My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 37. Cutting-Edge Black Magic

Today is the weekend, and Lynn has a day of free time.

After completing their daily spell training with Cedric, Lynn ate breakfast in the Great Hall and then went straight to Professor Fox's office.

Yesterday, Lynn finally completed his study of the mainstream poison spells in the magical world.

Learning here doesn't just mean being able to use it; it means fully digesting and understanding this kind of magic.

The completion of learning poison spells also means that Lynn's learning of dark magic has reached the final stage: cursing!

"The concept of 'black magic' actually varies from person to person. Some people believe that any spell that is malicious and can cause harm to the human body falls into the category of black magic. Others believe that black magic must cause great harm to others, such as being shattered to pieces or exploding with lightning. Still others believe that among all spells, only the three Unforgivable Curses can be called black magic, and the others can only be called black spells."

Before the actual teaching began, Professor Fox explained to Lynn in detail the definition of dark magic in the wizarding world.

"So what are your boundaries, Professor? Do you think any spell can be called black magic?" Lynn asked proactively.

Professor Fox, however, asked Lynn another question in return.

"What do you think is most important for a wizard when casting spells?"

Lynn thought for a moment and tentatively gave an answer.

"magic?"

Professor Fox couldn't help but laugh.

"Your answer is not wrong either. Wizards cannot use magic without magic power, but similarly, wizards cannot be called wizards without magic power, so your answer is also wrong."

"What is that?"

Professor Fox didn't keep them in suspense and answered seriously:

"It's about emotions. No matter what kind of magic it is, the wizard needs to have strong emotions. Even with polymorph, you need to have a firm belief that you will succeed at all times. And the same goes for spells. If a wizard has no emotions, then no matter how skillful his spellcasting is, he will not be able to use any spells."

At this point, he shifted the topic to black magic.

"The boundary of black magic, in my opinion, is that as long as a wizard uses a spell with the intention of harming others, then even if the spell is just a cleansing spell, it is still considered black magic."

Fox, seeing Lynn looking thoughtful, continued his explanation.

"Actually, the evil curses and poison curses you learned before are already considered to fall under the category of black magic by some people. But the curse we are about to learn has a special name."

Lynn was so engrossed in listening that he couldn't help but ask a question.

"What's your name?"

Professor Fox took a book from his drawer, pointed to the cover which featured a skull and a string of eerie English text:

Cutting-Edge Black Magic: An Exploration

……

That evening.

Lynn and Cedric met up in front of the greenhouse.

"So it's just us? Professor Sprout didn't come either?"

Lynn looked behind Cedric and asked curiously.

"The professor is in greenhouse number two. It seems there's something wrong with the devil's net there; she's not feeling well, so she went over to take care of her personally."

The two put on their dragon-skin gloves and picked up their specially made pruning shears in front of the greenhouse, and then officially began their work for the night.

Dictamnus dasycarpus is a herb that is very effective in treating external injuries. After it matures, its leaves are collected and processed into Dictamnus dasycarpus extract, which is a white powder that is easy to carry and has an even better effect on treating wounds.

Lynn and his colleague's task tonight was not complicated; they only needed to carefully cut the entire leaf off along the veins at the base of the leaf.

"Lynn, what are you doing going to Professor Fox's office every day?"

While pruning the leaves, Cedric and Lynn chatted.

"The professor is giving me extra lessons, teaching me spells outside of class." Lynn didn't intend to hide it, because there was no need to.

"You're really lucky. Professor Fox was already a famous spell master twenty years ago." Cedric subconsciously scratched his forehead with his fingers, forgetting that he was still wearing dirty dragon skin gloves, which resulted in his forehead being covered in dust.

Lin Enle laughed heartily, then suppressed a laugh and asked Cedric, who was awkwardly wiping his forehead.

"You don't have any prejudice against Professor Fox?"

"Just like you told me before, don't look at things with prejudice. The only reason others dislike Professor Fox is because he killed those people connected to them."

"You know that Professor Fox killed pure-blood families? What about you? I remember you're a pure-blood too? Those pure-bloods Professor Fox killed before, some of them must have been distant relatives of yours, right?"

Cedric said very seriously.

"Those people would subconsciously avoid the fact that those five were Death Eaters, but I wouldn't. People who do evil should be punished. I don't think Professor Fox is a bad person; on the contrary, I think he's a hero."

Lynn looked at Cedric quietly, remained silent for a long time, and then suddenly laughed.

"You really are an anomaly among pure-blood wizards."

Lynn carefully put away the cut white peony leaves and then asked.

"You seem to know a lot about Professor Fox's past. Can you tell me why he killed those five Death Eaters?"

Cedric shook his head.

"I've only heard about this from my father. I don't know the specifics, but Professor Fawkes killed the five wizards in the days immediately following the fall of the Man of Variant. The identities of the five dead wizards were unknown, and Professor Fawkes was immediately identified as a Death Eater by the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic and imprisoned in Azkaban. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore had been searching for evidence for him and finally overturned his conviction two years ago, proving that the five dead wizards were indeed Death Eaters, and that Professor Fawkes had been wrongly accused."

Lynn listened silently, his brow furrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

There was a lot of fresh white fungus to process in the greenhouse. The two of them were busy until after eight o'clock, just before curfew.

Professor Sprout gave each of them a bottle of White Essence as a reward. The quantity was considerable, and even if they didn't use it, they could sell it for a good price.

Under the moonlight, Cedric and Lynn walked back to the castle together.

Just as they were passing by the Black Lake, Cedric suddenly pointed in the direction of the Whomping Willow and said something.

"There seems to be someone there!"

(End of this chapter)