Harry Potter and the Burnt Badger

"It's so silly." Violet commented in a low voice. "It will be fun to draw it on a new card."

Moon nodded in agreement, and then said repeatedly: "Indeed, it turns out that you also thought your smile just now was silly?"

He knew that Violet would never retort, so he deliberately teased her like this. Unexpectedly, Violet immediately responded, "Yeah, aren't we the same? Two little monsters, both are stupid~"

Moon suddenly didn't know how to answer this sentence. It seemed that this sentence should stop here. The lighting was just right, the music was just right, and even the location was just right.

Well, actually these are not very good. There are jack-o-lanterns hung everywhere in the house that are deliberately used to scare people, which can only add a bit of horror or funny atmosphere; although the music has a soothing tone, the words spoken by the familiar weird sisters lead the singer But it was "Hang that unruly old wizard"; as for the location - oh, forget it, there were still many people around looking at them.

But Moon just felt that everything was just right, the atmosphere was just right, and every tone and wording of Violet was so impeccable.

It made him want to hold the girl tightly and kiss her gently...

's forehead.

There was no other way, so he only dared to do this one step. He didn't even dare to put this step into practice. He just turned around twice in his mind and was driven out of his mind by slowly stroking the girl's hair.

"What are you thinking about?" Violet asked curiously in a low voice, "Are you still thinking about tonight?"

Moon was embarrassed to say "I'm thinking of you" directly, so he shook his head and hummed softly to the tune of a song he heard in his previous life, "Seabird and fish fell in love~ It was just an accident~"

"Huh? What song is this? It sounds nice. Did you write it?" Violet patted Moon on the back.

"No, I don't have such a great talent, but I don't remember where I heard it. Maybe it was in a dream." Moon slowly closed his eyes. "But it can only be in a dream, because It’s a Chinese song.”

"Chinese...so what does it mean?"

"The song sings that the love between a seabird and a fish can only be a fruitless accident."

Violet suddenly became silent, and after a few seconds she muttered, "Okay, I suddenly don't like this song."

Moon grinned silently, and then comforted: "Don't worry, we are wizards, let alone seabirds and fish, even roosters and toads can make them spark some sparks [Note 1 ].”

The girl was indeed convinced by these words, but she still said "ugh".

There is no way, chickens and toads, just thinking about it makes me feel ridiculous and a little disgusting.

…………

While the boys and girls at Hogwarts were enjoying the beauty of Halloween, the four deans who left the auditorium in a hurry were falling into intense self-questioning.

"Merlin... Moon told me that he found and disposed of a basilisk in the school." Professor McGonagall covered her mouth in surprise, looking as if she had seen a ghost. "But he didn't say that. The basilisk is fully... fifty feet long? And am I right? The frost on the basilisk's body... the blood-freezing spell?"

Professor Flitwick was about to nod in agreement with Professor McGonagall's judgment, but suddenly found that Professor McGonagall's eyes had shifted from the basilisk's body to Professor Snape with a lot of dissatisfaction.

"Professor Snape, I thought you might be willing to offer some explanation for this? Or do you want to say that this is dark magic that Moon learned elsewhere?"

The corners of Professor Snape's mouth twitched twice, and he said with a smile: "Sorry, Professor McGonagall, I have nothing to explain about this matter. If you want to know why Mr. Fox can learn from me, to the freezing blood curse. Then I think the person you should really seek an explanation from is the principal."

In fact, from the bottom of my heart, Professor Snape was also very unhappy.He taught Munn the blood-freezing spell, but he never taught Munn how to go to a mysterious underground chamber to fight a basilisk.

Why the hell can't you use some other spell?

At this moment, Professor Snape has already thought about giving Moon Fox a little more strength in the next class - speaking of it, he may have been too gentle to Moon Fox recently, which is why this damn little wizard is acting like this. smug.

Hearing Professor Snape's answer, Professor McGonagall's eyes suddenly widened even more. She said in shock and anger: "I thought he just asked you to teach Munn some knowledge about dark magic!"

