The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Chapter 75 Standard Spells

Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected bonus—

"He speaks Parseltongue; he's a Slytherin descendant," Edmund repeated. "Mr. Barufeo, I don't think you're a master liar, but guess what? What a coincidence!"

"The Gaunt are Parseltongues too, and they're also descendants of Slytherin. Those last prisoners who went in were still shouting before you woke up, saying they saw a giant snake statue hissing at them—do you have any clue about that?"

What clues could Barufeo possibly have? He froze completely.

Edmund was quite impressed.

"It seems it's not just me who's destined to be with him, you're destined to be with him too—" This makes it difficult to let this unlucky guy waste his time here.

Barufeo had no idea that he had escaped death because of this. He was just trembling, unable to understand how he had been released from prison, nor could he understand why he was in Voldemort's "hometown".

Having decided to spare Balfio's life, Edmund also made a judgment: continuing to force the unarmed Azkaban prisoners to attack would only be a waste of time. If they really wanted to break through Voldemort's trap, they would have to use enough obedient batteries that could also cast spells.

"Voldemort is a descendant of Slytherin?" Edmund was processing this information with great disbelief.

"The Gaunt family should be extinct. Is he a bastard, or a distant relative who has awakened Parsleyan blood?"

Thinking this through, Edmund summoned several more batteries operating in Britain and handed over command to Gerald, who was capable of independent thinking.

"I really don't know if that mirror thinks I need the 'Summoning Spell' because it leads to so many twists and turns, or if the Summoning Spell can truly solve that cannibalistic mystery."

Edmund decided to let the batteries try it themselves; it was almost dawn, and he wasn't going to skip class for such a trivial matter.

Once he climbed off the bed, he became a first-year student at Hogwarts again.

Halloween falls on a Monday, which is funny, because according to Professor Flitwick's original course schedule, today is the day the first-year students should be formally learning "Yugadim Leviosa".

However, due to the chaos in the first lesson, almost all the young wizards in both houses mastered the spell. Only impulsive and insecure young wizards like Pediru still struggled to use it skillfully. Compared to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the snake and the lion performed quite well.

Professor Flitwick looked as if he didn't know whether to be proud or saddened by this. Edmund noticed him sigh quietly before reviving his spirits and spending the rest of the class explaining the Locking Charm, which was roughly equivalent to the anti-Aloth Opening spell.

"Oh dear, ladies and gentlemen! Wake up—don't underestimate this spell!"

Clearly, most of the young wizards in both houses were not very interested. In a corner that Professor Flitwick hadn't noticed, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin exchanged a glance, the former smiling at the latter as if to express his apology.

The Black family certainly had a "family tradition" of using this spell; Sirius had used it to lock Lupin in the storeroom that night. Therefore,

Lupin, who hadn't yet learned the cessation spell, couldn't open the door no matter how many times he chanted "Open the Araquo!"

Lu Ping twitched his lips, and no matter how good-tempered he was, he could only show a helpless expression.

Although the relationship between the three thawed again after he persuaded Sirius, Lupin wasn't prepared to hold a grudge against Sirius—that was just his personality; he never considered the consequences of his actions, yet he wasn't usually disliked and was quite loyal to his friends.

Lupin, who hadn't interacted much with his peers before enrolling, wasn't sure if this was normal. But the feeling of being treated as "one of their own" by Sirius and James was quite peculiar.

Lupin also hoped to make some friends his own age. He was indeed magnanimous and turned a blind eye to the prank, not making a fuss about it anymore.

But looking around the classroom, very few of the young wizards seemed interested in the spell. Most of the children's thoughts were preoccupied with the Halloween dinner being prepared in the auditorium.

Fortunately, Professor Flitwick was quite experienced in handling such situations. He waved his wand, making a trumpet-like sound to attract the attention of the entire classroom, then cleared his throat:

"This spell is inconspicuous, and even in higher grades, students often forget it and are locked in the bathroom by their classmates, causing them to be late for class!"

"Young wizards, please remember this well, because this phenomenon is so common that even the most good-natured professor will not show any sympathy for it!"

"Only Merlin knows how many times I've emphasized this, hoping you'll listen carefully. Remember, the Locking Charm is the anti-Charm of 'Alohomora,' meaning it counters the latter, not the other way around!"

"To open a door locked by a locking spell, you must learn a stopping spell like 'Stop Spell'—but let me warn you beforehand, if you play pranks on your classmates before learning the stopping spell, the worst-case scenario is expulsion! So learn it well, but don't rush to use it!"

This drew some snickers, but it also piqued the interest of many students.

Upon hearing this, Sirius made a face at Lupin again; while Edmund became curious and prepared to raise his hand to ask Professor Flitwick why he didn't teach the Stop Charm first and then the Locking Charm.

Seeing that the children had come to their senses, Professor Flitwick dragged out a small wooden box to explain the secrets of casting spells to the students. In addition, he told a joke that made many Slytherins unable to laugh, saying that there was once a wizarding family that was very confident in their magical powers. They used "nearly 300 wonderful locking charms" to lock up their treasures, claiming that it was far more secure and safer than Gringotts.

Less than six months later, the treasure was stolen by thieves. The family was shocked and tried to investigate, only to find that a group of Muggles had opened the lock with a paperclip. Yes, they had taken every precaution to protect themselves from magic, but they had overlooked the most basic security measure: making the lock difficult to pick.

This caused Gryffindor to laugh repeatedly. Slytherin, however, pursed their lips, unwilling to believe the story was true.

Edmund seized the opportunity to raise his hand and ask the question he wanted to ask.

This should have been an awkward question, but Professor Flitwick's response was not forced.

"Excellent question, Mr. Soman. You are a very thoughtful person."

"Thinking back, I might have had similar questions when I was in first grade. There were so many spells, and they were so useful..."

Why are such "basic" concepts not included in first-grade textbooks, but instead taught several years later?

"I think you can probably guess: on the one hand, it's because they are far more difficult than they seem. Take the example of 'Instant Stop' (咒立停). Based on our experience in daily life, if we compare incantations to drawing on a blank sheet of paper, then 'Instant Stop' should be the eraser, matching the incantation, right?"

"wrong."

Professor Flitwick smiled and shook his head.

"That's not how magic works, children. While magic has many ambiguities, it also has certain requirements. Take stopping spells, for example. If you don't have sufficient knowledge of spells and don't understand the spell you want to use—while it might not backfire, it's bound to be ineffective!"

The short professor winked mischievously.

"On the other hand, that's naturally thanks to Bathilda Bagshot! I have no intention of questioning whether the Standard Spells are up to standard!"

"Alright, kids! I can tell you're all pretty distracted. Do whatever you want for the rest of the class!"