Chapter 258 The Power Of Evan
Evan did not perceive Ron's abnormality at first, but an incident that caught him off guard woke him up, and he realized he had been too immersed in the study of Dark Arts recently.
Such behavior was extremely perilous and simply incorrect.
Therefore, he shifted his research focus, centering more on analyzing the principles of magic, utilizing dark magic as supplementary knowledge that needed to be understood as a starting point, to study the principles and structure of magic, encompassing various theories, etc.
In his subsequent studies, Evan's use of magical principles described in magic books was more to enhance his strength, rather than attempting to use previously recorded dark magic.
Although this complicated his research further and required acquiring more magic books, it essentially prevented Evan from becoming a dark wizard.
The previous year, Tom Riddle's diary had tempted Evan to practice and use Dark Arts frequently, hoping to revel in the power it bestowed.
Since then, Evan had observed that excessive use of dark magic could corrupt a wizard's soul and render it unstable. Dark magic usage generated many cruel thoughts in the heart, potentially causing a complete transformation in a person.
In his recent investigations, the knowledge gleaned from many ancient magic books confirmed Evan's initial conjecture.
Although the magical world has yet to reach a consensus on the origin of magic, as magic flows through blood, the essence of a magical spell depends on the power of spirit and soul, this theory has been gaining increasing recognition among wizards.
In addition to the wizard's magical power, the source and extent of dark magic primarily depend on whether the user's heart is wicked enough.
Using dark magic for an extended period will gradually corrupt a wizard.
Evan had no such intentions. His purpose in studying Dark Magic was to enhance his own strength, gain a deeper and fuller understanding of Dark Wizards, understand Voldemort, and acquaint himself with the enemy he faced. He never desired to become an evil dark wizard.
Therefore, after ensuring this, he hastily changed his research topics.
Evan destroyed his previous research notes, leading Ron, who had been secretly investigating, to find nothing. Ron had stolen many things from Evan, but he could never find the notebook he had seen with the horrifying design.
Although no evidence was found, Ron's opinion of Evan continued to grow stranger.
After a brief confusion, Ron felt a strange anger. He thought Evan must have discovered he was being investigated, hence destroying all evidence of his dark magic research.
Evan did not notice Ron's anomaly. What truly woke him up was related to the so-called house war.
Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't fight due to increased security at the castle, but there was some friction. Snape and Sirius did not have a good relationship in that regard either, and Malfoy practically came daily to provoke them as the Quidditch match approached, which would determine the winners of this year's Academy Cup.
This situation continued until Sirius reinstated the Dueling Club.
Shortly after the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, Sirius' proposal to resume the dueling club was posted on the bulletin board.
Not surprisingly, this was met with unanimous enthusiasm from the young wizards at the school.
Although Lockhart led the Dueling Club the previous year and it turned out to be a farce, Sirius was recognized as strong and powerful. Everyone was thrilled at the prospect of learning dueling skills and curses alongside him.
Even more anticipated than the restructuring of the Dueling Club itself was the duel between Sirius and Snape, which had become a hot topic in the school, sparking numerous discussions about who was the stronger of the two.
Unfortunately, Snape did not show up at the first Dueling Club meeting.
Due to Dumbledore's intervention, both Snape and Sirius were quite restrained. Although both parties did not hide their dislike and mutual resentment, at least they did not engage in a duel or direct confrontation in front of the students as before.
In the Dueling Club led by Sirius, Snape was absent, and Sirius asked Professor Flitwick to be his opponent.
The event unfolded quite smoothly at first. Everyone learned about dueling etiquette, Professor Flitwick explained several common spells used in dueling, and Sirius also shared some of his combat experience.
For Evan, it might have been a bit dull, but other young wizards, many of them final year students, showed great interest and learned eagerly.
This was not surprising. Hogwarts had never taught young wizards any knowledge related to dueling. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which should have had the main responsibility, was also dreadful. The professors of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class changed every year, including discredited wizards like Lockhart, or unscrupulous types like Quirrell.
Their teaching methods were also quite different, making it difficult for young wizards to systematically and thoroughly learn to resist dark magic from their courses.
Most young wizards learned on their own the spells related to dueling and defense against dark magic.
They were more interested in prank magic than in regular spells and enchantments.
While these spells could have an unexpected effect in battle, their effectiveness was not comparable to the standard dueling spells commonly used.
Sirius's club was an unprecedented success, and the dueling skills he and Professor Flitwick displayed were highly acclaimed.
Before the group practice, everything was going very well. But then the situation began to deteriorate sharply, either intentionally or inadvertently, as Sirius paired many Gryffindor and Slytherin students in the group practice.
Evan's opponent was a second-year boy whose name he couldn't recall. The boy seemed eager to curse him. However, before he could raise his wand, Evan made him fly away from his hand.
He looked at Evan with astonished eyes and could not believe what was happening before him. Though Evan was very famous, he did not believe that his strength was much worse than Evan's before the exam. He was the strongest among the second-year Slytherin students.
Instead of preparing to use his attacking spells and protective enchantments, as Sirius had instructed, he was thinking of giving Evan a tough lesson and making him lose face in front of the entire school.
Evan had no idea what the Slytherin student in front of him was thinking, and he was not interested in practicing naive magic with him.
He had been analyzing his duel with Snape. With research and mastery of dark magic and other magical theories, his recent magical power had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Evan believed he could hold out longer against Snape. And if his magic was strong enough, it was not impossible to counter it to some extent.
In this case, the strength of this boy in front of him was completely inadequate.
Evan then had a deeper understanding of his wand and felt more comfortable using it, almost instantly.
He didn't know what the other guy wanted to do, but he ended the battle as quickly as possible.
