Chapter 1211: A Qualified Leader
Chapter 1211: A Qualified Leader
In truth, it wasn't difficult for them to discern that Albert didn't trust them, or at least didn't believe in their ability to keep secrets. This was evident from the way he had the house-elves transport them to the headquarters of the Defense Association.
Of course, there was an upside to this as well. Even if someone did leak the Association's secrets, they didn't have to worry about Death Eaters or mysterious wizards finding their headquarters.
While this distrust made them feel uncomfortable, the students who had just graduated from Hogwarts understood one thing—there were no secrets within the school's walls.
And now, the Defense Association needed to remain hidden, ostensibly for the safety of its members. But many of the students, fresh out of school and newly adults, weren't used to this level of secrecy yet.
"Now, let's move on to today's main topic."
Albert stood up from the sofa and clapped his hands lightly a few times, drawing the attention of the crowd, who had been whispering among themselves.
"Wasn't that just the main topic?"
Many of them couldn't help but want to tease him, as the news Albert had just revealed was truly shocking. Yet, that wasn't even the main topic of the day. What exactly did Albert have in mind?
"Today, I'm going to teach you how to protect yourselves." Albert raised his wand and gave it a slight wave, and the sofas they had been sitting on were moved to the side of the room.
"What about secrecy?" Cedric asked, looking perplexed. He, too, felt that they should be educating the group on the importance of keeping the Defense Association's secrets.
"When it comes to secrecy, it relies more on individual self-discipline," Albert said calmly. "After all, your mouths belong to you, and I can't force you to stay silent. If someone gets into trouble or even loses their life because they can't keep their mouth shut, then they deserve it. Remember, we are up against mysterious wizards and Death Eaters, and secrecy is crucial for our safety."
"Of course, you don't need to worry too much. When you joined the Defense Association, you signed a list, and I've enchanted that list. If anyone leaks important secrets, that list will alert me immediately."
As he spoke, Albert pointed to the corner at a brass bell-like object. "I'll also be immediately aware of who leaked the information."
Albert never expected these people to keep secrets voluntarily; he always had a backup plan.
The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to say for a moment.
"Now, let's continue our previous discussion," Albert said as he stepped forward to address the group. "Running away is not shameful, especially when we are faced with overwhelming odds. A tactical retreat is important; it preserves our strength for future victories."
The crowd fell silent, unsure if anyone else could make running away sound so noble.
"Can anyone tell me how you would respond if you encountered enemies by yourself?"
Everyone turned to Cedric, as he was the only one with such experience. The others had never faced such a situation.
"First, I'd use a Disillusionment Charm to hide myself and gain the upper hand. Then, I'd create some noise to distract them," Cedric shared, knowing that he should contribute his knowledge since everyone was looking at him. "If there aren't too many enemies, you can try to find an opportunity to ambush them."
If it weren't for his bad luck in encountering a group of dark wizards, he wouldn't have been caught in the first place.
"That's fine, but when you can't determine the number of enemies and are at a disadvantage, I don't recommend taking risks. After all, you only have one life, and it's important to be cautious," Albert advised, tapping his wand on his body and then disappearing with a Disillusionment Charm. He walked along the periphery of the group as he spoke. "When you encounter enemies, as long as your Disillusionment Charm is up to standard, you'll be able to buy yourself some time and hide from them temporarily."
"After all, it's normal for people to be momentarily stunned in such situations unless they frequently encounter them."
"If you feel your Disillusionment Charm skills aren't up to par, you can use the Disguise Spell and the Concealment Spell to enhance your stealth."
"Even if you successfully hide, if the enemy knows where you are, there's a high chance you'll give away your position. And if they use a Revealing Spell, your Disillusionment Charm will fail, leaving you exposed."
"Before that happens, you need to find a way to divert their attention. For example, create some noise to buy yourself some time."
"Just like this!"
As his words trailed off, an explosion sounded from the right, drawing everyone's attention. Albert then reappeared on the other side of the room.
"When their attention is diverted, that's your chance to make a move—whether it's to escape or take the offensive."
"If there are only one or two enemies and you think you can handle them, you must act swiftly and decisively, leaving them no chance to counter-attack. Victory will be yours." As the crowd snapped out of their daze, Albert continued, "Ambushing may sound underhanded, but remember, the dark wizards you'll be facing are ruthless and vile. They have no honor, so there's no shame in defeating them through ambush. Always remember that ensuring your own safety is the top priority."
"After you've taken down your enemies with spells, it's a good idea to use the Accio spell to summon their wands or even destroy them. As long as you can separate them from their wands, most wizards will lose their ability to cast spells, and thus, their ability to threaten you. Very few wizards can perform wandless magic, unless they've been practicing it from a young age, but such cases are rare in Europe."
"Can you perform wandless magic?" Field asked curiously.
"Yes, but I can't perform very advanced magic without my wand." Albert raised his hand and waved it slightly, causing Field's scarf to tighten around his neck.
"Sometimes, you don't need to master very advanced spells. Basic curses can inflict severe damage on your enemies if you know how to use them effectively," Albert said as he released the scarf. "Nowadays, dark wizards tend to pursue more dangerous types of dark magic because they are more unpredictable."
"Of course, by unpredictable, I mean that you can't counter them with regular spells. I'm referring to the Unbreakable Jinx, for instance. But there is a solution—remember, most spells can be blocked by physical objects, even the deadly Avada Kedavra."
