Covenant

Chapter 26 Covenant

I didn't see Baron again until after the Christmas holidays.

During his ten-plus-day vacation, Avada was constantly on edge. All he could do was go to the Room of Requirement every day to check on Professor Baker's condition and make sure nothing else went wrong.

Finally, upon seeing the palm-sized parchment that Baron had brought back, along with the few rough terms on it, Avada finally voiced his doubt:

"This is the 'perfectly comprehensive contract' you were talking about?"

"Oh, this is the table of contents."

Baron said calmly, then extended his wand and gently touched the parchment. With a "pop," it suddenly became much thicker, and then Baron unfolded it, unfolded it, and unfolded it again...

Finally, a parchment the size of a carpet was laid out completely before Avada, and the fine, dense writing on it sent chills down his spine at just a glance. Under his magical senses, the stability, vastness, and complexity of the magical structure contained in this contract far surpassed that of the contract he had signed with the Department of Mysteries.

"Besides their daily chores, my house-elves also participate in some family business matters—because they are absolutely loyal and will not divulge secrets, even Legilimency and Veritaserum are difficult to use. Therefore, some of them have a very deep understanding of magical contracts, and with my supervision, there shouldn't be any problems. Read it once and take a look."

"You have several house-elves at home?" Avada was somewhat surprised: Even old noble families like the Malfoy and Black families only have one house-elf!

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Baron was puzzled as to why Avada would ask such a question, so he pushed the contract to Avada and urged him to read it quickly. Avada had no choice but to lie down on the ground in despair, turn a quill into a magnifying glass, and begin to examine it word by word—there was no other way, as a magical contract could only be carried on a single sheet of paper to ensure its integrity and durability.

It took him several hours to read through the contract—when he looked up, he felt a blur before his eyes and almost lost blood to his head.

This contract imposes comprehensive restrictions and constraints on Professor Beck's identity, experience, behavior, subjective goals, and many other aspects: if Professor Beck can meet the following requirements, such as never intentionally harming innocent people since he became an adventurer, and the things he needs Avada and Baron to do are not too dangerous for them and will absolutely not harm anyone other than Professor Beck himself and "Fake Beck", and after completing the goal, he will not engage in any behavior that harms Avada and Baron, such as threatening, silencing, deleting or modifying memories, etc., etc., then this contract will not harm Professor Beck in the slightest.

Correspondingly, the contract also imposed certain restrictions on Avada and Baron's behavior. For example, they were not allowed to disclose matters that at least two of the three considered "not to be told" without permission, and they were required to do their best to help Professor Baker achieve his goal before Professor Baker was freed, provided that the risks were controllable.

The extensive definition of terms and restrictions makes the entire contract airtight, leaving no room for loopholes or exploitation of the rules to achieve anything beyond what is agreed upon once signed.

Avada felt that even if the Horcrux Journal came, as long as he signed the contract, Avada would be willing to help him possess Voldemort's body!

So, on the very night Avada read the contract, he and Baron returned to the Room of Requirement and presented it to Professor Baker.

After half an hour.

"I've finished reading it."

Whether it was my imagination or not, Professor Baker's voice sounded somewhat weary, and even his mental energy seemed a little weak: "Very detailed... no, it's far too detailed. Even those black wizards who specialize in contract fraud couldn't come up with such detailed clauses!"

"That makes sense. If you're willing, you can sign it with me now. You should know how to sign a Spirit Imprint Contract, right?"

"certainly."

Avada and Baron nodded—Baron had already explained the signing method to Avada beforehand.

"Great, shall we begin now?"

Professor Baker spoke lightly, and at the same time, streaks of blue starlight began to emanate from the black crystal ball, as if it contained a universe. Avada also sensed Professor Baker's spiritual power projecting onto the contract through the crystal ball, and quietly awaited the two of them.

Baron held his breath, staring intently at a complex and wondrous rune on the contract. Drawn by that rune, his mental energy was projected onto the contract, merging with Professor Beck's. Seeing this, Avada followed suit, projecting his own mental energy onto it.

Instantly, the parchment shone brightly, and a powerful and strange magical force surged from within the contract, flowing directly into the three individuals' spiritual bodies and leaving a barely perceptible mark. If any of them harbored any intention to violate the contract, the mark would warn the others; and if anyone actually violated the contract, they would suffer the backlash from the mark.

The marks on Avada and Baron were relatively harmless, as the backlash would only severely damage them; however, the backlash on Professor Baker's side was enough to kill him!

Feeling the magical imprint firmly embedded in his mind, Avada couldn't help but marvel at the power of the mental imprint contract. Even with his magical senses, he couldn't think of a way to break it for a moment!

As the light on the parchment gradually faded, Avada, Baron, and Professor Baker simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief, their entire being (the ball) visibly relaxed—they were now a team that could trust each other.

"Now that the contract has been signed, we can finally communicate with peace of mind and speak our minds."

Professor Baker's tone was noticeably lighthearted: "Mr. Ken, Mr. Shafik, your magical abilities far surpass those of first-year students, don't you?"

"To determine how to develop the most suitable plan for you, please show me your full capabilities without reservation."

"I have mastered all the spells, transfiguration, and defense against the dark arts from the first to the third year on my own," Baron said first. "In addition, I also know two dark spells: one is a variant of the freezing spell, and the other can quickly heal any limb injury, but it will cause a severe backlash after a few hours."

"You also know black magic?" Avada asked, glancing sideways.

"My family taught me that it's not safe for me to be out alone."

"..."

Avada suspected that there was a prophet in the Shafik family—most people believed that Hogwarts was the safest place in all of Britain, and that was indeed the case before Harry Potter enrolled.

"My words,"

Avada continued, "Besides all the magic from first to third year, I also know the Ironclad Charm, Stunning Charm, Confusion Charm, and Barrier Charm. In addition, I have a mind-link spell that allows me to communicate directly with others in my mind."

"very good!"

Professor Baker was overjoyed: "Your abilities are even greater than I expected! This means that 'my other self' will be less wary of you, creating many favorable conditions for you!"

"Luckily, it was the two of you who found me. If it had been some other wizard who was older but not very strong, I probably would have had to go through a lot more trouble..."

"Now, let me explain my plan. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I can adjust it according to your needs—after all, you've already given me a lot of leeway."

(End of this chapter)