After dinner, Shawn continued studying his first-year textbooks in advance. If he wanted to stop being pushed around, he had to get stronger. It was a simple enough principle.
His memory had also been excellent since crossing over. He did not have a photographic memory, but after another reading or two, he could at least remember the gist.
Back at the bookstore, he had bought all seven years of the Standard Book of Spells, intending to learn everything ahead of time.
After finishing the first-year textbook, Shawn discovered a problem: theory and practice were two entirely different things.
Take Petrificus Totalus, for example. He pronounced the incantation clearly and performed the wand movements correctly, yet after an hour or so of practice, nothing happened. In the end, the little white mouse he was using for the experiment was blown up by his Lightning Element magic.
Shawn stared at the mangled mouse in silence for a long time.
"Is my talent for white magic too low? Surely I don't have to start studying dark magic already."
"Although I already know the Killing Curse, I've never dared to try it. I'm afraid of letting negative emotions taint my mind."
Shawn did not lose heart. He recalled a scene from the films he had watched before. When Miss Know-it-all had taught Ron, the incantation needed the right rises and falls in pitch, with certain sounds drawn out.
"Looks like teaching myself spells is going to be a little difficult."
Still unwilling to give up, Shawn put down his books and headed for the basement, where the Black family library was located.
He had taken a quick look before. As expected of a family collection built up over a thousand years, it contained books on all sorts of subjects, with no shortage of texts on either White Magic or dark magic.
He found several general spellbooks with handwritten annotations on the shelves. They ought to provide far more guidance than the bare-bones textbooks.
He also looked for books that mentioned lightning. Even with the Black family's extensive collection, Shawn had to search for quite a while before finding these few volumes.
Apparently, lightning wizards were rare in this world. He had no idea why.
Shawn was heading back with the books in his arms when he happened to spot a copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art.
An idea stirred in his mind. Besides his MAX Lightning Element talent, he could also test that Azkaban-level talent for dark magic and see whether it let him bypass the drawbacks of imperfect incantations altogether.
He found a chair at random, sat down, and began reading carefully.
Skipping over much of the obscure material, he turned straight to the section introducing spells and began learning his first piece of dark magic.
Ten minutes later, Shawn casually waved his wand and spoke the incantation.
"Corrosive Mist!"
A cloud of sizzling green mist instantly billowed from the tip of his wand, burning countless tiny pits into the bookshelf beside him.
Shawn hastily cut off the flow of magic.
"Holy shit. Just as I thought-this talent for dark magic really is Azkaban material!"
For a moment, Shawn was sorely tempted, but after thinking it over carefully, he decided there was no need.
Given the current climate, it was best not to court disaster. Still, mastering a few dark spells for self-defense was necessary.
If it truly came down to a fight to the death, the Killing Curse would do the job too.
After spending quite a while choosing from Secrets of the Darkest Art, he selected two more spells, Transfiguration Torture and Blade Throat-Seal, to go with the Corrosive Mist he had just learned.
That would be enough.
Only after studying them carefully for an hour did Shawn get up and enter the spell practice room next door. Ready to practice, he aimed at a dummy and began casting.
"Transfiguration Torture!"
"Blade Throat-Seal!"
Shawn watched as the dummy's joints were first twisted backward, then its head was cut clean off.
Seeing that all three dark spells had reached level one in the system, he shook his head and indulged in a humblebrag.
"Tsk, tsk. This talent for dark magic is just too strong."
Shawn reminded himself that his strongest talent was actually his Lightning Element affinity. He should not get his priorities backward. Instead of experimenting further with dark magic, he began reading the books that mentioned lightning.
After reading them, Shawn was baffled. None of these books actually contained lightning spells. Even the sole Weather Charm produced thunderstorms naturally by manipulating water vapor to condense clouds and mist.
"Isn't this wasting my talent? Am I supposed to invent my own lightning spells?"
But Shawn was still a newcomer to the wizarding world, with only a shallow understanding of magic. Being able to use existing spells smoothly would be an achievement in itself, let alone creating his own. He had no desire to blow himself up.
Luna's mother, Pandora, had blown herself up while experimenting with a new spell.
Shawn sighed. Things really never went perfectly smoothly.
Just then, Kreacher appeared with a teleport.
"Master, an owl from the Malfoy family has delivered an invitation. They would like you to attend a family dinner at Malfoy Manor tomorrow."
