In the wizarding world, there are three spells regarded as the most evil, most insidious, and most cruel Unforgivable Curses.
They are the Cruciatus Curse, the Killing Curse, and the Imperius Curse.
These three spells are extremely peculiar in nature. First, they have no counter-curse at all; second, the conditions for casting them are extraordinarily harsh.
They require intensely powerful negative emotions, as well as magic far stronger than that of an ordinary person.
Just like the vast majority of Dark magic.
Once the caster speaks the incantation, that dark power quietly erodes their mind, causing them to gradually lose their true nature.
Precisely because of this, the laws of the wizarding world strictly proclaim that if anyone dares to use these three spells—
Once discovered, they will be imprisoned in Azkaban for life!
Dylan was helpless; he had never expected that the three random max-level spells would all end up being the Unforgivable Curses.
"Calm down, Dylan, calm down. Spells are just tools. Even the Unforgivable Curses are no exception!"
Dylan raised his hand and patted his cheeks lightly, muttering under his breath, "At least… this does mean I have some power to protect myself now, doesn't it?"
People always say that offense is the best defense. Even though he had not drawn the Patronus Charm, Unforgivable Curses were not completely unacceptable.
After lying to himself thoroughly in his heart—
Dylan's emotions gradually settled. Only then did he turn his gaze back to the system panel floating in front of him.
Aside from the three max-level spells, he still had a free magical creature to claim.
"Merlin—no, Voldemort above, please just give me something cute. Strength doesn't matter; I'm not asking for a phoenix or a qilin, just don't give me something that looks like Gargamel at first glance."
Perhaps Voldemort heard Dylan's prayer from somewhere in the void.
In an instant, that star suddenly exploded.
Dylan felt the air in front of him twist.
In the blink of an eye, a little thing that looked like a black cat, but even more like a lynx, leaped lightly out of it.
It was small in size, its entire body covered in ink-black fur, dark as midnight, so dense it held not the slightest hint of any other color.
Looking at it, Dylan's vision darkened again.
Although it was clearly just a kitten, the little creature was not cute or silly at all. Instead, it exuded a cold sharpness.
Meeting its gaze, Dylan felt as though he were looking at some ill omen.
"Mrrr~" The little thing's paws were hidden beneath its ball of fur, its black eyes staring fixedly at Dylan.
[Message]: You have obtained the magical pet—Shadow Wyrm!
[Message]: Your pet space has been unlocked!
"Shadow Wyrm?"
Dylan glanced at the system panel, which now displayed a detailed description of the little creature.
After reading it, he let out a sigh.
"Fortunately, it's not some evil magical beast. It's just that, to keep one, I still need to get a permit, otherwise it would be illegal."
However, the system had also given him a pet space. Normally, Dylan could stuff the little Shadow Wyrm in there and did not have to keep it by his side all the time.
"Mrr!"
The Shadow Wyrm meowed louder, as if trying to tell Dylan something.
And Dylan actually realized that he could vaguely sense what the little creature wanted to express.
"You want me to hold you?" Dylan blinked.
"Mrr!" The Shadow Wyrm lifted its head proudly.
Oh? So it was a little tsundere?
And what was with that mooing sound…
Dylan reached out and gently scooped the Shadow Wyrm into his arms.
"Little guy, since you're my pet now, how about I give you a name?"
The Shadow Wyrm curled up its little legs, raised its head, and gave Dylan a sideways glance, but made no further movement.
"You're so handsome, with fur as black as coal. From now on, you'll be called…"
"Coalball. How about it? Do you like that name?"
"Mrr?!"
The Shadow Wyrm bared its teeth a little.
Seeing that it did not object—in fact, a faint light even flashed through its big eyes, as if it were quite satisfied—Dylan rubbed it affectionately.
"As long as you like it. Next, your master has a few other things to take care of, so you go stay in the pet space for now."
"Mrr??"
Dylan stored Coalball into the pet space.
After sensing it for a moment, he found that the space was pretty much like a Poké Ball. Pets would not feel uncomfortable inside; in fact, they would not feel anything at all.
"Wonder if I'll be able to upgrade the pet space into a real world someday."
As Dylan calculated silently in his heart, his thoughts turned to the trip to Diagon Alley he would have to make later. He would need to visit the Magical Menagerie and ask around.
He had to figure out how to apply for a license to keep a Shadow Wyrm.
After all, this was his first pet. He could not treat it like a mistress and hide it away all the time, right?
"Man, what is my life… I haven't even started school yet and I've already gone down the checklist of illegal activities."
He carefully checked the Hogwarts acceptance letter one more time, then went over the enclosed list of required items again and again.
After memorizing the key points, Dylan put the two pieces of parchment back into the envelope, then turned and walked out of the basement.
"Mom! I have something I absolutely have to tell you!"
After the usual washing up and getting dressed—
The family of three sat around the dining table, and Dylan told his parents about the magic school.
But his parents only stared at the letter on the table with deeply doubtful expressions.
"Hubert, do you actually believe this? I mean… magic? Really?" Dylan's mother, Maeve, looked utterly incredulous.
"Darling, I find it hard to believe too, but Dylan has always been honest." Hubert reached out and picked up one of the parchments, examining it carefully.
"You mean this is some kind of prank one of Dylan's friends pulled on him?" Maeve's suspicion eased a little at that.
"Mom, you know I don't really have any friends." Dylan blinked and gently reminded her.
Maeve and Hubert exchanged a look.
Could their son have run into some kind of con artist?
Dylan could have easily just cast a spell on his parents to put their minds at ease.
But there was no need. He was still so young; he did not want to fill in Harry Potter's role word for word.
His parents might be poor, but they still loved him very much.
"Um, Dad, I think maybe I could write a reply. What if it turns out to be real?" Hopeful longing appeared on his face at just the right moment.
"Magic, huh?" Hubert tapped the parchment with his finger, frowning slightly.
"Oh, my baby, you can write back, but you are not allowed to go anywhere with strangers, understand?" Maeve said seriously.
"Of course!" Dylan agreed immediately.
After breakfast, since it happened to be a day off, Dylan's parents watched as he carefully wrote the reply.
Seeing their son write so seriously, stroke by stroke, the couple did not say anything more.
He was still just a child. It was normal to be curious about unusual things like this. It was only a letter, after all; there was no reason to stop him.
Once Dylan finished writing the letter, he placed it on the windowsill of the desk in the living room.
An entire day went by, but there was still no sign of any owl.
"Sweetheart, don't be sad. Maybe at Christmas, Santa Claus will leave you a magical present."
Seeing how Dylan kept glancing at the letter on the windowsill, Maeve could not help but comfort him.
"Huh? Santa Claus?" Dylan was stunned.
Wait a second, Mom, what month do you think it is right now?
You're really going to string me along all the way to Christmas?