My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 7 007. If there's something new, who would want the old one?

You have received sincere praise from Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Adrian Fawkes, and he intends to make an investment in you.

[Offensive and defensive spell talents +1, offensive and defensive spell strength +1, dark magic talents +1, dark magic strength +1]

Lynn was shocked.

He wasn't surprised that receiving praise from a professor would grant him additional skill points, as this had been demonstrated with Professor McGonagall before. As long as the praise was genuine, professors from different subjects would allocate corresponding skill points to various magic abilities.

He could understand the praise from the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and the decision to allocate points to offensive and defensive spells.

But... what the heck is this about adding points to dark magic talent?

You're supposed to be defense-to-dark-magic?! Dark magic is getting stronger and stronger, what kind of defense are you going to have?!

Moreover, his talent for dark magic was already high enough; is adding more to it going to make him a dark wizard?

Fox assumed Lynn was considering his investment proposal, so he didn't disturb him and happily enjoyed the freshly cooked lamb in the hot pot all by himself.

After much thought, Lynn deduced three possibilities that could lead to this situation:

The first possibility is the most likely one, and the problem lies with the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, which is quite unique.

The second possibility is that Fox not only praised him but also expressed interest in investing in him and would give him some points. However, it's unclear why they would give him points related to black magic, so the second possibility might be a bit far-fetched.

The third possibility, and the one Lynn most favors, is that it's his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's problem...

Fox noticed Lynn's gaze was fixed on him, so he spoke up and asked.

"What's your decision?"

"Although I live alone now, I receive a fixed allowance every month, so... I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not short of money."

Lynn didn't receive a few compliments, and after downing two more beers, he became so smug that he forgot all about directions.

Investors invest in the hope of returns and profits. If they receive a sum of money that they don't really need, who knows what they will have to pay in the future?

Lynn's refusal did not surprise Fox; he no longer treated him like a child.

"Although you are very smart, you don't know much about the magical world, Belloc." Lynn was already full, but Fawkes was still putting potatoes and lettuce into the hot pot.

"The currency in the magical world is different from the currency in Muggles. Oh, and here, Muggles refer to ordinary people who don't know magic and don't believe in magic."

Gringotts, the wizarding world's bank, does offer the service of exchanging Muggle currency for Galleons, the wizarding world's currency, but this exchange is not endless.

Those goblins aren't fools; some of them even disguised themselves as humans to study economics at Oxford University, a Muggle university, and even obtained degrees.

Therefore, the rules they established for currency exchange are limited and fluctuate, changing constantly based on the magical world's currency reserves and economic needs.

Unfortunately, this year is a year of economic downturn in the Muggle world, which has severely restricted currency exchange. No matter how much pounds you offer, you can only exchange for a maximum of ten Galleons.

Ten Galleons, and a wand requires at least seven. You also need to keep some money for emergencies. Do you have enough money left for the rest of your school robes, books, cauldrons, etc.?

Lynn's understanding of the magical world is indeed not deep. Not to mention how much of the original plot he remembers, even if he remembers it all, there are certainly not many related details in the original work.

For example, when it comes to currency, he was completely unaware of the specific exchange rules.

However, being unaware of the situation does not mean that Lynn had no doubts about what Fox said.

"But students from Muggle families like me are definitely not uncommon. If they don't have enough money to buy magical items, what will they do when they go to school? Hogwarts won't just stand by and do nothing, will it?"

"Of course not. In previous years, if such a situation occurred, the Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors would jointly fund the program, with Hogwarts providing a subsidy to students from Muggle families. Although it wasn't much, it was enough for them to barely meet their daily needs. But things are different these past two years. The Ministry of Magic and the Hogwarts Board of Governors have been cutting school spending, especially since the Board of Governors is basically composed of pure-blood families. Naturally, the targets of their cuts are you young wizards from Muggle families."

Fox didn't spell it out too bluntly; there were many intricacies involved, including the conflicts between Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, the conflicts between Dumbledore and the Board of Governors, the conflicts between the Academy faction and the family faction, and most importantly, the conflicts between pure-bloods and non-pure-bloods.

"Dumbledore has done his best to help you. Apart from necessities like wands, other items such as school robes, books, and cauldrons can be given to students from Muggle families as gifts from graduating students. In other words, you can use their used second-hand items."

But I think, Belloc, you're definitely not someone who'd be willing to shortchange yourself. If you can get something new, who would want to use the old?

Lynn remained silent, secretly thinking to himself, "That's not necessarily true. If it's a Potions textbook that the Half-Blood Prince used, I'd be more than happy to use a secondhand one."

"So, if I accept your investment, what kind of return do you need, Professor?" Lynn asked.

Fox's smile deepened; Lynn was clearly tempted.

"I need you to come work for me after you graduate and be my assistant for a few years."

"An assistant?" Lynn frowned. "Can't it be anyone else? There are plenty of talented people in the magical world, why does it have to be me?"

Faced with Lynn's barrage of questions, Fox gave him a mysterious smile.

"What I'm researching isn't just any ordinary thing, Bellok. You haven't enrolled yet, so you don't know much about the magical world. Even if I explain, you might not understand. You just need to know that I will never ask you to do anything immoral, but you will need extensive magical knowledge, the ability to think from multiple perspectives, and... the ability to accept things that the magical world cannot accept."

After hearing his explanation, Lynn looked at Fox with a strange expression, wondering if what he was talking about was actually black magic.

"Are you so sure I'll meet those requirements after graduation?"

Fox looked at him with a smile.

"That's why I say this is an investment. If you don't meet the requirements by then, it means my investment has failed, but the only loss will be a sum of money."

Besides, I might not even live to see you graduate from Hogwarts. I have absolutely no idea whether I'll be able to get through this year at Hogwarts safely.

Lynn fell into deep thought.

To be honest, he didn't have any aversion to dark magic. Magic itself is innocent; the sin lies with the person who uses it. Besides, he had an extremely high talent for dark magic, and Hogwarts didn't teach it at all, so this might as well be an opportunity for him.

Of course, he couldn't be 100% sure that what Fox was talking about was black magic, but the chances were indeed very high.

Moreover, as he said, Lynn hasn't even enrolled in school yet, and there's no sign of him graduating. He'll also experience a series of events related to Voldemort's resurgence, and nobody knows what kind of changes will occur.

So Lynn made his decision.

"Nice deal, Professor Fox." He raised his beer, smiling and winking.

A private message came through: the contract will be mailed tomorrow. If you're following the story, you can click to invest and make a profit now. Also... I'm begging for votes!

(End of this chapter)