Psychodynamics

"That student is a natural-born Dark wizard."

Voldemort praised Quirrell. "Without an exceptional talent for the Dark Arts, outstanding intelligence, and a desire to dominate others that comes from deep within, he never would have come up with an idea like that... Perhaps I can recruit him when he graduates. No, once I'm resurrected and have taken over this castle, I can guide him personally..."

"What's his background? Which house is he in? Is he Pure-blood or Half-blood?"

"He, he's a Hufflepuff..."

"Hufflepuff?" Voldemort frowned. That wasn't quite what he'd expected. None of his servants had ever come from that house of duffers.

"As for, as for his blood status, he came from an orphanage, and no one knows exactly what he is. But, supposedly, Dumbledore personally handled his admission at the time. If his bloodline had something to do with it, then it might not be so ordinary." Quirrell continued answering Voldemort's questions.

"An orphanage, brought in by Dumbledore, extraordinary talent... He sounds a lot like me when I was young."

Voldemort asked softly, "What's his name?"

"Th-that's the problem, Master."

Quirrell answered, somewhat confused. "According to the student register, his name is the incantation for the Killing Curse—in other words, Avada Kedavra..."

"What?"

Voldemort froze for a moment, then burst into an uncontrollable, shrill laugh.

"Ha ha ha, hahahaha... How interesting. Very interesting..."

Seeing that his master seemed increasingly interested in that student, Quirrell couldn't help warning him, "Master, could this be a test from Dumbledore? After all, he's a Hufflepuff, and Dumbledore was the one who brought him in..."

"You don't understand Dumbledore."

Voldemort was in such a good mood that he magnanimously forgave his foolish servant for questioning him, then explained, "If that old man had really discovered anything, he wouldn't let his students walk into danger so easily... Besides, he's always been quick to trust people. The fact that he recruited you means he doesn't suspect you."

"Th-then what if he realizes later that it's actually Dark Magic and goes to report it to Dumbledore?"

"If he doesn't want to be expelled, he certainly won't do that. It's a spell he came up with himself. I only gave him a little, insignificant help," Voldemort said with a laugh. "Besides... why would someone capable of coming up with that idea reject the Dark Arts?"

"But why is he a Hufflepuff... I'll have to sound him out properly the next time I see him."

Avada had one piece of good news, one piece of bad news, and another piece of good news.

The good news was that his preliminary diagnosis suggested the methods at his disposal might actually work on Voldemort's wraith. But that was only an initial assessment, based on limited data, so he couldn't draw any firm conclusions yet.

The bad news was that Voldemort had started taking a personal interest in him... Who would have thought that one paper of his could attract so much attention from Voldemort?

Weren't you supposed to be weak? Weren't you supposed to lie low? Was it really worth risking exposure over an ordinary student like him?!

He knew Voldemort had always wanted to try his hand at being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but he hadn't realized the man's obsession ran so deep...

And if Voldemort personally took over every time he faced Quirrell, he'd have to devote most of his energy to Occlumency. His progress in analyzing Voldemort's mental energy would slow considerably.

However, that brought him to the third piece of good news: an excuse to get Dumbledore on his side had just fallen into his lap.

Once he'd finished analyzing Voldemort's mental energy, all he had to do was go to the Headmaster's Office and tell Dumbledore, "in a panic," that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had a face with two nostrils hanging off the back of his head and had tried to teach him the Unforgivable Curses. Then he could suggest that it was Voldemort, and casually offer up his method for controlling Voldemort's wraith, under some pretext—say, the Shafiq Family or Professor Baker... Then he could proudly announce the end of the Harry Potter series.

As for the Basilisk, Sirius, Peter, Barty Crouch Jr., and the rest, they'd all be easy enough to deal with once Voldemort himself had been completely subdued.

When I get back, I can try practicing the Dual Casting Professor Baker left behind. Then I'll be able to split my attention between dealing with Voldemort and analyzing him...

Avada indulged in his unrealistic fantasies as he headed for the Restricted Section with the permission slip he'd just received. He wanted to see what Voldemort had recommended. According to him, the book was closely related to the Imperius Curse and the Confundus Charm—in other words, mental magic. Maybe it could help him?

"Madam Pince, I'd like to borrow this book."

After quietly making his way through the library, he approached Madam Pince, the librarian, and softly handed her the permission slip.

"A permission slip from Professor Quirrell, to borrow Psychodynamics... Why would he recommend such a difficult book to a second-year student?" Madam Pince murmured to herself, frowning. She spent a long time waving her wand over the slip, then nodded and put it away. "Wait here."

She went into the Restricted Section. A short while later, she returned with a book that looked neat and proper, nothing like the other forbidden books, whose covers alone seemed to promise something sinister. She handed it to Avada. "The loan period is three months. Remember to return it on time."

"Got it. Thank you."

Avada thanked her softly, then hurried away from the Restricted Section. He didn't leave the library, though. Instead, he wandered between the shelves, searching for a while, pulled out a few more books and skimmed them, then finally left.

Among all the books on dangerous magical creatures, not one mentions that music is a weakness of Cerberus, even though quite a few books describe the creature in detail...

What's going on? Did Dumbledore remove the relevant books, or was music originally a new discovery by Hagrid, the expert on magical creatures? After all, apart from him, who'd have the leisure to play music for a Cerberus...

He went straight through the common room and returned to the dormitory, which was still empty. Then he opened Psychodynamics and began to read.

"Preface..."

"Ever since humanity discovered the phenomenon of 'magic,' the search for its principles and applications has never stopped. To this day, as research has grown more advanced, the concepts of 'magical power' and 'mental energy' have become more or less settled: the former is the essence and source of the phenomenon known as 'magic,' while the latter is the medium that triggers magic and plays a crucial role in the composition of life..."

"Throughout history, the study of magic has focused on 'magical power.' Wizards have designed experiments and proposed all kinds of hypotheses to explain it, express it, use it, and summarize its natural laws. From Ancient Runes and the runic arrays that arose in the Middle Ages to the semiotics that emerged in modern times and 'magical functions,' inspired by Arithmancy and Muggle science, all have sought to explain the mysterious phenomenon of magical power through words, symbols, and other means humans can understand..."

"Yet the study of mental energy itself seems to have gradually faded into the background and been forgotten in the process. Mental magic, meanwhile, is generally considered the most dangerous kind of magic, so the knowledge related to it is strictly controlled. For all these reasons, research into mental energy remains at a very rudimentary stage. Even if it is but a drop in the ocean beside the vast and mysterious 'magical power,' it is still of immense importance to wizards—it is the source of their thoughts, and what enables them to explore nature and magical power..."

"It is like how everyone can speak, yet people tend to focus on what is said and rarely care about how the tongue and mouth move during speech. Though this line of research may seem impractical at present, I believe that as our explorations deepen, we will eventually encounter 'unpronounceable words' that can only exist on paper—that is, magic that exists only in theory and cannot be cast. When that day comes, we will have no choice but to turn our attention back to mental energy..."

"This book, having been titled Psychodynamics, naturally aims to explore the structure of mental energy, how it is affected by various kinds of magic, and how mental energy functions in the process of casting spells..."