Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil.

No wonder he felt so relaxed!

It turns out that not only was the curse purified, but the black magic mark that had troubled him for years and made him feel depressed day and night also disappeared!

This Dark Mark was left behind when he was coerced by Voldemort.

For years, it has been like a brand of shame, constantly reminding him of his past compromises and struggles, and keeping him living in the shadow of Voldemort. This heavy burden is far more oppressive to him than the curse itself.

Regulus abruptly turned to look at Puni, his smile so wide it almost reached his ears: "Puni, look! My Dark Mark is gone! What happened? Why did it disappear too?"

Puni stepped forward, looked down at Regulus's smooth arm, and had some guesses in his mind. He said calmly, "Perhaps, this Dark Mark itself is a dark curse. Now that you have gained the divine effect of immunity to curses, the power of the divine decree has not only purified the curse that entangled the Black family, but also removed this dark mark belonging to Voldemort."

At this point, Puni paused, his gaze becoming serious, and continued, "Moreover, I have a guess that the strange curse that the Black family has suffered over the past two years may have originated from your Dark Mark. Voldemort may have left this mark not only to control you, but also to plant a seed of curse, which, once the time is right, will spread to the entire Black family through the mark."

Puni's words were merely a guess based on the scene before him, without any substantial evidence.

But after listening, Regulus fell into deep thought, carefully recalling everything that had happened in his family over the past two years, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Puni's guess might be true.

Voldemort's mastery of dark magic had long since reached its pinnacle. For him, casting a curse on his entire family with a Dark Mark would likely not be difficult.

He secretly speculated that Voldemort might not have fully recovered his power yet.

If he had already recovered to his peak strength, he probably wouldn't have waited until now to activate the curse.

Perhaps the curse on this Dark Mark has existed since the moment he was branded, but Voldemort needed to recover enough magic to activate it. In the past two years, Voldemort has just recovered the power to activate the curse, which is why the Black family is in trouble.

Regardless of the truth, what matters most to Regulus at this moment is that he has finally broken free from the curse and the shackles of the Dark Mark, and is completely free from Voldemort's shadow.

As for the elders of the clan who had already been cursed, Regulus had a plan in mind.

He could consult with Severus Snape more often afterward. Severus is an expert in dark magic and potions, and might be able to find a way to help his elders alleviate the curse.

Regulus couldn't help but smile at the thought of Severus's expression when he saw the Dark Mark on his arm disappear.

Severus had always known that he was troubled by the Dark Mark, and if he saw the mark disappear into thin air, he would be extremely shocked and might even demand an explanation!

As night gradually faded and a faint, pale light appeared on the horizon, a new day quietly dawned.

Puni didn't linger any longer; he needed to get back to Hogwarts.

He walked to the fireplace in the dormitory, skillfully sprinkled in a handful of Floo Powder, and uttered the name of Hogwarts Castle.

As the Floo Powder ignited into a green flame, Puni leaped into the fireplace.

These days, he had already discovered that Hogwarts Castle was protected by an anti-Apparition charm, preventing wizards from directly Apparating into the castle. However, it wasn't impossible to quickly reach Hogwarts using non-wizard-specific methods of movement like Floo Powder from the fireplace; it just wasn't widely available.

The green flames enveloped his figure, and in an instant, he disappeared into the fireplace, leaving only a wisp of smoke that gradually dissipated into the air.

......

Despite the absence of classes on weekends at Hogwarts, Penny's life did not become idle; on the contrary, it remained fulfilling and well-organized.

The morning sunlight streamed through the castle's stained-glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the winding corridors.

Puni carried the letters he had written and walked quickly toward the owl hut. He carefully tied the letters to the owls' legs, watched them flap their wings and fly away into the distance, and then turned and walked toward the auditorium.

The auditorium was already filled with the aroma of food, and the long tables were laden with all kinds of breakfast: golden and fluffy buttered bread, sizzling cured meat, fragrant roasted ham, and steaming pumpkin juice.

As soon as Puni stepped into the Great Hall, several familiar figures immediately surrounded him; they were his Ravenclaw roommates.

Marcos stepped forward first, holding a cup of steaming pumpkin juice in his hand, with a warm smile on his face: "Puni, you've finally arrived! I didn't see you this morning. Come and try this pumpkin juice, it's still hot."

As he spoke, he handed the pumpkin juice to Puni, "You're already reading so early in the morning, have you finished your homework?"

Puni took the pumpkin juice and nodded gently: "Thank you, Marcos. My assignment is almost finished, but I would like to add some information to the paper on the transformation of a match into a needle to make the content more complete and in-depth."

