Practice with Veratia

You know what, Seamus's imagination can be quite terrifying sometimes.

Those who had a good eye for visuals couldn't help but start imagining just how terrifying a Gargoyle rushing towards them at full speed would be.

The final conclusion is that, apart from a demolition fanatic like Seamus, almost no one would choose to do this.

Ginny, standing not far away, pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on the puppet in front of her.

Under her direction, her puppet took small but solid steps, successfully completing three steps before stopping with only a slight sway.

"Beautiful, Ginny!" Hannah exclaimed sincerely.

When it was Hannah's turn, she was a little nervous, but with Ginny's whispered prompts and encouragement, her puppet stumbled through three steps. Although the last step involved both hands and feet moving in unison, she finally succeeded.

Hannah breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile spreading across her face.

On the other side, Draco clearly wanted to do it perfectly. He tried to make the puppet walk with an "elegant" gait, but the instructions were too complicated. The puppet shook rapidly in place, like a crazy spinning top, and finally collapsed, emitting wisps of black smoke.

"Simplify the instructions, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall's voice remained as serious as ever.

It wasn't going to a dance; it was just walking.

Draco's face flushed slightly. He pursed his lips and glanced in Ginny's direction.

Pansy, however, was too focused on Draco's performance. Her own puppet had barely taken a step when it collapsed to the ground, and she impatiently poked it with her wand.

"That's just a puppet, not a racehorse. You don't need to poke it like that, Miss Parkinson," Professor McGonagall kindly advised.

How could Harry, with his keen attention, not see all of this? He suppressed a chuckle, thinking to himself, "We at Hogwarts should also have our own White Album."

His girlfriend, Veratia, is a fan of the famous Japanese idol singer Rina Ogata, so of course she knows the story behind White Album.

"Your turn, Harry," Luna reminded him from beside him.

Harry then snapped out of his daze and manipulated the puppet to perform a Thomas Flare, followed by an extremely difficult move.

"Cool," Luna said with a smile.

"Your turn," Harry said.

Luna didn't look at the puppet in front of her, but tilted her head as if listening to something.

"It doesn't seem inclined to go first on its left leg," she suddenly said to Harry in a detached tone. "It has more energy in its right leg."

After saying that, she gently waved her wand.

Surprisingly, her puppet moved with a slightly strange but remarkably stable posture, first using its right leg, then dragging its left leg, taking three steps in an almost gliding manner before quietly coming to a stop. The whole process was incredibly smooth.

"Well done, Miss Lovegood." Professor McGonagall smiled. "If you and Miss Weasley don't choose Transfiguration Class next year, it will truly be the saddest thing that has ever happened to me in my teaching career."

Yes, Luna and Ginny are both in fifth grade this year, and they will be taking elective courses next year.

The one-hour practical lesson passed quickly, and they were still somewhat reluctant to leave.

Scattered on the table were the remains of some puppets, but most of them were Seamus's masterpieces.

"That's all for tonight." Professor McGonagall's voice brought a sigh of relief to everyone. "What you've experienced is merely the tip of the iceberg in this art. It requires a vast amount of practice, unparalleled patience, and a profound understanding of the principles of Transfiguration. Without my explicit permission, you are strictly prohibited from attempting to work on any statues, armor, or similar objects within the castle grounds. Those who violate this rule will bear the consequences."

"Don't worry, Professor," Harry assured Professor McGonagall, "Even if it's just practice, we'll choose a secluded spot."

"You'd better be," Professor McGonagall warned him.

In fact, as an experienced professor, especially as the Head of Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall could almost easily see through Harry's little schemes.

What a joke! Does the headmaster of Gryffindor think he can't see right through what Gryffindor mischievous monkeys are thinking?

Do you think all those years of battling wits with students were for nothing?

She looked at Harry again, then swept her gaze across all the students. "Mr. Potter, your club members have shown remarkable potential. If they wish to go further, they must hone their skills repeatedly, starting with the most basic chain of instructions. We'll continue at the same time next week. Now, dismissed."

After thanking Professor McGonagall, the students filed out.

Discussion immediately erupted in the corridor.

"Merlin, I feel like my brain has been drained!" Neville complained, rubbing his temples.

"But the theory is incredibly ingenious!" Hermione, still immersed in the sea of knowledge, quickly flipped through her notes. "Regarding the deeper influence of willpower on Charms, I think I should delve deeper into that. I need to do some more research—"

"My puppet walks like it's doing a twitching dance," Draco said, frowning, clearly extremely dissatisfied with his performance.

"It's okay," Ron said, patting Draco on the shoulder. "At least your puppet is moving, instead of flying away like a rocket, isn't it?"

"You're right." Draco grinned at Ron's words of comfort.

However, Seamus, standing nearby, asked with displeasure, "When did you two become so close?"

Upon hearing Seamus's words, Draco and Ron instantly remembered their animosity towards each other and separated as if electrocuted.

"Who's on good terms with him?" Draco asked, looking at Ron with disgust.

"As if we're on good terms," Ron retorted, not to be outdone.

"Alright, you two," Ginny said, rubbing her head. "Stop arguing, really—"

The two immediately stopped talking.

"Tell me," Hermione suddenly spoke up, "When can we put this technique into practice?"

"On paper, it's all open ground; we completely forget about the hills. On the battlefield, nine out of ten will be hopeless," Seamus sang in a strange tone. "If we could remember the Transfiguration Spell as a combat aid in actual combat, that would be fine. The real problem is that we'll be struggling in real battle and forget about Transfiguration altogether."

"Seamus is absolutely right," Draco surprisingly nodded in agreement. "Don't bite off more than you can Seamus. Let's take it one step at a time."

Back in his dorm, Ron was still somewhat reluctant to leave.

