No Time to Explain! Get in the Coffin!

Sunrise and moonset, time flowed on.

Hogsmeade Village seemed forever peaceful and tranquil.

The trees outside the village were lush with branches and leaves, their trunks entwined with vines called time. Carrying the axe he had just bought, Ian kept chopping at a tree that was not particularly thick.

"Little Ian, do you need my help?"

Madam Puddifoot, the owner of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, happened to be returning from outside the village. She was plump, with glossy black hair gathered into a bun at the back of her head.

Seeing the tiny Ian cutting down a tree, the tea shop owner did not scold him. Instead, she took out her wand and smilingly asked him.

"Miss Puddifoot, I'd appreciate it. I really do need your help." Ian had not only underestimated his talent for Dark Magic, but also overestimated the physical strength and stamina of his ten-year-old body.

Who would have thought that it was just one tree? He had been chopping for half an hour, yet it still had not fallen. It was not just because the axe was too small, but because Ian did not possess an adult's strength or endurance.

"Your mouth is still as sweet as ever."

Madam Puddifoot was quite pleased by how Ian addressed her. In truth, judging by the girlish style in which she had decorated her tea shop, it was easy to see a little of what lay in this plump Witch's heart.

"Would you like me to cut it into smaller pieces for you?"

Madam Puddifoot did not recite an incantation. She merely flicked her wand lightly, and the notch Ian had cut into the tree snapped apart. Then, with Wingardium Leviosa, she lifted it into the air.

"If possible, I'd like it turned into planks."

Ian looked at the spectacle before him with a hint of envy.

The Wizards who could live near Hogwarts and run shops might not be exceptionally gifted masters, but they were undoubtedly among the elite of Wizardkind.

"As you wish."

Madam Puddifoot gave her wand a light shake. The crude tree began to split apart, eventually becoming neat, uniform planks that were stacked tidily before Ian.

"You truly are a master of magic!"

Ian praised her from the bottom of his heart.

"Hahahaha, I used to be top of my year too."

Madam Puddifoot showed off with no small amount of pride.

"I hope I can be as outstanding as you someday."

Ian promptly offered some flattery, making Madam Puddifoot laugh until she could barely close her mouth. The plump Witch's laughter was hearty and unpretentious, carrying the air of a true heroine.

"Hufflepuff will definitely welcome you."

Madam Puddifoot revealed the House she had attended.

"I hope I can become an outstanding Hufflepuff too." Ian always tailored his words to his audience, though he did not actually mind attending Hufflepuff.

Who would not like living beside the kitchen, eating hotpot whenever they wanted and beef whenever they wanted?

"Do you need me to help you carry these planks back?"

Madam Puddifoot was delighted and immediately became even more enthusiastic.

"It isn't far. I can carry them back in batches... it'll count as exercise too." Ian did not want to trouble others too much. He took out his wand and recited an incantation at some of the planks.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Ian successfully cast the spell, causing some of the planks to float up. His panel changed accordingly.

Successfully cast Wingardium Leviosa. Magic Proficiency +3

Since he possessed exceptional talent in Dark Magic, his talent in other forms of magic naturally could not be poor either. At the end of the day, Dark Magic was still a kind of magic.

Of course.

He had simply not been studying for very long.

At only Level 1, Wingardium Leviosa could not help Ian control objects that were too heavy.

"That is truly praiseworthy spellcasting."

Madam Puddifoot watched Ian carefully guide some of the floating planks toward the village, and she could not help voicing her unexpected admiration.

"You will definitely become an outstanding Wizard in the future."

That was Madam Puddifoot's current opinion of him. Successfully casting Wingardium Leviosa was not difficult, but maintaining it like this certainly required a degree of skill.

Not to mention a Young Wizard who had not yet enrolled.

Even many Young Wizards who had already entered Second Year could not do it.

"I hope so too. Thank you for your help."

Ian focused all his attention on controlling the spell. With his other hand, he waved goodbye to Madam Puddifoot and carefully began walking toward the Small Wooden House.

The house Snape had arranged for him was already at the edge of the village.

It was not far away.

Along the way.

Successfully maintained Wingardium Leviosa. Magic Proficiency +1

Ian gained another increase in proficiency. After making the trip back and forth four or five times, he finally brought all the planks into the Small Wooden House.

However.

He still lacked a shovel, deodorizer, plastic sheeting, and most importantly, nails.

Hogwarts.

Slytherin Head's Office.

Snape's expression was extremely unpleasant.

As Hogwarts' Potions Professor and a world-renowned Potions Master, he had actually ruined a dose of Felix Felicis today, just like those foolish Gryffindors, despite it being so simple that it could not possibly be simpler!

"It's all Dumbledore's fault!"

Snape had not been sleeping well lately, and because of that, he missed the stirring time for today's Felix Felicis. As a result, a potion that should have been perfect was doomed to possess an irreparable flaw.

Snape blamed Dumbledore for this mistake. The reason was simple: he could not sleep because of something Dumbledore had said to him several days ago.

"It is not that he needs you. It is that you need him."

Although Snape had immediately berated Dumbledore for talking nonsense at the time, those words had lingered in his mind over the past several days, impossible to dispel.

"I do not need anyone!"

Snape still firmly believed that.

But he also knew.

If he wanted to drive away the nightmare haunting him, he had to do something to prove himself.

Thus.

Looking at the Felix Felicis that was still brewing and no longer perfect, Snape's expression shifted again and again. After a long while, he finally put on his coat as though he had Made up his mind.

That robe which seemed never to be washed.

"Can't even take care of himself, yet he still wants to learn magic..."

Snape seemed to be making excuses for having neglected him these past few days. He hurried out of his office and encountered Argus Filch, who was inspecting some equipment along the way.

He was Hogwarts' caretaker, a Squib who patrolled at night and considered himself the Head of House—a man who might be pitiful, but absolutely did not deserve pity.

"Good morning, Professor Snape."

Filch was always very enthusiastic around professors.

However.

Snape did not even glance at him.

He walked straight past him.

The smile on Filch's face became somewhat awkward, but he did not dare react. Only after Snape had gone far away did he mutter under his breath and continue his work while holding his cat.

"I hope he hasn't starved to death yet."

Snape arrived at Hogsmeade Village.

He stood in front of the Small Wooden House.

He did not need a key. Taking out his wand, he easily opened the locked door... It had actually been locked three times? Snape was somewhat puzzled by the caution of the person inside.

Hogsmeade Village had always been safe.

He lifted his leg and walked in without expression.

The next moment.

The Slytherin Head of Hogwarts immediately understood why the door had been locked three times. Even his face, which seemed eternally frozen, distorted considerably when he could no longer keep it composed.

"What are you doing?!"

Snape's voice immediately became as shrill as an oboe.

It was not his fault.

Because he saw something unbelievable, something he had never imagined he would see inside this Small Wooden House—the floor had been dug into a huge, huge pit!

A Young Wizard was sprawled over a crooked coffin that looked hastily made, struggling to stuff two horribly decayed corpses into it.

Inside the already dilapidated house.

There were another three or four scattered corpses in varying states of decay, lying there quietly—damn it! Could this possibly be the horrifying sight one would see in Hogsmeade Village!?

"Mr. Prince!"

Snape's face turned livid.

He watched the Young Wizard look up in terror. Startled by Snape's sudden arrival, the Young Wizard even tore off one corpse's arm, making Snape's face turn even more livid.

"I need a reasonable explanation that doesn't end with me sending you to Azkaban!!"

It was practically a roar.