Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 39 Ironclad Spell Practice (4k)

Snape's words put Loren at ease; something he had been thinking about since before he even entered school was finally going to have a result.

Loren felt somewhat relieved, but not overly joyful; the scene he had just witnessed had had a profound impact on him.

That feeling, that sense of helplessness, and even the anger that rose when he felt he had been played—every detail left an indelible mark on Loren's heart.

Snape fulfilled his duty as a professor by not refusing the offer, though Loren felt uneasy about it.

Back in the lounge, Loren washed himself thoroughly three times until the cold, slippery feeling completely disappeared before lying down on the bed.

His roommate was already asleep. Loren lay flat on the bed with his eyes open, looking at the ceiling, or as if he were looking at something else through the ceiling.

He was mentally exhausted, and waves of drowsiness surged through his mind. Finally, it felt like he was stuck somewhere, very sleepy, but unable to fall asleep.

I closed my eyes and felt like I was about to enter a dream. In the dream, I vaguely saw countless snakes coiled and intertwined.

Loren felt that a long time had passed, but he was still awake. He could seem to hear the calls of unknown birds coming from afar through the window.

After a moment's hesitation, Loren pointed to the Book of Fantasy.

A halo flashed before Loren's eyes, and the scene before him changed to a bright and clear library.

Flamel seemed oblivious to Loren's odd behavior, circling him twice: "Today we're going to learn about function words and grammar."

Loren stared at Flamel, trying to see the snake in him; their writhing movements were somewhat similar.

"Flamemer, I don't want to study today." Loren's voice was weak.

Flamel looked at Loren: "Oh! Of course!"

Nico's face, which he was wearing, began to contort, and his voice became even shriller: "You don't want to study today? It's the weekend. There are four weekends a month, and fifty weekends a year."

"If you live to be a hundred, you'll have over four thousand weekends left!"

"Of course! You'll be the craftsman of the Philosopher's Stone, and you'll have countless weekends to enjoy!"

Loren, oblivious to Flamel's odd behavior, assumed he was advising him to study harder and explained, "It's not because it's the weekend, I'm just..."

After a pause, Loren continued his account of the day's events: "...After coming back, I felt a bit tired, so I just came in to relax."

Flamel seemed to have calmed down, floating in the air, and remained silent for a long time.

Loren didn't say anything more. He rested his head on the table, staring at the distant, unreal, bright lights. His eyes narrowed, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Flamel looked at the little figure on the table. This was the person chosen by the prophecy. He was only eleven years old and did not know that every gift of fate had its price.

"Sigh~"

"How does fate ultimately choose its course, Albus?"

Flamel rose into the air, emitting a bright, shimmering white light.

Loren was half asleep, feeling like you had a Friday off, stayed up until who knows how late, and then fell asleep. Saturday was drizzling, the sky outside was gray, and you seemed to open your eyes briefly, glance out the window, and then fall asleep again.

When I woke up, I felt like I had slept for a century. I opened my eyes with a sense of joy, knowing it was another day full of energy.

When Loren opened his eyes, he saw the bright library again, with Flamel floating on a bookshelf in the distance, flipping through a Muggle play.

Seeing Loren wake up, Flamel put down his book and floated over: "Loren, do you feel your powerlessness?"

"???"

Loren looked puzzled. What nonsense are you talking about?

"If you had Dumbledore's power, would you still encounter this kind of thing?" Flamel asked with a seductive look.

"Which first-year wizard could possess Dumbledore's power?" Loren thought Flamel might need to be sent back for repairs.

Flamel ignored the flaw Loren pointed out: "You'll encounter many more situations like this in the future. Don't waste your talent. Loren, you need to learn to fight."

After careful consideration, Loren realized that there was still the battle against the Death Eaters to come, so improving his combat skills was a good idea.

"Shall we start using the duel room?"

"No, you're not qualified." Flamel's decisiveness hurt Loren's pride.

"You could have been more tactful, so what should I do?"

"Loren, you need to master spells in reality before you can use them in the dueling room." Flamel intended to help Loren grow quickly, "to utilize your talent and build your own fighting force."

"Why not practice your spells in the dueling room?"

"The release of a spell requires not only the wizard's will but also the participation of the body. Wizards skilled in duels will hone their spells to the point of instinct."

