My necromancer career begins at Hogwarts

"Turn around, child." The old man's voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

At the same time, Morris quickly estimated in his mind his chances of escaping.

The old man appearing here at this time is most likely a professor from Hogwarts.

He lacked the confidence to escape from a professor's clutches.

Moreover, his face might already be clearly visible.

So Maurice obediently turned around.

It's really unlucky to encounter such an accident on my first time sneaking into the restricted book section.

He quietly observed the old man in front of him.

The other person was looking at him with a smile, an expression of great interest.

"Don't be so nervous, child," the old man beckoned to Maurice and said cheerfully, "Come closer. I can assure you, I won't tell anyone that you were here tonight."

His tone was as if he were coaxing a lost child.

"Thank you, sir," Morris replied politely, taking a few steps forward.

It seems he encountered a magnanimous professor.

If it were Professor McGonagall, he would probably have lost fifty points and been placed in solitary confinement for a month.

He felt a little relieved, but he still didn't dare to relax completely.

The old man in front of me looked very kind, but it was unusual for him to be in the restricted book section at this time.

"Very good, very polite." The old man nodded in satisfaction, closing the book in his hands. "Well then, let's get down to business. You must be a first-year student, right? What brings you to the basement of the restricted book section in the middle of the night?"

His question was very direct.

Morris's answer was also very direct.

"I'm just curious about the contents of this book, sir."

Upon hearing this, the old man sized Maurice up and down. "Ravenclaw? Or Gryffindor? I think it's the former. Also, tell me your name."

Maurice answered honestly, "Maurice Black, a first-year student at Ravenclaw."

There is no longer any need to conceal your information.

"Oh! I guessed it! Ravenclaw!" The old man's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward slightly. "You probably don't know me. I'm Sylvanas Kettleburn, just call me Professor Kettleburn. But if you prefer, you can call me Silver, haha."

"Excuse me, Professor Kettleburn, what do you teach?"

Morris had never heard of such a person at Hogwarts before.

"Fantastic Beasts Conservation!" Professor Kettleburn's voice was filled with pride, then he shrugged. "Unfortunately, the first-year kids can't take my class yet; you'll have to wait until you're in third year."

Morris noticed that his left hand looked unnatural; it was a prosthesis.

Noticing that Maurice's gaze was fixed on his left arm, Professor Kettleburn did not try to hide it; instead, he laughed heartily.

He held his arm between the two men and explained, "Seven years ago, a young Hehidari black dragon snatched this arm from me."

"But don't worry, it's doing very well in the reserve now, and I heard it even became a mother last year."

Looking at Professor Kettleburn's smiling face, Morris didn't know what to say.

You're the one who should be worried, Professor, not the fire dragon.

He composed himself and cautiously began, "Speaking of which, Professor, it's a bit unexpected that there are still people in the restricted area at this hour. Is the library here always open to you, Professor?"

Professor Kettleburn was taken aback. "What time is it?"

"Around 12:30."

Upon hearing Morris's reply, Professor Kettleburn fell silent for a moment, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face—even if he were a professor, Mrs. Pince would probably not give him a friendly look if he stayed here at this hour.

Getting too engrossed in something can also be a bad thing.

There seemed to be some special reason, Morris thought, but didn't ask further.

His gaze returned to the book in Professor Kettleburn's hands.

Under the dim light, the cover title reflected light slightly:

How to dissect a swallowtail dog in the most reasonable way (with pictures)

Morris subconsciously read out the book title.

The name sounds... rather ordinary than I imagined?

It resembles a book on animal medicine.

In his opinion, this was not in line with the style of the restricted book section; he had imagined the books here would be more ferocious and brutal.

But he was quite interested because he happened to have the skeleton of a swallowtail dog.

The skeleton still lies in his suitcase, in scattered fragments, never to be pieced together.

He said to Professor Kettleburn, "Professor, may I take a look at that book you're holding? I'm very interested in Swallowtail Dog."

"Oh?" Professor Kettleburn seemed a little surprised. "Could you tell me why you're interested?"

Morris sensed that the professor's interest was rising.

It's like when someone is bragging to you, they choose a topic you're very good at.

Morris hesitated for a moment before replying, "During the summer, I bought a skeletal model of a swallowtail dog, but unfortunately, what I received was a bunch of bone fragments, and they didn't give me any blueprints."

Skeletal model?

Professor Kettleburn paused for a moment.

This is truly a niche hobby.

Although he knew everything about the swallowtail dog, this amazing animal, he didn't really know much about its skeleton.

He handed the book to Maurice, "There's a picture of a swallowtail dog's skeleton at the very back of this book; it should be useful as a reference. However..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I suggest you don't look at the previous content for now."

The suggestion was ineffective.

Morris took the book and casually opened it.

After a quick glance, he finally understood why the book was in the restricted section.

Apart from a small amount of text, the book is almost entirely composed of moving pictures.

The entire process of a person dissecting a swallowtail dog carcass was documented, and the operation was extremely brutal.

That's definitely a bit too much for a first-grade student.

Fortunately, Maurice is an adult, so this did not affect him.

He flipped to the very end and finally found the skeleton image that Professor Kettleburn had mentioned.

After a quick glance, Morris made a preliminary judgment that he could assemble the skeleton using this picture.

Immediately afterwards, his gaze quickly compared the blueprints with the fragmented images in his mind.

The curvature of the skull, the number of cervical vertebrae, the connection between the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, the unique tilt angle of the pelvis...

"This is perfect!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

Professor Kettleburn quietly observed Maurice as he became engrossed in his work.

How to put it? He felt that this child was a bit strange.

Most first-year students, even those from Ravenclaw, would probably turn pale with fright if confronted with a forbidden book filled with dynamic anatomical illustrations.

But look at this child named Maurice!

Just like a toddler receiving candy, his eyes practically lit up!