https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-433-A-New-Defense-Against-Dark-Magic-Class/13461155/
Chapter 432: A Brief Victory
Chapter 432: A Brief Victory
After leaving Flitwick's office, Felix found an opportunity to be alone with Snape.
“So… Young Barty Crouch didn’t plan to secretly poison and kill us all?” Felix asked, actually curious about what potion Young Barty Crouch was brewing in the Chamber.
“He had to be extremely careful to avoid the hundreds of eyes in the kitchen,” Snape said, narrowing his eyes. “It was an emergency potion to keep a dying person alive, at least temporarily. I identified Unicorn blood and several highly toxic ingredients, along with an unknown type of snake venom.”
“Sounds like a curse?”
“Something like that. The process is extremely painful, but the effects are obvious,” Snape said, opening the office door. The office hadn’t changed much; it was dimly lit, with numerous glass specimen jars lining the walls.
Felix thought back to the moans he heard from Voldemort at Crouch Manor, and he understood what Snape meant. He looked around and said, somewhat discontentedly, “I remember giving you a Magic Lamp…”
“A competent potion master doesn’t easily change his lifestyle,” Snape replied calmly, his gaze sweeping over the row of jars of various sizes. “And there’s something you didn’t mention in the product description: the light from the Magic Lamp affects certain dark creatures.”
Felix thought about it and realized Snape was right. The Magic Lamp worked by solidifying a Lumos and then slowly releasing it, and Lumos had the effect of dispelling fog and driving away dark creatures.
But this additional effect wasn’t strong enough to harm even the lowest-level wight.
“Remus was fine,” Felix said.
Snape made a sound of disapproval and slowly said, “Unlike werewolves, potion ingredients are very delicate and require specific spells to preserve them to prevent the loss of magic. I remember teaching this in class?”
“A person’s energy is limited, and since I know both you and Belby, I naturally don’t intend to spend too much time on potions. For me, understanding the necessary basics, like how to antidote, is enough,” Felix said smoothly. “How about we talk about Ancient Runes?”
Snape glared at him. “I put the Magic Lamp in my bedroom.”
Felix shrugged and spotted a half-bucket of gray slime in a suspicious corner of the office, sealed with a transparent lid. He bent down to examine it. “Is this from a Blast-Ended Skrewt?”
“It’s slightly corrosive, and I haven’t found a good way to neutralize its properties yet,” Snape said softly.
Felix blinked. “What about Lumos?”
Snape’s eyes widened as if just realizing the possibility. He stood there, dryly saying, “It… might not be a bad idea… worth a try…”
He quickly took a few drops of the slime from the bucket. As he lifted the lid, a pungent smell of rotten fish and shrimp filled the room. Felix immediately cast a Protective Armor Spell on himself, having replaced the Bubble-Head Charm with this spell.
“Need any help?” he asked, his voice muffled by the spell. Snape’s face was pale, but his hands were steady.
“No,” Snape forced out, but the smell made his face even paler, and his throat involuntarily twitched. He quickly sealed the lid with magic, and Felix conjured a gust of wind to blow the foul air out into the corridor.
Hopefully, no young wizards who just had a meal would pass by.
Snape, holding his breath, transferred the wet slime into a small glass vial, quickly sealing it. Once done, he took a deep breath.
On the other side, Felix already had a ping-pong ball-sized light orb in his palm, surrounded by a faint white glow but emitting no light. It looked like a glowing glass ball.
Snape directed the small vial to float over, and Felix controlled the light orb to approach. The light orb easily slipped into the vial, and Felix quickly cast a spell on the vial’s outer surface to contain the light.
Without Felix’s restraint, the light orb expanded, filling the entire vial—
“It doesn’t seem to be working,” Snape said uncertainly after a while.
“The light from Lumos is very gentle. Even if it’s released close to the face, it can only cause dizziness and blurred vision, not damage the eyes,” Felix explained.
He had already sat back on the sofa, casually picking up a book and flipping through it. “Just wait. Sometimes the process of immersing materials in magic can take months.”
Snape stared at the small vial in his hand for a long time, his eyes suddenly sparkling.
Felix was startled, thinking Snape was about to say something particularly sharp, but Snape was simply eager. “Let’s try it multiple times! Use different conditions to create a control group.”
“Uh…” Felix drew out the word. He didn’t want to see that slimy stuff again. “Hold on,” he muttered, pulling out an Ouroboros Ring from his ring. Under Snape’s curious gaze, several small, faintly glowing orbs soon appeared before him.
