Chapter 882: Training
Chapter 882: Training
“I accidentally let you slip away yesterday, but today you’re not getting away.” Albert had just finished breakfast and was about to head to the Room of Requirement when Fred, George, and Lee Jordan pushed him back down into his seat. After what happened yesterday, they wouldn't let Albert out of their sight, leaving the task of organizing the Wizarding Card competition to them.
“I have something important to do,” Albert said.
“I think it’s more important for you to stay here and oversee the Wizarding Card competition. Plus, you should take the time to meet with the club’s successor. Don’t you want the Wizarding Card Club to continue beyond our year?” Lee Jordan stared intently at Albert.
Currently, the popularity of Wizarding Cards was still closely tied to Albert. Once he graduated from Hogwarts, the club’s popularity would undoubtedly plummet. At that time, who else at the school would still play Wizarding Cards?
“Don’t worry, once I get the activity room set up, the Wizarding Card Club will definitely continue,” Albert said. He didn’t believe that the club would disappear with his graduation. As long as the club could organize competitions, bring joy to people, and serve as a great place to make friends, it would persist.
“Do you really intend to hand that book over to Professor McGonagall and then have her pass it on to the next successor?” Fred frowned and asked, “Is that really necessary?” “This way, we can ensure that the book won’t be lost or embezzled,” Albert said. He never minded assuming the worst about people, and he dared say that if it weren’t for this precaution, someone would definitely try to embezzle his book.
“What book?” Hannah asked curiously.
“It’s a magical book, and I haven’t come up with a name for it yet,” Albert introduced. “Once you open the book, you’ll enter a spacious activity room with enough space for everyone to play Wizarding Cards together.” “That sounds a bit like a fairy tale,” Angelina said, reluctant to believe that such a thing existed.
“Didn’t you see it last semester?” Fred reminded her.
“Last semester?” “The classroom Albert used was actually that book,” George explained.
“But didn’t you say that it was a secret room?” “A movable secret room,” Fred shrugged. “In a sense, Albert wasn’t wrong.”
“No wonder we couldn’t find the entrance to the room sometimes,” Alicia said admiringly of Albert’s proficiency in the Extension Charm, but she added a friendly reminder, “As far as I know, the Ministry of Magic strictly prohibits the use of the Extension Charm for personal purposes.” “What you call a strict prohibition is actually a rule that certain people deliberately had the Ministry establish to ensure their own monopoly,” Albert said calmly.
“How do you know that?” Alicia asked, her eyes widening.
“Is it that strange that Albert knows a few officials from the Ministry of Magic and is aware of some secrets that others don’t?” Fred countered. In any case, they didn’t find it strange at all.
In fact, their father had secretly used the Extension Charm on the family car before.
“That’s the guarantee we’re leaving for the Wizarding Card Club, and we can’t always play cards in the Great Hall. We need our own activity room where everyone can enjoy playing games,” Albert said.
“I agree with you,” Hannah said eagerly. “But when will you take out that book and show it to us?” “I believe everyone will be willing to help decorate the activity room for the Wizarding Card Club,” Albert said.
“Wait until the finals,” Albert said, intending to take out the book for a second test. He felt that it might come in handy next semester.
As Albert and his group discussed the future plans for the Wizarding Card Club, Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who had finished breakfast early, were making their way toward the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the school grounds.
As they passed Hagrid’s hut from a distance, they saw him talking to Madame Maxime from Beauxbatons. Not far from the Beauxbatons carriage, a stable was rising rapidly.
“Hagrid seems to like Madame Maxime,” Ron said to Hermione as he watched the two of them talking.
Harry and Hermione didn’t respond, and the three of them continued toward the Forbidden Forest. When they reached a spacious area, Hermione took out a piece of parchment from her pocket and turned to Harry. “Today, we’re going to learn the Eye-Dazzling Spell. Sirius thinks that if the first task involves a dragon, the Eye-Dazzling Spell will be a good choice. A dragon’s eyelids are one of their few weaknesses. Of course, angering a dragon isn’t a good idea.” “A dragon?” Ron couldn’t believe his ears.
