After a month of confinement, in addition to being responsible for the chamber pot toilets in the school hospital, the twins also had to work in Professor Sprout's greenhouse. In order to welcome the new school year, Professor Sprout opened a new greenhouse. , there are not enough manpower for composting, and the twins also need to be responsible for 'escorting' the fermented manure to its destination safely.
After hearing the news, Harry observed three seconds of silence for the twins. These tasks were not very arduous, but they were all dealing with shit and pee, and the feeling was...stained.
“It was totally worth it!”
"You don't have to comfort us, Harry."
The twins who were very open-minded did not face the frowning faces that had been closed for a month. Instead, after leaving Professor McGonagall's office, the two of them had a hint of excited smiles on their faces.
This was of course not because of becoming a glorious 'dung picker', but because Hagrid agreed to allow them to raise the blue ball escape bird. However, the little bird was seriously injured. Although the twins' healing spells The bleeding was barely stopped, but the broken bones and internal injuries that needed to be nursed back to health needed to be handled by professionals.
Professor Sylvanus Keltborn, who is currently the Care of Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts, is willing to help them, but the condition is that he needs the ball escaper to show up in class and act as a model for the class. .
After all, Professor Keltburn is already very old, and with only one limb left intact, there is no way he can catch up with this teleporting ball escape bird. He has always domesticated the horse through himself. The water monster transforms into various magical creatures, and if he can get a genuine model, he will definitely not miss the opportunity.
After all, the water monster's deformation will not shrink its body. A five-meter-tall ball escape bird is really a bit raw and makes people complain.
After saying goodbye to the twins, Harry also went back to the lounge. The afternoon class was about to start. He had to go back to get his textbooks, but when he returned to the room, he discovered... Defense Against the Dark Arts didn't seem to be available. Some serious textbooks are similar to extracurricular readings... "Dark Magic: From Beginners to Azkaban".
The thin book only has a few dozen pages, and it introduces in more detail the 'price' that some common black magic requires. Compared with orthodox magic, black magic usually has a certain increase in spell effects, but this Extra strength requires extra effort.
Every gift has a secret price, and the price of black magic is often difficult to detect by the wizard who uses it. Because of this, this subtle change is extremely terrifying.
There are still ten minutes before the Defense Against the Dark Arts class starts, but the classroom is already full of people. Most students are very interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts. After all, just hearing the name of this class can make people feel it. Some kind of vague excitement, not to mention, the person teaching this course is named Grindelwald.
Maybe the little wizards who are born as Muggles don't know what this name means, but no one who comes from a wizarding family doesn't know.
Gellert Grindelwald, the leader of the Wiccan Party, is recognized by the world as the strongest dark wizard in Europe. His reputation is as good as that of Dumbledore, who holds the title of the strongest white wizard. It is said that he has been Years ago, there was a secret duel between the two of them, but due to the long time and the deliberate ambiguity of the two parties, not much was known about it.
But even these few words are enough for people to piece together a powerful and majestic figure in their minds. Even if he casts a dark shadow, he still needs to be respected by people.
As the hands of the clock pointed to two o'clock in the afternoon, a gentle sound of footsteps came from far away. The door of the classroom was pushed open, and Grindelwald with white hair stepped in. His silver-white hair did not look like Deng Xiaoping's. Instead of growing his hair long like that, Bullido had it cut into a short and sleek style, which made him look much younger than he actually was, and he was more energetic, without the slightest sense of aging like a centenarian.
There was no other nonsense. Grindelwald, holding the parchment in his hand, simply named him, followed by a brief opening remarks.
"I am Gellert Grindelwald, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year. Due to the extremely poor teamwork at Hogwarts last year, I will teach you the correct way to become a qualified soldier and warrior. .”
"Now, can anyone tell me what is the nature of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the black magic we are dealing with?"
Grindelwald glanced at the classroom, but he didn't see anyone raising their hands.
"Where is the thoughtful intelligence of Ravenclaw? Is Hufflepuff really a gathering of mediocrity?"
There was a hint of sarcasm in the corner of his mouth, very slight but very exciting, "In the morning, someone from Gryffindor and Slytherin answered my question. I think you should keep in step and say it boldly, even if is the wrong answer."
