Advanced Dark Magic

Today was the weekend, and Linley had a full day free.

After finishing his daily spell-casting training with Cedric, Linley ate breakfast in the Great Hall and then headed straight to Professor Foxx's office.

Yesterday, Linley had finally completed his study of the mainstream hexes in the wizarding world.

This wasn't just about being able to cast them, but about fully digesting and understanding that category of spells.

The completion of learning hexes meant Linley's study of dark spells had reached its final stage: curses!

"The concept of dark magic actually varies from person to person. Some believe that any spell that carries malice and can cause harm to a person falls within the scope of dark magic. Others believe that for a spell to be called dark magic, it must inflict immense harm on others, such as disintegration or explosive blasts. Still others believe that among all spells, only the three Unforgivable Curses can be called dark magic; everything else can only be called a dark spell."

Before starting the practical instruction, Professor Foxx explained the definition of dark magic in the wizarding world to Linley in detail.

"Then what is your boundary, Professor? What kind of spell do you think can be called dark magic?" Linley proactively asked.

Professor Foxx, however, posed another question to Linley.

"What do you think is the most important thing for a wizard when casting a spell?"

Linley pondered for a moment and tentatively offered an answer.

"Magical power?"

Professor Foxx couldn't help but laugh.

"Your answer isn't wrong. Without magical power, a wizard can't cast spells, but similarly, without magical power, a wizard wouldn't be called a wizard. So, your answer is also incorrect."

"Then what is it?"

Professor Foxx didn't keep him in suspense and answered earnestly:

"It's emotion. No matter what kind of magic it is, it requires the wizard to have strong emotions. This is true even for Transfiguration; every transformation requires you to have unwavering belief, to constantly believe that you will succeed. It's even more so for curses. If a wizard lacks emotion, then no matter how skilled their casting technique is, they won't be able to cast any spell."

With that, he shifted the topic back to dark magic.

"In my view, the boundary of dark magic is this: as long as a wizard uses a spell with the subjective intention to harm, then even if the spell is just a cleaning charm, it belongs to dark magic."

Professor Foxx looked at Linley, who appeared to be deep in thought, and continued his explanation.

"Actually, the jinxes and hexes you learned before are already considered dark magic by some people. And the curses we are about to learn have a specific name."

Linley was listening intently and couldn't help but ask.

"What is it called?"

Professor Foxx took out a book from his drawer. He pointed to the cover, which was printed with a skull and a series of eerie English words:

"Advanced Dark Magic: An Exploration"

That evening.

Linley met Cedric in front of the greenhouse.

"So it's just us? Professor Sprout isn't here?"

Linley asked curiously, looking behind Cedric.

"The professor is in Greenhouse Two. The Devil's Snare there seems to have some problems, and she's not feeling well, so she went to tend to it personally."

The two put on their dragon-hide gloves and picked up their specialized pruning shears at the entrance of the greenhouse before officially beginning their work for the night.

Dittany is a very useful herb for treating external wounds. After it matures, its leaves can be harvested and specially processed into Dittany essence, which is a white powder that is easy to carry and further enhances its wound-healing effects.

Linley and Cedric's task tonight was not complicated; they only needed to carefully follow the veins along the base of the leaves and cut off the entire leaf intact.

"Linley, what have you been going to Professor Foxx's office for every day?"

While cutting leaves, Cedric chatted with Linley.

"The professor is giving me extra lessons, teaching me extracurricular spells." Linley had no intention of hiding it, as there was no need.

"You're really lucky. Professor Foxx was already a famous master of spells twenty years ago." Cedric unconsciously scratched his forehead with his finger, forgetting he was still wearing his grimy dragon-hide gloves, and got dust all over his forehead.

Linley burst into laughter, then, suppressing his amusement, asked Cedric, who was awkwardly wiping his forehead.

"Don't you have any prejudice against Professor Foxx?"

"Like you told me before, don't view things with prejudice. The only reason others dislike Professor Foxx is because he killed people who were related to them."

"You know that the people Professor Foxx killed were from pure-blood families? What about you? I remember you're also pure-blood, right? Some of your distant relatives might be among those pure-bloods Professor Foxx killed before?"

Cedric said very seriously.

"Those people subconsciously avoid the fact that those five individuals were Death Eaters, but I don't. Those who have done evil deeds should be punished. I don't think Professor Foxx is a bad person; rather, I think he's a hero."

Linley quietly looked at Cedric, remained silent for a long moment, and then suddenly laughed.

"You truly are an anomaly among pure-blood wizards."

Linley put away the Dittany leaves he had cut and asked again.

"You seem to know a lot about Professor Foxx's past. Can you tell me why he killed those five Death Eaters back then?"

Cedric shook his head.

"I only heard about it from my father. I don't know the specific reasons, but Professor Foxx killed them around the time the Dark Lord had just fallen from power. The identities of the five deceased wizards were unknown, and Professor Foxx was then considered a Death Eater by the Ministry of Magic's Aurors and was imprisoned in Azkaban. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore kept searching for evidence for him, and finally, two years ago, he overturned the verdict, proving that the five deceased were indeed Death Eaters, and Professor Foxx was wrongly accused."

Linley listened silently, his brow furrowed, lost in thought.

There was quite a bit of Dittany to process in the greenhouses, and the two of them were busy until past eight o'clock, only finishing up close to curfew.

Professor Sprout gave them each a bottle of Dittany essence as a reward. It was a generous amount, and even if they couldn't use it themselves, they could sell it for a good price.

Under the moonlight, Cedric and Linley walked back towards the castle together.

As they passed by the Black Lake, Cedric suddenly pointed in the direction of the Whomping Willow and said.

"It looks like someone's over there!"