Sectumsempra

Linley felt like his pet hamster had gotten a lot fatter overnight.

He stared at Umr for a whole morning and finally confirmed he wasn't mistaken; Umr was now as round as a ball.

Linley's expression was odd as he checked all his snacks, finding nothing missing. He had no choice but to interrogate the culprit.

"Spill it! Did you sneak out and steal someone else's food last night?"

Umr, the little ball, lay grunting in its little nest, busy digesting the food in its belly, completely oblivious to what Linley was saying.

Linley poked its round belly with his finger, causing it to roll over in annoyance and settle into a new position.

Getting no answers, Linley didn't expect to get any from a hamster anyway. He changed into his thick robe and left the Slytherin common room.

A light snow fell on Christmas Day. There were very few young wizards in the school, and the snowflakes landing on the grayish castle gave it a serene beauty.

Linley, with nothing else to do, decided to take a walk around Hogwarts. As he passed Hagrid's hut by the Forbidden Forest, he heard a familiar voice.

"Remember to put more dry hay in its nest. It gets colder here near the Forbidden Forest at night, which is also one of the reasons it got sick."

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

"Thank you, Foxx. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known Yaya was sick. It's my best friend, and I've been neglecting it..."

Hagrid's voice sounded self-reproachful. Professor Foxx patted his arm to comfort him.

"It's not your fault, Hagrid. Animals are different from people, after all. You've done enough for it."

"I'm a bit inconvenienced this time. In another week, Foxx, I'll go with you to the Forbidden Forest to look for Red Caps."

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

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll see you next time."

Hagrid saw him out of his small yard. "See you next time."

Linley didn't hide himself, and Professor Foxx saw him as soon as he came out.

"Merry Christmas, Linley. What are you doing out here?"

"Merry Christmas, Professor. I was just bored and decided to take a stroll."

They walked back to the castle together.

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

"Red Caps are a type of sprite, an evil creature that likes blood. They can appear anywhere there's bleeding. Red Caps hunt human blood, dipping their caps into the pools to maintain their vibrant color. This is all third-year material; you'll learn it later."

Professor Foxx explained, "When I teach third years, I need such creatures for demonstrations. However, they usually only appear in Northern Europe and are rarely seen in Britain. But it's possible one or two might be hiding in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest, so I came to Hagrid for help, wanting him to accompany me into the forest to look for them."

He then sternly warned Linley.

"The Forbidden Forest is the most dangerous place in Hogwarts. Even I need Hagrid to accompany me if I want to go in. You must never sneak into the Forbidden Forest alone in the future."

Linley had no intention of sneaking into the Forbidden Forest. He'd have to be out of his mind to go looking for trouble there. While the main characters might treat the Forbidden Forest like their backyard later on, entering and exiting as they pleased, Linley didn't have that kind of courage. He considered himself to be without any protagonist's halo.

"By the way, Professor, I've finished reading 'Advanced Dark Magic: An Exploration.' Is there anything else I should study?"

If he hadn't met Professor Foxx here, Linley would have sought him out in the afternoon. His dark magic studies needed to enter a new phase.

"Your progress is really too fast," Professor Foxx exclaimed.

"To start formally engaging with the most advanced dark magic at the age of eleven, I've never seen such talent. However, I was prepared for this."

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

"Actually, I was always struggling with which advanced dark magic to teach you. In the end, an old rival of mine helped me solve this problem. I paid a considerable price for it, but compared to this spell, the cost was nothing."

As he spoke, he recited the incantation at the dummy.

"Sectumsempra!"

An invisible blade sliced through the air, instantly cutting the dummy!

"Thump."

A dull sound echoed as the dummy was split in half from the middle. The cut was incredibly smooth, as if it had been polished.

"This dark magic was invented by your Head of House, Professor Snape, when he was in his fifth year at Hogwarts. He's also a genius, with exceptional talent in Potions and dark magic. However, he and I have had some conflicts, so it was quite difficult to get him to teach me this spell."

Linley's expression was quite peculiar. Of course, he recognized the spell Sectumsempra. It was the signature creation from Snape's angsty, chuunibyou phase, which he had even recorded in his potion book, along with other self-created dark spells like Levicorpus.

Linley had originally planned to find it in the advanced Potions classroom if he ever had the chance, as there was a high probability of finding it there.

But he never expected Professor Foxx to have already traded for the spell from Snape.

Linley felt a touch of emotion.

From the incident with Hubert, he could tell that the relationship between Professor Foxx and Snape wasn't just a minor feud; otherwise, Snape wouldn't have kicked him while he was down back then.

Therefore, Professor Foxx must have paid a significant price to trade for Sectumsempra from him. And now, he was teaching him this spell free of charge.

Yes, Professor Foxx's investment in Linley did not include teaching him magic. Compared to the five hundred Galleons, the teaching and guidance of magic were undoubtedly more valuable.

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

Great kindness needs no thanks.

Professor Foxx's teachings were filled with good intentions. After graduation, Linley would fulfill his promise to help the professor with his dark magic research.

Although, even now, he still didn't know what aspect of dark magic Professor Foxx was researching.

After beginning the actual advanced dark magic studies, Linley's learning speed noticeably slowed down.

The specific reason wasn't that he encountered difficulties while learning the magic, but rather that his magical power was too limited.

So limited that it wasn't enough to support him in casting a complete Sectumsempra.