And this is usually how I respond after encountering the Avada Kedavra curse. What you need to do is to look around and see if there's anything nearby that can help shield you from the spell, and that thing needs to be sturdy enough to completely withstand the power of the curse." Albert waved his hand lightly, and after a brief crackling sound, a thick and heavy-looking iron shield floated in front of him. He lightly tapped the iron shield with his finger and introduced, "Just like this. Of course, this is something you'll need to master in the future. For now, let me see who among you hasn't mastered the Disillusionment Charm yet."
After he finished speaking, he waved his wand and made the iron shield in front of him disappear.
There were even fewer wizards who had systematically studied the Disillusionment Charm than Albert had expected.
However, this seemed quite normal. After all, it would be difficult for ordinary people who wanted to learn the Disillusionment Charm to find someone willing to teach them this technique.
Before the publication of the Self-Defense Guidebook, many wizards didn't even know about the Disillusionment Charm.
"Before we begin learning the Disillusionment Charm, there's something I must remind you of." Albert looked around at the group and cautioned, "Skilled wizards can easily see through the disguise created by the Disillusionment Charm. So, when you encounter mysterious people, it's best not to try anything risky; just use the Revealing Spell instead."
"Can you also see through the Disillusionment Charm?" Shan'na asked.
This was a pointless question, but they all knew that they needed to flatter Albert and boost everyone's confidence.
"Of course." Albert paused before continuing, "There are only a handful of wizards with this level of skill, and they usually possess extraordinary strength."
"The Disillusionment Charm can vary depending on the situation. Generally, if it's not mastered well, the results can be quite poor, like this." Albert raised his wand and tapped it lightly on Lee Jordan's body.
The group saw that a part of Lee Jordan had disappeared, but a significant portion was still visible, and it looked quite scary—it would definitely give Filch a heart attack if he saw it in the middle of the night.
"Undoubtedly, this is not up to standard."
Albert waved his wand again, and Lee Jordan became completely invisible. However, it was still obvious that there were many uncoordinated areas on his body.
"This is another situation." Albert explained, "Most Hogwarts students who have mastered the Disillusionment Charm are at this level."
"You should also be aware that the principle of the Disillusionment Charm is similar to that of a chameleon, causing the person or object being disguised to blend in with the color and texture of the background and surrounding environment. So, even if your disguise is almost perfect, there's still a chance you'll be noticed at close range, especially if someone is staring at you. In such cases, you'll quickly attract unwanted attention." Albert continued to explain, "Because people are sensitive to gaze, especially hostile gaze."
"Most wizards who can cast the Disillusionment Charm to a normal level can achieve this effect." Albert pointed to Lee Jordan, who had completely disappeared.
"It's generally hard to be detected, but there's still a risk of exposure at close range. That's why I suggest combining the Disillusionment Charm with the Disguise Spell to better improve your concealment."
"Of course, a more skilled wizard would be hard to detect even at close range, but that's difficult for you to achieve because it involves a higher level of application. If you want to further improve your Disillusionment Charm, I suggest you first master this spell, and also..."
Albert talked for about half an hour before letting the group begin trying out the spell and helping to correct their mistakes during practice.
This was a task that required a lot of patience.
Fortunately, there were quite a few wizards who had mastered the Disillusionment Charm and could help share the burden.
The members of the Defense Association were all adult wizards who had recently graduated from school, so their learning abilities hadn't diminished much. Those who had never come across the Disillusionment Charm before were now able to grasp the basics of the spell after some practice.
"I'll probably spend about a month teaching you these things. I hope you'll take the time to practice seriously. Once you truly master these techniques, your chances of surviving dangerous situations will be much higher, and you won't have to worry as much about encountering Dark wizards. Remember, nothing is more important than your own life."
"Also, there's this..." Albert gave Fred a meaningful look.
"This is an exclusive benefit for joining the Defense Association. You can purchase non-marketable items and Dark Magic Defense items from us at a lower price. Of course, there's a limit to how much each person can buy."
"I thought you'd provide them for free," Kenneth quipped.
"You should know that everything that's free in this world comes at the highest cost." Albert said meaningfully, "If you have any questions, feel free to write them down, ask others, or come to me. As for when you'll be able to put your training into practice, I can only say that the facilities here are not yet complete. You may need to help out with the construction at some point, probably around April or May."
"Why not sell them outside?"
After looking through the product catalog that Fred, George, and Lee Jordan distributed, everyone was astonished. The items in the catalog were far superior to what was available on the market. There were many strange and wonderful things, and they even sold Felix Felicis, which only lasted for half an hour, and each person could only buy one as an emergency backup.
"You should know that once everyone knows about these items, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced because Death Eaters and Dark wizards may acquire them through various means." Albert reminded them, "In fact, these items are quite expensive, and it would be troublesome if they fell into the hands of Death Eaters, as most of them are quite wealthy." George explained to the group, "Of course, the Ministry of Magic does place orders, but not in large quantities due to the high prices. We usually keep them for our own use, and this is our trump card for you as well."
"If you need them, you can purchase them from us. By the way, the detection watches are our gift to you, but each person can only receive one."
"Of course, their effectiveness isn't as specific as ours, but they can still provide you with an early warning."
At that moment, Dobby the house-elf brought in a large box. When it was opened, it revealed several detection watches, and Fred gestured for everyone to come forward and take one.
After receiving the detection watches, the group noticed that they were slightly warm to the touch. When they opened them, they saw a red dot on the watch face.
"There's an enemy."
Everyone was startled.
"It's over here."
Albert pointed to the tank where the Grindylow was kept.
"The detection watches can sense Dark wizards and Dark magical creatures nearby." Albert reminded them, "When it sounds an alarm, be on your highest guard."
(End of Chapter)
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