After carefully sorting through his schedule and plans, Avada discovered with some despair that he didn't actually have as much free time as he had imagined to carry out his projects.
For example, he had to teach at least four major lectures per week, along with two seminars and consultation sessions that demanded even more focus. And if other professors were absent because of missions or other duties, he would have to substitute for them as well. In the current turbulent situation, that was practically the norm.
Fortunately, Leach University didn't require any homework from students and even discouraged frequent assignments. Otherwise, his workload might have exploded even further. Though one question still lingered in his mind—did this place require daily meetings?
"Oh right, I think I have to teach two classes tomorrow, and only the day after tomorrow is free. I'd better prepare tomorrow's lectures first…"
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
He was just an ordinary, carefree fourth-year student with three whole years left before graduation. After graduating, he could have easily chosen a relaxed life… So why did he have to deal with all of this?
Oh, right. The fourth-year students weren't exactly free either.
In less than two weeks, the intense experiment would begin.
"…"
Letting out a long sigh in an attempt to release the exhaustion inside him—unsuccessfully—Avada slumped into his chair and began flipping through the materials left on the desk by the previous professor, Professor Trimb.
"Tomorrow there's one lecture for the second years and one for the third years. Let's see where they've gotten to…"
"For the second years… the classic prefrontal lobe experiment of Herpo? Merlin, I hope those students have a decent background in magical creatures too. I don't want to fail half the class on my first semester."
"And the third years… wait, what the hell? An analysis of the paper 'Cruciatus Curse—The Dementor's Kiss Noise Suppression Method'?! They're studying this directly?!"
Avada's face twisted instantly.
The paper scheduled for the third years had a complete record in the Black Tome and had been one of the first mental studies papers he ever encountered. The sheer cruelty and brutality in it had shocked him deeply when he first read it in his second year—he had nearly vomited at the time.
And now those third-year students, barely in their early twenties at most, were going to face the same fate he had?
Even though he had already realized that the book Professor Beck gave him back then was probably part of Leach University's teaching materials, he still found it difficult to accept.
After all, the results proposed in "Cruciatus Curse—The Dementor's Kiss Noise Suppression Method" had long since been improved and developed into a technique that was more precise, more versatile, and far less harmful.
Was there really a need to chew through that original, brutally cruel paper?
Weren't they worried it might lead those inexperienced young researchers down the wrong path—making them subconsciously lean toward such methods when conducting experiments or collecting data in the future?
"Wait… isn't part of my job to stop that from happening…?"
"Heh."
Avada gave a dry laugh.
So now he also had to study educational psychology.
Wonderful.
The workload had increased again.
…
Thus, during the following week, two familiar "dishes" once again appeared on Avada's dining table:
Wit-Sharpening Potion and Pepperup Potion.
Fortunately, although he complained about the workload, the actual tasks and pressure were trivial compared to the Basilisk incident last year and Voldemort the year before. He didn't need to consume large quantities of potions and push his mental strength to the brink of collapse like before.
In fact, the work at Leach University turned out to be easier than he had expected.
Each grade only had about fifty or sixty students, and fewer than half of them had even chosen mental studies as an elective.
On top of that, most of the students had joined the university after being personally selected by professors or recommended by alumni. Their foundations were solid, their personalities more mature, and they grasped new knowledge very quickly.
Teaching them was actually quite pleasant.
This realization made Avada's teaching duties much easier.
After all, he had originally imagined his classes based on the chaos of Hogwarts classrooms. Mental magic was one of the most dangerous and unstable fields of magic, so during the first lesson he didn't even dare let the students touch their wands.
But now he could relax.
After finishing those two lectures, he finally followed his plan and contacted one of the victim families. He brought the unfortunate child who had been infected and turned into a werewolf to the laboratory for a full round of examinations, carefully recording the characteristics of the child's vitality and mental energy.
In truth, the procedure was mostly for show.
His magical perception had already revealed many important clues hidden beneath layers of experimental data. With a little more time, he would probably produce preliminary results.
Coincidentally, in the eyes of the other professors, his identity as Nathan Clarke was still that of a newcomer with no notable background—aside from being particularly skilled at installing Anti-Apparition barriers.
This was the perfect opportunity to produce some results and prove his worth.
And once he produced a solution that eliminated the threat of the werewolves' remote-triggered berserk transformation…
He intended to personally join the investigation into the werewolf attacks and see whether his magical perception could uncover clues that others had missed.
Besides that, joining Leach University had also brought him an unexpected bonus in terms of research.
The university possessed extraordinarily advanced laboratories, experimental materials he could never access at Hogwarts, and an enormous collection of restricted books that could be consulted freely.
Previously, he could only hide inside the Room of Requirement, conducting experiments and creating alchemical devices with a handful of crude instruments he had built himself.
But with access to the university's laboratories, everything was completely different.
So he simply shifted most of his focus to the Nathan Clarke side of things. During his spare time, he made full use of the advanced laboratory to work on miniaturizing his control terminal.
Within just a few days, he achieved results that satisfied him.
The device had now been simplified to the size of a fingernail. As long as it was attached behind the ear, it could function exactly as before. With a few concealment charms added on top, the possibility of it being discovered was practically eliminated.
Now, he could confidently face those top-tier wizards without worrying about exposing himself.
And as the week passed, the evaluation on Dumbledore's side finally concluded.
All the individuals who had qualified to participate in the experiment were summoned to Dumbledore's office.
(End of Chapter)