Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 18: The Book of Spells and Standard Spells

Hogwarts is quiet at night, giving it the feel of a gloomy castle from a horror movie.

However, it only appeared to be completely deserted.

In many cases, all the rules of Hogwarts are useless. As long as you are capable enough to do something outrageous without being discovered or caught, all the rules are just empty words and have no effect.

This is especially true of curfews and forest bans.

Although Dumbledore would emphasize this every year at the opening banquet, almost all the upperclassmen had broken these two rules.

Ike could clearly sense that there were two students standing close together at the door of an abandoned classroom next to the corner of the stairs on the fifth floor, doing something he didn't know.

Their illusion spells weren't very well-practiced, and Ike noticed the unusual magical fluctuations just by glancing around as he went downstairs.

"Looks like he doesn't even have Lv1 level."

Ignoring the two, whether they were a British specialty or simply attracted to each other, Ike cautiously made his way to the library.

The library doors were closed at night, but not locked; they opened with a gentle push.

He slammed the door shut behind him and went straight to the entrance to the forbidden book section. Although it was locked, it was practically unlocked; he opened it with a single unlocking spell.

"If you just don't get caught, nothing will happen to you."

Ike muttered to himself, gaining a deeper understanding of the Hogwarts school rules.

Unlike the books outside the door that students could freely browse, Ike felt a chill as soon as he stepped through the door to the restricted book area.

The description "content unsuitable for young students" encapsulates all the books in the restricted section.

But note the key points: unsuitable, and too young.

Some of the content is indeed very dangerous, such as books related to black magic. The vast majority of those books are shrouded in vicious and insidious magic. Anyone who picks them up without knowing the truth may suffer harm in ways that are not limited to biting, curses, or soul impacts. The content is also mostly related to forbidden bloodline fusion, vicious curses, the cultivation of evil magical creatures, and sacrificial rituals.

These are clearly not suitable for young wizards with low levels of magical skill and understanding.

Conversely, if a wizard has a high level of magical skill, understanding of magic, and control over magical power, there shouldn't be any major problems with looking through it.

Ike carefully examined the forbidden books on the shelf, completely ignoring those with blood-red or unidentified leather covers and those with barely audible whispers—those he dared not touch yet.

Others, still struggling while chained, were simply walked away.

After searching for a while, Ike finally found what he wanted on what looked like an ordinary bookshelf.

Miranda Goshak's Book of Spells and the complete, uncut version of Standard Spells.

The Book of Spells was Miranda Goshak's first spellbook. Upon publication, it was translated into 72 languages, including those of fairies and mermaids, and used in magic schools all over the world.

However, it caused considerable controversy because it contained some malevolent spells. Although Miranda Gossack believed that using moderately aggressive spells could prevent students from resolving disputes by using more dangerous spells, this clearly did not satisfy skeptics and opponents. Thus, at some point, the *Book of Spells* was placed in the restricted section of the library.

Unfortunately, locking up the Book of Spells couldn't stop the evil spells from spreading among young wizards.

"Standard Spells" is a textbook specifically written by Miranda Kerr after the boycott of "The Book of Spells," drawing on her own experiences studying at Hogwarts, specifically for young wizards learning spells. Compared to "The Book of Spells," "Standard Spells" contains more spells and provides more detailed explanations.

However, the first edition of Standard Spells still contained many prank spells and even offensive spells that could cause serious damage, which led Standard Spells to follow in the footsteps of The Book of Spells.

The subsequent series of teaching materials were the result of removing evil curses and offensive spells, and some of the more difficult spells were even removed.

For example, the Guardian Charm.

Both the Book of Spells and the complete, uncut version of the Standard Spells contain guardian spells.

He placed the two books inside his robe, hugged them tightly, locked the door to the forbidden book section, and quietly walked towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

Hogwarts is almost as lively at night as during the day, with mischievous kids enjoying giving the castle keeper a hard time. Peeves loves to give Filch and Mrs. Norris extra work, and the Gryffindor Weasley twins are among the best.

Ike didn't want to gamble on whether the Christmas dinner had made the troublemakers abandon their plans for tonight, or perhaps it was their subconscious guilt after doing something bad that made them return much faster.

After observing the Ravenclaw door for a while and confirming that there was nothing amiss, Ike gently knocked on the door knocker.

"Where does afternoon arrive before morning?"

"In the dictionary."

"A very good answer."

The bronze door knocker finished speaking in a muffled voice, opened the door, and revealed an archway leading to the common room. Ike, maintaining his Disillusionment Charm, walked straight through the common room back to his dormitory.

Put the spoils under your pillow and go straight to bed.

When Ike woke up the next morning, it was almost noon. Stuart and Terry were out playing somewhere again, but Ike didn't investigate. After a quick wash, he took two books and went to the portrait of the troll beating up Barnabas.

He walked back and forth three times, silently imagining a room that belonged exclusively to Ike Strayder of Ravenclaw, and just as Ike had expected, a magnificent door appeared on the wall.

Pushing open the door, you enter a room very similar to the Ravenclaw common room. It's spacious, with a fireplace burning brightly opposite the door. Above the fireplace is a row of letters that glow softly white, spelling out Ike's name. To the left of the fireplace is a single sofa, and the floor is covered with a Ravenclaw blue rug. Above the eagle embroidery in the center of the rug is a wooden coffee table.

Behind the sofa was a potion-making workbench, complete with a cauldron, cutting board, knife, grinder, spoon, and other potion-making tools. Next to it was a cabinet, though it was empty of potion-making materials. Against the opposite wall stood a desk, similar to the one in Ike's dormitory, flanked by two rows of bookshelves. These books, besides those owned and used by Ike, included hundreds of books unique to the Room of Requirement, such as *The Self-Defense Spellbook*, *Outsmarting the Dark Arts*, and *Common Spells and Counterspells*.

Sitting on the sofa, Ike placed "Standard Spells" on the coffee table and opened the "Book of Spells." He had reached level 6 in most of the spells inside. He glanced at the remaining spells; prank spells like the Bat Spirit Spell, the Tooth-in-a-Stick Spell, and the Dancing Spell weren't complicated. Some of them Ike had already studied, but hadn't used, so their levels weren't displayed on his useless notebook system.

After flipping through it, only one spell remained, which happened to be the very spell that Ike had sneaked into the forbidden section of books for:

One of the oldest and most powerful defensive spells—the Patronus Charm!

I had a difficult time getting home, and the drive left me completely disoriented. I still managed one update. I'll start making up for it tomorrow, striving to become a terrifyingly strong triple-updater.

(End of this chapter)