Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 18: Defense Against the Dark Arts

Michael's resentment persisted even during Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Ravenclaw attended Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Slytherin on Tuesdays.

Hogwarts courses are usually taught together by both houses.
Only on certain special occasions,
For example, a special astronomical phenomenon might occur, which could lead to four colleges having an astronomy class together.

This is what Sheehan heard from Michael's constant ramblings along the way.

According to him,
Defense Against the Dark Arts is the most popular course at Hogwarts.

This brought Anthony and Terry's anticipation for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class to its peak.

Sheen, walking behind, shook his head. Defense Against the Dark Arts was indeed appealing, but the quality of instruction was worrying.

The extremely important Defense Against the Dark Arts class,
The professor in the first year had a stutter.
The professor in the second year was a fraud.
The professors in the third and fourth years were relatively normal.

In the fifth year, it turned into a pink magic toad.

The sixth year was when Professor Snape finally got what he wanted.
The seventh year was a period of single-minded persecution, with death eaters not being taught.

From this perspective, out of the seven years of Defense Against the Dark Arts course, only three years were truly dedicated to proper learning.

Therefore, Sheen decided to teach himself.

He was clutching "Defense of Magic Theory" in his hand, a fifth-grade book that Sheehan had borrowed ahead of time.

He felt he would need it.
It's definitely not because they can read books for free without paying.

Once the Defense Against the Dark Arts class began, any lingering hope Sheen had vanished.

Although Sheehan knew that Professor Quirrell had also been a Ravenclaw genius,
However, after becoming a double agent, he clearly lost the knowledge he was so proud of.

Or rather, he simply no longer had the energy to perform.

At this time,

Michael, sitting in the front row, finally understood Sheen's strange behavior.

Sheen sat in the last row early on and buried himself in his studies from before class started.
Michael was still wondering when a strong smell of garlic wafted into his nose.
Coupled with Professor Quirrell's stuttering, incoherent, and rote teaching,

Michael seemed to have entered hell.

Terry, who was closest to Quirrell, remained motionless, seemingly having been suffocated by the smoke.

There are several types of trolls:
Mountain-dwelling giants, river-dwelling giants, and sea-dwelling giants.

The mountain-dwelling giant is the largest, with a light gray body, bald head, skin rougher than a rhinoceros, and a physique stronger than ten men.

However, their brains are only the size of a pea, so they are easily confused...

Sheehan was engrossed in reading "Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Defense," a book written by Quentin Trimb.

Its cover has no lettering or patterns, only a deep black.
Just like its content, it is concise and efficient.

Banshees, ghouls, she-devils, trolls, vampires, werewolves, Tibetan Yetis, Boggarts, Red Hats, Kappa (Kaba), Hinkpunk, Grindelwald, and many more are all crammed into this thin book.

It was already filled with detailed knowledge about various creatures and spirits.

It even has space to introduce some anti-spells and spell-breaking techniques.

This was truly practical knowledge, so Sheen memorized it repeatedly.
The only disappointment is that, given Professor Quirrell's condition, Sheehan will likely find it difficult to learn a true defensive spell from him.

This means that Sheen needs to learn on his own.

But whether it's a disarming spell or an armor spell,

They are all advanced spells.

At least Sheen didn't see them in Standard Charms: Primary.

So how should Sheen learn?

With Sheen frowning, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class ended.
The young wizards fled the classroom as if they were escaping.

Michael and Terry remained seated, motionless, as if they had passed away peacefully.

Sheen walked over with a worried expression.
Unexpectedly, Michael pounced on him and roared:
“It’s bitter!”

Sheen was startled.

Compared to Defense Against the Dark Arts, the next Charms class was undoubtedly what Sheen was looking forward to.

Professor Flitwick is unlike some two-faced wizards; he is a truly capable teacher.
He will teach the young wizards how to wave their wands and pronounce spells correctly, which is exactly what Sheen needs.

Sheen knew that a wizard's power came from belief.
It was also called "the power of my contemplation" by many people in his previous life. But it seems that constant contemplation is not enough, as Sheen, who once contemplated for a whole week, knows all too well.

His explanation for this was that the wizard's power comes from belief, and that's true.

But how to think and in what way to think are also important components.

As Adebbe Wolflin, the "father of magical theory," said in "The Theory of Magic":
"Most wizards cannot control magic on their own, so they need spells and wands to guide it."

This allows magic to be consciously manipulated to achieve a purpose.

……

The Charms classroom was on the fourth floor, and the constantly changing spiral staircase caused great trouble for the young wizards.

The young Ravenclaw wizards were all stuck on one staircase, while the staircase connecting to the Charms classroom was taking forever to turn.

Behind the crowd, Terry was scribbling in a notebook:
"I'll be able to figure out the pattern soon."

Michael, standing to the side, covered his forehead:
"Terry, although I believe you can succeed, by the time you figure it out, we'll be too late."

Faced with the ever-passing time and the staircase that still wouldn't turn, the young wizards were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Today was Headmaster Ravenclaw's first class, and all his Ravenclaws were late—

OMG!

Sheen sighed and continued reading.

He couldn't change the staircase, so he could only review his textbooks in advance.

"Alright, alright, come closer, Terry, we really need you this time."

"Sheen, hurry up, at least don't be the last one to get into the classroom."

As Michael spoke, he pulled Sean forward, with Anthony and Terry following closely behind.
The four of them squeezed their way through.

"Are you done, Terry?"

"Almost there..."

"This is the fourth time you've given the same answer! Merlin's stinky socks under his briefs!"

Michael seemed to be driven to madness by the garlic and the stairs.

Just then, Sheen saw a particularly tall ghost pass through the wall.

Her appearance suddenly made Sheen think of something.

"Ms. Grey."

Sheen called out softly.

Then Lady Grey floated over, and the little Ravenclaws around immediately noticed the temperature drop.

"A ghost, oh my god!"

"She's coming!"

Many young wizards are more afraid than curious about ghosts.

Everyone immediately huddled together, and even the usually bold Michael trembled as he asked:
"Sheen, what are you doing?"

"The prefect said that Ms. Grey might be related to the Eagle Ancestor, remember?"

Sheen explained softly.

“Ms. Grey, could you help us get up the spiral staircase? We’re going to be late for our Charms class.”

Sheen asked.

Ms. Green did not speak; she gave Sheehan a serious look.

That one glance almost gave Michael and Terry a heart attack.

"Too close...too close..."

“Sheen, this doesn’t seem like a good idea…”

As their voices trembled, the stairs in front of them rumbled and turned, quickly connecting to the current stairs.

Michael and Terry stared wide-eyed.

(End of this chapter)