Hogwarts: Don't Starve in the Forbidden Forest Chapter 59 59: The Shadow Manipulator

"Grave robbing is a cri!" Harry shouted as he followed Kane into the cetery. Kane, completely ignoring him, slamd the shovel into the soil and stomped down hard.

Cr-rack!

"Ugh, what a sin." Harry slapped his forehead in frustration. He decided he couldn't just stand by; he had to do sothing to stop Kane from racing down the path of criminality.

Just as he was about to physically stop his friend, Kane levered the shovel upward. A blood-red Ruby popped out of the dirt, shimring in the pale winter light.

???

Harry's head filled with question marks. His eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. Sothing was wrong. Why was there a gemstone in the dirt? Wait... maybe Kane had hidden it here beforehand?

Hiss... and Kane hadn't even touched a coffin. He'd just pried up a bit of soil. Technically, that wasn't grave robbing; it was just "aerating the ground" to help the deceased breathe so fresh air.

Harry was surprisingly good at self-delusion. Convinced by his own logic, he picked up a second shovel to help. After all, gold and gems don't have nas written on them. He shoved his shovel into a random patch of earth.

Thump!

Kane looked over sharply. He stared at Harry's position, then at the consequence of the strike.

"Sigh, a sin. A real sin," Kane muttered. "Harry, you just put a hole through soone's coffin lid."

Harry froze, quickly lifting the shovel. Sure enough, a piece of rotting wood was stuck to the blade, leaving a gaping dark hole in the earth.

"Oh! My bad!" Harry frantically started shoveling dirt back in. In his panic, he didn't realize that since the lid was smashed, he was basically filling the coffin with dirt, giving the occupant an uncomfortably close embrace with the earth.

"......." "........"

"What kind of stupid thing did you just do?" "What kind of stupid thing did I just do?"

The two shared another long, silent look. Finally, Kane walked over and tossed another shovelful of dirt into the hole.

Harry looked at him in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Humans eat their way through the entire biosphere while they're alive, then try to cheat the decomposers when they die. It's a bit greedy, honestly.

So... you actually did a good thing." Kane shrugged, offering a piece of twisted logic as he added more dirt. "Why are you just standing there? Keep filling!"

Harry snapped out of it and started shoveling, glancing at the headstone as he worked. The inscription told him the man resting there was nad Tom Riddle.

"Mr. Tom Riddle, don't bla ," Harry whispered like a demon. "I'm just helping you return to nature a bit sooner. No need to thank ; it's the least I could do..."

Kane, listening to Harry's "evil whispers" nearby, let out a weary sigh. He really shouldn't have let Harry touch a shovel. But the damage was done; Harry had crossed the line. All he could do now was finish the job.

The Little Hangleton graveyard was massive. Kane dug from morning until noon, hitting every plot—except for Mr. Tom Riddle's, which Harry had already "processed."

Between them, they had collected six gemstones. Kane decided to let the rest of the Riddles off the hook.

Harry sat on a stone plinth, exhausted. He'd filled the Riddle coffin to the brim with dirt and tossed his shovel aside, terrified of breaking anything else.

"Alright, Harry. Mission accomplished. Ti to go." Kane straightened up, his spine popping like firecrackers.

"Back to the Dursleys? We'll starve," Harry said, leaning his chin on his hand.

"Forget the Dursleys. We're going straight back to Hogwarts." Kane pulled the pocket-watch Portkey from his pocket. Harry, having spent enough ti around wizards, knew the drill and grabbed hold.

With a nauseating tug behind their navels, they reappeared on the banks of the Black Lake.

"Whoa. We're back? I feel like that bus ride yesterday was a total waste of money," Harry remarked.

"Yeah. Get back to the dorm and get so sleep. I have things to craft." Kane rubbed his face; grave-digging was, after all, a back-breaking labor.

They returned to the dormitory. Ron was nowhere to be found, but a Christmas tree already stood in the center of the room.

Presents were likely still en route. Harry had his "Savior" status, and Ron had his family, but as for Kane...

Kane scratched his cheek. Who said no one would send him gifts? Just because they ca from the Constant didn't make them any less real. A child of the Constant is looked after by the Constant itself!

After ensuring his bedside campfire was a safe distance from the tree, he nodded. Back in the Constant, gifts always appeared under the tree on Christmas morning.

Since the pumpkins and carving knives from Halloween had found him here, he was certain his Christmas gifts would do the sa.

As Harry's light snoring began to fill the room, Kane took his red and blue gems to the Prestigahatitator.

Clunk, whirr, click! A shimring Purple Gem, pulsing with raw magical energy, popped out of the machine's "hat."

"And lunch is served, too." Kane snagged the rabbit that had spawned with the gem, roasted it quickly, ate, and began the ritual for the Shadow Manipulator.

"One Purple Gem... three pieces of Living Log... seven nightmare fuels..."

As the triangular structure, inlaid with the pulsating purple stone, materialized in the dorm, Kane took a deep breath. This was the mont!

Suddenly, two books popped out of the Manipulator. Kane let out a confused "Huh?" followed by a realization-filled "Ah~".

It seed the Dark Sword and Night Armor had also undergone a "wicked localization" for this world. Instead of physical equipnt, they were now high-level Shadow Spells. The upside? Their potential was higher, and they were easier to use. The downside? He hadn't found one yet.

As he opened the books, the knowledge flowed into his mind like liquid. With a re thought, his shadow lashed out like a startled cat.

Zip!

Before Kane could even react, a microscopic slit appeared in the window glass, whistling as freezing air sprayed inside.

The Night Armor was just as impressive. Unlike the Protego used by upper years, which required a wand movent and incantation, the Night Armor would manifest as a shroud of grey-black light the instant he willed it.

With a staggering 95% damage reduction, Kane felt like he could probably take a leisurely swim in Fiendfyre.

Just as he was basking in the glow of his new "ultimate weapons," a Shadow Creature slowly materialized behind him and gave him a gentle, chilling poke.

"?...!"

After vaporizing the shadow creature with a bolt of lightning-fast magic, Kane dug his long-buried Top Hat out of his trunk and jamd it onto his head. Digging graves and ssing with Shadow Magic had tanked his Sanity.

He waited for the hat to soothe his nerves, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Two tasks remained: testing the at Effigy and crafting a Life-Giving Amulet.

But the amulet required gold. He was flat broke.

Just then, Harry's snoring grew slightly louder.

Erm... it was a bit unethical, but... gold was back on the nu!

🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon/kazama677

🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 200 Power Stones summon another

🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.