The professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts changes every year, making it feel like a surprise box each academic year. This year, the course became the favorite of Gryffindors, as everyone loved the new professor, Sirius Black. He was a former excellent Auror with years of experience battling Death Eaters. He had an enthusiastic and outgoing personality and held a strong hatred for evil, so there was no generation gap between him and his students. They quickly became friends. What was even better was that, in contrast to Snape's favoritism towards Slytherin and hatred towards Gryffindor, Professor Black obviously favored Gryffindor and held a grudge against Slytherin. "That's fairness," said the Lion House students who had been bullied by Snape.
Years of war in the wizarding world forced Hogwarts to adjust its curriculum, making some changes to courses targeting the habits of Dark Wizards and Death Eaters. On Wednesdays, students from all four houses took the Defense Against the Dark Arts course and learned about the Unforgivable Curses.
"In this war, we have lost many brave and innocent people, even our loved ones and closest friends," Sirius's mood was a little heavy. "Those of us who are still alive will inherit their will and continue to fight."
"Death Eaters are rampant everywhere, and they don't care who you are. When they want to kill you, they won't listen to reason," a few students from Death Eater families in Slytherin whispered. Sirius mercilessly docked twenty points from them, then continued, "Today, we will talk about the three curses that Death Eaters like to use the most. You must understand them to know how to deal with them. These three curses are classified as Unforgivable Curses by law. Does anyone know about the Unforgivable Curses?"
Years of war have made students more or less aware of these famous Dark Arts spells, and many hands were raised in the classroom. Sirius called on Hufflepuff student Ernie Macmillan, who was not often the one to speak up.
"The Unforgivable Curses are the Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse. They are the most powerful and evil Dark Arts spells. The law stipulates that those who use these three curses on humans will be sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. That's why they are called Unforgivable Curses," Ernie said.
"Yes, the law stipulates life imprisonment," Sirius glanced in Harry's direction, but there was no eye contact. Instead, he nodded approvingly towards Ernie and said, "Hufflepuff gets five points. However, I need to correct you. They are not necessarily the most powerful and evil Dark Arts spells. In fact, they are all simple spells that are very easy to master."
"Really?" A curious Ravenclaw girl asked.
"That's right," Sirius confirmed. "And I know a Slytherin who was in my year and had such poor magical talent that he had to repeat a year. He didn't learn many of the standard spells, but he later joined the Death Eaters and even he can use the Killing Curse."
"Simple? Why would a killing curse be simple?" Ron widened his eyes in disbelief.
As a teacher, Sirius didn't mind students talking in class without hands up. In fact, he preferred direct communication. He answered, "Good question. I was also shocked by this. Later on, I realized that life is probably just that fragile. Taking a life is so simple, but in turn, there is no magic that can bring the dead back to life."
"Life...is fragile and vulnerable, yet precious." A Hufflepuff student expressed some emotion upon hearing this.
"Yes," agreed Professor Black, and continued to explain, "It's precisely because the three Unforgivable Curses are so simple and powerful in their destructive force that they are prohibited by law. In fact, there are many more evil and powerful curses in Dark Magic, but those are rarely used because Death Eaters are not very good learners. The law doesn't prohibit them because they are not commonly used. Don't underestimate simplicity, it's precisely because they are simple that they are terrifying."
Even Hermione's knowledge was somewhat refreshed, and she couldn't help but ask, "Killing a person is simple…That's…. What's the theoretical basis of the Killing Curse?"
Sirius patiently explained, "The body and soul are originally two separate things, one is material and the other is spiritual; one is transient and the other is eternal; by nature, they are incompatible. There is a great power in nature that connects the body and soul, giving rise to the forms of life that we know. However, because they do not like being together, breaking this connection is very easy, but reshaping it is impossible for human beings to do. The place where the body and soul are connected is called the Limbo Bridge, which is very fragile. The Avada Killing Curse is a soul magic designed specifically to attack this place. So it is said that only a small amount of magic power is needed to break the Limbo Bridge, and once it is broken, it cannot be reconnected, and the soul will go to the next world."
"What is soul magic? Are there other types of magic like this? We have never learned any soul magic spells in class," Anthony from Ravenclaw asked curiously, and now everyone stopped raising their hands to speak.
Seeing Hermione eager to answer, Sirius signaled her to speak freely. Hermione said, "Magic that can affect the soul is called soul magic. White magic cannot touch the soul, only dark magic can interact with the soul, so soul magic is a category that belongs completely to dark magic."
