I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 23: You must be brave enough to take the first step.

As Owen entered the dark magic classroom, before he could even take a good look at the huge steel chandelier on the ceiling, he was overwhelmed by the strong smell of garlic.

I don't know what that idiot Quirrell was thinking. Even if it was to cover up the stench of corruption from Voldemort residing on the back of his head, there were plenty of other options.

Spray some perfume.

Or it could be filled with flowers, like the common room in Hufflepuff.

If all else fails, you can set up a barbecue stall as decoration!

This counts as you putting in the effort.

And what happened? You picked a clove of garlic.

Damn it, garlic!

This is an insult to us Hufflepuffs!

"Professor, could you teach us some offensive spells? Like the Disarming Charm, the Petrifying Charm, and so on." These words came from Hannah of Hufflepuff.

Ever since she was beaten up by Owen, she has been rapidly gaining momentum in Hermione's direction.

This worried Irving greatly. Goodness, was this girl planning to retaliate against him later?

On the stage, Quirrell, pretending to be a stutterer, was rambling on as he recounted how he helped an African prince escape from a resurrected zombie.

He was taken aback when he suddenly heard Hannah's words.

He had already heard the same thing yesterday.

The speaker was a Mudman with fluffy brown hair.

"Miss Abbott, I—I think first-year wizards—don't yet have the ability to master this kind of magic. Perhaps you could read more related books and accumulate theoretical experience?" Quirrell said vaguely, his face flushed.

This is his usual tactic.

His survival rule at Hogwarts was to keep a low profile as much as possible.

Becoming a popular star professor among students is definitely within reach!

"But—" Hannah wanted to say something more, raising her wand as if to prove that she could successfully cast a spell.

But perhaps because he was too nervous, he recited the spell many times, but the wand remained completely still, without even a spark.

This made the little witch a little anxious. She hurriedly waved her wand, her face flushed, and her eyes kept glancing at Owen sitting to the side.

Um.

Irving can prove it.

Justin too.

After being beaten, Hannah did indeed master a spell.

Obstacles upon obstacles—Obstacle Spell!

Although she's not very skilled at it yet, succeeding only once every three or four attempts on average, it's still something to be proud of, because it surpasses most first-year wizards, and even second-year ones.

"I—I just succeeded."

"Alright, Miss Abbott," Quirrell said, seizing the opportunity to back down. "That—is an Obstruction Charm, right? But—you're not very skilled at it. Perhaps you could practice more, and come back to me once you've fully mastered the spell, okay?"

Hearing this, Hannah slumped back down.

She didn't know why, even though she used to always want to lie down and relax, now she was thinking about learning more spells.

Perhaps she was influenced by a brown-haired girl?

Irving, who had been observing everything, was very satisfied with Hannah's current condition.

Roll it up!

Roll them all up for me.

Involution saves the world!

As he spoke, Owen's gaze shifted from Hannah to Quirrell.

A voice seemed to rise from the depths of the darkness.

"Ding—Loading the Leziren module."

Loading successful.

"Professor—are the resurrected zombies you mentioned the Yin Corpses?"

Irving, having chosen to act alongside this famous Oscar-winning actor, decisively began his first offensive.

"Can garlic really repel vampires? I've heard they're wizards too, they can use wands, and apart from drinking blood, they're no different from ordinary wizards. How could such creatures be afraid of garlic?"

As a former big shot in the dark fantasy genre.

Kyrie Irving has actually come into contact with vampires.

In the Harry Potter world, vampires are almost indistinguishable from wizards, except that they are thick-skinned and can transform into an Animagus bats. The biggest difference is that their bodies cannot generate magic.

Vampires must rely on the blood of other magical creatures to maintain the magic within their bodies.

Note—this refers to the blood of magical creatures.

Compared to human wizards, they preferred the blood of dragons.

This is why there are very few cases of vampires attacking wizards, because they simply don't care about the meager resources inside ordinary wizards.

"Of course—" Quirrell stammered, raising the copy of "Dark Powers: A Guide to Self-Defense" in his hand with trembling hands. "Garlic—can block the magic in a vampire's body."

"But the effect will be minimal," Owen interrupted. "That level of blockage has almost no impact on the battle. They probably just hate the smell of garlic, just like we hate a professor who doesn't wash his hair and smells terrible."

"Uh—" Quirrell was momentarily speechless.

Irving pressed his advantage and launched a second attack.

He then asked, "Professor, what exactly did you encounter in the Albanian forest?"

"I hope I don't run into several vampires every few months!"

"I've heard that giant pythons, the kind that eat people, often appear there, as well as evil facehuggers, creatures that specifically parasitize wizards' brains. Have you encountered any of these?"

No—I didn't.

"What about those strange ghosts, spirits, and such? You know, the kind that lurk in the darkness, whispering in people's ears, promising all sorts of powerful magic, wealth, and power. But actually, they just want to possess that person's body."

Owen, transformed into a curious child, launched into a barrage of witty remarks, his words like a whirlwind as he attacked Quirrell. "Or he'd claim to be some famous wizard, plotting to swindle money. Like: 'I'm Merlin, I'm not dead, I know where King Arthur's treasure is. If you let me inhabit your body for a while to recuperate, I'll give you King Arthur's treasure when I'm resurrected,' and things like that."

Have you encountered any of these?

A fine bead of cold sweat trickled down Quirrell's temple. He looked at the child with a mixture of fear and excitement, as if all his secrets had been exposed.

"Professor, you look so haggard, you must have run into something!" Owen asked with concern.

"Afraid of losing face? You can't save face, right!" He then transformed into a caring older brother and continued to suggest, "I think Professor Dumbledore should open a private consultation platform to deal with wizards' encounters with wizard scams, curses, threats, and other matters that endanger their personal safety and property."

"This platform must be kept confidential, and it needs a dedicated one-to-one line. This way, we can also take care of some, oh! professors like you who are embarrassed."

"But ultimately, these are just supplementary measures. If you encounter violence, you must speak out loudly. Your silence will only embolden the criminal to commit even more brutal acts of violence next time. Professor—" Owen's simple gray eyes stared intently at Quirrell's evasive eyes.

He said, "You must be brave enough to take that first step!"

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P.S.: The main reason for today's late update is...

I'm on vacation.

This is awkward! I can't slack off! I only got up in the afternoon.

Since Voldemort's fall, many wizards have received fraudulent letters from various sources, such as: "I am Tom Riddle. Actually, I'm not dead. I'm currently recuperating in the forests of Albania. If you can send me some Galleons, I'll make you Minister for Magic when I return, ta-da!" —Ministry of Magic Anti-Fraud Center. Mr. Harry Potter has clearly stated that Tom is dead. If you receive such a letter, please send it to —Dumbledore's Anti-Fraud Column. We will dispatch a dedicated and experienced Auror with over a decade of experience being scammed to personally assist you!

(End of this chapter)