The moon is bright and the stars are many.
In a quiet little cabin.
The gentle moonlight filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting dappled patterns on the wooden floor, cloaking the tranquil night in a veil of silver, with the air carrying a faint scent of pine wood.
Ian sat at an oak desk perhaps older than himself, one hand holding his Elder Wand, the light source at the wand's tip illuminating the forbidden book on the desk.
"Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled"
This is the "Dark Bible" authored by the notorious old era Dark Wizard Ole Brok, casting its shadow over various major events of the late 20th century.
Voldemort, who plunged the entire Wizarding World into panic and fear, derived the power he wanted from this book and laid the foundation for the Magic Seven-step Poem throughout.
Many might only know.
Voldemort gained the method to create his Soul Artifact from this book, successfully splitting his soul into seven parts, thereby giving him the confidence to fail before Dumbledore.
However.
This book clearly contains more than just the method of Soul Artifact creation.
It holds other high-end content involving Dark Arts. Yet, due to the original work's limited scope, those forbidden knowledge remains little-known secrets.
Now.
Through a twist of fate.
This book, that might get one sent straight to Azkaban with just a glance, sits quietly before Ian, and he definitely couldn't resist being curious about its content.
Indeed.
The magic documented in this book is surely fraught with danger, as Dark Arts become forbidden knowledge not merely because of their power and the harm they pose to wizards.
It's known.
There are many powerful spells.
However.
Those classified under Dark Arts are mostly dangerous not only because of the harm posed by the magic, but also due to the corruption and threat they pose to the learner.
A minor slip.
Could lead to irrevocable fall into madness.
The reason many of Voldemort's Death Eaters are mostly insane can hardly be said to be unaffected by semi-learned Dark Arts, considering their boss turned himself into a noseless lunatic too.
"Would Grindelwald leave such terrifying danger in a book for his descendants?" Ian's understanding of the first generation Dark Demon King is only limited to the original work's brief mentions.
He did flip through his Magic History textbook earlier, but its introduction of Dumbledore's nemesis Grindelwald only contained some cryptic information.
Regarding this history.
The high echelons of the Wizarding World apparently don't want to bring it up much. However, there is one point which can be gleaned from the sparse records, Grindelwald wasn't as insane as Voldemort.
He was a Dark Wizard.
An ambitious person.
A species exterminator.
A root of chaos in an era.
Yet even Grindelwald's enemies didn't deny his extraordinary talents, unlike Voldemort whom they regarded as a dangerous and irrational madman.
This man.
Treated his subordinates far more kindly than Voldemort.
Solely based on this.
Ian felt Grindelwald was unlikely to arbitrarily harm his offspring with dangerous knowledge.
However.
Allowing a child who's just reached Hogwarts enrollment age to access a textbook like "Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled" is somewhat beyond the norm.
"Knowledge may be toxic, but knowledge is evidently innocent."
Ian wrestled with his thoughts for quite some time, eventually opening the book with trepidation.
Many Dark Wizards might spend a lifetime searching, yet struggle to touch the knowledge casually mentioned within, now laying before him. Few wizards can resist such temptation.
Ian was no different.
He wasn't interested in soul-splitting magic, but he indeed wanted to master the three Unforgivable Curses, ultimately as a trump card while studying at dangerous Hogwarts.
No-nose would come sooner or later.
Even if he didn't plan to entangle with the Savior's fate, being at Hogwarts inherently carried uncertain danger, and having more means of self-preservation offered a sense of security.
"Looking critically, viewing dialectically, this isn't about yearning for darkness, just like General Kim playing Steam critically and driving Maybach critically is the same logic."
Thus self-hypnotizing.
Ian brought the source of light from his wand closer to "Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled".
Compared to the dim oil lamp.
The light emitted by the [Lighting Spell] was more stable and bright, and Ian opted for this illumination method most nights to increase his Skill Level before sleeping.
The Wizarding World indeed has convenient lighting tools, like the [Light Extinguisher], an Alchemy Creation that can absorb and produce light.
However.
A valuable Alchemy Creation.
Was evidently not something Ian, a penniless little wizard, could afford as the wealthy's plaything.
Besides.
Is the Light Extinguisher better than the [Lighting Spell]?
It can't increase Skill Level!
"I'll just look, I won't learn... I'll try to learn less."
Accompanied by Ian's muttered self-doubt, he brought the light emitted by the wand closer to the book in front of him, making the text on the opened pages clearly visible.
This is a modern compiled book.
While most Dark Arts contained traces of Ancient Magic, they belonged to modern spell categories, so reading wasn't as complex or challenging as Rune Language.
"Indeed."
Ian confirmed his earlier speculation upon opening the first chapter, the book's preface bore feather-pen noted precautions and strict warnings.
Not only that.
Flipping further.
Almost every page contained ink-marked interpretations and warnings... Providing very detailed tutorials, seemingly more profound than the author of "Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled".
This was obviously a textbook specially prepared by Grindelwald for his descendants.
Even more valuable than the original.
Just as Ian imagined, the method for creating Soul Artifacts was merely a small chapter in "Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled".
The author perhaps wasn't too concerned about Soul Artifacts. Compared to knowledge related to Soul Artifacts, other Dark Arts comprised the book's most extensive content.
Starting from the first page.
Progressively.
From simple to difficult and complex.
Upon reading the first page, marked [simple, and not dangerous][Most suitable for Elder Wand], Ian instinctively began to study seriously.
"Corpse Reappearance..."
The little wizard immersed in reading.
Perhaps forgot he was holding a wand.
At the same time.
He might have underestimated Grindelwald's annotations quality and... a certain aspect of his own talent.
[Imperio: (Level 1): 2/100]
The panel update went unnoticed.
Due to the clear sensation of magic power flowing.
Ian was startled in shock.
He watched as the light source at his wand's tip transitioned from warm white glow to a green glow, as if the entire room had been coated with an eerie hue.
"Crack...crack...crack..."
The old floorboards.
Were heaving.