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Chapter 1334: Professor Anderson
Chapter 1334: Professor Anderson
"Procrastination is never a good habit."
In the foyer, Moody turned his magical eye toward Ron, expressing his displeasure at his tardiness.
"Isn't Albert supposed to be teaching us the Blasting Curse today?" Ron pulled out his pocket watch from inside his cloak to check the time and grumbled, "Besides, we still have about ten minutes before the agreed-upon time. That guy is usually punctual, so why are we rushing off early?"
"Of course, we're going early to make sure the area is secure." Moody, seeming to hear Ron's complaint, suddenly asked, "If I recall, you want to become an Auror in the future, right?"
Ron pressed his lips together and fell silent.
He was actually thinking of reminding Moody that they had all dropped out of school and wouldn't meet the academic requirements for Auror recruitment, but he felt that such an argument would be pointless, so he chose to remain quiet and concede.
"There are no Death Eaters around. It looks like those guys have finally given up on wasting their time here." Sirius and Lupin, upon returning, informed the group about the situation outside and expressed their delight at the departure of the black-robed wizards who had been keeping a constant watch on them.
No one enjoyed being under constant surveillance, even if those doing the watching could only wait outside helplessly.
"I think it's because of the heavy rain outside. No one would be foolish enough to stand out there and get drenched," Ron said as he put up his hood and followed Harry into the rain ahead of them.
The six of them quickly joined hands to form a circle and, braving the downpour, they disapparated together.
When their vision cleared and they arrived at their usual spot for practicing the Blasting Curse, they found that it was still raining.
However, the rain wasn't as heavy as it had been at their headquarters.
Unconcerned about the rain, the group instead raised their wands and cautiously scanned their surroundings. Once Moody was satisfied that the area was secure, he pulled out his pocket watch and said, "We're about five minutes early. Let's check the defensive spells around us first."
Sirius and Lupin left the group to inspect the protective spells surrounding the area, ensuring that their practice session wouldn't be disturbed.
Moody, on the other hand, waved his wand and conjured a large umbrella to shield them from the elements—standing out in the wilderness in the rain was foolish, after all.
"I hate the rain," Ron said, lowering his hood and turning to face Harry. He actually thought it would be more appropriate to practice magic back at headquarters, and they didn't necessarily have to work on the Blasting Curse.
"I heard Neville is having some trouble at school," Harry said, removing his glasses and casting a Water-Repelling Charm on the lenses before continuing with a topic that Fred and George had recently brought up.
"Don't worry, Neville will be fine," Hermione reassured him.
"No, that's not what I'm worried about," Harry clarified.
Of course, Harry wasn't concerned about Neville's safety. Since Albert had sent Neville to the school to organize Dumbledore's Army, he surely had a way to ensure Neville's safety.
However, once Neville left Hogwarts, the newly formed Dumbledore's Army might fall apart, and that was an outcome Harry didn't want to see.
"He's here!" Ron suddenly exclaimed.
Harry and Hermione looked up, following the direction of Ron's finger, and spotted a figure in a cloak, holding an umbrella, approaching them.
"I thought you'd be right on time," Harry said as he put away his pocket watch and stepped forward to shake Albert's hand.
"I've never been here before," Albert explained.
"Didn't you run into Sirius and Lupin?" Moody asked cautiously, as Sirius and Lupin had gone out to reinforce the protective spells with the intention of finding Albert.
"Lupin and Sirius are reinforcing the outer protective spells," Albert said as he put away his umbrella and turned to Harry. "How's your progress with the Blasting Curse?"
"It's really hard to control," Harry admitted, his eyes eager as he looked at Albert. "As soon as I cast the spell, the flames get out of control."
"And how about you two?" Albert turned to Hermione and Ron, expecting that Harry wouldn't have mastered the curse yet.
"We've made some progress," Hermione replied.
"Barely," Ron added. "We still can't extinguish the Blasting Curse fire." Hermione was quicker at picking up the counter-curse than he was.
"That's normal," Albert said. "Your magical powers haven't been fully developed yet. If you want to become more powerful, you should focus more on this aspect." Without further ado, Albert waved his wand, causing the large umbrella over their heads to vanish, and then gestured for Harry to cast the Blasting Curse at the nearby fire pit. He needed to assess the trio's learning progress first.
Harry took a deep breath and began to concentrate on the incantation.
Black magical flames erupted from the tip of his wand, instantly igniting the fire pit. Despite Harry's efforts to control the flames, the result was the same as always—within seconds, the Blasting Curse raged out of control.
Moody raised his wand, preparing to suppress the rogue flames, but someone was faster than him. Just as the surging flames were about to unleash their full fury, Albert casually waved his wand and brought them under control, leaving only a fist-sized flame burning.
