Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 312 No Progress Whatsoever

Ron wasn't angry about becoming Harry's guinea pig for testing spells. After the initial shock, he even found the spell amusing, viewing the Upside-Down Bell Curse as nothing more than a harmless prank.

Having endured countless cruel jokes from the twins, Ron didn't take Harry's behavior to heart at all. Instead, he pestered Harry to teach him the spell. And the moment he saw Hermione, he told her about it as a joke.

"...Just like that, a bright light flashed by, and I fell back onto the bed!" Ron said with a grin, taking a bite of the sausage in his hand.

Hermione listened quietly, but her face didn't show the smile Harry and Ron had hoped for. It was cold, and tinged with displeasure.

"That's something you learned from that book, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry frowned involuntarily at his words, his tone tinged with impatience, and replied, "That's right, but... so what?"

"A handwritten, unfamiliar spell, and you experimented on your best friend just to see what would happen? Didn't you realize how serious the problem was?" Hermione's tone was very serious, and her face was stern. "I thought that after all this time, you would have learned something."

"So what if it's handwritten? It's just a joke, it's no big deal, and Ron isn't hurt!" Harry retorted.

"When you were experimenting, didn't you consider the possibility that someone might get hurt?" Hermione said. "Besides, this spell might be forbidden by the Ministry of Magic..."

"That can't be!" Harry and Ron exclaimed in unison. "We were just joking, it's not that serious..."

"Hanging someone upside down for fun? Who do you know who would do that?" Hermione asked.

"Fred and George, I don't even know how many times they've pranked me. They love playing these kinds of pranks, and now they have such a big shop." Ron's face was still full of indifference. He shrugged and took another bite of the sausage in his hand.

Hermione was about to say something when Harry interrupted her.

"My dad."

"What?" Hermione and Ron asked in unison.

“My father used that spell,” Harry said, then told the two of them what he had seen in Dumbledore’s Pensieve. As he spoke, a strange thought suddenly arose in his mind: perhaps, the Half-Blood Prince was his father?

Ron listened and showed an expression of agreement, but Hermione clearly still insisted on her own opinion.

“Perhaps your father used it, Harry,” she said, “but he’s not the only one who knows this spell. We’ve all seen a bunch of people use it, remember? Suspending people in mid-air, making them dizzy, and posing them in all sorts of ways?”

Harry was startled, his mind naturally flashing back to what he had witnessed on the night of the Quidditch World Cup final, and his expression changed. Ron, however, remained unfazed, saying, "That's a different matter, Hermione."

"Those guys are abusing this magic; we were just messing around."

"I just want you to realize how dangerous your actions are!" Hermione said sternly. "Whatever spells you learned from that book, you shouldn't use them on people directly. At the very least, you could go to that room; there are so many targets there, it won't take you long!"

Harry and Ron were speechless. They knew perfectly well that Hermione was right. Looking back now, Harry realized he had indeed been reckless.

He looked at Ron, patted him on the shoulder, and apologized again.

"Sorry, Ron."

Ron waved his hand and casually said, "It's alright, Harry, I'm fine..."

Seeing this, Hermione was about to say something to Ron when Ginny arrived and handed Harry a roll of parchment.

"This is for you, Harry!" she said, sitting down next to Hermione and asking with interest, "What were you two talking about?"

No one answered him. Harry opened the parchment and, seeing the familiar handwriting, exclaimed happily, "Thank you, Ginny... Dumbledore's going to give me another lesson! On Monday night!"

"Ah, this is wonderful!" Ron said immediately.

"Yes, to be honest, it's been so long, I thought he'd forgotten... By the way, Ginny, are you coming to Hogsmeade with us?" Harry asked.

"No, I'm going with Dean..." Ginny said, earning a glare from Ron. But this clearly didn't frighten Ginny; she said goodbye to Hermione and left.

Breakfast ended with Ron constantly nagging Ginny. After they wrapped themselves up and passed Filch's inspection, they finally set off for Hogsmeade.

The weather was terrible today; it was windy and snowing. The wind, carrying snow, stung their faces like knives. Harry and the others had wrapped their faces tightly with scarves, leaving only their eyes to see where they were going, but frankly, it didn't really help.

It was so cold that even the tiny crack that was exposed was numb from the cold.

Along the way, they saw many others struggling through the wind and snow, which made them somewhat regretful. Wouldn't it have been better to stay in the warm public rest area in this weather?

They finally arrived at Hogsmeade, only to find Zonko's Joke Shop closed, its doors and windows boarded up tightly, which dampened the spirits of the three. After walking a while longer, their spirits lifted upon seeing Honeydukes.

The door was still open.

"Bravo Merlin!" After finally squeezing into Honey Duke, feeling the warm air filled with the scent of candy, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Ron even suggested that they just stay there for a day.

"No, I've already made plans with Sirius," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Okay, I was just venting," Ron muttered, then laughed and pounced on the shelves full of candy. The closure of the Joker's joke shop had actually helped him out; he had already decided to spend all his allowance on candy.

Harry and Hermione weren't idle either; they also bought candy. Bee sizzling candy was undoubtedly the most popular, and pineapple preserves were also quite good. Apart from the inhumane candy pile of cockroaches, Harry bought some of everything else.

"What are these?" Harry asked, pointing to Hermione's quill-like items as he paid. "When did they start selling quills here?"

"This is a high-grade candy quill pen, similar to a lollipop. You can lick one for hours." Hermione paid the bill without hesitation and then carefully stuffed her candy into her robe.

"By the way, where did you and Sirius meet?" she asked.

"The Hog's Head." Harry packed his candy and then called to Ron, who was struggling with his decision.

"Ron, hurry up, we have to go!"

(End of this chapter)