Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

The next second, Harry emerged from the water, gripping the rope and struggling to climb back to the classroom floor.

As soon as he landed, he bent over, his hands bracing against the cold floor. His shoulders heaved violently, and a series of coughs came from his mouth. He had obviously swallowed several mouthfuls of lake water underwater, and his face was pale from the water. His body was also trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Dylan stepped forward, raised his wand again, and cast a spell on Harry, thoroughly cleaning the water droplets and remaining water stains off his body.

Cedric quickly stepped forward, gently patting Harry's back to help him catch his breath. With a mix of helplessness and amusement on his face, he asked, "Harry, why did you go into the water without any preparation? You should at least have taken precautions before you went in."

“That’s very much in line with Gryffindor style.” Draco, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly teasing. “He probably saw Dylan move around in the water without using the Bubble Head Charm and forgot about it himself. But then again, can the two be compared? Dylan’s situation is completely different from ours.”

Harry wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, took a few deep breaths to calm his cough, and then looked up at Draco, retorting with a hint of indignation, "I just wanted to experience the underwater temperature myself and get used to the environment in advance, it's not that I forgot to cast the spell."

“Oh, I see,” Draco nodded as if suddenly enlightened, clapping slowly as he said, “Is this what they call hands-on preparation? That courage is truly commendable; I can’t help but applaud you.”

Cedric took Harry's arm and gently helped him up, advising him earnestly, "Harry, there's still plenty of time for the second project. We don't need to rush. It's better to be careful at the beginning and avoid putting ourselves in absolute danger."

Harry wanted to say something more, but after hearing Cedric's advice and realizing that there was indeed plenty of time to prepare, he stopped arguing with Draco.

He took his wand out of his pocket, gripped it tightly, concentrated, and chanted the Bubble Head Charm over his head.

Dylan explained how to use the Guardian Charm, and then practiced it in a real underwater environment.

Only by mastering the spell under natural disturbances such as low temperature and water flow can one cope with ease at the bottom of the real Black Lake.

Harry deeply understood this approach to practice.

When Professor Lupin taught him to master the Patronus Charm, he used a similar immersive training method, allowing him to quickly find the key to casting the charm in a simulated dangerous environment.

Once everything was ready, Dylan had secured a sturdy rope to the edge of the huge drawer beforehand, making it easier for the three of them to get in and out.

Cedric, Draco, and Harry grabbed the rope one by one and carefully crawled into the underwater space constructed from the drawer.

As soon as Draco entered the water, he was enveloped by a bone-chilling cold and couldn't help but shiver. He had never imagined that the water temperature at the bottom of the lake would be so low. No wonder Harry started shivering as soon as he went in.

The bone-chilling cold wasn't just directed at him; Cedric and Harry also instantly felt the icy water's attack, and the three of them instinctively clenched their teeth, trying to resist the cold.

But the chill was so intense that they couldn't control their bodies at all. They arched their backs like boiled shrimp, trembling violently like sieves, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"Hoo...Hoo God...Guardian!" Harry tried to chant the spell first, but the clattering of his teeth made his pronunciation intermittent, and he couldn't pronounce the complete spell smoothly at all.

Draco and Cedric tried the same thing, with the exact same result: the icy lake water seemed to freeze their vocal cords, and coupled with their trembling bodies, the spells broke as soon as they were uttered.

After finally getting used to the water temperature and being able to recite the incantation in a barely coherent manner, they encountered new trouble.

The surging water inside the drawer constantly impacted his body, interfering with the wand's steady pointing and the concentration of magical energy.

The three of them persisted underwater for a long time, repeatedly trying to adjust their breathing and the rhythm of their incantations.

Finally, a faint silver light appeared on Harry's chest first, followed by the same light on Cedric and Draco's chests. This was a sign that the Patronus Charm was beginning to take shape, and the faint warmth temporarily dispelled some of the chill.

Seizing this brief moment, the three of them quickly pulled the rope and scrambled out of the drawer in a disheveled state.

