Chapter 143: Harry's Efforts

Chapter 143: Harry's Efforts

Once Christmas was over, it was time for Sherlock to tutor Harry again.

When Harry arrived at Sherlock's office that evening, he was in a foul mood.

Hermione had reported to Professor Mcgonagall about the unknown person who had given him the Broomstick, the "Firebolt." As a result, the professor had taken it away for inspection.

Although Harry understood that Hermione had done this for his own good, he couldn't help but feel angry with her.

Sherlock clearly noticed Harry's mood. He tapped the desk with his wand and said, "I suggest you try to improve your mood and cheer up, because I've invited a special guest to be your sparring partner today."

Harry was immediately intrigued by Sherlock's words.

"Who is it? Professor Lupin?"

"Would Lupin ever be your sparring partner for the Patronus Charm?"

Sherlock shrugged. He didn't keep Harry in suspense any longer and instead waved his wand at the corner cabinet. The silver thread tied to it vanished, and a black-robed creature, resembling a blob of mud, rolled out.

Harry was taken aback at first. Upon closer inspection of the creature lying on the floor, he realized it was a living Dementor!

Upon recognizing the species, Harry's eyes widened, and he instinctively took a step back.

"Professor! You mean this thing is my sparring partner?"

The Dementor, which had been half-dead and tormented by Sherlock over the past few days, wriggled on the ground for a while before slowly floating up.

It was immortal and possessed an extraordinary self-healing ability. Even without food, it would gradually regain its strength, and with sufficient nourishment, it would recover even faster.

In response to Harry's question, Sherlock nodded and said, "A while ago, I invited this gentleman to my office from outside Hogwarts. Not only did he graciously agree, but he also politely offered to repay me. So I had it help me with a small favor and serve as your sparring partner."

Harry gave Sherlock a look that clearly said, "I don't believe you for a second."

Over the past few days, Harry had learned a lot about Dementors. He knew they were impossible to communicate with under normal circumstances, let alone being invited for a visit and offering to repay a favor.

Sherlock must have captured it by force.

As they spoke, the Dementor slowly regained some of its strength. It sensed the presence of a delectable source of happiness and hope in the room, besides the malevolent demon.

It dared not provoke the evil demon but greedily sought to absorb the sweet emotions emanating from Harry.

Harry felt a bone-chilling cold wash over him, and the desperate cries of his mother before her death echoed in his ears.

The Dementor floated over from the cabinet, a faint, translucent thread connecting it to Harry.

Sherlock didn't intervene as the Dementor began to drain Harry's positive emotions. Instead, he shouted to snap Harry out of his dazed state.

"Use the Patronus Charm I taught you!"

Harry instantly snapped out of his trance, but the cold still gripped him, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably.

He gritted his teeth, raised his wand, and aimed it at the Dementor, which was still floating toward him. He swung his arm and cast the spell.

"Expecto Patronum!"

However, no silver light emerged from his wand tip, and the Dementor was unaffected. It had already reached Harry!

At that moment, a silver thread suddenly wrapped around the Dementor, retracting and pulling it back into the cabinet, which was then securely closed.

Harry's previously vacant gaze returned to life, and he gasped for breath, as if he had just been pulled back from the brink of death.

Sherlock put down his wand and handed Harry a cup of hot cocoa he had prepared earlier.

Harry took the cup with shaking hands and said, "I'm sorry, Professor. The moment I saw it, I heard my mother's voice, and I couldn't focus enough to cast the Patronus Charm."

Sherlock had anticipated this.

Practicing the Patronus Charm under normal conditions was entirely different from using it in the presence of a Dementor.

The despair that radiates from a Dementor is enough to terrify any Wizard.

It prevents them from recalling even a shred of happy memories, rendering any Spells they might have used in a pinch utterly useless.

However, facing the intense pressure of a Dementor can also unlock a Wizard's potential. Once they overcome the Dementor's influence, it greatly aids their learning and use of the Patronus Charm.

Sherlock comforted Harry.

"When you face a Dementor, you'll experience more fear than others. But this emotion can also be your motivation, Harry. Don't think about the despair in your mother's voice when she pleaded. Instead, think about the courage and strength she showed when she tried to protect you. She shouldn't be a barrier to your learning the Patronus Charm; she should be your inspiration."

Harry held his cup of hot cocoa, listening to Sherlock's words, his resolve gradually growing stronger.

After resting in his chair for a while, he stood up.

"I want to try again, Professor."

Sherlock naturally agreed to his request. He waved his wand, and the cabinet door opened once more. The Dementor, now freed from its restraints, slowly floated out.

But this time, it stayed back, not daring to move forward.

Even with its simple mind, the Dementor wasn't stupid.

It knew that the tempting prey was just a trap! The moment it tried to feed, it would be locked back in the cabinet by that demon.

So this time, it wasn't going to fall for the same trick.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow at its lack of cooperation, and a silver thread shot from the tip of his wand, binding the Dementor in front of him.

But even then, the Dementor remained uncooperative. It reined in its desires, no longer showing the posture of feeding, only radiating the cold it couldn't control.