Shawn froze for a moment, then gave a cold laugh.
"Heh. Interesting."
He took the invitation from Kreacher and glanced through it. Judging by the signature, Narcissa had written it herself.
The letter's wording was quite earnest. Its main purpose was to invite him to Malfoy Manor, and it also mentioned how his aunt and uncle had failed in their responsibilities as his elders, leaving him to wander alone for years, and so on. Yet there was also a hint of probing into his background.
Beyond that, it said his younger cousin Draco admired him greatly, and that the cousins should look after each other once Shawn entered Hogwarts.
After finishing the letter, which said nothing at all about the family's businesses, Shawn shook his head and put it away. Whether Narcissa sincerely wanted to rekindle their family bond or not, he could hardly be foolish enough to visit the Malfoys while he was still weak. That would be gambling his life on someone else's sincerity.
Nor was he unhappy with them because he valued money so much that he disregarded family ties.
In fact, Shawn already had enough money to spend. What he truly valued was the influence that came with controlling those businesses.
Sometimes, influence was equivalent to power.
"Master, would you like to send a reply?"
"Reply for me. Tell them I'm shutting myself away to study. I have no time to go out, and I won't be receiving visitors either."
Kreacher paused, then pleaded with him.
"But Miss Narcissa is a daughter of the Black family, your father's cousin. And the Blacks and Malfoys have been allies for generations..."
Shawn waved a hand, sounding slightly impatient.
"Do as I say!"
"Yes, Master."
After Kreacher left, Shawn picked up the old wand he had been using, left behind by some Black ancestor whose identity he did not know.
He resumed practicing his spells. Besides the few dark spells, he also practiced the Killing Curse, along with Avis and the Shield Charm from before.
He did not try to take on too much. He only planned to master these few spells before school started. With offense, defense, disruption, and control covered, they would be enough.
Shawn got especially creative with Avis, perfectly reproducing every maneuver from his earlier card magic performance. The results were even more dazzling and spectacular, with birds drifting through the room like a sky full of stars.
While Shawn was hard at work practicing his spells, Draco stood in Malfoy Manor, gazing eagerly at the letter in his father's hand.
"Dad, what does it say?"
Lucius Malfoy's face was dark, and he said nothing, but the cane in his grip creaked. Narcissa took the reply and read it, then sighed.
"Ah, it seems Shawn really does blame me, his aunt."
"Mum, isn't Shawn coming to visit us?"
Narcissa ruffled Draco's hair.
"No. Your cousin wants to stay home and study."
Draco's mouth fell open.
"B-but Shawn's already so powerful. He can even cast silently and use Wandless Magic. Why is he still working so hard?"
The corners of Lucius's and Narcissa's eyes twitched. In truth, neither quite believed that an eleven-year-old child could possess such advanced spellcasting skills.
But Draco was adamant, and Hagrid and the Boy Who Lived had witnessed it too. The couple had no choice but to believe him.
It seemed that Shawn, this Black heir who had appeared out of nowhere, truly was an extraordinary genius.
Lucius considered it. There were some matters in which he could not burn his bridges yet. The Malfoy family excelled at seizing opportunities, so he told Draco,
"Shawn is already so powerful, yet he still works this hard. You need to put in more effort too. Once you're at school, make sure you build a good relationship with him."
Draco nodded eagerly.
"I know, I know. You have to follow the strong to become strong yourself."
"All right, it's getting late. You should go to bed."
After Draco left, Narcissa said hesitantly,
"Those businesses... perhaps we could..."
Lucius cut her off firmly.
"Narcissa, not now. Ah, Cissy, your surname is Malfoy now."
Narcissa's expression dimmed. Of course she knew where her loyalties lay. She had hoped to invite Shawn over for a chat and salvage some of their family affection, but she had not expected the boy to be so guarded.
Seeing his wife's distress, Lucius softened his expression.
"Let's wait and see. Even if I were willing to let go, that whole crowd in the Pure-blood Association would still interfere. If Shawn swallows his anger, that will be the end of it. But if he has other ideas, he'll be threatening everyone's interests-unless he can become powerful enough to stand above them all!"
Narcissa's expression was conflicted too.
"The Pure-blood Association... Ah, I'll write to the boy and advise him to keep his head down for now."