"Generally speaking, it's much harder to maintain control over the Blasting Curse once it has left your wand," Albert explained calmly. "And if you come across a skilled Dark wizard who has studied the curse extensively, they can easily take control of it from you."
Everyone was stunned.
"Most of the time, when one casts the Blasting Curse, they don't just leave it be. Typically, you'd swiftly extinguish it afterward to prevent the Fiendfyre from spreading and spiraling out of control."
As Albert spoke, the Fiendfyre in the fire pit died down.
"Have we been teaching Harry the wrong way to train with the Blasting Curse?" Moody interjected, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.
Albert conjured a log out of thin air with a wave of his wand and tossed it into the fire pit. Turning to a bewildered Harry, he said, "Focus your mind on burning that log to ashes."
"What difference will that make?" Harry asked, even more confused.
"You've probably heard that casting Dark Magic requires an evil heart, and that's why Dark wizards who are more sinister tend to excel at it," Albert said suddenly.
Harry raised his hand to stop the others from interrupting and asked, "Do you think the reason I can't master the Blasting Curse is because I'm not evil enough?"
"Of course not... Well, not exactly." Albert explained to the group, "The more sinister a wizard is, the more uninhibited they are when using Dark Magic, and the more they can tap into their latent magical power."
"When a wizard is afraid of killing with an Unforgivable Curse, their spell often fails to deal a fatal blow. It's because people subconsciously hold back their magical power, just like how we don't punch a rock with full force because we know it will hurt."
"No one would be foolish enough to try punching a rock." Ron fell silent after receiving a glance from Albert.
"Think about how anger can lead to magical outbursts, or how Felix Felicis can make casting spells easier. It's all due to similar reasons."
"As for your situation, it's quite similar. Your fear of the Blasting Curse spiraling out of control is what's holding you back from performing at your usual level, and it's the reason you haven't made any progress with the curse." Albert easily saw through Harry's current problem. "Of course, the training method you've been using is safer, but it requires more time to strengthen your magical power and control."
"What should I do?" Harry asked directly.
"Stand right here, and don't worry about anything else. Take a deep breath to calm yourself, and then try casting the Blasting Curse on that log." Albert guided Harry with a soothing tone. "You don't need to worry about anything else. Just focus on that log and cast the Blasting Curse on it."
Harry took a deep breath and raised his wand, pointing it at the log as he shouted the incantation. Black flames erupted from the tip of his wand, engulfing the log like a flamethrower.
"Don't rush. Gather your focus and concentrate your attention on controlling the Fiendfyre to consume the wood without letting the flames spread randomly," Albert continued to guide him with a calm voice.
The next moment, the log was surrounded by black flames and quickly turned into a pillar of fire, but the flames surprisingly didn't spread beyond it.
"I did it!"
As soon as Harry's emotions fluctuated, the previously controlled Fiendfyre immediately raged out of control once again.
"Yes, you did it."
Albert waved his wand, suppressing the raging black flames and severing the connection between Harry's wand tip and the Fiendfyre.
"Now, you two give it a try as well!" Albert said to Hermione and Ron, who were anxiously watching from the side. "Try to extinguish the Fiendfyre. You first." He gestured to Ron.
Ron pointed his wand at the subdued black flames and shouted the counter-curse.
However, the black flames only flickered slightly, as if a gentle breeze had blown past, and then they settled back down. It was Hermione who successfully extinguished the Fiendfyre with her counter-curse.
"If you want to help Harry, you'll need to put more thought into counter-curses." Albert turned to Ron and said, "It won't do you any harm to work on that."
"I will," Ron replied, his face grim.
Albert didn't have time to pay attention to Ron's mood and waved his wand to conjure a large umbrella to shield them from the rain.
"Uh..."
Harry was handed a cup of hot cocoa, and he looked completely bewildered.
"I thought we were supposed to be practicing the Blasting Curse. Why are we taking a break now?" he asked.
Albert took a sip of his hot cocoa and smiled at Harry. "Think about what you just experienced, and we'll continue the training after a short break."
"A break already?" Harry was even more perplexed.
"It's important to balance work and rest. Rushing things might lead to mistakes. You need to focus your energy on effective training, at least until you've completely mastered the Blasting Curse." Albert waved his wand and conjured a few chairs for them to sit and rest. "Listen to me explain some information and application methods about the Blasting Curse. It will be very helpful for you to understand this dangerous piece of Dark Magic."
They were all bewildered by Albert's actions, but they still sat down to listen to his lecture.
Albert started from how the first Dark wizard who cast the Blasting Curse ended up burning himself to death, then moved on to how Dark wizards typically used the curse, and finally, to how skilled wizards applied it in actual combat.
