The next day, the sun was still shining brightly.
Anton woke up to find the old wizard gone, and he felt particularly relieved.
After a delicious breakfast, he took out his diary again and continued to recite the spells in it.
The old wizard was wrong in one point. Anton did not intend to delve into any dark magic.
Since this world already has established and recognized proper spells, why not study those instead of studying the dark magic?
Think of Gilderoy Lockhart, the master of the Obliviate Charm, and Harry Potter, the master of the Disarmament Charm.
Anton even felt that if Lockhart really fought Snape, he would not necessarily lose.
The victory or defeat was only a matter of seconds, and it all depended on who was hit by the other's spell first. If Snape was accidentally hit by Lockhart's Obliviate Charm, not only would he lose the knowledge and memory of the spell, but even Lily's memory would be erased.
Yay, then Snape could start a new life.
Studying proper spells could bring both social recognition and immense power. Was Anton mistakenly trying to emulate the old wizard, burying himself in dark corners and fearing to see anyone, by studying the dark arts every day?
He had two goals in mind.
One was to broaden his horizons, to build a knowledge base for future applications and to prepare for the right responses when attacked by dark magic.
The other was to serve as a temporary backup.
He needed a few offensive tactics to ensure his survival before entering magic school.
If he couldn't sustain extreme emotions constantly, he would try to find ways to shorten the duration of his emotions.
That was all.
He had a clear mind and knew what he wanted, not just dwelling on the diary's descriptions of the incredible power of dark magic.
The old wizard hadn't appeared all day, which kept Anton in a good mood.
His good mood would last, as the old wizard seemed to have completely vanished, never to be seen again.
A full week later, Anton began to pack up.
He had memorized the diary so thoroughly that he no longer needed to carry it with him.
He planned to store the four Galleons-worth of textbooks in the Gringotts vault before leaving.
And then, leave.
He had carefully researched the location of Pedro the Goblin's island. It lay across a vast ocean from England, yet close to France.
To keep up with Lupin's treatment, he decided to find a place to live near the French coast.
Living in an overpriced bar every day wasn't an option.
It was also a coincidence that just as he was about to leave to check out of Old Tom's hotel, the old wizard appeared.
He smiled at Anton and said, "I know you've always wanted to learn the Levitation Charm. I saw you spending a lot of time working on it lately."
Anton pursed his lips and said nothing.
Of the dozen or so spells in his first-year textbook, "The Standard Book of Spells, Elementary," his favorite was the Levitation Charm.
Not only did it improve his life perfectly, but if the effects were exaggerated, it resembled a move he'd read online—the Wizard's Hand.
Without knowing the three key elements required to cast the spell, he could only resort to trial and error, ultimately failing.
The old wizard proudly pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes.
While ghosts couldn't cast spells, they could still be used to demonstrate their abilities.
"Watch this," he swung his wrist. "Here's the key: a flick of the wrist, Wingardium Leviosa!"
"This spell requires what we generally call the wizard's will. You must be resolute in making the object levitate, as if commanded by a spirit from above." The old wizard wanted to teach
Anton, and he wasn't shy.
He took out his wand and tried again and again, asking the wizard to correct his gestures and pronunciation.
Finally, the chair in the room levitated gently.
"Perfect!" laughed the old wizard and clapped his hands.
Anton's expression was complex.
"You disappeared all these days just to steal a spell like this and teach it to me?"
The old wizard shrugged.
"Luckily, I ran into two Hogwarts students in Hogsmeade and overheard them talking about this spell."
That place wasn't close. The village was full of powerful, lawful wizards, a place Dark wizards avoided and feared. Anton wondered how the old wizard had overcome his fear of entering such a place. A complex mix of emotions gripped him for a moment.
"I'm not grateful to you for this," laughed the old wizard.
"I don't need your gratitude. I just wanted you to know that I could be your teacher. This is an opportunity."
Anton shook his head.
"I'm not particularly interested in the Dark Arts."
"What a coincidence! I'm not particularly interested in the Dark Arts either."
The old wizard toyed with his head.
"You've read my journal, so you know I'm only recording this valuable knowledge. I only learned the Cruciatus Curse as a method of attack and self-protection."
Anton considered this, put down his backpack, and sat back down.
"I know," Oralo said, adding that most of the spells in the old wizard's journal were accompanied by a sentence.
"I can teach you Potions. That's my true strength. You've tasted the magic of the 'Magician's Eye' potion, haven't you? I invented it."
The old wizard smiled proudly as he spoke. Honestly, Anton was tempted. Potions was a serious subject. Although he had read the old wizard's records and discovered that many of his methods leaned toward the dark arts, that was only a bias. Potions didn't strictly distinguish between white and black magic. With his knowledge in this area, a path to success would stretch out before him. Mastering Potions would bring him wealth, power, fame... everything. Just look at Snape.
"So what's the price?"
Anton stared at him. The old wizard walked over to the window, looking dazed.
"You're right."
"????"
"I died, but I actually experienced the new life you described."
A smile spread across the old wizard's ugly head, his eyes wide with fascination.
"It's truly fascinating."
Anton was baffled. It was just another rant. He could regurgitate that kind of inspirational tale all day long without repeating himself. It had long since fallen out of favor on the internet. People's tastes had changed; They only liked toxic inspirational stories.
Old man, you are out of date.
The old wizard looked at Anton with a smile, "Remember how I turned my teacher's safe house into a body for ghosts to inhabit? I called it ghost armor, and it was originally a way to prepare a way out when I died one day."
"Apparently, my experiment was successful."
"I want to make a deal with you."
"Speak!"
"I will teach you potions, and you have to prepare enough 'Wizard's Eye' potions to help me create a body again."
"I want to really walk on the streets, touch real flowers, try what ice cream tastes like, and feel the refreshing breeze."
He has always been the one to fool children, so how could he be fooled? Anton sneered, "After I help you make a body, the first thing you will do is definitely not to eat ice cream, but to kill me."
The old wizard looked at him with an indescribable open-mindedness in his eyes, "You can wait until you are strong enough to easily destroy my body, or wait until your life is about to end, then help me make a body. I can wait."
Anton was silent.
This was already sincere enough, and he could feel it.
"Why me? With the same conditions, you can find someone to help you without much difficulty."
The old wizard was silent for a long time. "Except you and me, everyone else who drank the 'Wizard's Eye' potion died."
"!!!"
"Wang Defa!" Anton instantly thought of the scene when the old wizard raised his wand and forced him to drink the potion.
It turned out that he almost died that time too?
"Crucio!"
The light of the spell passed through the old wizard's body, and the old wizard just smiled. "You have a talent for dark magic."