Professor Sprout really wanted to stop the two people who were so tense that they were about to quarrel and remind them that there was a huge basilisk gift package waiting for them to deal with.But Professor Flitwick stopped her immediately and shook his head slightly at her.

No matter what you are kidding, no matter what you want to stop, just start arguing slowly and don't start a fight.

The two of us happened to take advantage of this time to divide the basilisk's body into parts.

"Ahem, Professor McGonagall, doesn't the 'Blood Freezing Curse' belong to 'knowledge related to black magic' in your understanding?" Professor Snape said calmly: "Unfortunately, I don't understand. How do you divide this knowledge, but this is obviously not in line with my understanding."

"Severus!" A large flame suddenly ignited around Professor McGonagall's robe, fully demonstrating the anger of its owner. "You know I didn't mean that! I mean -"

Professor Snape took a step back, avoiding a few scattered sparks. "Oh? I'm all ears."

Professor McGonagall took a step forward and stared at Professor Snape's face seriously and seriously. "I mean, this is a very dangerous black magic. It should not be taught to Munn prematurely, even if he has a strong Even your self-control ability is not good. This should be the principle we adhere to. Even if it is Professor Dumbledore's request, you should refuse."

If someone else were to stand here and say, "You should refuse Professor Dumbledore's request," I am afraid that whether it was Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick or Professor Sprout, they would all be somewhat scornful.But it was Minerva McGonagall alone. When this sentence came out of her mouth, the three professors did not question it at all.

Because in recent decades, there is no doubt that Minerva McGonagall is the person who has fought and raised the most objections with Albus Dumbledore, even Snape cannot compare.This is not because she doesn't respect Dumbledore, on the contrary, she respects the old man who is both her teacher and friend very much.

She just has her own persistence.

Professor Snape's face was still expressionless, but he took another step back. This time there were no floating sparks. He was simply expressing his resignation in this way.

He had no intention of letting the quarrel spread, not to mention he already knew what kind of person Minerva McGonagall was.Rather than making the argument endless, it would be better to just let it go for now.

"Ha~ I just discussed a distribution plan with Pomona. Yes, about the basilisk. I mean, do you want to take a look?" Seeing that the two of them had finally stopped for the time being, Professor Flitwick took out his wand and said, A slight tap in the air produced a page of parchment with a series of handwriting written on it.The basilisk was almost completely dismantled, including the basilisk's teeth, scales, internal organs and even blood, with no trace missing.

Professor McGonagall glanced at the contents on the document, and then sighed helplessly and said: "Rather than discussing this, I think what we should think about now is how to deal with Moon Fox."

I don't know if she was so angry that Professor McGonagall used the word 'process' incorrectly - she changed the 'disposal' she wanted to express into the 'divide' that Professor Flitwick just mentioned. Professor Sprout almost immediately became frightened, and even Professor Flitwick was a little stunned.

"Oh my god, Minerva, even if Moon came down to deal with a basilisk without permission...well, I admit that this is a bit excessive, but at least we don't have to dismember him?" Professor Sprout said tremblingly. "You haven't gotten to this point yet, have you?"

Only then did Professor McGonagall realize that she had said the wrong thing. She waved her wand to remove the transformation spell on her robe, and restrained all the flames. Then she said a little apologetically: "Sorry, Pomona, I meant Yes - what to do with that child Moon... Although I don't want to admit it, unfortunately, I just realized that he does seem to have less than compliant authorization."

Professor Snape sneered silently, "Another wise decision by the Headmaster, right? Thinking about it now, what he said at the time did make a lot of sense..."

Although Professor Snape did not say it clearly, several professors present understood what he meant - it was indeed Professor Dumbledore who said to Moon, "If you have anything to do, just go Do".

To be honest, it is really hard not to mistakenly think that Albus Dumbledore had a premeditated plan and was deliberately reminding Munn to come here to "discuss magic" with the Basilisk.

Therefore, as it should be, the blame is temporarily placed on the head of the great Hogwarts Headmaster.Judging from Professor McGonagall's appearance, it is estimated that when Professor Dumbledore comes back, she will inevitably visit the principal's office again.

Well, a not-so-friendly visit.

