Chapter 717: Snape's Double Standards
Chapter 717: Snape's Double Standards
Kyle and Connor hurried to class, having lost some time chatting, and finally arrived just before the lesson began.
Snape was already there, standing at the front of the classroom, his eyes scrutinizing the two late arrivals.
To be honest, ever since he found out a few days ago that Connor had sneaked back from France, Snape had been in a foul mood.
But what could he do? When he first heard that Connor had been sent back, he stormed into the headmaster's office, ready to give someone a piece of his mind.
However, when he saw Nicolas Flamel, his white hair and trembling gait, his anger melted away. Not only did he not utter a harsh word, but he also thanked the man profusely and saw him out of the school.
What choice did he have? Even if he ignored Flamel's reputation, the man's age alone demanded respect—over six hundred years old! One strong gust of wind might be enough to blow him over.
What if he accidentally scared the old man and made him ill?
So Snape endured it and politely saw Flamel out of the school.
But that didn't mean the matter was closed.
Snape was well aware that Connor's return from France had a lot to do with Kyle, and now that the two were together again, he couldn't help but show his displeasure.
"What are you two staring at?" Snape said coldly, as if addressing a potion ingredient that had somehow escaped its jar. "If you're late, hurry up and take your seats. Do I need to invite you to sit down?"
"Yes, Professor," Kyle said, quickly pulling Connor to the seats at the very back of the class.
This made Snape's expression even darker.
But Kyle was unfazed and even raised an eyebrow in a slightly provocative manner.
In that moment, Snape wished, for the first time, that he was a pure Death Eater with no connection to Dumbledore... so that he could use the Sectumsempra curse on Kyle without hesitation.
Of course, this was just Snape's perspective.
In reality, Kyle was merely observing the classroom, surprised at how quickly Snape had made the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom his own.
All the windows were covered, and with thick curtains no less, leaving the room dimly lit by candlelight.
The walls were adorned with images of people being tortured by Dark Magic, gruesome wounds, and bizarrely twisted body parts.
These images corresponded to the various potion ingredients stored in jars and bottles in the underground classroom—a truly macabre display.
"Before we begin the lesson, I have something to say, and I want you to pay close attention and remember it well."
Snape stopped looking at Kyle, as if trying to ignore his presence. He turned his head and said, "So far, you've had six, or perhaps seven, teachers for this class."
Snape was referring to Tonks. Since Umbridge left the school, she had been filling in, but she herself refused to acknowledge her role as a teacher.
"Needless to say, each of these teachers has their own style and focus," Snape said slowly as he strolled down from the podium. "But as far as I know, none of them have taught you what to do when faced with real Dark Magic."
"Professor Moody taught us," a voice piped up from the crowd.
"So, Mr. Drake, you believe you've already witnessed true Dark Magic, is that it?" Snape spun around, his voice sharp. "Or do you think you can easily defeat Death Eaters and don't need to waste your time in my class?"
Mikey immediately lowered his head and fell silent.
"Five points from Hufflepuff," Snape said calmly. "Remember, from now on, you must raise your hand before answering a question in my class."
"Alastor Moody, as a professor, was indeed competent, and he did request from the headmaster the opportunity to let you experience real Dark Magic."
Snape continued, "But as far as I know, the headmaster denied his request because you were not yet of age and it was deemed inappropriate for you to be exposed to Dark Magic at such a young age."
A murmur spread through the classroom as some students recalled that Professor Moody had mentioned something similar—that Professor Dumbledore had not agreed to him demonstrating Dark Magic to the students in class.
"But things are different now," Snape said, raising his voice slightly. "You are now in your seventh year, and the situation has changed unexpectedly..."
"Whether you like it or not, you must face the threats posed by Dark Magic. You need to learn how to resist the Killing Curse and how to deal with a Dementor, which can give you a 'kiss' at any time."
"Professor!" A girl raised her hand. "But aren't the Dementors gone?"
"No," Snape said. "While the Ministry's actions have curbed the Dementors' boldness, they have not been completely eradicated. There are far more of those creatures than you imagine."
He circled around to the other side of the classroom, heading back toward the podium. As he turned, he glanced intentionally or unintentionally in Kyle's direction.
"Perhaps I should let you experience one of the Unforgivable Curses firsthand," Snape said. "That will give you a clearer understanding of what Death Eaters are capable of.
