At this time, Snape had arrived early and stood at the front of the classroom, looking at the two people who had just entered with a scrutinizing gaze.

To be honest, Snape has not been in a good mood since he learned that Connor had sneaked back from France a few days ago.

But what else could he do? When he first learned that Kanna had been sent back, he went to the principal's office angrily, wanting to see who was so nosy.

But when he saw Nicolas Flamel, who had a head full of white hair and a trembling gait, his anger disappeared completely. Not only did he not say a single harsh word, but he also thanked him repeatedly as he sent him out of the school.

There was no way. Even if he ignored his fame, he couldn't afford to offend the man because of his age. He was over 600 years old. Judging from his appearance, a gust of wind could blow him down.

What if he speaks too loudly and scares the other person into having problems?

So Snape endured it and sent Nicolas Flamel out of the school in a nice and gentle manner.

But that doesn't mean the matter is over.

Snape knew very well that a big reason why Connor came back from France was because of Kyle. Now that the two met, he naturally wouldn't be in a good mood.

"What are you still standing there for?" Snape said coldly, as if he was looking at some potion ingredient that had jumped out of the jar. "If you're late, find a seat quickly. Do you really want me to invite you to sit?"

"I understand, Professor." Kyle quickly pulled Kanna to sit in the last row.

This made Snape look even uglier.

But Kyle was not afraid. Instead, he raised his eyebrows provocatively.

At this moment, Snape wished for the first time that he was a pure Death Eater and had nothing to do with Dumbledore... Then he could cut Kyle's hair with the Sharp Sword without any scruples.

Of course, this is just Snape's perspective.

In fact, Kyle was just looking around the classroom. He didn't expect Snape to leave his own mark on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom so quickly.

All the windows were covered and had thick curtains, and the only light in the entire classroom was the dim light from candles.

There were more pictures on the wall, showing people being tortured by black magic, as well as hideous wounds and bizarrely distorted body parts.

These pictures probably correspond to the various potion materials soaked in bottles and jars in the basement classroom, and what stands out is the horror.

"Before we start the class, I have something to say to you. I hope you can pay close attention and remember what I say."

Snape didn't look at Kyle anymore, as if he wanted to turn a blind eye to him. He turned his head away and said, "So far, you have had six teachers in this class, or maybe seven."

Snape was talking about Tonks, who had been substituting for Umbridge since she left the school, but she herself insisted on not acknowledging her identity as a teacher.

"Needless to say, these teachers all have their own teaching methods and emphases." Snape walked down the podium slowly, "But as far as I know, none of them seem to have taught you what to do when you really face the dark arts."

"Professor Moody taught me." A voice came from the crowd.

"So, Mr. Drake has seen real dark magic, is that right?" Snape turned his head sharply, "Or you think you can easily defeat the Death Eaters and don't need to waste time in my class."

Mikel immediately lowered his head and stopped talking.

"Five points deducted from Hufflepuff." Snape said calmly, "Remember, in my class from now on, you must raise your hand before answering a question."

"Alastor Moody, as a professor, he is indeed quite competent. He has indeed applied to the principal and believes that it is necessary for you to truly face the dark arts."

Snape continued, "But as far as I know, the headmaster rejected his request on the grounds that you were not yet adults and were not suitable for contact with dark magic too early."

There was a burst of discussion in the classroom. Someone remembered that Professor Moody had mentioned that Headmaster Dumbledore did not agree with him demonstrating dark magic to students in class.

"But it's different now. You are already in your seventh year, and the situation has changed suddenly..." Snape raised his voice slightly, "Whether you are willing or not, you must face the threat posed by the dark arts.

"You need to learn how to resist the Imperius Curse, or the Dementors who can give you a 'kiss' at any time."

"Professor!" A girl raised her hand and said, "But didn't the Dementors disappear?"

"Not really," Snape said. "The Ministry of Magic's actions have indeed prevented the Dementors from being so rampant, but they cannot be completely eliminated. The number of these monsters is far greater than you think."

He walked around to the other side of the classroom and headed towards the podium. When he turned around, he glanced in Kyle's direction intentionally or unintentionally.

"Perhaps I should show you a real Unforgivable Curse, which would give you a clearer understanding of the Death Eaters.

