Sectumsempra

Lynn felt that his pet hamster had somehow put on quite a bit of weight overnight.

He stared at Umr for an entire morning before finally confirming that he had not been mistaken. Umr really had grown as round as a ball.

With an odd expression, Lynn checked all of his snacks, but did not find anything missing. He had no choice but to interrogate the culprit.

"Speak! Did you sneak out last night and steal food from someone else's home?"

Little Ball Umr lay in his nest, grunting softly. He was working hard to digest the food in his belly and did not hear a word Lynn said.

Lynn poked his round belly with a finger, making him turn over in dissatisfaction before lying down again in a different position.

Having gotten no answers, Lynn did not expect to get any answers from a hamster anyway. He changed into a thick robe and left the Slytherin common room.

It snowed lightly on Christmas Day. There were not many young wizards in the school, and the snowflakes settling over the gray castle gave it a tranquil beauty.

With nothing to do, Lynn decided to take a walk around Hogwarts. When he passed Hagrid's hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he heard a familiar voice.

"Remember to put more hay in his nest. You're close to the Forbidden Forest, and it gets colder at night. That's one of the reasons he got sick."

Professor Foxx emerged from Hagrid's little hut, with Hagrid following behind him.

"Thank you, Foxx. If it hadn't been for you, I never would have noticed that Fang was sick. He's my best friend, yet I neglected him..."

Hagrid sounded full of self-reproach, and Professor Foxx patted his arm comfortingly.

"This isn't your fault, Hagrid. Animals are different from people, after all. You've already done enough for him."

"I really can't manage it this time. In another week, Foxx, I'll go into the Forbidden Forest with you and see if we can find any Red Caps."

Professor Foxx put on his top hat and straightened the collar of his trench coat.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Until next time, then."

Hagrid walked him out of his yard. "Until next time."

Lynn did not hide himself, and Professor Foxx spotted him as soon as he came out.

"Merry Christmas, Lynn. What are you doing here?"

"Merry Christmas, Professor. I was bored, so I came out for a walk."

They walked back to the castle together.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but what are Red Caps?" Lynn asked.

"Red Caps are a type of fairy creature, evil creatures. They like blood and may appear wherever there has been bloodshed. Red Caps prey on human blood, soaking their red caps in pools of blood to keep their color bright. This is third-year material. You'll learn it later."

Professor Foxx explained, "I happened to need this creature as a demonstration for my third-years, but they usually only appear in Northern Europe and are rarely seen in Britain. Still, there might be one or two hiding in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, so I came to ask Hagrid for help and hoped he would accompany me in to look."

At that, his expression turned stern as he warned Lynn.

"The Forbidden Forest is the most dangerous place at Hogwarts. Even I would bring Hagrid along if I wanted to enter it. You must never sneak into the Forbidden Forest alone."

Lynn had never even considered sneaking into the Forbidden Forest. He would have to be out of his mind to go in there and court death. The protagonists might treat it like their own backyard in the future, going in and out whenever they pleased, but Lynn did not have that kind of nerve. He did not think he had any protagonist's halo.

"By the way, Professor, I've finished Advanced Dark Magic: An Exploration. What should I learn next?"

If he had not run into Professor Foxx here, Lynn would have gone to find him that afternoon. His study of Dark magic was due to enter a new stage.

"Your progress is really a little too fast," Professor Foxx said with a sigh.

"To formally come into contact with the most advanced Dark magic at the age of eleven—I've never seen such talent before. Fortunately, I prepared in advance."

He led Lynn to an empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, drew his wand, and aimed it at a practice dummy.

"I've always been torn over which advanced Dark spell to teach you. In the end, an old rival of mine solved that problem for me. I paid a considerable price for it, but compared to this spell, what I gave up was more than worth it."

As he spoke, he cast the spell at the dummy.

"Sectumsempra!"

An invisible blade sliced through the air and flashed past the dummy in an instant!

Thud.

A dull sound rang out as the dummy was cut cleanly in half at the middle. The cut was exceptionally smooth, as though it had been waxed.

"This Dark spell was invented by your Head of House, Professor Snape, when he was a fifth-year at Hogwarts. He's a genius as well, extraordinarily gifted in Potions and Dark magic. However, he and I have had some conflicts. It truly wasn't easy to get him to teach me this spell."

Lynn's expression was rather strange. Of course he knew Sectumsempra. It was that sourpuss's prized creation from his chuunibyo phase, which he had even recorded in his Potions textbook alongside self-created Dark spells like Levicorpus.

Lynn had originally planned to search for it in the upper-year Potions classrooms when he had the chance. There was a good possibility he would find it.

But he had not expected Professor Foxx to have already traded for this spell from Snape on his behalf.

Lynn was somewhat moved.

From the matter with Hubert, he could tell that the grudge between Professor Foxx and Snape was no minor one. Otherwise, Snape would not have kicked him while he was down like that.

So Professor Foxx must have paid quite a price to trade for Sectumsempra, and now he was teaching it to Lynn for free.

Yes, teaching Lynn Dark magic had not been part of Professor Foxx's investment in him. Compared to those five hundred-odd Galleons, magical instruction and guidance were undoubtedly far more valuable.

In other words, Professor Foxx was Lynn's guide on the path of magic.

Great kindness needed no words of thanks.

Professor Foxx had put immense care into teaching him. After graduating, Lynn would also fulfill his promise and help the professor with his Dark magic research.

Even now, though, he still did not know exactly which aspect of Dark magic Professor Foxx was researching.

After beginning his true study of advanced Dark magic, Lynn's learning speed noticeably slowed.

The reason was not that he had encountered difficulties learning magic, but that he currently had too little magical power.

So little that it was not enough to support him in casting a complete Sectumsempra.