Voldemort's class was in session!

It was Saturday afternoon.

Hogwarts students had no classes on weekends.

Most of the older students would take the opportunity to shop or have fun in Hogsmeade.

The younger students could only wander around the school grounds.

Argus adjusted his mindset and went to Quirrell's office.

"Mr. Grindelwald, you're very punctual."

The moment he entered, Voldemort's voice reached his ears.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Argus spoke respectfully. "As I should be, teacher!"

"Hahaha..."

Being called teacher pleased Voldemort greatly.

With a wave of his hand, the notebook tucked against Argus's chest flew into his grasp.

As he leafed through it, the rustling of pages was the only sound left in the room.

"Very good, Argus. It seems you really have been studying diligently lately."

Approval showed in Voldemort's eyes.

The notebook was densely packed with all sorts of ideas and insights. At a glance, it was clear Argus had read carefully.

No teacher would dislike a hardworking, talented student.

"Do you now have a different view of Dark Magic?"

"Yes! Before, I thought malicious intent was the standard for determining what constituted Dark Magic, but from the notes you gave me, I discovered that Dark Magic and white magic seem to differ in their very essence."

"Many forms of white magic, even when studied to an extremely advanced level, are still far less lethal than Dark Magic."

Voldemort set the notebook on the desk and said evenly, "The fact that you noticed this proves you've begun to touch upon the origins of magic."

"Its origins?"

A trace of confusion flashed in Argus's eyes.

"Indeed. Simply put, the original intention behind a spell's creation!"

"For example, the Killing Curse was created to kill, while Lumos was created to provide light."

"When you use these two spells, your convictions differ as well."

"In a sense, Dark Magic isn't necessarily more powerful than white magic, but its destructive force is something white magic cannot match."

Though Voldemort was known as the Dark Lord, that did not mean he knew nothing of white magic.

On the contrary, his mastery of white magic was no less than anyone else's!

"I understand, teacher. Thank you for your guidance!" Argus bowed in thanks and continued asking the questions he had accumulated lately.

"While practicing magic lately, I noticed that the incantations for some curses are very similar to those for hexes."

"But when I tried combining several hexes, I couldn't achieve the effect I wanted, no matter what I did."

Voldemort waved his wand, and an owl appeared from nowhere on the empty desktop.

"Argus, I must say, you're very observant."

"Take the owl, which young wizards use most often, as an example!"

With a light tap of his wand, the owl let out a shrill, piercing cry.

Voldemort frowned and waved his hand, making the sound vanish.

The owl opened its beak wide but could no longer make a sound.

"An owl's body consists of skin, bones, blood, flesh, and other parts."

"But if we separate them!"

The next second, the living owl was instantly disassembled into its various parts!

The bloody organs assaulted Argus's eyes.

Yet his expression did not change at all. There was even a hint of curiosity in it.

Increasingly satisfied, Voldemort placed several organs directly before Argus.

"A complete life is made up of these parts, but that doesn't mean putting these parts together will create life!"

A gleam flashed in Argus's eyes.

"I understand, teacher!"

"A spell might consist of several other spells, but those spells require a particular order, a particular combination, and particular conditions."

"Only when all the requirements are met can they form that spell!"

"Exactly!"

For the rest of the time, Argus asked about the problems he had encountered recently, one by one.

Setting allegiances aside, Voldemort was a thoroughly competent teacher.

Not only did he possess a wealth of knowledge, but he also explained profound ideas in simple terms, using all sorts of familiar things as examples.

Argus gained a great deal over the course of the afternoon.

"Do you have any other questions, Argus?"

Voldemort was also extremely satisfied with this clever, studious pupil.

During his explanations, Argus could often draw further conclusions from a single example, saving him a great deal of time.

"Not for now. Thank you for your guidance, teacher."

Argus bowed with the utmost respect.

There was a measure of sincerity in his use of the word teacher.

"You still remember the matter I assigned you last time, don't you?"

"There's a three-headed dog hidden in the forbidden area on the third floor. It seems to be guarding something, but I don't know what it is yet."

"A three-headed dog..."

Voldemort murmured softly, seemingly lost in thought.

Only after a long while did he ask another question.

"What about Harry Potter?"

"What information would you like about him?"

"Everything!"

Voldemort was still only a remnant soul, and Quirrell's body was deteriorating further and further.

Most of the time, he was unwilling to use magic, leaving his awareness of the outside world and his ability to gather information extremely limited.

Even after his doubts about Harry arose during the last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, he had only gathered some basic information.

"Then I'll start with before he enrolled." Argus showed no impatience and answered calmly.

"Before enrolling, Harry lived with his aunt, suffered considerable abuse, and had never been exposed to magical knowledge. He didn't even know who his parents were."

Aside from certain key pieces of information from the future plot, such as Harry being Voldemort's Horcrux and living with his aunt because of his mother's spell, and so on.

Argus recounted all the other information about Harry's personality and experiences, one detail at a time.

After listening, Voldemort sank into thought again.

A few minutes later, he raised his head.

"Well done. This is your reward."

With a flick of his wand, a new notebook flew into Argus's arms, along with the one he had finished reading.

"Continue gathering information about Harry Potter. I'll need your cooperation in some operations later."

"I'll contact you in advance when the time comes."

"As you command, teacher!"

Argus walked out of Quirrell's office.

It was completely dark outside.

"Britain really does live up to its reputation. It's only just past four, and it's already dark."

"I'll go back and get ready. Aunt Vinda should be arriving in Hogsmeade soon."

Argus returned to his dormitory and took out his exploration radar, the Marauder's Map.

Avoiding several students and professors, he followed an underground tunnel all the way to Hogsmeade.

But as soon as he arrived, Argus discovered a problem.

Hogsmeade was too big!

He hadn't arranged a specific meeting place with Vinda, and for the moment, he had no idea where to look for her!

After looking around for quite a while, Argus headed toward the nearby place that seemed the most crowded.

Only... his judgment seemed to have been somewhat off.

He had thought he was coming to the Three Broomsticks.

Instead... an enormous pig's head hung over the entrance.