socalfunplaces Chapter 146 The Beginning of the New School Year and the Continuation of Alchemy
Chapter 146 The Beginning of the New School Year and the Continuation of Alchemy
Chapter 146 The Beginning of the New School Year and the Continuation of Alchemy
The next morning, a parchment was placed on the desk in the dormitory, which was obviously the class schedule for the new semester.
Karen unfolded her class schedule, and her roommates immediately crowded around.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday morning? History of Magic in the afternoon?" Wesley read it aloud, his brows immediately furrowing. "By Merlin! Defense Against the Dark Arts on the very first day of school? And with that Professor Quirrell?"
"Tuesday: Herbalism, Charms. Wednesday: Transfiguration, Potions, no classes in the afternoon! Great!" Fabian's tone became slightly lighter.
"Thursday: Potions, with Gryffindor, Astronomy (evening). Friday: Herbalism, Charms." Ernesto finished reading and concluded, "The schedule isn't too packed, but to have Defense Against the Dark Arts on the first day is truly 'lucky'!"
Karen's gaze swept over the timetable. Then he put it away: "Let's go, first class, let's meet our new professor."
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was set up in a poorly lit room on the third floor of the castle. When Karen and her companions entered, a strong, pungent smell of garlic mixed with some strange spice assaulted their nostrils, almost making Wesley sneeze. Professor Quirrell was already standing behind the podium, his purple apron seemingly even thicker than yesterday, almost completely obscuring half his face, revealing only a pair of shifty, uneasy eyes. The podium was cluttered with various bottles, jars, and strange amulets, appearing haphazardly arranged.
"Welcome, students, I am Professor Quirrell." His voice was weak and trembling, and his opening remarks were halting. "This semester, we will mainly learn about listening and defense theory and some basic knowledge about magical creatures." As he spoke, he nervously flipped through a thick textbook, his fingers trembling slightly with tension.
The atmosphere in the classroom was oppressive and eerie. Quirrell wasn't lecturing at all; he was simply reading aloud the dry, tedious passages from the textbook with difficulty and in fits and starts. He barely dared to make eye contact with any of the students. Whenever a student asked a question, he would become even more flustered, stuttering even more, either giving a vague and perfunctory answer or simply pretending not to hear.
"What on earth is he reciting?" Wes nudged Karen with his elbow, lowering his voice and looking utterly exasperated. "'The social structure of vampires—and their universal disgust for garlic'? I'd rather read it myself. I'd rather listen to Professor Binns talk about the fairy rebellion!"
"No, at least Professor Binns' voice is hypnotic," Fabian muttered under his breath, struggling to suppress a yawn. "This guy—his voice is absolutely nerve-wracking."
Ernesto rested his chin on his hand, his eyes filled with undisguised disappointment and disdain: "Unbelievable. Is he really a Ravenclaw? And can't Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic find a decent person to teach this course? Even though Professor Victor's training methods last semester were a bit too practical, we still learned a lot of real skills! I still remember his practical lessons vividly."
Karen listened quietly, his gaze calmly fixed on Quirrell, who stood awkwardly on the podium, exuding a strong odor. He suddenly felt like laughing; Quirrell's clown-like appearance was, frankly, a bit over the top. The transformation was so drastic that it was hard for Dumbledore not to notice him.
He whispered to his roommates, "At least Professor Snape, though bad-tempered, lectures are clear and demanding, and you can actually learn something from him. As for Quirrell, we'll probably have to rely on ourselves." He thought of Lockhart in the later year of the original story, and compared to that, Quirrell, who could just read from the textbook, seemed a little more "reliable".
This long and agonizing "reading class" finally ended with the ringing of the bell. The students practically fled the garlic-smelling classroom, each with an expression of relief on their face.
"Merlin's stinky socks! I feel like my ears and nose are being tortured twice over!" Wesley only dared to complain loudly after walking quite a distance from the classroom. "This class was a real test of willpower! I swear, I'm bringing stuffy noses to class next time!"
"Same here," Fabian said with a pained expression. "All I want right now is some fresh air."
"No classes this afternoon, shall we go to the Eagle's Nest?" Ernesto looked at Karen, clearly wanting to dilute the bad experience of the morning with something more meaningful.
"Good idea," Karen nodded.
In the afternoon, at the Eagle's Nest secret base, bright sunlight streamed through the high windows, dispelling the morning's gloom. The four of them worked together to organize and put away the books, notebooks, and some newly purchased materials they had brought back from summer vacation. Karen took a small box wrapped in velvet from her backpack.
"This is the prototype of the new protective badge that I improved under the guidance of Professor Nico." He opened the box, revealing several silver-gray badges, each with a rice-grain-sized citrine in the center and fine, intricate rune lines etched on the surface.
Wesley and Fabian immediately gathered around, full of curiosity. Ernesto also put down his star chart and came over.
"Wow! It looks even more exquisite than the previous ones! What's new?" Wesley picked one up and weighed it in his hand.
