Hogwarts Raven

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It was clear. Snape intended to recreate the bizarre scene Ian had described to prove Ian was nothing but a liar. 

However, Ian felt no anxiety about this. While Snape's magic wasn't as sophisticated as Grindelwald's annotations in "Secrets of the Darkest Art," it was evident the spells he recorded weren't particularly difficult.

"Do I need to show hostility…" Ian read carefully, not grasping the entire spell at once. Perhaps it was because the magic lacked sufficient darkness? Ian, who had already recognized his talent for dark magic, pondered this. 

At that moment, Snape scoffed, waiting for Ian to admit defeat.

As Ian continued to read, Snape took out his wand. With a flick, the stacked wooden boards in the corner began to assemble into one coffin after another, while scattered corpses were pulled by an invisible force, floating into the coffins wrapped in oilcloth. 

"Clatter~" 

The coffins were buried one after another into the soil, and the dirt that had piled up in the room began to refill the ground. In no time, the entire living room was restored to its original state. 

What Ian had struggled to accomplish all afternoon was completed by magic in mere minutes, and the corpses didn't even need to be crammed into a single coffin. In truth, if Ian hadn't summoned the corpses by breaking out of their coffins, he wouldn't have needed to create new ones to compensate for the dead. 

It could only be said that he had a conscience, but not enough of one. After all, nailing coffins was exceptionally tiring, and Ian just wanted to save time by considering a mass burial for the corpses. After all, these corpses still ended up with new homes, didn't they?

"Mr. Prince, I don't have all day to wait for you to keep delaying." After cleaning up the mess, Snape reminded Ian with a dark expression on his face, 

Ian, meanwhile had retreated to the corner.

"Professor." Ian finally looked up from his focused study.

"If you want to confess, it's not too late." Snape snorted coldly.

"Professor, this magic of yours is dark magic, right?" Ian asked, feigning difficulty.

"Of course." Snape shot Ian a sideways glance.

"Won't I get into trouble for learning it?" Ian continued to probe.

Snape's expression turned impatient. 

"Weren't you worried about getting into trouble when you learned the [Corpse Control Curse]?" Snape sneered, his gaze piercing as he scrutinized Ian. "Don't give me ridiculous excuses for why you can't learn it. Didn't you just pick up a note, curiously try it, and then learn the [Corpse Control Curse]?"

"This isn't even standard dark magic. Based on your inflated self-assessment, I'd think a small spell like this would be easy for a magic genius like you." Snape particularly emphasized the words "magic genius," the sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"I'm not making excuses or giving any excuses; you've misunderstood, Professor." Ian blinked, glancing at the new level one skill on his skill panel. 

"I just think…" Ian took out his wand and aimed it at the remaining pile of wooden boards nearby. 

"Sectumsempra!" he whispered softly, and as his voice fell, a barely perceptible fluctuation rippled through the air. Invisible blades swept through like phantoms as if an unseen sword was wildly swinging, cutting everything in its path to shreds. 

A piercing tearing sound echoed as fragments flew everywhere. Sawdust and dust filled the entire living room, falling like rain.

"It's not that hard to learn." Ian, now covered in splinters, put away his wand, gently brushed off his clothes, and looked at Snape with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face. 

"Perhaps, Professor, you should bring out a more difficult spell. Then, I might not be able to learn it, and you could enjoy my embarrassment and distress." His words were filled with anticipation and consideration for the other party.

There was no response. The sneer on Snape's face had completely frozen. The atmosphere grew somewhat eerie.

"Professor?" Ian pressed on. "You justneed to give me a spell that is a bit harder, and I truly won't be able to learn it." His desire for knowledge was so genuine that even his insincere words sounded sincere.

"…" Snape's head was covered in wood splinters, clinging stubbornly to his greasy hair. But clearly, he had no mind to care about his appearance now.

"What's wrong with you!?" Snape's face twitched violently. "As you can see, I am now covered in the result of your spell and you want another one?."

Ian feigned a fearful expression.

Just like his previous absurd claims, Snape didn't take the bait. At this moment, the professor, who could mock someone for half an hour without repeating himself, opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

There was no choice. 

'Who could have thought that a kid wizard who had just been taken out of the orphanage not long ago, who had only bought his wand a few days ago, had actually succeeded in proving what "self-taught" magical talent looked like. Is this even something human? 

What kind of being is this! It took him less than twenty minutes in total to learn that spell? Even Voldemort would not be able to do so, at least he didn't think he would! Snape's expression was somewhat dazed.

"Professor, professor, haven't you thought of it yet? I suggest not using dark magic; why not test me with Fiendfyre?" Ian's voice chattered on.

"Shut up!" Snape just wanted to calm down. 'Good grief! Fiendfyre? How much more daring can you get!'

"Alright…" Ian shrank back slightly. Snape took a moment to recover from his dazed state, then looked at the boy before him, having to reevaluate Ian's claims. Perhaps there really was a dark wizard who dropped a small note?

"Where is the paper you picked up?" Snape still refused to admit his misjudgment.

"It's gone. Last night was really chaotic, with a bunch of corpses crawling out. I don't know where the note flew off to," Ian said, putting on a look of regret.

"Do not mention yesterday… or today's events to anyone!" Snape's expression was complex, and he didn't continue to inquire about the note's whereabouts. 

His gaze at Ian, filled with shock and disbelief, also carried a hint of worry. Displaying extraordinary magical talent at such a sensitive time was not a good thing. Voldemort was about to return. 

Grindelwald's acolytes and descendant were also active near Hogwarts. Thinking of this, Snape suddenly seemed to realize something. Perhaps the note this little brat picked up was dropped by one of Grindelwald's followers? 

If it was originally intended to teach young Grindelwald, then it would make sense! The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Unconsciously, Snape seemed to no longer doubt Ian's claims.

There was indeed no other choice. Who could have thought that he had truly witnessed how incredible this little brat's talent was?

"School is about to start. Remember this: do not use the magic you just learned on any classmates! Even if someone you dislike provokes you, you need to do the same and not use the spell!" Snape was already regretting why he had brought up Sectumsempra. Who could have thought he would actually learn it?

"Okay, okay, I understand. I always get along well with others." Ian quickly nodded in assurance. Snape's words resonated with him. 

After all, Snape only said not to use Sectumsempra on people he disliked, but he didn't say not to use the [Corpse Control Curse] he learned yesterday on the ancestral graves of those disliked classmates. Hmm. This must be a kind of tacit approval from the professor!

(End of Chapter)