Having spent so much time in the icy lake, when they returned to the classroom and their bodies touched the equally cold floor, they inexplicably felt a rare warmth and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"See...see that!" Harry's teeth were still chattering from the lingering chill, and his words were broken but still tinged with a hint of smugness. "This...this is why I volunteered to go into the water first! And...I was the first to successfully condense the silver light!"

Draco opened his mouth, intending to retort, but found that his teeth were chattering uncontrollably, and the sounds he made were equally fragmented.

He simply turned his head to the side, ignoring Harry's boasting, and silently rubbed his frozen arms, trying to warm his body up faster.

After resting for a while, the three of them crawled into the drawer and practiced repeatedly. They only stopped practicing when their stomachs started growling with hunger and they could no longer concentrate.

After several rounds of immersive training, they have gradually adapted to the low-temperature underwater environment. The speed and stability of their spellcasting are much better than the first time. From initially not being able to even recite the spell completely, to later being able to quickly condense the silver light of the guardian deity under the interference of water flow, their progress is visible to the naked eye.

Dylan never left the classroom.

He used Transfiguration to conjure a comfortable table and chairs. During the breaks between the three of them practicing, he began to write a magical paper, sorting out and optimizing the usage, practice techniques, and his own magical thoughts on this underwater guardian spell, forming a complete theoretical system.

Seeing Harry and the others close the drawer, dry themselves off, and prepare to leave, Dylan looked up and reminded them, "When you get back, you can drink some hot Coolie to warm yourself up, or go to the school hospital to ask Madam Pomfrey for some energy drinks, which will not only dispel the chill but also relieve the fatigue after practice."

The three nodded quickly and thanked Dylan.

Their gazes inadvertently fell on the parchment spread out in front of Dylan. Several pages were already filled with dense text. They were both amazed by the speed at which Dylan wrote the paper and curious about its contents.

"Dylan, is this your next piece to submit to The Voice of Hogwarts?" Harry couldn't help but ask curiously, his eyes fixed on the parchment.

“Yes.” Dylan nodded in acknowledgment, and said calmly, “The content is about the underwater guardian spell you just practiced. It outlines the key points of casting the spell, environmental adaptation techniques, and also adds some thoughts on the combination of magical energy and survival instinct. I hope it can provide some reference for other wizards.”

"Can we take a look now?" Harry's curiosity grew even stronger, and he couldn't help but lean forward. Cedric and Draco also showed interest.

“Of course, no problem.” Dylan didn’t hesitate at all, pushing the parchment covered with writing towards Harry, indicating that they could flip through it at will.

Upon hearing that Dylan had agreed to look at the paper, not only Harry was curious, but Draco and Cedric also immediately crowded around. The three of them huddled together, their eyes fixed on the parchment covered with writing, carefully reading the theoretical analysis and practical techniques of the underwater Patronus Charm.

Harry has always been an experiential thinker, and after reading just a few pages about emotional control during spellcasting, he gained some new inspiration.

He eagerly pulled out his wand, cast a head-bubbling spell on himself, turned around, opened the drawer, and dived back into the simulated underwater environment. He began practicing the Patronus Charm using the new method mentioned in the paper. For him, only by verifying the theory in practice could he truly grasp the essence of magic.

Draco, unlike Harry, focused entirely on the latter part of his paper, which explored the nature of magic.

The analyses about the connection between magic and wizards' emotions made him think deeply.

After a long while, he finally raised his head and looked at Dylan with some hesitation: "Dylan, according to the viewpoint in your paper, could it be understood that... the reason why dark wizards become cold and cruel is because they have been practicing dark magic for a long time and have been gradually affected by the negative energy contained in dark magic, thus slowly losing their perception of positive emotions?"

“Draco, you can think about it from a different angle.” Dylan didn’t give a direct answer, but instead guided him to analyze it more deeply. “Think back to the dark magic you know, and try to find some spells that have similar effects to ordinary magic but are different in nature for comparison. For example, the Stunning Curse and the Brainwashing Curse. Both of these spells can restrict the opponent’s movements, but they are fundamentally very different. You should be very clear about that, right?”

