Chapter 115: Impediment Jinx
Chapter 115: Impediment Jinx
At the moment, Madam Pince was still unaware that three books had been quietly "borrowed" from the Restricted Section by someone.
Albert, on the other hand, was quite concerned about this matter. Each time he went to the library to do his homework, he would pay extra attention to any signs of missing books.
In reality, Albert was overthinking it. The books in the Restricted Section were all chained to the shelves, and the librarian didn't spend all day checking if any books were missing.
After all, the chains used in the Restricted Section had been enchanted with protective magic. They couldn't be easily opened or broken by ordinary students. While someone might sneak into the Restricted Section in the middle of the night to browse the books, it would be extremely difficult for them to secretly take any books away.
Compared to Albert's worries, another interesting incident had already spread throughout Hogwarts.
Rumor had it that a student, while wandering the castle in the wee hours of the night, had managed to completely fool Filch, the night patrol.
The caretaker had been looking rather glum these past few days.
Well, most of the time, Filch's face bore such an expression.
The rumor started when a student happened to walk past Filch and overheard him muttering to himself:
"I'll catch you... I'll string you up by your thumbs..." and so on.
Given the previous incident, everyone quickly concluded that Filch had once again failed to catch the student wandering the castle at night.
For Hogwarts students who were always on the lookout for interesting gossip, this was undoubtedly a juicy piece of news.
Some students quickly filled in the blanks with their own imaginations, and soon the whole school was abuzz with the story.
However, their fabricated rumor turned out to be quite close to the truth.
After this incident, the caretaker would stand in the corridors, glaring fiercely at every student who passed by, trying to spot the culprit who had been wandering at night.
Filch's menacing appearance failed to capture the perpetrator but succeeded in scaring the younger students.
The caretaker had no idea that the mastermind behind all this was currently outside the castle, engaged in a snowball fight.
George stared at the snowball that had frozen in midair and exclaimed, "You've mastered the Impediment Jinx?"
"Yep, I learned it not long ago," Albert replied. "It's not that difficult, actually."
Fred snorted at Albert's claim, knowing full well that it was one of his little white lies.
"It's not easy to use magic to accurately hit a moving object," Lee Jordan said as he poked at the snowball floating in midair. He turned to Albert with a curious expression and asked, "How did you get so accurate with your aim?"
"Be careful," Albert warned.
"Careful about what?" Lee Jordan asked, just as the snowball splattered across his face.
"I told you to be careful," Albert said, feigning innocence as he spread his hands out. "The Impediment Jinx can pause the target that it hits, but the effect doesn't last very long."
Of course, if the wizard casting the spell had malicious intentions, it could also be used to repel enemies, depending on the caster's magical power.
Ha ha ha! The trio burst into laughter at the sight of Lee Jordan's snow-covered face.
The next moment, George, who was still laughing, was hit squarely in the face by another snowball, some of which landed in his mouth.
George wiped the snow off his face and retaliated by throwing a snowball at Lee Jordan.
"I bet there aren't many first-years who can use the Impediment Jinx," Fred said as he threw a snowball at Albert while Lee Jordan was busy throwing one at George.
Fred's sneak attack failed as the snowball was frozen in midair by a blue-green spark, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
"Not bad," Albert said as he waved his hand, causing the snowball to shift to the side and fall to the snowy ground next to them.
"Hey, no magic during a snowball fight!" Fred protested loudly. "That's cheating! How are we supposed to have fun now?"
Fred couldn't help but admire Albert's quick mastery of magic. They had all been learning the Impediment Jinx, but apart from Albert, none of them had successfully mastered it yet.
There were already so many things to learn, and mastering a single spell took a lot of practice.
Especially in the first year, when their magical powers were still developing, someone like Albert who could quickly grasp new spells seemed to be cheating.
"Alright, I won't use magic," Albert said as he pocketed his wand and bent down to scoop up a snowball from the thick layer on the ground, promptly smearing it on Fred's face as he was about to speak.
"Let me finish—" Fred protested, only to be interrupted by another snowball, this time thrown by Lee Jordan.