"Oh, and as seventh-year students, I assume I don't need to remind you what the Unforgivable Curses are, do I? Does anyone here not know?"
Kyle was surprised that Snape had suddenly addressed him by name. Seeing the meaningful smile on Snape's face, he felt a bit apprehensive.
Could he really be planning to use the Cruciatus Curse on him, right here in class?
"So, will you help me?" Snape asked quietly.
"But, Professor..." Connor started to sound anxious, but before she could finish, Kyle cut in.
"Of course, I will." Kyle said, "But Professor, can I use the Protego spell to resist? As you know, when facing a Death Eater, no one would just stand there and do nothing."
"Oh, what are you talking about?" Snape's tone turned slightly higher. "I meant, could you pull open the curtains for me so that your classmates can see more clearly.
"You don't think I was actually going to use the Cruciatus Curse on you, do you? You should know that in any situation, using the Cruciatus Curse on another person is a serious violation of the Wizarding Law.
"For that dangerous thought, ten points from Gryffindor!"
Seeing Snape's smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Kyle's mouth twitched.
It was intentional. Snape had definitely done it on purpose.
It was just a curtain, something Snape could have opened with a flick of his finger. There was no need for assistance, and yet his demeanor and tone had clearly suggested that he was about to cast the Cruciatus Curse.
"Why are you still standing there?" Snape said again. "I don't want to repeat myself."
"Of course, Professor." Kyle said calmly. He walked to the window as if nothing was amiss, opened the curtains, and then returned to his seat.
The classroom instantly became brighter.
Snape casually extinguished the candles and then took a mouse out from under his cloak and threw it onto the ground.
Before anyone could react...
"Crucio!"
Immediately, the mouse's body curled up into a ball, its limbs pressed tightly against its body. It flipped over, its body convulsing violently as its piercing squeaks sent shivers down everyone's spines.
From this mouse, everyone clearly felt... pain.
Some of the girls turned away, unable to bear the sight.
Snape waved his wand again and softly said, "Avada Kedavra!"
With a flash of dazzling green light, the mouse lay still, without a single mark on its body, but it was undoubtedly dead.
"The Killing Curse... or the Death Curse."
"It's quite unpleasant, isn't it?" Snape said nonchalantly. "But I must say, this is probably the spell you will encounter the most going forward. As you can see, it can end all life, so if you don't want to die, you must find a way to dodge this curse."
"Also, don't think about resisting." Snape glanced at Kyle again. "When faced with the Killing Curse, Protego is useless."
Snape waved his hand, and the mouse on the floor disappeared.
But the atmosphere in the room did not disappear with it. The classroom was eerily quiet, everyone's minds still filled with the intermittent squeaks and the image of the motionless mouse lying on the floor.
Until...
"Why are you all standing there?" Snape shouted. "Why aren't you taking notes!"
Everyone snapped back to attention and began searching for their quills and parchment, hurriedly recording Snape's words.
"Some of you may be wondering," Snape continued as everyone focused on taking notes, "why there are three Unforgivable Curses, but I've only demonstrated two? That's because the Imperius Curse is the only one of the three that can be resisted through one's own abilities. You can completely rely on your willpower to break free from its control, although it is very difficult."
"What should we do?" someone asked, raising their hand.
"I will teach you." Snape said, "But not now. Before that, you must prepare yourselves to learn another spell.
"Take out your quills now and carefully write down every word I say."
Everyone immediately sprang into action.
"I require you to relax your brains and stop your habit of overthinking." Snape said, "Especially before bed, do not think about anything unnecessary."
When Snape mentioned relaxing their brains, Kyle already knew what he was about to teach—it had to be the Mind-Shutting Spell... the most effective way to resist the Imperius Curse.
But the Mind-Shutting Spell wasn't easy to learn. Take Harry, for example—with one-on-one lessons from Snape in the early stages and around-the-clock supervision from the cat-patronus later on, it had still taken him nearly half a month to just get a grasp of it.
Usually, few professors would proactively teach such a troublesome spell.
Credit where credit was due, in his role as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Snape was quite competent... If only he could get rid of his habit of targeting Kyle, the latter wouldn't mind admitting that he was an excellent teacher.
By the time Snape finished speaking, half the class had already passed.