"Alas..." Professor McGonagall sighed angrily, her mouth almost pursed into a slit. After a long time, she continued: "Forget it, in this case, how should we continue to deal with Moon Fox after getting rid of the snake? Let’s leave it to the principal to decide when he comes back. Anyway—”

The other three professors always felt that they vaguely heard the sound of gnashing teeth.

"—Anyway, he must have made arrangements."

"Indeed." Professor Flitwick breathed a sigh of relief. It would be best to leave this matter to Professor Dumbledore.Originally, Moon didn't have that much time to stay in the Duel Club. If he was imprisoned by Minerva for a month, he would have a headache for a long time because of this matter. "So, the body of the basilisk..."

"Actually, I'm more curious." Professor Sprout pointed at the Basilisk and said doubtfully: "If Moon said this is Salazar Slytherin's secret room, then how on earth did this big guy get here? One that has survived for so long? It would be difficult for it to survive for so many years just by relying on the bones of the small animals we saw when we came here, right? Even if the secret room had been opened, in the intervening decades, it would have Is it impossible not to eat or drink?”

Professor Flitwick tapped his wand with his fingers, feeling a little sick in his heart for a moment - he wanted to quickly allocate a few pieces of basilisk scales and go back and study them carefully. Why was it so difficult?

He even wrote that he was willing to pay!It doesn't matter whether it's to the school or to Moon, it doesn't matter!

Unfortunately, the remaining professors did not hear his voice, and instead began to look around the entire secret room.In desperation, Professor Flitwick had no choice but to join the team of other professors.

About 5 minutes later, Professor Snape suddenly walked to a wall, gently wiped his fingers on the damp, moss-covered wall, and brought down something strange, "Professor Sprout, I would like...please take a look at this."

Professor Sprout heard the sound and hurried over, and then quickly inspected the wall that Professor Snape had wiped and the strange plant on his finger.

After a moment, she suddenly realized it and said in a trembling voice: "Water pipes and... underground rivers?"

Chapter 45 Upcoming Duel Club Quiz

"If that's the case, then everything can be understood." Professor Sprout pointed to the strange dark green plant on Professor Snape's fingertips. "This is a kind of plant that can only be found in the depths of underground rivers and black lakes. Algae, it seems that this place and the underground river should be connected to each other, through the pipes of the water system and the like. Although there are only some small animals to eat here, if you go to the underground river or even the black lake, it can be eaten by the basilisk. There are countless things.”[Note 1]

The other three professors all agreed with Professor Sprout's explanation.The difference was that in addition to agreement, Professor McGonagall also had a look of understanding in her eyes, as if something had suddenly occurred to her.

After clarifying this point, the professors finally followed Professor Flitwick's idea, no longer delayed, and started to seriously distribute the basilisk.

As a result, they had some differences on this point.

Professor Snape insisted that the basilisk should be the property of Hogwarts: firstly, the basilisk's breeder was Salazar Slytherin; secondly, for nearly a thousand years, the basilisk had undoubtedly lived in Inside Hogwarts Castle.In contrast, Moon Fox only found and killed the basilisk, not to mention giving any reward. For such a treasured creature, not punishing Moon Fox would be considered magnanimous.

It can only be said that Severus Snape never disappoints when it comes to finding trouble.

Neither Professor McGonagall, nor Professor Flitwick, nor Professor Sprout agreed with his idea. There was no doubt that Professor Snape's suggestion was unfortunately rejected by one vote to three.

Moon obviously didn't know anything about what happened in the secret room, and there was nothing curious about it.He and Violet stayed on the dance floor for a while, and then went to the surrounding tables to eat and chat.It wasn't until the banquet was over that he, accompanied by Violet and Cedric, returned to the Hufflepuff common room - then went straight into the dormitory, buried his head and fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was already ten o'clock on Sunday morning.

Cedric and others had already left the dormitory, probably rushing to the Duel Club.

He got up and moved around a little. Sure enough, compared to last night, his physical condition was much better now.This made him feel a lot better. After hurriedly finishing the lunch left by his three roommates, he strode out of the common room and headed straight to the duel club classroom on the fifth floor.

"Impedimenta!"

