Chapter 652: Rare Treasures
On the last weekend of February, an owl delivered the Daily Prophet to the office of Ancient Magic.
Felix spread out the newspaper, and the headline of the foreign news on the sixth page was "The Magical Congress of the United States announced that it would not introduce exclusive wands for the time being, and a group of Squibs attacked the Woolworth Building." After reading it carefully, he found that the reporter did not know as much as he did.
The living environment of wizards in the American magic world is completely different from that in Europe and Africa.
Take the British Ministry of Magic as an example. It will choose to maintain a single line of contact with the Muggle Prime Minister on important events, and the magic ministries of other European countries have followed suit; while Africa is another scene: because the local mysterious culture is prevalent and information is spread slowly, there are actually many wizards there who are semi-publicly active in the identities of "witch doctors", "priests", and "fortune tellers" - there are also in the UK, but they definitely dare not be so rampant.
The result of publicly casting spells is to become the second Carlotta Pinkstone. So Felix and Ms. Bones feel that if the magic world is really forced to be public, the possibility of problems in America and Africa is far greater than that in Europe.
Therefore, Ms. Bones has entrusted the British representative to the International Confederation of Wizards to submit a warning proposal.
Felix has also been criticized a lot during this period because "the invention of exclusive wands will make the already overwhelmed confidentiality work worse." It is not surprising that the American Magic Congress, which has the most unstable domestic magic environment, is the first to make such a decision.
At least more magic ministries in more countries choose to cautiously accept exclusive wands, which is enough for him.
The chaos in the American Magic Congress has actually been foreshadowed.
For example, recently, Minerva has received many American wizard families. These parents hope to let their children study at Hogwarts, and they themselves are also preparing to move to the UK nearby.
"The Noel family is just the most sensitive, and they may also be the most courageous."
According to the information Felix learned from her, this kind of thing is not uncommon. During the First Wizarding War, many British wizards went abroad for refuge, and smuggling during that time was rampant.
Because it is much easier for wizards to get from one end of the earth to the other than Muggles.
In Felix's opinion, many wizards actually have no sense of distance. Going abroad - the time from England to France and to America is almost the same - only requires a portkey. The only thing that reminds them of the difference is the Galleons they paid. It was not
until the end of the war that these wizard families returned to England, but some chose to stay abroad.
Now the Magical Congress of the United States, the Reform Society and all walks of life are gearing up to start a series of major discussions, and even the quarrel has reached the International Confederation of Wizards, causing headaches for the new president of the Confederation.
Felix did not expect that he would be the source of this incident.
Valen lay in front of the special meditation basin, curiously looking at the silver substance inside. He held his own wand and glanced at Felix alertly. Seeing that Felix did not react, he used the tip of the wand to stir the thoughts inside.
A young voice with a little echo appeared:
"I don't look down on Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore. I just think...his behavior of raising a giant spider in the castle is too dangerous. I am a prefect."
Valen was a little surprised and hurriedly drew out his special wand. The silver substance in the meditation basin swirled slightly, and another person's voice came out from it. Valen's black eyes were wide open. Although there was also an echo, it could be heard that it was the devil who was speaking.
"...I heard that you are looking for the legendary Slytherin Chamber of Secrets? It's a mess there. I plan to transform it into an amusement park. You also agree that Hogwarts students lack entertainment, right? What do you like..."
Felix looked out the window and glanced at the mark on the calendar for a while. He ticked March 10 and stood up to stretch his neck.
"Let's go, Valen. Let's go to the Great Hall and see what those students have achieved in half a month. If we're lucky, maybe we can catch up with the clones!" He said lazily, "One of my students barely mastered Apparition in just a few days. It's terrible..."
...
Harry was discharged from the hospital earlier today. When he resolutely got rid of Madam Pomfrey's entanglement and returned to the common room, he was surprised to find that there were not many familiar faces.
"Harry, you are discharged from the hospital?" Gourd, a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, said happily. He announced loudly: "Hey! Everybody, welcome back our 'Ghost Captain'." The people in the common room clapped their hands in a respectful manner, and the beater Perks blew a loud whistle.
"Where are the others?" Harry asked.
"In the 'Apparition class' in the Great Hall," he said.
Harry thanked them and waved to Perks and Demelza Robbins in the distance. He walked around the dormitory and found it empty. He was a little confused to find a certificate of Apparition and a small bag of Galleons on his bed. He counted them and found that there were exactly twelve. He knew that this was the refund of the fee he paid for the Apparition course.
