Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 70. Cruel Selection and Only Twelve Remaining
"Thank you for your invitation, Albus," said Professor McGonagall dryly, "but I don't think it's necessary - are you sure your approach will work?"

Dumbledore was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, his long robe covering his upper body, but one could see his two palms facing the sky, his fingers making a strange gesture.

"I think it is useful," Dumbledore said seriously. "You may not know that this is a posture from the far east called Five Hearts Facing the Sky. It is said to help people achieve the state of 'harmony between man and nature'. Well, I think it should be similar to what Harry said?"

"So you have felt the Earth Soul he spoke of?" Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"No," Dumbledore shook his head and said cheerfully, "I just felt that the ground was a little cold... chilly. I'm afraid it's not very friendly to the elderly."

"If you catch a cold from this, I'll send you to Bobby."

"Oh, that's better not," Dumbledore muttered. "Poppy is always so serious when it comes to patients."

Harry pretended not to have heard the conversation as he passed by the two men who were still trying.

To be honest, Harry was really curious about what the world would be like in the eyes of these students after they drank the Earth Spirit Potion, and how the elements would appear in their eyes.

Unlike this world, the elemental power of Azeroth has always been very active. Therefore, after Harry drank the Earth Soul Potion at the Shaman Altar, he turned around and saw the existence of the Earth Soul without much effort, and then established a connection with the earth element.

However, the elements in this world are very scattered. Years of slumber have shattered them into pieces, and there is no way to actively search for or respond to them. The students can only search for them on their own.

Harry walked around the grounds, stopping as many students as possible from engaging in dangerous behavior - the gang always had something new to throw at him.

Some people would just wet a patch of mud with water and jump into it, getting themselves covered in mud. From head to toe, they couldn't even be recognized as human beings. They were just mud balls. Others would stand on an open space and loudly praise the earth and mud with a voice full of emotion, trying to please the elements...

He even used a rope to strangle his own neck to force himself into a state of suffocation, hoping to feel the soul of the earth in this half-asleep and half-awake state of mind.

- Especially the last one. If Harry hadn't stopped it in time, he always felt that this brother was about to suffocate himself and become the number one victim of the Shaman Club.

Still half asleep, I see you are half unconscious?
There were so many geniuses that Harry couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead after walking around.

Why are the students at Hogwarts so lively?

Even many of the people who caused these things were not from Gryffindor House. Students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were not much behind, and their ideas were even more bizarre.

Harry was kind of regretting that he had only said something as simple as drink the potion and feel the soul of the earth at the beginning. He should have specified in detail what not to do, otherwise he wouldn't be so exhausted now.

It was due to lack of experience. I will never make the same mistake again.

"I succeeded!!!"

The sudden screams from the entire venue attracted almost everyone's attention. Harry hurried over and saw Penelope Clearwater holding her hands with excitement on her face. In the center of her palms, a ball of amorphous soil was floating and rolling continuously.

"Congratulations, Penelope." Harry gave his blessing to this senior who was already an acquaintance without hesitation. "You have successfully embarked on the path of a shaman. I hope you can go further on this road."

"Thank you! Thank you! Harry!" As the first person in the audience to establish a connection with the elements, Penelope was so excited and happy that she was almost incoherent. She gave Harry a big hug and then excitedly directed the ball of soil in her hand.

"Congratulations, Penelope." As someone whose heart was somewhat broken by Harry, Percy also sent his blessings at this moment - to be honest, the expression on Percy's face at this moment was somewhat unwilling.

Because compared to Penelope who has achieved obvious results, Percy has never felt the existence of the earth element.

To be honest, this was the first time for him to have such a feeling since he was a child. Before this, Percy had taken all the courses at Hogwarts and his grades were among the best in the grade. Nothing could stump him.

Percy took Harry and walked to the side with a look at Penelope who was surrounded by friends and Ravenclaw students. These people came to ask Penelope what it felt like to establish a connection with the elements and what the soul of the earth looked like. Well, they also asked Penelope how she did it.

"Honestly, Harry, is there really no trick to establish a connection with the elements?" Percy asked after sighing, "Penelope said she saw it, but in the direction she pointed, I only saw ordinary grass and stones, no different from what I usually see."

"No, Percy, I'm sorry to say this to you," Harry patted Percy on the back and said, "But being a shaman is indeed a profession that depends a lot on talent. It can't be forced - try again."

