"Why were we thrown out while you walked out yourself?" Looking at the car charging back into the Forbidden Forest, Ron said with obvious resentment.
That was his family's car, after all.
"Maybe the car was afraid Dudley would cast some powerful spell on it," Harry speculated, then went to pick up the Invisibility Cloak from where it had fallen.
The group hid under the Invisibility Cloak and quietly headed toward the castle.
"Dudley, about that spell earlier..." Hermione asked with obvious curiosity.
"You mean that fire spell? That's right, it was dark magic. Fiendfyre," Dudley didn't deny it.
"What does it feel like to cast dark magic?" Harry immediately asked with interest.
"Nothing particularly special, but if I had to say, there's a bit of a cold aura seeping into your body. This is probably why wizards try to avoid casting dark magic," Dudley explained.
"So it's true that frequently casting dark magic will cause you to fall and become a dark wizard?" Ron asked with concern.
The magical world's definition of ordinary wizards versus dark wizards wasn't very clear, but one point was universally acknowledged. That casting dark magic would cause one to fall and become a dark wizard.
It seemed dark magic had some kind of power that would continuously accumulate within a wizard's body. Once used too much, it would cause the wizard to fall and ultimately become an irredeemably evil dark wizard.
"Whether a wizard is good or bad doesn't depend on the magic they cast, but on whether that person is good or bad," Dudley said after thinking for a moment.
"There's no such thing as bad magic, only bad wizards."
"Casting dark magic does indeed accumulate some dark forces within the body, but as long as you control the degree properly and don't let yourself be controlled by inner dark desires, you won't fall," Dudley explained.
Actually, judging from how he felt after casting Fiendfyre, Dudley thought this was somewhat similar to Beyonder loss of control.
Both involved continuously accumulating destructive tendencies.
If wizards were compared to beyonders, then dark wizards probably meant madness and loss of control. The difference was that for Beyonders, loss of control meant death and destruction, while dark wizards were eroded and controlled by dark forces, losing themselves and becoming apostles of darkness and desire.
In comparison, the consequences caused by wizard corruption were much lower than Beyonder's loss of control.
Of course, the upper limits of beyonders also couldn't be compared to wizards.
Based on Dudley's current understanding of the magical world, the most top-level wizards here probably had around demigod-level strength. Beyond that, wizards couldn't compare with beyonders anymore.
"Can you teach us that Fiendfyre spell?" Harry asked after pondering for a moment.
"Not now. You can't even master ordinary spells properly, let alone dark magic," Dudley directly refused.
"Alright," Harry said with obvious disappointment.
"Actually, your current strength already far exceeds that of second-year students. Just the silent spell technique alone could let you easily defeat quite a few wizards," Dudley consoled them.
"So there's no need to think about dark magic at this stage."
"Without comparison there's no harm. You're too dazzling, Dudley," Hermione spoke the honest truth.
"My situation is special. You don't need to compare yourselves to me," Dudley said reassuringly.
The castle at midnight was very quiet. The students had all gone to sleep, with only a few professors still patrolling the corridors.
No one had noticed the great battle in the Forbidden Forest. Aragog's location was already deep in the forest, far beyond the range Hogwarts castle could observe.
After returning to Gryffindor Tower, everyone was already exhausted. After saying goodbye, they each went back to sleep.
Lying in bed, Dudley pondered the information he had obtained from Aragog. He felt he was already very close to the truth this time.
"Natural enemy of spiders, ancient magical creature, Harry can hear its voice..."
Dudley thought, gradually falling asleep without realising it.
The next day, Dudley explained the situation with the giant spider corpses and venom to Borgin and Burkes. Borgin and Burkes was indeed very interested, and after agreeing on a time, they decided to trade in Hogsmeade village, not far from Hogwarts.
At the same time, the Polyjuice Potion ingredients sent by Borgin and Burkes had also arrived. Dudley handed them to Hermione to brew.
Dudley himself spent time in the library, beginning to search for information about the monster in the Chamber.
Until evening, Dudley hastily ate something and headed straight to the Transfiguration classroom.
Yesterday Professor McGonagall had already agreed to teach Dudley Apparition. Today was the first lesson.
Knock, knock.
Dudley knocked on the classroom door.
"Come in," Professor McGonagall's voice came through.
"Professor McGonagall," Dudley walked into the Transfiguration classroom with a smile.
"This is a dessert for you," Dudley thoughtfully took out a dessert and handed it to Professor McGonagall.
"Didn't I say no more of these?" Professor McGonagall looked at Dudley with mock severity.
"You're additionally teaching me Apparition, while I only gave you a dessert. Actually, I'm the one who got the better deal," Dudley laughed.
Hearing this, Professor McGonagall smiled and shook her head, accepting the dessert.
"Thank you, Dudley."
Every time Dudley gave her desserts, she actually didn't really want to accept them, since it made it seem like she was accepting bribes from Dudley.
But each time she accepted Dudley's gifts, she would feel very happy, and the more she looked at Dudley, the more she liked him, even having the feeling of treating him like her own son. It was a very conflicted mentality.
Seeing Professor McGonagall accept the dessert, an imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Dudley's mouth.
Another powerful wizard successfully bribed.
"Alright, let's begin," Professor McGonagall quickly put on a serious expression.
When it came to teaching, Professor McGonagall was always meticulous.
Dudley also immediately put away his smile and began listening to Professor McGonagall's instruction.
"Regarding Apparition, first there's an important thing to remember. Apparition follows the three Ds principle! Destination, Determination, Deliberation!" Professor McGonagall said with emphasis.
"First step: Focus your consciousness on your destination," Professor McGonagall said, pointing to a wooden hoop not far away, "which is the centre of that wooden hoop. Now, please concentrate your attention there."
Dudley nodded and focused his attention on the centre of that wooden hoop.
"Second step," Professor McGonagall continued, "make up your mind; think that you must move to the target location! Let the desire to go there fill your entire body from your brain!"
Dudley continued to follow her instructions carefully.
"Third step," Professor McGonagall said, "turn around where you are, feel your body becoming incorporeal, and move deliberately!"
"Like this." After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she gently waved her wand. The next moment, her figure directly disappeared, and when she reappeared, she was already standing in front of the wooden hoop.
Obviously, this classroom had been modified by Professor McGonagall, temporarily removing the restrictions on Apparition.
"Do you understand?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Yes," Dudley nodded, imitating McGonagall's actions while reciting the incantation.
Professor McGonagall continued, "Apparition is very advanced magic; generally only seventeen-year-old wizards can learn it, because this spell is very dangerous. If anything goes wrong during the casting process, splinching will occur. So you must be careful at all times; every step must be correct. About a month later you can try to Appara..."
Swoosh!
Dudley's figure suddenly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already standing beside Professor McGonagall.
At this moment, the classroom fell completely silent.