Loren immediately pictured Harry's "Expelliarmus" in his mind, and nodded as if he understood, "If you say so, then so be it."

"Your talent allows you to practice spells much faster; you need to differentiate yourself."

"Find what suits you best, not what is most powerful."

"Finally, learn the Ironclad Spell first."

……

Breakfast time.

On the Gryffindor long table are stewed beans, bread, and salad. Those who prefer meat will choose smoked meat and fried sausage.

Only Loren ate steak for breakfast. Ron watched Loren finish the last bite, swallow it, and then lick his lips.

It has to be admitted that watching Loren eat is a pleasure. Just by watching him, you can almost feel the aroma of the well-done steak mixed with the salty and sweet juices, permeating every strand of meat.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Loren picked up the vegetable juice to cleanse his mouth of the taste; he wanted to replenish the energy he had lost last night.

Ron was still staring blankly, his eyes following Loren's hand movements: "No, nothing, it's just that it feels weird to have steak for breakfast."

"Wow, I highly recommend you try it tomorrow too."

After speaking, Loren moved closer to Hermione and asked, "Hermione, what are your plans for today?"

Hermione was a little dazed; she had stayed up late the night before working on her Transfiguration assignment and hadn't slept enough. She blinked, looking blankly at Loren: "I spent the whole weekend in the library."

"I need your help!" Loren felt that Hermione was the only one in the first year who could help him.

Not knowing what was going on, Hermione was dragged by Loren to the Room of Requirement.

Loren paced back and forth in front of the badly beaten Barnabas, instructing the Room of Requirement to set up a dueling room, and then pulled Hermione inside.

"For reasons I can't tell you yet, I need to improve my combat skills, at least to a certain level." Loren pressed on Hermione's shoulder, his blue eyes fixed on her brown eyes. "You've mastered the most spells in your first year, so I need your help."

Last night, Flamel made a demand that he at least master the Ironclad Charm and learn to take a beating before he can hit someone.

Hermione didn't press for details, but simply counted on her fingers: "The only spell I know that can be used in combat right now is the Binding Charm."

The little witch looked a little dejected. "I can't help you. I still don't know enough spells." After thinking for a moment, she realized she already knew the most spells among the freshmen, and continued, "I don't think we need to focus on practical application right now. We're only freshmen."

"That's enough. What I want to practice is the Ironclad Charm. You just need to cast the spell on me," Loren explained.

It didn't sound like there was any problem, Hermione nodded.

Loren briefly explained the Armor Charm: "The Armor Charm is a spell that can resist many spells. An invisible magical barrier will appear in the direction the caster's wand is pointing, deflecting or dissipating objects or spells to protect the caster and a certain area around them."

Unlike other spells, the Ironclad Spell does not provide a response immediately upon casting.

Improvements are needed based on different defensive outcomes. Ideally, it would be possible to control the direction in which enemy spells are deflected or to make them dissipate.

Furthermore, it can protect the entire body with this invisible magical barrier.

Of course, if Loren can fully release a protective barrier today, that would be considered a success.

Hermione suddenly remembered, "Miranda Goshak mentioned in 'Advanced Spells' that many adult wizards may not be able to cast this spell."

Hermione has been interested in the legendary witch ever since she last saw Miranda Goshak's manuscripts.

Hermione borrowed other books by the same author from the library, and Mrs. Pince provided great help, saving her a lot of time.

"I don't think this is a spell a first-year student could learn, Loren," Hermione advised, already having some guesses. "Are you having some trouble? We can go find the professor and the headmaster now." Hermione's tone was urgent.

It's clearly not normal for a student to suddenly be asked to learn a defensive spell that's beyond their current scope.

"Stop, stop!" Loren stopped Hermione's imagination. "It's just a spell, nothing more."

After some persuasion, Hermione reluctantly accepted Loren's explanation.

The two stood two or three meters apart, their wands pointed in each other's direction.

Hermione was a little nervous; this was the first time she'd ever cast a spell on someone. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Hermione asked again, "Are you ready?"

Loren was also a little nervous, hissing as he breathed out, "Ready?"

"Are you ready?"

"certainly!"

"Are you ready?"

"Yes?" Loren hesitated.

"Are you ready?"

Loren couldn't take it anymore. "You're playing SpongeBob SquarePants' opening theme here: 'Enough, Hermione!'"

