Fiendfyre! Term starts soon!

Time slipped away quietly,
Like fine sand sliding through fingertips.

In the blink of an eye, the day before the start of the school term had arrived.
Ian had grown and changed considerably.

The spells within *A Compendium of Dark Magic Revealed* were not particularly difficult to learn. Aside from the knowledge concerning Horcruxes, Ian had already gathered the standard bonds for the three Unforgivable Curses.

【Killing Curse (Level 1) 11/100】
【Imperius Curse (Level 1) 1/100】
【Cruciatus Curse (Level 1) 3/100】
……

Since he was currently living in the mundane world, Ian naturally did not dare to use his wand to practice such heavily restricted and illegal magic. He essentially grasped the control of these spells entirely through the contemplation of theoretical knowledge.

His peerless talent for the dark arts played a huge role in this, and the annotations and explanations left by Gellert Grindelwald within *A Compendium of Dark Magic Revealed* were equally indispensable.

Of course.

Aside from the three Unforgivable Curses, Ian had only skimmed through the basics of other dark spells like the Blasting Curse and the Torture Transfiguration Curse, without delving into them deeply.

After all,
Mastering a few spells thoroughly was far better than learning many superficially.

If he wanted to raise the levels of his spells in the future, Ian would need to invest time into grinding proficiency. He felt that mastering enough dark magic to handle most situations was already quite sufficient.

"Take it slow; sooner or later, I'll learn all of them by heart."
Ian was not in a particular rush.

In his spare time, he would also study the contents of *The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1*.
Serving as a refreshing palette cleanser from his dark magic studies, these spells required by Hogwarts first-year students did require a bit of practice for Ian. Fortunately, his current magic level was no longer as feeble as it once had been.

Over the course of a few days,
Although Ian had not yet finished the entire *Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1*, he had already reached a level where he could properly cast most of the more manageable spells within it.

That equated to a level 1 spell proficiency.

The only magic that gave Ian a bit of trouble was transfiguration. Simply turning a match into a needle had plagued Ian for several whole days without granting him any meaningful proficiency gain.

【Transfiguration (Level 0) 17/50】
This could truly be described as glacial progress.

Wondering if he lagged far behind ordinary young wizards.

Actually, Ian could vaguely sense his own problem—just as Dumbledore had previously reminded him, he perhaps focused far too much on the principles and logic behind how magic manifested.

Especially under the enhancement of [Enlightenment of Wisdom], this tendency was even more pronounced.

This was a fairy-tale sort of world.
Imagination and the power of belief held a weight that could not be ignored.

Professor Mara in the shifting dreamscape had also mentioned a similar situation; her lifelong erudition could not rival Pendelo's absolute, unwavering belief of "I think I can, therefore I can."

Compared to those wizards brimming with imagination who believed magic was a miracle, Ian's rigid, engineering-oriented mindset trapped him somewhat within his obsession with logic and principles.

There was no helping it.
Being able to realize this did not mean he could correct it overnight.

"Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts, was also a wizard who championed reason, and her transfiguration was equally extraordinary. There must be a balance to be found somewhere."
"Back in the day, I did attend a few art classes after school. Even though the tutor said I didn't have what it took to make a living out of it, I surely still possess a bit of artistic flair and imagination, right?"

Ian did not doubt his ability to learn transfiguration; he simply didn't know when he would find that equilibrium between logic and imagination.

That would take time.

"Transfiguration shatters my confidence, and only this precious knowledge can help me rebuild it." Whenever his attempts at transfiguration grew too arduous, Ian would return to thumbing through *A Compendium of Dark Magic Revealed*.

The entire volume recorded numerous spells, roughly categorized into curses, jinxes, and hexes, escalating sequentially in danger and malice.

Beyond these three categories of dark magic, there was another rather special type of magic—Curses.

"So that's how the noseless Voldemort managed to secure the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor..." Ian had no intention of studying curses.
He had always been a kind-hearted person.

Where would he find any enemies that required him to resort to such things?
With that kind of time,
Was the Killing Curse not enticing enough, or was the valve on the Fiendfyre Curse too small to crank up? Yes, after returning from the nameless bookstore, Ian had naturally researched the infamous dark magic known as the [Fiendfyre Curse].

At present,
Fiendfyre had already become the dark spell with his highest proficiency.

【Fiendfyre Curse (Level 1) 76/100】

Due to the same concerns, Ian did not dare to use his own wand to cast and practice such severely punishable spells. He felt that he should perhaps acquire a backup wand for himself at some point.

He wondered if Knockturn Alley offered custom orders.

Regardless,
Without practicing, it was truly difficult to raise one's proficiency. The fact that the [Fiendfyre Curse] had attained such a level was entirely thanks to the records and annotations within *A Compendium of Dark Magic Revealed*.

He had to admit,
The ruthless Miss Grindelwald had not been wrong. Regarding proficiency in the [Fiendfyre Curse], Ian could sense the peerless, earth-shaking brilliance of her grandfather, Gellert Grindelwald, simply from the written annotations.

Even with this current level of proficiency,
Ian had not yet completely finished reading through all the annotations and explanations concerning this spell.

"School starts tomorrow, and reading this book will become quite difficult once I'm there." Ian was eagerly anticipating school life, yet he also felt a tinge of regret that he wouldn't be able to study these unique spells so freely anymore.

Of course,
Learning other types of magic wouldn't be bad either.

When the time came, he could study alchemy as Professor Mara requested. Moreover, Ian truly hoped that under Professor McGonagall's tutelage, he would successfully find the balance between reason and imagination.

"It's bound to be a fulfilling life!"
Ian was full of anticipation for the future.

He sat down at his desk and began his homework for the night.

"Today, I'll study the final section on the Fiendfyre Curse. Grindelwald actually managed to effectively prevent Fiendfyre from harming the caster, and could even imbue the flames with his own will."
"Such a genius modification!"

Ian lit his wand, eagerly commencing his final night of study. Being a cautious person, he decided that when he left for school, he would bury *A Compendium of Dark Magic Revealed* beneath the living room floorboards.

Yes,
Right inside the most rotting, putrid coffin. Surely, even if Snape were to return and live in this place, he wouldn't be perverted enough to dig up a corpse just to have a heart-to-heart chat.

"The reflection of the soul is exceptionally important... The deeper the magic, the more it seems to emphasize this. Dark magic and light magic almost share commonalities once they reach a certain stage."

Accompanied by the slow increase in proficiency,
Ian turned the pages related to the [Fiendfyre Curse].

Outside,
The night wind whispered.

In this book left by Miss Grindelwald, at the very end of the annotations for the [Fiendfyre Curse], Ian saw a line of text that left him somewhat surprised and bewildered.

"May you reap what you sow, my friend."