From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

But without a doubt, the guardian deity…

This is a universally acknowledged step that anyone with even a modicum of ambition in this field cannot take.

This includes William, who started researching this last year, but the progress has been disappointing...

'I knew it would be this, let's see if there's anything new...'

Although he knew he was likely to be scammed and waste his time, William continued reading anyway.

"And corrections... are they notes, or some kind of吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic remarks)?"

William turned the page and saw a bunch of nonsense written next to the book, so he couldn't help but look at it.

[It's strange that, although there are several historical precedents of dark wizards controlling Dementors to attack wizards, the methods of control have not been recorded.]

Is the price of mastering those spells the inability to use Guardian Angels?

[No, it's not that simple. It's a well-known fact that dark wizards can't use Patronus, so to investigate this issue, a few friends and I conducted a small experiment...]

Next came several black magic spells that William didn't recognize, which weren't in the dictionary, but he was familiar with the next one.

Although it was in Russian, as a professor, he had seen various translations of these famous incantations.

[The Cruciatus Curse works. Dementors aren't as emotionless as legend suggests; just as they can be angry, they can also suffer, though the effect is less pronounced.]

[Avada Kedavra: Effective. The spell that works on wizards also works on Dementors. One Avada Kedavra spell instantly kills the experimental subject. (Unfortunately, we couldn't get another Dementor; there are too few here... What a pity...)]

"Gudong."

William heard himself swallowing.

He had researched a lot of information about Hogwarts, but none of the records about Dementors were as outrageous as the one in front of him.

He didn't know if it was because Dementors were now under the Ministry of Magic in Britain that related books were banned on a large scale—anyway, the only things he knew of to deal with them, besides the control spells passed down by dark wizards, were Patronus.

"I knew it. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't take such a big risk to use a monster that can't be properly controlled."

The guardian spirit can only banish, not kill—if the Dementors rebel, they will be difficult to deal with in a short time.

However, being able to kill is another matter entirely. Although ordinary wizards are prohibited from using it, all Aurors are quite skilled at using the Unforgivable Curse.

"As a backup plan... Killing the Ministry of Magic's Dementors is, after all, not a very reasonable thing to do..."

William sighed. Although he really wanted to kill those guys, the rules were in place, and they hadn't broken their contract with the Ministry of Magic…

"The guardian angel still needs to be put on the agenda..."

He subconsciously incorporated his guardian spirit into his daily training routine.

Although he had tried before, he had a feeling that he could succeed this time.

Climbing mountains that have already been climbed and those that have never been conquered are two different levels of difficulty. Although he did not kill a Dementor with his own hands, it is not entirely credible whether what is said in the book is true.

But William had a feeling that if he were ever in a situation where he had to kill a Dementor, he would be able to do so with ease.

"Calm down, William."

He tried to convince himself, picked up the dictionary again, and carefully translated the passage he had just read—he seemed to have seen similar complaints before, and judging from the tone, the other person was definitely not acting alone.

'If this was left behind by that magician, then it's almost certainly genuine. I need to compare it…'

'Of course, it's a bit difficult, after all, that Russian is really... ridiculously difficult...'

William smiled, picked up his wand, and then gestured, casting a spell towards the empty space beside him.

"Take the God's Protection!"

Chapter 257 About the Same as You

"what is this?"

As the spell was cast, silvery-white smoke appeared in front of William's wand, then quickly condensed into a small creature that William did not recognize.

"This is what they call a mature guardian deity? But what is it? How did I overcome that most difficult step?"

Such doubts filled William's mind, but none of this affected the undeniable fact that the small creature before him truly existed.

First, figure out what it is, then figure out how it happened.

William put aside his wandering thoughts and began to seriously observe the guardian spirit before him.

'It's so small, even smaller than a sparrow, only a little bigger than a thumb...'

He tried to keep the guardian spirit in his hand and did so easily.

After the little bird stopped flapping its wings, William finally saw its true form.

'I don't recognize this creature...'

William shook his head; he knew of no such creature, whether biological or magical.

'Guardians are all silver, otherwise they'd be easy to find. Right now, we can only try to remember their physical characteristics and ask the old professor—Hagrid could do that, but he seems to prefer magical creatures and isn't as knowledgeable about biology as the old professor.'

Having made up his mind, William let it stop on the table and began writing a letter while observing its appearance.