"You want to practice the Impediment Jinx with snowballs?" Albert raised an eyebrow, cutting him off. "That's not a bad idea."
"I..."
Before Fred could finish his sentence, he was interrupted once more by George, who pelted him with another snowball.
"You three jerks!" Fred yelled in annoyance.
Ignoring Fred's protest, Albert asked, "Who wants to go first?"
George and Lee Jordan pointed at Fred in unison. "Him first."
"Fred, get ready," Albert said as he bent down to form a snowball. "I'm about to throw it!"
Still a bit dazed, Fred asked, "What kind of preparation?" just as another snowball hit him in the face.
"Of course, it's to practice the Impediment Jinx!" Albert winked. "This is a rare opportunity."
"Yes, a rare opportunity indeed," Lee Jordan and George nodded vigorously. "We're even giving you the best chance."
"I don't want this kind of opportunity, you jerks. Who's going to come out and take the hit?" Fred glared at the trio.
"Him," the two pointed at Albert together.
"No, it's you, George." Fred was displeased that his brother was ganging up on him instead of being on his team.
"Alright, I will," George readily accepted the reality, but added, "However, let's agree that each person gets ten tries, and no one is allowed to dodge. We can only use the Impediment Jinx to block the snowballs."
"I have no objections," Albert agreed readily.
"Of course, you don't..."
As expected, none of the three were able to successfully use the Impediment Jinx to block the incoming snowballs. They were hit repeatedly, and this group particularly enjoyed aiming for each other's faces.
Lee Jordan wiped the snow off his face and pointed at Albert, complaining, "Let's all go at him together."
"Who told you not to learn the Impediment Jinx?" Albert waved his wand, effortlessly freezing the three snowballs that were flying towards him. He then took a step to the side, causing their snowballs to miss him entirely.
"What are you guys up to?" A nearby student, Sandra, walked by and was hit by three snowballs at once.
"It's all Albert's fault for dodging," Lee Jordan quickly blamed Albert.
"Yes, yes," Fred and George chimed in.
"Let's hit them with snowballs. Do you want to help?" Albert eagerly offered his assistance.
"Ahem, Sandra, do you want to join us in a snowball fight?" Fred finally managed to smear a snowball on Albert's face when he wasn't looking.
"Albert is too cunning. He's using magic to block snowballs in a snowball fight," George said with a straight face.
Albert rolled his eyes at the twin brothers and muttered, "Actually, we're practicing magic."
"What kind of magic?" Sandra asked curiously.
"The Impediment Jinx," Albert answered without hesitation. "You guys are trying to ambush me."
"I'm just giving you a chance to practice the Impediment Jinx," George argued.
"Do you want to practice together?" Fred invited with a smile. "This spell is quite interesting."
"No, I'm going ice skating by the lake," Sandra pointed to the ice skates she was holding. "I brought them home during the last Christmas break."
"Ice skates?" Albert raised his wand and blocked a snowball that George was trying to sneak in. He then asked Sandra, "Are you going alone?"
"Angelina and the others don't know how to play this. You know, most witches and wizards only like Quidditch," Sandra said helplessly. "By the way, do you know how to ice skate?"
"I do, but I'm not very good at it," Albert said casually. "I thought you didn't like sports."
"It's rude to say that," Sandra raised an eyebrow. "I've been playing this all Christmas break. Do you guys want to come with me?"
"Is it fun?" Fred asked curiously.
"I personally find it quite fun, and there are a lot of people ice skating by the Black Lake too," Sandra continued, nodding in the direction of the lake.
"Let's go take a look," George said, showing interest in ice skating.
"What are you guys going to do there without skates?" Albert rolled his eyes at the trio.
Ice skating is not easy to learn. Beginners who try to teach themselves will inevitably end up with bruised bottoms, and the blades are quite dangerous for novices.
"You're here, aren't you?" Lee Jordan pulled Albert's arm. "You can use Transfiguration to make a pair of skates. I believe you can do it."
"It's difficult to use Transfiguration to create that kind of shoe," George disagreed with Lee Jordan's suggestion. "You should borrow a pair of skates and then use the Replication Charm to make more for us."
Albert was left speechless. The people around him were truly talented! (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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