Illusion Curse

Chapter 28 Illusion Curse

Over the next few days, the discussion about the originally cool and powerful Defense Against the Dark Arts professor never stopped at school.

"Hey, have you taken Professor Baker's class?"

"Yeah, I've been there...you noticed too?"

"Yes, many people have noticed that Professor Baker seems particularly listless, speaking slowly and in a much more monotonous tone!"

"Yes, yes, that's it! And he used to be an amazing lecturer. Besides the main points, he would share lots of useful tips and tricks, and even interweave his own adventure stories, making the class so engaging you didn't want to leave. But lately, he just keeps going through the same old textbook stuff, which is pretty detailed, but it's not as interesting as it used to be!"

"Sigh, how could such a good professor have changed so much in just over ten days... Why don't we go visit him? Maybe some desserts and milk tea can cheer him up?"

"Many people have already visited him, even Vice Principal Professor McGonagall went to see him, but it's still no use..."

"You guys are talking about Professor Baker? I told you, my friend in Gryffindor gave me some inside information: Professor Snape is after the Defense Against the Law professor position and is jealous of Professor Baker, so he secretly poisoned his food!"

"Huh? What I heard is that Professor Binns got tired of teaching the history of magic and decided to try a new subject, so he secretly possessed Professor Baker?"

"I've also heard that a curse cast by a mysterious person is gradually taking effect... By the way, what does 'possession' mean?"

Unfortunately, no matter how exciting the rumors and gossip flying around outside were, they couldn't affect Avada and Baron, who were studying and practicing diligently inside the House of Request.

Inside the House of Response, the "Hidden Room" had undergone a complete transformation: a large amount of clutter had been swept into corners or placed in key locations as camouflage or cover. A large open space had appeared in the center of the house, where Avada and Baron stood, holding up their wands that emitted strange light, chanting complex and lengthy incantations.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally put down their wands in unison, let out a long sigh, and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over them.

"very good."

The black crystal ball that carried Professor Baker's soul was placed among a pile of miscellaneous items, appearing inconspicuous: "In this way, the second part of the entire magic is complete."

"Your learning speed is faster than I expected. At this rate, you should be able to complete the magic setup by mid-February."

"Let's take a short break, and then begin today's lessons."

"By Merlin, I feel like my head is about to explode..."

Baron sat on the ground, clutching his head, and lamented in pain. Although his level was almost unmatched among the first-year students and ordinary coursework rarely put him under pressure, the content that Professor Baker required them to master was simply too complex and too difficult.

The consciousness-extraction magic alone involves seven steps, each requiring several days of study for him and Avada, followed by even more time for setup. Besides these, there are the battle strategies needed to besiege the fake Beck, as well as traps, potions, curses, and other external aids, plus their own combat training…

Don't forget, they have classes during the day and homework at night!

Avada's situation was even worse than Baron's. Without real-life demonstrations and relying solely on theoretical learning, his magical senses were practically useless, and even with his talent being optimized, he still lagged behind Baron. The immense academic pressure meant he hadn't been fully conscious in his dorm for the past few days, essentially losing consciousness the instant the back of his head hit the pillow.

Shabi, Summers, and Stebbins had all expressed their concern for him and advised him not to put too much pressure on himself. However, Avada couldn't tell them the truth directly, so he could only intensify his efforts to achieve his goal as soon as possible and extricate himself from this extremely high-intensity training to dispel their worries. In the end, he only made himself more haggard.

Moreover, during the training process, he gradually developed an interesting idea: wouldn't Voldemort possess Quirrell and infiltrate Hogwarts next year?

I wonder if Professor Baker's magic will have any effect on him?

About ten minutes later, Professor Baker woke the two of them up.

"Today we'll learn the Disillusionment Charm. This spell will play a crucial role in the plan, whether it's acquiring magical materials or in the final battle, so you must master it well."

"Don't worry, the Disillusionment Charm is much simpler than the magic you've learned before. The main reason so few people master it is because its effects are so unique that it's regulated by the Ministry of Magic. Only Aurors or other special professions are qualified to learn it..."

Professor Baker's eloquent voice emanated from the crystal ball: "The Disillusionment Charm isn't too difficult to learn, roughly at the level of a third or fourth-year student. But the real difficulty lies in mastering it. Since the principle of the Disillusionment Charm is to change the color of your body to blend into your surroundings, a poorly executed Disillusionment Charm will only turn you into a bunch of rough color blocks, and in some cases, it might even have the opposite effect..."

"That professor,"

Avada raised his hand and asked the question that had been on his mind ever since he started reading the original book: "If the Disappearance Charm can only change the color of the body, how does it achieve complete invisibility?"

"For example, if I stand in the center of a room with a black floor and white walls, and then use the Disillusionment Charm, what will I become? If I become white and blend into the walls, wouldn't I be incredibly conspicuous from an overhead view?"

Baron, who was standing to the side, was stunned for a moment after hearing the question, and then looked at Professor Baker with the same puzzled expression.

"Very perceptive; you immediately grasped the crux of the problem!"

Professor Baker's approving voice came through: "Therefore, in addition to practicing the spell itself, mastering its usage techniques is also of paramount importance in the training."

"Users of the Disguise Charm typically maximize their invisibility by changing their position, such as leaning against walls, crawling, and avoiding being exposed from multiple angles. Since the Disguise Charm only maintains visual invisibility, additional practice is required to eliminate scent, conceal their presence, and stealth, etc..."

"I was worried that you would feel uncomfortable after hearing about this training volume, so I wanted to keep it a secret for a while."

"..."

"Isn't there any magic that can make me completely invisible all at once?" Even Baron couldn't help but ask in despair.

"Forget it, there isn't one. Unless you have an invisibility cloak made of invisible animal fur."

Professor Baker's tone revealed a hint of helplessness: "The principle behind the invisibility of the Invisible Beasts remains a mystery. If you could decipher it and use it to develop magic for complete invisibility, then the Department of Mysteries and the Auror Office would fight tooth and nail for you."

"So, don't think about those messy things, just calm down and train properly."

Avada: ...

If he were given an invisible beast, he could develop that damned invisibility magic within days and scare Professor Baker to death.

Unfortunately, he couldn't give it to him. Even though he had a good relationship with fourth-grader Rolf Scamander, he couldn't ask him to steal one from Newt and bring it to school.

So he had no choice but to temporarily put his lofty ideals aside and wrestle with Baron.

(End of this chapter)