Harry could more or less understand Percy's feeling of unwillingness. Ron and the twins had complained about Percy in front of him many times. Harry didn't think Percy was a bad person. He was just used to being excellent, so he couldn't accept his failure in one thing. It was because of talent that couldn't be changed through hard work.

Jaina had complained to Harry many times about the other mages she met when she was studying in Dalaran. The things they could not understand were as simple as 1+1 in Jaina's eyes, so that she did suffer from a lot of jealousy and conspiracy during her apprenticeship.

But Harry didn't think Percy would be jealous or anything.

Penelope's success was not just an isolated case; rather, it was a shot in the arm for other students, because the earth elemental that was following Penelope around at this moment had proved that what Harry said was not false, the elements were real, the Soul of the Earth was real, and they could really master the power of the elements.

Even though the earth elemental summoned by Penelope looked like a grandfather and grandson compared to the giant earth elemental summoned by Harry at the beginning of the class, she summoned it herself anyway.

The earth element would even run around behind her, which was very adorable - it made many people secretly grit their teeth.

They want it too!!

So, under Harry's speechless gaze, the students, who had put in all their effort, began to... go crazy. To be honest, they were like crazy, constantly changing their postures, movements, and language in an attempt to connect with the legendary elements.

At a cursory glance, it looked like some sort of cult ritual attempting to connect with aliens.

Once there is the first one, there will be a second one, and soon there will be more than just Penelope following behind her with a little earth elemental.

"Harry! Look! I did it!!" Holding an earth element in her palm, Hermione almost poked it into Harry's eyes.

"Congratulations. I told you on the train that you are indeed talented," Harry said with a smile as he stepped back half a step, then looked at Neville and Ron who followed him, "Did you succeed too?"

"No," Ron said dejectedly, "I've already drunk two bottles, but I didn't see anything - Neville succeeded."

"Really?" Harry said in surprise.

"Hey, look," Neville said as he moved aside with a silly smile, and a small earth element followed behind him. "I felt a little tired so I went to rest on the grass, but when I turned around I saw him looking at me. I named him Dove, what do you think, Harry?"

"Not bad," Harry praised, "Neville, you really have a pure heart. This is very helpful to you. Congratulations."

"Don't worry, Ron," Harry patted his friend's shoulder and comforted him, "The elements are indeed too inactive during this period. When they gradually wake up in the future, you will still have a chance." "Okay," Ron sighed, "I'll wait."

It can be seen that Ron still feels uncomfortable. After all, it is really uncomfortable to be the only one who is not capable among four friends, but Harry doesn't have any good solution.

"How do you feel? Professor Snape?" Harry walked to the edge of the venue and asked Snape, who was standing with his back to the crowd, "Did you hear the whispers of the elements?"

Snape stood with his back to the crowd, his fists clenched. Even through a wide black robe swaying in the wind, Harry could still feel Snape's tense body and muscles at this moment.

He didn't look like he was trying to establish a connection with the elements, but more like he was ready to beat them up as soon as they showed up.

"Relax, don't be so nervous," Harry said speechlessly, "Don't forget what I said, keeping your mind peaceful will help you connect with the earth element."

"...I know." After a moment's silence, Snape whispered. He even turned in another direction, with his back to Harry. "Only a shaman can summon the souls of the dead, right?"

"Well...if you want to summon my mother's soul, I'm afraid that won't work." Harry thought for a moment and said, "After all, she is my ancestor, not your ancestor."

Snape looked frozen.

Putting aside the man's motivation for becoming a shaman, Harry felt that Snape had great potential - at least he would be a good helper to him.

So do your best.

It was not until the time for dinner and the end of get out of class that Harry gathered everyone together again.

Most people stood aside, and only a small number stood next to Harry - these were the students who had successfully established a connection with the earth element.

To be honest, this number was much larger than Harry had expected, a total of twelve people.

The Gryffindors include Hermione, Neville, and Katie Bell; the Hufflepuffs include Cedric Diggory, Hannah Abbott, and Zacharias Smith; the Ravenclaws include Penelope Clearwater, Padma Patil, Cho Chang, Terry Boot, and Roger Davies.

And finally, Draco Malfoy from Slytherin House.

To be honest, Harry was indeed surprised when he saw Draco Malfoy holding up a small earth element with an excited look on his face.

