bacchusnovels Chapter 322 Sean's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
Chapter 322 Sean's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
Chapter 322 Sean's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class
For the next few days, the only topic of conversation at Hogwarts was Sirius Black.
The rumors about how he broke into the castle intensified and became increasingly bizarre.
For example, in a herbalism class, Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff would grab anyone willing to listen to her and launch into a long-winded explanation that Black could disguise himself by turning into a flowering bush.
The torn portrait of the Fat Lady had been removed from the wall, replaced by a portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat grey horse—a change that greatly displeased the students. Sir Cadogan spent half his time provoking others to duel with him, and the other half devising extremely complex, almost absurd, passwords that he changed at least twice a day.
"He's completely insane!" Seamus Finnigan complained angrily to Percy. "Can't they find someone else?"
“The other portraits were all too scared to take the job,” Percy explained. “Only Sir Cadogan volunteered, which was quite courageous.”
However, for Harry and Hermione, Sir Cadogan's antics were a trivial matter.
What troubled Hermione the most was her delicate relationship with Sophia and Professor Phillips.
Ever since she overheard part of a conversation outside Sean's office that day, Hermione has been caught in an emotional dilemma.
The intimate nicknames and the natural interactions between Sophia and Sean kept replaying in her mind—which deeply confused her.
Hermione is used to solving problems by relying on reason and logic, but she is at a loss when faced with this situation.
Every time she saw Sophia and Sean, she felt a strange mix of emotions.
She tried to mask her inner unease with her studies, and even began to deliberately avoid two people—especially Professor Phillips.
Sophia seemed to notice Hermione's avoidance. She didn't show any displeasure, instead acting as if nothing had happened, continuing to interact with Hermione normally in class.
But this made Hermione even more confused.
What bothers her most is the inner feelings she can't control.
Every time she saw Professor Phillips, she couldn't help but recall the scene she had overheard that day, feeling a mix of embarrassment and a sense of loss that she herself was unwilling to admit.
"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ron noticed her absent-mindedness several times and couldn't help but ask. "I'm fine, just a bit too much homework lately," Hermione replied perfunctorily while quickly flipping through her books.
"There's homework you can't handle?" Ron was surprised by Hermione's answer, and Harry raised his eyebrows as well.
His sixth sense told him that Hermione's absent-mindedness was inextricably linked to that night's outing—unfortunately, he had no evidence and was now in a precarious situation himself.
He has been under close surveillance ever since that night ended.
The teachers would occasionally find an excuse to accompany him through the corridors, and Percy Weasley acted like a smug police dog.
He always followed Harry around.
To make matters worse, Professor McGonagall herself summoned Harry to her office, her expression so grave as if something major had happened, leading Harry to believe that something must have occurred.
"There's no point in keeping it from you anymore, Potter," Professor McGonagall said in a very serious tone. "I know this is a blow to you, Sirius Black."
“I knew he was coming to see me,” Harry interrupted her, saying with a sigh. “I already knew. I heard it when Ron’s father told his mother that Mr. Weasley works at the Ministry of Magic.”
For some reason, Harry never seemed inclined to listen to what others had to say when it came to Sirius Black.
Admittedly, this is a bad habit.
Professor McGonagall was clearly taken aback by Harry's frankness and didn't realize that the two were not on the same wavelength.
She stared at Harry in surprise, then sighed and said, "Well, in that case, I think you can understand why we need to be especially careful about your safety. Especially during Quidditch practice, the pitch is so open, it's really dangerous if only your team is there."
"But our first match is on Saturday!" Harry exclaimed eagerly. "I have to go to practice, Professor!"
Professor McGonagall stared intently at Harry.
Harry knew she cared just as much about the Gryffindor Quidditch matches, after all, it was she who had personally suggested that Harry join the team as the Seeker.
Harry held his breath, waiting for her response. "Hmm," Professor McGonagall stood up, looked out the window at the Quidditch pitch, which was faintly visible in the rain, and after a moment of silence, finally said, "Well, for God's sake, I also want to see Gryffindor finally win the Quidditch Cup. However, Potter, there must be a teacher present during training. I need to ask Ms. Hooch to supervise your training."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, feeling grateful, but secretly prayed that Ms. Hodge wouldn't interfere too much with the game strategy during training.
This is the principle behind the saying that everyone has their own area of expertise.
As the first Quidditch match approached, the weather worsened, with torrential rain and strong winds raging almost daily, shrouding the entire Hogwarts in a cold and damp atmosphere.
Nevertheless, the brave and fearless Gryffindor Quidditch team continued to train diligently under Madam Hooch's supervision, and everyone was full of anticipation for the upcoming match against Slytherin.
However, after the final practice session before Saturday's game, Oliver Wood delivered news that surprised the entire team.
"We're not playing Slytherin anymore!" Wood said through gritted teeth, his face ashen. "Flint just spoke to me; the match has been changed to Hufflepuff!"
