On Saturday, Lynn once again stepped into Professor Quirrell's office for his "extracurricular tutoring."
After explaining and demonstrating several rather dangerous Dark Arts as a matter of routine, Quirrell spoke to Lynn in a slightly weary tone:
"Mr. Lynn, I think... this will be our last private lesson. From now on, you won't need to come anymore."
Hearing this, Lynn felt a bit surprised. After all, Quirrell had previously shown quite a lot of appreciation for him as a studious and talented student.
Lynn remained silent and simply nodded obediently.
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something of vital importance, and asked cautiously,
"Then... that permission slip for the Restricted Section you gave me... I assume it won't be taken back?"
Quirrell replied dryly, "No... you can just keep it."
After saying that, Quirrell bent down and pulled a heavy book out of an inconspicuous low cabinet next to his desk—"Secrets of the Darkest Art."
The spine and edges were somewhat worn, and it looked quite old.
"This book," Quirrell pushed the book in front of Lynn, his voice lowering, "contains many... more profound and authentic magics. I think, with your... interest and talent, you should be very interested."
Lynn took the book; it felt heavy in his hands.
He blinked and said with some difficulty, "But... Professor, the Restricted Section also has a copy of 'Secrets of the Darkest Art,' and I've already borrowed it. The magic inside is indeed... well..."
Lynn chose his words carefully. "...very 'distinctive,' but some parts seem a bit vague?"
The corner of Quirrell's mouth twitched slightly, and he immediately said:
"Ha~ the copy in the Restricted Section is a version 'purified' and censored by the Principal; many key contents have been erased. This one," he pointed to the book in Lynn's hands, "is the original, without any modifications."
"So that's how it is! Then thank you very much, Professor!"
Lynn's face immediately showed an expression of "sudden realization," as if he had found a treasure. He solemnly held the book to his chest, bid farewell to Quirrell, and left the office with light steps.
Finally free!
As soon as he walked out of the office and away from that suffocating smell of garlic, Lynn felt that even the air in the corridor was much fresher.
Although Quirrell's teaching had indeed allowed him to Engrave a lot of useful knowledge, every time he faced this eccentric Professor, he always had an uncomfortable feeling of being watched by something in the shadows...
As Lynn's footsteps gradually faded at the end of the corridor, Professor Quirrell slumped into his chair as if he had lost all strength.
Quirrell asked in a low, confused tone,
"Mas... Master, why not teach this kid for a while longer?
He... his talent is indeed rare; perhaps he could become our..."
"Shut up! You fool!"
A voice suddenly rang out from the back of his head, filled with extreme impatience and violence.
Quirrell instantly felt a piercing pain sweep through his body, making him almost curl up.
"We don't have that much time to waste teaching a little Wizard! If it weren't for your weak, useless body being unable to support my direct actions..."
Lord Voldemort's voice paused, and his tone suddenly became eerie and full of temptation.
"As for that book... the knowledge recorded in it is indeed fascinating, full of power and secrets of eternity. I believe that any Wizard who seeks power will be unable to refuse its temptation..."
What Lord Voldemort didn't say was that this "original" he had given to Lynn had also been tampered with.
The pages regarding the most core and specific steps and methods of Horcrux creation had long since been torn out by his own hand.
What he wanted was to sow a seed of curiosity and desire to give Dumbledore a headache—not to actually cultivate a potential Dark Wizard who might threaten him.
Meanwhile, after Lynn returned to the Hufflepuff Dormitory, he impatiently flipped open that heavy copy of "Secrets of the Darkest Art."
"Let me see... Unforgivable Curses... hmm, the theory and practice of Imperio. I haven't Engraved this yet."
Engrave activated, and the complex information of Imperio flowed into his knowledge base like a trickling stream.
While flipping through the pages quickly, Lynn used Engrave continuously. No matter whether it was a spell, a curse, or an evil ritual, he would learn it first and think later.
Knowledge itself has no good or evil; the key lies in the person using it. Lynn still had some confidence in his own character.
The pages rustled at Lynn's fingertips as he absorbed various dangerous and dark knowledge like a whale swallowing water.
Until he flipped to the chapter on Horcruxes.
—Immortality—
—The ancient Dark Wizard, Herpo the Foul—
—Methods of Creation and Taboos—
Lynn's gaze stopped on the line "Methods of Creation and Taboos," and then he quickly flipped forward.
However, the pages that should have detailed the production steps were missing. Several pages were gone! The edges were rough, clearly torn out by someone.
"F**k you!" Lynn couldn't help but curse, slapping the book onto the table. "Didn't Quirrell say this was the uncensored original?! Is he playing me?!"
He leaned closer to examine the missing section and soon realized that it wasn't that the book itself lacked the information—the key content had simply been torn away.
Lynn leaned back in his chair, hands crossed behind his head, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.
Why did Quirrell do this?
From the beginning, giving him the Restricted Section permission slip had been strange.
Then, contrary to his usual behavior, he stopped stuttering and proactively offered to teach him Defense Against the Dark Arts—which was called defense but was actually more biased toward the Dark Arts.
And now he had given him a Dark Arts book with the key pages torn out...
This series of actions felt wrong no matter how he thought about it.
Quirrell seemed to be consciously guiding him toward deeper and more dangerous Dark Arts knowledge, yet at the same time he seemed to be deliberately avoiding certain specific content—or rather, whetting his appetite.
After thinking it over, it was hard to find any reasonable explanation besides:
Quirrell has some kind of plot against me and wants to use me to achieve an ulterior motive.
"I can't figure it out..." Lynn rubbed his brow.
"Forget it. I'm too lazy to think about it."
He quickly pushed the question to the back of his mind. As for going back to Quirrell to ask about the missing pages? Lynn didn't even consider it.
Lynn felt that he was still young and full of vitality. It was far too early to worry about heavy topics like immortality.
"Besides, this is just 'Immortality,' not 'Eternal Youth.'"
He recalled the description in the biographical materials of Nicolas Flamel he had read before. That famous alchemist had lived for over six hundred years thanks to the Philosopher's Stone, but in his later years his body had still aged and grown fragile—said to be "fragile as glass."
Lynn curled his lip and muttered,
"Tsk tsk tsk... making yourself into a fragile antique—what's the point of living like that?
Isn't it better to live like me? Eating and drinking as I please, fishing, and raising pets. Isn't that better than being some undying monster?"
He stuffed the copy of "Secrets of the Darkest Art" with the missing key pages into the bottom of his trunk, deciding not to touch it for the time being.
For him right now, studying how to catch big fish and practicing Alchemy was far more interesting than researching Horcruxes.
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