Magic Studies

Three weeks later, in the Room of Requirement.

It was a comfortable room furnished like a study.

Bookshelves on either side were crammed with books and notes. None were particularly valuable; they seemed to be extracurricular reading left by former students.

Opposite the door stood a floor-to-ceiling window. Magic conjured a raging storm beyond it, making the room—with its expensive wool carpet and roaring fireplace—feel especially warm and inviting.

On a soft sofa, Vaughn closed the book in his hands and rubbed his eyes.

"System!"

[Host: Vaughn Weasley]

[Magic Power Level: 438 (500 for an ordinary adult wizard)]

[Talents: Charms 7, Dark Arts 6, Transfiguration 8, Potions 10, Herbology 6, Divination 2 (maximum 10)]

[Spells: Occlumency LV5 (MAX)... Obliviate LV0 (0/2), Crushing Curse LV0 (0/2), Phantasmal Charm LV0 (0/2), Vanishing Spell LV0 (0/3), Sectumsempra LV0 (0/3)... Scarpin Transfiguration Curse LV0 (0/4), Patronus Charm LV0 (0/4), Fiendfyre Curse LV0 (0/5)...]

[Potions: Draught of Joy, etc. Newly added: Enhancing Potion, Truth Serum, Draught of Intellect, Love Potion, Baruffio's Brain Elixir, Polyjuice Potion...]

[Reputation Points: 22]

Seeing the changes to his Magic Power Level and Reputation Points, Vaughn suddenly realized something.

A whole month had passed!

Ever since Snape had approved his request to borrow advanced books from the Restricted Section, he had spent every moment outside class in the Room of Requirement.

After all that painstaking study, he had finally reached a stopping point.

Vaughn set down the book and let out a long breath. He shook his head, foggy from hours of concentration, and looked at the System Panel.

The newly added spells and potions lifted his weary spirits at once.

For years, he had been unable to get his hands on them no matter how hard he tried. Even relatively conventional spells like the Crushing Curse and Obliviate had no readily available means of study.

The Ministry of Magic restricted their circulation. Unless someone attended an accredited school like Hogwarts, where students were registered with the Ministry, Wild Wizards had no hope of learning them—

Wild Wizards were hardly rare in the Wizarding world. Some had been bitten as children and become Werewolves or Vampires. Others were unidentified Dark Wizards who had drifted in from abroad.

Not all Dark Wizards were as "high-end" as Death Eaters. Plenty were petty thieves scraping by in the gray areas.

What Vaughn had not expected was for Snape to approve his request to borrow a Dark Arts book, too.

Most of Introduction to Dark Magic covered simple Hexes and Curses, but someone had added a handwritten page at the end.

It recorded Sectumsempra, its counterspell Vulnera Sanentur, and the Fiendfyre Curse!

Vaughn did not have to think to know who had added it.

A former Death Eater, all right. Snape had no qualms about the Dark Arts.

Of course, even Snape would not go so far as to let Vaughn study the Unforgivable Curses yet.

Still, Vaughn was more than satisfied. Without Snape pulling strings for him, he probably would not have learned these spells for another four or five years.

As for the Dark Arts, he might have had to do what the Wild Wizards did: go to Knockturn Alley or the Black Market and find someone in the underworld.

That carried far too many risks. The underworld was full of swindlers and thugs. Losing his money would be the least of his worries if a Dark Wizard decided to rob him instead.

Vaughn stared at the System Panel for a while. When his brief excitement faded, he pressed a hand to his forehead.

"There are too many new spells. Practicing them all myself would take forever. Ideally, I'd use Reputation Points to raise each one a level or two, get the basics down, then practice on my own."

"Twenty-two Reputation Points won't be nearly enough... I need to earn more!"

With that, Vaughn put every point into the Scarpin Transfiguration Curse, raising it straight to LV2 (10/16).

The spell would be a tremendous help with his upcoming potion development. Potions, in turn, could help him earn more Reputation Points at the monthly tally.

While he was still at school, putting all his points into it was undoubtedly the most effective choice.

Once he had spent the points, Vaughn took out a bottle of Itching Potion and poured it into a cup. With a light flick of his Wand, he cast a spell as smoothly as though he had practiced it a thousand times.

"Revelaspell!"

His vision changed at once. The potion in the cup glowed before his eyes!

Colors floated across the glow, mingled together yet perfectly distinct.

Vaughn suddenly felt that he could take the finished potion apart!

So he flicked his Wand again—

The vivid blue potion in the cup immediately separated into several clusters under a mysterious force. Their colors shifted rapidly, losing their pure blue as they gradually returned to the colors of Viper Fang, Dried Nettle, and the other ingredients.

The spell had undone the process that formed the potion, then worked to restore the ingredients as closely as possible to their former states.

After observing them for a moment, Vaughn poured the Itching Potion away.

It was useless now. The Scarpin Transfiguration Curse could reverse the process, but it could not make the ingredients into a potion again.

"What an incredible spell. I wonder how the wizard named Scarpin came up with it?"

"Too bad he's been dead so long I probably couldn't even find his ashes..."

Vaughn used Scourgify to clear away the mess, stretched, and prepared to return to his dormitory to sleep.

Tomorrow, he would begin making and developing potions.

He already had a few ideas and intended to make a splash!

Then, as he stepped out of the Room of Requirement, he ran into Dumbledore...

The greatest White Wizard of the century stood in the Seventh Floor corridor wearing a bright pink-and-purple nightgown and a childishly whimsical nightcap, pretending their meeting was a coincidence.

"Ah—Mr. Vaughn Weasley. Good evening. Are you here to use the bathroom too?"

"...?"

Vaughn froze for a moment.

Dumbledore went on with a genial smile. "So you've found this place too. Remarkable, isn't it? I've been at Hogwarts for over a century and walked this corridor more times than I can count. Then one day, when I urgently needed the bathroom, a room suddenly appeared in this wall, filled with all sorts of toilets I liked. Thank Merlin! It's been my favorite place ever since."

The old man was playing dumb again...

Vaughn caught on quickly. Smiling just as pleasantly, he gave a polite bow. "What a marvelous room. Unfortunately, I'm not here to use the bathroom. I'm still young. I don't need it at night, Headmaster Dumbledore."

As if he had not noticed the book tucked under Vaughn's arm, Dumbledore smiled and made small talk. "Yes, I am rather old. I can't keep up with you young people. Still, I think you ought to try it sometime."

Vaughn shrugged. "I probably won't be coming back for a while."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I've nearly finished the books. Now I'm going to start developing potions and refining my theories. Sorry to disappoint you, Headmaster."

"Severus is always praising you to me—the Slytherin Potions Prodigy."

Vaughn smiled. "That's only because Professor Snape and you think so highly of me. It's getting late, Headmaster. I should get back and rest. Good night."

"Good night, Mr. Weasley."

The two foxes, one old and one young, bid each other good night and parted, as though it had all been a chance encounter and an ordinary chat.