First Experience with the Dark Arts

"That won't do!"

Hogsmeade was only open to Third Years and above on Saturdays. If he came on a Thursday, it would be far too obvious.

Andy found the owner of the sweetshop—Mr. Flume.

After buying some sweets, Andy casually asked, "Sir, if I came here on Thursday, the professors wouldn't catch me, right?"

"Of course not!"

Mr. Flume winked. "For instance, I certainly wouldn't go around telling people that a First Year Little Wizard came to my shop."

Andy: "..."

"Was it really that obvious?" Andy wondered.

Mr. Flume said nothing. First, he gestured at Andy's height, then pointed at the other people in the shop.

All right, so my height gave me away.

Andy was fairly tall among Little Wizards his age, but compared to older students, the difference was glaring.

"Thank you!" Andy said before leaving Honeydukes Sweetshop.

Andy had come today to scout the place out.

September 19 was Hermione's birthday, and Andy planned to bring the Little Witch here for some fun.

Since he was taking a girl on a date, of course he needed to gather information beforehand, lest he know nothing about the place when the time came.

Embarrassment was one thing. Getting caught by a professor was the real problem.

Hogsmeade was the only all-wizarding village in All England. Its buildings were steeped in wizarding charm. Not only did many wizards live here, but many of them also ran shops.

Andy looked around.

The village was not large, and Andy quickly got a grasp of its layout.

Whether he was out on a date or fleeing after getting caught, he would be able to find the fastest route.

"Hi, Andy."

Hearing the voice, Andy turned around. "Hi, George. And Fred."

"We were wondering..."

"When we'd finally run into you here."

"We didn't expect you to be so bold."

"You dared sneak off to Hogsmeade less than a week after arriving at Hogwarts."

George and Fred spoke one sentence each. That was simply how they talked.

"I was bored, so I came out for a walk," Andy said casually.

"Bored?"

"We thought you were on a date."

"Or in the library."

"You came out alone? Where's your little girlfriend?"

George and Fred spoke one sentence each again.

"I'm checking out the routes first. I'll bring her here in a few days." Andy was not really a child; he would not blush and panic-deny it over a few teasing remarks.

Fred gave him a thumbs-up. "You really know what you're doing. You even knew to prepare in advance."

George nodded. "It would be great if Ron were as smart as you."

"Uh... is he all right?" Andy asked.

Fred shrugged. "He and Harry haven't left the dormitory all day. We even had to bring them breakfast."

What a miserable life!

"All right, we're off. Take your time looking around, and be careful not to get caught by a professor." George waved as he left with Fred.

After familiarizing himself with Hogsmeade's layout, Andy quietly made his way alone to the Shrieking Shack.

Legend said this was the most terrifying haunted place in all of All England.

But Andy had always believed Hogwarts had to be the most haunted place in Britain—after all, at least dozens of ghosts lived there.

Andy circled the Shrieking Shack and discovered that there was no way to enter from outside.

Forget doors—it did not even have windows.

Fortunately, no one was around, so Andy could do what he came to do without worry.

Besides scouting Hogsmeade in advance, Andy had another personal matter to handle today.

He was going to learn the first Dark Arts spell of his life.

While reading in the library that morning, Andy had accidentally discovered a Dark Arts spell in a book.

It was a perfectly respectable book, one that introduced Magical Theory.

However, while explaining Magical Theory, the book's author had used a Dark Arts spell as an example.

The book described it in great detail, including the incantation, hand gestures, emotional state, and even the magical theory behind it.

With all that, Andy could teach himself this Dark Arts spell.

Andy had always been curious why the system separated spells from the Dark Arts.

Wasn't the Dark Arts also made up of spells? Perhaps today, I can uncover part of that secret.

Andy felt a little excited.

He took out the book on Magical Theory and read through it carefully once more. After making sure he had grasped all the key points and missed nothing, Andy used the Shrinking Charm on the book and slipped it into his Wizard Robe pocket.

Andy gripped his wand, and his expression unconsciously grew tense.

"Disease Affliction!"

Andy pointed his wand at a weed over half a person tall. As he spoke the incantation, a cloud of blackish-red mist slowly rose from beneath it.

The weed rapidly withered at a visible rate. Dense red pustules grew over its yellowed leaves and stalk, making it look utterly disgusting.

Andy paid no attention to the effects of the Dark Arts. Instead, he calmly sensed his state of mind while casting and the changes in his body.

"Hmm... there are no physical changes, and my mental state seems perfectly healthy..."

So this is the Dark Arts? Andy thought.

The distinction between White Magic and the Dark Arts had never been based on a spell's destructive power. White Magic also had many powerful spells, no less effective than the Dark Arts.

The true criterion for the Dark Arts was whether the magic took effect based on the caster's subjective malice.

The Dark Arts were forbidden because they drew upon the evil side of human nature. When your Dark Arts became powerful enough, it meant your heart had become sufficiently wicked as well.

What made the Dark Arts terrifying was that evil grew at an astonishing rate.

After all, becoming good was difficult, but becoming bad was easy.

The more one used the Dark Arts, the more natural it became, and the caster's malicious thoughts would grow ever stronger. The two reinforced each other.

Recalling the magical theory mentioned in the book and reflecting on the emotions he had used while casting, Andy gained a preliminary understanding of the Dark Arts.

"Phew—"

"Let's stop here for today!"

Andy had no plans to keep experimenting, because he did not yet have the foundation to study the Dark Arts.

If the Mind attribute applied to all magic, then aside from resisting certain unusual kinds of magic, the Will attribute was also one of the indispensable attributes for learning the Dark Arts.

A powerful mind and will could resist the affliction of the Dark Arts.

And Andy's willpower... was only a pitiful 2 points.

Andy recalled the book's words: I believe that the true uniqueness of the Dark Arts lies not in its great power, but in its deep study of forbidden fields such as life and the soul.

The Dark Arts were indeed evil, but we must not overlook their merits merely because they were evil.