Faced with its non-violent, non-cooperative attitude, Sherlock didn't indulge it. He tightened the light threads binding it and threatened,

"Cooperate, and once my student learns the Spell, I'll let you go. If you don't, I'll throw you into the black market and sell you to other Wizards when I'm done with my experiments!"

The Dementor seemed to understand his words, trembling and hesitantly preparing to feed again.

Seeing Sherlock bully the Dementor like this, Harry felt a pang of pity for it, and his fear wasn't as intense.

Again, the bone-chilling cold enveloped him. This time, Harry gripped his wand tightly. As the Dementor began to feed on his positive emotions, the sound of his mother's voice echoed in his mind.

He didn't tremble; instead, he tensed his body and swung his wand steadily.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The pronunciation of the Spell was perfect, exactly as Sherlock had taught him, without a single mistake.

In the next moment, a massive silver shadow erupted from the tip of his wand, swirling between him and the Dementor. Despite his legs feeling weak, Harry managed to stand, though he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up.

At the same time that Harry's Patronus Charm took effect, the Dementor retreated skillfully, eventually hiding back in the wooden cabinet where it was usually stored.

Seeing Harry take such a significant step toward success, Sherlock didn't hold back his praise, clapping his hands.

"Very well, Harry! I didn't expect you to progress so quickly under pressure!"

This genuinely surprised Sherlock. He had thought it would take Harry some time to summon even a rudimentary Patronus, but the pressure of facing the Dementor proved highly effective, allowing Harry to achieve this step.

Sherlock took a piece of Chocolate from a drawer, which he had prepared earlier, and handed it to Harry.

"Finish this. You've done well. The rest is just a matter of practice and getting used to the feeling."

But Harry didn't seem particularly excited.

"I still couldn't summon a full Patronus like you, Professor."

Sherlock chuckled.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Do you know how long it took me to learn the Patronus Charm?"

Harry looked at him curiously, and Sherlock held up one finger.

"A year. It took me a year to fully master this Spell. If you can use it after less than a month of practice, doesn't that make me look like I have terrible talent?"

Harry spoke gloomily.

"You definitely didn't have anyone to teach you, nor did anyone bring a Dementor for you to practice with."

Sherlock shrugged.

"Even if those were included, you're already quite excellent, Harry. There are no shortcuts to mastery. To harness the power you can control, it requires persistent effort over a long period."

Harry glanced around at the three rows of bookshelves in Sherlock's office, filled with magic books. He could sense that Sherlock was speaking from his own experience.

"I'll work hard, Professor!"

"Come back next week. It's very late now, and you're already exhausted. Go back and rest."

In the night, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room. He hadn't told Sherlock about his discovery concerning Black, and he hadn't mentioned it to anyone these past few days. Hermione and Ron thought he had forgotten, but he had actually remembered it well, keeping it close to his heart.

After the Christmas holidays ended, the students returned to the castle, bringing Hogwarts back to life with their lively presence. With the start of the second semester, the fifth and seventh-year students entered the final sprint before their grade exams.

Sherlock had devised a well-structured study plan, ensuring that every day was used efficiently. Even the usually mischievous George and Fred had become diligent and hardworking. This wasn't because they had a change of heart and wanted to achieve good grades to secure jobs at the Ministry of Magic. Instead, the learning atmosphere around them had changed. When all the fifth-year students were focused on their studies, there was no one to appreciate their pranks or cheer for their creative ideas. Gradually, Fred and George joined the rest of their classmates.

In the fifth-year classroom, Sherlock used a Levitation Charm to bring in a stack of exam papers, each nearly as tall as a person.

"In the past, there was very little material for theory exams. I compiled and wrote these last year, adding more this year. There are seventeen exam papers in total, covering all the question types from previous Dark Magic theory exams. If you understand these questions thoroughly, getting a perfect score in the theory exam will be a simple matter."

"I've bound them into booklets. I'll distribute them to you shortly. You need to complete one paper each week this semester. In class, I will go through each one in detail, and by April, we should have covered all the papers. Then we will move on to intensive training for the practical exam."

"The practical exam in the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) is actually the easiest to score high in. The Ministry of Magic won't choose overly troublesome dark creatures for you; the highest danger level will be around this level. The weaknesses and methods to deal with these creatures are things we have repeatedly discussed."

The students listened attentively. The fifth-year wizarding levels exam was arguably the most important test in a wizard's career. It served as the foundational academic qualification for their future in the magical world, and there was only one chance to do well.

The seventh-year Nastily Exhaustive Wizarding Test (N.E.W.T.) was more like an advanced exam, but it was less crucial than the O.W.L.

Sherlock waved his wand, distributing the exam papers to each student and beginning the class.

"I hope you haven't forgotten too much of what I taught you last semester. First, the Armor Charm. Does anyone remember the advanced spell for it?"

The students quickly raised their hands, and Sherlock picked a boy at random.

"The spell is Protego Totalum, Professor."

"Can you tell me what changes occur when you use the advanced spell?"

The boy, clearly well-versed in this area, answered without hesitation.

"The Armor Charm expands the protection range and provides complete coverage for the caster. However, when not mastered, the spell requires the wizard to cast it in advance to avoid any gaps in protection."

"Perfect answer. Five points to Ravenclaw!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end