like playing a video game where, right beneath your original mana bar, an entirely separate, independent mana bar suddenly appears!

And that new bar was flashing wildly... as if his ultimate skill was fully charged and ready to go...

David immediately understood—this was ancient magic!

He had unwittingly absorbed the ancient magic power from the bottle earlier, directly activating the hidden ancient magic slumbering within his own body!

In that instant, David felt his body surging with a unique power, eagerly longing to unleash itself!

At the same time, for reasons unknown, Nagini's violent struggling within the vines suddenly began to subside!

David stared intently at Nagini before him, a flash of red light crossing his eyes.

"Whoosh!"

As David swept his wand through the air,

Nagini's massive serpentine body began to rapidly shrink down!