I Can Teach You

The next day, the sun was still shining brightly.

Anton woke up to find the Old Wizard nowhere in sight, and his mood was exceptionally good.

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, he took out the diary again and continued memorizing the spells inside.

The Old Wizard was wrong about one thing: Anton had no intention of delving deeply into any Dark Magic.

Since this world already had respectable spells, accepted by everyone and established by custom, why not study those instead of Dark Magic?

Just think of Gilderoy Lockhart, the Memory Charm Master, and Harry Potter, the Disarming Charm Master.

Anton even thought that if Lockhart really fought Snape, he might not necessarily lose.

Victory or defeat could be decided in an instant. It all depended on who was hit by the other's spell first. If Snape accidentally took a Memory Charm from Lockhart straight to the soul, Lockhart could wipe away not just his memories of how to cast spells, but even his memories of Lily.

Oh yeah, then Snape could start his life over.

Mastering a respectable spell could win society's approval while also granting great strength. Was Anton out of his mind, studying Dark Magic like the Old Wizard, who spent every day researching it and hiding in dark corners, afraid to show his face?

He had two reasons for studying this stuff.

One was to broaden his knowledge, building up a store of information he could draw on in the future and learning how to respond properly if attacked with Dark Magic.

The other was to have some skills in reserve for emergencies.

Before entering Magic School, he needed to learn a few ways to fight so he could stay alive.

If he couldn't keep himself in an extreme emotional state, he'd do his best to find a way to shorten the time it took to work himself up.

That was all.

His head was screwed on straight. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn't going to get lost in the diary's descriptions of the peerless power of Dark Magic.

The Old Wizard didn't show up all day.

That kept Anton in a good mood all day long.

His good mood lasted. The Old Wizard seemed to have vanished for good, never appearing again.

Then, a full week later, Anton began packing his things.

He had committed the diary to memory, so he no longer needed to carry it around.

He put it together with the textbooks he'd bought for four Gold Galleons. Before leaving, he planned to store them all in a Gringotts vault.

Then he would leave.

He had carefully studied the location of Goblin Pedro's island. It was separated from Britain by a wide stretch of ocean, but lay close to France.

To keep up with Lupin's treatment, he decided to find somewhere to live along the French coast.

He couldn't keep staying in an expensive bar every day.

As it happened, just as he was about to go out and ask Old Tom to check him out, the Old Wizard appeared.

He smiled at Anton. "I know you've been wanting to learn the Levitation Charm. A while ago, I saw you trying to figure it out on your own for ages."

Anton pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Of the dozen or so spells in the First Year textbook, Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, the Levitation Charm was his favorite.

It could make life a lot easier. And if it worked well enough, it would be a lot like a move from the web novels he'd read: the Wizard's Hand.

Without knowing the three elements required to cast the spell, he could only use trial and error. In the end, he'd failed every time.

The Old Wizard proudly drew his Wand from his Wizarding Robes.

Ghosts couldn't cast spells, but they could still wave a Wand around and look the part.

"Watch closely."

He turned his wrist. "The key is right here. Swish and flick—Wingardium Leviosa!"

"The emotion this spell needs is what we usually call Wizard Will. You have to be certain that the object you're casting it on will rise, like a lofty god commanding it to do so."

The Old Wizard was offering to teach him.

Anton wasn't going to refuse.

He took out his Wand and tried again and again, letting the other man correct his movements and pronunciation.

At last, the chair in the room rose gently into the air.

"Perfect!" The Old Wizard burst out laughing and clapped.

Anton's expression turned complicated. "You disappeared for all these days just to go learn a spell so you could teach me?"

The Old Wizard shrugged. "I got lucky. I ran into two Hogwarts students in Hogsmeade and overheard them discussing the spell."

That place was a long way off, and the village was full of powerful, respectable Wizards. It was somewhere Dark Wizards avoided at all costs, and even mentioning it made them shudder. Anton had no idea how the Old Wizard had overcome the fear that had taken root in him over the years to enter the place.

For a moment, Anton felt conflicted.

"I'm not going to thank you for this."

The Old Wizard laughed. "I don't need your thanks. I just want you to know that I can be your teacher. This is an opportunity."

Anton shook his head. "I'm not very interested in Dark Magic."

"Funny. I'm not very interested in Dark Magic either." The Old Wizard fiddled with his head. "You've read my diary, so you should know I only wrote down this precious knowledge. The only thing I learned was the Cruciatus Curse, as a means of attack and self-defense."

Anton thought it over, set down his backpack, and sat back down. "I know."

Most of the spells in the Old Wizard's diary came with the words, "Olaro said."

"I can teach you Potions. That's what I'm truly good at. You've taken the Wizard's Eye potion, so you know how amazing it is, right? I invented it." The Old Wizard looked immensely proud as he spoke.

To be honest, Anton was tempted.

Potions was a respectable field of study.

He had read the Old Wizard's notes. Many of the methods leaned toward Dark Wizard practices, but only leaned that way. Potions itself had no strict division between white and dark magic.

With the Old Wizard's expertise, it was like a broad road had opened up before him.

If Anton learned Potions well, he could have money, power, and fame. Just look at Snape.

"Then what's the price?" Anton stared at him.

The Old Wizard drifted over to the window and gazed dreamily outside.

"You were right."

"???"

"I'm dead, yet I really did get to experience the new life you talked about." A smile bloomed on the Old Wizard's ugly head, his eyes full of longing. "It's truly fascinating."

Anton stared at him, baffled. He'd just made that stuff up on the spot. He could deliver that kind of inspirational nonsense all day without repeating himself.

It had gone out of fashion online ages ago. People had changed their tastes and now liked bitter motivational quotes.

Old man, you're behind the times.

The Old Wizard smiled at Anton. "Remember how I turned my teacher's Safe House into a Vessel for a Ghost? I called it Ghost Armor. I'd prepared it as a way out in case I died one day."

"Apparently, my experiment worked."

"I want to make a deal with you."

"Go on!"

"I'll teach you Potions, and you'll prepare enough Wizard's Eye potion to help me build another Vessel."

"I want to walk down the Street again, touch real flowers, find out what Ice Cream tastes like, and feel how refreshing a breeze can be."

Trying to fool a kid? Anton was usually the one doing the fooling. There was no way he'd let someone else trick him. He sneered. "Once you've got your Vessel, the first thing you'll do won't be to eat Ice Cream. You'll kill me."

The Old Wizard looked at him with a gentle smile, his eyes filled with indescribable calm. "You can wait until you're strong enough to destroy my Vessel with ease, or until your life is nearly over, before making one for me. I can wait."

Anton fell silent.

The Old Wizard had made a generous offer. Anton could feel it.

"Why me? You could find someone else to help you under the same conditions without too much trouble."

The Old Wizard was silent for a long time. "Everyone else who drank the Wizard's Eye potion is dead. Only you and I are left."

"!!!"

"What the Hell!" Anton immediately remembered how the Old Wizard had pointed his Wand at him and forced him to drink the potion.

So he'd almost died that time too?

"Cruciatus Curse!"

The spell's light passed through the Old Wizard's body. He only smiled. "You have a real talent for Dark Magic."