A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 231: The Enchanted Iron Armor Curse

Harry woke up early from his bed.

The wind was blowing so fiercely that it woke him up. He glanced at the window and saw darkness outside.

Harry closed his eyes again, but he felt a cool breeze on the back of his neck. The thought of "Is the window drafty?" spun in his mind for a while before he suddenly turned around and saw the annoying face of Peeves the Poltergeist.

"Why are you blowing like that?" Harry said angrily.

Peeves puffed his cheeks and blew a couple more times. This infuriated Harry, and he sat up, grabbing his wand from beside the pillow. Peeves deflated like a punctured balloon and flew away in a spin.

The commotion left Harry wide awake. He glanced at the others; they were still asleep. Harry opened the door, and a ginger-colored figure slinked past him at his feet, so he instinctively scooped it up in his hand.

"Crookshanks?" Harry looked at the cat in his hand. Its face seemed flattened and strangely fierce. "Ron was right to be cautious about you." He closed the door, casually tossing the cat near the spiral staircase. "Off you go, no mischief with Scabbers. Hermione's had a few arguments with Ron over you."

Crookshanks gave him a disdainful look and slinked away.

Harry sat in the dim common room for a while, a few hours left until dawn, needing something to occupy himself. He pulled out his Dueling Systems essay from his backpack, contemplating how to conclude it.

"—With the Disarming Charm at its core, well—at least it needs to be cast silently and wandlessly, the casting... concealment," Harry chewed on his quill, pondering for a while, then continued, "Defense is crucial as well, aiming to bring the Body-Bind Curse to the same level as the Disarming Charm."

After a thought, he crossed out the last sentence and replaced it with, "To be proficient, achieving the level of a third-level spell."

"Other spells as supplements, when facing distant enemies, use—the Impediment Jinx to seize the initiative. Therefore, silent spells are necessary." Harry dipped his quill in ink again. "Focused incantations for swift attacks—but if blocked, that indicates, indicates what?"

Harry scratched his head, flipping through the nearby notes. These were his records of Professor Lupin's words during the summer training. After a few pages, his eyes lit up, and he quickly wrote, "—Indicates the opponent isn't mediocre, one must adjust their mindset and proceed steadily. This highlights the advantage of mastering a sufficient number of spells, to find weaknesses in the enemy!"

Harry paused, contemplating the meaning of this passage.

Professor Lupin had told him that his current skill was far from that of experienced Aurors. While his Disarming Charm's power wasn't significantly lacking, the experiential gap was vast—

He might deceive an opponent with his youthful face, catch an adept off guard with a bold move, but if the other was prepared, the battle would be resolved in a minute or two—him being the one resolved.

Harry thought for a moment. What if he encountered enemies that the Disarming Charm couldn't handle, like Sirius Black, or Snape? What then?

After pondering for a while, he arrived at an answer: no solution at all. If the Disarming Charm wasn't effective, his Stunning Spell, Impediment Jinx, and Freezing Charm, even less so.

With that realization, he suddenly felt deflated.

"Black was a genius even in school, and after graduating, he went through a war. His only weakness might be the twelve years in Azkaban, tormented by Dementors, driving him insane..."

Harry had heard Hermione's explanation. Dementors were quite repugnant dark creatures. Anyone in close proximity would feel cold and mental stiffness. This would be followed by the draining of happiness, sinking into melancholy, and a weakening of the resistance to despair. Ultimately, they'd become a feast for Dementors, their souls consumed.

His own experience had proven the credibility of Hermione's information.

Harry shivered, recalling the name Hermione had mentioned—the Dementor's Kiss. "Too sinister."

After spending two or three hours, Harry finally finished revising his essay in the dim light of the common room. "This is the most serious essay I've written so far," he remarked with a sigh.josei

Harry tidied up his things, glanced at the sky. The storm had not weakened in the time he was writing, in fact, it had intensified. However, a faint light was now appearing on the horizon.