"Oh, by the way, as seventh-year students, I think you don't need me to help you remember what the Unforgivable Curses are. Is there anyone who doesn't know yet?"

No one spoke.

"Very good, it seems that you are not hopeless fools." Snape nodded.

"Then let's choose the Cruciatus Curse. In order to allow you to see the effect of this curse more intuitively..." Snape paused, and then said in a gentle tone that he had never used before: "Kyle, how about doing me a favor?"

Kyle didn't expect Snape to suddenly call his name. Looking at the meaningful smile on Snape's face, he murmured in his heart.

He didn't really want to use the Cruciatus Curse on himself, this was in class.

"So, are you willing to help?" Snape asked softly.

"But professor..." Kanna was a little anxious, but when she was about to say something, Kyle took the lead.

"Of course I am willing." Kyle said, "But Professor, can I resist with the Shield Charm? You know, no one will surrender to the Death Eaters."

"Oh, what are you talking about." Snape's tone rose slightly, "I mean, can you help me open the curtains so that the students can see more clearly.

"You don't think I'm going to use the Cruciatus Curse on you, do you? That's impossible. You must know that, no matter what the circumstances, using the Cruciatus Curse on others is a serious violation of wizard law.

"Because of your dangerous idea, Hufflepuff will lose ten points!"

Looking at Snape's half-smile, Kyle's mouth twitched.

On purpose, Snape definitely did it on purpose.

It was just a curtain, Snape could open it with just a flick of his fingers, so why would he need help? Moreover, his expression and tone just now made it seem like he was going to cast a Cruciatus Curse on himself.

"Why are you still standing there?" Snape said again, "I don't want to have to say it again."

"Of course, Professor," Kyle said. He walked to the window as if nothing had happened, opened the curtains, and then returned to his seat.

The classroom suddenly became bright.

Snape extinguished the candle, then pulled a mouse out of his cloak and threw it on the ground.

When no one reacted...

"Crucio!"

Immediately, the mouse's entire body curled up into a ball, with its limbs pressed tightly against its body. It turned over, and its body began to twitch violently, with squeaking sounds that made people feel numb all over.

Everyone clearly felt the pain from this mouse.

Some girls couldn't stand it anymore and turned their heads away, not daring to look anymore.

Snape waved his wand again and whispered, "Avada Kedavra!"

Accompanied by a dazzling green light, the mouse stopped moving. There was no scar on its body, but it was undoubtedly dead.

"It's not nice, is it?" Snape said lightly, "But I must say that this is probably the most common curse you will see in the future. As you can see, it can end all life. If you don't want to die, you must find a way to avoid this curse."

"Also, don't think about resisting." Snape glanced at Kyle again, "When facing the Killing Curse, the Shield Charm is useless."

Snape waved his hand, and the rat on the ground disappeared.

But people's emotions did not disappear. The whole classroom was eerily quiet. Everyone's mind was still filled with the intermittent screams and the figure of the mouse lying silently on the floor.

until……

"What are you all standing there for?" Snape shouted, "Why don't you write this down!"

Everyone came back to their senses and started looking for their quills and parchment to record what Snape had just said.

"Perhaps some of you will feel confused." While everyone was concentrating on taking notes, Snape continued: "Why are there three unforgivable curses, but I only demonstrated two? "That's because the Imperius Curse is the only unforgivable curse that can be resisted by your own ability. You can completely rely on your own willpower to get rid of its control, although it is difficult."

"What should we do?" someone raised their hand and asked.

"I will teach you," Snape said, "but not now. Before that, you must be fully prepared to learn another spell.

"Now take out your quill and write down carefully every word I say."

Everyone started moving at once.

"I ask you to relax your mind and stop having random thoughts," Snape said. "Especially before going to bed, don't think about anything unnecessary."

When Snape mentioned relaxing the mind, Kyle already knew that he was going to teach Occlumency...which was also the most effective way to resist the Imperius Curse.

But Occlumency is not so easy to learn. Just look at Harry to know that. With Snape's one-on-one teaching in the early stage and Cat-Leopard's round-the-clock follow-up guidance in the later stage, it took him nearly half a month to just get started.

Normally, few professors would take the initiative to teach students such troublesome spells.

It must be said that Snape was quite competent as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts... If he could correct his shortcoming of always targeting himself, Kyle wouldn't mind admitting that he was a great professor.

