A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts
Chapter 631: Staying Behind - (1)

Chapter 631: Staying Behind

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the students began to stir.

Desks were piled up in a corner against the wall, clearing a large area in the middle. For the next few minutes, the classroom was chaotic. No one wanted to be the one with a wand pointed at the back of their head. Harry and Ron playfully shoved each other for a while. Eventually, Ron, with his height advantage and physical strength, emerged victorious, pushing Harry to the front. In his peripheral vision, Harry noticed Neville standing next to him with a grim expression, as if heading to the gallows.

"Prepare—front-row students, cast the Sensory Charm on yourselves—"

Harry didn't pay attention to the others; he pointed his wand at himself and whispered the incantation. In an instant, his senses became extremely sharp, and countless details he had previously ignored flooded in. This charm wasn't unfamiliar to Harry; he quickly filtered out unnecessary details and focused on the potential threats behind him. Gradually, he 'saw' something—a vague light point appeared behind him, which was Ron's wand with some misty substance entwined around the tip.

Suddenly, Harry remembered Professor Bagshot's mocking from previous classes, saying that their spellcasting "seemed as conspicuous to some as shouting in their ears." Without conscious thought, Harry tightened his grip on his wand, nerves taut. He was afraid Ron might forget the professor's instructions and cast the spell.

This wasn't baseless worry. Some students had lost control of their magic, causing harm to their peers. The spell arcs in Harry's eyes were like fleeting sparks in the darkness. "The failed groups, switch positions yourselves," Grindelwald said nonchalantly, exchanging glances with students whose eyes were filled with threats. Simo was desperately apologizing to Dean in a hushed tone, claiming it wasn't intentional. However, Dean, smelling of burnt hair, only sneered at him. Draco Malfoy frowned, frozen in place, anxiously watching Blaise Zabini limping towards him.

The next few minutes turned the classroom into chaos. Students who had suffered mishaps earlier retaliated with various minor curses, and the air was filled with pained yells. "Keep calm, minor injuries are no big deal," Grindelwald said lightly. With incredible eyesight, he ignored the students exchanging curses after changing positions, seemingly unbothered. Draco Malfoy stood rigidly, frowning nervously as Blaise Zabini limped toward him.

The chaos continued for a few more minutes. Only Harry and Ron, along with Neville and Hermione, remained still. Hermione was known for her control over magic, and unless the professor stopped them, she could maintain it until the end of the class. However, Neville was visibly tense, his hair standing on end. Due to his overreactions, he futilely used the Shield Charm several times.

Ron turned his head, and when he saw Draco Malfoy hit by the Petrification Curse, falling face down, he chuckled. His wrist couldn't help but shake. "Watch out, Harry!" Ron suddenly shouted. Harry had already noticed a change in the magical aura around Ron's wand tip. At this moment, he completely disregarded the nonverbal spell he wasn't proficient with and shouted, "Armor Shield!"

An invisible, solid barrier instantly formed.

Harry's Shield Charm was too powerful. Seven or eight students around him were pushed away, and the classroom turned chaotic. When Harry opened his eyes, he saw Neville pinning Justin down, both groaning. Harry hurriedly went to help them up. It was only at this moment that Grindelwald leisurely walked over, lifting the various curse effects from the students.

"Rest for ten minutes before continuing," he calmly said.

"Quite a show," Ron commented, grimacing as they left the classroom after an hour. "The professor didn't say anything about the chaos in class." His arm bore strange bruises, as if from a whip, the effect of Ernie Macmillan's Stinging Hex.

Harry remained silent. His walk seemed odd, as if he couldn't exert much force. After the break, Professor Bagshot had them switch partners. Harry's Sensory Charm worked well; he successfully defended against spells from behind several times. However, in the last five minutes of class, before Draco Malfoy could make a move, a spell came out of nowhere and hit Harry. Draco also 'accidentally' lost control afterward, and two Leg-Locker Curses in succession left Harry's legs as limp as noodles.