Then, the Ouroboros Ring in his hand suddenly moved, and a Slytherin, twisting its body, swallowed the orbs one by one, returning to Felix’s palm and transforming back into a ring.
He handed the Ouroboros Ring to Snape. “It can store Ancient Runes. Essentially, its material effectively isolates magic, significantly reducing its leakage… so it can also store Lumos.”
Snape took it and glanced at it briefly. "Basilisk scales?"
Felix nodded.
...
When he returned to the office, Waren the Niffler immediately pounced on him, grabbing his clothes and trying to climb up. However, Waren suddenly stopped.
Waren retracted his little hands and sniffed lightly. The little face immediately wrinkled, and the bright black eyes looked at Felix with a sense of accusation.
Felix was taken aback and sniffed his clothes. "It smells?"
Waren nodded vigorously, making a gagging gesture.
"It might be the slime from the Blast-Ended Skrewt larvae", Felix speculated. "Your nose is really sensitive. I even used the Protective Armor Spell, and you still smelled it..."
Waren looked at him proudly.
Felix cast a few scouring charms on himself. Waren cautiously approached, sniffing carefully. Once he confirmed there was no more of the unpleasant odor, he jumped into Felix's arms.
Holding Waren, Felix pondered. With such a sensitive nose, it would be a waste not to put it to good use. Perhaps he should add some 'extracurricular activities' to the usual literacy lessons?
At the very least, learning to identify the scents of common poisons would certainly be beneficial.
In the evening, Harry came to learn Occlumency.
Using the few days of the Christmas break, Felix systematically explained the techniques of Occlumency. Harry found it all very confusing and looked utterly bewildered. In the end, Felix had to make him continue reading the magic book.
Harry visited every two days, sometimes even encountering Hermione. However, by fourth year, Hermione no longer came every week. Her proficiency in Ancient Runes far surpassed anyone except Felix.
At her current level, even if she stopped improving, she would still be more than qualified to become a professor. So now, Felix only assigned tasks and occasionally answered questions for his assistant.
Harry flipped to the fifth page of the magic book, looking at the wizard portraits with a look of disgust. He was familiar with this illustration—having seen it while browsing through materials in the Restricted Section. The wizard had originally been the cover of a Restricted Book, and Ron had thought he looked a lot like Draco Malfoy.
But this time, the feeling was different. In a daze, Harry noticed the wizard's face seemed to transform into his own. He felt himself taking the place of the wizard, enduring torment... His heavy breaths fell on the wizard, and then he felt his skin as if it were being battered by a hurricane.
Harry held his breath, his face turning red. He kept reminding himself that all of this was the effect of Professor Hup's magic. Felix was truly skilled in this area...
Harry clearly knew his body was unharmed, but his mind was filled with completely opposite emotions.
He couldn't continue like this... I have to stop these feelings, or I'll go mad... Let me think, what is the most basic method of Occlumency? Calm down, empty your mind... Breathe... Breathe... It's so hard. Harry felt as if he had been thrown into a nest of Blast-Ended Skrewts, their larvae crawling all over him, their tails shooting sparks, making him itch and hurt...
I have to empty my mind... Empty my mind...
But why should I? Harry thought angrily. A sudden surge of intense anger broke through the magical constraints. He became aware of his surroundings—realizing he had stood up at some point, the magic book lying at his feet, and he was breathing heavily.
Professor Hup's voice came from behind the desk:
"If used well, anger can be a good tool. However, it's clear that anger is not an emotion that can be maintained for long. People aren't powder kegs, ready to explode at any moment, but... well done, you passed this time."
Harry didn't find much comfort in those words. He asked despondently, "Am I really that bad?"
Felix looked at him with understanding. "Occlumency is an extremely difficult spell. Many wizards never master it in their lifetimes. The best way to learn is to let your mind experience the feeling of being 'invaded' over and over again. Of course, it's hard to find the right balance, but I have some experience..."
Harry, of course, didn't know that the 'experience' Professor Hup referred to was invading other people's minds. This experience came from Felix's year of solitary travel, during which, with the 'help' of many Dark Wizards, he struggled to grasp the basics of Mind Chamber Magic.
Now, it seemed all his efforts were worth it. The magic had undergone a complete transformation.
Harry could only take Felix's words at face value. He sat down and thought for a moment, deciding to play a game of Exploding Snap with Waren to ease his tense emotions. However, when he found himself losing to Waren, his mood worsened.
This caused him to return to the common room with a sullen expression.
"Is that book really that scary?" Ron whispered, secretly handing Harry a bottle of Butterbeer. "Fred and George Weasley charged me five Sickles for their last stock from Hogsmeade!"
