The Return to Hogwarts

"You've made some progress, but my course aims for more than just that. I want to teach you how to win duels, not just how to dodge quickly. So, we're moving on to a new phase. Of course, you must continue with your previous training. I'll allocate some time for you to practice during each class. This classroom will also be open to you; you can come and play whenever you're bored. My requirement is that by the end of the academic year, everyone must pass the basic reaction training."

What are you going to teach us?

Terry Boots raised his hand and asked.

For Ravenclaws, learning more is always an interest.

Professor Blaine beckoned everyone to gather in a semi-circle around him. Looking at the pairs of eyes sparkling with curiosity, Professor Blaine smiled slightly.

"What I'm about to teach is the real stuff—duel magic!"

Chapter 512 Duel Magic Classification

2023-10-02

"You're going to teach us the magic you used to defeat the Black Witch at the World Cup!"

After Professor Blaine smiled and said he would teach them magic, the already quiet classroom became even quieter. The young wizards even held their breath, staring wide-eyed at Professor Blaine, seemingly unable to believe what they had just heard.

Amos Stark is almost universally recognized as the strongest wizard of our time. Although many people don't understand the difference between 'strongest' and 'greatest', with Dumbledore over a hundred years old and Voldemort's magic defeated by Harry Potter, Amos Stark is the most powerful wizard in the wizarding world!

Professor Blaine actually said here that he would teach them dueling magic—even though many of them had had such expectations before and anticipated that this day would come sooner or later in physical education class, the young wizards were still overjoyed when the day actually arrived.

In the instant he came to his senses, Cedric of Hufflepuff cried out.

He was also present at this year's World Cup. Words cannot describe the shock he felt after he fled the Quidditch pitch with the crowd and stood in the woods watching that 'match of the century'!

"Why not be more pragmatic, Mr. Diggory?"

Professor Blaine chuckled, pulled out his wand and waved it, and suddenly many more tables and chairs appeared in the spacious classroom.

"Please sit down, everyone. Before we begin our magic instruction, we'll need some theoretical training."

The young wizards rushed forward, and Hermione, who hadn't managed to get a spot in the front row, slapped her leg in frustration. Then, she realized she hadn't brought a notebook or pen, which made her even more anxious.

Whoops!

The curtains closed automatically, blocking out the darkness. Beneath the four walls, the armor that had tormented the young wizards countless times pulled out torches from the walls and slowly made its way to the area around the tables and chairs, illuminating a space as bright as day.

"First of all, I must correct what I just said--"

Professor Blaine stood before the blackboard held aloft by two suits of armor and addressed the earnest faces.

"There is no such thing as 'duel magic.' The wondrous power of magic itself can be used in many situations. The term 'duel magic' is just a somewhat imprecise general term. In duels and battles, magic can be broadly divided into three categories: offensive magic, defensive magic, and utility magic."

At Hogwarts, there has never been a course specifically teaching dueling. The ancient art of dueling relies more on self-discovery or honing through countless conflicts with others. Therefore, no young wizard would dare to slack off at such a time.

"Offensive magic—that's easy to understand, right? It's a spell used in a duel to strike the opponent and render them powerless to resist. There are many forms of this type of magic, for example—"

A suit of armor clattered to a stop thirty feet away, its head meeting the magic Professor Blaine flung at it.

Boom! The armor shattered into pieces amidst the surging air currents.

"Explosion—" Professor Blaine said with a smile to the bewildered young wizards, and then summoned a suit of armor.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Several flashes of silver light appeared, and the armor fell to pieces.

“Cut—” Professor Blaine said succinctly.

Next, the young wizards were truly amazed. They saw Professor Blaine torture the armor with all sorts of harmful methods—burning, piercing, corroding, twisting, petrifying, disarming, binding. Professor Blaine even used magic to create a powerful gravity on the hard armor, crushing it into a disc.

"The variations are endless, too numerous to list, but in short, they all aim to achieve one goal: to render your opponent incapable of resistance."

Professor Blaine, standing amidst a pile of scrap metal, spoke with perfect, unwavering breathing.

Harry only felt his breathing become easier after the relentless attacks stopped, and almost all the young wizards around him did the same. For a moment, the sound of exhaling filled the classroom in unison.

"Do you expect us to learn all of this, Professor Blaine?"

Harry's Gryffindor teammate, fifth-year student Katie Bell, blushed and spoke through her teeth.

"Excuse my frankness, but I'm afraid that's unlikely."

"Absolutely impossible!"

Fred Weasley's resolute words won over a large number of supporters.

That's not the case.

Professor Blaine blew on his slightly smoking wand and said calmly,

"What I want you to understand is that in a duel, a good spell is one that can bring your opponent down. You need to have your own offensive spells that you are good at, but what they are exactly is not important."

Harry immediately thought of the Disarming Charm, a spell that Snape had used in Professor Lockhart's dueling class. For some reason, he felt he was particularly good at this spell; he could use it with ease after just one look and had almost never failed.

"Let's talk about defensive magic next—"

Professor Blaine silenced the excited group of young wizards with his gaze.

"Now, you have mastered certain dodging skills, and under my guidance, you will each master your own offensive spells. But you need to understand that you cannot dodge all attacks by dodging alone, because your physical strength has its limits. Your dodging speed cannot always be faster than the opponent's attack, and experienced wizards can easily predict the direction you dodge."