He was very interested in the theory that Seamus had proposed earlier; if the Gargoyle could really be launched at rocket speed, the effect would be quite impressive.

"What are you planning to add to their diet this weekend?" Ron suddenly asked. "You can't always let us cause trouble, can you? You have to take care of the other students too—"

Harry, leaning against the headboard and browsing the news on the Philosopher's Stone Tablet, didn't even look up when he heard this. "I haven't decided yet. To be honest, the stock of Magical Creatures that fit the 'dangerous but non-lethal' criterion is really running low."

Ron suddenly sat up in bed.

"You know what, if you're talking about something like that, then I actually know of one." He held up one finger and said.

"Tell me about it," Harry asked.

"Dementor!" Ron said, somewhat exasperated. "Think about it, aren't Dementor perfectly suited to your needs? Extremely dangerous, but not instantly fatal; even if you get kissed by Dementor, you can be saved in time—"

You know what, when Harry thought about it, it actually seemed to make sense.

But the problem is, he doesn't know how to Patronus Charm!

Previously, when encountering Dementor, they would automatically summon Fiendfyre or Welsh Green Fire, burning the Dementor to ashes.

It seems there's only one way forward.

I need to cram! I must learn the proper Patronus Charm!

Thinking this through, Harry said to Ron, "That's a good idea. I'll ask for a few days off and go to Azkaban to borrow some Dementor."

That's what he said, but what he actually wanted to do was go to Vienna to practice Patronus Charm with Veratia.

When Harry woke up the next morning, he indeed found Dumbledore and asked for a three-day leave.

Then, he activated Apparition and arrived in Vienna.

When he knocked on the Minister's Office door, Veratia was sitting leisurely by the window, elegantly sipping a cup of steaming black tea.

The sunlight cast a halo around her long golden hair, making her look divine.

When Harry suddenly appeared, her violet eyes instantly filled with surprise.

"Harry? What brings you here all of a sudden?"

"I need to ask you for a favor." Harry cleared his throat and asked, "Have you been busy these past few days?"

"Nothing much, I just finished dealing with most of the backlog of issues at the Ministry of Magic," Veratia said with a smile. "So, what is it?"

"That's wonderful!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "I was just looking for someone to practice Patronus Charm with. It would be perfect if you were free; let's practice together!"

"Patronus Charm?" Veratia's expression suddenly turned strange. "Why would you learn this Charms? You're not incapable of dealing with Dementor— "

She vividly remembered that in third grade, Harry used Fire God Paves the Way and the Dementor carried out a small cleansing operation.

Harry briefly explained the reason, concluding, "You see, I can't exactly teach them how to use Fiendfyre or Gubraithian Fire to fight Dementor, can I? That's not exactly part of the curriculum, is it?"

"Your considerations make sense," Veratia nodded. "In that case, then—"

As she spoke, she glanced at Ms. Rosier, who was sitting next to her like a third wheel.

Ms. Rosier understood, immediately stood up, bowed, and left the Minister's Office.

"Alright, she's gone." Veratia turned around, a sly smile on her face, her wand already in her hand. "Now—let's begin. First, concentrate, find your happiest, most powerful memory—"

As she spoke, she crept closer, suddenly reaching out to grab Harry's wrist, seemingly wanting to help him "remember" in some more intimate way.

"Hey!" Harry dodged quickly, then slapped Veratia on the head with a chop to the head. "It's daytime now! You can always find those memories at night, you blond idiot!"

Veratia stuck out her little tongue and said with a smile, "I was just joking with you—but speaking of which, it really wouldn't make sense for the Minister for Magic not to know this Charms —after all, it's said that only Dark Wizard don't know this Charms."

The two exchanged a smile, the atmosphere relaxed and warm.

"However," Veratia smiled slyly again, "Don't forget what you promised me."

"I took three days off."

As soon as Harry finished speaking, Veratia's eyes lit up.

They walked to the wider area of the office and stood facing each other.

"What is your happiest memory?" Veratia suddenly asked.

You know what, asking that question suddenly reminded Harry of the embarrassing incident he and Cassandra had gone through together.

"Uh," he said truthfully, "With you."

That's absolutely true. After all, some of our happiest memories include spending Christmas together in the castle.

That was the first time he had ever truly spent Christmas with people he considered family.

Although the little cockatoo didn't really like him, he was still his brother-in-law.

"Really?" Veratia asked, though she was very happy.

"Really," Harry said honestly, "There's a story behind it—remember when I went to rescue Cass? We each looked at three of each other's happiest memories."

"And then what?" Veratia suddenly asked, full of gossip.

"Uh," Harry said, scratching his head, "my happiest memories are on the train and meeting you, while Cassandra's memories are all about me—"

Veratia:----

"Sigh—" She reached out and patted Harry on the shoulder, "To be honest, Harry, I'm starting to think we're a little—"

"Is that a bit unethical?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Veratia said. "There's nothing wrong with pursuing happiness, it's just—from this perspective, you really have let Cass down."

"Hey! Isn't that partly because of you too?" Harry snapped.

"Heh," Veratia said with a faint smile, "Then what memories do you have of me?"

"It was Christmas together," Harry answered truthfully. "Remember? Christmas 1891, you, me, Gellert, and I spent Christmas together in the castle—that was the first time I truly spent Christmas with my family."

Finally, he muttered to himself, "Gellert even gave me the nickname ' Scarhead Veela ' back then."

"You really are Scarhead Veela." Veratia smiled and cupped Harry's face in her hands, gently kissing him on the lips. "Alright, let's practice Patronus Charm together."

"Well then, seriously," Harry's smile faded, he closed his eyes, and began searching through the long river of memories around the world for that warmest power.

What flashed through his mind were not only the happiest things in his subconscious, but also the best times he had spent with Veratia, Cassandra, and Pabbie.