The instructors who taught young wizards at Sguller were all exceptional — masters in manipulating magical power, renowned potion masters, or experts in alchemy.
Take, for instance, Albus Dumbledore, the legendary white wizard, widely respected across the wizarding world. His friend, Nicolas Flamel, was a master of alchemy.
Despite the school's powerful faculty, many families were reluctant to send their children there.
Because Sguller's teaching methods were brutal. Students were forced to experience the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse firsthand. With the exception of murder, almost anything was permitted — a savage environment where only the strong survived.
"Sguller? No,"
Phineas shook his head when he heard the name.
Kreacher hesitated, clearly troubled.
"But… madam said—"
Phineas interrupted sharply.
"Kreacher, remember, I am your master now. Mother is dead, my second brother is missing, and my eldest brother is in Azkaban. You can only obey me now."
Upon hearing this, Kreacher slammed his head against the wall and wailed,
"Kreacher is a bad elf! Kreacher doesn't listen to his master! Kreacher is unworthy!"
Phineas sighed.
"Enough, Kreacher. I'm hungry. Go and prepare some food."
Kreacher nodded, about to leave, but Phineas suddenly recalled something.
"Oh — and Kreacher, over the next few days, go to the Ministry of Magic a few times. See if there are any young house-elves for sale. Buy a few."
Kreacher's ears drooped at the command, but he nodded and vanished with a pop.
This was the unique magic of house-elves. While they were commonly associated with domestic magic — cleaning, cooking, and organizing — they were capable of far more.
House-elves were not natural-born creatures. They were the result of ancient blood magic — a blend of goblin and elven blood, created by early wizards to serve. That same blood magic bound them to the service of wizards, instilling unwavering obedience in nearly all of them.
Though there were rare exceptions, most were loyal and obedient servants.
As for refusing Sguller or purchasing new house-elves, Phineas had his reasons.
Under normal circumstances, a young wizard from a respectable magical family wouldn't decline an invitation to study at Sguller. The school's entry standards were notoriously strict. A child had to display a magical outburst before the age of seven — a sign of extremely high magical talent.
The requirements were even stricter for prestigious families. Sguller only admitted children from the old, established families — the so-called "Presbyterian" families like the Selwyns and the Ridge.
Technically speaking, the Black family no longer met the standard in terms of power or influence.
Yet the Black family had history — one of the original pure-blood lineages. They were related by blood to nearly every other noble wizarding family in Britain.
Some of the elder members of the Black family were still alive, although they rarely appeared in public. They spent their time pursuing arcane magical knowledge and the mysteries of magical origin. They had no interest in day-to-day affairs.
The Blacks were also different in how they approached Sguller.
The Selwyns, for example, would send any descendant who met the criteria.
The Blacks, on the other hand, selected only the most gifted of each generation. With centuries of pure-blood intermarriage — even cousin-to-cousin marriages, like that of Phineas's parents — their most talented children were often born from the main bloodline.
Originally, Phineas had not been chosen to attend Sguller.
But in 1978, when he was just one month old, he experienced an intense magical outburst — so powerful that the Black elders unanimously agreed to shift their support to him. They believed he would qualify for Sguller and eventually join the ranks of the reclusive family elders.
Those elders were some of the most powerful living wizards in the Black family — venerated by their kin, though completely uninvolved in family politics or responsibilities.
In truth, Phineas had been passed over for heirship at birth.
But fate intervened — his brothers' ambitions ruined them both. One vanished without a trace. The other rejected the family, was disowned, and ended up in Azkaban.
This left Phineas with a choice.
If he entered Sguller, the family heirship would pass to the young Black girl who had originally been chosen.
If he refused, then the girl would go in his place, and he would retain his role as heir.
From this angle, why would Phineas agree to attend Sguller?
But the truth was more complicated.
Phineas carried a secret from birth — one no one knew.
He wasn't really Phineas Walburga Black.
Or rather, he was — but not entirely.
He was a transmigrator, a traveler from another world who had taken the place of the real infant Phineas at the moment of his birth.
In his previous life, he had watched the Harry Potter movies countless times. That familiarity made the world around him oddly comforting.
Attending a foreign school like Sguller was too risky.
Hogwarts — known and predictable — was the better option.
And he had another reason.
Like many fictional travelers, he had a System.
It appeared during his magical outburst and had been with him ever since.
The problem? It was still in closed beta. Not yet fully activated.
Its activation condition was receiving the Hogwarts acceptance letter.
That was the true reason Phineas chose not to go to Sguller.
The system — called The Strongest Wizard — had only one active feature so far: daily tasks.
Completing them earned either magic points or gems.
In the wizarding world, power wasn't just about magical strength. It was about magical value — the richness, control, and versatility of one's magic.
Older wizards were generally stronger for this reason. But there were exceptions.
Today, Phineas's magical value was already close to that of a third- or fourth-year Hogwarts student.
All earned through completing system tasks over the past two years.
Gems were the currency of the system. The interface showed a mall, a family treasure chest, and a library — but these were still inaccessible.
So far, Phineas hadn't earned a single gem.
Every task had involved reading and studying various magic books — all rewarded only with magic points.
But that would change once he was accepted into Hogwarts.
And from there, his real journey would begin.