“Is that strange?” Harry turned to Ron, his expressionless face saying, “It’s not easy to find magical creatures, and Albert thinks a dragon is a good choice. Of course, another option is the Acromantula. There are plenty of those in the Forbidden Forest.” “He might be mistaken,” Ron blurted out.
“Do you think the Triwizard Tournament had such a high mortality rate, eventually leading to its ban, for no reason?” Hermione glanced at Ron and said to Harry, “Most magical creatures have strong resistance to ordinary spells.” “The Stunning Spell won’t work on a dragon,” Ron reminded them. “It would take seven or eight experienced wizards to subdue a dragon.”
“Learning the Stunning Spell is for use against people, of course,” Sirius said as he and Lupin approached. “Don’t forget that whoever put your name in the Goblet of Fire will likely do something to you during the final task, according to Albert. We can’t let you go into battle without any combat experience, or you might not live to see the end of the Triwizard Tournament.” “Good morning, Sirius, and Remus,” Harry said with a smile, greeting Sirius.
“Good morning, Harry,” Sirius said. “Here, take this.” He took a wand out of his pocket and handed it to Harry. “Try it out and see if it works well.” “I have a wand?” Harry showed his wand to Sirius, not understanding why Sirius was giving him a new one.
“Of course I know you have your own wand, but you need to have a backup,” Sirius explained. “Most wizards lose their ability to fight back once they lose their wand. You need to have a spare.” “Sirius remembered Albert’s suggestion this morning and went to Mr. Ollivander early to buy this wand for you,” Lupin explained. “You probably don’t know that Albert has a lot of wands. He once told us that cherry wood wands are very suitable for duels and are also good for casting defensive spells.”
“Professor Lupin, what’s in the cage you’re holding?”
"Hermione's gaze fell on the cage that Lupin was holding.
'A stoat,' Lupin said, 'This is for Harry to practice the Eye-Dazzling Spell, but before that, Harry needs to master the spell first.' 'A stoat?' Ron couldn't help but snicker.
'Is there a problem?' Lupin asked, looking at Ron.
'No, I just remembered something interesting.' Ron curled his lips, recalling how Malfoy had once been turned into a stoat by Professor Moody.
If only this stoat were Malfoy, that would be fantastic! 'Let's go, enter the tent first, and let Remus teach you how to deal with those magical creatures.'
'What if the first task isn't about dealing with magical creatures?' Ron countered.
'I don't think Albert would lie to us.' Sirius was quite confident in Albert's divination.
'Did you ask Albert to divine the content of the first task?' Hermione blurted out, feeling that this was cheating.
'It's a fire dragon. Each champion will need to face a dragon.' Lupin took a deep breath and revealed the content of the first task to the trio, 'In fact, Albert guessed it right.' 'Sirius, there's really no need to waste money like this.' Harry looked at his godfather, feeling somewhat resentful about him spending money on Albert's divination.
'It's normal, Harry. Genuine seers have always charged high fees. Besides... never mind, you focus on mastering the Eye-Dazzling Spell first. After that, you'll need to practice other spells as well, and prepare several backup plans to ensure you get through the first task safely,' Sirius, unlike Harry, was quite willing to seek Albert's divination, feeling that spending some money to ensure Harry's safety was worth it.
'Thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do.' Harry hung his head in shame. If it weren't for Sirius' help, he wouldn't even know what to do, let alone participate in the first task and risk being burned to a crisp by a dragon?
The trio listened intently as Professor Lupin explained how to use the Eye-Dazzling Spell.
'Are we going to look for the giant as well?' Ron asked, as this was the reason he had come along.
'The giant? Oh, we need to train Harry's courage; it's important that he doesn't get scared stiff by the dragon.' Sirius took out a target and hung it on a tree, letting Harry practice aiming at it.
