Regarding the collection of Curse Energy, another pleasant surprise for Ryze was Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
There were two large sessions every week—one on Tuesday and the other on Thursday.
Ryze completely ignored Quirrell's poor teaching ability. The professor usually stammered while reading directly from the textbook, and whenever a student asked a difficult question, he would blush and hurriedly change the subject.
But Ryze didn't care about the teaching quality at all.
If he truly had questions about the Defense Against the Dark Arts material, he could simply ask Nymphadora directly. And if even Nymphadora didn't know the answer, she could help him ask Moody, the retired Auror.
Ryze attended Quirrell's classes for only one reason.
To absorb Curse Energy.
As long as he sat in the front row of the classroom, the curse inherent to the Defense Against the Dark Arts position—combined with the constant stream of dark curses leaking from the noseless head hidden beneath Quirrell's turban—was enough to fill his reserves.
Just one large class session was sufficient for him to easily reach his daily limit of Curse Energy.
In fact, Ryze often felt that the system's daily limit of one point of Curse Energy was completely insufficient when he was in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Even on days without class, Ryze would sometimes bring a study guide that he had compiled according to the class's teaching schedule and visit Quirrell for advice.
Watching the professor pretend to carefully examine the study guide—only to stammer out a few vague words of praise—also allowed Ryze to accumulate Curse Energy at a rapid pace.
Compared to absorbing curse energy in the library, staying near Quirrell was far more efficient.
And, for the time being, it was much safer as well.
During this period, Quirrell desperately wanted everyone to see him as a harmless and useless coward.
Before obtaining concrete intelligence about the Philosopher's Stone, Lord Voldemort would never allow Quirrell to take actions that might expose his identity.
Ryze estimated that he could safely continue absorbing energy around Quirrell until at least the next spring.
By that time, he should have discovered additional sources of curses. Once that happened, he could comfortably wait for the appropriate moment to send Quirrell on his way.
Of course, there was one problem with sitting in the front row.
The garlic.
The pungent smell constantly emanating from Quirrell's body was nearly unbearable.
Fortunately, during the summer holiday, Ryze had learned several minor jinxes from Nymphadora—small spells that students often used for harmless pranks.
One of them was a simple charm known as the Nose-Plugging Charm.
The effect was straightforward: once cast, the charm completely blocked the target's sense of smell for an entire day.
Naturally, Ryze had also mastered the counter-charm.
Before every Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he would quietly cast the spell on himself.
After class, once he reached a place with fresh air, he would remove the charm and follow it up with a Scouring Charm to ensure that the garlic smell did not linger on his clothes.
Ryze even secretly taught this charm to several of his Ravenclaw classmates.
However, when he taught them the spell, he also added a small piece of advice.
They should not discriminate against poor Professor Quirrell.
After all, Quirrell had once been a Ravenclaw student himself—and one of the most outstanding graduates of his year.
Ryze learned this information from conversations with Hagrid and Professor Babbling.
Both of them acknowledged that Quirrell had been an exceptionally talented student during his time at Hogwarts.
Although his personality had always been somewhat gentle and he was not particularly noticeable during his first few years at school, things changed after his third year.
From his third year all the way until graduation, Quirinus Quirrell had consistently maintained the best academic performance in the entire school.
His theoretical knowledge was extremely solid.
He had conducted deep research into Ancient Runes and possessed an especially strong talent for defensive magic.
Because he was a half-blood wizard, he was also quite familiar with the development of the Muggle world.
Thanks to these qualities, he received an invitation to remain at Hogwarts before he had even graduated.
The following year, he officially became a professor.
At first, Quirrell taught the relatively niche subject of Muggle Studies.
Nymphadora had taken that elective course during her time at Hogwarts, and according to her—as well as several senior students—Professor Quirrell had been cheerful and energetic back then.
The quality of his classes had also been quite good.
Everything changed about a year ago.
Quirrell suddenly applied for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He claimed that he wanted to gain more experience and broaden his knowledge.
To achieve this goal, he requested a year of leave to travel around the world.
According to Quirrell's own account, something terrible happened during that journey.
