Asking About Spells

"What a great item!"

"Did the Headmaster really say that?"

As Charles entered the Gryffindor common room, he ran into the Weasley twins who were just about to leave. The smiles on their faces were brilliant when they saw Dumbledore's note.

By this time, other students had already returned to their dormitories. The three of them discussed it by the fireplace in the common room and decided to take a wrong turn into the Forbidden Forest on their way to the Great Hall in a few days.

"We have something good to show you!"

As he spoke, the Marauder's Map appeared before Charles.

"Wow!" Charles was stunned the first time he saw the Marauder's Map and immediately began to study it with curiosity.

Fred told him, "This is something good we found in Filch's office!"

George added, "We plan to use it tonight to sneak into the Forbidden Forest and avoid Filch."

Charles estimated the time and asked them, "Can I borrow it tonight?"

"No problem!" Fred generously agreed.

George reminded him, "Be careful of Peeves, he can go through walls."

The twins could see that Charles didn't intend to ask them to go along, so they didn't force the issue, only urging him to be careful.

Charles thanked them and left the common room. This time, his target was the Prefects' Bathroom. He thought that it was so late that no one should be there, and he could finally take a comfortable bath.

What was the password for the Prefects' Bathroom again? "Fresh pineapple," right.

By the time Charles realized that this was the password for three years later and this year's might be different, he had already been standing foolishly at the bathroom door for nearly an hour.

He imagined a beautiful older prefect would appear and take him in, but in reality, only Peeves' singing was getting closer and closer.

The next morning, the first class was Herbology, which was held three times a week. Professor Sprout began teaching everyone how to plant Comfrey.

The professor stood by Charles for a long time and noticed that his technique was very skilled, as if he had been tending to plants for a long time.

After class, Charles handed Professor Sprout a partially marked map of the greenhouse surroundings.

"You didn't have anyone help you, did you?" Professor Sprout asked, surprised and pleased. "Everything you identified is correct!"

Charles said with a little pride, "I just asked Percy Weasley which books to look for. The ones that can be planted outside are all harmless herbs, which greatly narrowed down the search scope and made it faster."

Professor Sprout said with satisfaction, "Very good, you've realized the danger of herbs, which is the most crucial mindset for studying herbology."

Charles seized the opportunity to ask, "Professor, I saw a Moonpetal Flower in a book, can I grow it?"

Professor Sprout said seriously, "Yes, but you should be prepared for failure the first time."

Charles asked doubtfully, "Is this flower difficult to grow, or does it easily attract insects?"

Hearing his question, Professor Sprout felt even more satisfied and nodded, replying, "That's right, the sap of the Moonpetal Flower is very sweet, and insects love it, so you'll have to come and remove them often."

In the second class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charles thought in the garlic-scented classroom, pest control shouldn't be difficult, right? How about the Killing Curse for insects? Or maybe find a Basilisk and have it glare at the bugs?

After class, Charles actually went up and asked, "Professor Quirrell, are there any spells that only kill life without harming other things?"

Quirrell looked at the boy in surprise. Was this something a first-year student should be thinking about?

The dual-socket on the back of his head remained silent. A spell that kills without a trace... a person who has such thoughts is either meticulous, has suffered a loss, or is exceptionally talented. He himself didn't have such thoughts at this age.

Times have changed. If it were in the past, he would have sincerely told him, "We Death Eaters need talented people like you."

But now was not the time to recruit for the Death Eaters. Quirrell asked him sternly, "Smith, why are you asking about such a spell?"

Charles replied, "I don't want to harm the flowers and plants in the flowerbed."

Quirrell "thought for a moment" and then said, "Harming life is wrong. I think the Leg-Locker Curse would suffice. Plants don't have legs, so it won't hurt them."

Voldemort understood clearly in his heart that killing someone in one move and subduing them before killing them were two different ways of killing. The former might cause guilt afterward, while the latter might give rise to pleasure from tormenting others. Once this feeling arises, one will go further and further down this path.

Charles thought to himself, this actually makes sense. Plants don't have feet, but insects do. With a "biu," the insect's legs would go soft and fall to the ground, making them easier to deal with.

As soon as he figured it out, he said, "Professor, I want to learn this spell!"

Quirrell, being a professor at Hogwarts, naturally had his skills. Such a minor spell was easy for him.

"Watch closely," he raised his wand and slowly cast the spell, "Legs Soft, Feet Weak!"

A beam of white light hit a chair in the classroom, but nothing happened.

Charles noted the wand movement and incantation. He tried it, but besides a faint white light, there was no other effect. He needed more practice.

He then asked Quirrell, "Professor, do you know the Shield Charm?"

Jack had taught him the Shield Charm, but he still wanted to see how it had been improved over the years.

After Quirrell demonstrated it, Charles found that the movements and incantation of the spell were more complex than a hundred years ago, but the effect was better. It was likely to deal with more threats, many of which probably came from the one hanging on the back of his head.

Charles thought that if he could organize the differences between the two and come up with ideas for improvement, he might be able to develop a Shield Charm specialized for certain effects, such as enhanced fire resistance and adding a running light.

Charles entered his "diligent and inquisitive good boy" mode and asked Quirrell several more spells for resolving disputes among classmates, such as the Trip Jinx, Knockback Jinx, and Stinging Jinx.

Under Voldemort's instruction, Quirrell explained these spells to Charles one by one. They were all for children's fights and weren't too complicated, not requiring much time or effort.

Quirrell and the current Dark Lord on the back of his head were somewhat surprised. Charles seemed to have a talent for learning magic. He could basically grasp these spells at a preliminary level as soon as they were taught, only needing more practice to master them.

In his focused state, Charles almost achieved an achievement—missing dinner and starving Voldemort.