At eight o'clock sharp, Percy appeared in Tver's office. Only this time, he felt a bit nervous.
Both his parents had been members of the Order of the Phoenix, and his father worked at the Ministry of Magic. During holidays at home, he'd heard plenty about the cruel methods of dark wizards. And now, he was about to learn those very methods.
This stirred a rebellious excitement within him, yet also an uneasy sense of moral transgression.
He took several deep breaths at the doorway before his trembling hand knocked on the office door.
"Knock-knock—"
Before he could finish the third knock, a sudden chill washed over him, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over him—from head to toe, right down to his very soul.
Before he could process the sensation, the door creaked open a crack.
Percy blinked his small eyes in confusion. Usually, this door opened fully, not just a narrow slit.
Had something happened to the professor?
Recalling that icy chill, he sensed something terribly wrong and pushed the door with all his strength.
But he couldn't budge it.
Even straining with everything he had, he could only inch it open, as if someone behind the door was shoving back. He felt the magic inside him slowly draining—each tiny push consuming a bit more power.
Realizing the trick, Percy increased his magical output. The door responded immediately. After burning through a third of his magic, he finally pushed it wide.
There sat Professor Fawley, watching him intently from his chair. His hands rested on the desk, fingertips playing with both ends of his wand, his familiar smile in place.
"Come in," Tver gestured toward the seat before him. "Any thoughts on those two spells just now?"
Only then did Percy realize the icy sensation and the door's resistance were deliberate tests.
Relieved, he approached while thinking.
"The first spell—the icy feeling—felt like it was aimed at my soul. As if something was staring straight into it."
"The second one drained my magic. The harder I pushed the door, the more it took."
"These spells don't seem like ordinary magic. Are they dark magic?"
Tver nodded approvingly, then guided a cup of pumpkin juice across the table, letting it hop to Percy.
"Exactly. That's what defines dark magic: evil, weakening, curse. Dark magic doesn't just kill—it torments from every angle, even the caster."
Percy's expression worsened with every word. By the end, fear made him swallow loudly.
Seeing Tver's teasing smile, he quickly grabbed the cup and took a hefty gulp of pumpkin juice to hide his embarrassment.
"So, are you sure you still want to continue learning dark magic?" Tver asked.
Truthfully, learning some dark magic could be highly beneficial for Percy. He would face plenty of challenges ahead, and additional spells were never a bad thing. Dark magic also boosted strength significantly—especially in combat—and was the fastest way for Percy to grow before graduation.
More importantly, learning under Tver, a true expert, was far safer than fumbling alone.
But dark magic's influence on the mind was unavoidable. Back at Durmstrang, Tver himself needed Cynthia's help to vent the savagery dark magic stirred within him.
So he left the choice to Percy.
Percy's face stayed tense. After a moment, he lifted his head and gathered his courage to say loudly, "I'm certain!"
"Good," Tver nodded, satisfied. "Then start by finishing these books."
He slid over a long piece of parchment packed tightly with titles. A quick glance showed at least fifty books.
Percy stared at Tver in shock.
"This… this many?"
"Of course," Tver said naturally, gesturing toward the shelves behind him. "Dark Magic is essentially an entire magical system of its own. Since you're starting from the beginning, you need a solid foundation and a broader knowledge base."
With a wave of his hand, five books floated over from the shelves.
"Most of the books on the list are introductory. I'll write a slip for you so you can borrow them from the school library. But these five are the key ones—none of them are in the Restricted Section."
Percy licked his lips before slowly looking at the top book.
The cover showed a man smiling at him—but the smile sent a freezing chill straight through him.
Because the face was identical to his own.
The eyes stared directly at him, brimming with malice, as if they might leap out at any moment and strangle him.
After a moment, Tver's long fingers pressed down over the cover, snapping Percy out of it.
Feeling the dampness of his sweat-soaked undershirt, he wiped his forehead with a trembling hand. The sweat could be wiped away, but the violent pounding of his heart wouldn't settle.
"This book teaches how to control your malevolent intent. If you can read it freely, it means you can handle most forms of dark magic. But it's extremely difficult—many never manage it in their whole lives."
Tver lifted his hand. The man on the cover had vanished, replaced by a faint golden film sealing the book's power.
"We'll wait until you've made real progress before touching it. For now, it stays with me."
Percy let out a breath of relief. He definitely wasn't ready to open something like that.
Tver set the stack aside and watched Percy tuck the reading list away.
"Now, the first thing we're going to study is the malevolent intent within the mind."
"The mind is part of the soul, and malevolent intent is part of the mind. Using dark magic means controlling your intent while infusing it with malevolence, giving the spell its sinister effect."
Percy frowned.
He understood intent controlling magic, but how malevolent intent could be added into a spell was something he couldn't yet grasp.
"Professor, I understand pure intent. It can guide spells and magical tools."
"But how does malevolent intent actually influence the spell?"
"For example, if I want someone to feel pain and cast the Cruciatus Curse, how do I balance the intent to cast the curse with the malevolent intent to cause suffering? If there's too much malevolence, wouldn't the spell fail?"
"Professor?"
Percy looked at Tver, who had suddenly gone still. Their eyes met—Tver's gaze looked unfocused, and also… surprised?
"What did you just say?" Tver asked dazedly.
"How malevolent intent produces its effect?"
"No, the sentence before that."
"The separate intent? Did I say something wrong, Professor?"
Tver broke into a wide grin.
"Nothing. Let's continue the lesson."
So Percy was another reliable go-to for him—just like Neville.