Time slipped by quietly, and Anton always felt like there wasn't enough of it.
Yesterday, which was Saturday, Snape had him do an experiment on how to test the medicinal properties, functions, and characteristics of a dragon's lung. The extremely fluid operating technique gave him a deeper understanding of the old wizard's previous manuscripts.
The pink, fluffy, chubby sub-dragon species Anton saw was actually the eighteenth sample sent from the dragon farm. Snape needed to keep it for testing overall reactions, which is why it was still alive.
The previous seventeen had been completely disassembled into countless parts, and this was already the third assistant-style practical lesson.
For the first time, Anton learned that testing the medicinal properties of an unknown magical ingredient required so many steps.
First came spells. Since most spells have counter-spells and restorative spells, the first tests on the material were done with spells.
This sub-dragon species' lung showed good adaptability to size-altering spells.
It could be used to replace a certain ingredient in the Polyjuice Potion, with the effect of extending the potion's duration.
It had an excellent stabilizing effect on the Undetectable Extension Charm. Just adding a tiny bit not only expanded the space but also had a great effect on the spell's duration.
...
On the subject of spells alone, Snape had listed dozens of records.
After that, there were tests for medicinal properties, physical tests, and so on.
Anton was completely engrossed in his studies. After returning yesterday, he pulled out the old wizard's previous experiment manuscripts and read them all night.
Every time he learned a little more, rereading these manuscripts would bring new insights.
As dawn broke, he followed Draco and the others to the Great Hall on the first floor for breakfast.
Of course, Draco usually couldn't eat more than a few bites, because he would soon start arguing with Harry Potter.
Anton was in no mood to care about them. His brain, having run at high speed all night, felt dizzy and a bit unwell.
But he still had to go to old Voldy's place later.
For this, he had to down a bottle of his self-made simple Invigoration Draught.
Oh, the taste was like smelly socks soaked in perfume overnight. It was so intense it almost made him throw up his breakfast in disgust.
But at least it got him going.
So, let's take a deep breath, another deep breath, and another deep breath.
Anton hesitated by the staircase for a long time before finally walking up and pushing open the door to Professor Quirrell's office.
"Good morning, Professor," the little wizard said with a brilliant smile.
"Sit!" Professor Quirrell, well, it was Voldemort.
Professor Voldemort sat elegantly behind the large desk, his chair turned towards the bay window beside him, squinting at the view outside.
Anton followed his gaze and looked out. On the Quidditch pitch, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams were in a fierce match.
"Lovely little wizards, always so full of energy."
"I used to dislike the sport of Quidditch, which clearly made me miss out on the most passionate fun of this age."
Anton didn't know what old Voldy was usually like, but when he was in his professor persona, he was always very talkative.
He wouldn't interrupt at a time like this.
He would only interrupt old Voldy when he was most confused about his studies. At other times, he tried not to speak, just smile.
"In 1894, there was a Quidditch team called the Appleby Arrows. Their fans' way of celebrating was to shoot an arrow from their wands."
The professor elegantly rested his wand on his palm, waved it gently, and an arrow appeared out of thin air, shooting at an extremely fast speed into the oak bookshelf. The magical light flickered, and the arrow disappeared.
"That year, a fan's arrow pierced the nose of the referee, Nugent Potts, so the Department of Magical Games and Sports banned this old practice."
"This record is from Chapter 7 of *Quidditch Through the Ages*: British and Irish Quidditch Teams."
The professor turned his head, no longer looking at a certain cute little boy from Gryffindor.
"Today, we will talk about this Arrow-Shooting Spell."
"Ancient magic and modern magic are almost completely different systems, each with its own advantages and disadvantages in their respective fields."
"Modern magic is more powerful, easier to master, and allows us to quickly enter the realm of high-level spells."
"Ancient magic is more complex, more mysterious, requires more diverse knowledge, and makes it easier to delve into the essence of magic."
"If an ancient spell like the Arrow-Shooting Spell were to be broken down into the system of modern magic, it is first a Summoning Charm, which is a type of conjuration. Secondly, it is also a high-level Transfiguration, which is also a branch of conjuration."
Anton was puzzled, "Transfiguration is a Summoning Charm?"
"No, it's not." The professor smiled and shook his head. "It's that some Transfiguration spells have touched upon the domain of Summoning Charms. It's often difficult for us to clearly distinguish which system a spell belongs to."
He waved his wand again, "Avis!"
A flock of small birds flew out from the tip of his wand, flapping their wings. They flew a circle around the office and then out through the open window.
"This is a high-level Transfiguration, and also a type of Summoning Charm."
"Returning to the Arrow-Shooting Spell, besides the aforementioned points, it is also a curse."
"A spell in ancient runes that uses the same principle as the Arrow-Shooting Spell... in ancient times, spells were rarely named. The main function of this spell is to separate the flesh and bones of animals."
"When the Ministry of Magic was first established, this ancient spell was forbidden for use on living creatures. Later, even stricter laws were enacted specifically for this spell."
A mocking smile touched the corner of the professor's mouth. "The only ones authorized to use it now are slaughterhouses, but most slaughterhouses now enslave goblin workers, and they don't need this spell."
"So, let's learn how to use this spell while explaining the principles behind the Arrow-Shooting Spell and the Bone-and-Flesh-Separating Charm."
A flash of light.
An iron cage appeared on the oak desk.
Inside were several thousand rats.
Anton swallowed, his lips twitching as he forced a difficult smile, "O... okay."
...
...
Anton came out reeking of blood and nausea.
Blood had soaked his wizard's robe. Even after using the 'Scourgify' charm, Anton still felt as if he were submerged in thick, bloody water.
No!
It wasn't just blood.
A rat's spine had even fallen into the pocket of his wizard's robe. Heaven knows how much disgust he had to endure to fish that rat spine out.
Once, a spell failed, and an entire rat exploded, splattering his face with a mixture of blood and flesh.
It was only thanks to the extreme resilience Anton had honed that he managed to maintain a straight face in front of Voldemort.
Right, he couldn't show a timid expression in front of this sneering Dark Lord.
A competition of elegance, is it?
A competition of composure, is it?
You, Voldemort, aren't even afraid to drag your remnant soul right under Dumbledore's nose. Although my experiences are more low-end, I've also clearly walked the line between life and death.
Anton's expression was extremely calm.
He even deliberately wove a thought in his mind—Oh, I absolutely love the smell of blood. No, I can't let the professor see this!
As a result, Professor Voldemort's attitude indeed softened a lot, shifting from watching a show to giving guidance.
With guidance, things were different. The casting of ancient spells sometimes didn't follow the three elements of spell-casting at all, and was filled with strangeness everywhere.
It went on until late at night.
After returning to his dormitory, Anton knelt over the toilet and threw up for a full half-hour, nearly emptying his stomach. He took a long, hard shower, then collapsed onto his bed in a daze, finding it hard to tell if he had fallen asleep or passed out.
The process of learning was truly too difficult.
It was completely different from the peaceful and leisurely Hogwarts he had imagined, sipping tea and reading books!
But no matter what, as long as he could get a good night's sleep.
Yes, a good night's sleep.
Tomorrow, I'll be a new person again