Chapter 60: The Spirit of Gryffindor
Some of the students from wizarding families had seen drying charms before.
But usually, wizards had to remove their clothes and hang them up to dry. If the spell was poorly controlled, the fabric might even be damaged.
Douglas smiled faintly.
The spell he had just used was inspired by scenes from martial arts novels—where masters dried their clothes instantly using inner energy.
He had simply adapted the idea with magic.
"Miss Weasley," Douglas said calmly, "you may return to the classroom and write a reflection on this practical lesson."
"It must be at least ten inches long."
Ginny hesitated.
"Professor… may I try again later?"
"I think if I had another chance, I could definitely pass."
Douglas shrugged apologetically.
"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley. Because of time limitations, each student may attempt the challenge only once."
Ginny nodded reluctantly.
As she reached the classroom door, she paused.
Then suddenly she turned back.
"Professor, may I…"
Douglas smiled approvingly.
"Of course. That is entirely your choice."
Ginny faced her classmates.
"Once you enter the cave, remember what Professor Holmes said."
"Don't look into its eyes—directly or indirectly."
"So don't stare at reflective surfaces."
"There are several puddles at the first corner of the passage. Be careful."
"And the creature seems to follow the sound of your footsteps."
"Don't forget to use the Whispering Charm."
After speaking, Ginny let out a long breath and turned to leave.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Douglas began applauding.
The other students quickly joined in.
Several even thanked Ginny for sharing her experience.
Seeing her embarrassed expression, Douglas said warmly,
"Being willing to share everything you learned with your competitors—without holding anything back—shows both courage in facing failure and extraordinary character."
"I believe Professor McGonagall would be very pleased to hear about this."
"Because Miss Weasley used the Wand-Lighting Charm, the Whispering Charm, and careful observation during the challenge…"
"And demonstrated exceptional bravery…"
"Ten points to Gryffindor."
The class erupted into applause again.
Ginny lowered her head shyly, seemingly very interested in the imaginary Burrow she was drawing on the floor with her shoe.
The Second Attempt
Thanks to Ginny's information, the next student quickly reached the puddles.
He rolled up his trousers and closed his eyes.
Carefully, he stretched his foot forward.
His foot landed in the first puddle.
The water reached his ankles.
Relieved, he tested the next step.
Good—solid ground.
He continued.
Soon he stepped into another puddle.
This time he didn't worry and kept walking.
But when he lifted his foot, something felt wrong.
The foot inside the puddle felt as if it were being swallowed.
Startled, he panicked.
The foot he had lifted came down again—straight into another puddle.
But this puddle was different.
It was a deep pit.
His foot met empty air.
The other foot, stuck in the mud, slipped free from inertia.
Before he could recover—
He saw a pair of green eyes staring down at him from above.
"Above?"
"Eyes?"
"Oh no!"
Only then did he realize what had happened.
In his panic he had opened his eyes.
Worse—he had stumbled sideways.
Before he could react—
The Full-Body Bind Curse struck him.
His body stiffened instantly.
Half of him lay in the water, the other half on the ground.
A truly miserable sight.
In the observation room, the students groaned when the words "Fully Petrified" appeared on the monitoring map.
Douglas raised his wand.
"Mobiliar Corpus."
The petrified student floated awkwardly through the cave entrance and back into the observation room.
Douglas removed the curse and dried the student's clothes.
The embarrassed boy quickly explained everything that had happened before retreating to the observation room.
Repeated Failure
Five more students failed at the exact same spot.
Eventually the remaining students calmed down.
Instead of rushing into the cave, they gathered together to discuss strategies.
"Why don't we just jump over it?"
"Colin already tried that. The distance is too far."
"This challenge is impossible!"
"Maybe the professor never intended for us to succeed…"
"I know a freezing spell! We could freeze the puddles!"
"Really? Try it then!"
"…I can't. I only saw Hermione practicing it in the common room."
Douglas watched silently.
He was speechless.
The students had become completely obsessed with the puddles.
In truth—
He had never intended to make the challenge difficult for first-years.
Right beside the puddles, hidden in the shadows, was a narrow path only half a foot wide.
If they simply walked along the wall and held the protruding rocks—
They could bypass the puddles entirely.
But from Ginny onward, none of them had bothered to examine the walls.
The End of the Lesson
By the time the class ended, nearly everyone had attempted the challenge.
One student even performed a fairly impressive Transfiguration spell, turning a small stone into a wooden plank and placing it across the puddle.
Unfortunately, the transformation lasted only a few seconds.
Before he could cross, the plank reverted into stones.
He fell straight into the puddle.
Though he hadn't looked into the creature's eyes, he lost his direction while climbing out.
When he opened his eyes in confusion—
He met those glowing eyes.
At the end of the class, Douglas had no choice but to announce:
"All of you have failed the challenge."
Ravenclaw's Attempt
The next group to try was the Ravenclaw first-years.
Compared with Gryffindor, their performance was noticeably better.
Four students discovered the hidden path and reached the second stage of the challenge.
However, they still failed at that level.
Interestingly, the Ravenclaw students who failed did not share their experiences with the others.
Douglas didn't comment.
Everyone had the right to choose their own approach.
The final class of the day arrived.
Second-year Slytherin.
Douglas explained the rules but made no promises.
He doubted his signed books would mean much to Slytherin students.
He only mentioned that the practical class would have a ranking.
Inside the observation room, Douglas asked,
"Who will go first?"
No one answered.
Draco Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle beside him.
Then he glanced toward a student behind them.
"Theodore," Draco said casually. "You go first."
The student—Theodore Nott—frowned.
But he said nothing.
After shooting Draco an annoyed look, he stepped into the cave entrance.
Draco smirked with satisfaction.
Theodore Nott often ignored him as class representative, relying on the influence of his cousin, a senior prefect.
Now Draco had found a convenient opportunity.
In truth, the challenge was slightly unfair for Slytherin.
They had only learned a Creature Detection Spell the day before.
Most of them still struggled with it.
The spell could detect whether a creature was within one meter of the caster—
But it couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
And if too many creatures were nearby, the detection became useless.
Still—
Slytherin had ranked last in memorization.
They had no excuse.
Theodore's Attempt
Once inside the cave, Theodore cast the Wand-Lighting Charm.
He avoided looking around and moved cautiously.
Soon he sensed something following him.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He didn't need the detection spell to know there was something alive nearby.
Theodore sneered.
The professor had never said they couldn't attack the creature.
He took several quick steps forward.
Then suddenly turned and swung his wand.
"Incendio!"
With a crackling sound like fireworks—
A faint orange fireball burst outward.
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