Chapter 479: The True Invisible Curse
Chapter 479: The True Invisible Curse
During lunch, Cedric eagerly inquired about Professor Moody's teaching style.
"It was fantastic!" exclaimed Mikkel, "I have a feeling that this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes will be much better than previous years. Even Lupin...of course, I'm not saying Professor Lupin is bad, but compared to the means of coping with curses, those dark magical creatures are a bit boring."
"Oh...I really want to see it now..."
Hearing Mikkel's description, Cedric felt a tingling sensation, but he had to wait until Friday for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. For now, he had to head outdoors for Herbology.
Cedric hurried out, and Kyle entered the classroom to organize his textbooks for the upcoming lessons.
When class began, Professor McGonagall rushed in.
Instead of starting the lesson immediately, she spent nearly fifteen minutes emphasizing the importance of the O.W.L. exams to the entire class.
"You must remember that this exam could impact your future for many years to come!" Professor McGonagall said sternly as she stood at the lectern, "But I believe that with dedication and effort, every student in this class has the ability to obtain an O.W.L. certificate in Transfiguration..."
First emphasizing the importance of the exam, then affirming the students' abilities...yes, this was typical of Professor McGonagall.
After fifteen minutes, she finally paused and picked up the textbook.
"Today's lesson is crucial," she began, "I want each of you to pay close attention as we will be learning one of the most challenging spells in the O.W.L. exams—the Disappearance Charm..."
She then demonstrated the charm by successfully making a snail vanish from the lectern.
"Aha..."
Before Professor McGonagall could continue, Mikkel suddenly let out a strange laugh, as if he had taken the wrong potion.
"Mr. Drake!"
Professor McGonagall said sternly, "If you find my words amusing..."
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, my apologies..." Mikkel quickly replied, still looking rather smug.
"It's just that in the last class, Professor Moody asked us to list Dark Arts, and I mentioned the Disappearance Charm, but he told me there was no such magic...Obviously, he was wrong, wasn't he?"
Being right about something over a professor, especially one as renowned as Moody, left Mikkel elated beyond words.
Professor McGonagall was perplexed, so she approached Kyle, who was sitting closest to her, to inquire about what had happened in the previous class.
A few minutes later, she stood up again and addressed Mikkel, "I apologize, Mr. Drake, but I believe Alastor was correct. The Disappearance Charm does not fall under Dark Arts."
"What?" Mikkel blurted out, "But what about the snail that just..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Professor McGonagall waved her wand again, and the snail that had disappeared reappeared on the lectern.
"First, you must understand why the Disappearance Charm belongs to Transfiguration," she explained, "It doesn't make objects vanish directly like the Cleaning Charm. Instead, it transforms them into a state of nothingness, which you can think of as an invisible ghost or air.
However, essentially, the object still exists. If you cast the corresponding counter-curse, such as the Restoring Charm or the Reversal Charm, you can undo the effect."
"Ah?" Mikkel stood there, his mouth agape.
"All right, sit down," Professor McGonagall waved her hand, "I won't deduct points this time, but next time, I expect you to be more rigorous and learn what constitutes Dark Arts.
Of course, this is something you should do in your free time, and don't ask me about it. Remember, this is Transfiguration class."
To be honest, his attention had been focused on cross-species transfiguration and multiple transformations lately, and with everything that had happened during the holidays, he hadn't really thought about the Disappearance Charm in Transfiguration.
Everyone began to try the charm, and Kyle picked up his wand, pointing it at the snail just as Professor McGonagall had demonstrated.
However, the snail didn't disappear directly; it turned from its original grayish-brown to a grayish-white. It was only after Kyle waved his wand again that the snail vanished completely.
It took two attempts to succeed, and Kyle felt that the difficulty of the Disappearance Charm was almost comparable to that of a transformation spell cast five times or more.
Professor McGonagall, who had been standing by the students since they started practicing, nodded in satisfaction when she saw this.
"Very good, someone has already mastered it!"
Her loud exclamation caught the attention of the entire class.
"As a reward, ten points to Gryffindor!"
There wasn't an overly surprised reaction in the classroom. When everyone heard it was Gryffindor and saw Kyle standing next to her, they all nonchalantly lowered their heads again, accustomed to such occurrences after five years of being classmates with Kyle.
Professor McGonagall didn't say anything further and proceeded to move on to observe other students after awarding the points.
"Professor McGonagall, I have a question!" Kyle suddenly called out to her.
"What is it?" Professor McGonagall turned around.
Kyle thought for a moment and asked, "Can the Disappearance Charm be used on oneself?"
Ever since Professor McGonagall explained the principle of the Disappearance Charm, this question had been on his mind.
Turning an object into nothingness without truly making it disappear—this was the true invisibility spell.
In other words, if he could cast the Disappearance Charm on himself, he would be able to move about freely without being detected almost anywhere.
Unless the opponent used a wide-range 'All-Ending Spell', neither the Killing Curse nor the Blasting Curse, Dementors, nor even a dragon, would be able to affect him in any way.
More importantly, this charm had no time limit; he could remain invisible for as long as he wanted.
This was like another form of invincibility, and Kyle found it hard to suppress his excitement.
"Oh?" Professor McGonagall looked at him, her eyes sparkling with interest.
"When I first came across the Disappearance Charm, I had the same thought as you." She said, "Theoretically... it is possible, but it is extremely difficult and far beyond your imagination. Even I cannot accomplish it."
"You can't, Professor?" Kyle frowned, "Is it that hard?"
"The difficulty of the Disappearance Charm varies depending on the complexity of the object." Professor McGonagall explained in a soft voice, "Snails and caterpillars are the simplest, but even so, most people need a long time to learn and practice. By Christmas or even the Easter holidays, they might progress to making a mouse disappear.
And by the seventh year, if one can make a crested lizard vanish, they can easily obtain an N.E.W.T. in Transfiguration.
Additionally, a wizard's magical power will also greatly affect the Disappearance Charm, especially when casting it on oneself. The stronger the magical power, the greater the influence.
This is because our bodies will subconsciously reject this type of transformation, and it is uncontrollable."
"So, is it impossible for us to use the Disappearance Charm on ourselves no matter what?" Kyle asked, his brow furrowed.
Humans were far more complex than crested lizards, so one could imagine that to cast the Disappearance Charm on oneself, one would need to have a sufficient amount of magical power as a foundation.
But correspondingly, this magical power would also influence the Disappearance Charm, requiring even more magical power to counter the effect, creating a seemingly insurmountable cycle.
"No, it is still possible, I just haven't succeeded yet." Professor McGonagall smiled, "But I sincerely hope that you will be able to achieve it."
...
(End of Chapter)
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