"Harry, I think..."
Sirius hesitated, intending to persuade Harry to give up on learning this dangerous curse after hearing Albert's words.
At least, after listening to Albert's explanation of the Blasting Curse, he realized just how dangerous it was.
Harry shook his head, signaling for Sirius to stop.
He wasn't learning the Blasting Curse for combat; he wanted to ensure that when it came time to destroy the Hufflepuff Cup, they would succeed without fail. If they went to all the trouble of breaking into the Lestrange vault only to be unable to find the Cup among everyone's treasures, they would simply burn everything in the vault to ashes.
Harry would never allow their plan to fail, nor could he afford to.
Once Voldemort realized they were after the Horcruxes, he would undoubtedly hide them again, and at that point, they would have no other opportunities.
"You could consider becoming a professor at Hogwarts in the future. I'm sure you'd be very popular."
To be honest, Moody was feeling a bit dejected at the moment. He had also been teaching Harry the Blasting Curse for quite some time, yet after more than a month, Harry still hadn't made much progress.
"I'm not considering that for now. I also have a lot of things to do." Albert waved his wand, making the empty cup disappear after he finished drinking, and listened to the sound of the rain outside, puzzled. "If you're not going to pick a clear location, wouldn't it be better to stay at the Phoenix Society headquarters and practice other magic?"
"Sometimes, continuing to practice can lead to faster mastery of a spell."
Moody took out a bottle of alcohol from his cloak pocket, took a sip, and said, "Besides, this weather isn't that bad. Just like when you were training for Quidditch at school, they will undoubtedly encounter various difficulties in the near future."
"Are you suggesting we use the Auror training methods?"
Albert didn't think there was anything wrong with using standard methods; the problem was that Harry was still in the learning phase of magic and hadn't fully matured yet. Starting Auror training at this point would undoubtedly require a long time to make up for his deficiencies.
"You don't seem to agree."
"Everyone has their own training methods, and what suits them best is the most important." Albert was noncommittal in his response, although he indeed didn't agree with Moody's training style. Still, he wouldn't go out of his way to deny the other man's opinion.
That would undoubtedly be a very foolish thing to do.
"What's happening in Hogsmeade?" Lupin changed the subject.
"I hear the Death Eaters plan to turn it into a gathering place for Dark wizards." Albert was well aware of the situation in Hogsmeade, not only because the house-elves often reported to him, but also because he had even personally gone there.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hermione, who had finished her hot cocoa, interjected.
"We're talking about Hogsmeade. It seems like it's become a den for Dark wizards. Students from Hogwarts probably won't be able to go to Hogsmeade for weekends anymore." Albert smiled as he explained.
"What about Neville? I heard he's having some trouble," Harry suddenly asked.
"They've been causing quite a ruckus lately."
"Ruckus?"
Harry felt that Neville would be extremely depressed if he heard Albert's evaluation.
"I've already sent Dobby to fetch Neville. He'll be staying in the shelter for a while and then undergo proper training." Albert was well aware of Neville's situation and had already made appropriate arrangements for him.
"What are your plans?" Harry asked again.
"None for now."
"I heard that after the Death Eaters took control of the school, they even used students in detention as practice targets for the Cruciatus Curse," Ron said, also in support of getting rid of Snape and the Death Eaters.
"They're Death Eaters; it's not surprising what kind of despicable things they'll do." Albert shrugged. "What you're hoping for is probably already the best outcome—that they haven't killed those kids yet."
"No, you obviously don't understand. Using students to practice the Cruciatus Curse is nothing!" Moody's eyes flashed dangerously. "Albert is right. 'They haven't killed those kids yet, which is probably the most merciful thing they could do.' You probably don't know that a large number of Muggles have been slaughtered mercilessly, and countless wizards have been threatened and killed for opposing the Death Eaters."
"This war is even more cruel than the one over a decade ago. You need to adapt to the cruelty of this war as soon as possible." Sirius frowned.
"That's unavoidable." Albert's tone was calm. "Ever since Dumbledore's death, the situation has spiraled out of control. Moreover, it was foolish to place all hope on Harry from the very beginning."
"Don't you also believe that Harry will achieve victory?" Ron refuted.
"Yes, but who knows how long a war will last?" Albert said meaningfully. "A year, two years, or even longer. Don't forget that the last Wizarding War lasted for over a decade."
"I remember you saying it would be short," Harry said.
"Yes, but the future is uncertain. Unless you work hard and fulfill the prophecy, causing the predicted outcome to come true." Albert clapped his hands and said, "Well, now that we've rested, let's continue the training!"
(End of Chapter)
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