When Moon pushed the door open, he just heard a young man's scream. He looked forward curiously and saw Cedric using a very beautiful obstacle spell to directly knock away the puppet in front of him. go out.

"That's great! Mr. Diggory! The perfect obstacle spell!" Professor Flitwick waved his hand vigorously and nodded approvingly at Cedric. "Very good, very good, now, Violet!"

At this time, everyone had noticed Munn pushing the door open. Violet also turned her head and smiled at Munn, then strode forward, took a deep breath, waved her wand and read out loud cast the spell "Expelliarmus!"

The wand in the other dummy's hand suddenly spun and flew out of his hand, and was immediately caught firmly by Penello standing next to him.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy had a bad face. In his opinion, these spells, which were not harmful at all, were simply stupid to put in a duel.But to be honest, he didn't want to lose to Harry Potter. After all, in the past month of spell training, Potter had received a lot of praise from Professor Flitwick.

So he had no choice but to step forward and use a barrier spell on the dummy that had just been disarmed by Violet - the dummy was successfully repelled, and Malfoy's spell was also used fairly smoothly, but it was too powerful. It was a little worse than the obstacle spell Cedric had just cast.

Next, as Penello and Dawn took turns calling the names, one after another the little wizards came forward to perform the magic they had focused on practicing this month.Professor Flitwick temporarily stepped aside and came to Moon's side.

"Ha, Moon, you really did something big last night." The professor stood on the stage, paying attention to the performance of the little wizards, and whispered: "I thought you would sleep more "Jiu, wait until the afternoon and come back. It's not easy to deal with the basilisk, right?"

"You are right, Professor, I also thought I would sleep longer." Moon said with a calm smile: "But I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and was very hungry, so I got up and had breakfast and rushed over. .”

"Not bad... not bad..." Professor Flitwick clasped his hands behind his back, a look of hesitation suddenly appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, um, do you think we can consider letting everyone start the test and prepare to organize them for a formal test?" A duel? After all, everyone already has a foundation in the Charms class, and now they are doing very well in advanced mastery, so I think it’s time."

Munn did not respond immediately after hearing this, but instead glanced down - the person who was walking forward at this moment was Garr. He used a summoning spell and successfully took something on the table next to him from the air. , also looks quite proficient, obviously he has put in hard work.

"How many of them do you think can pass the test? If we start next week?" He thought for a while and asked an additional question.Compared to Professor Flitwick, he spent less time here, and he didn't know as much about these things as Professor Flitwick. It was always right to ask for more information.

"30%? 50%?" Professor Flitwick didn't seem to be sure. He just gave two less precise figures, then paced a few times and said, "I think it shouldn't be less than three points." one of them."

This time, Moon's thinking did not last long. In just a moment, he smiled and nodded under the gaze of Professor Flitwick, "Then I think your decision should be very wise. This number is completely inadequate." not enough."

"That's good, that's good." Professor Flitwick immediately clapped his hands with a smile on his face. "To be honest, I can't hold it any longer. Compared to practicing spells day after day, I would rather see They could have some great duels."

Seeing the professor's excited expression, Moon said helplessly: "Don't forget, professor, we are cultivating everyone's habit of using these spells proficiently, rather than simply asking them to learn these things that they will learn sooner or later in class. Content. This is not only to allow everyone to use spells within a limited range as much as possible during duels, but also to help them lay a good foundation for duels, isn't it?"

He was really worried that Professor Flitwick would get too carried away - this professor was too passionate about the Dueling Club. If he didn't curb it a little, all the terms he had signed with Professor McGonagall would be gone in a few days. Being left behind by Professor Flitwick.

At that time, this duel club that was finally established will have to be killed again.

"Everyone! Everyone, stop for now!"

After the little wizards gradually entered into individual practice, Professor Flitwick led Moon back to the front of the crowd, and then clapped his hands vigorously, "Look here, I just discussed it with your club president, who is Moon." , I have always felt that we have begun to arrange the first test, preparing to open the right to formal duels to the first batch of students who have a better grasp of spells."