You may have heard the saying that offense is the best defense, but the problem is that in a closely contested match, you can't always maintain an offensive posture.

First, the magic power is insufficient. Second, everyone's attacks have a rhythm; once the opponent seizes this rhythm and finds an opening to counterattack, your attacks will be forced to stop, forcing you into a defensive stance. At this point, defensive magic is needed. There's not much to demonstrate here; I will teach you later.

No professor has ever been able to keep so many students completely focused at the same time, but Professor Blaine's class did.

More than thirty young wizards from the academy, the youngest being only in the third year and the oldest, Cedric Diggory, already in the sixth year, were not distracted. What they were listening to was the most powerful wizard of the era imparting to them systematic dueling experience, an opportunity that no amount of Galleons could buy!

"Functional magic, or supportive spells, is the most difficult because it tests your combat awareness and comprehensive magical knowledge. It's hard to explain in detail, but I can give you an example... Miss Granger!"

Professor Blaine suddenly called out.

Hermione was completely absorbed in the lessons Professor Blaine was teaching and had no idea she would be called on so suddenly. Her hasty rise caused her knees to collide with the table, and the sharp pain made Hermione wince in pain. But even Slytherin's Pansy Parkinson didn't have time to laugh at her and kept staring intently at Professor Blaine.

"If, during a duel, I were to use magic to turn the ground beneath your feet into a swamp, understand? That's not much of an attack, but it could cause you a lot of trouble because it deprives you of your space to dodge. So, how would you deal with that? A skilled wizard can directly break the spell and restore the ground to normal, but you don't have that ability. Tell me, in this situation, what magic would you use to help yourself out of this awkward situation?"

Forehead.

Hermione frowned, deep in thought, while the other young wizards were also pondering the same question.

"I can."

Hermione pursed her lips, mentally summoning all the magic she had mastered over the years.

"Hmm—maybe I'll use the Freeze spell, which can harden the swamp so that people can stand on it again."

“Very good, five points for Gryffindor. Please sit down, Miss Granger!”

Hermione sat down, beaming, while Neville gave her an admiring look. The only solution he could think of was to dive into the mud, obscuring his opponent's view.

"I think you understand what I mean, right?"

Professor Blaine addressed the group of young wizards who had just realized what was happening.

"Supportive spells cannot be used for direct attacks, but they can create obstacles for your opponent and help you escape from difficult situations in a duel, having a surprise effect. For example, if you are facing a ferocious fire dragon, you obviously cannot defeat it, right? But you can use the Anti-Flying Charm to prevent the dragon from flying, the Extinguishing Charm to silence its flames, and then blind it. This way, you will be much more at ease. Of course, this type of magic is too broad. In this course, I will only teach you some ideas on how to use utility spells flexibly. For specific spell learning, you will need to take your spell classes seriously!"

Chapter 513 Spiritual World

2023-10-03

The room was completely silent. Standing at the very front of everyone, Amosta could see faces flushed with excitement!

Every young wizard secretly dreamed of one day becoming a powerful wizard like Professor Dumbledore or Professor Blaine. However, these young wizards lacked the exceptional insight to find a path to greatness within the complex and tedious knowledge taught in the rest of Hogwarts' courses.

The knowledge and magic that Professor Blaine had just imparted to them gave them a direct sense of this possibility!

"Professor Blaine—"

Cedric of Hufflepuff raised his hand, his eyes gleaming in the candlelight.

"If we can keep up with your pace, does that mean... does it mean we might be able to..."

Cedric asked in a soft, almost murmured tone,

"Do we have the ability to become Hogwarts warriors and win the Triwizard Tournament for the school?"

Upon hearing Cedric Diggory's question, many people, including Harry and Draco, jolted awake, their eyes brimming with anticipation.

If Ron knew what he had missed, he would be kicking himself!

Harry and Hermione looked at each other simultaneously, both understanding each other's thoughts through their eyes. Harry, in particular, had often felt sorry for Ron giving up the course, and at this moment, that feeling of regret reached its peak.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Diggory—"

Under the expectant gaze of everyone, Professor Blaine gave a disappointing answer.

"The Triwizard Tournament is not a duel, Mr. Diggory. This tournament tests how young wizards use magic to resolve their crises in unexpected situations. It's a comprehensive test, encompassing magical skills, adaptability, and wisdom. If brute force could overcome all the challenges, then this tournament would degenerate into a duel—"

Professor Blaine said with a smile.

Comprehensive test

Cedric nodded thoughtfully, unaware that Qiu Zhang, sitting behind him, gazed at his back, her bright eyes, like the silhouette of autumn water, rippled slightly.

"Please remember what I just told you. When you get back, each of you must write a paper, no less than twelve inches long, discussing your understanding of the memory of the duel. Submit it to me next Wednesday night--"

After physical education class started, Professor Blaine assigned homework for the first time, but no one complained. Some of these young wizards might be a bit mischievous, but none of them were fools; they knew how rare such an opportunity was.

"Now, we are about to begin the formal course on offensive spells—"

Before the students could even begin to cheer, Professor Blaine spoke solemnly.

"I must remind everyone here that from today onwards, those who participate in this course are strictly prohibited from using their wands in the event of a conflict on campus, even if both parties are students of this course. If such a situation occurs, the punishment for you will be the most severe."