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On Monday morning, almost no one paid serious attention in Charms and Herbology class. Everyone was quietly discussing what had happened on Saturday, and even Hermione, who was usually single-minded during lessons, looked unwell and out of sorts. Even at lunchtime, no one could give a definitive answer as to whether Professor Lockhart was allergic to alcohol or had drunk poisoned wine.
"The second class this afternoon, first and second years from all four houses will jointly attend Defense Against the Dark Arts, in the Great Hall—" The male and female prefects from each house, hurrying down from the teachers' table, relayed this startling news to the whispering younger students below.
"Why?" Ron, who had been confidently telling Seamus that Lockhart must have been poisoned by someone, looked at Percy in surprise. "If I remember correctly, the second class this afternoon should be History of Magic!"
"Professor McGonagall's message, Ron, if you have any questions, you can ask her yourself—" After replying, Percy hurried past Harry and the others to deliver the surprising news to Ginny and the others closer to the entrance hall.
In the afternoon, when Harry and the others, exhausted after their Transfiguration class, rushed to the Great Hall, they found it transformed. A circular raised platform stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by nearly one hundred and sixty or seventy desks. The first and second-year students from the other three houses had basically already gathered there. Everyone was chattering excitedly, discussing this unique way of teaching, and what Professor Brain would teach them next.
"This brings back bad memories—" Harry muttered. "I just hope it's not another big stage play!"
Time gradually passed. The slightly crowded desks gradually filled with students from all four houses. When the last empty desk was occupied by a young wizard, Amostra Brain finally made his appearance under everyone's gaze.
He walked down the marble staircase, leaped over the crowd, gracefully jumped onto the platform, and finally stood in the center of the platform, smiling as he looked at the bustling heads around him. His first sentence caused the silent Great Hall to erupt in a fierce roar!
"Now, everyone, put Professor Lockhart's books on your desks back into your bags. In my class, you will not use them."
"Oh ho!"
Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff was the first to cheer loudly, and his cheer was like a signal for an avalanche. All at once, joyous howls erupted from all directions. Even the large chandeliers above the Great Hall trembled from the young wizards' shouts!
"Can you believe it? I've been waiting for this for half a year!" Dean shoved his copy of Break with a Banshee fiercely into his bag, then laughed happily. Ron seemed about to express similar sentiments, but Harry, grinning, pulled him back and secretly pointed to Hermione, who was sitting in front of them with a stunned expression. After a quick exchange of glances, both of them suppressed their excitement and put their books away.
The cheers rose and fell for several minutes, gradually dying down only after Amostra cleared his throat loudly.
"Now, I may need to offer you all an explanation!" Amostra smiled, nodding to the audience below. "I imagine you're all very curious as to why I've chosen this method of instruction!" Amostra cleared his throat and continued, "The subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts, for various reasons, has always suffered from unstable staffing.
And due to frequent changes in professors, the teaching quality of this course at Hogwarts has always been criticized—take myself, for instance, it's likely my tenure as your Defense professor won't be very long. Therefore, in order to effectively improve your defensive capabilities against danger in a limited time, I have had to make a few changes—"
"Professor Brain!"
The words had barely fallen when Seamus raised his right hand high. He looked at Amostra on the platform with great interest and said loudly, "Please introduce yourself, Professor. Of course, we all know you're the investigator dispatched by the school board to investigate the Chamber of Secrets, but before that, what did you do?"
"That's an interesting question, Mr. Finnigan—" Amostra scratched his head. Looking at the dozens of curious eyes sparkling below, after some thought, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm, alright, I can tell you. Before coming to Hogwarts, I was something of a… freelancer. I made a living running errands for people, finding potion ingredients, delivering goods, and such. Heh heh, I'm just an obscure little person; I can't compare to Professor Lockhart!"
"I don't believe a word of that!" Ron whispered to Harry, and Harry also nodded in strong agreement.
Amostra's perfunctory self-introduction certainly couldn't satisfy the young wizards. The atmosphere cooled slightly. Everyone was waiting to hear what Professor Brain would say next.
"I suppose you're all probably wondering what I'll be teaching you?" Amostra began to speak again, and under his confident and steady voice, the young wizards gradually stopped whispering, staring at him expectantly.
"However, I hope to return this question to you all," Amostra said, smiling at the students below the platform. "What do you wish to learn from me?"
"Powerful spells!"
Blase Zabini, a second-year Slytherin student, immediately raised his hand and said loudly, "I hope to learn powerful spells, Professor Brain, because I believe only powerful spells can withstand dangerous and mysterious dark magic!" Zabini's words were met with unanimous approval from the young wizards. Even the Gryffindor students, who usually scoffed at Slytherin, mostly hesitated, then nodded in agreement.
"Although your understanding of defending against dark magic isn't particularly profound, it's still a decent answer, Mr. Zabini—" Amostra nodded approvingly. Then, he slowed his pace as he looked at the young wizards encircling him. "Since you're all so interested in powerful spells, let's start with that. So, who can answer me: what category of spells can truly be called 'powerful'?"
Professor Brain's question was very peculiar. The young wizards looked at each other, not knowing how to answer. Many cast their gaze towards Hermione, and Hermione, as expected, did not disappoint everyone. Under everyone's gaze, she raised her hand and stood up.
"If I understand your meaning correctly—" Hermione, gradually getting into the zone, took a deep breath and replied, "If it's about a category of spells, then it should be the ancient magic that has largely been lost today!"
"Can you explain why, Miss Granger?" Amostra asked, looking at Hermione with interest.
"Ancient magic—is renowned throughout the world for its immense power. In a narrow sense, it refers to the spells invented and created by ancient wizards during the long period from the tribal era up to eight hundred years ago. This is because at that time, the natural environment humans depended on was extremely harsh.
Many dangerous magical creatures, now extinct, were still very active during that era. To withstand threats from the brutal natural environment, the highly intelligent ancient wizards developed a series of spells primarily focused on power.
However, with the development and growth of Muggle civilization and wizarding civilization, humans tamed nature, and the role of magic gradually evolved from defending against danger to serving daily life.
At the same time, due to the rapid development of wandlore and its high compatibility with modern magic, which made spellcasting simpler, those powerful but complex, obscure, and highly demanding ancient spells were rapidly abandoned by mainstream wizarding society until they were lost."
"Excellent, Miss Granger!"
Amostra applauded continuously. "I believe no one will object to me awarding Gryffindor ten points!" Hermione sat down, her face flushed, while Ron looked at Professor Brain with hopeful eyes. "Professor Brain, do you mean you're going to teach us those mysterious ancient spells?!"
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