He claimed that he encountered several vampires and a powerful witch who cursed him.
Professor Babbling later explained that Quirrell's body and mind had suffered severe damage during that expedition.
When he returned, he bore many traces of dark magic. Even his hair had fallen out due to the lingering effects of a curse.
Madam Pomfrey and Headmaster Dumbledore were only able to heal the visible injuries.
They could not completely remove the dark curses that remained inside him.
It was from that moment onward that Quirrell's personality changed completely.
The once confident professor became timid and submissive.
He was frightened by almost everything.
He feared anything that might possibly harm him—including the students he taught and even the subject itself.
To hide the fact that he had lost his hair, Quirrell began wearing a thick purple turban.
Before the start of the school year, he soaked the turban in an extremely strong protective potion that smelled overwhelmingly of garlic.
"I advised him to return to teaching Muggle Studies," Professor Babbling had once told Ryze during a conversation.
"Unfortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't find a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor before the term began."
She sighed slightly before continuing.
"One can only say that this course may truly be cursed. Since the 1960s—almost thirty years now—no professor has been able to hold the position for more than a single year."
"Quirinus hadn't even officially taken up the post when this accident occurred."
Professor Babbling clearly did not treat Ryze as an outsider.
Among the older students at Hogwarts, the yearly change of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had long since become routine. Many people suspected that some sort of curse surrounded the position.
However, very few professors were willing to discuss the matter openly.
Because Ryze had asked about Quirrell several times, Professor Babbling eventually gave him a kind of unofficial explanation.
"Professor Quirrell is a pitiful man," she said.
"He most likely went on that dangerous journey in an attempt to solve the unknown curse surrounding the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."
Ryze later shared this information with his classmates.
"This list contains the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors from recent years," he explained, showing them the records he had collected from older students.
"Look at the accidents they experienced."
"The curse behind this position is extremely dangerous."
"Yet Professor Quirrell still applied for the job even though he knew the risks."
"In a way, his current condition is the result of his struggle against that curse."
"He tried his best—but ultimately failed."
"And because of that failure, he has endured unimaginable torment."
Ryze paused before continuing.
"I think we shouldn't mock Professor Quirrell for his weakness."
"Instead, we should try to encourage him."
"After all, in his current condition, he may not be able to continue teaching at Hogwarts next year."
"I don't want a professor who fought so hard against a curse to spend the final year of his career being ridiculed by his own students."
After the first disappointing Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Ryze shared this story with his roommates.
He explained Quirrell's past brilliance and the tragedy of his current situation.
Then his roommates passed the story on to others.
Gradually, the information spread throughout the student body.
The results were surprisingly effective.
By the time the second Defense Against the Dark Arts class arrived, nearly half of the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students had already learned the Nose-Plugging Charm.
Even Hermione sought Ryze out in the library.
After spending more than ten minutes mastering the simple jinx, she sat beside him in the front row during the next class and helped maintain order in the classroom.
Most Gryffindor students also stopped mocking Quirrell for his stutter.
After all, the young lions were particularly susceptible to stories about tragic heroes.
Whenever they saw Quirrell outside of class, some of them even gave him encouraging looks.
Quirrell himself was probably quite puzzled.
Despite deliberately acting pitiful—and despite the garlic smell that even he disliked—these first-year students did not seem to mind him at all.
Among the Ravenclaws, there was even a young wizard named Ryze who would sometimes visit him after class.
The boy would politely help organize the lesson plans for the upcoming classes.
He claimed that he simply wanted to make teaching easier for Professor Quirrell.
If Quirrell had not been in his current complicated situation—if he did not need to maintain this pitiful and cowardly façade in order to deceive others—he might actually have considered using the boy's carefully prepared lesson plans.
He might even have taught a few proper classes and shared some genuine knowledge.
But whenever that thought appeared, another image immediately followed.
The Dark Lord.
The cold presence attached to the back of his head.
And the rewards he would receive after completing the Dark Lord's task.
The softness in Quirrell's eyes slowly disappeared.
His gaze hardened once more.
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