"Ah! [Petrify All]!" Hermione was startled by Loren's impatient tone, but under the pressure, the spell flowed surprisingly smoothly.

The magic wand made of grapevine wood emitted a faint white light.

Loren was still lost in the melody of his conversation with the captain and didn't react at all. He stood up, his hands pressed tightly against his trouser seams, his face turning blue, and then fell straight to the ground.

Hermione was also witnessing the spell's true form for the first time. She was stunned for a moment, then quickly recovered: "I told you you weren't ready!" Her tone was also somewhat aggrieved. "Why are you yelling at me!"

"We should have coordinated more times."

"If you hadn't yelled at me, I wouldn't have panicked so much..."

The little witch grumbled and complained about Loren, but it took her a while to remember to lift the spell on him.

The attempt to break the curse didn't go smoothly; it took several tries before Loren's stiff body finally relaxed.

"It's all your fault!" Hermione slapped Loren on the shoulder in frustration.

Loren felt wronged, but dared not say so, as he still needed Loren's help, and it was indeed Loren who had been impolite.

Brushing off imaginary dust, Loren feigned nonchalance: "Let's try again. This time I'll definitely cooperate."

The two returned to their original positions, wands pointing at each other.

"Are you ready?" Hermione's voice was no longer tense.

"Yes, Captain!" Loren swore to himself, "I'll do whatever you say, even if you say it a hundred times."

"Petrify them all!" After confirming the situation once, Hermione acted decisively.

Loren, who was bracing himself for the next captain's greeting, watched helplessly as the white light pointed at him. His inner voice screamed: I refuse to accept this!!!

Loren stared wide-eyed as he fell straight down.

"Sigh," Hermione sighed, "you're not ready."

Hermione didn't say anything more, and sighed as she lifted the curse on Loren.

Loren stood up again, brushing off non-existent dust: "Cough cough, it was an accident. It definitely won't happen again next time."

Hermione shook her head and returned to her spot: "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"【All petrified】"

"[Armor Protection]"

The two spoke almost simultaneously, but the Ironclad Spell was not a basic spell, and Loren failed to summon a magical barrier.

Once again, Loren fell.

Hermione had a premonition that she might be very tired today, constantly casting and breaking spells. "Sigh~"

Loren stood up again, his tense muscles making him breathe a little rapidly, and his face felt hot.

Neither of them spoke, and they returned to their original positions.

"【All petrified】"

"[Armor Protection]"

Loren sensed it the moment he cast the spell. He still failed to summon a magical barrier. Shame quickly drove his brain, and Loren dodged to the side, avoiding the petrification.

The two's practice is on track.

For almost the entire morning, Loren only managed to neutralize Hermione's spell twice.

The good news is that Hermione has become much more skilled at casting and breaking spells; the bad news is that Loren still cannot reliably cast the Ironclad Curse.

"Ahem, Hermione, I don't think I can let you keep repeating this. It's not helping you." Driven by some strange sense of pride, Loren came up with a brilliant idea to take Hermione down once.

"What are your thoughts?" Hermione knew that Loren hadn't learned any offensive spells yet; Seamus had said that the explosive spells were too powerful for practice.

"Let's have a wizard's duel!" Loren said in a serious, sanctimonious manner.

"The current record is 21 to 0." Hermione raised her chin, her face full of pride.

The two bowed, held their wands to their chests, and stared intently at each other's movements.

"Petrify them all!" Hermione was the first to act.

Loren had been waiting for this moment. He quickly rolled to the side, crouching down as he aimed at Hermione's right shoe: "[Yugadimur Leviosa]".

The Levitation Charm made the shoes want to run around, causing Hermione to lose her balance and stumble towards the ground. Before falling, she hurriedly cast a Binding Charm on Loren.

Hermione had been using this spell all morning, and her hands were feeling hot.

Both of them lay on the ground, their shoulders touching, but Loren had lost the ability to fight.

Hermione's smile radiated from her exposed teeth, from the crescent shape of her eyes, and from every inch of her face. Loren could feel her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Hermione patted Loren on the shoulder and slowly stood up: "Mr. Morgan, 22 to 0, haha..."

Something came up today, so I'll only be updating once, but it's in 4K, which is practically the same as no update.

(End of this chapter)