Karen picked up a badge and infused it with a wisp of magic from her fingertip to activate it. A very thin, almost transparent force field instantly formed on the badge's surface, rippling like water before disappearing. "Two main improvements were made: environmental energy absorption and deflection force field."
He pointed to the runes and explained, "Look here, these variations of runes can passively absorb free, peaceful magic in the environment, such as sunlight, moonlight, or the ubiquitous basic magic field in the castle, slowly replenishing the core crystal's energy. The efficiency is even higher than before, and theoretically, it can further extend the shield's duration and usage interval."
He then pointed to another set of finer runes: "This is the core, combining the defensive concept of 'Algiz' with the stabilizing properties of 'sa'. Once activated, the shield is no longer a simple hard block, but rather generates a miniature force field layer with a deflection angle."
For energy impacts, especially targeted attacks like the Cursed Beam, it can effectively deflect a portion of the impact force, reducing the direct pressure on the core, improving defensive efficiency, and minimizing energy loss. Of course, its effectiveness against physical impacts is still limited.
"Good idea." Ernesto rarely expressed his approval. "Although low absorption efficiency is still a problem, the direction is right. The deflection field design is ingenious, better than the previous one, reducing the consumption of head-on collisions and expanding the defensive area."
Wesley pinned the badge to his chest and patted it. "Cool! Makes me feel safer! When can you make us a few too?"
"A lot of testing and optimization is still needed, especially regarding absorption efficiency and the stability of the deflection angle," Karen said cautiously. "I will prepare it for everyone once the data is more complete."
"Speaking of testing," Fabian said, glancing at Karen as if remembering something, "will we continue exploring the Moonmoss area in the Forbidden Forest, and the magical resonance point we discovered before? I collected some new plant illustrations during the holidays and want to compare them in person."
Wesley perked up too: "Yeah! And those Bowtruckles and Birdsnakes! The sights we saw during the last full moon were amazing! We have to go back and check them out; maybe we'll find even more useful things! And the map isn't finished yet!"
Ernesto didn't speak, but his eyes showed interest.
Karen's heart sank. He'd almost forgotten about this. The Forbidden Forest—this year it wasn't just about magical creatures and natural wonders. Besides the giant spiders, Quirrell, possessed by Voldemort, would hunt unicorns and drink their blood to prolong his life! That pristine area of moonmoss, close to the unicorns' habitat, would be exponentially riskier. How was he going to tell his roommates? Just say there was a Dark Lord hunting unicorns in the Forbidden Forest? That was absurd and impossible to explain.
His face remained impassive, but his mind raced, searching for a plausible explanation. "The Forbidden Forest," he hesitated, a hint of gravity in his voice, "let's put it aside for now."
"Why?" Wesley asked, puzzled. "Didn't we work together quite well last semester? Hagrid even said we were being very careful."
Karen organized his thoughts: "Because we ventured deeper last semester, we're more aware of the dangers inside. The giant spider's lair isn't too far from our exploration area, and there's so much unknown deep within the Forbidden Forest. We're only second-years, and our defensive and escape techniques are still quite limited." He looked at his three roommates. "More importantly, the courses this semester are significantly more difficult. Spells, polymorph, and potions all require a lot of practice. Especially Black Magic Protection class..." He shrugged helplessly, "I'm afraid we can't rely on Professor Quirrell at all. We'll have to spend more time learning practical defensive spells on our own. The alchemical research at the Eagle's Nest also takes time. Venturing deep into the Forbidden Forest rashly, if we encounter a spider swarm attack of the same scale as last time, or even worse, the risk is too great. It's better to solidify our foundation first, and wait until we're stronger..."
Or we can find a more reliable guarantee first.
His reasons were reasonable, expressing both caution and emphasizing the importance of academic studies and self-improvement. Wesley, though somewhat unwilling, couldn't refute him: "Well, you have a point. Those giant spiders last time were really tough. And Quirrell's class—sigh, I really have to rely on myself." He scratched his head.
Fabian nodded thoughtfully: "Karen's consideration is thorough. Safety first. Besides, the moonmoss samples we found last semester are enough for us to study for a while. We can start by collecting some basic materials within or on the outskirts of the castle."
Ernesto agreed: "Yes, improving our strength is fundamental. The Forbidden Forest won't run away." He picked up his star chart, "Perfect, I can organize and analyze some celestial data I recorded on the edge of the Forbidden Forest last semester."
Seeing that his roommates had accepted his advice, Karen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They had temporarily avoided the Forbidden Forest, the biggest risk. He picked up a prototype of a protective badge: "Alright, that's all for now. Here, help me record the base charging rate of this badge under stable magical conditions."
Soon, the Eagle's Nest was filled with the professional voices discussing alchemical runes, mana flow, and experimental data, temporarily putting aside the gloom of the morning's Defense Against the Dark Arts class and the dangers of the Forbidden Forest.