Chapter 179: Harry's Special Training
Chapter 179: Harry's Special Training
“Potter, wake up! Potter...”
Harry slowly opened his eyes. The torchlight was glaring, making Professor Hup’s shadow appear blurry and indistinct.
For a moment, his expression was dazed.
He got up from the ground and straightened his glasses. “What happened to me?”
“Exhaustion and fatigue, a very normal phenomenon,” Felix said, looking at him. “We’ll stop here for today. Let’s go up and have something to eat, and I’ll start planning your special training.”
Harry felt extremely uncomfortable, his limbs weak and his body light and unsteady.
He followed Felix up the stairs, his steps unsteady, and his stomach churned.
After drinking a large glass of juice and eating two pies, he finally felt like he had come back to life and was in the mood to think about some things.
“Professor, you said this is normal. Have you had a similar experience? And you mentioned that the period after a Magic surge is very suitable for practicing Spells. Is this based on your personal experience...”
Harry’s speech slowed down as he recalled how Hermione had once expressed deep sympathy for Professor Hup.
The background was that the news about the Dueling Club had been released, and everyone’s discussions revolved around the word “duel.” Professor Hup’s “glorious history” was once again the subject of much talk, but while the boys all wished they could take his place, the young witches either looked at him with admiration or sympathy for the unfair treatment he had received during his school days.
Hermione was one of those who felt sympathy.
At the time, Harry couldn’t understand her perspective, but now, he suddenly understood a bit more.
In response to his question, Felix briefly said, “Indeed...”
Indeed what? When Harry lay on his own bed that night, he was still thinking about this.
The next morning, Harry was woken up by Dobby’s knock. He groggily opened the door, and the house-elf respectfully handed him his toiletries. Professor Hup stood beside him.
“Hurry up, Potter, we have a lot to do today.”
Harry felt a novel experience, similar to the feeling he had when staying at the Burrow and being woken up by Mrs. Weasley. It was rare for adults to be involved in his life, reminding him to brush his teeth—unless you counted the Dursleys’ angry bellowing.
For the entire morning, they were holed up in the basement. Harry continuously cast the Disarming Charm, as Professor Hup put it, “We need to maximize our efforts. You’ll find that in your student years, one good trick can carry you a long way.”
He felt like he was about to throw up, but Professor Hup patiently pointed out his mistakes and spent a lot of time explaining the advanced techniques of the spell.
“You need to imagine yourself as a duelist or a new Auror. Your Magic is very active; you can feel it, control it, and make it surge out all at once,” Felix said, casting an Enhanced Perception Spell on Harry.
“This is also a good time to learn the non-verbal casting of the Disarming Charm.”
“Regarding the theoretical part, I’ll only explain what is most relevant to the Disarming Charm. It might not help much with other Spells, but we need to speed up the process. I want to see how far you can go.”
Harry noticed that in the basement, Professor Hup always seemed unapproachable. He would wake Harry up repeatedly whenever he collapsed, without a second’s delay. However, during breaks from the training, he would take Harry to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour or stand with him outside the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop, gazing at the latest Firebolt models in a daze.
Of course, Harry suspected that Professor Hup wasn’t really thinking about the brooms. Once, after staring for two minutes, he asked Harry, “Do you feel a sense of ease when using the Disarming Charm? Like it’s something you were born to do?”
At the time, his answer was somewhat hasty, and he couldn't remember if he had said "somewhat similar" or the not-so-humble "exactly like that."
They also ran into Neville Longbottom, his classmate, a round-faced, forgetful boy. He was with his grandmother, who looked quite intimidating, carrying a large red handbag and sternly scolding Neville.
Harry wanted to run away, as he had once impersonated Neville's name while riding the Knight Bus, and he hoped Neville's grandmother would never find out.
But Neville saw Harry and waved excitedly, "Harry, Harry! It's great to see you, I lost my book list."
Harry quickly borrowed a piece of parchment from Professor Hup and wrote down the names of the new textbooks.
"Oh, you must be Harry Potter, Neville has mentioned you. A good boy, very talented. You taught him the Disarming Charm, he says you learn quickly, unlike him..." Neville's grandmother clutched her handbag tightly, her eyebrows knitted together, "This boy didn't inherit his parents' talent. I was very worried until he received his acceptance letter."
Neville looked dejected, glancing at Harry, who also didn't dare to speak. The old woman was truly intimidating, but to his surprise, Professor Hup, who had been silent, spoke up, "Neville Longbottom, I saw your name on the class list. I'm glad you've chosen my course."
"You're a professor at Hogwarts?" Neville's grandmother asked.
"Felix Hup, I teach Ancient Runes, ma'am."