"Three Broomsticks only sells them for two Sickles", Harry said woodenly. He wasn't in a state to feel much sympathy for Ron. He took a sip of Butterbeer, and the thick foam invigorated him, making him feel like he had come back to life from the inside out.
“Let's talk about that book, Harry.” Ron stared into his eyes, urging him on.
“Um... you have to face a lot of terrible emotions and do your best to stop them from affecting you... It's just really scary. Professor said that if I can read the whole book in one go, it means I’ve mastered the basics of Occlumency, and that’s a significant achievement.” Harry spoke haltingly, taking the opportunity to finish his Butterbeer.
He looked regretfully at the empty bottle, wondering if he should find Fred and George Weasley. If he could have a warm Butterbeer after each practice session, it might not be so unbearable?
“Professor is right,” Hermione said from the side, looking up from a large book. “I’ve read the theory. Even those who have mastered Occlumency often can’t explain how they learned it; they usually learn it passively.”
“Passively?” Ron looked at her in confusion.
“By being invaded.” Harry repeated what Professor had told him to Ron. “The best way to learn is to let your mind experience the feeling of being ‘invaded’ over and over again.” He thought for a moment and added, “I guess it’s to make your mind more sensitive.”
Ron’s enthusiasm clearly waned.
“You want to learn this?” Harry asked, not quite understanding this idea. Ron chuckled awkwardly and stammered, “Isn’t this magic supposed to be difficult? I thought, if I learned it...”
“It would be very impressive,” Hermione finished his unspoken thought.
“Actually, there’s a simpler way. Professor mentioned it to me... Remember my Dementor Doll? Professor said it’s like a simplified magic book. If you want to try, I can lend it to you.” Harry suggested, the Doll currently locked in a box under his bed.
Ron was quite tempted, but after much thought, he gave up, mumbling on the table, “I think I’ll focus on the magic needed for the second project. Do you think I should learn the Bubble-Head Charm or the Extraction Charm first?”
“The Bubble-Head Charm is for older students,” Hermione reminded him.
“But the Protective Armor Spell isn’t easy either. I haven’t even met the prerequisites,” Ron groaned. “I feel like I’ll drown, Harry. I’ll be the first one to get eliminated.”
“Don’t think like that,” Fred’s voice suddenly appeared as he plopped down next to Ron, grinning. “Be optimistic. Maybe Ilvermorny will come in last again this time.”
“I suggest you practice swimming. It would be embarrassing to run out of energy halfway through,” George said with a grin.
“You reminded me,” Hermione said. “I was so focused on the magic part.” She pulled out a small notebook and wrote down George’s suggestion. Harry knew this was Hermione’s plan for the second project, which was already half-filled. He and Ron had never mustered the courage to read what she had written.
At that moment, Ron suddenly looked up, as if he had an idea, and stared blankly at Fred and George Weasley.
“Can you do the Bubble-Head Charm?” Ron asked straightforwardly.
“Oh... of course, it’s a must-have for pranks. We’ve learned from some hard lessons in the past...” Fred said with a wistful look.
“Teach me,” Ron said.
“What?” Fred and George Weasley exchanged glances.
“Teach me the Bubble-Head Charm,” Ron repeated.
Fred and George Weasley looked at each other, and Fred said, “Listen, we’re very busy. We have a dozen products to improve—”
“Alright,” Ron said cheerfully, then muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear, “I haven’t written home in a while. Mom must be worried about me, and she might know the Bubble-Head Charm. She could give me some pointers...”
Fred and George Weasley stared at Ron as if they were seeing him for the first time.
They exchanged rapid glances, and after a moment—Fred said exasperatedly, “Alright, you win, Ronnie.”
Ron smiled in triumph.
When they left, Ron was still basking in his victory, saying excitedly, “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while.”
“You mean...?” Harry said slowly, with a bad feeling in his gut.
“Beat them once!” Ron said loudly.
Harry fell silent. He didn’t think it was a good idea to coerce someone into helping you train. He had deep experience with this, having undergone special training himself—Professor Hup was already quite friendly, but he still found the days hard to endure. If Snape were teaching him, he could hardly imagine what he would go through.
He had a feeling that Fred and George Weasley would come up with all sorts of strange and bizarre ways to prank Ron, and the worst part was that Ron had delivered himself right to them.
But seeing Ron’s satisfied expression, Harry decided to keep his concerns to himself for now.
Late at night, as Harry lay in bed, tossing and turning, his ears filled with the snoring of Ron and Neville, he thought it might not be so bad to let Ron try. He could use this time to think of comforting words for him...
(End of Chapter)
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