Chapter 857: A Surprising Discovery
Chapter 857: A Surprising Discovery
On their way to the Great Hall, Albert chatted with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan about what had transpired in their Dark Arts Defense class. He noticed that the trio had suspicions about whether Professor Moody was an imposter or not.
Albert, however, was not surprised. Professor Moody's lectures were infused with his personal experiences, and only someone who had been an Auror like him would be able to teach them such practical tips on combating Dark Wizards.
Albert refrained from offering his opinion on the matter, feeling that Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were taking certain things for granted.
After all, whoever was impersonating Professor Moody was risking their life to infiltrate Hogwarts as an undercover agent, not to deliver Dumbledore to Voldemort on a silver platter. How could they possibly expect this person to be easily unmasked?
If Albert hadn't known better, he doubted he would have seen through Moody's disguise.
It was a pity that he knew everything, while Moody, or rather, Barty Crouch Jr., knew nothing.
He was unaware that someone knew all his secrets, all the little habits and mannerisms he had painstakingly learned from the real Moody, all his efforts to perfect his impersonation, only to be seen through by someone who had prior knowledge. What a tragic tale.
Soon, the conversation turned to wandless magic, and the group couldn't help but admire Albert's sleek wandless spellcasting.
There was no denying that Albert had captivated them all when he casually flicked away a curse with his hand.
Although the trio had witnessed similar feats from Albert before, he had been wearing a defensive ring that aided him with magical artifacts. This time, however, Albert had undeniably cast a wandless spell.
"Actually, Professor Moody is not entirely correct when he says that wandless magic is a technique only mastered by highly skilled wizards," Albert said to the group.
"Can you teach us?" Fred asked eagerly, his eyes shining with anticipation.
"Teach what?" A voice interrupted as Hannah Abbott approached with a tray of food. "Are you continuing with the Defense Association?"
"No, I don't have the time or the need. Professor Moody can teach you a lot of useful things. The experiences of an old Auror are invaluable," Albert replied with a smile.
As Albert spoke about the veteran Auror, George's expression turned peculiar.
"Learning wandless magic requires a lot of effort. Generally, I'd recommend starting with non-verbal spells first. They are more practical, and I believe Professor Moody will likely teach us how to master them this year," Albert said as he found a seat to join the others for the meal.
"I've heard that non-verbal spells are extremely difficult to master," Angelina commented again. "So, you're not going to hold the Defense Association anymore? I feel like Professor Moody might not teach us very practical spells, even though his stories are fascinating. I prefer the feeling of practicing magic together in the Defense Association."
"You can organize your own gatherings and train your magic," Albert replied without hesitation. "I can also recommend some useful books for you."
"Never mind, it won't be the same without you. We know that the reason so many people joined the Defense Association was because of your personal charm and leadership, Albert," Angelina said, acknowledging the reality of the situation.
"I recently came across an interesting magazine," Alicia interjected, pulling out a copy of the "Defense Guide" published by Sirius Black.
Noticing the silence that had fallen upon Fred and the others, Alicia asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, we've already read this magazine, and it's pretty good," George replied, clearing his throat slightly after receiving a warning glance from Albert. He quickly changed the subject, "You've distracted us from the original topic. Albert was about to teach us how to perform wandless magic."
The girls also showed interest, their eyes fixed on Albert.
"Wandless magic is difficult to perform and can lead to unintended consequences if not executed accurately. However, it's not that complicated," Albert explained, raising his left index finger, from which a faint light emanated. "The trick is to cast spells without a wand. At first, it might feel like you're... holding your breath."
He chose to compare it to holding one's breath instead of constipation to avoid ruining everyone's appetite during the meal.
"Pfft!"
Lee Jordan nearly spat out his food, but he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, preventing an unfortunate accident.
"Are you sure that's how it's done?"
"It's similar to practicing non-verbal spells, just more challenging. Since you're not relying on a wand, it's harder to succeed at first. It requires a strong will and a certain level of magical power. It's a bit like when your magic goes out of control, like this." As he spoke, Albert picked up a spoon and focused his attention on it.
To everyone's amazement, the spoon seemed to be warped by an invisible force, twisting it into a lump of scrap metal.
"Is that wandless magic?" The group stared wide-eyed, certain that Albert had not used his wand this time.
"Sort of. You could also call it a magical outburst. Remember when Potter accidentally inflated his aunt last year?" Albert waved his wand, restoring the spoon to its original shape.
"Wandless magic is about controlling your magical power to cast spells intentionally, without the aid of a wand. I'm not making this up," Albert assured them, offering an example. "Most of Voldemort's students know how to use wandless magic."
"How is that possible? How do they do it?" Angelina asked, incredulous.
"They can easily use wandless magic because they've been casting spells without wands since they were young, so it's become second nature to them," Albert explained. "The downside is that it's difficult to perform advanced magic without a wand. The advantage, however, is that even if you don't have your wand, you can still do things, and you don't have to worry about leaving incriminating evidence if you do something wrong."
"I remember you mentioning last semester that during the Magic School Potions Championship, you were ambushed by a student from Voldemort," Fred recalled.
"That's one of their favorite tricks. They like to attack students from other schools when they're gathering potion ingredients, taking the opportunity to eliminate their competition. Since they don't use wands, they don't leave any evidence, and there's no risk of getting caught by the organizers," Albert explained.
"What happened then?" Hannah asked curiously.
"Of course, I knocked that jerk out," Albert shrugged. "That's when I realized that Hogwarts' Dark Arts Defense program is one of the worst among the dozen or so magic schools, and it's notoriously bad."
"That guy must've been unlucky to run into you," George laughed. "But hearing you talk about it, wandless magic does seem very convenient and perfect for ambushing people."