"I've heard of you, Mr. Hup. I admire your courage, not everyone dares to stand up to the despicable Pureblood Families", she said proudly, pointing at Neville, "Just like his parents, who stood on the front lines against Voldemort's rule during the war, even when they were tortured by some scum..."
She wiped her eyes and led Neville away.
Neville mouthed, "See you on the train", before being dragged off.
"What happened to Neville's parents?" Harry asked, watching his retreating back.
Felix replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but they were likely killed in the fight against the Death Eaters."
...
A week passed quickly, and Professor Hup brought him a stack of thick forms.
"Is this all the data from my Disarming Charm practice?" Harry pointed at the thick parchment, surprised.
"No need to be so shocked. Let me tell you a secret, I'm quite successful in the Muggle world, all thanks to this!" Felix joked.
Harry looked at the graphs, which plotted his progress in increments of ten casts. His improvement wasn't significant when viewed in small units, but over a hundred casts, his progress was almost unbelievable.
"Interesting, isn't it? No one has ever studied this", Felix said cheerfully.
"Professor Hup, my Disarming Charm is at level four?" Harry read the note on the parchment, his eyes widening. It seemed to be the level Aurors reached after a few years of work.
"Ah, you remember the classification?" Felix asked, "In a sense, you've reached that level. You can control the power of the Disarming Charm with flexibility, perform more precise operations, like drawing an arc or casting it silently..."
Harry felt as happy as if he had eaten ten strawberry ice creams, a sense of exhilaration coursing through him from head to toe. But Professor Hup quickly poured cold water on his excitement—
"Only this one spell, Potter. If you want to excel in dueling, you need to consider developing your own fighting style."
"Combat style?"
"For example, which spell forms the core of your approach—"
"Disarming Charm!" Harry said without hesitation.
"… Don’t rush into a decision. Besides the core spell, there’s a whole system of supporting spells: what you use for defense, what you use for offense; which spells are for distracting the opponent, and which are for handling tricky situations. You need to think all of these through."
"Not to mention combat movements, on-the-spot judgment, and pre-planning your strategies."
"Of course, there’s also specialized knowledge. Hmm, perhaps I’m asking too much of you. This already goes beyond the standard requirements for an Auror."
Harry excitedly took out a notebook and wrote down the points. Then, in a moment of inspiration, he mimicked Hermione’s tone and said, "Professor, I actually want to write an essay on this!"
"… Very well, I’ll look it over."
In the days leading up to the start of school, Professor Hup didn’t have him continue practicing the Disarming Charm—this relieved Harry, as he finally got to learn a second spell.
"Potter—"
"Professor, you can call me Harry", Harry said somewhat nervously. He had practiced saying this in front of the mirror several times that morning.
There was a moment of silence. Just as Harry was beginning to regret his boldness, Felix said, "Alright, Harry, I’ll call you that in private."
"Your Disarming Charm won’t improve much more in the short term, even with my comprehensive assistance—"
"Professor, I’m already very satisfied", Harry said contentedly. He had undergone a tremendous transformation, and he was confident that he could now handle Malfoy and his two lackeys.
He saw Professor Hup smile at him. "I’ve obtained the test data I needed, and your magic’s activity level is gradually returning to normal. Although I’ve tried to extend this process, I can’t defy the laws of nature."
"In the next day or two, we’ll focus on learning some new spells. The effects will be three to five times faster than usual."
Harry eagerly nodded in agreement.
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Information about Floo Powder & Floo Network:
Every time the Floo Network is mentioned, readers often have questions, so I’ll provide a unified explanation here.
The following is what you should know:
1. The Floo Network is managed by the Ministry of Magic, but there are instances of unauthorized connections (e.g., Sirius connecting to the Gryffindor Common Room).
2. The public fireplaces in Diagon Alley are generally unrestricted (parents can use them for shopping). The Ministry of Magic’s public fireplaces are for internal staff only (guests usually use the phone booth).
3. The Floo Network’s management is not very strict. Arthur Weasley, for example, found a way to connect to the Dursleys’ fireplace by hacking into a colleague’s permissions.
For the purposes of this story:
1. Hogwarts’ fireplaces are generally not connected to the Floo Network, but professors’ offices are an exception (though they may need to inform Professor Mcgonagall, at least the professors don’t take the train, except for Lupin).
2. Just because a fireplace is connected to the Floo Network doesn’t mean anyone can use it. Imagine strangers suddenly appearing in your home… There are restrictions, such as the owner’s permission or temporary access.
3. It’s also possible to stick your head through the fireplace to ask the owner for permission before using Floo Powder.
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(End of Chapter)
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