After the Christmas holidays, Avada finally met Baron again.
Throughout the ten-odd days of break, Avada had been on edge. The only thing he could do was visit the Room of Requirement once a day to check Professor Baker's condition and confirm that no new mishaps had occurred.
At last, when he saw the palm-sized parchment Baron brought back—and the few rough lines of clauses written upon it—Avada finally voiced his doubts:
"This is the 'absolutely foolproof contract' you mentioned?"
"Oh, that's the table of contents."
Baron spoke calmly. He tapped the parchment lightly with his wand, and with a boom, it instantly thickened by several folds. Then Baron began unfolding it… and unfolding… and unfolding…
By the end, a sheet of parchment the size of a carpet lay fully spread out before Avada. The densely packed lines of fine print made his scalp tingle after only a single glance. Under Magical Perception, the stability, magnitude, and complexity of the magical structure woven into the contract far exceeded the one he had signed with the Department of Mysteries.
"My family's house-elves don't just handle chores. Some of them also participate in business matters—because they are absolutely loyal and incapable of leaking information. Even Legilimency and Veritaserum rarely affect them. A few of them have very deep research experience in magical contracts. With their help, plus my supervision, there shouldn't be any issues. Read through it."
"You have several house-elves at home?" Avada was stunned. Even the Malfoys and the Blacks—both ancient noble houses—only had one!
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Baron looked genuinely puzzled by the question, then pushed the contract toward Avada and urged him to hurry up and read. Avada could only collapse hopelessly onto the floor, transfiguring a quill into a magnifying glass before painstakingly examining the text word by word—after all, for the sake of structural integrity, a magical contract typically had to be contained on a single sheet.
It took him several hours to finish reading. When he finally lifted his head, his vision blurred, and he nearly fainted from lack of oxygen.
The contract imposed comprehensive restrictions on Professor Baker's identity, actions, intentions, and history: If Professor Baker had never intentionally harmed innocents throughout his entire career as an adventurer,and if what he required of Avada and Baron posed no significant danger to them, and if his goals would never harm anyone other than himself and the "fake Baker", and if, after achieving his objective, he would not threaten them, silence them, erase their memories, or alter them in any way…
—and so on, and so on, an exhaustive list of requirements—
Then the contract would not harm Baker in the slightest.
Correspondingly, Avada and Baron were also bound by certain limitations—for example, they were forbidden to reveal any information the three of them deemed "not to be disclosed," unless permitted; and before Baker escaped his predicament, they were required to assist him whenever the risk remained manageable.
The carpet-sized glossary of definitions and conditional clauses rendered the contract airtight. Once signed, there would be no loopholes, no exploits, and no room to twist its rules for unintended goals.
Avada felt that—even if a Horcrux diary appeared before him—if he signed this contract, he would dare help it possess Voldemort's real body!
Thus, that very evening, Avada and Baron returned to the Room of Requirement and presented the contract to Professor Baker.
Half an hour later—
"I've finished reading."
Professor Baker sounded—oddly—tired. Even his mental presence drooped a little."Very detailed… no, extraordinarily detailed. Not even those contract-scamming Dark wizards could produce something this comprehensive!"
"But it's reasonable. If you're willing, we can sign it now. You do know how to perform a mental-brand contract, yes?"
"Of course."
Avada and Baron nodded—Baron had already explained the signing method beforehand.
"Excellent. Shall we begin?"
As Professor Baker spoke cheerfully, the black crystal sphere beside him began shimmering with blue starlight, as though a galaxy swirled within. Avada sensed Baker's mental force extending through the orb and into the contract, waiting quietly for the other two.
Baron held his breath, focusing on a complex, intricate rune on the parchment. Guided by its structure, he projected his own mental force into the contract, merging it with Baker's. Seeing this, Avada followed suit.
Immediately, brilliant light flared from the parchment. A surge of powerful, strange magic rushed out from within the contract and flowed down the channels of their consciousness, entering their mental selves and leaving behind faint, imperceptible brands. If any of them ever contemplated breaking the contract, the brand would warn the other two.If one of them actually violated it, the backlash would strike at once.
Avada and Baron's backlash would merely inflict severe injuries.Baker's backlash, however—would kill him.
Feeling the magical brand embedded firmly into his mind, Avada couldn't help but marvel at the power of a mental-brand contract. Even with Magical Perception, he couldn't imagine a method to break it.
As the parchment's glow gradually faded, all three—Avada, Baron, and Professor Baker—exhaled simultaneously. The tension visibly fell away from their bodies (and crystal sphere).They were now a team that could truly trust one another.
"Since the contract is signed, we can finally speak openly."
Professor Baker's tone grew noticeably more relaxed."Mr. Kent, Mr. Shafiq—your magical abilities already far exceed the level of first-years, don't they?"
"To determine how best to create a plan tailored to you, I need you to show me your strength—completely and without reservation."
"I've already self-studied all the spells, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts material from first through third year," Baron began."In addition, I can cast two Dark spells—one is a variant of a Freezing Charm; the other can rapidly regenerate any bodily injury, though severe backlash sets in a few hours later."
"You know Dark magic?" Avada glanced sideways.
"My family taught me. They said it was unsafe to wander outside alone."
"…"
Avada suspected the Shafiq family harbored a Seer—after all, most people believed Hogwarts to be the safest place in Britain, and up until Harry Potter's enrollment, that had been undeniably true.
"As for me,"
Avada continued,"Besides all first- to third-year spells, I can cast Protego, the Stunning Spell, the Confundus Charm, and the Impediment Jinx. And I have a mental linking spell that lets me communicate with others directly through thought."
"Excellent!"
Professor Baker sounded thrilled."You're even stronger than I expected! That means the 'other me' will lower his guard around you, giving you an incredible number of advantages!"
"Fortunately it was you two who discovered me. If it had been older wizards with weaker skills, I would have had to spend much more effort..."
"Now then, let me explain my plan. If anything seems unsuitable, you may tell me—I can adjust it as needed. You've provided me with more than enough leeway."
(End of Chapter)