A Change in Mindset

The drizzle was about to stop, but the summer solstice had yet to arrive.

Loren and Hermione sat by the window in the second row, with Harry and Ron behind them. It was now the last Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the afternoon.

The good news delivered by the owl postmen had spread through the entire school in mere minutes. Nearly every student knew that Voldemort had been badly wounded and gone into hiding. Their excitement and joy were plain to see. With such feelings in their hearts, the first day after the holiday produced surprisingly excellent results in class.

Every word from the professors received a response, every question was met with eager raised hands, and even during the dullest A History of Magic lessons, no one dozed off.

By mid-April, the school year was nearing its end, and Defense Against the Dark Arts had entered its final chapter—general-purpose spells for dealing with Dark Arts creatures.

Though the chapter title suggested the study of spells, Professor Bashat did not focus on superficial spell learning or technique drills. Instead, he guided the students to think, helping them build a comprehensive and systematic mindset. He first classified Dark Arts creatures by analyzing their traits, then matched them with the spells covered in the chapter, guiding the students to think of suitable responses.

If the textbook contained a collection of techniques, then what Professor Bashat taught was a way of thinking.

Take the most typical Wraith-type Dark Arts creature, the Dementor. Such creatures lacked tangible bodies and affected humans through Magic Power, using their unique mouths to suck away emotions and souls. Therefore, conventional physical means and most magic were difficult to use against Dementors, let alone drive them away.

For a long time, both textbooks and traditional wizarding beliefs