The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 43 Magic Research Lesson 1

Snape stared at Dumbledore, his gaze meeting the deep blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles: "When are you going to stop playing with fire?"

"What do you mean?" Dumbledore reached out and stroked his beard.

"What I mean is," Snape moved closer to the headmaster's desk, "that if you can't effectively control the beast you've unleashed, it's a wise decision to put it back in its cage before it harms yourself or others."

Dumbledore sat up straight: "Severus, we've discussed these things."

We need Lynch's power to deal with Voldemort...

Snape stopped in front of the headmaster's desk: "Yes, I remember that."

However, like a broken flying broom, if it can't take you where you want to go, then no matter how fast it flies, it's meaningless.

Before Dumbledore could reply, Snape leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes meeting Dumbledore's azure eyes: "Jim Lynch is that incredibly fast flying broomstick."

He keeps saying his goal is to destroy the Dark Lord, yet he repeatedly crosses the boundaries you set, doing things that have little to do with it.

Don't tell me you can't see the evil intentions hidden beneath his fake smile.

Destroying the Dark Lord is just his excuse, a carefully crafted lie to persuade you to release him.

His goals are completely different from ours!

His real goal is something we don't yet know.

So I suggest to you again—while there's still time, kick him back into that damned stone house, then seal the exit and let him rot away with his ambition!

We don't need to spare any extra energy to guard against the Dark Lord while we're already dealing with him!

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes gleamed as he gestured for Snape to sit down: "This is something I've always wanted to prevent."

Now, tell me, what happened, Severus? Is there anything I need to know?

Snape straightened up, looked at Dumbledore's expression, and realized that he had failed to persuade the old man. He sat down helplessly in the chair in front of the headmaster's desk.

"Lucius Malfoy wrote to me, inviting me to brew a batch of high-quality potions for the Stone Tower Merchant Guild."

But at the end of the letter, he again asked me to look after his son, Draco Malfoy, at Hogwarts.

He specifically pointed out that he needed to be restrained and prevented from causing trouble.

This is not something Lucius Malfoy would say.

He hid it well, but I could still smell fear in his last words.

This connects to what happened not long ago in that factory area in Lancashire.

I have to think that it wasn't as simple as Jim Lynch made it out to be; there was something more to it.

He became more discreet in his actions, Dumbledore.

Inside Hogwarts, I can keep an eye on his actions, but once he can contact the outside world through that raven, I can't guarantee I'll be able to discover his plot in time...

Dumbledore touched his fingertips together and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he looked up at Snape: "Whatever Mr. Malfoy's situation is now, one thing is certain—he is still alive, isn't he?"

Just like those thirty-two dark wizards who were handed over to the Ministry of Magic.

To suffer harm and to live in fear.

But, they are still alive.

Mr. Lynch changed his usual ways and spared the lives of those dark wizards.

This in itself is a signal that the constraints we have set are still effective.

Moreover, based on Mr. Lynch's long-standing conduct and my personal observations...

His desire to destroy Voldemort was deep and real, not a carefully crafted lie.

If the above two points hold true, then our cooperation with Mr. Lynch can still continue.

As for the Stone Pagoda Merchant Guild that you're worried about, I've already asked a few old friends to investigate its background.

Based on the information I currently have, the Stone Tower Merchant Guild is a business company that started by selling Wizard Battle cards and then gradually expanded its business into various industries.

The only surprising thing is its astonishing ability to amass wealth.

But this is a magical world; money is a powerful force, but not an absolute one.

Snape's face darkened, and he remained silent.

The principal's office fell silent, with only the faint rustling of the portraits of past principals, which were displayed in frames on the walls, seemingly asleep.

After a while, Snape glanced at the clock on the wall: "I have another class waiting for me."

"Of course, don't keep the children waiting too long," Dumbledore said.

Snape stood up, turned and walked toward the headmaster's room, his wide black robes billowing at his sides.

His deep voice reached Dumbledore's ears: "You're jumping into a deep pit...you'll regret it..."

Dumbledore's voice was calm: "Sometimes, you can only know if a pudding is good or not by eating it."

......

The classroom for potion studies.

Professor Snape had not yet arrived, and the group of first-year wizards sat in their seats, chattering quietly as they awaited their first Potions lesson.

With a loud "bang," the classroom door was flung open, the door slamming against the stone wall of the castle, making an even louder noise.

Everyone turned to look as Professor Snape floated in like a bat with outstretched wings.

He held a magic wand in his hand, walking quickly while vigorously waving it.

With each wave of the wand, the curtains of one of the windows would snap shut.

The already dim lighting in the Potions classroom gradually turned into darkness.

When Snape reached the podium, he whirled around, pointed his wand, and slammed the classroom door shut.

The only light in the Potions classroom came from a few candles on the walls. Harry found it difficult to even see the words in his textbook, so he could only look up at Professor Snape, who had just made a grand entrance.

Snape glanced around the tightly sealed Potions classroom, thinking that this should keep out Lynch's covetous gaze, which was being cast through the raven.

Then he turned around and saw a pair of emerald green eyes staring intently at him in the darkness.

......

Outside the Potions classroom window, a crow tilted its head, examining the tightly drawn, pitch-black curtains.

After thinking for a moment, the crow flapped its wings and flew away.

......

It was afternoon, twenty minutes before the magic research class was to begin.

All the students from the four colleges, along with some interested professors, began to flow like streams from every corner of the castle to the area outside the castle.

On the grounds stood the grandstand that Hagrid had spent two days building—a huge grandstand that could accommodate all the students and professors of Hogwarts.