'Does Harry really need to face a dragon?' Hermione asked worriedly.
'Don't worry, Hermione, Harry will be fine. You should have confidence in him.' Lupin reassured them, 'By the way, have you started learning the Summoning Charm yet?' 'We've already mastered it.'
'Harry, how's your Summoning Charm?' Sirius called out to him.
'I haven't had the chance to master it yet,' Harry explained, although they had been taught the Summoning Charm in Charms class, he hadn't mastered it yet.
'Will there be a need to use the Summoning Charm?' Hermione asked curiously.
'Albert suggested that we play to Harry's strengths,' Lupin said with a smile.
'Harry's strengths?' Ron was puzzled.
'It's flying,' Hermione explained, 'Do you plan to have Harry use the Summoning Charm to summon fire crossbows?' 'Yes, if the Eye-Dazzling Spell doesn't work as expected, Harry can at least rely on the fire crossbows to continue fighting the dragon. I don't think they expect the champions to defeat a dragon. The champions probably just need to meet certain conditions, at least to ensure their own survival, and winning the competition isn't that important.'
'I'll take the time to teach Harry the Summoning Charm,' Hermione felt it necessary for Harry to understand the spell.
'That sounds like Albert's idea?' Ron looked at Lupin doubtfully, 'I remember Albert is also a good Seeker?' 'With Albert's abilities, these spells probably won't be of much use.' Lupin admired Albert's capabilities, as he had even thought of a backup plan for them.
As noon approached, Harry had initially mastered the Eye-Dazzling Spell. He tested the spell on the stoat and found that its power was too weak to inflict serious damage on a dragon or cause temporary blindness. Instead, it would directly enrage the dragon, putting Harry in a dire situation.
'Alright, Harry, let's go into the forest to find the Acromantula and train your courage!' 'Not the giant?' Ron directly sprayed the butterbeer he had just sipped back out.
'We did plan to look for the giant, but unfortunately, we couldn't find any giants nearby. Instead, we found the Acromantula's lair. Those giant spiders are also suitable for courage training.' Sirius said sternly.
'Um... I think my stomach hurts, I need to go back to the school first.' Ron's hand, which was holding the butterbeer, was trembling slightly.
Harry patted Ron's slightly trembling shoulder and smiled reassuringly, 'Don't worry, Ron. With Sirius and Remus here, we'll be fine.' 'If there's any danger, they'll use the Disillusionment Charm to take us away at the first sign of trouble,' Hermione added.
'But... giant spiders and dragons...' Ron really didn't want to deal with those giant spiders; it seemed like a losing proposition.
'Ron, don't underestimate the Acromantula. Since they're considered magical creatures, they must have unique abilities.' 'I'm not underestimating them.'
'Our goal is to catch one or two solitary Acromantulas for Harry to practice with, and then we can just use the Disillusionment Charm to leave.' Sirius explained his plan to the group.
'Why do I have to come along as well?' 'It will be a good experience for you too. Later, you can all use the Stunning Spell and Impediment Jinx together. I taught you those yesterday, didn't I?'
'So you had us learn those spells yesterday for this reason?' Harry realized.
'Um... I think I might just get in the way.' Ron suddenly felt embarrassed because he didn't know the Stunning Spell or the Impediment Jinx. He suddenly felt stupid for envying Harry's position as a champion, as it seemed that being a champion wasn't that easy either.
'It's fine, Ron. You can help us keep watch. To ensure our safety, we need someone to be alert for any surrounding dangers. You can use this.' Sirius took something out of his pocket.
'What is it?' Hermione asked curiously.
'It's a Dark Creature Detector, given to me by Albert. He said it can detect dark creatures nearby. The Acromantula is a group-based creature, so we need to be careful not to be surrounded and attacked by them,' Lupin explained to the group.
'Alright,' Ron said dryly, knowing that he couldn't escape his fate of dealing with those giant spiders.
(End of Chapter)
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