The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 178 Guidance
The sky was gray and seemed a bit depressing. Not only was the weather bad, but the ground was also very muddy.

Several days of rain had created many puddles on the school ground. Ada had to be careful when walking on the road to avoid getting her shoes and robe corners stained with mud.

After breakfast, Ada set off for the Forbidden Forest. The time agreed between Dumbledore and her was 8:30 in the morning, but she didn't want to keep Dumbledore waiting, so she left the castle early.

Even so, Dumbledore arrived earlier than her, and Ada saw the headmaster's back from a distance.

Ada ran over quickly. It was very rude to ask an elder to wait for her, and Ada was a polite person in most cases. She said to Dumbledore who was waiting at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, "I'm sorry, Professor, I'm late."

"No, it's not the time we agreed on yet. I came early." Dumbledore turned and looked at her and said, "I just wanted to breathe the fresh air in the Forbidden Forest, but since you are here, let's start early. This way we can catch the Quidditch game later."

After that, Dumbledore took Ida into the Forbidden Forest. Ida asked, "Are you going to watch the game today too? Is it because of what Quirrell did before?"

Dumbledore rarely went to the stadium to watch the game. He was the greatest wizard in the magic world and he had a lot of things to do. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was very busy. Ada did not think that Dumbledore just wanted to enjoy the game. He must have his purpose.

"You can say that, but it's not quite what you think." Dumbledore, who was walking in front, said, "First of all, I won't allow anyone to hurt my students. Secondly, this is to stimulate Quirrell and make him realize that I doubt him."

Quirrell failed to assassinate Harry last time, and it was hard to say whether he would do the same thing again this time, which was also an important reason why Snape asked to be the referee. Dumbledore's appearance was to attract Quirrell's attention, to make him feel that Dumbledore had doubted him, to create a sense of urgency, to force him to make mistakes, or to force him to act earlier.

In the final analysis, it was Quirrell himself who was too useless. He didn't dare to confess and get leniency, nor did he dare to take decisive action, so he dragged his feet until now. The corridor on the right hand side of the fourth floor had been there for half a semester. If Quirrell didn't go there, it would be covered with dust.

In desperation, Dumbledore had to step in personally to encourage him and make a decision early, whether to resist or surrender, as long as he didn't drag it on any longer.

The two men soon came to an open space in the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore simply clapped his hands casually, and an invisible barrier rose up around the open space.

Dumbledore took out his wand and said, "This barrier can protect the Forbidden Forest from being destroyed by the two of us. Now take out your wand and show me what you can do."

So this is Dumbledore's personal guidance. When did unilaterally beating up a child become guidance? Moreover, Ada hadn't even gotten past Professor McGonagall and Snape, so she was going to fight monsters of a higher level?

But Ada was not afraid. She might be afraid of many things, but she was definitely not afraid of this one thing. She would not be afraid even if Voldemort stood in front of her. You can be afraid of the enemy, but that can only be decided before the battle. If you lose courage when you meet on a narrow road, the outcome will be determined even before the fight begins.

Looking at Ada who drew her wand without hesitation, Dumbledore said: "Attack with all your strength. No need to defend."

I have never fought such a prosperous battle in my life. Even the practice with the trial puppet was a back-and-forth. There has never been a time when Aida only attacked and did not need to defend.

Ada attacked happily, casting various spells one after another. But Ada did not use spells blindly, and she had her own considerations for each spell she cast.

At Ada's call, huge rocks fell from the sky one after another like a mountain. Dumbledore simply waved his left hand, and the rocks deflected and fell on the open space nearby, splashing a cloud of dust.

These falling objects from high altitude were just feints. The real attack was the light continuously emitted from the tip of Ada's wand. One spell after another illuminated the foggy forbidden forest.

Dumbledore used the Elder Wand to take these spells one by one, but saw a giant made of stone running towards him. Every step the stone giant took made the open space shake.

When the stone giant flew towards Dumbledore, the headmaster raised his wand and opened a protective shield made of magic power. The giant was instantly shattered when it hit the protective shield.

Dumbledore's left hand moved subconsciously, but this time he did not use any magic, otherwise the rubble would have flown back to Ada and hit her.

And Ada's attack did not end there. Behind the destroyed giant, there was a stun spell shining with white light.

