A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 593 Refining the Heart in the Mortal World

Being a professional drug trial participant is not easy, especially for a good one.

You need to be physically fit, have strong mental resilience, and be less likely to develop drug resistance.

They also need to provide accurate feedback to know how their body's various indicators change after taking the medication.

This is a technical job.

Of course, pharmaceutical companies make a lot of money. If you do well in this field, you can really say with pride:

I'm a post-2000s generation, a pharmaceutical worker with a government job, and I earn over 100,000 yuan a month. What about you?

However, high income often means high risk.

If it's not dried well... it might not even take half a month before a white cloth is laid on top, a suona is blown, and the whole village, young and old, is waiting for the food to be served.

Actually, Ron doesn't need to worry too much about this. The twins are developing a prank product, not poison.

At most, it might cause nosebleeds, a day of unconsciousness, abdominal pain comparable to a C-section, constipation for half a year, or frequent or incomplete urination...

Putting aside these minor issues, people working in the pharmaceutical industry are generally quite safe.

So, overall, Ron is still making a good profit by working as a drug dealer to pay off his debts. He'll definitely become addicted to this kind of quick-money thrill.

In the end, even when you try to get rid of him, he won't leave!

To outsiders, Ron seems to be in a terrible situation, but people soon stop thinking that way because they will also experience something similar.

During Friday's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Moody announced in class:

We will take turns casting the Soul-Stealing Curse on each student to demonstrate its power and see if everyone can resist its influence.

Casting the Unforgivable Curse is illegal, let alone casting it on a junior wizard.

However, Hogwarts is Dumbledore's personal fiefdom, and since he acquiesced, there's no problem.

Judging from the students' opinions, although they are polarized, most people still want to experience the power of the Soul-Stealing Curse.

Perhaps I am that extraordinary genius who successfully resisted on my first try?

There are quite a few students who share this idea.

Unfortunately, everyone overestimated their own abilities and underestimated the power of the Imperius Curse.

During Defense Against the Dark Arts class, as Professor Moody cast his spell, the students offered no resistance and instead did all sorts of unusual things.

Elena Kaslana hopped and skipped around the classroom three times, then spread her arms and imitated an owl, making a "coo-coo-coo" sound.

Albert Anderson wriggled on the ground like a Psyduck, staring with his big, adorable eyes.

Ivan Hales performed the school song with all his might, singing the dolphin-like high notes that he had practiced since birth.

Everyone covered their ears, trying to escape from the classroom. His off-key singing... was even worse than Hagrid's.

If it were to perform in front of Lou Williams, it could completely break its bad habit of falling asleep while listening to music.

No one could resist the spell; they all returned to normal only after Modi removed it.

Professor Moody was very disappointed and gave these good-for-nothing little wizards a stern lecture.

If you can't even withstand the Soul-Stealing Curse, how dare you say you have a good foundation?

"Stark," Moody's voice boomed, "come and show me what you've got, don't let everyone down."

William slowly walked to the center of the classroom, and everyone held their breath.

Professor Moody raised his wand, pointed it at William, and shouted, "Out of body!"

"What do you need me to make him do?" Moody growled in a low voice, dragging his wooden leg.

"Make him take off his clothes!" many girls were chanting.

Many people also brought cameras, ready to take photos and then enjoy them later when they felt lonely at night.

"Alright, then... take off your robe first."

Moody controlled William as he unbuttoned his collar.

William stood there, feeling lightheaded. All the thoughts and worries in his mind vanished, leaving only a hazy, intangible joy.

Then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's command, which seemed to echo from some distant corner: Take off your clothes.

William's brain-blocking technique had been in operation for a long time, and that command was immediately blocked.

He stood there hesitating for only a dozen seconds before breaking free of the Soul-Stealing Curse through sheer willpower.

"Excellent!" Professor Moody exclaimed again, "Out-of-body experience."

William woke up even faster this time. He pulled a book out of his pocket and started flipping through it aimlessly.

"Out-of-body experience!"

William's time to break free of the Imperius Curse was dwindling. Finally, he rubbed his temples, yawned, and asked, "Professor, is it over?"

"..."

Breaking the Imperius Curse requires immense willpower. And what William has in abundance is willpower and a strong heart.

During the time loop, he engaged in various dangerous activities to train his will in order to learn the Occupation Technique.

He jumped off castle rooftops, dived into the Black Lake, raced cars on the road… He probably died more times than Voldemort killed any wizards.

He had long since forged the heart of a steel-willed hero.

Forcibly breaking free from the Soul-Stealing Curse was not difficult for him.

"Look, all of you... Stark held on! He held on. The rest of you, watch closely—look into his eyes, that's the key," Professor Moody praised.

After class, news that William had easily resisted the Imperius Curse quickly spread throughout Hogwarts.

Many students gathered around, trying to ask him for advice.

William delivered a dose of cynical wisdom, telling everyone, "The key is to cultivate your mind; you need to have an incredibly strong mind."

How do we cultivate our mind?

Do you see those tadpole snails that Hagrid is raising?

Raising them without batting an eye, and even petting their heads, is considered mastering the art of cultivating the mind and forging a powerful will.

For a time, all the students began to think about how to raise a giant tadpole snail.

Hagrid was overjoyed; the blasting snails were growing very fast, but he still hadn't figured out what they liked to eat.

Great, now that so many helpers have arrived, we can start training them.

Hagrid advised the students to go to his hut every other day to observe the blasting snails and record their unusual behavior.

However, nobody paid him any attention. Everyone was there to toughen up their nerves; they didn't have time to observe the habits of the tamarin.

Hermione was very unhappy, believing that William had cheated.

She checked on them a few more times and found that the whelks were growing increasingly well. This wouldn't do; she was going to lose again.

After careful consideration, Hermione decided to make peace. She could comply with William's demands.

However, she ultimately won the bet.

In other words, William also had to grant her a request that he could not refuse.

In the end, this was a win-win concession.

But William casually rejected Hermione.

He's in a winning position now, why would he want to lose?

All he had to do was wait until after the Christmas ball so Hermione would obediently put on her maid outfit.

As time passed, in mid-October, the school posted a message on the bulletin board:

Triple Championship

Representatives from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will arrive at 10 p.m. on Friday, October 30.

Please return your schoolbags and textbooks to your dormitories and gather in front of the castle to welcome our guests and then attend the welcome banquet.

The notice immediately caused an uproar at the school.

The three-way battle for supremacy is finally about to begin.

……

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(End of this chapter)