Among these twelve people, there are surprisingly many Ravenclaws, five in total, three Hufflepuffs, three Gryffindors, and one Slytherin... Obviously, there are only less than ten people from Slytherin College in total, which makes many people a little unconvinced.

At the same time, only these twelve people could attend the second class of the Shaman Club, and the rest were all eliminated - you have to know that there were a total of 267 students from four colleges in today's class, but in the end, the number of people left was not even one-tenth of what Harry claimed at the beginning.

When Harry announced that the class was about to end, some students were so excited that they grabbed his arms and begged him to give them another bottle of Earth Bond Potion to try, even if it meant having diarrhea at night - and Harry gave them all, but unfortunately no miracle happened.

"Thank you very much for coming to the first class of the Shaman Club. Thank you for your support. Thank you." Harry first said to the crowd: "I hope everyone will not feel discouraged or frustrated. After all, as I said today, the elements are still in a dormant state. It is very difficult to establish contact with them. You know, even Headmaster Dumbledore failed to gain recognition."

Harry's words brought a little smile to the faces of the depressed students in front of him. After all, in today's test, all the professors of Hogwarts were defeated, and no one could summon even an earth element the size of a palm.

Even Dumbledore—even Dumbledore!

Thinking this way made many people feel much better and their frustration disappeared.

"If you agree with my ideals and want to become a shaman and join us to create a new future for wizards, then you still have a chance," Harry continued, "With the efforts of me and many shamans, and with the gradual revival of the elemental spirits, the difficulty of becoming a shaman will gradually decrease."

Well, actually, for a long time, the efforts of me and many shamans should have been made by Harry alone. After all, it would take a long time for apprentices like Hermione to become a shaman who can stand on their own.

"Like-minded companions are not limited to a short period of time. If your ideas have not changed by then, then I will always welcome you." Harry performed an ancient etiquette to the students in front of him. "As for now, let's end the get out of class. Everyone should be hungry. May Mother Earth bless you."

"May Mother Earth bless you!"

To Harry's surprise, the students standing in front of him did not rush to leave. Instead, they imitated his movements and bowed to greet him, not in unison, and even their voices were mixed together in twos and threes.

For them, this is a day worth remembering no matter what.

Although the students who were not selected were frustrated, they left with their friends and laughed. However, the twelve official members of the Shaman Club still stayed here, and most of the professors, except for a few, were also waiting.

Looking at the twelve apprentices standing in front of him with happy faces, Harry became stern instead.

"From today on, I will teach you the knowledge of the Shaman priests, and you will also shoulder the responsibilities that others are unable to do." Harry said solemnly: "At least in the Shaman Priest Club, you need to call me a mentor, and you are my apprentices. Is there a problem?"

"Ah? Apprentice?" Zacharias Smith said reluctantly, "You didn't say that just now... But okay, I agree."

"More than that." Harry walked up to Smith, stared into his eyes and said, "I will gradually tell you the taboos of shamans in the next course, and you must strictly ensure that you will not violate these taboos, otherwise... I will be your most terrifying enemy, understand?"

"Harry?" Dumbledore called suddenly.

There was a tangible murderous aura coming from Harry just now. Just standing there made people nervous and even feel timid.

"...Understood." Smith stammered after swallowing his saliva. He couldn't help but glance at the professors standing next to him, but found that they were just looking at this side seriously, but did not say anything to stop him.

In fact, in the eyes of these professors, the shamans that Harry mentioned can be completely regarded as an ancient magical heritage, just like some traditional wizards outside the school. They will accept some children as apprentices to teach them magic, and these apprentices will also assume corresponding obligations, including but not limited to providing for the wizard's retirement and so on.

Harry does not need to worry about retirement, but when he passes on this ancient magic, there will be no problem for the students to become his magic apprentices - based on the lectures he heard today, the professors do not think that shamanism is an evil heritage.

As for the goal of elemental revival... let's not talk about it for now, it's a bit too far away and cannot be verified.

In short, although Harry is not much older than these students, there is no problem at all that this master-disciple relationship is different from the general teacher-student relationship in Hogwarts.

"Are you sure?" Harry looked at Smith deeply, and then looked at the others. "You can withdraw now. The subsequent responsibilities and rules will not involve you, but everything is limited to today."

(End of this chapter)