"Supplementary materials?" Marcos's curiosity intensified, and he quickly asked, "Could it be that the paper's length didn't meet Professor McGonagall's requirements? You're always very meticulous in your writing, it shouldn't be too far off, right?"

“The length has long met the requirement, and even exceeded it a bit.” Puni shook his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips. “During the after-class time before, Professor McGonagall specifically explained some knowledge about Animagus to me. I found it very valuable, so I wanted to add this part to the paper to broaden its scope.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Roger's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward: "What a coincidence! Puni, how about we go to the library together after you finish breakfast? My paper for Transfiguration Magic class is still missing a lot of content, and I haven't been able to write it to the required length. I'm really worried about not being able to find a direction."

Marcos followed closely behind, looking somewhat embarrassed, and quickly added, "Me too! For the Potions class assignment on treating boils, I always felt like I missed a crucial point about the properties of those herbs, and the content I wrote wasn't complete enough, so I've always felt uneasy."

Eddie nodded in agreement: "Like Marcos, I'm also stuck on the potions assignment. I haven't found all the relevant information in 'A Thousand Magical Herbs and Mushrooms,' and it's even less than what Marcos wrote. If I can't find any more supplementary information, I'm afraid I'll get a scolding from Professor Snape."

Chapter 54 Hogwarts Library

Marcos placed a piece of buttered bread, a few slices of cured meat, and roasted ham on Puni's plate, and the others followed suit, sharing some of the food from their own plates with Puni.

Puni looked down at the pile of food on his plate, then at the smiles on his roommates' faces, and asked with a half-smile, "You guys are so enthusiastic, you didn't plan this all along, did you? You want me to help you find information, did you?"

The roommates, whose thoughts had been exposed, all wore embarrassed smiles, scratched their heads, and looked slightly awkward.

Roger spoke first: "We really had no other choice. We're almost done with the assignment. Once we finish, we can go out and play without worry!"

Marcos shrugged: "Besides, there's a Quidditch selection this afternoon. Eddie and I are planning to go check it out. Maybe we can even see a great performance from the Ravenclaw team. We can't go to watch the fun while we're burdened with homework."

“That’s right. Now that the homework is done, there’s nothing to worry about, and we can enjoy playing more.” Eddie nodded in agreement. “I heard that a lot of talented freshmen have signed up for this selection, and we want to join in the fun.”

"The Quidditch selection this afternoon..." Puni muttered to himself.

Puni nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, after breakfast we'll go to the library, and after everyone finishes their homework, we'll go watch the Quidditch selection together in the afternoon."

"Great!"

Upon hearing that Puni had agreed, the roommates smiled even more broadly and quickly began to eat.

This weekend, most students chose to rest in their dormitories or wander around the castle, and there weren't many people at the library.

The library was unusually quiet.

Most students come to the library in groups of three or five. Some gather in front of the tall bookshelves, looking down carefully to find the books and materials they need, and occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones.

Some sat around tables and chairs in the rest area, gathered together.

Puni turned to his roommates and whispered, "Regarding the potion assignment for treating boils in Potions class, you can look for it in the newspaper section. There are articles that Professor Snape published back then, which are very valuable for reference."

"There's also the Transfiguration assignment. There's a paper in 'Transfiguration Today' about turning a match into a needle. It was written by Principal Dumbledore when he was young. The knowledge points in it are very detailed. I also referred to these two magazines when I wrote my paper this time. You can take a closer look."

"My goodness, Puni, you're amazing! You even read magic magazines? We've never even heard of them!"

The roommates all looked surprised.

Puni smiled and waved his hand: "This is not my doing. It's all thanks to Mrs. Pince. I discovered by chance that there was a lot of useful knowledge hidden in those old magic magazines. Mrs. Pince's reading volume is amazing. No matter what type of book or information I want to find, she can tell me the exact location."

Everyone knows that Ilmapinse is the librarian at Hogwarts. She is usually stern and has extremely strict rules about the library. She will become stern immediately if anyone breaks the rules.

But as long as she doesn't violate the library's rules, she is a fairly kind lady, and very knowledgeable, knowing every book in the library like the back of her hand.

The roommates quickly thanked him, and then walked together toward the newspaper and magazine section to look for the two magazines that Puni had mentioned.

Puni turned and walked toward the library front desk, where Mrs. Pince was sitting, head down, organizing the books in her hands, looking focused.

Puni stepped forward gently: "Mrs. Pince, hello. I'd like to find some books about Animagus to supplement my Transfiguration paper. In which section should I look for these books?"

