"So how do we investigate? Go find that big oaf?" Draco had completely stopped looking at Herman and was now staring at Harry with adoration in her eyes.
Harry shook her head. "No rush. Let's go up to the third floor and take a look around first. We're not familiar with Hagrid's side, so we can't just go and ask him without thinking. We need to find a suitable excuse."
"Actually, we could just ask," Herman interjected.
According to the original story, Hagrid had a good relationship with Harry's parents' friends, and this part of the plot should not have been drastically altered.
"Are you stupid?" Draco glanced at him dismissively. "Would that big guy tell you something so secretive? Did you get your brain caught in a door last night?"
Herman argued, "Theoretically, Hagrid couldn't have said it, but Hagrid just talks big."
Harry made the final decision. "Let's talk about it later. Let's stick to tonight's plan and go for a walk on the third floor first."
After she finished speaking, she stood up, tucked the rolled-up newspaper under her arm, and walked towards the Great Hall entrance.
Draco immediately grabbed her bag and followed, but halfway there she turned back and waved to Herman: "Come on, class is about to start, your dear Professor Quirrell's Dark Magic Defence Class!"
Herman sighed, cleared away the dishes, and stood up to follow.
As he reached the entrance to the Great Hall, he glanced back at the Gryffindor table. Neville and Hugo were discussing something over a piece of parchment, while Ron listened attentively beside them.
Seeing this, Herman silently thought to himself: Go for it, Son of the Champion, I believe in you! After defeating Harry the Great Demon King and refueling, Herman quickened his pace and caught up with the two figures who had already turned into the corridor.
This morning's class is Dark Magic Defence Class.
When Herman entered the classroom, Professor Quirrell was already standing in front of the podium.
He wore a dark gray robe today, and his blond hair looked a little looser than yesterday. Although he was still handsome, he gave the impression that he hadn't had time to style himself properly in a hurry, as if he had been too busy last night and hadn't slept well. Hogwarts probably doesn't have a nightlife.
Herman sat down in the Slytherin area, with Draco sitting next to him, looking down at her notes from the previous lesson, her brow furrowed slightly, as if she had completely forgotten what the lesson had covered.
Harry sat by the window, the black book reappearing on her desk, but unusually, she didn't open it. She simply placed it on the corner of the desk, her gaze fixed ahead, lost in thought, or perhaps wondering who was about to suffer misfortune.
Quirrell cleared his throat, and once everyone's attention was focused, his gaze swept across the classroom:
"Last lesson we discussed the significance of Dark Magic Defence Class, as well as the basic characteristics of Vampire and Werewolf and how to deal with them. Today we'll return to a more fundamental question: What is the essence of Dark Magic?"
He paused, as if giving everyone space to think, then turned and waved his wand, sending chalk flying as it wrote a line of words on the blackboard, the handwriting smooth and neat.
If ordinary magic is a knife, then Dark Magic is a knife coated with poison and barbed.
Ordinary magic is used for chopping vegetables, peeling, and carving, while Dark Magic, from the day it was invented, has only one purpose: to harm people.
It's not defense, it's not a warning; it's about completely incapacitating the opponent, or utterly eliminating them.
Quirrell put away his wand, turned around, and scanned the classroom:
"I know some textbooks say that 'magic is neither good nor bad; the key lies in the person who uses it.'"
This statement is only half true. Stupefy can be used to subdue poachers or to prank a friend who is running away; its design purpose covers a variety of uses.
However, some spells, from the moment they were designed, have no other use.
Herman paused for a moment, then looked up at Quirrell, whose tone remained steady:
"For example, the Cruciatus Curse, one of the Unforgivable Curses."
The sole purpose of this spell is to inflict unbearable pain on the victim; you cannot interpret it as, 'I just want him to experience the feeling of pain.'
Its essence is torture; there is no other possibility.
Similarly, the Killing Curse results in instant death; you cannot use it to save someone.
Quirrell paused, his gaze falling on Herman, his voice steady:
"There are also some Dark Magic that don't seem so extreme, but their danger lies in their accumulation and transformation. Like a curse, they can slowly erode the body or mind of the victim, and some even require the caster to sacrifice a part of themselves as a price."
You might not feel any change after casting the spell once or twice, but if you do it repeatedly, the magic will turn around and change the caster, making you increasingly numb, cold-hearted, and unable to feel the emotions a normal person should have.
Draco paused, her pen still, and looked up at Quirrell.
Herman noticed that her expression was more serious than before, which clearly showed that what she said made a lot of sense, even the academically challenged student was listening with great interest.
Quirrell continued, "So the core of this lesson isn't about teaching you to memorize the name of a spell, but about making you understand a principle."
Dark Magic is not something that can be excused by saying 'the instrument is innocent'; its fundamental difference from ordinary magic lies in three aspects:
The motive is to cause harm, the result is irreversible, and the cost is the erosion of the caster himself.
When faced with a choice, ask yourself these three questions, and many answers will become clear.
The classroom fell silent for a few seconds; some students were taking notes, while others were lost in thought.
Herman looked away and wrote a few words in his notebook: motive, irreversible, erosion.
"What a wonderful lecture! The content is just right for first-year students, and the way he explains it is both profound and easy to understand," Herman thought to himself. "Quirrell is indeed a good professor."
After sighing, Herman looked up, his gaze falling on the Gryffindor, and then stopped.
Neville was staring at Quirrell, who was sitting very upright, gripping his quill tightly as if ready to jot down some crucial information. But Herman noticed that the ink on the quill tip had dried, indicating that he hadn't touched the pen for a while.
Hugo sat beside her, looking down at the open notebook, but her quill pen remained untouched, a small patch of dried ink solidifying on the tip.
Ron sat between the two, glancing at Neville and then at Hugo, seemingly unsure what to do, before finally joining them in staring at Quirrell.
The three men's gazes were unified, their goals clear and undisguised.
Herman withdrew his gaze and sighed inwardly; this was far too purposeful.
Even if Quirrell were slow to notice, he could sense that someone was watching him.
Fortunately, Quirrell didn't seem to care about the children and continued with his lesson, seemingly oblivious to the three overly focused gazes from the Gryffindor.
Herman looked at Neville and his two companions and felt that they were still too inexperienced.
Secret surveillance should at least be done in a respectable way. Staring at someone so obviously is no different from holding up a sign that says "I suspect you"—it's completely unprofessional.