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Chapter 227 - Chapter 227: Dawn

In September 1992, in an empty classroom of Hogwarts Castle, the study group held its first internal meeting. Everyone actively joined the discussion, successfully deciding on the group's name and internal responsibilities.

By the primitive method of a show of hands, the meeting decided on "Dawn" as the organization's name, meaning "The night (Lockhart) will eventually pass, and dawn is about to arrive." At the same time, Eda became the leader of the group by an overwhelming 6-to-1 vote.

The very next day after the meeting, Eda brought the application form to Professor McGonagall, formally applying to her Head of House for the establishment of the study group.

Professor McGonagall was actually quite pleased about the creation of this study group. She thought Eda wanted to set an example for the other students, which was why she had formed it.

But when McGonagall saw the list of members, her smile instantly disappeared—because these names were far too familiar.

Fred and George went without saying—masters of mischief, pioneers in losing House points. The twin brothers were a constant mix of pride and exasperation for her.

Lee Jordan, another Gryffindor prankster and a heavily biased Quidditch commentator—every time he commentated a match, McGonagall nearly wanted to smack him to death.

If it weren't for the names of Angelina and the others further down the list, McGonagall would have thought Eda was planning to form a prankster gang to torment the entire school, rather than a group with the purpose of studying.

Professor McGonagall also knew the reason why Eda and the others had formed their study group. Recently, reading and study groups at Hogwarts had sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, most of them led by the upper-year students.

These upper-year students were all facing their O.W.L. exams. Since Lockhart was useless and couldn't help them at all, they had no choice but to band together for warmth, relying on themselves to prepare for the coming wizarding examinations.

Lockhart managed to earn the dissatisfaction of the entire school in record time—a speed at which even Snape could not hope to compete.

Professor McGonagall had tactfully conveyed the students' feelings to Dumbledore, but the lofty Headmaster remained unmoved, letting Lockhart do as he pleased, showing no awareness whatsoever of the suffering beneath him.

The application to establish a study group was quickly approved, and Eda and the others were even given a classroom to use as their activity space.

The classroom was on the 2nd floor of the castle. Although it had been vacant for a long time, it wasn't covered in dust. Still, for the eight members of "Dawn," it felt a bit too large.

In early October, the entire school turned damp, and the moisture seeped into the castle itself. A wave of colds suddenly spread among both staff and students, keeping Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing busy beyond measure.

It was under these circumstances that Dawn held their very first group activity. That evening, eight Gryffindor students gathered one after another on the castle's second floor.

A warm fire was burning in the classroom, dispelling the chill and dampness in the air. The desks had all been pushed to the corners, leaving the center space clear, where soft mats were spread across the floor.

The eight of them paired off and began some simple practice exercises. These exercises allowed Eda to gauge everyone's level—and once again, she found herself doubting the quality of Hogwarts' education.

Angelina and the others were already in their fourth year, yet they still couldn't properly use the spells from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2.

Fred and George were the only ones who gave Eda some comfort—the two brothers hadn't practiced with her for nothing. Out of the seven, they performed the best.

The classroom was filled with the sound of incantations being chanted one after another, but the accuracy of those spells was truly terrible. While Katie was practicing with Leanne, her spell even went flying toward Eda's side, and the mats laid out on the floor were sent flying all over the place.

Eda had to wave her wand repeatedly just to keep the classroom from descending into complete chaos.

There was no helping it. Eda had to abandon her original plan and start teaching from the very basics.

What had initially been intended as a lesson on mastering the Disarming Charm and the Shield Charm turned instead into teaching everyone how to actually hit their target.

Using her magic, Eda controlled the mats to float and fly around the room, then had everyone take turns trying to hit them. Once everyone could manage to strike them, she increased the mats' speed to raise the difficulty.

But Eda didn't make them do nothing but dull target practice. Repeating such monotonous drills too long would easily kill everyone's motivation. Not everyone was like Eda, and not everyone could endure that kind of hardship.

When Eda finally called an end to the practice and told everyone to rest, every face showed an expression of relief. Some went off to handle personal needs, some grabbed a drink, others chatted.

"This practice was way too boring today," Lee Jordan complained. "Are we going to keep doing this later?"

"Stop complaining, Lee. Do you even know how Eda used to practice hitting targets?" George said, giving Lee's shoulder a squeeze.

Before Lee could answer, Fred cut in, "She used pebbles. And not just any pebbles—really fast-flying ones. Hitting those was a lot harder than hitting mats."

"Lee, later I'll have everyone practice the Disarming Charm and the Shield Charm," Eda said. "These are two very practical spells. There was even once someone who won a dueling championship with just the Disarming Charm."

"When will we get to learn the Patronus Charm?" Alicia asked curiously. "What you did on the Hogwarts Express was just amazing!"

"The Patronus Charm is a very difficult spell. It's not suitable for you all to learn just yet," Eda answered honestly. "But if everyone makes fast enough progress, I think we'll be able to practice the Patronus Charm soon."

After resting for a while, everyone's spirits lifted considerably. With the lure of the Patronus Charm and the new material to learn, they all practiced with renewed enthusiasm.

Eda explained the key points of the Disarming Charm and the Shield Charm, then demonstrated them together with Fred before letting everyone split into pairs to practice. The twins paired up with Lee Jordan, Angelina with Alicia, Katie with Leanne, while Eda herself went around correcting everyone's mistakes.

"Expelliarmus!" and "Protego!" echoed throughout the classroom.

Thanks to the earlier target practice, everyone's accuracy had improved somewhat, but wands still went flying in every direction, crashing into the ceiling with showers of sparks.

The classroom was a mess, and one of the spells deflected by a Shield Charm nearly hit Eda as she was walking past.

After about another hour, Eda finally called an end to the practice. It was already very late—if they didn't return to the common room soon, they'd be breaking curfew.

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