Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Am I a Jinx?

"The rhythm in duels involves carefully considering the possible outcomes," Sherlock Forester explained to his attentive students. "Before you even start to cast your spell, you must think about what might happen if it hits its target, what technique you should follow up with if it misses, how your opponent might react, and how those reactions could potentially harm you."

"Understanding these outcomes before casting your spell sets the pace for the duel. A stalemate can always be turned around, providing your rhythm remains intact. Let's take my duel with Weasley, for example. When he used the Disarming Charm, he had already anticipated my potential counters, dodged them in time, and even used his exaggerated movements to hide his Transfiguration spell. He faltered only when he failed to predict my next move after reversing his Transfiguration spell."

"When he thought I had tricked him using a fake wand movement, he lost his rhythm. His Protective Charm failed, and though he struggled to regain his footing, it was already too late. He was too focused on me, allowing me to launch a successful Transfiguration spell and ultimately defeat him."

Sherlock's students listened, often jotting down notes as he dissected this theoretical duel. Having been under Sherlock's tutelage for a year, the students had come to value the knowledge they could gain from their professor, understanding that a hastily scribbled note was more valuable than a vague memory.

The intricacies of duel battles were seldom taught in such detail. Sherlock's explanation made them realize that wizard duels were never about who had the more powerful spells or who could cast quicker.

Traditionally, these students believed that wizard battles allowed for spontaneous spell selection and that any losses were purely down to unfortunate luck, rather than tactical finesse.

However, after witnessing Sherlock's demonstration, they began to appreciate the intricate choreography of dueling. Elegance and grace, they grasped, were crucial to effective wand-wielding, not the reckless disarming they had been used to.

An engaging practical lesson followed Sherlock's lecture.

The professor declined to spar with the students himself. It would be exhausting, not to mention unproductive, for one person to duel with the entire class.

Paired up, the students dueled while Sherlock supervised, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses during their scuffles. Despite the short duration of the class, almost a third of the students had the opportunity to duel under Sherlock's discerning watch.

Though Sherlock's pre-duel lecture had seemed enlightening, the practical application proved to be complex. Students discovered that managing the rhythm during a duel was a skill that called for intensive practice and comprehension.

Determined to support their efforts, Sherlock made the classroom available for those students who wished to hone their dueling skills in their free time, a privilege unavailable anywhere else on school grounds due to Hogwarts' strict regulations.

As Sherlock was wrapping up for the day, Harry, Hermione, and Ron cornered him with a mysterious air.

"Professor, we have something we'd like to discuss with you," said Harry, a sheepish grin on his face.

Hermione and Ron shared Harry's sheepish expression, a noticeable hesitance emanating from all three.

"I can almost guess what this is about," Sherlock said with a hint of amusement as he led the way to his office, "You're still concerned about those jinx rumours, aren't you?"

Their silence and awkward smiles confirmed Sherlock's suspicion. They had an audacious experiment in mind and, after contemplating it for a week and finally mustering the courage to approach him, their anticipation was tinged with nervousness.

Once in his office, Sherlock studied them closely as they wordlessly shuffled around.

"Alright, tell me, what's the matter?"

Harry glanced at Hermione, who swallowed nervously.

"Professor, have you noticed that your predictions often lead to results that are the exact opposite of what you suggested?" asked Hermione. This veiled insinuation referred to the ongoing jinx rumors.

In modern terms, the students believed Sherlock to be a 'jinx,' a harbinger of misfortune. However, he had never taken such superstitious beliefs to heart.

Desired outcomes generated by spoken statements that eventually result in opposite consequences was an enticing concept but highly unlikely. If his words indeed had the power to reverse future events, he'd lie on any potential deathbed mumbling, "It's over; it's hopeless. We are done for," hoping for the jinx to save his life.

As enticing as that idea was, it was just wishful thinking. What his students saw as a jinx was merely a series of coincidences, tricking their naive minds into believing in a nonexistent supernatural phenomenon.

Sherlock knew he had to intervene and correct their misconceptions.

Despite having explained that these were mere coincidences to Harry during the summer holidays, it seemed like the message hadn't sunk in.

Hermione's words now were a stark reminder that the whole trio held on to these superstitious beliefs.

The best way to debunk their superstitions, Sherlock believed, was a direct encounter with the truth.

Drawing on past experiences, he reassured them. "Hermione, these odd events are mere coincidences. I never expected someone of your intellect to buy into such unfounded beliefs."

Hermione's lips thinned, but she said nothing. Internally, she protested.

"Alright then," Sherlock proposed, "Let's conduct a little on-the-spot experiment to resolve your doubts."

This proposition intrigued Harry and his friends. For their experiment, they'd prepared a series of questions.

"Professor, can you predict the weather this afternoon? And please, be truthful," asked Harry.

"The weather seems promising. In fact, I predict it'll turn out to be a sunlit day," Sherlock answered, casually glancing at the sky which was transitioning from gloomy the cloudless.

Harry immediately noted down his answer.

Next was Hermione.

"Professor, do you think there will be pudding for dessert at lunch today?"

Sherlock pondered before responding.

"Pudding seems to be quite the common dessert. To be honest, it's one of the desserts I can tolerate, I quite like it. Let's guess there should be pudding at noon."

Finally, it was Ron's turn.

"Professor, do you think that in today's afternoon charm class, there's a chance that Seamus could mess up the charm again, causing an explosion?"

This question stunned Sherlock a bit. In the last term while teaching Harry's class, he had some impression of this boy named Seamus, who always seemed to mess up the spells, resulting in numerous explosions.

But such occurrences should not be the norm. How could someone be so absurd to the point that every magic use would result in an explosion?

"Probably not. Seamus is quite intelligent. I think the few errors made before were just minor accidents. He can't possibly cause an explosion every time he uses a charm, can he?"

After each of them asked their question, the experiment started.

In fact, among the three incidents, the two mentioned by Harry and Hermione could potentially occur with a fifty-fifty chance, while the explosion event stated by Ron is highly likely to occur!

It's certainly not dramatically exaggerated that Seamus would cause an explosion every time he uses magic normally.

But whether it's due to his specific physique, every time he starts learning a new spell, Seamus's first trial inevitably results in an explosion.

And in this afternoon's charm class, Professor Flitwick announced in the previous class that he would introduce a new charm, therefore, the chance of Seamus causing an explosion is extremely high.

After extracting auspicious words from Sherlock, the three of them happily left the office.

Sherlock then quickly plunged into grading homework. In the summer holiday of the third, fourth and fifth grades last term, he was left with quite a bit of holiday homework, which he needed to finish grading before Halloween, so as not to delay the subsequent explanation.

So, he soon put the seemingly joking experiment initiated by Harry and his friends at the back of his mind.

However, Harry and the others took it very seriously.

Hermione made a bold hypothesis before the experiment and now what they are doing is verifying the correctness of the hypothesis.

The earliest result could, of course, be seen with the pudding at lunch.

After leaving Sherlock's office, they directly headed to the dining hall. Lunch had just begun. The food prepared beforehand by the house-elves all appeared on the long tables of the four houses.

They ate while waiting for dessert which would appear in the middle of the meal.

They filled their stomachs at the fastest speed, then the three of them just stared fixedly at the table, attracting the attention of other Gryffindors.

"What are you waiting for?" Lavender and Parvati asked curiously while munching on their sausages.