Time flowed on in silence.
Like fine sand slipping through one's fingers.
Before he knew it, the day before the new school year had arrived.
Ian had grown, too.
The magic in Secrets of the Darkest Art wasn't particularly difficult to learn. Aside from the section on Horcruxes, Ian had already built up the standard bonds for all Three Unforgivable Curses.
[Killing Curse (Level 1) 11/100] [Imperius Curse (Level 1) 1/100] [Cruciatus Curse (Level 1) 3/100]
Since he was now in the modern world, Ian certainly didn't dare practice such seriously illegal magic with his own wand. For the most part, he had gained control of the spells by studying the theory.
His exceptional talent for Dark Magic had helped, and so had Gellert Grindelwald's notes and explanations in Secrets of the Darkest Art.
Of course.
Aside from the Three Unforgivable Curses, Ian had only dabbled in Dark Magic such as Reducto and the Torture Transformation Curse. He hadn't gone on to study much more.
After all,
it was better to master a few spells than to learn many.
Improving his spell levels would require Ian to build up his proficiency over time. He already felt that being able to wield Dark Magic well enough to handle most situations was sufficient.
"I'll take my time. Sooner or later, I'll learn it all by heart."
Ian wasn't in much of a hurry.
In his spare time, he also studied the contents of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1.
It was a nice change of pace from learning Dark Magic.
The spells Hogwarts first-years had to learn required a little practice from Ian. Fortunately, his magical power was no longer as weak as it had been.
Over the course of a few days,
Ian hadn't managed to finish the entire Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1, but he could already cast most of its easier spells properly.
In other words, they were Level 1 spells.
The only magic that had given Ian much trouble was Transfiguration. All he had to do was turn something into a needle, yet it had stumped him for days, and he still hadn't gained any proficiency.
[Transfiguration (Level 0) 17/50]
That was painfully slow progress.
He didn't know whether he was doing even worse than an ordinary young wizard.
Actually, Ian could vaguely sense what his problem was. Just as Dumbledore had warned him before, he might be paying too much attention to the principles and logic behind how magic worked.
Especially with Enlightenment of Wisdom bolstering him.
This was a fairytale world.
Imagination and the power of belief played an immensely important role.
Teacher Mara in Limbo had once mentioned something similar. For all her lifelong learning, she still couldn't hold a candle to Pandero's faith in his own "I reckon I can do it."
Compared with wizards whose imaginations ran wild and who believed magic was a miracle, Ian's engineering-minded way of thinking had trapped him in his obsession with logic and principles.
There was nothing he could do.
Recognizing the problem
didn't mean he could fix it overnight.
"Rowena Ravenclaw, one of Hogwarts' founders, was a wizard who valued reason, and she was outstanding at Transfiguration, too. There must be a balance to find between the two."
"I did take a few art classes back in the day. My tutor said I wasn't cut out for it, but I must have at least a little artistic flair and imagination, right?"
Ian didn't doubt that he could learn Transfiguration. He just didn't know when he'd find the balance between reason and imagination.
It would take time.
"Transfiguration shattered my confidence. Only this precious knowledge can help me rebuild it." Whenever he struggled with Transfiguration, Ian would go back to Secrets of the Darkest Art.
The book recorded a great many spells, broadly divided into jinxes, hexes, and curses, each category more dangerous and cruel than the last.
Beyond those three types of Dark Magic, there was another, rather special category: curses.
"So that's how No-Nose Voldemort got the means to curse the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor position..." Ian had no intention of studying curses.
He had always been kind to others.
What enemies did he have who would need to be cursed?
Besides, with time like that,
why bother with curses when he had the Killing Curse? Or was he unable to turn up the Fiendfyre Curse? Yes, ever since returning from the bookstore, Ian had of course studied the famous Dark Magic spell, Fiendfyre Curse.
By now,
Fiendfyre had become the Dark Magic spell he was most proficient in.
[Fiendfyre Curse (Level 1) 76/100]
For the same reasons as before, Ian didn't dare use his own wand to cast and practice such severely punishable spells. He thought he might have to get himself a backup wand someday.
He wondered if he could have one custom-made in Knockturn Alley.
In any case,
it was truly difficult to improve his proficiency without practice. The only reason his Fiendfyre Curse proficiency was so high was the information and notes in Secrets of the Darkest Art.
He had to admit,
the ruthless Miss Grindelwald hadn't been wrong. Just from the written notes on Fiendfyre, Ian could feel that her grandfather, Gellert Grindelwald, had been a once-in-a-generation master.
Even at his current level,
Ian hadn't yet finished reading all the notes and explanations about the spell.
"School starts tomorrow. I won't have much chance to read this book then." Ian was looking forward to the new school year, though he regretted that he wouldn't be able to keep studying these unusual spells freely.
Of course,
learning other magic would be nice, too.
He could also study the Alchemy Teacher Mara had assigned him, and Ian truly hoped that Professor McGonagall's instruction would help him find the balance between reason and imagination.
"It's going to be a full life!"
Ian looked forward to what lay ahead.
He sat down at his desk and began tonight's studies.
"Today, I'll finish the last section on Fiendfyre. Grindelwald actually found a way to prevent Fiendfyre from harming its caster, and even to imbue the flames with his own will."
"What a brilliant innovation!"
Ian lit his wand and eagerly began his final night of study. He was a cautious person, so he decided to bury Secrets of the Darkest Art beneath the living room floor while he was away at school.
Hmm.
It would have to go in the most foul-smelling coffin. Surely, even if Snape came back to live here, he wouldn't be twisted enough to dig up a corpse for a heart-to-heart.
"Reflection of the mind is especially important... The more advanced the magic, the more it seems to emphasize this. At a certain stage, Dark Magic and White Magic seem to have almost everything in common."
As his proficiency slowly increased,
Ian turned the pages on the Fiendfyre Curse.
Outside,
the night wind whispered.
At the end of the final note on Fiendfyre Curse in the book from Miss Grindelwald, Ian saw a line that left him utterly perplexed.
"May you learn much, my friend."