Monday afternoons and Friday mornings are the black magic defense classes for first and second-year little wizards.
In the great hall where even the drop of a needle can be heard, all little wizards are staring fixedly at Hermione on the stage along with Professor Brian, hardly daring to breathe. Even Neville clenches his fists together and places them on his chest in a posture of prayer.
Amortencia twirled her wand, and a stone pillar ten feet wide and bowl-thick rose from the ground, abruptly standing in the center of the platform.
"Then, Miss Granger--"
Amortencia looked at the nervous Hermione, whose fingers were trembling, with encouraging eyes and smiled.
"Please begin your performance!"
"Professor Brian--" Hermione's voice carried a slight quiver, regret for the first time in her heart for raising her hand to respond to the professor's question. She stammered, "I can't guarantee that it will definitely work."
"You have the courage to stand on this stage and show yourself to everyone, Miss Granger. That in itself is unprecedented success!"
Amortencia continued to smile and encourage.
Finally, after what felt like five minutes, Hermione, who had been breathing in gasps, managed to overcome her psychological tension. She tremblingly lifted her right hand, holding the wand, and pointed it towards the palm of her left hand where a feather had been dampened with sweat.
"Cantaree Leviossa!"
The slightly naive voice instantly spread through the silent and empty hall, accompanied by a faint light that flashed over the surface of the white feather, and a crisp clanging noise turned all little wizards in the hall!
Hiss! The square formation of all four houses suddenly issued the sound of inhaling cold air!
"Harry, have you heard her say that?!"
Ron stared at Hermione on the stage with a look of disbelief, as if he had just met her, his eyes nearly popping out of his head in shock. Harry's expression wasn't much better than Ron's.
"No, Ron!" Harry whispered, "I've never heard of it!"
"It's too incredible..." he, with round eyes, stared wide-eyed behind him, his excited face turning red, "I'll never be able to do this!"
"It's no more than a dirty mudblood..."
Most people were looking at Hermione with shock and even reverence. Only the Slytherins, most of whom had a fierce look in their eyes and a gloomy expression on their faces. Draco Malfoy, standing thirty feet away, whispered something so quietly that only he could hear it. However, he was immediately silenced by the indistinguishable gaze of Professor Brian who was watching him from thirty feet away. He was so frightened that he closed his mouth and couldn't say another word. Instead, his grey eyes turned even more sinister and full of calculation.
After silencing the spiteful Draco, Amortencia turned her gaze back to Hermione, whose pale cheeks had turned a full crimson. She nodded slightly, her voice steady.
"Try to see if you can cut through the stone column, Miss Granger."
Hermione, hearing this, hesitated slightly and nodded. She looked at the stone pillar, her arm trembling slightly as if she were holding not a wand but a heavy metal bar weighing dozens of pounds.
Whoosh!
The sharp whistle of the feather, which had a faint metallic luster, as it sliced through the air was like an arrow released from a fully drawn bowstring. In a blink of an eye, the feather collided with the stone pillar.
Crack!
Everyone's gaze turned instantly to the pillar. With a crisp cracking sound, the smooth surface of the stone pillar exploded, with debris shooting up into the air and then cascading down like rain.
As the dust settled, the little wizards on the stage looked at the debris and immediately showed disappointed expressions.
"I'm sorry, Professor Brian, I failed!"
Hermione, who saw the result before anyone else, bit her lower lip hard, her brown eyes glistening with tears, looking disoriented as if she had been severely affected.
Amortasta stepped forward to carefully examine, and Hermione's feather had already been broken into a pile of fine hairs mixed with stone dust, while the stone column he had created only had a small pit on its surface, far from breaking.
"Not a failure, Miss Granger," Amortasia said, smiling at Hermione and pointing to the small stone pit, "
"In order to successfully cast a 'Conjuring Charm,' a powerful magical force and mastery over it are crucial, and these are precisely what junior-year students lack. I believe you have grasped the essence of this spell. As long as you practice diligently and with the growth of your age, your magical power gradually increases, one day you will be able to cast a complete 'Conjuring Charm'!"
Hermione's imperfect 'Conjuring Charm' became the most popular topic of discussion that Friday, with people stopping her everywhere to ask her the secret of the spell.
At lunchtime, even Percy squeezed over, ignoring Ron's unpleasant expression, and asked her in a slightly respectful tone.
To be honest, this was Hermione's first taste of fame!
"Don't be arrogant, Hermione, you are still far from the level of Professor Brian!"
After dinner, Hermione, walking to the library, finished off two senior Ravenclaws after answering their questions, but she cautioned herself inwardly. However, the smile on her lips couldn't be concealed.
It was early evening, and Amortasta sat in her office, twirling the vial of memories in her hand, occasionally glancing at the surveillance camera on the opposite wall.
To be honest, so far, the surveillance wall that Amortasta had spent a fortune on and had high hopes for had essentially been rendered ineffective. Amortasta was almost certain that as long as he was still at Hogwarts, the successor would not come out again. The remaining option was how to obtain any clues that the "main group" held in their hands.
The flame of the voodoo doll from behind had shrunk to half again, and the crimson dragon blood had gradually faded into pink. It would lose its effect completely in about a month. Before that, Amortasta had to step down from his post as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Otherwise, he would have to eat the curse of the dark wizard himself!
On the desk was an ancient manuscript on magical research from Lord Voldemort's memory, which Amortasta had been studying for several days.
In strict accordance, Amortasta's behavior was no different from theft. Normally, he would not do such a thing. However, after knowing what Lord Voldemort had done, Amortasta had no psychological burden.
Black eats black, after all, he's not the first to do it...
Thump, thump, thump!
The slightly urgent knock on the door interrupted Amortasta's thoughts. After hiding everything in his office that was not suitable to be seen by others, he stood up and went to the door.
"Professor Snape... and Mr. Malfoy..."
Looking at the complex expression on Snape outside the door and Draco Malfoy, half of whose body was hidden behind Snape, Amortasta raised an eyebrow.
"Come in, both of you."
"No."
Staring at Amortasta Brane, who had caused quite a stir in the castle recently, there were ripples in Snape's black eyes. Ever since Amortasta was a first-year student, Snape had been certain that this unassuming child would one day achieve something remarkable. However, he never expected that day to come so soon.
Outstanding people, even if they are the most modest, can never hide their brilliant and dazzling light. Snape was almost certain that it would not be long before even the entire magical world would be shocked by this sudden emergence of talent. And one day in the future, surpassing Albus Dumbledore is also a possibility.
"This child has something to discuss with you, but he dared not come alone."
Snape gathered the ripples in his eyes, pulled Malfoy from behind and threw him at Amortasta before turning directly away, leaving Amortasta in a surprised gaze.
"I hope your future will not be like mine, relying on the remaining light of memories in the dark, Amortasta. You should bask in the sunlight and fully display your own brilliance..."
As he strode away, Severus Snape silently blessed him in his heart.
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