Chapter 231: Human-Form Armoring Charm
Chapter 231: Human-Form Armoring Charm
Harry woke up early from his bed.
The wind was howling so fiercely that it had woken him up. He glanced at the window, where it was pitch black outside.
Harry closed his eyes again but felt a chill at the back of his neck. 'Is the window drafty?' he thought, the idea circling his mind before he suddenly turned around to see Peeves's annoying face.
"What are you doing, blowing in my ear like that?" Harry said angrily.
Peeves puffed out his cheeks and blew again, making Harry sit up and grab his wand from the pillow. Peeves then deflated like a punctured balloon and spiraled away.
This farce left Harry wide awake. He glanced at the others, who were still sound asleep. Harry opened the door, and a gingery figure slunk past his feet. He instinctively scooped it up.
"Crookshanks?" Harry looked at the cat in his hand, its face flattened as if it had been squished, giving it a peculiarly fierce look. "Ron was right to be wary of you", he said, closing the door and placing the cat by the spiral staircase. "Go on, leave Scabbers alone. Hermione has argued with Ron several times over you."
Crookshanks gave him a disdainful glance and slinked away.
Harry sat in the dim common room, lost in thought for a while. There were still a few hours until dawn, and he needed something to do. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out his Dueling System Essay, pondering how to conclude it.
"——With the Disarming Charm as the core, hmm——at least silent, wandless magic, the casting must be... stealthy", Harry chewed on his quill, thinking for a long time before writing, "Defense is also crucial; aim to practice the Shield Charm to the same level as the Disarming Charm."
He thought for a moment, then crossed out the last sentence and rewrote it as, "Be proficient in using it, reaching the level of a third-tier spell."
"Other spells should be supplementary. Against distant enemies, use a binding spell to gain the upper hand. Therefore, silent spells are essential." Harry dipped his quill in ink again, "Concentrate on using your strongest spells for rapid attacks——but if they are blocked, what does it mean?"
Harry scratched his head and flipped through his notes. These were the words of Professor Hup from his summer training. After a few pages, his eyes lit up, and he quickly wrote, "——It means the enemy is not a novice. You must maintain a steady mindset and proceed methodically. This highlights the advantage of knowing a wide range of spells to find the enemy's weak points!"
Harry paused, mulling over the meaning of his words.
Professor Hup had said that his current level was far below that of a senior auror. While his Disarming Charm was not much weaker in power, the experience gap was vast.
He might be able to deceive an enemy with his young face and take down a skilled opponent by surprise, but if the enemy was prepared, the battle would be over in a minute or two——and he would be the one defeated.
Harry thought about what he would do if he encountered an enemy he couldn't handle with the Disarming Charm, like Sirius Black or Snape.
After thinking for a while, he realized he had no answer. If the Disarming Charm didn't work, his Stunning Spells, binding spells, and freezing charms would be even less effective.
At this realization, he felt a bit deflated.
"Black was a genius even in school, and he has experienced war. His only weakness might be the twelve years he spent in Azkaban, being tormented by the Dementors..."
Harry remembered Hermione's explanation. Dementors were particularly revolting dark creatures. Anyone who came near them would feel a chill and a numbing of the mind, followed by the draining of happiness and a descent into despair, weakening their will to resist until they became nothing more than a meal for the Dementors, their souls sucked out.
He shivered, recalling Hermione's description of the Dementor's Kiss, "It's truly evil."
After a couple of hours, Harry finally finished revising his essay by the dim light of the common room. "This is the most serious essay I've ever written", he said to himself.
Harry tidied up his things and checked the sky. During the time he spent writing, the storm had not only not subsided but had intensified. However, a faint light was beginning to appear on the horizon.
He timed his departure to coincide with the meal, heading toward the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was empty. Harry intended to choose a seat in the middle but paused as he caught sight of a familiar figure outside.
It's Professor Hup!
He was wearing a dark robe and standing in the pouring rain. If not for a bolt of lightning, Harry might not have been able to see him at all.
"Is Professor troubled by something? Surely he wouldn't be out here like Wood, deliberately torturing himself to experience extreme conditions?" Harry pulled his hood over his head and stepped out of the Great Hall.
As he approached Professor Hup, he was about to greet him but suddenly found himself colliding with something, being pushed off balance and falling into the mud.
"Ouch! Ugh!"
Mud splattered onto Harry’s mouth and glasses, but he was now filled with curiosity. He hadn’t actually bumped into the professor.
Felix looked down at him, "Harry, what are you doing?"
"Uh..." Harry got up from the ground, stammering, "I saw you standing outside and wanted to say hello, but I lost my balance."
Felix laughed, "It wasn’t that you lost your balance... it was because of me. I was thinking about how to protect against rain and wind."
Harry’s interest was piqued, "Is there a suitable spell for that?" He felt he might need it.
"Water-repelling charm and water-and-fire-proofing charm. The former is better at blocking water and mist", Felix explained. He glanced at Harry’s disheveled state and, with a flick of his wand, cast a spell on him.
Steam rose from Harry’s body, and he felt a warm sensation all over. Then, he saw water sliding off his body and clothes as if he had been coated in some kind of oil, not a single raindrop touching him.
Harry asked Felix about these spells. In reality, they were very similar and could almost be considered the same spell.
He drew his wand and tapped his glasses, "Water-repelling charm!" The water automatically avoided the lenses, making his vision clear.
"Rain won’t be a problem anymore!" Harry excitedly thanked Felix, feeling more confident about his chances of winning today.
Felix said, "No need to thank me. Granger asked me about waterproof spells a couple of days ago, and I told her the same thing. I just happened to run into you first."
Harry planned to thank Hermione later, but a question popped into his mind, "Professor Hup, you already know this spell, right? But you said you were thinking about how to protect against rain and—wind?" He paused, unsure, "Wind?"
"Yes", Felix said, "I can predict that the wind will be strong on the Quidditch pitch today."
"Did you come up with a solution?"
Felix smiled, "Didn’t you just experience it?"
"Experience it?" Harry tried to recall, his stomach growling, "Was it the Shield Charm? The thing I bumped into was the Shield Charm?" That was the only thing he could think of.
"You’re right", Felix nodded approvingly, "The Shield Charm is intangible but can defend against both magical and physical attacks. It’s not particularly powerful, but it’s clearly effective against wind."
This sounded a bit unbelievable to Harry. He had never thought the Shield Charm could be used this way. Would anyone normally think of that?
"Harry, I told you before, when you’re sufficiently proficient with a spell, you can adjust its effects according to your own ideas", Felix said. A transparent spherical barrier suddenly expanded from him, almost touching Harry’s nose.
Harry looked at the so-called "Shield Charm" in amazement. He could see the surface of the sphere glowing, and raindrops hitting it sent out ripples.
He reached out and poked it, causing the spherical barrier to slightly indent before pushing his finger back.
"So—did you succeed?" Harry asked. To him, transforming a small protective area in front of him into a large, transparent sphere was clearly a success.
Felix tilted his head, gesturing for him to watch. The transparent spherical magical barrier began to curve inward, becoming more and more fitted to his body, gradually taking on a human shape.
In the end, it was like he had a human-shaped air shield around him.
Felix said regretfully, "I was trying to make the Shield Charm form a thin layer around my clothes, perhaps calling it a human-form armoring charm? But unfortunately... this technique is quite challenging and can’t be mastered in half an hour."
(End of Chapter)
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