At this moment, someone raised their hand. Children's emotions are easily stirred up. What Gryffindor and Slytherin can do, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff can't do?
"Very well, Miss Granger, please tell me."
Grindelwald nodded his chin slightly, and a somewhat nervous Hermione stood up, her fingers still holding a corner of the thin book.
"The book doesn't say what black magic is...but I think it." Hermione swallowed her saliva nervously. She actually felt guilty when answering a question like this that wasn't described in the textbook. "I think...dark magic is... It is an evil force that distorts the mind and drives wizards to extremes until destruction."
"The most terrifying thing is that the erosion of black magic on wizards is difficult for the user to detect. Therefore, black magic has become a taboo in the magic world and needs to be banned."
"It seems that Miss Granger has read the book in your hands very carefully." Grindelwald nodded slightly, "Do you have any other different opinions?"
Most of the little wizards shook their heads involuntarily. In their perception, the appearance of black magic was similar to what Hermione described.
"It seems that Hufflepuff also has new ideas. Mr. Potter, do you have anything to say?"
When looking at Harry, Grindelwald had a different look in his eyes. After all, he had heard a little bit about the Boy Who Lived. After all, Voldemort had caused a lot of trouble for Albus. , even if this guy is a scumbag in Grindelwald's perception, he may be able to disgust Albus, but he is quite capable.
"I think the essence of black magic is not simple evil. In my opinion, magic is an exchange, so there is an implicit limit to conventional magic. The amount of magic paid determines the power of the magic, but this exchange has Some kind of cap.”
"And black magic has broken the upper limit of conventional magic. Using black magic not only requires paying for magic power, but also paying some additional costs. I think this is probably some kind of human nature, or some fundamental thing that I don't know. Maybe a soul? This leads to the appearance of black magic that can influence wizards to fall into evil."
"Interesting answer." A smile appeared on Grindelwald's lips, "Sit down, Mr. Potter, your answer is somewhat close to the truth."
Grindelwald pressed his hand, "Then let me tell you the real answer."
"The current magical world's understanding of black magic is biased and wrong. Limited by this wrong framework, you don't understand what real black magic is at all!"
"Does it affect the mind? Does it make people evil and corrupt?"
"The fundamental reason for this is simply that people have no correct understanding of black magic."
"All wizards' understanding of it is wrong, even putting the cart before the horse."
"Black magic itself is not evil. I admit that it has certain dangers, but black magic is controllable. One thing Mr. Potter's guess is correct. When using black magic, there is indeed a price to pay. And this price actually exists in other magic that we don’t think is black magic.”
"Magic, emotion, will."
"These three intangible but real forces are the foundation of all magic. Magic is the basis of magic spells. It is energy, the energy that determines the basic power of magic. Emotions and will are amplifiers. When using magic, When equal, emotion and will will ultimately determine the strength of a spell."
"Compared to the white magic we know, the emotions that black magic can use..."
"Which is easier, protection or destruction?"
Grindelwald faced new questions from the students.
"It would be easier to destroy." The students replied sparsely, seeming a little cautious.
"It seems that everyone has a clear and correct understanding of this." Even though it was just such a trivial affirmation, coming from Grindelwald's mouth made the little wizards feel a little excited.
"The emotions used in white magic tend to be positive, without exception. Even the magic used for confrontation, the emotions contained in it are similar to suppression, which is quite mild, such as disarming spells and coma spells. But these positive emotions have their visible upper limit."
"It's not that magic has an upper limit, but that there is an upper limit to the emotions that amplify the power of magic. Although it can be compensated for by strong will, the shortcoming is the shortcoming, and strong will is not something everyone can have."
"With black magic, destruction is always easier than protection. Compared with gentle and stable positive emotions, negative emotions such as anger, killing, pain, etc.... We should all know how powerful the power of revenge is. , and the anger of revenge, no matter how you think about it, will not be a positive emotion that makes everyone happy."
"But are these negative emotions that drive black magic really something that should be abandoned, or are they all evil?"
"It's also about protection. If killing one person can save millions of people, is such killing evil?"
"Such killing intent is strong, but such killing intent is also positive."
"Protection for the sake of protection has its limits, but killing for the sake of protection has the power to exceed the limits of the former."