Dear Professor Kettleburn:

Hello, in our last communication you mentioned that you went to the Fire Dragon Nature Reserve to enjoy your retirement. I wonder if the burn ointment I asked the owl to deliver has worked as intended.

……

I've recently been studying the Guardian Charm and have encountered some difficulties.

To be precise, although I summoned the guardian spirit, I still don't understand what kind of creature it is.

William looked at the little silver bird again and described its appearance.

“It’s very small, only a little bigger than a Galon, with a very long beak, and… a little chubby,” William wrote, then desperately pulled out his book of magical creatures from his box.

"Yes, it has a crest and its tail feathers are quite long. Although you can't see its color, you can see that it has a very obvious throat patch."

"It flies very fast—of course, I know that the speed of the Guardian is not that of the original creature, but it really does look like it's flying very fast, and it can even... hover in the air. Yes, Professor Kettleburn, it's not hovering because of the Guardian's special effects, but because of those wings, it's very magical..."

……

Your friends and colleagues,

William.

After writing the letter and putting it in the envelope, William got up and headed to Diagon Alley—he didn't yet have his own owl and had to rent one from the post office.

'It's time to buy an owl. At least the first year is over, and I don't have to worry about it being neglected if I don't survive the curse.'

After sending the letter, William pondered the matter.

However, this can't be rushed. Raising an owl also depends on first impressions. If you don't find one you like in the next few days, you can wait until closer to the start of the school year. At that time, there will be a new batch of owls waiting for the new students to purchase before they start school.

"Let's go back and think about the guardian spirit first. If we can't figure it out, we probably won't be able to sleep well tonight."

-

"I still can't figure it out."

William leaned back in his chair, reflecting on the Patronus Charm.

The Patronus Charm is widely considered a highly advanced form of magic, far exceeding the level of ordinary wizards.

To successfully use this magic, the caster must concentrate on recalling the happiest memory they can think of (the stronger the pleasure from the memory, the more powerful the spell), and use their wand to draw circles to build up the spell's power.

Then you need to chant the spell "Touch Your God." Your guardian spirit will appear from the tip of the wand and rush towards your target.

This is the most basic explanation...it's basically accurate...

"But did I really try to recall any happy memories back then?"

William muttered to himself.

He tried hard to recall the scene of the successful spellcasting. He had just discovered black magic effective against Dementors in a book he had bought, and after careful examination, he concluded that the spell was effective.

After that, he reflected on his training and realized that he was capable of dealing with Dementors, but he couldn't actually do it because of the rules.

Then, almost as if in jest, he tried to summon his guardian spirit, and succeeded.

"Happiness? The happiness of defeating Dementors?"

Or perhaps—hope?

William had a thought in mind: after discovering that the difficulties were not as difficult as he had imagined, and even finding other solutions, he felt that there was hope of defeating the Dementors.

"That thing is truly terrifying..."

He took a deep breath and then drew his wand.

"Call upon God for protection."

His tone was calm, yet the tiny bird flew out, swiftly heading in the direction the wand was pointing, until it crashed into the wall, passed through it, and disappeared.

He can still use the Guardian Angel Spell normally, and barring any deviations, he has completely mastered the spell.

"So, the thing that makes me happiest is that I feel there is still hope?"

He couldn't help but laugh, and laughed quite happily.

-

"William, Professor Kettleburn is looking for you!"

Old Tom knocked on the door and called out the identity of the person who came out. Then, William, who had secretly taken his wand, saw Professor Kettleburn, whom he had not seen for a long time.

"As cautious as ever, William Jr."

The old professor looked very energetic. "I Apparated over as soon as I received your letter."

He sat down at the table with a grin. "There's no chocolate on the table? This doesn't seem like your room."

“It’s too dangerous to leave them on the table. After you finish reading a book, you’ll find that you don’t know when you’ve accumulated a lot of wrappers,” William replied with a laugh as he started taking out snacks.

“That makes sense, just like how I’ve already changed to a new set of wooden legs,” the old professor nodded, very seriously. “The set that Albus gave me was almost burned and stopped working.”

Who among the retirees would go to the Fire Dragon Nature Reserve...?

"By the way, William, I heard your OWL results last year were quite good?"

As the old professor tore open the packaging of the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, he talked about grades, saying, "I've heard from many students that their children are taking exams this year, and they're overjoyed, thinking that their children will get an extra certificate this semester."

“It won’t be so easy to manage today. Putting aside the problems with the exam administration, you know, there are two Weasleys in fifth grade this year.”