Chapter 125: Students

Chapter 125: Students

The weather at Hogwarts had turned mild, with the snow melting into the earth and tender shoots poking their heads out. Young wizards and witches were particularly fond of lounging on the grass by the Black Lake, lazily soaking up the sun.

On Saturday, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and others sat by the lake, watching as Harry and Neville engaged in back-and-forth dueling.

After two more Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, Harry and his friends had learned two new spells. One was a defensive spell - the Iron Armor Charm; the other was a small hex invented by Snape himself, aimed at looking after younger wizards - the Tongue-Lock Hex.

Harry's behavior had sparked some controversy, but Snape had dismissed all such comments.

"Even dark wizards typically utter spells during duels, using language to channel emotions and thereby enhance the power of their spells," Snape said mockingly. "Hence, silencing an opponent's speech is quite necessary."

In fact, Felix Harp had once privately suggested to Snape to switch to non-verbal spells, but his proposal was rejected.

"The Tongue-Lock Hex attaches the tongue to the roof of the mouth; it's not as gentle as non-verbal spells, and that's precisely what I intended," Snape said. He had developed this spell independently during his school days, and judging by its practical results, he was quite satisfied with it.

On the other hand, the Iron Armor Charm, taught by Professor Lupin, was much more advanced, beyond the grasp of many younger students.

Even Harry and Hermione hadn't succeeded once.

But it was a spell capable of deflecting various curses and, more uniquely...

Professor Lupin had said, "The Iron Armor Charm can ward off both magical and physical attacks. Perhaps this is the most practical defensive spell you'll encounter during your schooling."

The new Dark Arts Defense professor, Damocles Belby, also taught a highly useful spell in class - the Sensory Enhancement Charm. This spell heightened students' senses, something Flitwick had mentioned during the dueling lessons.

"You can use it to sense danger approaching, especially in perilous environments."

He conjured a patch of black mist with magic. "Let's assume it's late at night - that's when Red Caps and other magical creatures prefer to launch attacks. If you were out in the wilderness, do you remember what to do?"

The young wizards began discussing animatedly.

Belby nodded and added, "Maintain vigilance... all-around protection... thief's perception... it's best to add a Muggle-repelling charm as well. Of course, you might not be able to do all of this now, but it doesn't hurt to remember this knowledge."

He then had the young wizards step into the mist one by one, attempting to evade the Red Caps' attacks.

"I've scattered some leaves and branches on the ground. Stay focused, and you'll sense danger beforehand."

However, the reality was that only a few could sense the Red Caps and counterattack in advance. Most young wizards were pushed out of the mist by rubber wands.

Thankfully, though somewhat disheveled, none of the young wizards were harmed.

Luna, with an expressionless face, pulled out a very exquisite wand from her pocket. She pointed it at Ron's face dramatically.

"Oh, Luna," Harry intervened, thinking Luna was about to cast a hex on Ron.

But in the next moment, Luna's wand emitted a piercing screech and transformed into a large rubber mouse.

Ron's expression became quite comical; one eyebrow furrowed deeply while the other seemed like it was about to fly off his forehead.

Luna burst into exaggerated laughter, pointing at his face, and even Ginny and Hermione burst into giggles, collapsing onto the grass.

Neville struggled to suppress his laughter, but he couldn't hold it in, emitting a series of muffled chuckles.

"Well, that's quite amusing," Ron grumbled, watching Luna pound the ground with her fist.

Hermione held the tail of the rubber mouse, looking at it in amazement as it transformed back into a wand. "What is this?"

Ginny got up from the ground, wiping away tears of laughter. "It's a prank item Fred and George created, they call it the 'False Wand.' But, they must have developed it recently... How did you get hold of this?" She looked at her friend.

"I... Haha! Bought it from them... ten silver sickles," Luna gasped for breath as she spoke.

"How do you use this thing?" Harry asked with interest.

"Infuse... infuse it with magic."

Harry took the False Wand and attempted to infuse it with magic. Amidst the screech, it transformed back into a rubber mouse.

Ron poked it with his finger, saying with some distaste, "It's nowhere near as good as Scabbers."

Harry gazed at the Black Lake where a large dark tentacle of an unknown creature occasionally emerged. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and he felt remarkably at ease.

The events of the Chamber of Secrets and the battle with the serpent seemed like a distant memory.

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