Professor Baker's Gift

But when Avada returned to the familiar Hufflepuff common room and saw those familiar faces, he decided not to think about any of that.

Right now, all he wanted was to get a good night's sleep and wake up whenever he felt like it!

So he immediately put that thought into action—after greeting Cedric, his three roommates, and the other friends, he went straight back to his dorm, collapsed onto the soft bed, and lost consciousness.

And when he opened his eyes, fully satisfied, and headed to the common room to grab some breakfast to fill his stomach, he was met with the stunned stares of a crowd of Hufflepuffs.

"It's already nine at night! You slept for fourteen hours straight!"

Summers' tone was exaggerated: "I went to the dorm several times in between to check on you and ask if you wanted lunch or dinner... but you were snoring away, couldn't hear a thing, and just kept going for fourteen hours!"

"Huh?"

Avada was taken aback for a moment, then realized: "I guess the pressure was too high before, and my nerves were wound tight. Now that the pressure's suddenly gone, my mind fully relaxed... so I slept a bit longer. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Of course we know you're fine, given how busy you were before. Also, we saved you some dinner, but the problem is..."

"The problem is?"

"The problem is, if you're waking up at this hour, you won't be able to sleep tonight. So what about tomorrow's classes?"

"..."

"It's not that big a deal, actually." The senior who'd sold Avada the Wit-Sharpening Potion earlier overheard their conversation and chuckled: "Just brew a dose of Sleeping Draught... it's simple, just heat daffodil root powder and wormwood together."

"I can't sleep for one night, and you want me to drink Hell Soup?!" Avada said in horror.

"What are you thinking? The real Hell Soup is way more complicated than that—at least a sixth-year level to brew. What I'm talking about is just the base of Hell Soup, the simplest kind of sleeping potion..."

In the end, following the senior's advice, Avada brewed a simple dose of Hell Soup base and drank it before bed, begging his roommates to make sure they woke him up on time, and if they couldn't, to pour Invigoration Draught down his throat.

After getting scolded by Snape for not overusing excessive Invigoration Draught, Avada finally finished the day's classes. He wolfed down a quick meal in the Great Hall, then immediately headed to the third floor, suppressing the urge to cast a Disillusionment Charm as he walked to the familiar Defense Against the Dark Arts office door, where he found Baron already waiting for him.

Without exchanging many words, they glanced at each other, nodded, and knocked on the office door.

"Here?"

The door clicked open on its own, revealing Professor Baker, who was smiling at them as if he already knew who was outside without needing to look.

"Come in quickly, your rewards are ready..."

Once Avada and Baron entered the office, he waved a hand and closed the door again. Then he walked to his desk, pulled out a large bag from the cabinet, and opened it.

"First, five hundred Galleons each as monetary compensation. I know neither of you is exactly strapped for cash, but five hundred Galleons is still no small amount—it's pretty much all the cash I have on me. The cost of the materials you bought yourselves is already factored in, all in the bag..."

"Don't refuse, unless you think my life isn't worth even a thousand Galleons."

With that, he took two money pouches from the large bag, then pulled out two identical small booklets and placed them alongside the pouches in front of the two.

"And then this..."

Professor Baker revealed a mysterious smile: "This is the real highlight today."

"What is this?"

The two asked curiously. The booklet was so small—how much valuable knowledge could it hold?

"Remember the 'Dual Casting' I mentioned?" Professor Baker chuckled. "The contents here are the method for learning 'Dual Casting.'"

"You're giving us your trump card?!"

Avada asked in shock. Of course he remembered that skill—from the very beginning, Professor Baker had repeatedly warned them that in a fight, they had to knock his first wand out of his hand, or else he could use both wands simultaneously with Dual Casting, putting several times the pressure on them!

"I trust you won't leak it carelessly, and its effect isn't as exaggerated as you think."

Professor Baker explained: "The essence of Dual Casting is splitting your focus, but it consumes far more energy than usual, so it can't be used as a regular technique, nor can it double your combat power out of nowhere. Its main use is to catch opponents off guard when a fight reaches a stalemate."

"But even so, it's deadly to anyone who doesn't know about it—almost every strong enemy who pushed me into a tough battle fell to this technique, including Aethelred. I deliberately concealed it when I played back the memory."

"And two more things..."—Two more things?

Professor Baker pulled out two more books: "These two contain the true knowledge of the 'Repentance' magic. When I had you set up the spell before, you just followed my instructions without understanding the principles. But since you've successfully cast it, I think this knowledge might serve you well."

"However, the content is too profound, and some parts are incomplete, so don't expect to understand it before you graduate."

"Finally, I've prepared a personal gift for each of you."

Under the two's astonished gazes, Professor Baker took out a familiar-looking Black Crystal Ball from the bag: "This is for Mr. Shafiq."

"Professor," Baron stammered, pointing at the crystal ball, "isn't this..."

"That's right, the vessel that once held my consciousness."

Professor Baker looked at Baron's panicked expression and said with some amusement: "I know what you're thinking, but you're overthinking it. Right now, this is just an ordinary prophecy ball. It won't suddenly suck your consciousness in one day. Unless you also accidentally split your consciousness like I did and figure out how to use it by digging through a ton of obscure texts..."

"It now has only two functions: first, it's sturdy—very sturdy, enough to withstand Fiendfyre for ten seconds. Second, it can perform one 'prophecy' per month, predicting the danger level of whatever you're about to do next. When you use this function, one to seven stars will appear inside it—one star means safest, seven means most dangerous. I've written the specific usage instructions in this booklet."

"And when you grow stronger, you can try to analyze it. You'll discover many fascinating and practical techniques that might benefit you greatly... As a thank-you for saving my life, Mr. Shafiq, are you satisfied?"

"Why did you add a prophecy function to your own vessel?" Baron felt much more at ease after hearing Professor Baker's explanation, then asked curiously.

"For camouflage. When people find that it already has its own purpose, they generally won't wonder if there's a wizard's consciousness hidden inside." Professor Baker answered casually, but then a hint of hesitation and reluctance actually appeared on his face.

"Mr. K's gift... Mr. K, you're a Hufflepuff student, right? Then I think you're qualified to accept this..."

With that, he slowly pulled out the last item from the bag: a massive book as thick as a dictionary and as large as a magazine, currently bound tightly by a pure black cover and straps made of some unknown material.

"Mr. K, could you drop a drop of blood on this book? I need to bind it to you, to ensure only you can see its contents."

Avada paused, then conjured a needle and pricked his arm, squeezing out a drop of blood onto the book's cover—he wouldn't prick his fingertip; that hurt too much.

"Done."

Professor Baker pushed the massive tome toward Avada, fixing his eyes on him with a stern look. "The knowledge within likely touches the deepest, most fundamental mysteries of this world. It is profoundly arcane and alluring, but if you lose caution and reverence in the process of exploration, it may also exact an unknown price upon you..."

"I can roughly sense that you harbor a great secret—don't be surprised. I began to suspect it from the moment you identified my vessel as a Dark Magic artifact, and subsequent events only confirmed my guess... And I trust that your character is sufficient to let you wield this knowledge. So I've decided to entrust it to you, as thanks for saving my life. Accept it, don't refuse. If you find it too precious, then use the knowledge within to do things that match the value you believe it holds."

"And to avoid potential risks, I've also placed a seal on this book, so you can only open it after your sixth year and begin to access its contents."

"Hah..."

Watching Avada and Baron leave the office and close the door behind them, Professor Baker leaned back in his chair and let out a long, heavy breath.

"Super Magic Perception? Or rather... gazing upon the 'Origin'?"