Hermione angrily fixed her tousled hair, now resembling Devil's Snare. Even with the mirror she conjured with her wand, she couldn't untangle it. "I think Professor Bagshot wouldn't mind that," she said sarcastically.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Think about it carefully," she said. "What does he want?"

"To train us to detect dangers from the dark with the Sensory Charm," Harry said, then realized, "Are you saying it's intentional? Intentionally allowing chaos?"

"Practice is more effective than theory," Hermione interjected. A few junior wizards passed by, whispering and pointing at her, worsening her mood. Finally, she left Harry and Ron, heading back to the girls' dormitory.

"Don't you have Arithmancy next?" Ron asked.

"Make me walk around with a tangled mess of yarn on my head? Absolutely not!" Hermione exclaimed. "I hate Daphne Greengrass!" With that, she ran off, leaving Harry and Ron staring at each other. Ron sincerely said to Harry, "She described it accurately. It really looks like a ball of yarn. I think it's inspired by Crookshanks on Crookshanks's Mountain."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny suddenly appeared.

She reached out and pulled a absent-minded Luna over, as if preventing her from getting lost. "Hello," Luna greeted with a somewhat ethereal voice, her eyes trailing after Hermione's departing figure, clearly intrigued.

Harry blushed a bit, suddenly remembering the time he spent with Ginny at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. It felt like it had passed in the blink of an eye, leaving him with lingering thoughts. He was already looking forward to the next Hogsmeade weekend.

"Well," Ginny's voice suddenly buzzed like a mosquito, her cheeks turning crimson, "H-Harry, Luna has something to tell you. Luna?"

Luna was chatting with Ron. "I like Hermione's new hairstyle," she said. "I just wonder if it's troublesome to deal with."

"Oh, it's quite convenient. You just need to master the Knotting Charm," Ron replied.

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Oh," Luna snapped back to attention. She said openly, "I'd like you to help me with something."

"No problem," Harry said, looking at Luna. Surprisingly, the quirky girl had new decorations—hair accessories, bracelets, and necklaces made of colorful stones, winding around her hair, neck, and wrists. Harry felt that these things would only look normal on Luna; maybe it was because her unique aura made them not too attention-grabbing.

"I want to learn a Parseltongue accent," Luna said.

"Okay—what?" Harry shouted. Ron, who was questioning Ginny about her blushing, suddenly turned his head, his neck stiff and

awkward, as if he was the one hit by the Knotting Charm. He looked incredulous, and Ginny, seemingly aware of the situation, calmly rolled her eyes, her gaze casually shifting around.

"Parseltongue accent," Luna repeated, thinking Harry hadn't heard clearly. She deliberately spoke slowly and with standard pronunciation.

"Oh, Luna, I know what a Parseltongue accent is," Harry said, feeling a headache coming. "I mean… well, which phrase do you want to learn?" When he asked this question, he already had a premonition.

"O—pen," Luna said, deliberately slowing down her speech.

Harry's heart sank.

Open. That was the key to the Slytherin Chamber—the very place they both wanted to go. Harry felt he wouldn't be wrong, and he stared at Ginny, who had already turned her head away, stealing glances at Harry with a guilty conscience.

Harry was in a difficult position, and, more importantly, he didn't understand why Luna suddenly wanted to go to the Slytherin Chamber. Was it something Ginny said? He could only temporarily deceive his way through. "Uh, I need to think about it carefully. I have Ancient Runes later… I mean, Potion class..." he stammered.

Luna stared at him for a while. "Okay, then this weekend, is that alright?" she asked cheerfully.

Harry nodded blankly.

Luna bounced away. Ginny also wanted to slip away, but Harry stopped her. He needed to find out what was going on. Ginny looked dejected, and they walked towards the common room. "We've tried many ways—asking Fred and George about secret passages, asking the centaur Firenze for Divination, even advertising in 'The Quibbler'—that's how Luna got those little stones; she surprisingly likes them!"

"Don't change the subject," Harry said.

Ginny shot him a glance, whispering, "Well… to find the Resurrection Stone."

...

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