Chapter 104
The center of the Great Hall, hundreds of candles burning, the weather on the ceiling is like black velvet, not a single star in sight.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood in the middle of the Gryffindor group, whispering to each other.
“Harry, did you finish your form?” Hermione asked him.
“Almost,” Harry said vaguely, honestly only a half of the way through his form.
Half a month ago, after the last dueling class, Hermione told him that the sparks released from the tip of the wand were a sign that the disarming charm is about to succeed, so when he returned to the common room, he couldn’t resist dragging Ron to practice with him for half an hour.
Originally with no success, sleepy Ron then acts like Malfoy, and Snape too.
As a result, he managed to use the disarming Charm.
The next day learning the news, Hermione was very envious of this, “Harry, you’re a genius! I dare say, no one of our age can do this.”
Harry said with some embarrassment, “I have some special feeling about this spell.”
The little witch picked up a piece of paper from her book bag, “Let’s go over the evaluation criteria given by Professor Hap.”
Harry was dumbfounded at his spot: ” Hey, Hermione, I still didn’t get a chance to read it …”
…
In the Great Hall.
Ron couldn’t help but interject: “Harry’s Disarming Charm has become very proficient and can succeed eight or nine times out of ten, unlike me …” he suddenly grimaced: “Once or twice out of ten.”
Hermione took out the parchment from her robe, and the table on top was filled with a lot of data. She said with some anxiety, “I can use it, but this, this, and this standard, are only just up to the mark, in the case that I wake up suddenly one day can I be able to cast it immediately?”
Listening on the side for half the time, Neville humbly asked Hermione for advice: “Hermione, if the form is filled, still have not mastered the spell, what can I do?”
Hermione: “Uh …” froze for a while, she said uncertainly: “Have you tried the Decomposed Method?”
“Of course, I tried it, but I failed two-thirds of the steps …” Neville’s round little face scrunched up into a frown and said pitifully, “I’m so stupid, maybe Professor Snape is right. ”
“Don’t be disappointed, Neville. I can help you sort out the parts you’re not good at.” Hermione said.
“Thanks, thank you, Hermione.”
Harry reassured him as well, “Neville, we can practice together.”
“That’s right, don’t care about what Snape says, your herbology class grade is excellent,” Ron said. “Neville, believe in yourself, you’re an unpolished gem that will shine one day.”
Frankly, after Lockhart’s trial, he is now speaking kind words without fluttering a word.
Neville’s face quickly turned red, and even a bit flattered.
He said, somewhat embarrassed and fluttered manner, “I just like to fiddle with flowers and plants, and Grandma has a lot of flowers that I tend during the holidays.”
“You see, that’s what’s so great about you.” Harry encouraged him.
On the other hand, Felix stood at the entrance of the Great Hall, waiting for the other professor’s arrival.
Professor Flitwick is the first to come, having changed his usual wizard robe and wearing a close-fitting men’s gown, with his hair processed in a very ironed manner.
“Filius, you look marvellous tonight.” Felix praised.
Filius is in a good mood, “Thank you, Felix. This is what I wore when I won the dueling championship.”
The two men casually chatted and walked forward a little.
“Felix, have you made any progress on that magic research?”
“It just barely works a little, but to be honest, it’s so fragmented that I can even say that it’s a simplified spell mixed with ancient thoughts about magic …”
“Ahem! Felix, there’s no way, very few ancient magic can be passed down intact.”
The two discussed the feasibility of restoring that ancient magic, but it’s difficult to cook without Ingredients even for a clever woman, they had too little information at hand, and there’s simply no common research ideology in the wizarding community.
Felix did feel that if he mastered enough runes, one day, it would be very easy to recover this magic.
I just don’t know how many years it would take.
He had silently lowered the priority of this matter and ready to let nature take its course.
Soon, Professor McGonagall and Snape came together, perhaps because Felix’s gaze was too obvious, and Snape couldn’t help but jab him. “What’s going through your head, Felix?”
“Nothing, I just thought that you would have counted the time to come,” Felix said with some embarrassment.
All the four professors are present, so Felix gets right to the point: “My idea for this dueling class is to demonstrate. The four of us will each present the best part of our own take on dueling.”
“In the subsequent lessons, I will invite professors separately in phases, so that you can fully illustrate your points.”
Filius is the first to state, “Of course, no problem.”
The others also had no objection.
So when the four professors appeared in the Great Hall and walked up to the gilded ring at the same time, the young wizards had shocked expressions on their faces.
Ron groaned, “What day is it?”
The crowd exploded with excitement as hundreds of students buzzed around the stage, and the little Ravenclaw and Gryffindor wizards erupted in dramatic applause, welcoming their House’s Head.
“How come I can’ see Professor Sprout?” A young second-year Hufflepuff wizard asked.
“Ernie, Ms. Sprout wouldn’t care about this …,” a senior student said.
The other three professors had a tacit agreement not to speak up and looked at Felix at the same time.
Felix stepped forward, imbuing his voice into a loud tone, and started to speak, “I’m honored that we have Professors McGonagall and Flitwick here today, and they are not shy about showing you more possibilities for dueling. Cheer them up, little wizards!”
The crowd thundered with applause as if they were celebrating a holiday, and Harry’s palms were red from clapping.
” Do you guys think that Snape doesn’t want to do this anymore?”
“Although I think it’s you who think too much, that’s a brilliant notion!”
Next, after some shouting, Professor McGonagall remained in the ring, and the other three retreated offstage.
Flitwick drew out a handkerchief, turned it into a high stool, and stood on it by himself.
Professor McGonagall’s hands clasped together, she looked at everyone with a serious expression, and the crowd gradually quieted down.
Everyone is curious about what she would say, after all, in their hearts, transfiguration has little to do with dueling.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and looked at all the students calmly and said, ” Transfiguration is a profound magic branch, it can do many unfathomable things, and in this regard, the most skilled person I know is your Headmaster Dumbledore.”
“That’s new,” Ron muttered off-stage. “Don’t tell me that he defeated the Dark Lord with Transfiguration.”
“Of course, that would require a high level of Magical power to support it, and it would be difficult for you to do that.” McGonagall said, “The importance of Transfiguration for you guys is not the strength of the magic power, but the way to enrich your skills.”
“The core of Transfiguration is to change, to change as you wish.”
Professor McGonagall drew her wand and raised her arm straight up, and a chair stacked in the corner flew over.
The chair turned into a big black cat in midair, it landed on the ground with agility and dexterity, and with the command from Professor McGonagall’s wand, the big cat circled around her in a quick loop.
The next second, it suddenly leaped up, its body quickly expanded, transforming into a mighty lion, golden mane reflecting a fine light.