The entire grandstand is a stepped structure that rises from low to high, and is distributed in a semi-circle around the center.

In the center of the venue, there was a platform slightly raised above the ground. Strangely, there was a lectern in the middle of the platform, but no blackboard behind it for writing.

This is the venue that Lynch commissioned Hagrid to build, and it's also the starting point for Lynch to begin spreading his magical ideas around the world.

The students spontaneously went up to the stands and took their seats in four sections, each group representing their respective colleges.

To their surprise, they discovered that the entire grandstand was made of solid oak nailed together as one piece, exceptionally sturdy and robust.

What's even more peculiar is that each seat is also surrounded by a small fence.

George plopped down in a seat with railings, tapping the sturdy oak railing with his fingers. He raised an eyebrow at Fred beside him. "Hagrid spent two days building this kind of stand? Why add railings around every single seat? Are you afraid we'll get so excited over the lecture that we'll jump off?"

Fred leaned lazily against the railing: "Maybe, George, maybe it's to prevent you from sneaking away in the middle."

The young wizards around them also began to speculate about the railings surrounding the chair, since they had never seen such a special chair before.

Just as the group of young wizards were discussing it with great interest...

No one except Dumbledore noticed that a figure had silently appeared on the podium.

Even Snape, who had been paying close attention to the podium, didn't notice when he stood on it.

The figure wore black leather shoes, a dark blue three-piece suit, and an eye-catching orange tie. A warm smile graced his fair and handsome face, and his short, jet-black hair was parted tightly against his scalp.

It was none other than Jim Lynch, the professor who taught the Magic Studies class.

Lynch stood in the center of the podium, his hands naturally placed on either side of the lectern, smiling as he looked at the teachers and students in the audience. A crow perched on his shoulder, turning its head to look around.

He saw the students from the four houses seated from left to right in the order of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

Between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, a small area was set aside where professors interested in Lynch's courses sat.

Dumbledore, with his silver hair and beard, sat in the very center, wearing a purple hat. Professor McGonagall sat to his left, and Snape to his right.

Students noticed Lynch's arrival, and the entire venue gradually quieted down.

Lynch reached out and tapped his throat, casting a "loud voice" spell on himself to ensure that everyone present could hear him.

Good afternoon, everyone at Hogwarts.

His voice wasn't loud, but with the help of the previous incantation, it clearly carried throughout the entire area.

"Because it is a public lecture, the process of taking attendance is omitted."

Now, I've noticed that many of you are interested in the special seat design. Don't worry, you'll understand its function in the later lessons.

Now, let's focus our attention on this course.

Lin Qi pointed behind his head, and several large characters appeared behind him, shimmering with silver light and floating in mid-air—Magic Research.

"Just as the words themselves suggest, the purpose of this course is to help you study magic, to enable you to better understand magic, and thus help you grow into better wizards."

The young wizards in the stands looked bewildered.

After glancing at the reactions in the stands, Lin Qi continued, "I see that most of you look puzzled."

"Every course we take is designed to help us learn and understand magic. Is it really necessary to create a new course?"

Most of you probably think that way, right?

To answer your question, I need to ask you a question first.

The question is—what is magic?

Lin Qi looked expectantly at the students in the stands, and the large, gleaming silver characters behind him became the question he had just asked.

The young wizards looked at each other, bewildered. No one had ever asked them this question before.

To them, magic was simply waving a wand correctly, reciting a spell accurately, and then it was about whether the spell was successful or not. No one ever asked them what magic was.

The professor in the middle of the stands also fell into thought. Is magic elegant? Is magic precise? Is magic wonderful? No, these are all descriptions of magic, not explanations of it.

"Don't be shy, just say the answer that comes to mind, whether it's right or wrong, don't be afraid," Lin Qi encouraged.

A trembling little chubby hand rose from the seat, not very high, but it did not escape Lynch's eyes: "The Gryffindor student, please stand up and answer the question."

Neville Longbottom stood up, his face flushed. He glanced furtively in Lynch's direction, and, seeing the entire school watching, he became even more nervous. He stammered, "Magic...magic...is waving...the wand...and then...chanting the spell..."

"Excellent!" Lynch clapped lightly. "This Gryffindor...?"

"Na...Nawe-Lombard...Ton".

"Mr. Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor! A very courageous answer! Gryffindor, five points!" Lynch gestured for Neville to sit down.

He waved towards the large characters behind him, and those characters transformed into new words—

Magic = Waving a wand + Reciting a spell

"Mr. Longbottom believes magic is simply waving a wand and chanting a spell." Lynch's gaze swept across the room. "Does anyone have a different opinion?"

A slender hand was raised from the Ravenclaw area.

"Please stand up." Lin Qi pointed at the female student, signaling her to begin answering.

An older girl stood up: "Skilled wizards use techniques of silent spellcasting and wandless spellcasting, just as you just did, Professor, using magic without chanting incantations or waving a wand."

"A remarkably keen ability to observe and summarize, this Ravenclaw...?"

Penelope Krivat.

"Miss Crivat! Ravenclaw, five points!"

After saying that, Lin Qi waved his hand again.

The latter half of the large characters behind him disappeared, leaving only the word "magic" shimmering with silver light in mid-air.

"Now, all we have left is 'magic.' Does anyone have a further answer?" Lynch continued to ask.

A Hufflepuff boy stood up and raised his hand: "Professor Lynch, whether it's waving a wand, chanting a spell, or casting a spell silently or without a wand, there's another crucial factor—the wizard casting the spell!"

He then added, "My name is Cedric Diggory."