Grindelwald took out his wand from his arms. It was a Browning M1935 semi-automatic pistol that was as exquisite as a work of art, with smooth and tough lines. Compared with Professor McGonagall's collector's edition UPS, this gun was even more luxurious. The difference in degree is the same as in quality, just like brass and gold, and the difference in dazzling brilliance is like the difference between clouds and clay.
"In the course of Defense Against the Dark Arts, true knowledge comes from practice, and all empty talk is just a castle in the air."
"What I just said is not as intuitive as seeing it with your own eyes."
"Now then."
Grindelwald smiled and threw out a black cloth bag, and a cloud of black mist rose from it, and then solidified into a terrifying monster wearing a tattered black robe, floating in mid-air.
Only five feet in front of the little wizard, the dementor from Azkaban released a halo of despair that frightened all living creatures, but it seemed that his power was restricted by some magic, and he remained in place. The power unleashed by the inescapable Dementors has also been weakened.
The screaming little wizards felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured over their heads, but the despair of being sucked out of happiness did not appear on them.
"The fresh dementors from Azkaban, I think you should be able to be impressed by this kind of fear."
Grindelwald raised the muzzle of his gun and said in a clear voice that everyone could hear: "Call the gods for protection."
A wisp of white light burst out from the muzzle, and a lifelike pale golden phoenix flew out from the muzzle. This guardian magic summoned by emotions such as hope, joy, happiness, etc. was the absolutely hostile enemy of the Dementors who spread despair and death.
The materialized Patron Saint has the ability to kill this half-ghost dark magic life form. The moment the Phoenix Patron Saint appeared, the dementors screamed and began to melt, and the cold despair that enveloped the entire classroom also brought with it. The patron saint with a faint golden color disappeared in the wind the moment he appeared.
A warm force calmed the little wizards. They stared ahead in fear and curiosity. However, after seeing the dementor being smashed into black mist by the phoenix and disappearing completely, some small cheers rang out. .
"This is pure protection."
Grindelwald directed the Patronus to squat on the desk, "If you observe carefully, after completely killing the Dementors, the power of the Patronus itself has been weakened."
Although the little wizards could not tell the difference at all, Grindelwald would not lie to them. Everyone nodded, the professor was right.
"The protection for protection is passive. This is the limitation of the so-called white magic. Rather than saying that the patron saint killed the dementors, it is better to say that the patron saint cut off a part of his body to offset the energy of the dementors. .”
"This was not a killing, but a respectable and foolish sacrifice."
"What if it's black magic instead?"
Grindelwald showed an unintelligible smile, and another black bag was thrown out. A new dementor appeared in front of the students, but after being frightened before, they were now more curious than before. It was so thick that there were a few exclamations, but no one screamed.
He raised the muzzle of his gun again, pointed it at the Dementors, and once again recited the same spell: "Calling God to Guard!"
But this time what shot out from the muzzle was not a white mist with a faint golden light, but a terrifying black light that was as dark as an abyss and made people feel uncomfortable all over.
If Dementors bring people despair that deprives them of happiness, then this black light that quickly aggregates into the Dark Phoenix is constantly radiating killing, death, and fear outwards.
Completely different from the orthodox patron saint, the extreme negative emotions condensed into a patron saint that was countless times more terrifying than the dementors, a pure black phoenix, a patron saint that seemed to have nothing to do with guardianship.
"The killing for protection is justice."
The moment the words fell, the black phoenix flapped its wings and flew. Its dark claws clasped the Dementor's shoulders in an instant, and then tore it in half.
Countless black energy exploded, and the desperate power fled in all directions. However, after a few selective pecks by the black phoenix, it was completely swallowed and absorbed.
"There is no so-called good and evil in magic. They are just tools for wizards. If you get cut on your hand by a sharp blade, it means you did not use it correctly. What we need to do is not to seal this injuring sharp blade, but Learn how to swing it correctly.”
"Defence Against the Dark Arts, what we learn is not how to deal with it, but how to control it correctly."
"Power is meaningless if it is not used, and in this day and age."
Grindelwald looked at the students with a cold expression.
"We need someone to step into the darkness and protect the light for more people."
"Time is running out, children." Grindelwald narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a very soft voice.
