Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 79: Smoke Curse
Outside the corridor, raindrops the size of bullets pounded in for several days.

Minerva McGonagall keenly sensed a hostility, but she was unclear about the reason for it.

Her serious expression wavered slightly with a hint of confusion, before she precisely spotted the half-eaten medicine peeking out from under the wide robe—a stimulant for treating colds.

As if she had thought of something, she turned slightly to the side.

Snape followed the gaze and knew what the other person had discovered. He glanced at Professor McGonagall expressionlessly.

“I said—I’ll take responsibility.”

Then, his long, flowing black robe billowed as he made his way gracefully and hurriedly to the auditorium.

The young wizards who had been playing and watching the rain along the way all shrank back and made way for him.

……

In the auditorium.

Justin steadily helped Sheehan up.

Hermione had barely entered the Great Hall, and before she even had a chance to eat, she hurriedly cleared the way, indiscriminately berating the two of them as she went:

“Merlin’s beard! So hot—Sheen! You’re really something when it comes to showing off…” “And there’s this idiot who had to ask a patient to tell him what to do!” “Professor Snape was right, you two should be hung on the wall!” He then muttered to himself, “…It’s my fault too, I should have noticed sooner, he looked really bad yesterday…”

Justin's usually gentle face was expressionless, and he answered with a low "Mm".

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the auditorium.

A series of loud footsteps approached, and a figure dressed in black robes slowly drew near. Justin looked up and realized it was Professor Snape.

Justin wasn't scared or nervous. He and Hermione took a step to the right together, then lowered their heads and headed over.

But unexpectedly, the shadow fell upon them once again.

"Give him to me."

A chilling voice came at the same time.

Justin looked up and, as if triggered, took another step to the right. At this moment, only the words "go to the school hospital" echoed repeatedly in his mind, and he could not understand even what the professor was saying.

“He should go to the university hospital, Professor Snape.”

Hermione said something quite bluntly.

“Ah—clever Miss Granger,”

Snape's cold laugh sent shivers down the spines of the group of young wizards around him.
"Then you should know what medicine wizards should take when they have a cold at the school hospital..."

As Snape spoke, his face darkened completely. He had noticed that the young wizard being helped seemed not to have heard anything.

His emerald green eyes were slightly open, lifeless, and each tremor of his lips was accompanied by a breath of hot air.

"Give him the drink, now! Right now!"

He suddenly roared.

A bottle of potion ended up in Hermione's hands.

Hermione was stunned, her eyes widened, and then without a second's delay, she made Sheen take it.

The stimulant had an immediate effect; smoke billowed from Sheen's ears—looking like the rising steam of the Hogwarts Express.

At the same time, he gradually regained consciousness. He saw that the little girl in front of him had transformed into Hermione, and then he saw something that looked like a black bat fly away.

Oh, and by the way, the big black bat also dropped a bottle of energy potion.

……

In the practice room.

Having regained some of his energy, Sheen nervously opened the door from the inside.

To the peculiar tone of Mr. Owl, "Felius, it's you again! For Ravenclaw's sake, hurry up and come in—" a short professor with a beaming smile entered from behind the door. "How pleasing—Mr. Green, you look much better—"

Professor Flitwick stood naturally on the wooden table, and the squirrels in the room scurried out the window in a panic upon seeing his arrival.
“But my dear Mr. Green, sometimes rest is for greater progress. Are you sure you want to study now?”

Sheen thought for a few seconds, recalling the description in "Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Defense":
I advocate that young wizards should at least learn the following spells to deal with the darkest part of magical power.

Green Sparks;
Red Sparks;
Knockback Jinx;
Smokescreen Spell;

Lumos, fluorescent scintillation]

Of all the spells he had learned in actual combat, only the Smoke Spell and the Knockback Spell remained unlearned.

His Defense Against the Dark Arts notes were sufficient for the theoretical part, but he still lacked the spells required for the practical part.

These two curses are the final pieces of the puzzle.

With two days left until Friday, he had to work his way up to the beginner level, so he nodded firmly.

Professor Flitwick sighed as if he had expected this, then quickly regained his enthusiasm:
“Alright, Mr. Green, I won’t lower my standards because of that, especially for those exceptionally gifted children—”

……

The Smoke Spell, a typical defensive spell for wizards, creates a cloud of smoke to obscure vision. This spell is particularly useful in duels because it makes it difficult for the opponent to aim.

Garrick Ollivander is an excellent user.

Sheen discovered that this cloud of smoke seemed to be... a cloud of idealistic smoke.

"Fumos!"

[You practiced the Smoke Spell to a beginner level, proficiency +3]

Sheen waved his wand, and a thick, dark smoke billowed around him, obscuring everything.

That's right, to cover everything.

When Sheen needs it, not only can no sound be heard from the smoke, but even the light will be swallowed up.

Its usability far exceeded Sheen's expectations, like a fluorescent flash.

The appearance of fluorescent flashes in the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook seems illogical at first glance, but the book provides an explanation.

Besides being used for lighting, the fluorescent flashes can be used to repel ghosts and other ghost-type enemies, such as the Gytrash, a dark creature that looks like a dog with a forked tail, pale skin and fur, and is fast and dangerous.

This creature lives in the forests of Great Britain; in fact, black dogs are found in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.

Sheen suddenly remembered a quote from Miranda Goshak in Standard Spells: Beginner's Guide:

When wizards have a need, spells will appear. Those seemingly impractical spells have been of great help to wizards throughout magical history.

Therefore, I sincerely remind every wizard who studies spells—there are no useless spells, only useless wizards.

When Professor Flitwick left satisfied, Sheen still had an ice pack on his head. The lack of energy definitely affected his spellcasting; it had taken him an entire afternoon to barely unlock the Smoke Charm, and—

[Proficiency]

[Smoke Spell: Apprentice Level (150/300)]

With a little effort, Sheen will be able to get the hang of it by tonight.

Friday, Friday...

Sheen had been eagerly anticipating this moment of harvest.

With Sheen's persistent efforts, time flew by and it was Thursday morning.

After his illness, Justin and Hermione became even more concerned about Sheehan's condition.

Soon, they discovered a fact that was not hard to guess.

(End of this chapter)