Chapter 303: The Book That Bites Even Itself When It Goes Mad
Chapter 303: The Book That Bites Even Itself When It Goes Mad
Hagrid looked around at the group, feeling somewhat disappointed when he saw that most of them had their books tightly bound.
"Adorable? You mean this book that goes mad and bites even itself?" Malfoy sneered, followed by another mocking remark.
"If my father knew, he’d be shocked that the new professor at Hogwarts would have us buy such a dangerous book! I never thought something like this could be used as a textbook!"
"Heavens, what if we accidentally get our arms torn off? You must think it’s adorable, right?" Malfoy exclaimed loudly.
Hagrid seemed at a loss, stammering and unable to speak. Didn’t the way it bit hands make it look cute?
Malfoy was about to say more, but he was interrupted by a sudden voice.
"Your father can’t teach you everything, Malfoy!"
Ivan emerged from the crowd, holding the biting book. To everyone’s surprise, the book was not bound but was lying quietly in his hand.
"If you’re smart enough, you’d realize that since The Monster Book of Monsters is a magical textbook, there must be a way to calm it down. I think this is a little test Professor Hagrid has left for us, isn’t it?"
"Hagrid wants to see us use our intelligence to find a way to calm it down. I think this will be a rare and valuable experience!" Ivan spoke confidently to the group of young wizards.
"Experience? You mean getting our arms bitten off by this book?" Malfoy laughed disdainfully.
"I don’t think it’s that vicious", Ivan shook his head.
The Monster Book of Monsters, though it looked terrifying, was still just a book. At worst, it might cause a few scrapes.
With that, Ivan looked around at the group and asked,
"Has anyone among you spent some time researching how to calm this book, or looked up some information in magical books, instead of just letting it gather dust in a corner after buying it?"
Under Ivan’s gaze, all the young wizards shook their heads.
Hermione was a bit frustrated. She had been so busy this semester that she hadn’t had time to look up the relevant information.
"Why should we bother to research how to calm this book? It’s completely pointless!" Malfoy shouted.
Ivan ignored him and continued addressing the group of young wizards.
"I want to warn you that in the wizarding world, many advanced magical books have small enchantments placed on them to test whether the reader is worthy of reading the book. If you can’t break the enchantment, you won’t be able to read the book at all!"
"I’m sure if any of you have ever borrowed advanced books from the Restricted Section, you’d understand this." Ivan added.
Some of the Slytherin young wizards nodded after hearing Ivan’s words. This was especially common in books related to dark magic.
Ivan also recalled the Advanced Black Magic book from his first year, with its black misty faces and soul-piercing screams, clearly designed to prevent less skilled young wizards from reading it.
With his current abilities, he could easily break that enchantment.
"The creator of this book might have had a similar idea, making it this way. After all, many magical creatures are quite dangerous. You need a calm mind and enough patience to calm these fierce creatures and coexist with them peacefully." Ivan concluded.
*Clap, clap, clap*
After a brief moment of silence, the field erupted into applause.
The majority of the young wizards were amazed by Ivan's words and grateful for the valuable lesson he had taught them.
So that's how it is, huh? Hagrid nodded involuntarily.
Ivan then turned to look at Malfoy with a pitying gaze. "You can't always rely on your father to do these things for you. I thought you had grown up, Malfoy!"
Malfoy's face turned bright red. He drew his Wand, ready to duel Ivan, but upon considering the gap in their abilities, he reluctantly gave up the idea.
"Professor Hagrid, I believe I have clearly conveyed your message, haven't I?" Ivan ignored him and turned to Hagrid, speaking up.
"Ah! Yes! That's right! That's exactly what I meant!" Hagrid was momentarily stunned, but quickly came to his senses. He clapped his thick, calloused hands together, producing a sound like a muffled thunderclap. "I will award you fifty points for your excellent speech!"
Then, Hagrid turned to Harry and his friends. "Of course, Harry, Ron, and Hermione! You already mastered the technique to calm the The Monster Book of Monsters before the class. Each of you will receive ten points!"
Harry and Ron were delighted. Having a professor who liked them was simply fantastic. They felt that someone was finally balancing out the points deducted by Unfairly Deducting Points Snape.
Hermione, however, couldn't be as happy. After all, it was Ivan who had taught them how to calm the monsters' book, and she felt that awarding points this way wasn't entirely fair to the other houses.
After helping Hagrid out of a bind, Ivan didn't stay in the middle of the class and returned to his original position.
Hagrid then demonstrated to the other young wizards how to calm the monsters' book.
With Ivan's earlier explanation, most of the students listened attentively, allowing Hagrid to fully experience the feeling of being a professor.
"Ivan, we almost thought you were the professor", Harry couldn't help but tease when he saw Ivan come over.
"Yes, you spoke so well!" Hermione was equally surprised. "I didn't know that the magic in a book could serve such a purpose."
Of course you didn't, I just made it up on the spot.
Ivan shrugged, thinking to himself.
However, he had seen a similar conclusion in a piece of literature. Indeed, some skilled wizards would set up such tests, often more for the maker's amusement.
For example, the The Invisible Book of Invisibility in Flourish and Blotts. The maker of that book was really mischievous.
To read it, you had to use a counter-curse; otherwise, the entire book was transparent and invisible. Most wizards buying the book hadn't even mastered the Disillusionment Charm, let alone the corresponding counter-curse.
As a result, the book had poor sales and was left in a corner, forgotten by even the shopkeeper.
Ivan had discovered the book by accident one day while browsing in Flourish and Blotts. He had kicked the invisible book and, out of curiosity, figured out how to read it.
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(End of Chapter)
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