Chapter 134: The Blood Curse of the Greengrass Family

Hearing Silvan’s description, Madam Darrel’s expression turned serious.

"Come with me to the hospital wing," she said to Silvan and Alcyone.

As it happened, most of the young wizards had already dispersed, so they were not held up by the crowds at the Great Hall’s entrance. They made their way smoothly to the hospital wing on the fourth floor of the castle. Inside, the infirmary remained as it was: gothic floor-to-ceiling windows, pristine white curtains, spotless bedsheets, and the somewhat pungent scent of potions.

Silvan had visited once during the previous school year, so he still had some impression of the environment. However, that time he had been unconscious, brought directly to a hospital bed by Dumbledore. This was his first time walking here under his own power.

Madam Darrel led them inside, settled Silvan in a nearby chair, and then proceeded to give Alcyone a thorough physical examination. As the checkup concluded, Madam Darrel’s expression grew increasingly puzzled.

"Strange. Are you sure you are suffering from a serious condition?" she asked, looking perplexed. "If the results of this examination are correct, you should be perfectly healthy."

"I’m not sure if it counts as serious, but this condition started appearing two months ago," Alcyone said nervously. "It happens every few weeks, and I recover after a few hours. I don’t know why."

Silvan added from the side, "It happened this afternoon on the train. Al was weak and pale, lying in her seat for a long time."

Madam Darrel frowned, looking utterly bewildered. "That is strange. What kind of illness could be so elusive that it leaves no trace?"

"It is not an illness—it is a blood curse!"

Just as Madam Darrel felt at a loss, a gentle male voice came from the doorway of the infirmary. Silvan looked up to see a wizard entering, sporting curly lake-blue hair and wearing a tailored, gold-trimmed wizarding robe with lapels.

"Professor Enriques, what brings you here?" Madam Darrel asked, looking at the man with surprise.

"I heard this young lady’s symptoms in the Great Hall, and they sounded familiar, so I thought I would come and take a look," Professor Enriques said with a gentle smile.

"Does that mean you know the cause of Al’s condition?" Silvan asked quickly.

"If I am not mistaken, it is indeed a blood curse," Professor Enriques nodded. "In fact, blood curses hide in the deepest parts of a wizard’s body, making them impossible to detect with routine examinations."

"I see." Madam Darrel nodded in sudden realization and then asked, "So, do you know how to treat this ‘blood curse’?"

Professor Enriques hesitated for a moment before chuckling softly. "Let us not get ahead of ourselves; we haven’t yet confirmed if the young lady is truly afflicted."

He then looked at Alcyone and asked gently, "Young lady, have you ever been hit by a severe curse since you were born, or does your family have a history of chronic hereditary diseases?"

"A curse?!" Silvan was startled by the question. "So, this 'blood curse' is a type of curse?"

"Precisely. A blood curse is an extremely powerful hex that very few are capable of casting," Professor Enriques explained. "It is a hereditary curse that can reappear in the descendants of the victim. Simply put, think of it as a parasitic entity that resides within a wizard’s bloodline, coexisting with them over time. It only dissipates once it has completely consumed the host!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Silvan’s face turned grave. He looked at Alcyone, whose expression was frantic.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been cursed," she said, trembling. "But many in my family have indeed suffered from poor health..."

"A family history, then?" Professor Enriques’s face grew solemn. "Extend your right hand. Let me examine you."

Alcyone timidly rolled up her sleeve and extended her right arm, revealing a fair forearm. She glanced at Silvan helplessly as she looked into the Professor’s serious eyes. Silvan managed a comforting smile, standing beside her and placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

Professor Enriques drew his wand and tapped it lightly on Alcyone’s wrist. A point of white light emerged from the tip of his wand. As it appeared, it flowed along the veins in her wrist, traveling down her arm and causing her blood vessels to glow with a faint, white luster.

The further the light traveled down her arm, the dimmer it became. By the time it reached her elbow, it had turned a murky, abyssal black. At the same time, Alcyone’s face turned visibly pale.

"Professor, Al doesn't look well..." Silvan said nervously.

Professor Enriques nodded and withdrew his wand with a somber expression. The light on Alcyone’s arm vanished, and her skin returned to its fair, clear state.

"Are you from the Greengrass family?" Professor Enriques asked suddenly.

Alcyone nodded weakly, looking at the professor with confusion, wondering how he could have known.

"In truth, I have been quite interested in bloodline magic since I was young," the professor explained, sensing her bewilderment. "Blood curses fall under the system of bloodline magic. When I first studied the subject, I heard of the hereditary blood curse within the Greengrass family."

"The Greengrass curse is quite renowned in the circles of bloodline magic," he continued. "Moreover, it is rare to see a blood curse retain such intensity after so many generations."

"But my family never told me anything about a blood curse," Alcyone said, still feeling lost.

"The probability of the curse manifesting is low," the professor said softly. "Perhaps your family didn’t want you to worry unnecessarily."

"So, do you have a way to cure her?" Silvan asked.

To the disappointment of both Silvan and Alcyone, Professor Enriques slowly shook his head. "You overestimate me," he said helplessly. "Among those who study bloodline magic, many experts have a common name for the Greengrass curse—they call it the 'Curse of the Grim Reaper'!"

"Even if that might be an exaggeration, it confirms the sheer power of this hex."

"I am very sorry... I am powerless to help."