Professor Quirrell was a top student from Ravenclaw, who previously taught Muggle Studies and was now promoted by Dumbledore to a full professor.
Although he had become eccentric, he lacked no knowledge.
"Indeed... indeed it is runic script, child."
Quirrell glanced at the classroom, sighed, and simply focused on Anton as he began to explain.
"This is a variation... a variation of ancient magic, we... we... inherited it from... ancient... ancient..."
Oh, what a terrible way of speaking.
Quirrell's stuttering words echoed clearly in the quieted classroom, sparking another burst of laughter, with Draco's being the loudest.
Of course, Gryffindor was the most affected by this cheerful atmosphere, and Harry looked quite amused.
Damn it!
I finally mustered the courage to face Voldemort, do you think it's easy for me?
Is it easy?
Anton stood up and turned his head to look coldly at everyone.
Although he wasn't the student leader of Slytherin like Draco, he had always been a unique character whom no one dared to bully, and the few mischievous and arrogant Slytherins who had provoked him were all dealt with and brought to heel.
In an instant, the Slytherin side fell silent.
Influenced by this strange atmosphere, the Gryffindor side also gradually quieted down.
"Who else wants to be noisy?"
"Who else?"
As he spoke, the dirt and dust in every corner of the classroom began to vibrate, emitting a harsh buzzing sound, and the low-frequency resonance even shook dust from the ceiling, frightening all the young students into expressions of terror.
Professor Quirrell said nervously from behind him, "My dear student, there's no need for this, no need for this, class is dismissed, class is dismissed, it's... it's already time."
He thought for a moment, "After class... come to my off... office, I'll properly... properly tell you about the Scarecrow Hex, al... alright?"
"???"
...
...
Anton hesitated for a long time at the corner of the stairs not far from Professor Quirrell's door.
He was considering whether he should take some potion to make himself look unwell, and then on his way to the hospital wing, ask a classmate to make an excuse to Quirrell for him.
After all, if you didn't mention Voldemort, Professor Quirrell was actually quite easy to talk to.
"Hey, Anton." A student passed by on the stairs and greeted him.
Anton twitched the corners of his mouth, forcing a polite smile.
"Hey, Antony." This form of address usually came from upperclassmen who knew him through the twins.
Anton could only continue to smile.
Many people were constantly going up and down the stairs.
There were always some people who were bored enough to greet him, and he struggled to smile, his cheeks almost sore.
"Hey, cousin!"
Anton sucked in a breath of cold air, it was Ron, with Harry, Hermione, and Neville beside him.
Ron clearly had something to discuss with him, and the group was about to approach excitedly.
Holy crap, this is right at Voldemort's doorstep, what if he thinks I'm close with Harry?
Anton smiled amiably, nodding as a greeting, pretending not to notice their intention to chat, and walked quickly towards Quirrell's office.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Come in." Quirrell's voice carried a hint of an elegant tone.
After entering, Anton politely closed the door gently behind him, to prevent old Voldy from getting excited at the sight of Harry and the others outside.
"Professor Quirrell, good day."
After greeting him, Anton's eyes suddenly widened.
At this moment, Quirrell no longer had that timid and shrinking expression, he was elegantly leaning back in a large armchair, his body naturally relaxed, his back straight, one hand resting lightly on the armrest, the other holding and swirling a glass of red wine.
He even had his legs crossed!
"I quite like you as a student, excellent, confident, aloof, and with a strong thirst for knowledge, you always remind me of my childhood." Quirrell smiled, raising his eyelids to look at Anton, and with a slight lift of his left hand, gestured to the chair opposite him, "Sit."
Oh my god~
Anton suddenly felt a chill, he swallowed and sat down.
"Excellent students should always receive special treatment, they shouldn't be made to accept some foolish, terrible knowledge, that would only make them waste their precious time and talent."
Professor Quirrell's tone was now natural, his speech coherent and smooth, no longer the stuttering mess from before.
How wonderful.
Anton was so thrilled he could almost cry.
How could this be Quirrell, this guy must be Voldemort!
Wouldn't it be nice for you to just stay quietly in the turban?
Why did you have to come out?
So naughty!
He sat up straight and proper, like a well-behaved child in kindergarten, looking exceptionally obedient.
Professor Quirrell was clearly very satisfied with his attitude towards learning.
"Speak, what do you want to learn?"
Heh.
I don't want to learn anything right now, I want to die, can you just let me go.
Avada Kedavra isn't for me either, I had such a hard time changing my instinctive reaction to cast the Cruciatus Curse, was it easy for me?
Professor Quirrell's eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, filled with a teasing look.
Damn it.
Anton realized it, this guy, just like Dumbledore, was also a master of Legilimency.
He quickly emptied his mind.
Thanks to the strong heart he had developed from constantly facing death by the old wizard's side in his early years, Anton's face remained impassive, he let out a soft breath and decided to just go for it.
"I want to learn the Scarecrow Hex."
"The Scarecrow Hex? What's so special about that?" Professor Quirrell thought for a moment, considered it acceptable, and nodded slightly, "Fine, I can teach you that."
He flicked his slender fingers upwards in the air, and countless words floated in mid-air, like blue flames, flickering and twisting.
"You are very perceptive, this is indeed a runic spell, and a foolish transliteration at that, the altered Latin can only unleash a sliver of the original spell's power."
"The white wizard who made this change must have been very pleased with himself, preserving the grotesque appearance of the transformation, while completely removing all the dangerous and terrible negative effects."
"This is a very dangerous ancient magic curse."
"It is also the origin of the creature known as the scarecrow sprite."
"Of course, you can't find scarecrow sprites anymore, these creatures are far too dangerous and were hunted to extinction by the Ministry of Magic."
Next, old Voldy... oh, no, this is Professor Quirrell, yes, it must be Professor Quirrell!
Professor Quirrell, drawing on a wide range of sources, explained the various casting techniques, countermeasures, practical uses, as well as the counter-curse and potion-based antidotes for the Scarecrow Hex.
He even elaborated in detail on why such a spell had to be pronounced in a certain way, the reasons why some syllables needed to be stressed and others elongated.
This was the first time Anton had ever heard someone explain the principles behind spell pronunciation techniques.
He listened with insatiable thirst.
His mind was filled with this knowledge, and the notebook and ballpoint pen from his satchel flew out, floating beside him and recording rapidly.
He no longer cared who was sitting in front of him, talking so eloquently, he wouldn't care even if it were a pig.