I Can Teach You

The next day, the sun was still shining brightly.

Anton woke up to find no trace of the Old Wizard, and his mood was exceptionally pleasant.

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

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

Since this world already had conventional, widely accepted legitimate spells, why research Dark Magic instead of those?

Think of Obliviation Spell Master Gilderoy Lockhart. Think of Disarming Charm Master Harry Potter.

Anton even felt that if Lockhart truly fought Snape, he might not necessarily lose.

Victory or defeat was decided in an instant; it merely depended on who was hit by the other's spell first. If Snape carelessly took a Memory Charm straight to the soul from Lockhart, not only could the knowledge and memories needed to cast spells be wiped away, even his memories of Lily could be erased.

Oh yeah, then Snape could start over as a new man.

Researching a proper spell could earn him society's approval and grant him formidable power. Had Anton taken the wrong medicine to follow the Old Wizard in studying Dark Magic every day, hiding in dark corners and not daring to show his face?

He was learning these things for two reasons.

One was to broaden his knowledge, so it could serve as a reserve of related knowledge in the future and help him respond correctly if he came under a Dark Magic attack.

The other was as a temporary backup skill.

Before entering a magic school, he needed some means of attack to ensure his survival.

If he could not keep himself in an extreme emotional state at all times, then he would do his best to shorten the time needed to work up those emotions.

That was all.

His mind was perfectly normal. He knew exactly what he wanted, rather than becoming obsessed with the diary's descriptions of the overwhelming power of those Dark Magic spells.

The Old Wizard did not appear for the entire day.

That kept Anton in a good mood all day long.

His good mood continued. The Old Wizard seemed to have vanished completely, never showing himself again.

Until an entire week later, Anton began packing his things.

He had already firmly memorized the diary, so there was no longer any need to keep it with him.

He placed it together with the textbooks that had cost four Galleons, planning to store them all in a Gringotts vault before he left.

Then he would leave this place.

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

To keep up with Lupin's treatment in time, he decided to find a place to live near the coast of France.

Living in an expensive bar every day was not a solution either.

By coincidence, just as he was about to head out and ask Old Tom to check him out, the Old Wizard appeared.

He looked at Anton with a smile. "I know you've always wanted to learn the Levitation Charm. Some time ago, I saw you pondering over it on your own for quite a while."

Anton pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Of the dozen or so spells recorded in the first-year textbook, Standard Spells, Beginner, his favorite was the Levitation Charm.

Not only could this spell vastly improve daily life, but if its effect were powerful enough, it was very similar to a move from the webnovels he had read in his previous life—the Wizard's Hand.

Without knowing the three essential elements for casting the spell, he could only try through trial and error, but every attempt had ended in failure.

The Old Wizard smugly drew the wand from the pocket of his Wizard Robe.

Although ghosts could not cast spells, they could still use a wand to make gestures and put on a show.

"Watch closely."

His wrist turned. "The key is here. A flick and a swish—Wingardium Leviosa!"

"The emotion this spell requires is generally called wizard's will. You must firmly will your target to float, as though a god high above were commanding it to do so."

The Old Wizard was willing to teach him.

Anton was not about to stand on ceremony.

He drew his wand and tried again and again, having the other man correct his Hand Gestures and pronunciation mistakes.

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

"Perfect!" The Old Wizard laughed heartily and applauded.

Anton looked conflicted. "You vanished for so many days just to secretly learn this spell and teach it to me?"

The Old Wizard shrugged. "Luckily, I ran into two Hogwarts students in Hogsmeade. I heard them discussing this spell."

That place was not nearby. The village was filled with powerful legitimate wizards, a place Dark Wizards avoided like the plague and spoke of with dread. Anton did not know how the Old Wizard had overcome the fear rooted in his heart for so many years to enter such a place.

For a moment, his feelings were complicated.

"I won't be grateful to you because of this."

The Old Wizard laughed. "I don't need your gratitude. I only 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."

"What a coincidence. I'm not very interested in Dark Magic either." The Old Wizard fiddled with his own head. "You've read my diary, so you should know that I merely recorded that precious knowledge. I only learned the Cruciatus Curse as a means of attack and self-defense."

Anton thought for a moment, set down the backpack in his hand, and sat back down. "I know."

Most of the spells in the Old Wizard's diary had a note added after them: Auroro said.

"I can teach you Potions. That's what I'm truly good at. You've drunk the Eye of the Wizard potion, so you can feel how extraordinary it is, right? I invented it." At the mention of this, the Old Wizard's face was full of pride.

To be honest, Anton was tempted.

Potions was a proper academic subject.

Although he had read the materials recorded by the Old Wizard, and many methods leaned toward Dark Wizard practices, they merely leaned that way. Potions had no strict distinction between White Magic and Dark Magic.

With this man's expertise in the field, it was practically a broad road unfolding before him.

If he could master Potions, then money, power, and fame would all be his. Snape was proof enough.

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

The Old Wizard floated over to the window and gazed blankly outside.

"You were right."

"???"

"I died, yet I truly experienced the new life you spoke of." A smile bloomed on the Old Wizard's ugly face, his eyes filled with longing. "It really is captivating."

Anton was utterly dumbfounded. He had just been spouting nonsense offhandedly. He could dish out that kind of inspirational drivel all day without repeating himself.

It had long gone out of fashion online. People had changed their tastes; now they liked poisonous chicken soup.

Old man, you were behind the times.

The Old Wizard looked at Anton with a smile. "Do you remember how I turned my Teacher's Safehouse into a shell for a ghost to inhabit? I call it Ghost Armor. I had originally prepared it as a way out in case I died one day."

"Clearly, my experiment succeeded."

"I want to make a deal with you."

"Speak!"

"I'll teach you Potions. In return, you must prepare enough Eye of the Wizard potion to help me create another shell."

"I want to truly walk down the streets, touch real flowers, taste what ice cream feels like in my mouth, and experience the freshness of a breeze."

Trying to fool a child? Anton had always been the one fooling others. How could he let someone fool him? Anton sneered. "Once I make your shell, the first thing you'll do definitely won't be eating ice cream. It'll be killing me."

The Old Wizard smiled at him, his eyes carrying an indescribable openness. "You can wait until you're strong enough to easily destroy my shell, or until your life is nearing its end, before making me one. I can wait."

Anton fell silent.

That was sincere enough. He could feel it.

"Why me? Under the same conditions, you could find someone to help you without much difficulty."

The Old Wizard was silent for a long time. "Other than you and me, everyone else who drank the Eye of the Wizard potion died."

"!!!"

"Wang Defa!" Anton immediately recalled the scene of the Old Wizard holding up his wand and forcing him to drink the potion.

So he had nearly died that time too?

"Cruciatus Curse!"

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