Harry was a little surprised. Did the Ministry of Magic only remember to bring them the certificates after a whole year? Couldn't they just mail them? He thought that if he got them, Ron and Hermione would definitely get them too.
He came to the Great Hall, which was crowded with students chatting in groups of three or four. There were hundreds of wooden hoops for practice on the ground.
Harry turned around and looked around, but he couldn't see even the shadow of a professor. What was going on? Fortunately, he saw someone familiar. He walked over and heard Ron sharing his experience of practicing Apparition with others.
Hermione and Neville were there, as well as Ginny. It was obvious that she was feeling very uncomfortable.
"...The more afraid you are, the worse it is, really! I had several serious splits when I was learning Apparition...Yeah, Professor Happ only helped us once or twice, and after that we had to solve them on our own, like losing an eyebrow, getting a small cut or something..."
"It's really hard," said Ron, "I always have trouble grasping the direction...Harry is really good at this."
In order to maintain their restored friendship, Ron praised Harry generously, knowing that the next topic should be "Weasley's 100 thrilling Apparitions."
"Harry!" Ginny said in surprise, jumping over and hugging him, "We are planning to visit you later."
"I don't want to stay until Easter," Harry whispered.
Then he was a little embarrassed to find that the people around him were looking at him with interest.
"I remember that Harry used continuous Apparition to get the golden egg from the protection of the dragon." Parvati Patil said.
"I thought it was a coincidence." A student said.
"Of course it's not a coincidence, Harry is particularly good at this!" Ron said more excitedly after seeing Harry: "Remember when I defeated Nona Labbert with 'Apparition plus Stunning Spell' in the third event of the competition? It is very difficult to cast spells during Apparition, and it is an advanced skill among the Aurors."
Ginny rolled her eyes.
She got some Auror training materials from Tonks a long time ago, and she knew a little bit that Apparition combined with rapid casting is indeed an advanced duel skill, but it is considered flashy by many people because it is easy to make mistakes. Once the body is split, it's all over and the enemy will laugh to death.
Not to mention that most people can't overcome the directional imbalance under high-speed movement. After knowing Professor Hepp's classification method for magic, Tonks gave the view that "Apparition below level four is not suitable for use in combat."
On the other side, Ron's words became more and more mysterious, making the students itchy.
"Harry, we haven't seen you demonstrate it in the club. Now that the professor is not here-" Dean said. The crowd followed up and asked Harry to show them. Harry glared at Ron, but he found himself eager to try. "I need a target."
"Glad to help," Ron said with a grin.
They walked towards an open space in the corner. As Ron passed Hermione and Neville, he whispered, "If I can't hold on, remember to save me."
A dozen Gryffindor students stood up and formed a semicircle.
Ron stood on the side of the wall, raised his wand and cast a supersensory spell on himself.
"Are you ready?" Dean consciously acted as a referee. Ron and Harry both became serious. "Three-two-one-go!"
A disarming spell flew towards Ron, and Ron leaned over to dodge the spell. At this time, Harry suddenly disappeared from where he was - the crowd burst into cheers - he appeared on Ron's right, and the red light at the tip of his wand shot out. Ron quickly condensed a small piece of Shield Charm on his chest to block the spell.
The students who were resting in the distance noticed the movement here and gathered around.
In the next ten seconds, the two fired some non-lethal spells at each other, including disarming spells, binding spells, stunning spells, petrifying spells, and the most popular mischievous curses among students. Harry now wanted to try the crazy toe growing curse on Ron.
"They are both so powerful." A junior student said in shock.
"I am not surprised by Harry's performance, but Ron - is he so proficient in silent spells?"
"Oh, he did not perform well in the Transfiguration class and still cannot hide his freckles smoothly. His first batch of silent spells are basically dueling spells..."
"What kind of magic is that?" Another seventh-year student asked in shock.
The two people in the field came and went, shooting spells at each other, their feet kept moving, and they would dodge the arcs of magic flying towards them if they could. If they couldn't dodge, they would condense a small halo in front of them to barely block the spell, and then immediately counterattack. The rhythm was so fast that it was dazzling.
"Like the Humanoid Shield Charm, it is one of the advanced techniques of the Shield Charm." Neville explained.
