Chapter 7. Who would want the old if there's something new?
[You've received sincere praise from Professor Adrian Fawkes, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he intends to invest 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 points; after all, this had been demonstrated with Professor McGonagall before.
As long as the praise was genuine, professors of various subjects would allocate points to different spells accordingly.
He could understand the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's praise adding points to offensive and defensive spells.
But… what the hell was this about adding points to dark magic talents?
You're supposed to be a dark magic defender! Dark magic is getting stronger and stronger, what kind of defense are you talking about!
Besides, his dark magic talents were already high enough; was adding more like this meant he was going to become a dark wizard?
Fawkes assumed Lynn was considering his investment proposal, so he didn't interrupt, happily enjoying the freshly cooked lamb in the hot pot all to himself.
After much thought, Lynn deduced three possibilities for this situation:
The first, and most likely, was that the problem lay with the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, a course inherently unique.
The second was that Fawkes hadn't just praised him; he'd also expressed an interest in investing in him and giving him extra credit, though the reason for this extra credit in the area of Dark Arts was unclear, making the second possibility somewhat far-fetched.
The third, and Lynn's most likely, was that his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was the problem…
Fawkes noticed Lynn's gaze and asked,
"What's your decision?"
"Although I live alone now, I receive a fixed monthly allowance, so… sorry, Professor, I'm not short of money."
Lynn, after a couple of sips of beer and a few more after soaking in the praise, had completely lost his bearings.
Investors invest for returns and profits. Receiving money they don't really need now raises questions about what they'll have to pay in the future.
Lynn's refusal didn't surprise Fawkes; he wasn't treating him like a child anymore.
"While you're intelligent, you don't know much about the magical world, Bellok," Fawkes said, continuing to add potatoes and lettuce to the hot pot, even though Lynn was already full.
"The currency in the wizarding world is different from that of Muggles. Oh, and by Muggles, I mean ordinary people who don't know or believe in magic.
Gringotts, the wizarding bank, does offer the service of exchanging Muggle currency for the wizarding world's currency, Galleons, but this exchange isn't endless.
Those goblins aren't stupid; some of them even disguised themselves as humans to study economics at Oxford University in Muggles and obtained degrees.
Therefore, their currency exchange rules are limited and fluctuate, changing according to the wizarding world's currency reserves and economic needs.
Unfortunately, this year, due to the Muggle world's economic downturn, they have strictly limited currency exchanges.
Even if you offer a lot of pounds, you can only exchange for a maximum of ten Galleons.
Ten Galleons are needed for a wand, which requires at least seven. You also need to keep some money for emergencies.
Do you have enough money left for your robes, books, cauldrons, etc."
Lynn's understanding of the wizarding world was indeed not deep.
Not to mention how much of the original plot he remembered, even if he remembered it all, many related details were certainly not explained much in the original work.
For example, regarding currency, he was completely unaware of the specific exchange rules.
However, his ignorance did not mean that Lynn had no doubts about Fawkes's words.
"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 Board of Governors would jointly fund it, and Hogwarts would provide a subsidy to students from Muggle families.
Although it wasn't much, it was enough for them to barely meet their daily needs.
But it's 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 target of their cuts is you young wizards from Muggle families."
Fawkes didn't spell it out too bluntly. There were many intricacies involved:
the conflict between Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic, the conflict between Dumbledore and the Board of Governors, the conflict between the
Hogwarts Houses and the pure-blood families, and most importantly, the conflict between pure-bloods and non-pure-bloods.
"Dumbledore has done his utmost to help you.
Aside from necessities like wands, other items like robes, books, and cauldrons can be donated by Muggle students to recent graduates—meaning you can use their used items.
But I think, Bellok, you're definitely not someone who'd be willing to shortchange yourself. If you can have something new, who would want to use something old?"
Lynn remained silent, secretly thinking to himself, "That's not necessarily true. If it were a Potions textbook used by the Half-Blood Prince, he'd be more than happy to use a used one.
"So, if I accept your investment, what kind of return do you want, Professor?" Lynn asked.
Fawkes' smile deepened; clearly, Lynn was tempted.
"I need you to come work for me after graduation, as my assistant for a few years."
"Assistant?" Lynn frowned. "Can't anyone else do it? There are plenty of talented people in the wizarding world, why does it have to be me?"
Faced with Lynn's barrage of questions, Fawkes gave him a mysterious smile.
"What I'm researching isn't your average thing, Bellok. You haven't enrolled yet, so you don't know much about the magical world.
Even if I explained, 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 this, Lynn looked at Fawkes with a strange expression, wondering if what he was talking about was actually dark magic.
"Are you so sure I'll meet those requirements after graduation?"
Fawkes smiled at him.
"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 is money.
Besides, I might not even live to see you graduate from Hogwarts. I have no idea if I can even 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 neutral; the fault lies with the user.; the sin was in the person using it. Besides, he had an exceptionally high aptitude for dark magic, and Hogwarts didn't teach it at all.
This might be an opportunity for him.
Of course, he couldn't be 100% sure that what Fawkes was talking about was dark magic, but the chances were high.
Moreover, as Fawkes said, Lynn hadn't even enrolled yet, and graduation was nowhere in sight.
He would also have to deal with Voldemort's resurgence and a series of events; no one knew what would happen then.
So Lynn made his decision.
"It's a deal, Professor Fawkes." He raised his beer, smiled, and winked.
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