This stunning spell with the gift of liberation finally caused trouble for Dumbledore. He moved his feet and changed his body shape to avoid the attack. Dumbledore's years of experience told him that he might not be able to block this seemingly ordinary spell. He couldn't defend against Ada's attack without even moving his feet like before.

Dumbledore had to dodge, he couldn't use his body to take the curse. Even if he was the greatest wizard, he was still a mortal, he would get sick, feel pain, age, and die.

There is a strange phenomenon in the magic world, that is, high attack and low defense. Wizards can have strong attack power and destructive power, but they are still vulnerable to spells. As long as the spell penetrates their defense, they will be hurt.

Almost every wizard is like this, their bodies are no different from Muggles, they are all equally fragile, and they only have one life. That's why there are those dangerous human body deformations and even more dangerous dark magic deformations, and why some people pursue immortality.

This is why Ada was so satisfied after the protection spell was upgraded and became a permanent state. The existence of this state gave Ada more tolerance. Even if the opponent broke through her defense, she still had a chance to defeat the opponent.

The teaching in the Forbidden Forest lasted for two sessions. In the first session, Ada attacked. Her attack did cause a lot of trouble for Dumbledore, but no spell could be the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The second match was a normal offensive and defensive match, but this one was more like Dumbledore attacking and Ada running around. In a 1v1 match, no one in the world could beat Dumbledore. Ada might be able to do it in the future, but she was far from it now.

In this battle, Ada was completely suppressed. The living trees, the overgrown vines, and the spells with tricky angles were not easy to deal with.

Facing these tough attacks, Ada didn't have any particularly good way to deal with them. Usually she attacked others in this way, but today she was the one being attacked in this way, and Ada realized how annoying she was before.

Ada could only keep waving her wand to prevent the tree from giving her a "hug", to prevent the vines from strangling her, and to prevent herself from being hit by the spell. It was difficult, really too difficult.

Moreover, Dumbledore's attack was uninterrupted. Whether it was the offensive rotation or the connection between spells, Ada could not find any opportunity to counterattack and could only defend passively.

When Dumbledore stopped his attack, Ada sat down breathlessly against the big tree that had just been "hunting" her, with the yew wand thrown beside her. She was reviewing everything that had just happened in her mind.

Dumbledore came over, sat next to Ada, and asked, "Do you understand?"

Ada nodded, she really understood.

"When you attack, you distinguish between the primary and the secondary, and choose the main attack and the feint, which is good. But you distinguish too clearly, and you can't switch between the two attacks. People will soon figure out which one is the main attack." Dumbledore said, "You can certainly do this against opponents of similar quality, and you can also fight only with spells. But once you face an opponent who is much stronger than you, you will become as powerless as today."

"When Filius participated in the dueling competition, there were many people whose magical attainments far exceeded his. But in the end, Filius won the championship. Do you know why?" Dumbledore continued to ask.

"Gifted?" Ada once asked the twins a similar question, and when the twins asked her back, Ada gave this answer.

Dumbledore was amused by this answer. After laughing for a while, he gave his own answer: "Because Filius's attack is more efficient. He knows that his understanding and use of magic are not as good as his opponent's. Only by attacking more efficiently can he win."

Dumbledore's words made Ida think again. Indeed, the problems mentioned by the headmaster and the example of Professor Flitwick's duel competition were all Ida's shortcomings. Her own offensive efficiency was a little poor, so Ida used feints to cover up her true offensive intentions. The problem came again. Ida's offensive transition was a little rigid, and there would be gaps in the connection of the spells, which gave the opponent an opportunity to take advantage.

A thousand-mile dam is breached by an ant hole. Just such a loophole can determine the outcome of a duel. The winner stands and the loser lies down. Dumbledore's private guidance today is to find faults with Ada. Only by correcting these defects can Ada go further.

Dumbledore did not guide Ada's understanding of magic. Everyone has a different path. If Dumbledore imposed his own ideas on Ada, it would probably backfire and make Ada's magical path even more confusing.

Even when it came to guiding wizards in combat, Dumbledore did not use his own style to influence Ada. Instead, he pointed out what she did wrong or did not do based on her habits, helping her to improve.

"Well, we should go back. The Quidditch match is still waiting for us." Dumbledore pulled Ada up from the ground. "We can also look forward to seeing how Quirrell will perform!"

(End of this chapter)