Harry would suddenly disappear from time to time, suddenly appearing from a corner and firing spells at Ron. At this time, Ron would quickly retreat, turning his back to the castle wall and catching Harry's figure with his eyes; or he would cast a full Shield Charm in the opposite direction, focusing his attention on the other side, and with the enhanced senses brought by the Supersensory Charm, he finally managed to cope with it.
The students were dazzled, but they didn't see any continuous Apparition.
"Harry, work harder," Dean shouted.
Harry held his breath and met Ron's eyes. The two exchanged a tacit look. "They're all waiting," Ron said with a grin. The next second Harry suddenly disappeared, his wand thrust straight out, and the Disarming Charm shot out with a sharp whistle. Then he disappeared from the spot and appeared in the air near the ceiling of the Great Hall, as if merging with the clear, blue sky above his head.
Harry, hanging in the air, waved his wand lightly, and more than a dozen candles fell on his head. At this time, the onlookers were still searching for Harry's figure. Instead, the students who had just walked over from a distance and the professors who had just come out of the staff lounge after a meeting saw this scene.
Draco Malfoy was constantly tossing a white peacock transformed from a goblet, but he turned his head to stare at Harry, with a trace of unwillingness in his eyes.
"Oh, God!" Professor McGonagall said, covering her chest. The other professors were also stunned, and only Felix had a smile on his face.
Harry's attack was not over.
He disappeared again during the fall and appeared on Ron's right side - in fact, normally he should appear behind the enemy, but now it was just a performance - he shook his wrist continuously, and two spells, one red and one gold, formed a continuous attack with the previous ones, rushing towards Ron like a tide.
The crowd burst into screams of surprise.
Ron, who had received the hint in advance, was casting spells slowly at this moment. He was quite seeking a dramatic effect. At the last second, he let a spherical magic barrier protect him. Bang, bang, bang - Harry's spells hit the barrier one after another, causing ripples, and the candles fell to the ground with crackling sounds, breaking into two or three pieces.
The students' eyes jumped with the candles on the ground, and the hall fell silent. A series of hurried footsteps approached, and everyone turned their heads and couldn't help shrinking their necks to make way. It was Professor McGonagall who strode over. She walked through the crowd and appeared in front of everyone, asking sternly, "What's going on?"
"We are demonstrating Apparition." Harry said honestly.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Dean chimed in, "Didn't Professor Texel use Harry as an example before? Harry happened to be here today, so we wanted him to demonstrate it to everyone." Harry and Ron nodded desperately.
Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows.
"Minerva." A pale-skinned wizard appeared and said soothingly. He was the Apparition teacher sent by the Ministry of Magic mentioned by Dean, Wicked Tekros. "I did mention it before, and it can be seen that Potter and the others were very restrained and did not use illegal spells. I believe that with this wonderful demonstration, other students will take Apparition more seriously."
The students around him murmured in agreement.
"Well, in that case-" Professor McGonagall pursed her lips into a thin line, "Then there will be no deduction of points, but since you are so free, why don't you stay and serve as Professor Tekros' assistant to help maintain order. It also saves you from..."
Harry opened his mouth, but did not dare to raise any objections. Ron accepted it happily.
"Okay," Tekros clapped his hands, "Go back to your respective positions, this time I hope someone can successfully appear in the wooden circle..."
The students dispersed, and Grindelwald appeared at some point. He stood in the corner, his eyes chasing Harry who was following Tekros. He observed very carefully, his lips trembling slightly, as if he was looking at a rare treasure.
The Apparition class didn't end until noon. Several professors moved the long dining table back to its original position. The exhausted sixth-year students and some seventh-year students stayed to wait for lunch. Harry took the opportunity to ask about the Apparition certificate.
"Professor Tycross didn't say the reason directly, but I think it might be due to concerns," Hermione said to Harry softly, "After all, if the Ministry of Magic had issued us the certificate last year, it would obviously be a violation, but this year is different..."
Harry thought for a long time before sorting out the logic. They didn't need to Apparition in school, and the end of the school year was almost July, and he was only one month away from adulthood, which had basically no impact on the Ministry of Magic. At
eight o'clock in the evening, Harry stood in front of the stone monster in front of the principal's office and said the password "Blowing Super Bubble Gum". The monster jumped to the side, and the wall behind it cracked. Harry stepped onto the spiral stone staircase. As he climbed the stairs, he couldn't help but imagine what Dumbledore would teach him later.
The stairs stopped, and a brass door knocker in the shape of a griffon was hung on the shining oak door.
Harry calmed his breath and squeezed the knocker.
Knock, knock! The door opened silently.