Although Daphne wasn't well-versed in healing, she could tell from Rhys' expression and her sister's changing complexion that the treatment had gone smoothly.
Had her sister escaped danger? That large, dark mass from earlier—was that the curse embedded in her soul? And that red potion… it seemed to have worked really well…
A flurry of chaotic thoughts collided in Daphne's mind.
Rhys, however, had no time for such distractions.
He methodically fed Astoria various strange potions, one after another. By the time the stone platform was nearly covered with empty vials, the girl had already returned to normal.
If not for the lingering scent of blood in the air, Astoria would have looked just like she was peacefully sleeping on the platform.
When Rhys finally stopped administering potions and instead began cleaning up the bloodstains on the floor, Daphne understood—the "surgery" was over. Looking at her sister's face, an answer formed in her heart, but she didn't dare to say it aloud.
Seeing her hesitation, how could Rhys not know what she was thinking?
"Astoria's condition is even better than I expected. Once she recovers properly, she'll be fully cured," Rhys stated matter-of-factly.
He wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. Initially, he had estimated that Astoria would need at least two soul surgeries to completely remove the curse. Yet, against all odds, they had succeeded in just one attempt. Even he was surprised by the outcome.
"Fully cured? You mean—" Daphne froze in shock.
"Yes, from now on, she has nothing to do with the curse anymore."
Daphne: "!!!"
A tidal wave of shock crashed through her mind, completely overwhelming her thoughts. For a moment, her brain couldn't even process the information.
"Uh… what do you mean by 'nothing to do with it'? I mean—I want to say—Thank the Merlin's beard!"
Rhys: "??"
Wait, what does this have to do with Merlin?! Even if she didn't know it was Salazar Slytherin's magic that saved her, calling on Merlin was still completely unnecessary!
Under Rhys' death glare, Daphne's rationality quickly snapped back into place.
"You mean the curse on her… is completely gone?"
"That's right. And for the record, even if Merlin himself showed up, he wouldn't have been able to solve this problem."
Rhys seriously doubted that Merlin had the ability to pull this off. Not even Godric, Rowena, or Helga could have done it. The only one who could save Astoria… was him.
After receiving Rhys' confirmation, Daphne suddenly choked up. Her emotions were a tangled mess, and she didn't know what to say.
Her father had spent years searching, consulting countless doctors, alchemists, and potioneers for her sister, and now—at last—her illness was cured!
It took her a full minute to calm down before she murmured in a muffled voice, "I don't even know how to repay you…"
"It's fine. After all, she's someone learning magic from me." Rhys waved a hand dismissively. Saving Astoria was simply something he wanted to do—he didn't need a reason. If he had to give one, he could chalk it up to the entanglement between himself and the Greengrass family. Besides, solving a problem that no one else could figure out was incredibly satisfying.
Daphne led Astoria out of the Chamber of Secrets.
...
Once back, Astoria slept in the dormitory for two whole days and nights. Just before her roommates' patience hit its breaking point, she finally woke up.
"Merlin's beard, you're finally awake! If you slept any longer, we were going to get Professor Snape."
"If your sister hadn't warned us in advance, we would've gone to the teachers already."
"What happened to you? How did you end up sleeping so deeply?"
As soon as Astoria woke up, she was met with the excited chatter of her roommates buzzing around her ears. She blinked, her consciousness gradually returning as she recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness.
It felt like she had just woken up from an incredibly long dream, but she couldn't remember a single detail of it.
"Uh… I'm fine…" She tried her best to sit up, and at that moment, her stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl.
Astoria: "…"
She hadn't eaten anything for two whole days!
She had never felt this hungry before, yet at the same time, she had never felt so good—like a tremendous weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.
Her roommates immediately bolted out of the dormitory to fetch Daphne, and in an instant, the whole room became lively and chaotic…
After removing the curse from Astoria's soul, Rhys didn't pay her any further special attention. In his eyes, as long as she was given proper nourishment after waking up, she would be able to live like any other healthy child.
So, on the morning of the second day after the treatment, he ventured into the dungeons beneath the seal to find Ravenclaw.
When he finally saw her, she had just finished clearing out the dark creatures that had escaped from the seal.
"That must have been exhausting."
Hearing Rhys's words, Ravenclaw glanced at him.
"If you really think so, you could step into the seal and help me suppress those creatures."
Rhys let out an awkward chuckle.
"Next time, for sure. By the way, do you want to take a look at this?" He pulled Riddle's diary from his robes and handed it to Ravenclaw.
"A Horcrux?" Ravenclaw recognized it at a glance.
"Yes." Rhys nodded and explained how he had used the Horcrux in Astoria's treatment.
After hearing his explanation, even Ravenclaw couldn't help but nod in approval, acknowledging that it was indeed an ingenious solution.
"I feel like it could still be useful—perhaps as a vessel to absorb the remaining corruption in your body—"
Ravenclaw raised an eyebrow: So your student gets a brand-new one, and I get second-hand? Salazar, you're getting bolder.
But she could understand—after all, the young girl's soul wasn't strong enough. If she were in Rhys's position, she would have handed Salazar a second-hand Horcrux too.
"You've worked hard, still thinking of me at a time like this..." Ravenclaw responded in a calm tone, then began actively expelling the corruption from her body.
Her method was simple: she directly summoned the fragment of Voldemort's soul that had been grafted onto her. By now, the floating head had turned as black as ink, its features completely distorted.
Ravenclaw pressed the tumor-like entity against Riddle's diary. In an instant, the diary let out a chilling, bloodcurdling scream.
The soul fragment inside, along with the curse, was subjected to an intense wave of corruption.
About fifteen minutes passed. The "tumor" on Ravenclaw's shoulder had turned into a murky gray-black mass, while Riddle's diary looked like it had been drenched in ink—all its pages had turned pitch black.
This was a method Ravenclaw had devised to resist corruption after regaining her sanity.
She first concentrated the corruption onto Voldemort's soul, then, once a proper vessel was found, expelled the contamination from it—essentially using Voldemort's soul as a temporary holding station.
"Very good. The effect is quite remarkable."
Feeling the newfound lightness in her soul, a smile appeared on Ravenclaw's lips.
_______
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