“Urgh…!” A wave of excruciating pain forced Charlotte’s eyes open.
He tried to lift his head and look around, but even that tiny movement sent another surge of agony tearing through his body.
It felt as though every bone in his body had been crushed into powder.
Even the air entering his lungs was like countless razor-sharp blades slicing through his organs, making him curl into a ball in unbearable pain.
What…
what happened?
Wasn’t I working overtime?
Where is this?
Those thoughts flashed through Charlotte’s mind before everything went black once more.
He had no idea how much time had passed before he vaguely heard two people talking nearby.
Summoning all his strength, he forced his eyes open.
Two men dressed in strange robes stood not far away.
“Magis, we need to leave as soon as possible.
Those Aurors have already started noticing us.” “Those damned bloodhounds…
Our experiment is almost complete.
Fine, this will be the last one.
Once we’re done, we’ll leave immediately.” “Are you sure this is worth it?
We’ve already wasted far too much time.” “White, how can you think that?
You’ve seen it yourself.
We’re only one step away from success.
Once we succeed, we’ll become beings equal to the great wizard Merlin…
No, we’ll surpass Merlin himself!” “…Let’s hope so.” At that moment, the two robed men noticed that Charlotte had awakened.
After giving him a brief glance, they turned and walked out of the room.
By the dim yellow glow of the oil lamps, Charlotte finally got a clear look at them.
One was tall, with long flaxen hair, dark green eyes, and unnaturally pale skin, like someone who had spent years without seeing sunlight.
The other was a gaunt old man wearing a pointed wizard’s hat.
His tiny triangular eyes gleamed with madness, and his long beard reached all the way to his chest.
Their bizarre attire instantly reminded Charlotte of medieval wizards.
He turned his attention to his surroundings.
It was a completely sealed room.
There were no windows—only a single wooden door leading outside.
Oil lamps protected by glass shades hung on the surrounding walls, their dim light revealing intricate, mysterious patterns painted across the stone floor with some unknown pigment.
As for Charlotte…
He had been tossed into a corner like a piece of rubbish.
He shifted his leg and immediately noticed a pitch-black iron chain shackled around his ankle.
After a long while, his muddled thoughts gradually became clear.
Looking down at his pale hands, he muttered, “…I’ve actually transmigrated.” The remaining memories in his mind quickly told him everything.
This was the world of Harry Potter.
He was a Muggle-born wizard whose parents had died when he was young, leaving him to grow up in an orphanage.
A week ago, while out alone, he had been kidnapped by two Dark Wizards and brought here.
Before his arrival, there had been two other young wizards imprisoned in this place.
Charlotte had watched with his own eyes as the Dark Wizards injected them with an unknown potion.
The children first transformed into grotesque half-human, half-beast monsters…
Then exploded with a loud bang.
When Charlotte had tried to resist, the Dark Wizards had tortured him to death with the Cruciatus Curse.
That was how he had ended up here.
Thinking about it, Charlotte let out a long sigh.
He’d worked himself to death under endless 996 overtime in his previous life.
After finally getting a second chance…
He’d started this new life as a Dark Wizard’s experimental subject.
What the hell kind of rotten luck is this?
Click.
Just then, the wooden door opened.
The two Dark Wizards walked back into the room.
Charlotte’s heart immediately skipped a beat.
From their earlier conversation, he’d already guessed that he was about to become their next experiment.
Instinctively, he shrank backward, only to slam into the cold stone wall behind him.
Seeing this, a cruel grin spread across the old wizard’s face.
He drew a wand from his robes and pointed it at the iron chain around Charlotte’s ankle.
“Alohomora!” With a crisp click, the shackle sprang open by itself.
The moment the chain fell away, Charlotte leapt to his feet.
Gathering every last ounce of strength he had, he sprinted toward the wooden door.
He refused to die such a pathetic death.
“Imperio!” Before he had taken more than a single step, a streak of eerie blue light struck him.
In the next instant, Charlotte completely lost control of his body.
No matter how desperately he wanted to escape, his legs carried him obediently toward the two Dark Wizards.
The Imperius Curse.
He recognized it immediately.
Anyone struck by this curse became completely obedient to the caster’s commands.
It was one of the three Unforgivable Curses.
“You’re rather fortunate,” the old wizard rasped.
“If it weren’t for those damned Aurors…
and if you weren’t my final test subject…
I’d have loved to try every Dark curse I know on you.” With that, he pulled out a crystal vial about the size of an egg.
His cold triangular eyes stared at the greyish-blue potion inside.
“Lie in the centre of the rune array…
and drink it.” Charlotte desperately fought against the command with every ounce of willpower he possessed.
But his body refused to obey him.
Against his will, he walked to the centre of the mysterious runic pattern, lay down, and drained the vial in a single gulp.
I’m finished…
The potion slid down his throat.
Charlotte’s first impression was simple.
It was bitter.
Horribly bitter.
And disgustingly foul.
The revolting taste was so overwhelming that, for a moment, it even made him forget his fear of death.
Then the horrific images of the two young wizards who had exploded replayed vividly in his mind.
Terror.
Despair.
Both emotions surged uncontrollably from the depths of his heart.
So…
this is how I die?
Just as Charlotte closed his eyes and resigned himself to death, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
“Ding!
Thunderbird bloodline detected.” “God-Tier Transfiguration Wizard System activated.” “Would you like to fuse with the bloodline?” The sudden turn of events left Charlotte frozen.
A system?
Is this my cheat?
Without the slightest hesitation, he answered in his mind, “Fuse immediately!” He had no idea what this cheat could do.
But it was undoubtedly his only chance to survive.
Even if fusing with the Thunderbird bloodline turned him into an actual bird…
That would still be a hundred times better than dying at the hands of these two Dark Wizards.
The instant the command was given…
A heaven-shaking transformation began within Charlotte’s body.