Chapter 133: August 25, 1994: Tetani Nervum (2/2)

The Death Eaters' entire bodies spasmed uncontrollably. Then, the blood-red mist glowed brighter. The spasms grew wilder.

”I curse you with the constant reminder that you are no longer better...”

An uncontrollable pain flowed through their nerves and, along with it, came an unbearable burning feeling.

Quinn looked up at the sky and whispered ever so slightly, ”I curse you .”

The mist shone once with a short bright burst of blood-red. Then, it vanished in the breeze of the cold night.

'So this is how it feels, huh,' thought Quinn, staring at the circle of spasming bodies.

The curse, Tetani Nervum, had been a spell of his. It had been a curse he had created last year. By utilising his recently gained knowledge of healing magic and human anatomy and combining it with some really questionable knowledge he had found in the Room Of Requirement and his own personal library, Quinn had been able to create a really 'dark' spell. He had only a few, though.

Tetani Nervum had been inspired by the well-known disease Tetanus. Tetanus is a bacterial infection characterized by muscle spasms that could range anywhere from light tremors to spasms severe enough to fracture bones. Other symptoms of Tetanus included fever, sweating, headaches, trouble swallowing, high blood pressure, and a fast heart rate. But for his spell, Quinn had focused on the spasms that tortured the infected.

The motivation behind Tetani Nervum had been to disable the target's body. The bacteria that caused Tetanus functioned by creating toxins that interfered with motor neurons. This interfered with the regular muscle contractions. Quinn also targeted the motor neurons in the nerves but replaced the bacteria with magic. The nervous system would continuously interfere with muscle contractions and would cause the body to spasm. As long as the curse was active, the target wouldn't be able to move a single muscle in their body. Their entire nervous system would be out of their own control and at mercy of Quinn's magic.

But the sole function of Tetani Nervum wasn't replicating Tetanus spasms. The spasms were just the carrier of the actual damage of the spell. The real aim of Tetani Nervum came from the word 'Nervum', which was the Latin word for 'nerves'. While Tetanus spasms ran rampant, the curse would dig through the nervous system and severely damage it.

And just like most of the 'dark' curses, Tetani Nervum had the added feature of being resistant to healing magic. If the target was brought to the hospital, the medi-healers would immediately notice the signs of wounds caused by 'dark' curses. Besides that, Tetani Nervum was a new curse that had been created from the knowledge of different magical cultures, which meant that the medi-healers would have a tough time even knowing where to start. Meaning that the nerves affected by the corrosive magic would be... lost and not able to function.

Quinn looked at the piles of bodies. More specifically, their arms and hands. He had snapped their wands and disabled their hands and arms. To wand users who relied on the external focus meant that they would no longer be able to draw on magic, practically turning them into squibs. They still had their magic but no way to access it.

But unlike Quinn, these Death Eaters had been using wands for decades which meant wands had integrated themselves into their magic system. Consequently, if you took the focus from them, they would be useless.

”... I believe that people are capable of change,” said Quinn. He didn't care whether his victims were listening to him or not. ”Perhaps I'll come back to you to see if you have repented. Understand the severity of your actions and the consequences of decisions. If that day I see that you have truly repented, then your hands and, thus, your magic, shall be returned. That day, you will be reborn. I hope you have a better life then.”

Tetani Nervum had been Quinn's creation, which meant that he also knew how to cure it. He could reverse the effects and free them from the curse. Quinn had already peaked inside their minds to note their names. If one day, these people changed for the better, he would undo the curse.

Quinn stood up straight. His work was done. Other than these Death Eaters, all of the others had already fled. Quinn had considered putting an anti-apparition ward around the campsite, but that would mean that bystanders wouldn't be able to apparate out.

'These are enough,' thought Quinn. 'These many will be enough to instill fear.'

Quinn was about to apparate out of the campsite, but he stopped to look at the left to see a blue spell-light zapping towards him. Quinn tilted his head, and just before the blue spell-light reached Quinn, it crashed into an orange translucent magic shield. The blue spell tried to pierce through the orange obstacle, but all of its effects were for naught as it couldn't get past. It fizzled away as the magic ran out.

'Reducto,' thought Quinn, and as the shield turned down, he saw the offender who launched a spell at him and surprisingly, but not shockingly, saw Sirius Black with his wand pointing at him. Quinn noticed that Sirius's eyes were moving between him and behind him.

”... Hmm?”

Quinn's eyes gleamed in understanding as he turned the magic back up, which was the right decision as another spell assaulted his shield. The only difference was that it was aimed at his back. Quinn turned around to see James Potter also pointing his wand at him.

'Ah, they were checking,' Quinn deduced. He was invisible, and the first spell from Sirius was to see if there was anyone in his place. The second spell from James was one to take him down after confirmation.

”You... the one who's there, immediately surrender,” shouted Sirius.

”Drop the disillusionment and throw your wand away,” yelled James. ”Nobody needs to get...” James looked at the pile of bodies. ”... more injured.”

”It seems I have overstayed my welcome,” whispered Quinn and errantly waved his hand for a layer of ice forming a dome around him. It was just thick enough to bear the force of one spell and it gave just enough time for Quinn to apparate.

And with a pop, Quinn was gone. Not even a second after, the ice dome was shredded into shards by the combined efforts of James and Sirius.

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A/N:

How was it? My first 'dark' spell. Tetani Nervum. I always wanted to make a spell inspired by something medical, and this spell came out.

You all heard Quinn's motivation to create the spell. Let's talk about mine. I simply want Quinn's first kill to be... special... and not some rando Death Eaters. But, I wanted Quinn to gain a method to disable people without killing them.

When Quinn does kills someone, I want to add some drama, emotion, struggle, hesitation, and other stuff to mark it as a monumental point in Quinn's life.

]

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Quinn West - Spell creator - ”Need to use weird English...”

FictionOnlyReader - Author - Next chapter is reactions. (2+1)

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If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.

The link is in the synopsis!