Hearing the voice, Mrs. Pines looked up, adjusted her glasses, and carefully examined Puni from head to toe before slowly saying, "At your age, it might be dangerous for you to be exposed to knowledge about Animagus. The transformation process of Animagus is extremely complex, and the slightest carelessness could lead to accidents that could harm your body."

Faced with Mrs. Pince's concerns, Puni softened his tone and patiently explained, "Mrs. Pince, please rest assured, I have no intention of practicing Animagus magic. It was Professor McGonagall who specifically instructed me after class to find some information about Animagus to supplement my paper on Transfiguration and deepen my understanding of the nature of Transfiguration magic."

Mrs. Pins' expression softened slightly. She didn't ask any more questions and directly told them the location of the book: "The Theory of Metamorphosis, on the 95th bookshelf in the Metamorphosis section, on the 12th row, the 7th book. It's easy to find."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up at Puni and said, "Remember what I said: once you find a book, you are only allowed to browse it, not to write or draw on it, not even to make annotations. If you damage any of the books, you will be punished."

Puni nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, Mrs. Pince, I will take good care of the books and will never scribble on them."

After saying that, he turned and walked toward the Transfiguration section.

The Hogwarts Library was expanded countless times by powerful magic, and its interior space was far more expansive than it appeared on the surface. Potions and Transfiguration were the two core categories, each occupying a large area of ​​the library and containing the most abundant collections of books.

The entire library is filled with thousands of tall bookshelves, from which hundreds of narrow aisles extend. The aisles are lined with countless books, from brand-new hardcover editions to ancient books. The air is filled with the musty smell of paper and ink, mixed with a trace of magical energy fluctuations.

This was the first time Puni had ventured so deep into the library. In the past, he had only searched for basic information in the shallow areas. This vast and tranquil world of books filled him with excitement.

So many books!

How long will it take to finish watching?

He soon discovered that many of the books in the library had a unique "spirituality." Unlike the orderly and quiet books in Flourish and Blotts, most of the ancient books here were quite "unruly" and could even talk.

As I walked down the corridor, I kept hearing all sorts of strange noises. Some books were muttering obscure and incomprehensible ancient incantations, with syllables that were completely disordered and made no sense to me.

Some books will suddenly let out a sharp howl, and then quickly fall silent.

Some books whisper enticingly, trying to tempt passing wizards to open them.

Faced with these strange sounds, Puni was not afraid; on the contrary, he became very interested.

The diary area is also being unlocked.

As expected, the library, a core building that existed when Hogwarts was founded, contains extremely rich magical power, which is attached to every ancient book and permeates the entire space.

Chapter 55 The Allure of Magic

He had only walked a short distance along the path when he sensed a considerable amount of magical power.

Puni composed himself and continued walking towards the bookshelf he wanted.

The library's aisles were long and winding. He kept an eye on the numbers on the shelves and avoided the talking ancient books. It took him about ten minutes to finally find the bookshelf Mrs. Pince had mentioned.

He reached out and carefully searched the bookshelf, and soon found the book "Theory of Metamorphic Deformation".

The book's cover is pure black and hard, with an incredibly complex pattern outlined in gold foil. The pattern is surrounded by circles and rectangles, and includes structural diagrams of countless animals in the center.

Puni gently pulled out the book; it felt heavy in his hand.

He turned the pages, but the first thing he saw was not the prologue.

[No scribbling or annotations allowed in books! Not even Headmaster Dumbledore is exempt! - Irmapins]

Upon seeing this, Puni couldn't help but smile slightly.

Just as his smile faded, the floating text suddenly changed.

[It's absolutely true. Once, I was writing annotations in a book, and the book actually flew up and hit me hard on the head. It hurt so much that I didn't dare to scribble on it for several days. You all have to be careful! - Albus Dumbledore]

Puni almost burst out laughing when he saw this text.

He continued reading.

"Transformation has always been a topic that sparks fierce debate in the wizarding world. Countless wizards stubbornly believe that as long as they change their own nature and break the rules, they can bring their transformation magic to a new peak and achieve so-called sublimation..."

"As someone who is passionate about getting to the bottom of things and pursuing the essence of magic, I have had in-depth conversations with many wizards who hold this view. In the end, I discovered a sad fact: most of them have never even truly understood themselves, nor recognized the essence of their own magic. They blindly pursue 'change,' mistakenly believing that this is growth and sublimation..."

"In this book, I will not forcefully impose my views, but will act as a guide, leading you step by step to deconstruct yourself, recognize the essence of magic, and even learn to deconstruct the forms and energy of all things. I hope that every reader can avoid detours on the path of transfiguration magic and go further and more steadily..."