"What a great thing!"
"Did the headmaster really say that?"
As soon as Charles entered the Gryffindor Common Room, he ran into the Weasley Twins, who were just about to leave. Their smiles became especially radiant when they saw Dumbledore's note.
The other students had already returned to their dormitories. The three of them discussed things by the fireplace in the Common Room and decided to accidentally take a wrong turn into the Forbidden Forest on their way to the Great Hall a few nights later.
"We've got something good to show you!"
As he spoke, the Marauder's Map appeared in front of Charles.
"Wow!" Charles had been stunned the first time he saw the Marauder's Map too, and he immediately began examining it with curiosity.
Fred told him, "We found this great thing in Filch's office!"
George continued, "We're planning to use it tonight to avoid Filch and take a look around the Forbidden Forest."
Charles estimated the time and asked them, "Could I borrow it tonight?"
"No problem!" Fred agreed readily.
George reminded him, "Be careful of Peeves. He can pass through walls."
The brothers could tell that Charles had no intention of asking them to come along, and they did not insist. They simply reminded him to be careful.
After thanking them, Charles left the Common Room again. This time, his destination was the Prefects' Bathroom. He figured no one would be going there this late and that he could finally enjoy a comfortable bath.
What was the password for the Prefects' Bathroom again? "Pine-fresh," right?
By the time Charles realized that this was the password from three years later and that it might be something else this year, he had already stood foolishly outside the bathroom door for nearly an hour.
He imagined that a beautiful older prefect girl would happen to appear and take him inside. In reality, however, only Peeves's singing was drawing closer and closer.
The first class the next morning was Herbology, held three times a week. Professor Sprout began teaching everyone how to grow dittany.
The professor stood beside Charles for quite some time and discovered that his technique was very practiced, as though he had spent a long time tending flowers and plants.
After class, Charles handed Professor Sprout the map of the area around the greenhouses, half of it marked.
"You didn't get someone to help you, did you?" Professor Sprout asked, surprised and delighted. "Everything you identified is correct!"
Charles said with a little smugness, "I only asked Percy Weasley which books I should look for. The herbs that can be planted outdoors are all harmless, so that narrowed the search considerably and made things much faster."
Sprout said with great satisfaction, "Very good. You've already realized how dangerous herbs can be. That is the most crucial mindset when studying Herbology."
Charles took the opportunity to ask, "Professor, I read about a Moonpetal Flower in a book. Can I grow one?"
Professor Sprout said seriously, "You can, but you need to be prepared for the possibility of failing the very first time."
Charles asked doubtfully, "Is it because this flower is difficult to grow, or because it easily attracts insects?"
Sprout was even more pleased by his question. She nodded and replied, "That's right. Moonpetal Flower sap is very sweet, and insects love it, so you'll need to come and get rid of them regularly."
During the second class, Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, Charles thought in the garlic-scented classroom, Getting rid of insects shouldn't be difficult, right? How about an Avada Pest-Killing Curse? Or should I bring out the Basilisk and have it glare at the bugs?
After class, Charles really did go over and ask, "Professor Quirrell, is there a spell that kills only living things without harming anything else?"
Quirrell stared at the boy in astonishment. Was this really something a first-year student ought to be thinking about?
The Double Socket on the back of his head fell silent. A spell that killed people without leaving a trace... Anyone who could have such an idea was either meticulous, had suffered a loss, or possessed extraordinary talent. He had not had thoughts like that at this age.
Times had changed. If this had been before, he would certainly have told him sincerely, "The Death Eaters need talented people like you."
But now was not the time to recruit for the Death Eaters. Quirrell asked him gravely, "Smith, why are you asking about this kind of spell?"
Charles answered, "I don't want to hurt the flowers and plants in the flowerbeds."
Quirrell "thought for a moment," then said, "Hurting living things is wrong. I think the Leg-Locker Curse will do. Plants don't have legs, so it won't hurt them."
Voldemort understood perfectly that killing someone in one move and restraining them before killing them gave people two entirely different sensations. The former was likely to cause guilt afterward, while the latter was likely to create the pleasure of tormenting someone. Once a person experienced that feeling, they would only go farther and farther down that path.
Charles thought, That actually makes sense. Plants don't have feet, but insects do. With a "biu," the insects' legs will go limp and they'll all fall to the ground. Then they'll be easy to deal with.
Once he had figured it out, he immediately said, "Professor, I want to learn this spell!"
Quirrell was naturally capable enough to be a professor at Hogwarts. A minor spell like this was effortless for him.
"Watch closely." He raised his wand and slowly cast the spell. "Legs Weak, Feet Numb!"
A beam of white light struck a chair in the classroom, and nothing happened.
Charles memorized the wand movement and incantation and tried it himself. Apart from a tiny flash of white light, there was no effect. He still needed more practice.
He then asked Quirrell again, "Professor, do you know the Shield Charm?"
Jack had taught him the Shield Charm, but he still wanted to see how much the spell had improved over the past century.
After Quirrell demonstrated it, Charles discovered that the spell's movement and incantation were somewhat more complicated than they had been a hundred years ago, but the effect was better. There must have been more threats to guard against now, and many of those threats probably came from the thing hanging on the back of Quirrell's head.
Charles thought, If I organize the principles behind the improvements based on the differences between the two versions, perhaps I can develop a specialized Shield Charm with a particular effect—for example, one with stronger fire resistance and a little marquee display or something.
Charles entered the state of an eager, inquisitive, well-behaved student and asked Quirrell about several more spells for resolving disputes between classmates, such as the Trip Jinx, Knockback Jinx, Stinging Jinx, and so on.
At Voldemort's instruction, Quirrell explained each of these spells to Charles. They were all meant for children's fights and were not especially complicated, so they did not take much time or effort.
Quirrell and the Dark Lord currently residing on the back of his head were both somewhat surprised. Charles seemed to possess considerable talent for learning magic. He could basically gain an initial grasp of these spells after being taught them once; all he needed was more practice to master them fully.
Once he got into the zone, Charles nearly unlocked the achievement—starving Voldemort to death by missing mealtime.
Before you continue