He skipped a mealtime and headed towards the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was empty. Harry was about to pick a spot in the middle when his gaze drifted outside, spotting a familiar figure.

It was Professor Harp!

He was wearing a dark robe, standing in the pouring rain. Harry might not have been able to see clearly if not for a flash of lightning.

"Professor, do you have something on your mind? It can't be like Wood, subjecting yourself to extreme conditions for experience, can it?" Harry pulled his hood over his head and stepped out of the hall.

As he approached Professor Harp, about to greet him, he found himself bumping into something and being pushed off course by a force, falling into the mud.

"Ouch! Eww!"

Mud splattered Harry's mouth and glasses, but curiosity consumed him. He hadn't encountered the professor, right?

Felix lowered his head, looking at him. "Harry, what are you doing?"

"Uh..." Harry got up from the ground, stuttering, "I saw you standing outside and wanted to say hello, but I lost my balance for a moment."

Felix chuckled, "It's not that you lost your balance... it's my doing. I was just contemplating how to shield against rain and wind."

Harry became intrigued, "Are there suitable spells for that?" He felt like he should learn them.

"Waterproof and repellant to moisture, the former is more effective in isolating water and mist," Felix explained. He glanced at Harry's disheveled appearance and drew his wand, pointing it at him.

A mist enveloped Harry, warming him up. Then, he noticed water sliding off him, and it was as if he had been coated with some kind of oil, not a drop of rainwater sticking to him.

Harry consulted Felix about these two spells. In fact, they were quite similar and could even be seen as one spell.

Drawing his wand, he tapped his glasses. "Waterproof and moisture repelling!" Water veered away from the lenses, and his vision cleared.

"Now rain won't be an obstacle anymore!" Harry excitedly thanked Felix, feeling more confident about his chances today.

Felix said, "No need to thank me. It was a couple of days ago that Granger asked me about waterproofing spells. I told her. It just seems that I bumped into you ahead of time."

Harry was ready to thank Hermione, but a question arose in his mind. "Professor Harp, didn't you already know this spell? But you just said you were thinking about shielding against rain and..." He paused, unsure, "wind?"

"Yes," Felix said, "I foresaw that there would be strong winds on the Quidditch pitch today."

"Did you come up with a solution?"

Felix smiled, "Didn't you just experience it?"

"Experience it?" Harry racked his brain; his stomach began to rumble. "Was it the Protego Charm? Did I just bump into a Protego Charm?" That was the only thing he could think of.

"Exactly," Felix approved, giving him a nod. "The Protego Charm is formless and immaterial. It can defend against both magical and physical attacks. While not particularly powerful... it's quite evident that it can protect against wind."

That sounded somewhat incredulous. Harry hadn't even considered that the Protego Charm could have this application. Would a normal person think of this?

"Harry, I've told you before, when you're proficient in a spell, you can adjust its effects according to your needs." Felix spoke as a transparent spherical barrier suddenly expanded around him, nearly touching the tip of Harry's nose.

Harry gaped at this so-called "Protego Charm." He could even see a faint glow radiating from its surface, raindrops splashing against it, creating ripples.

He reached out and poked it; the spherical barrier dimpled and then pushed his finger away.

"So—are you successful now?" Harry asked. In his view, altering the Protego Charm from a small area in front of him to a transparent, colorless, large sphere was undoubtedly a success.

Felix tilted his head, gesturing for him to watch further. The transparent spherical magical barrier started to dent inward, fitting Felix more and more snugly, taking on a humanoid shape.

Finally, it was as if he was enveloped in a transparent, human-shaped air bubble.

Felix sighed in regret, "I was attempting to transform the Protego Charm, sticking it thinly on the outside of clothes. Maybe I could have called it the Protego Armor Charm? Unfortunately... this technique has a certain difficulty level. It's not something that can be accomplished in half an hour."

Originally, this chapter should have been posted yesterday, but when I finished writing, it was too late. I moved it to this morning, perfectly concluding this scene.

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