Anton was in a bad mood, having been feeling down all day.
He realized he'd been led astray by the old wizard.
In his excitement, he'd subconsciously cast the Cruciatus Curse.
He felt like Azkaban was beckoning him.
"If this keeps up, I'll really end up in Azkaban," Anton sighed, wondering if he could find a gun to prevent his knee-jerk reaction from unleashing an Unforgivable Curse.
The magical world was too mysterious, and sometimes one couldn't take it for granted. He'd assumed he had to constantly maintain the extreme emotions required for Dark Arts in order to cast spells smoothly and without hindrance.
He was wrong. He'd been in a good mood, but in his excitement, his emotions suddenly surged, releasing them naturally.
The old wizard hadn't lied.
This guy might really have changed.
He'd grown to love life.
Floating in front of Florin's Ice Cream Parlor in Diagon Alley, he smiled at the young wizards enjoying their ice cream, his eyes brimming with the kindness that only an elderly person could muster. Sometimes, young wizards bravely ran over to touch him, and he didn't get angry.
Oh, so the evil old wizard became a good guy.
And he, the evil dark wizard?
"How funny! Only after death do you want to truly live." Anton's ridicule didn't move the old wizard, and he resumed his game of throwing his head, making the children on the street scream in surprise.
Anton arrived at Gringotts with a sullen look on his face, where the goblin Griphook once again warmly welcomed him.
He put the old wizard's diary and three textbooks back, pulled a list from his pocket, and quickly searched the shelves for books and a few potion ingredients.
Yes, he accepted the deal with the old wizard. He officially became the dark wizard's apprentice, learning Potions from him.
The ghost couldn't form an 'unbreakable vow' with him. The old wizard frankly stated that he couldn't control Anton's behavior and could only use 'a teacher's love and devotion' to influence Anton's decision. He really saw a ghost.
Damn!
There were a lot of materials needed for the initial introductory teaching, filling up a whole schoolbag.
Anton walked in Diagon Alley, hesitated for a moment, and finally came to Flourish and Blotts again.
He finally bought the first-year Herbology and Potions textbooks, "A Thousand Magical Herbs" and "Magic Medicinals and Potions". In addition, there was Newt's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".
He also went to Wieseacre Magical Supplies Store and spent a high price of 26 gold galleons to buy a pair of magic dentures as a gift to thank Old Tom for his care during this period.
Under his influence, Old Tom developed a passion for Chinese cuisine. Anton felt that with dentures, Old Tom should be able to taste the delicacies he made.
Old Tom was very happy.
So, put on your backpack and pick up your broom.
Let's go.
"It's a big loss to exchange gold Galleons for Muggle currency at Gringotts." The old wizard floated beside him and pointed, "You can go to the wandering wizard campsite."
"One gold Galleon at Gringotts can only be exchanged for five pounds, but at the campsite, you can exchange it for ten pounds. If you meet someone who is not short of money, sometimes you can even exchange it for fifteen to twenty pounds."
Anton was stunned, "Why don't they go to Gringotts to exchange it themselves?"
The old wizard shrugged his headless shoulders, "Fugitives, registered dark wizards, non-human creatures, sources of currency that don't want others to know, there are too many reasons."
"Compared to gold Galleons, it's easier for dark wizards to obtain Muggle currency. You know, they only need to cross the line a little bit, and there are always ways to avoid being detected by the Aurors."
"The closest is Carmela's café, nestled in a crypt beneath a desolate mountain. Carmela, the witch, always has access to a certain amount of silver, and over time, everyone likes to exchange currency here."
Crypt, café, witch...
Anton looked puzzled, unsure why he thought of Sun Erniang's human flesh bun shop in the Water Margin.
It was obvious this place was fraught with danger.
"Wear a mask, a hood, find some ink to paint your hands black, and stuff a pillow under your back. That way, you won't be mistaken for a child, but for a strange, shrunken, dwarf old man," the experienced old wizard advised again.
"Three drops of toad venom, mashed with a Horna leaf, and held in your mouth will cause your voice to become hoarse and heavy. Simply rinse your mouth with a mixture of egg white from the previous night and Horna leaf juice, and it will heal."
Anton looked at the old wizard in amazement. "None of this is in your diary."
The old wizard chuckled, his head in his hand. "I stopped keeping a diary when I was twenty, and only over the next fifty years have I accumulated this knowledge, bit by bit."
"Believe me, it's extremely difficult for a young wizard to survive alone. You'll find you can't live without me."
Anton's emotions were mixed.
He couldn't forget the time he was tortured by the old wizard, nor could he forget the fear and collapse of facing death at any moment.
But he couldn't refuse the old wizard's kindness.
The reason was the same: he just wanted to live a good life, nothing more.
Suddenly, Anton had an idea, "How did I become your apprentice?"
Seeing the old wizard's strange expression, Anton added, "Your Cruciatus Curse still has side effects on me. I don't remember my previous memories."
The old wizard's expression was obviously weird, and he looked at Anton with a smile, "A single father came to the chaotic campsite with his young son. The father may have been single for a long time. When he saw a beautiful girl, he couldn't hold back his inner turmoil. So he died in bed, and died very happily."
"He may not understand the rules of wandering wizards. Beautiful women are absolutely not to be touched. He met a centaur who could make polyjuice potion. He lost his life, and his son was sold to me for ten silver Sickles."
Anton raised his eyebrows, "This is such a sad story."
"No, no, no." The old wizard raised his left hand and shook the fingers, "The child died two months ago."
"???!!!" Anton was suddenly horrified and stared at the old wizard in a daze.
"Dead...dead?"
The old wizard held his head with his right hand and gently combed his hair with his left hand, saying in a deep voice, "I was researching a spell to summon demons. Even though not even the dumbest dark wizard would believe in such a spell, I happened to have a child's corpse on hand as a sacrifice."
"The child later came back to life and was remarkably healthy." The old wizard chuckled, "There was an explosion at the time, and the entire laboratory was blown up, with all the potion materials flying everywhere. I originally thought it was a mistake, and the child had just faked his death."
"But then, this child, who could withstand a large number of Cruciatus Curses and still survive, really made me doubt that the experiment was successful."
The old wizard raised his eyelids and stared at Anton.
"What do you think?"
I think your sister!
A dark wizard is indeed a dark wizard. Anton's heart was in turmoil. In the end, he just silently lowered his flying broom and looked at the barren mountains on the ground.
"We're here."
The old wizard just laughed a strange laugh, which was particularly piercing.