For now, Kyle is keeping that view for now.

…

By the time Snape finished speaking, half the class had passed.

Occlumency is not a magic that can be accomplished overnight. It is difficult to simply clear the brain, so Snape does not intend to waste class time. Instead, he wants students to slowly get used to it and try it after class.

In the next half of the class, he checked everyone's use of basic Defense Against the Dark Arts, including the Disarming Charm, Shield Charm and Speed ​​Charm, taking turns to check.

Snape thought it would be terrible. After all, there was a new professor every year, so it was normal for the grades to be bad. He even thought about what to say later.

But unexpectedly... the result was quite good. At least more than half of the students were able to skillfully cast the spells he required.

Snape originally thought it was a coincidence until he increased the difficulty and checked again, only to find that most people had indeed mastered these three spells.

This is a pleasant surprise, Snape thought.

But what he didn't know was that most of the Hufflepuffs had attended the DA party last year, and the three spells he requested were the ones that Cedric had taught them in detail.

It's a pity that Cedric has graduated this year, and the DA has not been held again due to Umbridge's departure, otherwise they would like to continue participating.

After class, everyone gathered in the corridor, wondering how Snape would teach them to resist the Imperius Curse.

Some people also guessed the answer.

"Of course I know it's Occlumency." Connor and Kyle walked side by side on the way to the auditorium. "After all, besides this, what else needs to be cleared?"

Kyle thought about it carefully and it seemed that there really wasn't one.

So anyone who knew the spell in advance could easily guess Snape's thoughts.

"Need some help?" Kyle asked.

It just so happens that the cat-leopard hasn't been returned yet, so I can cook for Kanna in the Room of Requirement.

Kyle had thought it through. He could talk to the leopard and ask it to be gentler, or just write another letter to Newt to ask if there were any leopard cubs, preferably those that were only two or three months old.

At that time, the little guy was like a ball of fur. He only had the innate ability of telepathy, but he was still very weak and didn't feel any pain when he was hit. He was perfect for giving him special treatment.

"No need." Connor smiled and shook her head. "Actually, I have been learning Occlumency since last Christmas. Professor Snape even made a very detailed schedule for me."

"Look..." She took out a parchment booklet and handed it to Kyle.

The previous contents are all about the process and precautions of learning brain occlusion. They are very detailed and should be summarized from many related books.

Part of it was exactly the same as what Snape had just said in class.

The following are the specific things to do, such as how to truly empty your mind and what magic potions to use to assist. They are all written clearly.

Among the seven potions written by Snape, Kyle even saw Felix Felicis... Although it was just a drop mixed in a ten-day dose of Dreamless Sleeping Potion, and it was to be taken once every three months, it was still exaggerated enough. After all, Felix Felicis was supposed to be taken by drops.

Kyle returned the booklet to Connor and muttered quietly, "If he had been so attentive when he taught Harry, they wouldn't have almost fought."

"What did you say?" Kanna asked, but her voice was too soft for her to hear clearly.

"Nothing." Kyle shook his head and changed the subject: "So, you have already learned the brain block technique?"

"I don't know." Kanna shook her head. "But I won't need to drink the dreamless sleeping potion before the holidays... I think I have learned it."

Kyle thought that she could just remove the word 'should'.

After studying the contents of the booklet for more than half a year, and with the help of Snape's deluxe potion package, not to mention Connor, even Neville could learn to close his brain.

However, out of curiosity, Kyle still suggested a test, and Kanna agreed, because she also wanted to know how she was doing in her studies.

After lunch, the two went to the Room of Requirement.

Kanna stood there nervously, and opposite her, the cat-leopard was looking at her with its dark blue eyes without blinking.

About a minute later, the cat shook its head slightly and then jumped back into the box.

Although he had long guessed that Kanna must have learned the art of brain occlusion, Kyle still found it a little unbelievable.

After all, Harry is only at this level.

Although it took Connor nearly ten months and she was much slower than Harry, the process was easy for her. It can almost be said that there were no setbacks at all and she learned it naturally.

If Harry had been given the choice, Kyle was sure that he would not want to spend more than half a month screaming in the basement of number twelve Grimmauld Place.

Even Kyle himself was a little envious. He didn't have such treatment when he was learning Occlumency.

…

(End of this chapter)