"Why?" the team members asked in surprise in unison.
"Flint's reason is that their Seeker—Malfoy—is still recovering from an arm injury and can't play," Wood explained angrily. "They clearly don't want to play in this terrible weather; they think it's disadvantageous for them."
Outside, a fierce wind howled, thunder rumbled, and raindrops pounded against the window, adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
"Malfoy's arm is perfectly fine!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "He's just faking it!"
"Yes, everyone knows he's faking it," Wood said fiercely, "but we can't prove it. The problem is, we've been training to deal with Slytherins, and now suddenly we're facing Hufflepuffs, whose fighting style is completely different. Besides,"
They have a new captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory.
Angelina, Aria, and Katie suddenly covered their mouths and couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Wood frowned, clearly displeased with this frivolous attitude.
"He's that tall, handsome Hufflepuff player, right?" Angelina said with a smile.
"Yeah, muscular and quiet," Katie chimed in, and the three of them burst into laughter again.
Fred rolled his eyes dismissively and interjected, "He doesn't like to talk because he's not bright enough; he can't even form coherent sentences."
"You think this is easy, but don't forget, this isn't a simple game," Wood said urgently, his eyes filled with anxiety. "Diggory is an excellent Seeker, we can't let our guard down! Slytherin is trying to demoralize us, we must give it our all!"
"Don't worry, Wood, we'll do our best," Fred reassured him, trying his best to appear serious.
The day before the match, the storm intensified, and the corridors and classrooms of Hogwarts became so dark and oppressive that the school lit up with lanterns and torches, but this did nothing to alleviate the heavy sense of oppression.
The Slytherin members were all gloating, with Malfoy being particularly pleased, wearing an exaggerated fake smile.
"Oh, I really hope my arm gets better soon!" Malfoy sighed, feigning helplessness, as the wind howled outside the window.
Harry was preoccupied with the game and paid no attention to Malfoy's provocations. Oliver Wood repeatedly stopped him during breaks to discuss tactics incessantly.
The third time, Wood was so engrossed in his talk that Harry almost forgot the time. He only realized that Defense Against the Dark Arts class had already started and rushed off to class.
"Diggory reacts quickly, Harry, you have to find a way to stall him!" Wood's voice still echoed in Harry's ears as he ran to the classroom.
However, when Harry hurriedly pushed open the classroom door, his heart sank—standing on the podium was Sean, not Professor Lupin.
"I'm sorry, I'm late—" Harry explained, panting.
Sean glanced at him and said gently, "It's alright, Potter. It's not too late as long as the class isn't over yet. Find a place to sit down."
Harry felt much less nervous when he heard Sean's gentle tone.
He nodded and quickly found a seat near Ron.
The students' gazes lingered on him for a moment before returning to the podium.
This was the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class taught personally by Professor Phillips to everyone present. Just two years ago, when they had just entered Hogwarts, the fervor surrounding Professor Phillips' dark magic and the regret of not being able to attend his classes still lingered in the hearts of some of the young wizards. Their dreams had come true! It was like a return to their youth!
Sean stood beside the podium, several thick magic books spread out on the table. He gently waved his wand, and today's topic slowly appeared on the blackboard.
"Today we're going to discuss a very important topic—how to spot someone's disguise, especially when dealing with dark magical creatures or dark wizards." Sean's voice was gentle yet powerful, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"This lesson is especially important for Harry, who is about to face a Quidditch match," Sean said with a smile, glancing in Harry's direction. "Because sometimes, to defeat a quick-thinking opponent, you don't need speed to win, but rather accurate judgment and disguise skills."
Harry was taken aback, not expecting Sean to connect him directly to the course content, but this made him even more focused.
"The enemies we often face, such as werewolves or shapeshifters, all possess the ability to disguise themselves as other creatures or people."
"Including those dark wizards who used Polyjuice Potion, but there are some obvious characteristics that cannot be concealed." Sean continued, casually drawing several afterimages of creatures in the air with his wand, and the images of werewolves, boggats, and shapeshifters appeared in front of everyone in turn.
"Remember, every creature's camouflage has flaws," he said. "But the key is whether you can spot them in time and deal with them using the right methods."
Hermione watched intently, her quill quickly scribbling notes on the parchment. Ron, though somewhat distracted,
But when Sean mentioned the "key weakness," he started to take it seriously. As for Harry, he was already thinking about how to use these techniques to deal with Cedric in a Quidditch match.
"Potter," Sean suddenly called on, "can you tell me, when faced with a shapeshifting creature or person, what characteristic should you observe first to determine its true identity?"
Harry paused for a moment after being called on, but he quickly recalled what he had learned before and tried to remember: "It should be—"
"Eyes, right? While shapeshifters can change their appearance, their eyes can't perfectly mimic a person's expression."