As wizards often don't expect their opponents to be wandless, they may not be on their guard."
"That's because the general perception is that wandless magic is a technique only mastered by highly skilled wizards," Albert understood their doubts; it was similar to how Muggles felt about guns.
In fact, this was indeed the case in Britain, or at least among the British wizarding community, where only a small number of wizards were likely capable of performing wandless magic.
"If we want to master wandless magic, how long would it take?"
"If you want to get a basic grasp of it, the slowest it would take is about half a year. If you diligently practice the Lumos spell during that time, you'll definitely be able to cast it without a wand. Once you've mastered that, it will be much easier to learn other wandless spells since you'll have experience in casting magic without a wand," Albert replied after a moment's thought. He believed that with consistent effort and at their current age, anyone who wasn't a Squib should be able to achieve this.
"Half a year to cast Lumos without a wand?"
The group exchanged glances, and soon fell silent. They couldn't afford to spend that much time and effort just to master a simple spell like Lumos.
"It's normal," Albert explained. "Learning wandless magic is like learning a second language; it's much harder than your native tongue."
"I didn't see you struggling that much when you were learning a foreign language," George teased.
Albert wasn't lying. While his proficiency in wandless magic was largely due to his system's abilities, it didn't mean he was clueless about how to train in it. Taking that first step was always the hardest part, which was why he estimated it would take half a year.
"Forget it, I'd rather spend that time and energy on developing prank items. We're currently working on an upgraded version of our fake wands!" George gave up on the idea altogether.
"What's that?"
"It's a fake wand that turns into something else when a wizard tries to cast a spell with it. Imagine the hilarity of two people dueling, only to find themselves holding a fish or a chicken," Fred explained to the three girls.
It would indeed be quite a prank if they could secretly swap a wizard's wand with one of these fake wands, only for them to discover the surprise when they needed to cast a spell.
"We're creating an enhanced version of the fake wand that will physically punish the unsuspecting user," George elaborated.
"That sounds interesting," Lee Jordan commented.
"It would be great if it could give the user a good thrashing," Albert suggested.
"Won't that be a bit too harsh?" Fred asked, his mouth twitching slightly.
"It will come in handy soon, and you can make different versions and sell them at various prices," Albert continued, an idea forming in his mind. "You could also create interesting surprises and put them in gachapon machines, letting customers choose randomly. Each surprise egg could contain different prizes and experiences.
For example, when opened, the egg could release a disgusting stench that knocks people out, or it could beat them up, dye and spike their hair, or even explode like fireworks.
Of course, there should also be valuable prizes, similar to how Chocolate Frogs come with collectible cards. But no one knows what surprise they'll get until they open the egg."
"That's a brilliant idea! We can call them 'Surprise Eggs'. I think they'd make great birthday and Christmas gifts, and the element of surprise will definitely appeal to kids," George exclaimed, immediately taking out his notebook to jot down the idea.
"I don't think anyone would like to receive such a gift," Alicia interjected.
Just then, a loud "bang" echoed from the entrance hall, followed by a startled scream. The students dining and chatting in the Great Hall turned their heads curiously toward the entrance, wondering what had happened.
Being a gossip enthusiast, Lee Jordan seized the opportunity and rushed off, abandoning his half-eaten dinner.
Soon after, they heard Professor Moody's voice from the entrance hall: "Don't touch it."
"It seems something interesting is happening in the entrance hall," Albert remarked, before turning back to his meal, unfazed.
"Aren't you going to check it out?" Fred asked, putting down his fork and preparing to join the growing crowd gathering near the entrance.
"Aren't you curious?" Hannah added.
"Curiosity killed the cat," Albert replied nonchalantly. "Besides, Lee Jordan will fill us in on the details when he returns."
Finishing his plate of beef stew, Albert listened to Lee Jordan's brief description of the scene: "Professor Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret and made him bounce around in mid-air, apparently to punish him for attempting to ambush Harry from behind."
Fred and George had also gone to investigate, and they saw Professor Moody gripping Malfoy's arm and dragging him toward the dungeons, presumably to see Snape.
Snape's expression must have been priceless.
"Professor Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret and made him bounce around in mid-air?" Albert asked, setting down his fork.
"Yeah, I think Professor Moody dislikes Malfoy," Lee Jordan muttered. "Usually, professors don't punish students like that. Professor McGonagall happened to pass by and stopped him."
"Moody hates ambushes," Fred reminded them, recalling the lesson from earlier.
"I think there's another reason," George said quietly. "Remember the chaos at the Quidditch World Cup? Many believed it was Death Eaters causing trouble, and most Death Eaters are pure-blood wizards. There aren't that many pure-blood families in the British wizarding community, so a lot of people suspect that Lucius Malfoy was behind the riot."
"Is there any evidence?" Alicia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lucius Malfoy was once accused when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named lost power, but he pretended to have been under the Imperius Curse and got away with it," Albert continued George's train of thought. "Some of my friends also believe he was one of the Death Eaters who slipped through the net, and Professor Moody, being hostile toward Dark Wizards, naturally dislikes the presumed heir of a suspected Death Eater family, especially after Malfoy's attempt to ambush Harry."
Albert, of course, knew all too well why Barty Crouch Jr. despised Malfoy.
"But why did they flee when they saw the Dark Mark?"
"They were probably not the same group, and Death Eaters are different from drunk wizards causing a ruckus. Only Death Eaters know how to cast the Dark Mark, and doing so would draw the attention of the Ministry," Albert explained.
The incident quickly became a hot topic among the students. Not just their group, but everyone around them eagerly discussed what had just transpired, and Malfoy's transformation into a ferret was soon the latest gossip at Hogwarts.
(End of Chapter)
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