Chapter 81: Voldemort's Master Class
Ethan had wanted to steer the conversation toward Horcruxes, but unexpectedly gained insider information about the Philosopher's Stone's life-extending properties.
Thinking about Nicolas Flamel's appearance in the films, he just looked like a normal old man. Does that mean it can't preserve youth, only maintain life?
He wanted to know more, but Dumbledore stopped answering.
"Finish eating and head back. You have afternoon classes, right? Tomorrow night, just go to Tom's place normally. Don't worry. He won't harm you."
Seeing Ethan was almost done eating, the old man couldn't wait to shoo him away.
After eating, Ethan had pretty much calmed down, no longer as fearful as when he'd first arrived.
"Headmaster, please don't be so quick to kick me out. You just said if I learned Transfiguration well, I could better resist the Killing Curse. You were the Transfiguration professor before, right? Can you teach me?"
"I'm very busy, but I have some notes from my youth you can look at." Dumbledore seemed to have prepared for this, pulling out a thick notebook.
Ethan gave him a suspicious look but took the notes.
A casual flip revealed densely packed text and small diagrams.
He put the notes in his bag, planning to study them himself first and ask for help when stuck.
"I have one final question."
"One final question, you say. Go ahead." Dumbledore sounded impatient.
Ethan asked carefully, "So, um, could you get me a phoenix? I saw Fawkes just went through his rebirth, right? I heard they can withstand the Killing Curse without dying."
He knew this request was somewhat unreasonable, but to ensure his safety, he shamelessly asked anyway.
"Can't be done. Go on, get out." A look of surprise flashed across Dumbledore's face, then vanished, and he stood up to usher him out.
"Honestly, I was just asking. Why so sudden?" Ethan muttered as Dumbledore pushed him out of the office.
"Bang!" The door closed behind him.
After sending Ethan away, Dumbledore's demeanor was no longer as relaxed.
Now, with a serious expression, he paced back and forth in the room, contemplating how to quickly eliminate Quirrell—or rather, Voldemort.
Ethan returned to his dormitory, hung all three pendants around his neck, straightened his robes, grabbed his Transfiguration textbook and Dumbledore's notes, then went to the library.
Hermione was quickly drawn to Dumbledore's notes.
She wrote on paper, "Are these Transfiguration notes? Who gave them to you? They look very advanced."
Ethan replied, "Dumbledore's Transfiguration notes."
Though Hermione was eager to know what Dumbledore had written and what she could learn, she tactfully didn't press further, nor did she ask Ethan to copy them for her.
Ethan was also pleased with Hermione's reaction. She didn't make things difficult for him.
With his life potentially at stake, Ethan didn't dare slack off. He seized every spare moment to study them.
Currently in Transfiguration class, they were learning to change matches into needles and living creatures like rats into snuffboxes.
This was extremely difficult for many.
Living creatures like rats didn't have much magic resistance, but they still had some, making it harder than transforming inanimate objects.
Additionally, transforming objects required more imagination, leaving many struggling.
Ethan had never forgotten his ambition to replicate the magical technique of turning beans into soldiers, though he couldn't do it yet. However, after skimming Dumbledore's notes, he believed he could likely achieve it once he fully grasped them.
After dinner the next day, Ethan put on all three pendants and the brooch, shouldered his backpack, took his wand, and headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
After taking several deep breaths to psych himself up, he finally climbed the stairs and knocked on Quirrell's office door.
"Come in." Ethan could tell from the tone that the speaker was likely Voldemort.
He touched his racing heart, took one final deep breath, and pushed the door open.
Quirrell sat in a different posture than before, pressing on the pendant at his chest and the chain around his neck, showing a contemptuous smile.
"Quite cautious, acquiring so many life-saving items.
Rest assured, I said I wouldn't kill you, and I keep my word."
Ethan smiled awkwardly, but Voldemort's guarantee, delivered in such an arrogant manner, had some effect. He was slightly more at ease than when he'd first entered.
Voldemort flicked his wand, and the door behind Ethan slammed shut with a bang, making him jump.
It was hard to say whether the jump was from Voldemort's wand gesture or the sound of the door.
In his heart, Ethan attributed it to the sudden door sound.
Voldemort's face showed a malicious smile.
He lazily pointed at the chair across from him. "Sit. I think today we'll start with the first Dark Magic spell you learned: Incendio."
"Tell me, why is Dark Magic called Dark Magic?" Voldemort suddenly asked.
Ethan set down his backpack and sat properly opposite him.
Hearing this question, he was taken aback. He hadn't expected Voldemort to ask something so clearly defined in textbooks.
"Because only when cast with malicious intent can it achieve maximum power. That's why this type of magic is called Dark Magic.
The difference from light magic is that Dark Magic subtly changes a wizard, making them cruel and bloodthirsty, though this should only happen with the most advanced Dark Magic."
He gave this answer based on textbooks and personal experience. This was why he dared to learn less vicious Dark Magic like Incendio and Bone Shield.
Voldemort shook his head:
"The definition of Dark Magic is correct, but the latter part is wrong."
Textbooks state that Dark Magic is actually a collective term for three types of magic: jinxes, hexes, and curses.
What alters the mind isn't the vaguely termed "advanced Dark Magic" referenced there, but specifically the curses within Dark Magic.
The other two don't affect the mind as strongly.
"And this isn't always true. Top Dark wizards can maintain their sanity even after learning many curses."
Ethan felt Voldemort was implying that he himself was such a top Dark wizard.
========================================