HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"Move on their own? Will they behave? Or will they go crazy like those damn biting brooms?"

He recalled the painful lessons learned from some of the Weasley twins' prank products.

"Of course not! I can cast very precise and very stable spells!" Red Falcon patted his chest and assured him confidently. "Come on, give me your mop and bucket!"

Filch hesitated for a moment, but ultimately handed over, with some skepticism, a weathered-looking mop leaning against the wall and a dented metal bucket.

Red Falcon took the tools, immediately drew his wand, and chanted an incantation. The tip of the wand lightly touched the mop handle and bucket, leaving a few barely perceptible blue streaks of light before disappearing.

"All right!"

The kestrel handed the tools back to Filch with satisfaction. "Try it," it said. "Now you just need to say to them, 'Start cleaning!' and they'll find work to do themselves. Say 'Stop!' and they'll obediently wait. It's simple, isn't it?"

Filch pressed his lips together, as if receiving some dangerous contraband. He carefully gripped the mop handle, glanced around, and his gaze fell on a nearby puddle of stubborn mud mixed with shards of ice.

He cleared his throat and, in an almost sacred yet skeptical tone, whispered, "Cleanse—begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the mop in his hand trembled violently, as if it had suddenly come to life!

It broke free from Filch's hand, jumped into the bucket with a "plop," soaked the cloth, and then nimbly leaped out, precisely pouncing on the stain and beginning to scrub back and forth with astonishing speed and efficiency.

At the same time, the tin bucket next to it made a soft "gurgling" sound, and the water at the bottom of the bucket seemed to be absorbed by an invisible sponge, instantly becoming dry and clean.

Filch stared in disbelief at the scene before him: the mop that had been with him for over a decade, now seemingly possessing its own thoughts, was working tirelessly, several times more efficiently than he usually did!

For the first time, a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and a hint of... disbelief and relief appeared on his usually gloomy face.

Maybe, just maybe, this crazy new professor... is actually quite capable?

The kestrel, hands on its hips, looked smugly at its "masterpiece": "How's it going, Mr. Filch? Feeling better?"

Filch didn't answer immediately, but stared intently at the mop that was wriggling unusually happily, as if trying to understand yet another mystery of this magical world.

Then he nodded slowly and very slightly, letting out a muffled murmur.

At least this is much better than him working hard all by himself... as long as they don't run out and wander around the castle in the middle of the night.

“Oh, right…” As if suddenly remembering, the falcon reminded Filch, “They need to replenish their magic once a week. If you can’t find anyone to help you then, you can come to me.”

“…Thank you…Miss Lumina.” Filch’s voice was a little stiff, but unusually friendly.

“You’re too kind. This trouble was caused by me.” Red Falcon waved with a smile. “Then goodbye, Mr. Filch.”

……

……

The dueling club is scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, in the spacious auditorium. Of course, the venue can be changed flexibly if there are special requirements.

With the first lesson fast approaching, Sagres planned to start with three basic yet practical spells: the Disarming Charm (remove your weapon), the Stunning Charm (make you faint), and the Petrifying Charm (petrify everyone). They were relatively simple and safe, yet their effects were immediate, making them an ideal starting point for training beginners.

However, a practical problem lay before him: the students standing in the auditorium spanned several grades. The older students were probably already familiar with the three spells and they posed no challenge; while the younger students, especially freshmen who had been in school for less than a year, might not even be able to hold their wands very well and knew nothing about the three spells.

However, Sagres wasn't too worried about this, because he had a way to help these young wizards quickly get started and even master these spells.

"Mechanical Mind" is the key to resolving these differences. It can temporarily transform young wizards into rational, calm, and photographic geniuses, ensuring they accurately capture and imprint every spellcasting detail.

Once knowledge is perfectly "downloaded" into the brain, all that remains is to practice it repeatedly until it becomes muscle memory.

His goal for the first lesson was clear and unwavering: to enable every student in the auditorium, regardless of grade level, to master and successfully cast these three spells.

This may sound arrogant, but in Sagrais's view, it is not an impossible task.

……

On Wednesday afternoon, the auditorium was transformed into a spacious practice area by the Seamless Stretch Mantra. The oak floors, gleaming like mirrors, reflected the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows.

The air was filled with the excited and nervous restlessness of the young wizards. Students in different robes gathered in twos and threes, whispering about Professor Greengrass and his dueling club.

They all clearly still vividly remembered the previous duel: Professor Greengrass's composure, Snape's agility and resilience, Lockhart's... rather typical negative example, all of which were very educational.

The professors all arrived at the Great Hall, including Snape. Meanwhile, Red Falcon, having somehow heard about Sagres's impressive performance in the last duel, kept pestering Snape with questions, completely ignoring his increasingly gloomy expression.

“Tell me again, Professor Snape, and then?” Red Falcon leaned closer to Snape, his curious eyes almost touching Snape’s face.

Snape remained silent, his face grim, effectively silencing himself.

Several professors nearby couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle at the sight.

In the end, it was Sagres who rescued Snape—and he entered the Great Hall precisely on time.

He was dressed today in a sharply tailored dark gray wizard's robe, which accentuated his tall and imposing figure. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, his calm gaze swept across the room, instantly silencing the noise.

"Good afternoon." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner, carrying a calming power. "Welcome to the Duel Club. This class was established to enable you to survive in real conflicts. Therefore, all fancy spells and theatrical movements will be discarded. In short, here you will only learn one thing—survival."

