"The 70s?"
"Spells he invented, found in Snape's Potions textbook!"
Upon hearing Quirrell's introduction, Basil immediately thought of this treasure.
So, Basil closed his eyes.
In the dark, eerie, specimen-filled Potions classroom in the castle dungeons, inside a cupboard in the corner, a tattered copy of Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage vanished into thin air.
Simultaneously, a book appeared in Basil's schoolbag.
As soon as class ended, after asking Hermione to look up the term "Grand Wizard" for him and successfully shaking her off...
He rushed back to the dormitory and opened it eagerly.
Unlike its tattered exterior, the content inside was incredibly rich.
Aside from the dense handwriting filling the margins, there were annotations over the printed text too.
How to process ingredients more effectively, crossing out and adding components, more efficient stirring methods...
But knowing the plot, Basil went straight to the blank spaces.
Finally, after three minutes, amidst the scribbled notes, he found the spells Snape had invented in his youth.
"How could Harry be so stupid!" Basil thought the moment he saw them.
"Buying the box and returning the pearls" perfectly described Harry's actions in the movie.
Hermione didn't discover them because she couldn't admit her mediocrity—in front of the Half-Blood Prince, that is.
So she became biased against the book's content.
And Harry, despite clearly valuing the content, mistook the spells for the treasure...
While ignoring the scribbled notes.
These notes perfectly recorded the thought process of creating a spell from scratch.
So, the spell Quirrell taught in class really was the Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble).
But Snape wasn't satisfied with its power. Perhaps to be more effective against his enemies...
He translated, dismantled, and recombined the original incantation, adjusting it step by step until he created a new version.
The incantation changed to [Langlock].
The victim wouldn't even realize their tongue was glued until they tried to cast a spell or speak.
It seems James Potter, or perhaps Sirius Black, was very bad at non-verbal spells.
Or maybe both.
As for the other spells in the book...
Their effects couldn't be judged solely by the incantations.
Except for the famous Sectumsempra, and the ones shown in the movies like Levicorpus and Muffliato.
Testing unfamiliar spells on others without knowing their effects was a dangerous move.
But luckily, in the movies, Harry had tested them all.
These spells, except for Sectumsempra, weren't dangerous.
So, in the following days, Basil followed in Harry's footsteps and began experimenting with these spells.
On himself.
These spells were interesting.
And useful.
There was a Hex that made toenails grow uncontrollably fast.
This would be very effective against agile wizards who could physically dodge spells; the sudden change in their toenails would trip them up.
Overall, this copy of Advanced Potion-Making was Basil's biggest gain since the start of term.
His Spell Cards now included new additions: [Sectumsempra] and [Langlock].
His [Magic Book] progress and data panel updated accordingly.
[ID: 000000001]
Magic Book Level: 3 (1100/100 EXP)
Name: Ryan Smith / Basil Granger
Race: Wizard
Identity: Hogwarts Gryffindor (Fire Spell Effect +1%), 1st Year (Daily Gems: 20)
Enrollment Date: 1991/07/27
Health: 10 + 15 (Echo Bonus: 1000 | False Health: 142,341)
Magic: 7 + 9
Luck: 3 ~ 7
Family Traits: Red Dragon Blood (Pending Ignition), Plant Affinity (Awakened), Potions Mastery (Awakened)
Among them, the data for the Sectumsempra card surprised Basil the most.
[Spell Card: Sectumsempra]
Level: 1
Mana Cost: 4
Effect: Creates multiple invisible swords to slash at the enemy unit. When the Player Unit possesses negative emotions or fits the identity of a Corrupted Soul, the swords will be imbued with an dispellable curse, preventing the enemy unit's wounds from regenerating.
Damage: 12 + ?
Note: Bonus damage depends on the intensity of negative emotions and the degree of soul corruption.
Effective Range: Within the caster's line of sight or perception range.
This introduced a concept that wasn't exactly new: Corrupted Soul.
Killing to steal a soul... whether the resulting Echo is Holy or Corrupted might stem from this.
Those souls stuck in the middle, neither here nor there, perhaps only produce Gold Echoes?
It also confirmed Professor Flitwick's theory.
Unfortunately, this spell was best suited for wizards like Snape—full of inner resentment and negative emotions.
Or Harry in the fifth movie, treated as a liar by the majority and distanced by his beloved Dumbledore.
But Basil himself?
As a self-proclaimed "Sunny, Cheerful Boy," without bonuses, his damage would likely only be the base 12.
Moreover, his crippled System's data panel didn't factor Magic Defense or Physical Defense into Health points.
It calculated values purely based on biological structure.
So, aside from plants with insane vitality, even a dragon's Health probably wouldn't exceed 100.
Attacking vital areas with 12 damage was enough.
He tested it afterward.
Standing in the dormitory bathroom, using his mental map of the castle, he remotely tested it on the bed in Quirrell's bedroom.
Regrettably, even someone as radiant and holy as him...
Inevitably had some negative emotions.
This caused the invisible swords to carry a curse.
As a result, he couldn't repair the bed with Reparo.
So, just as Quirrell finally snapped and ordered Filch to find the culprit...
October arrived.
The first day of October was a Tuesday.
Basil spent the entire day looking gloomy.
Even seeing Quirrell at dinner with eyes bulging out of his head, constantly scanning the room in paranoia, couldn't cheer him up.
No one understood his pain.
He couldn't enjoy it; he had to go to class!
At this moment, Nearly Headless Nick floated over.
"Basil, haven't you always wanted to know why Professor McGonagall is so lenient with Gryffindor regarding Quidditch? I can tell you today."
Basil rolled his eyes.
Beside him, Hermione shot a grateful look.
After the Opening Feast, Nick had changed his attitude and refused to talk about it.
Even Ron hadn't managed to dig up this secret.
Through letters from Mrs. Weasley, Ron only learned about Professor McGonagall's romantic history.
McGonagall had two boyfriends.
The first was a Muggle, whom she broke up with to pursue her life in the wizarding world.
The second was her boss at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He pursued her for decades.
She didn't agree until the 80s.
And married him.
Rarely, she kept her maiden name and didn't take her husband's.
Just three years into the marriage, her husband died accidentally from a Venomous Tentacula bite.
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