Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 50 Magical Outburst

Black marks.

As Dumbledore pondered those words, he looked at Harry's scar, his gaze becoming profound.

Voldemort's influence on Harry was deeper than he thought, and the connection between the two seemed to be even closer.

He suspected that the black mark that broke the troll's skin was Harry unintentionally using the power Voldemort had left in the scar.

Dumbledore had some thoughts about the scar, though he didn't show them on his face. Perhaps it was time to make some changes to the plan against Quirrell.

"A wonderful encounter!"

Dumbledore turned to look at Hermione, Ron, and Harry in turn, praising them, "Wisdom, sacrifice, courage—even just hearing you recount them, I can see the brilliance of these qualities."

Harry and Hermione blushed when they heard this.

Loren clicked his tongue, unimpressed. "Is there a reward?"

Dumbledore ignored the question and looked into Loren's eyes. "I have a vague idea about the strange light you saw."

The group looked at Dumbledore with curiosity.

"A wizard's magic is closely related to his soul and emotions. I think that when you first discovered that you were unusual, your emotions were also unusual."

Harry recalled some of his amazing experiences, like being chased by Dudley and his gang and ending up flying up a chimney. At the zoo, wanting to teach Dudley a lesson, he made the glass disappear and released a python.

Hermione recalled how, when she was a child, she would get so excited while reading fairy tales that she would float up with the book.

Loren thought of his magical eyes, and he felt that his awakening of magic began with his eyes.

Dumbledore waited quietly for the group to snap out of their reverie before continuing, "Young wizards' souls are not very stable, and they are more prone to magical outbursts when their emotions are running high."

Generally speaking, wizards below the third grade are at the bottom, and their magic is so weak that they cannot even cast slightly more advanced spells.

As students grow older, they can access more complex spells that require a higher level of magical power. Spells like Patronus Charm and Apparition require not only a wizard's understanding of magic, but also a significant amount of magical power.

Adult wizards vary too much to be categorized.

There is a gap between ordinary wizards and Aurors, a gap between Aurors and Hogwarts professors, a gap between a dueling champion like Flitwick and a professor like Quirrell, and beyond that is a realm where only a handful of people exist.

The increase in magic power is not simply a matter of quantity, nor is it about how many spells a novice wizard can cast versus how many spells an adult wizard can cast.

There's also the matter of quality; different qualities of magic will produce completely different effects when casting the same spell. Many factors are involved, and no one can explain it clearly.

When Loren is just messing around, he can keep casting [Open the Gates] for most of the day. When fighting a giant, one fire spell will take him out of the game.

Loren asked, "Headmaster Dumbledore, why can emotions increase magical power?"

"I don't know, Loren." Dumbledore reached up to stroke his beard.

This answer surprised the group; there was something even the famous Dumbledore didn't know.

"In fact, most of the mysteries of magic remain unknown."

Dumbledore explained, then added, "Emotions can also have a negative effect; long-term repression of emotions can lead to annihilation."

"Obscurus!" Hermione exclaimed, covering her mouth. She knew this.

Some unfortunate young wizards despise their own magic, and the long-term suppression of their emotions can lead to magical mutations that harm others and themselves.

Silently, Dumbledore recalled events from decades ago, those people, those ideals.

"Headmaster? Headmaster Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore didn't come to his senses until Loren called him. "Sorry, I'm getting old, and I can't concentrate as well."

Dumbledore continued, "When magic flares up, a wizard follows an instinct. He might unleash some magic, become impulsive, or do nothing at all; it's hard to say."

Harry recalled his state at the time and understood why he had charged toward the troll.

"So it was a magical outburst, huh? I knew I couldn't have been so impulsive!" Harry chuckled sheepishly.

"In fact, the magical surge is an instinct that follows you," Dumbledore repeated.

Harry sensed this might not be a nice thing to say and stammered, "W-what do you mean?"

Loren chuckled: "That means you're impulsive to begin with."

No one made fun of him, but Harry found Dumbledore's smile irritating.

Hermione tried to put on a serious expression; she was very proper, if you didn't look at her trembling shoulders.

"Courage is a precious quality."

Dumbledore changed the subject, "In my old wizard's perception, there are residual magical fluctuations in all four of you."

Loren was somewhat surprised; he thought only Harry and Ron were affected, but he and Hermione had also experienced a magical outburst.

Seemingly sensing Loren's confusion, Dumbledore explained, "Life and death both possess powerful magic. You are on the edge of life and death, your magic, body, and soul are all in an extraordinary state, and the magical outburst is only a matter of degree."

Hermione nodded. "I feel a bit more relaxed casting spells in class."

"Don't use your full power to cast spells for at least a week or two. Your magic will continue to grow for some time," Dumbledore warned the group.

Dumbledore looked at Ron, "Even now, your friend who dared to sacrifice himself still has a strong surge of magic within him."

The group's gazes were focused on Ron, who was bandaged and had a red mark on the tip of his nose, but his expression remained calm.

Harry said, "He felt very guilty, thinking that he had put us in danger."

Hermione was also a little downcast. "It's all my fault. I was too arrogant. Ron's wand just wasn't right for him." She thought Ron was dead when he collapsed on the ground and vomited blood.

Harry and Loren fell silent. It would be easy to buy Ron a wand, but Ron wouldn't accept it; friendship mixed with Galleons would become strange.

Loren's plan to acquire Peter Pettigrew's chestnut wand has been confiscated by the Ministry of Magic, leaving him with no other options.

"Madam Pomfrey said his injuries are nothing serious," Harry said softly.

Dumbledore praised him, saying, "He values ​​friendship and has the courage to sacrifice; he is a true Gryffindor."

Loren also admitted that although Ron was usually gluttonous, didn't like studying, and was used to complaining and talking nonsense, he really did his job when it mattered.

"I think that although trolls don't have any special magical materials, they can still fetch a good price," Dumbledore said with a smile, looking at the group.

"I can exchange the troll for Galleons as a reward for you, about 50 Galleons."

A wand costs 7 Galleons, Hermione quickly calculated, "Giving Ron a share would be enough to buy a wand!"

Harry hesitated for a moment: "Is this okay?" He gave all the money from selling the troll to a few students.

"Of course, you defeated the trolls and protected the castle; that's what you deserve." Dumbledore then mentioned another matter, "You defeated the trolls, but you also broke school rules by leaving the group and acting alone—"

Hermione stared intently at Dumbledore, as if he were about to announce her final grades.

"If the merits and demerits cancel each other out, no points will be deducted."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"But they'll all have to be put in solitary confinement under Professor Snape's supervision!"

The little witch's expression turned dejected.

Loren had been with Snape for a long time and had no objections to this.

Harry was about to explode. "Can't we get a different professor?! Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, even Professor Binns would do!"

Harry felt that Snape would relentlessly target him even in class, let alone put him in solitary confinement. Snape would definitely force-feed him all sorts of poisons, and then have Loren and the others concoct antidotes!

Dumbledore didn't change his mind. He chatted with the group for a while, told them to rest well, listen to Madam Pomfrey, and then took Hermione back.

"You all get some rest. Seamus and the others will come to see you tomorrow!" The little witch waved and closed the door.

(End of this chapter)