Before Professor Flitwick could say the next words, a large group of young wizards had already applauded happily. Harry bumped Ron's arm and pointed at Neville, who was cowering at the edge of the crowd. While he was happy, he also noticed Neville's expression. Although this guy plucked up the courage to join the Duel Club, his subsequent performance was still not satisfactory. His ability to learn spells was far slower than that of most other young wizards. It's a bit like a crane.

Ron sighed and shook his head at Harry. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to help Neville.

In fact, over the past month, both he, Harry, and several people in the school newspaper office, including Cedric and Violet, had helped Neville practice spells. Even Fred and George had I ran to encourage Neville several times, but still had little effect.And in fact, they found that the impact of those laughter on Neville when he failed was far greater than the impact of their encouragement.

They also want to stop the laughter, but unfortunately, unless they shout loudly every time to stop others from laughing, there is no way to stop it.And if they shouted loudly, it would only embarrass Neville more.

So after only two or three times, Violet came over and told everyone that it was better not to call for such things again.

"Therefore, we have decided..." Professor Flitwick continued, and he seemed to be even happier than the little wizards. "Next weekend, we will officially start the first test! Those who pass can start the formal experience. In the duel, those who fail can continue to take the test later, and after passing, they can join the duel!"

Another burst of cheers rang out.

"Well, in view of this situation, I think it's time to tell everyone about the duel." Professor Flitwick took out his wand and gently tapped the shelf of the standing blackboard next to him. A few pieces of chalk Suddenly he flew up out of thin air and started writing words and short sentences on the blackboard.

"I think you have all heard that I won the duel championship when I was young - you know, this is not an easy task for me." Professor Flitwick shrugged, quite humorously Said: "As you can see, I am short, which is not a good condition for a duel. My size determines that I cannot make those flexible dodges in a duel, even compared to some excellent and outstanding people." As a duelist, my physical fitness also puts me at a huge disadvantage."

"But for a duel, this cannot be the factor that really determines the outcome. What really determines the outcome of a duel is these -"

He waved his wand and controlled the chalk to circle a few words on the blackboard: "Determination! Calmness! Calmness! These are the most important things. As long as you can master these magic weapons, you can truly be invincible in the duel." And not good."

Perhaps Moon's previous words reminded him, or perhaps the professor did not really forget the terms confirmed by Professor McGonagall because of his excitement. Therefore, he changed the subject and said: "So, this is also We have chosen to limit the spells you can use as a factor. Only by keeping these things in mind during the duel and not panicking about being at a disadvantage will you resort to spells that you are more familiar with but are no longer allowed. Prove that you have indeed not lost the two important factors of calmness and composure in the duel."

"What about determination? Professor?" a Ravenclaw girl raised her hand and asked.

"Oh, child, from the moment you decided to join the dueling club, decided to learn and practice dueling, decided to pass the test and win a duel of your own." Professor Flitwick laughed, "You already have determination. .”

There was thunderous applause. Although some young wizards still disagreed, there were indeed many people who applauded the professor sincerely.

Fred patted George on the shoulder, winked and whispered: "I always thought that Professor Flitwick would never be willing to mention his height even to death."

George shrugged, obviously thinking the same thing as Fred, but then added, "But it's really cool, isn't it."

"You're right, George." Fred held out a palm, and the two brothers high-fived, and then joined the applause again.

"Moon? Do you want to say something?" Professor Flitwick walked to the side and looked at Moon. "After all, these little guys have always been hoping that you can stay here longer and tell us about your experiences." What."

Moon responded. He did have something to say, but it was not his glorious history, but something more important.

"I just made an observation, and it seems that many people are not satisfied with the spells we listed that can be used in duels in the Duel Club. You don't need to guess, I'm afraid they think these spells are not cool enough or powerful enough. , I feel that if it were a real duel, it would be absolutely impossible to be limited to these spells."

"To this, I have to say, you are right."

Moon looked at everyone's astonished eyes and shrugged, "Not only that, if you are in a life-and-death struggle, your enemy will do whatever it takes to steal the victory. If you face If you are an opponent like a dark wizard, then their spell selection will add countless kinds of black magic, even the three unforgivable curses."