Snape's Invitation

"Accio Notebook!"

Wizet left the office, drew his wand, and cast the spell, summoning the hand-drawn edition of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration from all the way back in his dormitory.

Without a doubt, the Summoning Charm was an extremely useful spell.

Especially once one became skilled with it, this magic could even be used to find lost items, summon textbooks left in the dormitory...

"Magic... really is too convenient!" Wizet exclaimed in admiration, then headed for the Transfiguration classroom.

"Wizet!" Snape said, his face cold as he stepped out from the shadows.

"Professor Snape?" Wizet was slightly surprised. "Good afternoon!"

"Mm!" Snape responded, then said darkly, "Come with me."

The two walked through the corridors until they reached a secluded corner. Only then did he turn to face Wizet directly. "Why did you go to Quirrell's office?"

Wizet told him truthfully, "I'm interested in composite magic. Professor Quirrell wanted to recommend a few books to me, so I went over."

For some reason, when he met Snape's gaze, he had the feeling that his thoughts had been seen through. It was very uncomfortable.

He instinctively used the Guardian Meditation Method. His perception instantly became clear, and only then was that uncomfortable feeling driven away.

"Oh?" Snape murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly. "So that's how it is... It seems you have indeed gotten started, though it's very easy to see through."

Wizet asked in confusion, "Professor Snape... may I ask what was seen through?"

Snape did not answer his question. He continued asking, "You stayed in that office for an entire noon. What did you learn?"

"The foundational theory of composite magic, and I came to know a few hexes and curses." Wizet spread out the signatures Quirrell had given him. "Professor Quirrell asked me to find the originals of these books."

"Besides that? What do you think..." Snape's expression was somewhat unnatural, as if he was very unwilling to say such words, "...of Quirrell as a person?"

"He's a decent professor. As long as I was willing to listen patiently, I still learned quite a bit of useful knowledge."

"Besides that? Was there anything abnormal about him? Or anything that made you feel he was strange?"

Wizet took a quiet step back. "Making rash comments about a professor shouldn't be something a student ought to do, should it?"

"Heh heh..." Snape sneered twice. "Gryffindor wouldn't think that way. Two points from Gryffindor!"

Wizet was amused inwardly and, for a moment, did not know what to say. In his heart, he observed three seconds of silence for Gryffindor.

Less than a month had passed since school started, and Gryffindor's house points had already dropped by quite a lot. At present, they were at the bottom.

Ravenclaw and Slytherin's house points were relatively close. If one looked only at the house-point hourglasses, it was hard to tell who was first and who was second.

"What if I insist that you speak?" Snape repeated his earlier question. "Was there anything abnormal about Quirrell? Or anything that made you feel he was strange?"

Wizet was helpless and could only say, "Professor Quirrell... his room had a strange fishy smell. Even though the sun was bright outside the window, I felt cold and gloomy."

"Only that?" Snape seemed somewhat disappointed, and also as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes!"

"Then... what composite magic did he teach you?"

"The Chronic Curse. It's the complete version of the Booger Curse, possessing the power and effects a curse ought to have."

"You... are interested in Dark Magic as well?" Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone much colder than before.

Wizet shook his head. "I haven't come into contact with that much Dark Magic, so I can't really say I'm interested in it, nor can I say I reject it."

"As long as it's knowledge about magic, I actually want to understand it. Besides, I think... magic is like a small knife."

"It can become a murder weapon stabbing into an innocent person's heart, or it can become a scalpel that saves someone on the verge of death."

"What it is isn't that important. What matters is what the person holding it wants to do."

"Ravenclaw..." Snape said without any emotion. "Your fine words do sound pleasant enough, and your theories come one set after another."

"In that case, show me this magic. Let me see how much you've actually mastered, and whether you can give it the power it ought to have."

"Should I have learned it that quickly?" Wizet froze for a moment. "He was still teaching me the theory... taking me through those hexes and curses."

"The reason Professor Quirrell gave me the signatures was so I could consolidate the knowledge... He also asked me to work out the pronunciation and try to construct a suitable incantation."

"That's how he taught you?" Snape's brows knitted tightly, a trace of doubt showing in his eyes. "He didn't directly teach you how to recite the incantation and cast the spell?"

"No!" Wizet immediately shook his head. "Professor Quirrell also introduced me to counter-curses. He said that in order to deal with counter-curses, wizards gave rise to composite magic."

"That is as far as he can go." Snape let out a mocking laugh. "Using magic to counter magic is only one unstable solution among them."

Wizet immediately reacted. "Professor Snape, potions can be used too, right?"

"You're a little smarter than him." Snape twitched the corner of his mouth and gave a soft snort, which counted as praise. "When did Quirrell ask you to come see him again?"

Wizet replied, "Saturday at two in the afternoon. That way there'll be more time, and we should also be able to do some magical practice."

"Then you come to my office at two in the afternoon on Sunday!"

"Ah?" Hearing Snape's words, Wizet did not quite react for a moment.

Snape frowned. "If you're unwilling, you may refuse."

Wizet waved his hands repeatedly. "Of course not... I'm very willing to learn a little more!"

Snape immediately poured cold water on him. "Then prepare yourself for the worst. I may throw you out at any time!"

"I'll work hard!" Wizet said with a smile, raising A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration in his hand. "Professor Snape, I should get to class."

After sending Wizet away, Snape went straight to the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore said in a low voice, "Is he all right?"

Expressionless, Snape said, "Wizet is far too popular. Even Quirrell was willing to teach him everything he knew."

"Really?" Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "What did he teach him?"

"The Chronic Curse. A curse evil enough."

"So... Quirrell didn't crudely make Wizet cast spells and chant incantations, but instead used the simplest method, teaching him step by step?"

"That's right. Your worries were unnecessary."

"Quirrell isn't too bad. That's a good thing." Dumbledore clearly let out a breath of relief. "Then what about you? Are you willing to..."

Snape said reluctantly, "I sacrificed my precious time and told him to come find me on Sunday afternoon."

"I won't treat him like some treasure the way you do. The time I've lost will be made up through him!"

"I understand!" Dumbledore's tone was much lighter than before. "The fact that you were able to do this already makes me very happy!"

Snape curled his lip. "Good that you understand!"