Now that he had given in, Snape's attitude shifted. However, he still didn't fully believe that Yang Tao only wanted to learn spells.
"What exactly do you want to learn?"
Yang Tao answered without hesitation.
"All of them! Only kids make choices—I want everything!"
Snape was speechless. If magic were that easy to learn, Hogwarts wouldn't need seven years of education. They could just cram everything into one year and be done with it!
"There are too many spells. You won't be able to learn them all in a short time."
Yang Tao simply grinned.
"No problem. Just teach me. I'll start with offensive spells, then move on to support magic. First, I want to learn the spell you created—Sectumsempra."
Snape nodded expressionlessly. "Let's go! We need to find a place where I can teach you."
Hearing that they needed a place to practice spells, Yang Tao suddenly thought of a perfect spot—the Room of Requirement! He quickly stopped Snape, who was about to leave. "Wait! Snape, I know a great place! The Room of Requirement!"
Although many people knew about this place—Dumbledore, Voldemort, Dobby, and Harry Potter, to name a few—it was clear that Snape had no idea. He turned to Yang Tao. "Where is that?"
Yang Tao explained, "The Room of Requirement is on the eighth floor of Hogwarts Castle, right across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls. Just focus on what you need, walk past the wall three times, and a door will appear. Inside, you'll find exactly the place you need."
Snape gave him a serious look, said nothing, and led the way to the eighth floor. Since he was with Snape, no one along the way questioned Yang Tao.
Before long, they arrived at their destination. Yang Tao suddenly remembered that Ravenclaw's diadem was hidden here, an artifact that could enhance wisdom. Even though it had been turned into a Horcrux by Voldemort, he was confident he could remove the soul inside.
After all, Orochimaru was a master at manipulating soul fragments!
Yang Tao focused on the idea of a place to hide objects and quickly walked back and forth three times. In an instant, a door appeared on the once-empty wall.
Snape was visibly surprised. After all his years as a student and professor at Hogwarts, he had never known this place existed.
Yang Tao pushed open the door and was immediately overwhelmed by the chaotic mess inside. Even though he knew the diadem was on top of a statue, the sheer size of the room made finding it feel impossible.
Snape stepped in as well, his voice cold. "This is hardly a suitable place for practicing spells."
"I'm not here for spell practice—I'm looking for something!" Yang Tao turned to Snape. "Actually, Snape, can you use the Summoning Charm to help me find Ravenclaw's diadem?"
Snape was stunned. "Ravenclaw's diadem? It's been inside the school all this time? Right here?"
Without wasting time, he pulled out his wand. "Accio diadem!"
A clatter echoed through the room as the diadem flew straight into Snape's hands.
Yang Tao immediately grabbed it. Snape's expression showed that he wanted to say something, but before he could, Yang Tao spoke first.
"This diadem is interesting. I'm taking it. And just so you know, Voldemort already turned it into a Horcrux. You sure you still have something to say?"
Snape's face grew even more serious. "We can't let Voldemort come back! He's too dangerous. We must destroy this Horcrux!"
Yang Tao casually stuffed the diadem into his bag, smirking. "That's what you think! Right now, he's just a pawn in your headmaster's little game to toughen up Harry. Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn't have been allowed to run around Hogwarts for so long."
Snape was completely shocked by this revelation. His usual calm demeanor shattered. "Voldemort is inside the school?"
"You already suspected Quirrell, didn't you? Voldemort is possessing him. Just pull off his turban, and you'll see your old boss right there!"
Snape fell silent, his brows furrowed as he processed this information.
"Relax," Yang Tao said. "Dumbledore has everything under control. This is just part of the training for the so-called 'Savior'—Harry. Anyway, we have things to do. Let's get out of here."
As they stepped out of the room, the door vanished behind them.
Yang Tao was still curious about the Room of Requirement. He focused on the word "girls" and walked back and forth three times—but nothing happened.
Scratching his chin, he sighed. "Looks like it doesn't work for living things."
Next, he tried thinking about the Dragon Balls, but again, nothing appeared.
"What a useless Room of Requirement!"
Giving up, he turned toward the training room. This time, a door quickly appeared on the wall. He and Snape stepped inside to begin spell practice.
…
"Sectumsempra!"
A nearly invisible blade of air shot out from Yang Tao's wand, slicing straight through a training dummy.
The wooden dummy split apart instantly, its clean-cut edges proving just how sharp the spell was.
Snape nodded. "You've learned it. That's enough for today. I'll teach you more tomorrow."
Yang Tao was satisfied with his progress and nodded. "Alright! I'll find you tomorrow. By the way, for that potion, you just need to smash it near the target—it doesn't have to be consumed."
Hearing that, Snape quickened his pace, leaving even faster than before.