Hogwarts Raven

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Ian felt like a balloon, filled with something that didn't belong to him.

"I'm not pure anymore!"

A wave of overwhelming killing intent surged through Ian's small mind, nearly drowning out his rationality. The boundless killing intent felt like a flood, desperate for an outlet.

Perhaps it was Professor Mara guiding him, or maybe it was just instinct. After hearing her instruction, Ian almost immediately began chanting the spell without hesitation.

"Avada Kedavra!"

It came out almost like a roar.

Ian had never imagined he would cast the Killing Curse under such circumstances. As the incantation resonated, magic power and killing intent merged within him, flowing to his fingertips and into the unknown wand. A brilliant green light illuminated the entire castle.

It shot out like a shining meteor— dazzling and powerful.

It was just a pity that where Ian's wand was pointed, there was no living creature or soul— only an ancient, mottled grayish-blue wall. 

This was a spell that only worked on living beings, so it naturally wouldn't damage the wall. However, even so, the green light spread across the wall like a spiderweb, flickering for a long time before gradually dissipating.

As the killing intent injected by Professor Mara was released, Ian's rationality reclaimed control. Beside him, Professor Mara looked very satisfied with the result.

"It seems your dullness is limited to certain areas. At least when it comes to magic, you have a talent that surpasses many," She praised without reservation.

"What the F**K!" Ian stared at the fading green light on the wall, unable to believe that he had cast such a spell. Him— an eleven-year-old wizard who hadn't even started studying at Hogwarts. 

How could he have cast such a terrifying spell? The Killing Curse! The foremost of the three Unforgivable Curses! A spell that made countless people tremble at its mention! And he had learned it so easily? Were there really natural-born Azkaban prisoners in this world, namely him?

Ian knew that the reason his Killing Curse had such power was largely due to the killing intent Professor Mara had instilled in him. Everyone knew the power of this spell was closely tied to killing intent. However, even with that understanding, it didn't change the fact that he had indeed learned the Killing Curse.

Name: Ian Prince

Occupation: Bloodline Sorcerer

Magic Power: Level 4

Skills:

[Lumos Charm (Level 1): 76/100]

[Levitation Charm (Level 1): 11/100]

[Killing Curse (Level 1): 7/100]

The panel didn't lie. Just by casting the spell once under Professor Mara's guidance, Ian had directly mastered the Level 1 Killing Curse and gained seven points of proficiency! 

What did Level 1 mean? It meant that even without further help from his teacher, he could now cast the most basic form of the Killing Curse. The insights about this spell had also become knowledge in his mind!

"This is an Unforgivable Curse, Professor Mara, and you call this a simple spell?" Ian was still in shock, overwhelmed by the mental weight of what he had just learned.

"In my era, there was no such definition as yours." Professor Mara walked to the wall and gently touched it. The remnants of green light and the slight cracks disappeared completely. 

"Back then, a wizard who couldn't even cast the Killing Curse was just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered." Her explanation was unexpectedly hard to refute.

In Ian's view, Professor Mara was at least a wizard from before the Middle Ages. For wizards of that era, learning the Killing Curse before heading out seemed to make some sense.

"Remember the feeling from today," Professor Mara instructed Ian. "This spell requires intense killing intent. Although you don't seem like you'll grow up to be a good person, for a wizard of your age, it's not easy to possess such strong killing intent... I suggest you try hunting some animals. That can also help you accumulate the killing intent needed to cast the spell."

"Of course, it won't compare to killing a person, or the malice toward your own kind. If you could kill someone with your own hands, perhaps you would truly master this spell."

Professor Mara clearly hadn't grasped Ian's learning progress. Her patient teaching seemed to carry a hint of temptation.

Indeed, a wizard who would teach her apprentice the Killing Curse right from the start couldn't possibly be a kind, good witch. Ian's earlier suspicions about this teacher were probably not wrong.

"Alright, I'll take up a part-time job as an animal butcher..." Ian thought to himself, knowing he wouldn't follow Professor Mara's seemingly offhand suggestion. He wasn't a power-hungry Voldemort.

Besides, he had already learned the Killing Curse and didn't need to accumulate more killing intent to cross that threshold. However, Ian felt this was something he shouldn't tell Professor Mara. Not to keep it as a trump card, but because why complicate things in the Twilight Zone? 

Apart from Ian, no one had ever been known to communicate with the souls of the Twilight Zone. Any secrets exposed here would have no impact on his life in the real world.

The reason he didn't want to tell Professor Mara this astonishing fact was simply that her opinion of him was already dreadful enough. He didn't want to deepen her impression that "you don't seem like a good person."

After all, even with Professor Mara's special teaching method, a wizard who could learn the Killing Curse in one go could probably be considered somewhat of a prodigy in dark magic, right? Hmm. Even Voldemort might nod in approval of him.

Looking at the seven points of proficiency on his panel, Ian wished he could make such leaps in progress with other spells.

"Professor Mara, could you teach me another spell? Something less dangerous..." Ian thought the progress with the Killing Curse might just be a special exception.

"You are getting greedy," Professor Mara responded coldly.

However, the next moment, she suddenly chuckled. "But greed for knowledge is not a bad thing, nor is it something to be disliked." Clearly, Ian's "thirst for knowledge" was something Professor Mara greatly admired.

Yet, facing Ian's eager eyes, Professor Mara didn't start teaching. Instead, she smiled and reminded him in a teasing tone, "Are you sure you have enough time to learn a new spell?"

Perhaps this teacher had some way of discerning how long Ian could stay in the Twilight Zone. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Ian began to feel the surroundings blur.

"Ah!?"

Ian's figure began to fade. Everything around him seemed to drift away... As his soul was about to leave this pure land, he vaguely saw Professor Mara tear off a corner of her dress. She inscribed something on it and then placed it in Ian's hand.

"Consider it homework."

"My dear apprentice, don't disappoint me..."

The illusion vanished and reality returned. When Ian opened his eyes and looked at the clock, Professor Mara's expectant whisper still echoed in his ears.

He sat up, raised his hand, and found the piece of the dress that had crossed the boundary of life and death, carrying ancient homework, now lay quietly in his palm, shimmering with a silvery glow under the moonlight.

(End of Chapter)