บท 282: Chapter 282: Dark History
After class, Albert deliberately stayed behind and blocked Professor Smith in the classroom to hold him to his promise of teaching him the Disillusionment Charm.
Task rewards from the Room of Requirement often came with a catch; sometimes rewards would be delivered through other means. This time was particularly tricky – instead of directly learning the Disillusionment Charm, he had to be taught by Professor Smith.
Tomorrow, he would be heading to Hogsmeade. Once he settled matters with Montague, got a piece of hair from his Swamp Seeker, he could put the Disillusionment Charm to use.
"Do you think I was a bit... too extreme during that part of the lesson?" Professor Smith halted in front of his office, looking at Albert absentmindedly. He began, questioning, "For most second-year students, perhaps it was too early."
Albert nodded in agreement. Professor Smith's teaching level was undoubtedly high, but Albert had his doubts whether these second-year students could handle that part of the knowledge.
"I might leave Hogwarts a bit earlier, like Professor Broderick," Professor Smith turned the doorknob, looking at Albert as he spoke, "Around May, I suppose."
"May?"
Albert wasn't too surprised; the curse in Defense Against the Dark Arts was indeed too dangerous. For his safety, resigning early was the best choice.
"Before I leave, I'll try to teach you as much useful knowledge as possible. Come in..." Professor Smith invited Albert into his office.
Albert took a seat on the couch like before.
"Would you like bubble tea again?"
"Mhm." Albert responded.
Professor Smith waved his wand, and casually conjured a cup of bubble tea for Albert.
"Truth be told, Hogwarts students are very poor at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Professor Smith continued on his own, as if discussing something interesting. "You can't imagine it, a lot of people, even most who work in the Ministry of Magic, can't even cast a decent Shield Charm. In the realm of Defense Against the Dark Arts, they're truly abysmal."
"This is a time of peace," Albert responded without hesitation. "And the Ministry of Magic also doesn't want them to master... you know, there's not much that Hogwarts really teaches its students. Most of what they learn has to be taught by others or learned on their own..."
"I've heard some news, the mysterious person is still alive," Professor Smith interrupted.
"Yes, at the Alchemical Party, I heard other wizards talk about it," Albert nodded, indicating that he knew. But Albert felt that Professor Smith's mention of this wasn't for that reason; it was something else.
"Never mind, let's not talk about that," Professor Smith seemed not too eager to broach the topic, "I can probably guess why you want to learn the Disillusionment Charm, but I need to remind you that it's an advanced spell. It's quite difficult to learn, so be prepared."
"I'm already mentally prepared," Albert calmly replied. He was ready to invest a substantial amount of experience once he mastered the Disillusionment Charm, quickly raising his skill level by three ranks.
"Let's begin, pay close attention," Professor Smith raised his wand and cast a spell on the empty cup.
"Engorgio Incrementum!"
He tapped the cup with his wand, then smiled at Albert, saying, "Try pouring water into the cup, and you'll find that the cup's capacity has increased."
Albert drew his wand, used the Aguamenti charm to slowly fill the cup with water, and indeed, the capacity inside the cup increased significantly.
"Pick it up," Professor Smith gestured.
Albert found the cup wasn't as heavy as he imagined.
"The Disillusionment Charm not only maintains the outward appearance of an object while expanding its internal dimensions, but it also makes the items inside lighter," Professor Smith explained.
"It's a very practical spell," Albert said truthfully, already having several ideas where he could use this.
"It is indeed practical," Professor Smith continued, "However, due to the risk of misuse, the Disillusionment Charm is strictly monitored by the Ministry of Magic."
"If the Disillusionment Charm is fully utilized, you could turn a suitcase into a room, and this teacup is the best proof of that. But this spell has a major problem; it's easy to reverse," Professor Smith waved his wand, vanishing the water from the teacup.
"Imagine if a wizard is walking down the street with a suitcase under the Disillusionment Charm, and the charm suddenly fails. The consequences are obvious – it's a serious violation of international secrecy laws."
"Would everything inside come spilling out?" Albert tentatively asked.
"Yes," Professor Smith shook his head. "Anyway, the Ministry of Magic has established a bunch of strict regulations. Wizards can no longer easily expand capacity, let alone for personal use, otherwise, they'll be fined."
Speaking of this, Professor Smith's tone turned disdainful, "You know, those ridiculous rules are full of loopholes in themselves, or rather, when the laws were written, they intentionally left loopholes!"
On the topic of laws, Albert completely agreed. The laws in the wizarding world were riddled with holes and fundamentally served only a small portion of people.
"You probably don't know, the Disillusionment Charm cannot be used for personal gain, otherwise, you'll be fined. But these rules are mostly for their own benefit," Professor Smith continued his disdainful tone, "Except for products approved by relevant departments of the Ministry, like suitcases or family tents. Of course, these things were established by certain families for their own profit."
Albert was left speechless by this revelation. He hadn't expected such a truth.
"Of course, those suitcases or family tents have gone through rigorous inspections," Professor Smith spoke less than kindly about some people's dark history.
"Using your power to secure a little profit for yourself, that's normal operation, isn't it?" Albert said self-mockingly. "If I had the chance, I would probably do the same."
Professor Smith was stunned, he probably didn't expect Albert to say something like that.
However, if it were him, he'd probably do the same.
Who would want to have conflicts with galleons?
Moreover, it was a legitimate way of making money.
"Cough, anyway, just be careful on your own," Professor Smith reminded. "I don't want you to be charged and sent to Azkaban because of this."
"Alright, let's not talk about this. Give it a try!"
"Engorgio Incrementum!" Albert waved his wand, casting the spell on his own empty teacup.
"The gesture was wrong, it should be like this," Professor Smith raised his wand, demonstrating to Albert.
"Engorgio Incrementum!" Albert practiced the spell several times, but wasn't able to succeed.
However, Albert wasn't discouraged. He continued to practice while keeping an eye on the changes in his panel.
"Alright, that's about it. Don't be too impatient; with your talent, you won't take long to master it," Professor Smith wasn't too surprised that Albert's teacup didn't change. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Hogwarts' Restricted Section has books about the Disillusionment Charm. I'll write you a note, and you can go borrow them to take a look."
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