The Mind-Shutting Spell was not something that could be mastered overnight, and even clearing one's mind was a challenging task. So, Snape didn't intend to waste class time on it and instead instructed the students to practice and attempt it after class.
In the remaining half of the class, he checked everyone's performance in using basic Dark Magic defense spells: the Disarming Charm, the Iron Armor Charm, and the Swiftness Charm, taking turns to test each student.
Snape had assumed the results would be dismal, given that the students had a new professor every year, but to his surprise, the outcome was quite the opposite. At least half of the students could cast the spells proficiently.
Initially, Snape thought it might be a coincidence, but when he increased the difficulty and checked again, he found that most of them had indeed mastered these three spells.
"What a pleasant surprise," Snape thought to himself.
However, what he didn't know was that most of the Hufflepuffs had attended last year's DA gathering, and the three spells he tested them on were the ones Cedric had specifically focused on teaching.
It was a shame that Cedric had graduated this year, and with Umbridge's departure, the DA had not reconvened. Otherwise, they would have liked to continue participating.
After class, the students gathered in the corridor, speculating about how Snape would teach them to defend against the Killing Curse.
A small group, however, had already guessed the answer.
"Of course, I know it's the Mind-Shutting Spell," Connor said as she walked alongside Kyle towards the Great Hall. "After all, aside from that, what else could it be that requires an empty mind?"
Kyle thought about it carefully, and indeed, he couldn't think of anything else.
So, anyone who knew about the Mind-Shutting Spell beforehand could easily guess Snape's plan.
"Do you need any help?" Kyle asked.
He was thinking that he could ask the Cat Patronus for assistance and hold a special session for Connor in the Room of Requirement.
Kyle even had a plan to ask the Cat Patronus to be gentler or perhaps write another letter to Newt to inquire about any newborn Cat Patronus cubs.
The tiny furballs only possessed innate Legilimency at that age and were too weak to cause any real harm, making them perfect for private tutoring sessions.
"No, I'm good," Connor smiled and shook her head. "Actually, since last Christmas, I've been learning the Mind-Shutting Spell. Professor Snape even gave me a detailed plan."
"Look..." She handed Kyle a booklet made of parchment.
The front part of the booklet contained the process and precautions for learning the Mind-Shutting Spell, and it was very detailed, probably a summary from numerous related books.
A portion of it was exactly what Snape had mentioned in class.
The latter part detailed the specific steps to truly empty one's mind and the potions to assist in the process, all explained clearly.
Among the seven potions listed by Snape, Kyle even spotted the Felix Felicis... Although it was only a single drop mixed into a ten-day dose of Dreamless Sleep Potion, to be consumed once every three months, it was still quite shocking. After all, Felix Felicis was usually taken by the drop.
Kyle returned the booklet to Connor and whispered, "If he had been this diligent in teaching Harry, they wouldn't have almost come to blows."
"What did you say?" Connor asked, as her voice was too soft for him to hear.
"Nothing," Kyle shook his head and changed the subject. "So, does that mean you've already learned the Mind-Shutting Spell?"
"I don't know," Connor shook her head. "But before the holidays, I no longer needed to take the Dreamless Sleep Potion... I think I should have mastered it by now."
Kyle felt that she could definitely remove the word 'should' from her sentence.
Following the content of the booklet and with the assistance of Snape's luxurious potion package, not only Connor but even Neville would have been able to learn the Mind-Shutting Spell.
Out of curiosity, Kyle suggested a test, and Connor agreed. After all, she also wanted to know how well she had learned it.
After lunch, the two of them went to the Room of Requirement.
Connor stood there, a bit nervous, while the Cat Patronus stared at her with its azure eyes, unblinking.
About a minute later, the Cat Patronus shook its head slightly and then jumped back into its box.
Although Kyle had already guessed that Connor had mastered the Mind-Shutting Spell, he still found it a bit unbelievable.
After all, Harry was just at this level.
While Connor had taken nearly ten months, much slower than Harry, her process had been smooth, and she had learned it without any significant setbacks.
If Harry had a choice, Kyle was sure he would never choose to scream in the basement of 12 Grimmauld Place for over half a month.
Even Kyle himself felt a bit envious. He hadn't had such a smooth experience when learning the Mind-Shutting Spell.
...
(End of Chapter)
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