Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 9 The First Close Encounter with Voldemort

Professor Binns is definitely different from other ghosts.

Generally speaking, once someone becomes a ghost, they naturally lose their spellcasting ability. However, Professor Binns clearly still retains the magic of hypnosis and awakening. As soon as he speaks, the students in the classroom naturally drift off to sleep, and once get out of class ends, they naturally wake up again.

Stuart stretched, thinking to himself that this History of Magic class was indeed as sleep-inducing as the upperclassmen had said. It was just that he hadn't prepared well enough for the first time; next time he'd better sneak in a pillow.

Terry, who had also just woken up, yawned and beckoned Ike to go back to the common room to play. Ike shook his head, put the textbooks in Stewart's arms, and the two thick volumes of "History of Magic" were so heavy that Stewart almost dropped them when he wasn't paying attention.

"I'm going to the library, could you please take the book back for me?"

"Do you really need to study this hard, Ike?" Stuart groaned. "It's only the first day of school!"

"I'm just going to check out what books the library has," Ike shrugged. "See you later."

After saying goodbye to his roommates, Ike went straight to the library.

Hogwarts' library truly lives up to its reputation as the largest and only magic school in Britain. The first thing you see is thousands of bookshelves and hundreds of narrow passageways. Every so often, there is a long table with chairs on either side for the young wizards to use.

Tens of thousands of books were neatly arranged on the shelves, the innermost section separated by iron bars that were enchanted. The only entrance was next to the desk of the librarian, Mrs. Irma Pins. Without a professor's permission, no one could sneak into the restricted section under Mrs. Pins's nose during opening hours.

On the first day of school, there were quite a few students in the library, most of whom were in fifth grade or above and were facing OWLs and NEWTs exams. Fifth graders, in particular, faced the double pressure of coursework and academic pressure.

Ike glanced at it briefly and then turned back. He searched the bookshelf for a while using the index before finally finding a nearly complete copy of "Standard Spells".

After Miranda Gossack created "Standard Spells," it became the standard textbook for spell classes at the three major magic schools in Europe. However, the book was too thick and contained some content related to dark magic. After discussions by the International Federation of Wizards, it was divided into five books, from beginner to level five, and the section on dark magic was removed.

Hogwarts does have a complete edition of the Standard Spells, but in the restricted section, Ike could only find a collection of Standard Spells for grades one through five.

But that's enough.

Standard Spells: Beginner doesn't cover offensive spells; it's all everyday spells like Levitation and Illumination. Ike knows very well that being in the same year as the Savior means he can relax a bit in the first year, but starting in the second year, he'll face the threat of Basilisk attacks, and in the third year, there will be Dementors.

All things considered, this was the only semester that was peaceful.

Moreover, who knows how chaotic the plot will become because of Ike's presence?

Before he learned the Disillusionment Charm and could sneak into the forbidden library, this book, "Standard Spells," was Ike's only source of spells.

Petrification Charm, Stunning Charm, Disarming Charm, Shattering Charm – Ike flipped through it roughly. He could find most of the common spells he remembered, except for the Disillusionment Charm.

But it's enough for now.

Holding the "Standard Spells" book, Ike walked to Mrs. Pince's desk, gently placed the book on the table, and said softly, "Mrs. Pince, I would like to borrow this book."

Mrs. Pince adjusted her glasses, glanced at Ike, then at the "Standard Spells" on the table, and said while filling out the borrowing form, "As a first-year student, I think you should know the rules for borrowing books."

"If you scratch, tear, fold, soil, damage, throw, drop, or otherwise damage, abuse, or desecrate this book, I will make you suffer the most terrible consequences to the fullest extent of my rights."

"Believe me, you don't want to know what you're going to face."

Mrs. Pince made a copy of the borrowing list, clipped the original to the first page of "Standard Spells," and then handed it to Ike.

"The borrowing of books is time-limited, and I hope to see the book in front of me in two weeks, intact."

"As you wish, Mrs. Pince."

Ike nodded slightly and replied softly.

Leaving the library, Ike went straight to the Great Hall. Dinner at Hogwarts begins at seven o'clock, and it was already a quarter past seven.

Dinner was a bit better than lunch, with several more stews and a generous portion of fried chicken.

As soon as Ike entered the Great Hall, he saw a little red-haired lion cub performing a feat of wielding a chicken leg in each hand. He glanced at it subconsciously for a few moments before heading to the Ravenclaw table, where he found meatball spaghetti with pan-fried veal and a glass of rich pumpkin juice.

Stews are out of the question; they don't even look as good as Northeastern stew!

After dinner, the other four eaglets arrived late. Ike greeted them and returned to the common room, where he sat down on a small sofa in the corner, put on his "Hear-Blocking" device, and immersed himself in the "Standard Spell".

Without noticing when Stuart and the others returned, Ike realized he was the only one left in the common room.

Closing the book, Ike quietly pushed open the dormitory door; Stuart and Terry were already asleep.

After casting a silent spell, Ike raised his hand and made the book fly to the desk by itself. He then changed into his pajamas, quickly slipped into bed, but his mind was still on the contents of "Standard Spells".

The power of knowledge is greater than imagined. Even though the spells in the "Standard Spells" were more complex and profound, they didn't stump Ike. After an afternoon and an evening of study, Ike had almost memorized the spells written on them; all that remained was to use them successfully.

Only after successfully casting a spell will Ike's notebook system display the spell's level.

Of course, we'll have to find the right opportunity; it's not time to use the House of Requirement yet.

Before you find and learn the Disillusionment Charm, you should proceed with caution.

Upon waking, Ike, Stuart, and Terry headed to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the fourth floor. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin freshmen became the first among all the new students to experience Quirinus Quirrell's pungent and unpleasant odor up close.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom wasn't large to begin with, and Quirrell had sealed it off completely, preventing the smell from escaping and increasing its lethality. Ike sneezed as soon as he entered.

It turns out that not only yawns, but sneezes can also be contagious.

As soon as Ike finished, Stuart sneezed, followed by the Slytherin snake that had been enduring it for a while, while Clark and Goyle simply couldn't stop.

A series of murmurs followed, and Quirrell on the podium clearly looked a little embarrassed.

That's troublesome. Merlin once said that humans cannot perfectly control their body's subconscious reactions, and neither can wizards.

After sneezing, I instinctively inhaled, and the strange smell seemed to rush straight to my brain, leaving me feeling dizzy and lightheaded for a while.

"Sweep it all away!"

Perhaps the young wizards' reactions spurred Quirrell into action, for he took out his wand and cleared the air in the classroom. Sure enough, things improved considerably; at least no one sneezed anymore.

"I am...I am Quirrell...Rinas Quirrell, and you...your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Now, please...please everyone open your textbooks and begin...class."

Ike turned to the first chapter of his textbook, "Common Dark Creatures and Defense Methods." Although he couldn't memorize the entire book after reading it over the holidays, he knew the general content.

In a normal teaching process, each lesson on a dark creature would explain its defenses, with a practical lesson interspersed among several theoretical classes. Unfortunately, ever since that unnamed being failed to secure a job, the teaching level of Defense Against the Dark Arts has become extremely uneven, roughly categorized into those with some skill, those who are just slackers, and those who are even worse than slackers.

Quirrell used to be one of the more capable people, but now he's been reduced to a slacker because he's been distracted by other things.

Fortunately, Ike was mentally prepared and didn't take Quirrell's class seriously at all. He just pretended to listen attentively, but his mind wasn't on it at all.

"Should we try to get Voldemort to say something? This is our only chance to face the Dark Lord face-to-face without being attacked by Avada Kedavra..."

(End of this chapter)