Chapter 297: Teaching and Learning
Chapter 297: Teaching and Learning (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
"Rita Skeeter is just a troublemaker. How can she say such things?" The next morning, as Liam entered the Great Hall for breakfast, he saw Ron holding the Daily Prophet and saying to Harry, who was sitting beside him.
"What did the paper say that got you so upset?" Liam asked, sitting down and spreading jam on a piece of bread.
"That old hag actually accused Barty Crouch of wasting taxpayers' money by using Ministry of Magic funds to pay for his medical expenses", Ron said, sounding agitated. "While none of us in my family like Barty Crouch, thinking he's too strict, it's undeniable that the doctors said his hospitalization was due to excessive mental stress and overwork. Considering he spent the entire holiday organizing the Triwizard Tournament, this should be considered a work-related injury. Should Ministry of Magic employees have to pay for their own treatment for work-related injuries in the future?"
"Excessive mental stress? Maybe it's because his son ran away", Liam thought to himself, but he wouldn't say that without concrete evidence. He understood why Ron was so angry. After all, Ron's father and brothers worked at the Ministry of Magic, and if the Ministry really cut benefits for work-related injuries, it would hit families like the Weasleys, who were already struggling, the hardest.
So he comforted Ron. "Anyway, everyone knows Rita Skeeter is a big talker. And the Ministry of Magic has so many staff who need this work-related injury benefit, especially those Aurors, Hit Wizards, and members of the Accident Reversal Squad who work on the front lines. I don't think the Ministry will listen to that woman's nonsense."
Since it was Saturday, Liam and Hermione practiced magic in the Room of Requirement as usual in the morning. It was clear that Hermione's combat skills were improving steadily, especially for someone who was good at thinking. After each failure, she would analyze the reasons to avoid making the same mistakes again, which allowed Liam to see her progress during their practice sessions.
After a practice session, as they were resting, Hermione wiped the sweat from her brow and took a sip of water. "By the way, Liam, I noticed you went somewhere recently. Did you learn any new magic? After all, I couldn't learn the Life Magic and Nature Magic you taught me before because of my lack of talent. So I was wondering if you have any new magic to show me."
"How did you figure out I went somewhere recently?" Liam asked, surprised, as he had never told anyone about it.
"By paying attention, of course", Hermione said, tucking a strand of sweat-dampened hair behind her ear. "I noticed a significant change in you today. You seem much more composed than yesterday. That's not something that can happen in a short time. So I thought you must have gone to another world, like we did in the Beauty and the Beast world."
Liam had been very careful about his change in demeanor, trying to return to his usual self as soon as he came back. This worked well enough that Harry and Ron didn't notice the difference. However, Hermione, who always paid close attention to him, couldn't be fooled.
"Right, I spent about half a year in a world with dragons and magic", Liam admitted. Since the last incident, Hermione knew that Liam sometimes visited other worlds, so he was straightforward about it.
"Although the magic in that world isn't as advanced as ours, it has some unique spells. But to learn them, you first need to learn High Valyrian and Asshaiyan." With that, Liam used his wand to extract a silver-blue light orb from his temple.
"What is that?" "This is a new technique I developed after researching alchemy. It allows me to copy a part of my memory and transfer it to someone else. Of course, these memories don't involve too strong supernatural powers. The only requirement is that the recipient must have complete trust in the memory giver."
"No problem, give it to me." Hermione said, using her wand to take the light orb. Without hesitation, she placed it on her temple, and the entire light orb was absorbed.
An hour later, Hermione happily watched a Shadow Mouse drag a wooden target from beside the bookshelf. She then pointed at the wooden target and recited a High Valyrian spell. A thin mist of blood emerged from her fingertips, leaving a shallow, blade-like mark on the wooden board.
"These spells are quite useful, perfect for making up for my lack of combat magic, especially since they don't require a wand. But I still need more practice, especially with curses. I shouldn't be this weak after reciting the spell for ten minutes", Hermione said, pointing to a nearby flower pot. Only one leaf had a coin-sized, burnt-looking spot.
"You can't rush these things. Being too hasty will only harm you", Liam stopped Hermione, who looked a bit too excited. She was already starting to overexert her magic power. If she kept practicing, he'd have to help her out of the room soon. To avoid this awkward situation, Liam had to stop the overenthusiastic Hermione.
"You're right", Hermione waved her hand, dispelling the black mist mouse. "Being too hasty isn't a good thing."
As the two of them sat on the cushions to rest, Liam seemed to recall something and asked, "What do you think of the magic we learned today?"
"It's great!" Hermione said, her eyes wide. "Simple and effective. It shows that every civilization has its strengths. I'm even more eager to learn more about this world."
"What I mean is, did you think any of the magic we learned today was dark magic? With the blood, shadows, and curses."
"Of course not", Hermione sat up straight. "I've said before that the defining feature of dark magic is that it requires negative emotions to cast. Learning dark magic is a terrible thing, and I've always stuck to that belief and refused to learn any dark magic."
"But the magic you learned today doesn't require negative emotions, so it's not dark magic. As for the spells looking evil, consider how much more painful it is to be burned alive by flames compared to being instantly killed by the Killing Curse. The effect of a spell doesn't define whether it's dark or not."
Hermione shrugged. "Of course, I know most people outside don't agree with our way of categorizing magic. So, I'll definitely try not to use these spells in front of others. You don't need to worry about that."
Well, it looks like I was overthinking it, Liam thought. Hermione and I seem to have a similar understanding of dark magic, believing that only magic that requires negative emotions and can harm the soul is considered dark. Everything else doesn't count.
This is why Hermione didn't say much when she learned that Liam knew life magic and saw him controlling mummies in the Pyramid Temple. To her, these spells are just ordinary magic, neutral powers that aren't inherently good or evil.
After resting for a while, the two of them practiced for a bit longer before leaving the Room of Requirement. However, before leaving, Hermione took several High Valyrian history books from Liam, saying she wanted to learn more about that magical world.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