Draco frowned, thinking carefully, and slowly said, "The effect of the Stunning Curse is very clear: it puts the opponent into a temporary coma without causing permanent damage, and it's not particularly difficult to cast. But the Brainwashing Curse is different. It is indeed easier to cast than the Stunning Curse, but the effect is much worse. If the caster's malice is strong enough, the person hit will not only lose consciousness, but their brain will also suffer severe damage, truly becoming delirious, as if their brain has turned into a lump of mush."

At this point, his expression turned grim: "Although the Ministry of Magic has a corresponding anti-curse, even if you regain consciousness by casting the anti-curse, the pain and dizziness from having your brain messed up will last for a long time, and it's unpleasant no matter what. More importantly, to completely eliminate the aftereffects of the Brain-Stirring Curse, the anti-curse is much more difficult to cast than the original curse, and it's not something an ordinary wizard can master."

“You’re absolutely right.” Dylan nodded and continued, “The most prominent characteristic of black magic is that it requires the caster to summon extreme negative emotions, such as anger, hatred, and malice, in order to unleash its maximum power. These negative emotions do not disappear after the spell is cast; instead, they accumulate and settle in the wizard’s mind. Over time, the wizard’s mind will be affected by these emotions, becoming more and more extreme and cold-blooded.”

He paused, then explained further: "Emotions are a kind of energy that can be perceived and transmitted. When a wizard's malice is strong enough, he doesn't need to deliberately cast spells. This negative energy will unconsciously affect the surrounding environment, making people around him feel depressed and fearful, just like the chill that Dementors bring when they get close, only to a different degree."

“Now that you mention it, I think I understand a bit.” Cedric suddenly spoke up, his tone filled with a sense of sudden realization. “Those naturally occurring dark magic creatures, such as Dementors and giant spiders, seem to carry this strong negative aura. Even if they do nothing, we can easily sense their hostility and malice. Is this also related to the nature of the magical energy they contain?”

Draco nodded subconsciously after hearing Cedric's words, his face growing even uglier. He thought of some dark magic items collected by his family. Every time he got close to those things, he would feel a strange irritation. It turned out that this was all due to the subtle influence of dark magic energy on him.

Seeing the change in Draco's expression, Dylan gently tapped the table, changed the subject, and said in a gentle tone, "Actually, it's not just black magic; other types of magic can also affect wizards. The Patronus Charm is a typical example."

"A Patronus Charm?" Draco murmured in surprise, his eyes full of doubt. In his understanding, Patronus Charms were always purely defensive magic, so how could they affect wizards?
“Yes, it’s the Patronus Charm.” Dylan confirmed and explained, “I talked to Harry and the others before. The essence of the Patronus Charm is a reflection of the wizard’s inner self. It needs positive emotions as its energy source, such as happiness, hope, and pride. When you frequently cast the Patronus Charm, you can not only use it to resist dark magic, but these positive emotions will also be continuously strengthened in your heart.”

He continued, “Over time, when you encounter difficulties or fall into a trough, the positive energy represented by the Guardian Charm will silently protect your mind, making you less likely to be defeated by negative emotions. In addition, this long-term connection with positive energy will also make you subconsciously reject black magic, because you will instinctively perceive that the negative energy in black magic is contrary to the positive energy in your heart, thus generating a sense of resistance.”

"So... whether we use dark magic or ordinary magic, these spells will ultimately have some effect on the wizard himself?" Draco quickly realized, asking with a hint of uncertainty.

"More accurately, it should be said that wizards and magic influence and shape each other," Dylan corrected. "The effect of magic depends on the wizard's emotions and intentions, and magical energy, in turn, amplifies the corresponding emotions of the wizard. Therefore, every wizard needs to fully understand their own personality and emotional characteristics, and find the type of magic that resonates with their inner energy, so that they can better control magic, rather than be controlled by it." (End of Chapter)