If there's a new one, who would want the old one?

[You have received sincere praise from the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Adrian Foxx, and he intends to make an investment in you.]

[Offensive and Defensive Spell Talent +1, Offensive and Defensive Spell Strength +1, Dark Magic Talent +1, Dark Magic Strength +1]

Linley was astonished.

He wasn't surprised that receiving praise from a professor could grant him stat points; this had already happened with Professor McGonagall before. As long as the praise was genuine, professors from various subjects would allocate points to corresponding magic.

He could understand the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's praise being allocated to offensive and defensive spells.

But… why would his Dark Magic talent get a point boost?

This was Defense Against the Dark Arts! If his dark magic grew stronger, what good would his defense be!

Besides, his Dark Magic talent was already quite high. If it kept increasing, was he supposed to become a Dark Wizard?

Foxx thought Linley was considering his investment proposal and didn't interrupt. Instead, he happily enjoyed the lamb just added to the hot pot all by himself.

After much thought, Linley deduced three possible reasons for this situation:

The first, and most likely, was that the problem lay with the Defense Against the Dark Arts course itself, as it was a very special subject.

The second was that Foxx's earlier words weren't just praise; his intention to invest also granted him points. However, he couldn't explain why it would be allocated to Dark Magic, making this possibility a bit far-fetched.

The third, and the one Linley leaned towards the most, was that the issue lay with the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor himself…

Foxx noticed Linley looking at him and asked, "What have you decided?"

"Although I live alone now, I receive a fixed living allowance every month, so… I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not really short on money."

Linley wasn't so overwhelmed by a couple of compliments and a few gulps of beer that he'd forget himself.

Investors invest for returns and profits. Accepting money he didn't really need now made him wonder what he might have to give up in the future.

Foxx wasn't surprised by Linley's refusal; he didn't see him as a child anymore.

"While you're very smart, you don't know much about the wizarding world, Belloc." Linley had finished eating, but Foxx was still adding potatoes and lettuce to the hot pot.

"The currency in the wizarding world is different from Muggle currency. Oh, Muggles here refer to ordinary people who don't use magic and don't believe in it.

The wizarding world's bank, Gringotts, does have a service for exchanging Muggle currency for wizarding currency, which is Galleons. However, this exchange isn't unlimited.

Those goblins aren't fools. Some of them have even disguised themselves as humans to study economics at Muggle Oxford University and obtained degrees.

Therefore, their currency exchange rules have restrictions and fluctuations, changing at any time based on the wizarding world's currency reserves and economic needs.

This year, unfortunately, due to the economic downturn in the Muggle world, they've strictly limited currency exchange. No matter how many Pounds Sterling you offer, you can only exchange for ten Galleons at most.

Ten Galleons. A wand costs at least seven. You still need to save some money for emergencies. Do you have enough left for robes, books, cauldrons, and so on?"

Linley's understanding of the wizarding world was indeed not profound. Even if he remembered all the original plot details, the original work likely didn't provide many specifics.

For instance, he truly had no idea about the specific exchange rules for currency.

However, not knowing didn't mean Linley didn't have questions about Foxx's words.

"But students from Muggle families like me can't be the only ones. If they don't have enough money to buy magical items, what will they do when they start school? Hogwarts won't just stand by, will it?"

"Of course not. In previous years, if such a situation arose, the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors would jointly fund it, and Hogwarts would issue subsidies to students from Muggle families. It wouldn't be much, but it would be enough to barely cover their daily needs. But for the past two years, it's been different. The Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts' Board of Governors have been cutting the school's expenses, especially the Board of Governors, which is mostly composed of pure-blood families. Naturally, the cuts are directed towards you, the young wizards from Muggle families."

Foxx didn't state it too explicitly, as there were many underlying complexities: the conflict between Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore and the Board of Governors, the factional disputes between academies and families, and most importantly, the conflict between pure-bloods and non-pure-bloods.

"Dumbledore has fought for you as much as possible. Besides essential items like wands, other things like robes, books, and cauldrons can be accepted as gifts from graduating students. This means you can use their second-hand items.

But I believe, Belloc, that you're not someone who would mistreat yourself. If you can have new, who would want old?"

Linley was speechless, but inwardly he was thinking, That's not necessarily true. If it was a Potions textbook used by the Half-Blood Prince, I'd be perfectly happy to use a second-hand one.

"So, if I accept your investment, what kind of return do you expect, Professor?" Linley asked.

Foxx's smile widened, clearly indicating that Linley was tempted.

"I want you to come work as my assistant for a few years after you graduate."

"Assistant?" Linley frowned. "Can't anyone else do it? There are plenty of talented people in the wizarding world, why specifically me?"

Facing Linley's barrage of questions, Foxx gave him a mysterious smile.

"What I research isn't ordinary, Belloc. You haven't enrolled yet, so you don't know much about the wizarding world. Even if I explained it, you might not understand. You just need to know that I will never ask you to do anything wicked, but it will require broad magical knowledge, multi-faceted thinking, and… the ability to accept things that the wizarding world cannot."

After hearing this, Linley looked at Foxx with a strange expression, wondering if what he was talking about was actually dark magic.

"How can you be so sure I'll meet your requirements after graduation?"

Foxx smiled at him.

"That's why I said it's an investment. If you don't meet the requirements then, it means my investment has failed, but the loss will only be financial.

Besides, I might not even live long enough for you to graduate from Hogwarts. I have no confidence in whether I can safely get through this year at Hogwarts."

Linley fell into thought.

Honestly, he didn't have any particular aversion to dark magic. Magic itself was not inherently evil; it was the user who was. Moreover, his talent for dark magic was already extremely high, and Hogwarts didn't teach dark magic at all. This could be an opportunity for him.

Of course, he couldn't be 100% sure that what Foxx was referring to was dark magic, but the probability was quite high.

Furthermore, as Foxx himself said, Linley hadn't even enrolled yet, and graduation was still a distant prospect. He would go through the events of Voldemort's return in between. Who knew what changes would occur by then?

So, Linley made his decision.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Professor Foxx," he said, raising his beer and winking with a smile.

The standing short message has arrived. The contract will be mailed tomorrow. You can make an investment now for a follow-up read and earn some money, and… I'm begging for votes!