Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 27 Let's play around

Both being unforgivable curses, the terrifying aspect of the Soul-Stealing Curse lies not in death and pain, but in its ability to subtly manipulate a person into acting according to the caster's will.

The reason it is included in the category of Unforgivable Curses is because it controls a person silently. You cannot tell from the surface whether a person is under a Soul-Stealing Curse. Only after the caster releases the curse can the person under the curse reveal the fact that they have been under a Soul-Stealing Curse.

Imagine two soldiers who trust each other and fight side by side in battle. At a crucial moment, one of them suddenly betrays the other...

When faced with the Soul-Stealing Curse, you never know who you should trust.

Under certain conditions, the Soul-Stealing Curse is far more terrifying than the Death Curse and the Cruciatus Curse.

However, among the three unforgivable curses, the Soul-Stealing Curse is the only one that can be resisted or even escaped by one's own power after being cursed.

Ike knew only two solutions: the anti-theft waterfall in the Gringotts vault and his own unwavering will.

As for willpower, Ike was quite confident, after all, he was a twelve-year-old wizard who had survived two bursts of negative magical effects and the torment of the Crucifixion Curse for two seconds.

Moreover, he had long been prepared for Quirrell, or rather Voldemort, to do the same.

Otherwise, that useless notepad system would have done far more than just turn into bloody text.

"But Old Fu's skills are really amazing!" Ike looked at the series of Lv7 spells on the system and almost drooled.

It looks so tempting!

"The most urgent thing is to find a way out; we can't afford to mess things up," Ike thought to himself as he returned to his dorm.

Stuart and Terry were sitting at their desks, writing furiously on their history of magic assignments. When Ike came in, they simply looked up to greet him and continued writing.

"Tsk tsk tsk"

Ike let out a gloating sound, took out his treasured pile of cockroaches from the drawer, lightly jumped and half-lay on the bed, watching the two of them rush to finish their homework.

As March arrived, it seemed as if the Hogwarts professors had given them advance notice, increasing the amount of homework by at least 20%. Although the young wizards had a week to complete it, a week was still quite tight for some courses.

For example, Potions and Transfiguration.

Snape's assignments followed a standard procedure. First, he had to state the inventor of the potion and its specific function at the beginning of the paper. Then, he had to list the materials, weight, and detailed steps. Next, he had to point out the places where mistakes were likely to occur. Finally, he had to write down his own thoughts on the potion.

Most young wizards will choose to talk about the benefits of the potion to wizards in the final part, so that Professor Snape won't lower their score.

Although it won't add any points.

Ike, on the other hand, often ends his papers with the "error" section, but for some potions, he writes about his little thoughts on the potion-making process.

Most of the inspiration comes from cooking.

Despite his bad reputation, Professor Snape was indeed responsible. Often, in the next Potions class after receiving the assignment, he would inadvertently offer his opinion.

If Ixes' approach is good, he often gets feedback like, "It seems Mr. Streid's intelligence is being used on XXX, so much so that he hasn't been paying attention in my class."

Conversely, it would probably be something like, "Mr. Strayed, do you know the difference between you and trolls? They're taller than you!"

Well... in short, it's impossible to hear praise from Snape.

The assignment on the history of magic is quite simple. You just need to find the corresponding historical events in the thick book "History of Magic," give your own opinion, and as long as your opinion is consistent with the mainstream view in the magical world, Professor Binns is happy to write an O on your assignment.

This is the simplest option for the Ravenclaws.

Stuart and Terry finished writing quickly, tossed their pens onto the table in unison, and then stretched and loosened their arms and necks. Terry then asked, "Ike, why are you home so early today?"

"It's all done." Ike replied lazily, waving the paper bag. "Professor Quirrell said I need to calm down and wait a while before doing anything else."

"Oh." Stuart took out his favorite honey candies from the drawer, grabbed a small handful and gave them to Terry. "Looks relaxed, at least you didn't come back and fall asleep in bed like before."

"Yeah, it was easy." Ike smiled, waving his wand in his right hand. A series of golden letters formed a complete sentence in the air. "By the way, have you finished the homework Professor Flitwick assigned in Charms class about the Repair Charm?"

"Repair spell? I seem to remember it as softening spell!" Terry looked at the words floating in the air, exchanged a glance with Stuart, and then the two nodded firmly.

"Softening Charm? Wasn't that homework for Tuesday's Charms class? The Repair Charm was assigned on Thursday!" Another string of text appeared in the air, this time a little longer, two sentences.

"Oh no! We're doomed! There's only one day left, and I still have to do my Transfiguration homework!" Stuart screamed, exchanged a glance with Terry, and nodded again.

"Good luck, you guys! I'm going to sleep now. I plan to spend the whole day at the library tomorrow. I haven't finished reading that book about transfiguration yet." With that, Ike threw the pile of cockroaches onto the bedside table and crawled into bed.

Stuart and Terry looked at each other, then at Ike, before continuing with their homework.

The next day, after breakfast, Ike went to the library. He picked out a book called "A Simple Introduction to Ancient Magic Runes" from the bookshelf and sat down in his usual spot.

A short while later, Hermione sat down opposite her with a pile of books in her arms.

The little witch still harbors resentment towards Ike for always outperforming her academically, to the point that she now spends a significant amount of time in the library, far more than Ike.

As usual, the two didn't exchange words, each going about their own business. However, unlike before, Ike left a little earlier.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, glanced up at Ike who was registering books at Mrs. Pince's office, then looked down again. Only then did she notice a note left on the spot where Ike had just been sitting, with her name written on it.

Hermione took the note, turned it over, and frowned slightly. When she looked up at Ike, she saw Ike's departing figure.

Biting her quill, Hermione looked at the note again.

The parchment was ordinary, with familiar notes on it, but the contents were somewhat puzzling.

An ordinary five-pointed star, with only two lines of small text below:

"When you see this star again, please believe me."

"P.S.: Please leave the library as soon as possible. I have cast a spell on this paper. It will spontaneously combust in five minutes."

Hermione gathered her things from the table, clutched the note, and left the library. She hadn't gone far from the library; she walked to a window by the corridor, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then threw the note out the window.

Hermione was filled with doubt as she watched the note slowly drifting down into the air suddenly burst into flames and turn to ashes.

"What are you doing, Ike...?"

(End of this chapter)