Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 116 Marauder's Map: A Failed Attempt

"No wonder he's a born master of disarming spells."

Avada, rubbing his temples in the audience, inwardly admired Harry—to be honest, in the entire field of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry was a natural master. He could learn almost all the spells used in combat: the Iron Skin Charm, the Stunning Charm, the Disarming Charm, Snape's Inverted Bell, the Imperius Curse… he could learn them all quickly and use them with ease. It was precisely because of this that he became the leader of the D.A.

However, the way he used the Disarming Charm to clash with Avada Kedavra was truly unforgettable...

Ok?

Avada suddenly felt like something was targeting him.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake those jumbled thoughts out of his mind: "However, Malfoy's performance today is a little different."

"I remember in the original story, Malfoy not only launched a surprise attack first, but also conjured a snake out of nowhere, which forced Harry to use Parsley... Why are you behaving so conventionally this time?"

Without his magical senses, he might have suspected that Malfoy was influenced by Voldemort's Horcrux journal. But under his observation, there was no sign that Malfoy's mental energy had been interfered with by any external force, and there were no extra soul fragments among his belongings; his mental state simply indicated that he was quite tense.

But thinking about it, it makes sense—anyone would be upset to hear that their arch-enemy has suddenly defeated their idol. Plus, given the recent spate of comas involving Slytherins, whose numbers are the highest, his nervousness and restraint in Harry's presence are understandable. Or rather, anyone who could remain arrogant and domineering under these circumstances would be mentally unstable…

"That concludes the demonstration."

Lockhart announced triumphantly, "Next, Professor Snape will explain how to cast the Disarming Charm—I think we should give Professor Snape a chance to prove that he can teach the Disarming Charm well; Mr. Malfoy was just too nervous earlier..."

Snape's hand was once again resting on his wand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"……very good."

He eventually stepped forward and, in a soft but very clear voice, explained in detail how to cast, use, and some tips for the Disarming Charm. His explanation was very clear and meticulous; if it had been given in a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, it would undoubtedly have been a very valuable lesson.

But for some reason, the students in the audience felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave when they heard Snape's voice. This resulted in the entire Great Hall being almost completely silent, with only Snape's voice echoing, like a long, drawn-out Potions class...

"...That's it. I hope there are enough of you who aren't too stupid to understand what I'm saying."

After Snape stepped off the stage with a stern face, Lockhart spoke again with a smile, diluting the terrifying atmosphere Snape had created: "Very good. I presume that with Professor Snape's explanation, everyone should have a basic understanding of the Disarming Charm. Next, I will divide you into pairs to begin practicing this spell... Professor Snape, please lend a hand."

They moved through the crowd, pairing people up. Neville and Justin teamed up, Harry naturally paired with Ron, and Hermione was tasked with instructing the still somewhat confused Ginny. Meanwhile, on Hufflepuff's side, Cedric and Gabriel Truman were working together, and Shabby was coaching Hannah Abbott. Baron, already being taught by Snape, was currently whispering amongst themselves…

"Hey Ken! Want to try your hand at it?"

George suddenly appeared out of nowhere and excitedly extended an invitation to Avada: "That bastard Fred left me to go find Angelina... And you don't know, Percy just gave you a very high evaluation, even he thinks he might not be able to beat you outright!"

"OK."

Avada's headache had eased considerably, and since there was no more intense fighting to come, he nodded, drew his wand, and stood opposite George.

"Facing your partners!" Lockhart shouted as he returned to the platform. "Bow, then raise your wands and get ready!"

"When I count to three, I'll cast a disarming spell to remove their weapons—but just to remove their weapons, we don't want any accidents to happen..."

"One—two—three—go!"

With Lockhart's command, the entire Great Hall erupted into chaos—first-year students, still clueless, were throwing down their wands and punching each other; second and third-years were furiously spewing sparks; fourth and fifth-years were relatively normal, experimenting with new spells they had just acquired and were still getting used to; while sixth and seventh-years simply went all out and started fighting for real, with all sorts of advanced spells flying everywhere…

"I said, just disarm!" Lockhart shouted in terror to the fighting crowd from above, but unfortunately, no one could hear him anymore...

Meanwhile, Avada Kedavra and George had already mastered the Disarming Charm, so they simply started chatting while tossing their wands at each other out of sheer boredom.

"I heard you and Fred have been investigating coma cases lately? Any progress?"

Avada tossed George's wand back and asked casually.

"Unfortunately, no. Even we're starting to doubt whether it was a deliberate attack..."

George, looking annoyed, cast a disarming spell on Avada Kedavra's wand, then tossed it back in the same manner: "To be honest, we have a magical map that shows the location of everyone in the castle. But we're in fifth grade now, and most of our energy is focused on that damned OWLS exam, so we can't stare at the map 24/7..."

"So you've given up?"

"So we got our hands on some magic film and a camera, set up the map in the dorm, and kept filming with the camera, recording all the moving images onto the magic film..."

"...Good idea."

"but,"

George sighed again: "In the end, we didn't find any trace. Almost all the comas happened in places where people gathered, and the people around them appeared without any discernible pattern... We've wasted half a month of our time."

"At least you tried your best."

Avada exclaimed gratefully, taking her wand from George's hand, then her face fell: "So what exactly happened? Does this mean we're all going to have a healing potion from now on, so if we suddenly collapse, someone will immediately revive us and then continue class as if nothing happened?"

"You know what, this is actually quite interesting."

George's eyes lit up: "Then I can mix some hair-raising potion into my potion and see which unlucky guy will fall down in front of me... But that kind of future probably won't come, what a pity."

Why is that?

Avada's eye twitched slightly, and then she heard George's sigh, so she couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Uh, didn't you know? The Board of Governors has started to form an investigation team, preparing to go directly into Hogwarts... We've witnessed history. In the thousand years since Hogwarts was founded, we've almost never encountered a situation where the Board of Governors can directly intervene in the school's specific operations! There are criticisms of Dumbledore everywhere outside. Everyone thinks that if he can't even handle this little thing, it means he's getting old and should retire."

"Come to think of it, Dumbledore is over a hundred years old, making him one of the oldest headmasters in Hogwarts' history..."

(End of this chapter)