Previously, the students might have dismissed Sagrais's words, but after the Chamber of Secrets incident, they became much more obedient. Perhaps they finally realized that even Hogwarts was not an absolutely safe haven.

“Let the class begin!”

Sagres raised his wand, without chanting a spell, but a cold blue light suddenly shone from the tip of the wand.

The moment he finished speaking, the blue light suddenly spread out, transforming into countless fine, silky streams of light that precisely penetrated the foreheads of each student.

An indescribable coolness instantly flooded my brain, like the meshing of precise gears, instantly dispelling all distracting thoughts, tension, and ingrained thought patterns.

The world seemed to be slowed down; the students felt their senses become unusually sharp, yet their minds remained as calm as ice crystals.

This was the first time Sagres had unleashed his "mechanical mind" on so many people. Although he hadn't reached his limit, it was still quite a burden.

Chapter 120 What is Efficiency?

Looking at the students with clear eyes below the stage, Sagres concealed the trace of weariness deep in his eyes and began his explanation. His speech was unhurried, each word crystal clear:

"Today we will master three basic spells: the Disarming Spell, the Petrifying Spell, and the Stun Spell, which renders the opponent unconscious."

With that, he waved his wand, and a cunning beam of spelllight slithered through the crowd like a silver snake, instantly striking an empty chair in the corner.

Then, amidst the students' gasps, the chair began to twist and deform, transforming in the blink of an eye into an armored knight wielding a gleaming longsword.

It strode heavily across the oak floor, arrogantly parted the crowd, and charged toward Sagres!

The students' eyes gleamed with a strange and focused light, and even the professors watching couldn't help but widen their eyes.

"Abolish your weapon!" Sagras' wand thrust forward, and a sharp red light shot out, accurately hitting the armored knight in the distance.

Clang!

The knight's longsword flew out of his hand with a snap, spinning as it went.

"Key points: Clear objective, unwavering will. Imagine the opponent's weapon as a foreign object that must be removed. Concentrate your magic power into a single burst, rather than spreading it out."

His voice was completely flat as he spoke, and then he waved his wand once more.

"Petrify them all!"

A gray-white beam of light struck the target instantly, and the knight's charging posture froze abruptly, like a metal statue cast in steel, stiffly fixed in place.

"The key to the Petrification Spell lies in the purity and intensity of the 'blocking' intention. Imagine the magic penetrating the target like frost, freezing their limbs."

Immediately afterwards, the wand traced a clean and crisp downward slash.

"He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious!"

A thicker blue beam of light slammed into the petrified knight.

"boom!"

The armored knight was thrown backward and crashed heavily to the ground, where he remained motionless.

"This spell requires a clear intention to 'end' it. The force must be deep, like a heavy hammer falling. At the same time, pay attention to the stability of the magic output; it's not about being as strong as possible."

In the following time, Sagres explained in detail the lip shape changes for each sound, the subtle angles of each wrist rotation, the delicate paths through which magic flows within the body, and even the unique feeling of perfect harmony between magic and will at the moment of successful spellcasting...

Every detail was forcibly imprinted into the students' brains, which were already operating at overclocked speed. Like the most sophisticated instruments, they greedily absorbed everything, their eyes filled with only a cold and efficient focus.

Half an hour later, Sagres finally put down his wand.

"The explanation of the theoretical knowledge has been completed."

His cool voice pulled everyone back from their extremely calm state.

"Now begin the practice." The wand was waved again, and a row of heavy oak chairs along the edge of the Great Hall silently deformed, turning into practice puppets holding short sticks.

They moved with stiff steps and automatically dispersed to various parts of the site.

“Work in pairs, as partners. Begin with Disarm, taking turns casting spells,” Sagrais said as he walked. “Concentrate and strictly follow the points I just mentioned. I will be there to guide you.”

Immediately, a series of slightly awkward incantations echoed through the auditorium: "Dispel your weapon!"

A few scattered red lights began to flicker.

At first, some of the red lights missed their target or shone weakly. But soon, as the students meticulously followed the crystal-clear "operation manual" in their minds, more and more people were successfully disarmed.

The clanging sounds of short sticks being knocked away began to fill the hall, echoing crisply.

Professor Flitwick stood to the side, his eyes wide open, his short body trembling slightly with excitement—in his decades of teaching, he had never seen so many young wizards master a new spell in such a short time!

Of course, not everyone had a smooth journey; a few students repeatedly failed, with the short sticks remaining completely still in front of them. But this astonishing overall success rate was enough to overturn his perception of teaching speed.

Sagles, like a shadow, moved silently among the students practicing.

When he discovers an obvious problem, he will stop and give concise guidance, or directly call on other students to point it out.

Yes, students are now capable of being teachers, which is also the significance of working in pairs.

“Cedric,” Sagres’s voice was flat, “point out your partner’s problem.”

“His wrist needs to be raised, Professor,” Cedric responded immediately.

Sagles turned to Cedric's partner, "Did you hear me, Mr. Jones?"

“Yes, Professor!” Jones immediately adjusted his posture, and the red light was indeed much more stable than before.

Sagles then went to the Ravenclaw area.

Not far away, Astoria Greengrass was struggling to squeeze out a thin, weak red thread from the tip of her wand, but it disappeared into the air before flying three meters away.

“Analyze the cause, Astoria,” Sagres’s voice came at the opportune moment.

"My magic output is not stable enough, Professor."

"So what's the improvement plan?"

"When casting a spell, one's will must be absolutely firm," she said earnestly.