"Very good, Gryffindor gets five points. Hogwarts does not teach dark magic, so you haven't learned it. You only need to learn how to resist them," Sirius asked again, "What else do you know about the Unforgivable Curses?"
"The Imperius Curse can control people," Ron said.
"That's right. The Imperius Curse is a type of mental magic that can control the behavior of others. This is not something that can be taken lightly. Many wizards or Muggles, under the control of the Imperius Curse, have done things that helped the Death Eaters, and even hurt...killed their own friends. It has caused many tragedies. The Death Eaters just watched on the sidelines, those bastards like to watch this kind of thing," Sirius said through gritted teeth, "So, although this curse does not cause physical harm, it is still unforgivable!"
The lively classroom atmosphere just now quieted down, and the students were all scared by the imaginary scene. After a long time, Dean from Gryffindor asked, "What should we do if we encounter it? I don't want to hurt the people I care about..." Dean was a half-blood, his mother was a Muggle, and he couldn't help but think of the Death Eaters controlling him to kill his mother, his voice trembling.
"The Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse can both be blocked by the Shield Charm. I will teach you the Shield Charm in the future classes," Sirius said. "There are also some spells that can remove the effects of the Imperius Curse, and we will learn them later. You can help your friends, as long as we stand together and help each other, the dark wizards' chances of winning will be much smaller."
The students were all encouraged by these words, and some friends exchanged glances.
"Also, the Imperius Curse can actually be resisted. If you are under the curse, you must stay firm in your beliefs. If your own mind is strong, the dark wizard cannot control you," Sirius added.
"What if my mind is not strong enough?" Neville asked uncertainly.
"You have to believe in the power of your heart!" Sirius encouraged, "Professor Dumbledore often says that the greatest magic is love, right? You have to believe that your love for your family and friends is powerful. The less self-confidence you have, the easier it is for someone to control you."
Harry tried to avoid speaking in this class, but seeing everyone so anxious, he spoke up: "Resisting the Imperius Curse can be practiced. Find a friend to use it on you, try your best to resist when you're under the curse, practice a few more times, and your resistance will improve."
"We do not encourage the use of unforgivable curses on humans, nor do we have any friends who are dark wizards," Sirius retorted coldly. Of course, Sirius knew that what Harry said was true, but he was emotionally unable to cross the line of Remus Lupin.
Harry wisely shut up, but Hermione asked, "Since resisting the Imperius Curse can be practiced, then learning how to resist it can prevent many tragedies, right? It's better than being controlled by Death Eaters."
"That makes sense, but it's not practical," Sirius explained gently to Hermione, "after all, the Imperius Curse is dark magic, and the source of dark and white magic is different. White wizards simply cannot use dark magic. Even Dumbledore, a genius, would find it difficult to use dark magic. And as for dark wizards...they are simply untrustworthy. You cannot find a Death Eater to practice the Imperius Curse with you, can you?"
"Even Dumbledore cannot use it?" Hannah from Hufflepuff asked, surprised.
"He can, but it's very difficult and dangerous, and it's very easy for magic to spiral out of control," Sirius said. "Even if it's perfectly controlled, the use of dark magic by a white wizard will inevitably rebound and harm themselves. This is unavoidable."
There was a whispering sound in the classroom, and even a few faint laughs could be heard from Slytherin.
"Third-year students should have some knowledge of magical principles. Do you know the difference between dark and white magic?" Sirius suddenly wanted to test Harry's attitude. "You tell me."
Hermione noticed that Sirius did not call Harry by name, thinking it was too intimate. But he didn't want to call him "Potter" either. So he called on Harry by coming to his desk and patted the surface.
"Dark and white magic are two different natural forces of different origins, both of which can be controlled and used by the magical core of humans." Harry replied, "The advantage of white magic is that it is more stable and safe and does not conflict with the human body. The advantage of dark magic is that it is more versatile and has greater freedom. So many people want to use the power of the Dark, but unfortunately, dark magic conflicts with the power of Patronus. If you want to use dark magic, you must sacrifice your own Patronus."
Here, we can explain it in simple terms that readers are familiar with: Black magic has greater programmability. Sacrificing the Patronus is like jailbreaking an iPhone (or rooting an Android), which allows for any modifications to the system, greatly increasing its freedom, while decreasing system stability and security.
"Compared to useless Patronus, pursuing the power of dark magic is more worthwhile." Malfoy from Slytherin interjected.
"Patronus is one of the three pillars of life." Harry said calmly, "So this choice may not be wise, but it depends on individual talent. Some people sacrifice their Patronus without having any talent in dark magic, and they do not get much benefit, actually losing out."
The whispering from Slytherin disappeared, and even they were listening attentively now.
"Some people have gained more benefits by using dark magic, and sacrificing their Patronus is a cost-effective choice for them." Harry continued.
Still using the same analogy to explain: Some dark wizards jailbreak their phones carelessly but they are just inexperienced users and don't get any benefits, and their system is unstable. Some experts write their own code after jailbreaking and do whatever they want, and play around with the system. At that time, the stability of the Patronus may not be so important. Maybe the system they write is more stable. Of course, there are also more dark wizards who try to write their own code but created many bugs, causing magical accidents and lose their lives. The road of dark magic is indeed filled with bones.
"Do you think being an evil Dark wizard can also be a good choice?" Sirius caught onto a non-existent point.
"Dark magic is just power, there is no inherent good or evil in it," Harry replied. "It can also be used for good, for example, if someone is cursed by a curse related to the soul, only dark arts can save them. White magic is completely ineffective on the soul."
"Then tell me, why is this class called Defense Against the Dark Arts, not just Dark Arts? Why does dark arts have such a bad reputation?" Sirius was clearly more unhappy.
Harry fell silent and didn't say anything else. It was also because peace-loving Hermione kicked him under the table. But the question of why dark magic had a bad reputation did have an explanation – it was because Dark wizards were indeed a group of people with very extreme personality. Modifying oneself is of course different from jailbreaking a mobile phone system, and even Muggle biology has many ethical controversies over means of modifying humans themselves. Dark wizards are extreme enough to change themselves, sacrificing the natural power protected themselves, sacrificing part of their lives, just to gain the right to use dark magic. Would normal person do such a thing?
People who would make such a choice, with their extreme personalities, would naturally care less about societal rules. They obtain powerful abilities through these means, and generally do not want to use them to maintain world peace. Therefore, the reputation of dark magic has always been bad.
"Why won't you talk about the difference of emotions and intentions between dark and white magic?" Sirius continued, "White magic can be driven by love, and dark magic can be driven by hate and murderous intent. Is that what you called — having no inherent good or evil?"
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again. He really didn't want to argue with a professor in class, especially since he knew the professor didn't like him, and he was the one who had first wronged him, so he was already at a disadvantage.
"You, come to my office for detention tonight," Sirius felt that he had to talk to Harry. This Dark Prince was obviously already being influenced by that bastard Voldemort.
"Yes, Professor." Harry didn't say anything more.
After class, Hermione asked Harry about his views on dark magic again, "You seemed to have something more to say in class just now?"
So Harry explained, "Dark magic can be fueled by negative emotions that humans dislike, which is determined by its inherent properties conflicting with the human body. But if you want to use more advanced dark magic, wizards cannot be driven by any emotions, but need to rely on precise control of their magic. Emotions are a surging and uncontrollable thing, but advanced dark magic cannot afford any mistakes. If it loses control, it may backfire and kill the wizard. So in the eyes of truly powerful dark wizards, dark magic has nothing to do with emotions. Only simple dark magic like the Killing Curse can be achieved with hatred alone."
"However, truly powerful dark wizards are indeed rare. Aren't most of them mediocre like Death Eaters? So these misunderstandings related to emotional tendencies have always been the mainstream of wizarding knowledge. It's not surprising that Professor Black doesn't know."
"So that's how it is?" Hermione had never heard of this before. "It seems that there are indeed misunderstandings. If we can eliminate them, wouldn't it be better for everyone to have more freedom of choice?"
"Uh... it's better not to try." Harry sighed. "Many people have sacrificed their patronus and paid a part of their lives as a price, but found that they couldn't get any benefits at all. It's like gambling, where you always lose more than you win. So when I was in class just now, I was thinking that maybe keeping people biased is also good... at least it can stop some people from hurting themselves."
"Then why did you choose to study dark magic?" Hermione was curious. "Didn't you say that only people with extreme personalities would choose this path? I don't think you're extreme."
"I... probably didn't have much choice to begin with." Harry smiled self-deprecatingly, thinking back to what had happened when he sacrificed his patronus years ago. "But I also have a lucky side, at least I didn't lose out."
If he didn't have this talent, he might not have survived until now.