History of Magic Terrifies Professor Binns

After the lunch break ended, the Hufflepuff students filed out of the common room one by one, ready to head to their afternoon History of Magic class.

Charlie stretched, following Ernie and Justin as they walked toward the classroom.

"History of Magic... I've heard it's the most boring class," Justin said with a yawn.

Charlie, however, felt a flicker of anticipation.

He'd always wanted to dig deeper into the history of the magical world. As a transmigrator, his understanding of this world was still far too shallow.

Using history class to fill in the gaps seemed like a solid choice.

"I actually want to hear what History of Magic has to offer," Charlie said. "We ought to understand the world we live in, right?"

"You're this motivated?" Ernie asked, a little surprised. "I thought you'd just keep sleeping."

"Not this time. I'm going to pay attention."

Charlie spoke seriously. Even if he didn't earn any Tyrant Points from this class, he was determined to listen well.

When they arrived at the History of Magic classroom, there weren't many students inside. Everyone looked a bit sluggish.

He had to admit, Hogwarts' schedule was really relaxed—only two or three classes a day.

That left plenty of free time. Some overachievers would spend it in the library.

But Charlie couldn't do that. He was allergic to libraries, so he couldn't go near them.

Charlie found a seat in the front row, pulled out his quill and parchment, and prepared himself to listen attentively.

The bell rang, and a translucent figure drifted into the room.

It was Professor Binns, Hogwarts' only ghost teacher.

He looked ancient, with a white beard and old-fashioned wizard robes.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Professor Binns," he said in a voice so flat and monotonous it was almost painful.

"Today, we will be covering the foundational chapters of magical history."

Charlie perked up, ready to focus.

"First, let us examine the story of Malefactor Moryk," Professor Binns began. "Moryk lived during the Middle Ages and became infamous for his abuse of magic..."

Professor Binns' voice droned on like static from an old radio, unbearably dull.

His tone had no inflection whatsoever, like a headmaster reading straight from a prepared speech.

Charlie tried to concentrate, but he found it far harder than he'd imagined.

The way Professor Binns taught was just too rigid—completely devoid of any passion or vivid description.

Within ten minutes, Charlie could already feel drowsiness creeping in.

He snuck a glance around the room and saw that quite a few classmates had started nodding off.

"Next, we turn to the deeds of Eccentric Ulric," Professor Binns continued in that same hypnotic cadence. "Ulric was known for his peculiar magical experiments..."

Charlie's eyelids began to droop.

This wasn't a class—it was hypnosis!

"No way, I'm going to fall asleep at this rate," Charlie thought to himself.

No wonder History of Magic was widely regarded as the most boring subject.

Finally, Charlie couldn't take it anymore.

He raised his hand and called out loudly, "Professor!"

Professor Binns stopped lecturing, and the entire classroom went silent.

All the dozing students jolted awake at the sudden noise, turning their heads to look at Charlie.

"Er... is there a problem, young man?"

Professor Binns looked genuinely surprised. It had been a long time since any student had voluntarily asked a question.

"Professor, can you teach us something more exciting?" Charlie said bluntly.

Whispers rippled through the classroom. The students were all stunned by Charlie's audacity.

Ernie muttered quietly, "Charlie, have you lost your mind?"

Justin's eyes went wide. "That's a professor—even if he's a ghost, he's still a professor."

Charlie ignored them.

Professor Binns floated in midair, fixing Charlie with his ancient gaze.

"Something more exciting? What would you like to hear?"

Charlie said without hesitation: "Tell us about Voldemort!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the entire classroom plunged into deathly silence.

All the students gasped, and some even slid off their chairs in fright.

"My God!"

"What did he just say?"

"He said that name!"

The students' faces turned pale, and a few began to tremble.

Even Professor Binns, a ghost, showed a terrified expression; his translucent body shook violently, and his form dimmed several shades more than usual.

"No... don't say that name!" Professor Binns's voice quivered.

Charlie was a bit bewildered.

He just wanted to learn about Voldemort's history—why was everyone reacting so strongly?

Charlie had long wanted to ask about Voldemort. Though the name had thundered in his ears in his past life, he didn't know what Voldemort had actually done.

After arriving at Hogwarts, all he heard was that the man was a Dark Lord who killed many people and was eventually killed by Harry Potter.

When it came to specifics, no one knew.

"Professor, I just wanted to learn some history..."

Charlie tried to explain.

"No, absolutely not!" Professor Binns's form grew dimmer and dimmer, looking like it might dissipate at any moment.

A Gryffindor student shouted:

"Oh no! Professor Binns is about to be scared apart! Quick, go to the office and get Professor McGonagall!"

Several students immediately rushed out of the classroom to seek help.

[Congratulations, Your Majesty. Intimidating a teacher. Tyrant Points +5]

The system's voice rang in Charlie's mind, leaving him even more confused.

"No, really, I wasn't trying to farm Tyrant Points!"

Soon, Professor McGonagall arrived at the History of Magic classroom.

She strode quickly to the podium and promptly comforted Professor Binns.

Professor Binns looked much better, at least his body had solidified considerably, but by then most of the class time had passed.

After learning the situation, Professor McGonagall glared at Charlie, deducted two points from Hufflepuff, and then stormed off.

"Honestly..." she muttered as she walked.

"One day of endless anger; staying at Hogwarts too long is going to shorten my life."

The students gradually left the classroom, and many gave Charlie strange looks as they passed him.

Time quickly reached evening, and the students filed into the Great Hall for dinner.

Charlie had just sat down at the Hufflepuff table when he saw the Weasley Twins approaching with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Charlie!" Fred said excitedly, slapping him on the shoulder.

"You're a genius!"

"Yeah, how did you think of scaring Professor Binns in History of Magic?"

George also gave a thumbs-up.

Charlie's forehead was lined with exasperation: "I really didn't mean to..."

Harry stood by quietly, watching Charlie with mixed feelings.

He had heard that in the first class of the morning, Charlie had turned a stick into a needle, while even Hermione, the best in Gryffindor, had only managed to turn it into a needle tip.

Then in the afternoon, he had nearly scared a professor to death.

Compared to Charlie, he, the so-called Savior, seemed utterly ordinary.

But Harry didn't envy Charlie. He felt he was doing well now—having enough to eat and wear, and so many friends—that was already happiness enough.

"Charlie, your Transfiguration is really impressive," Harry said sincerely.

"It's alright, maybe it's just natural talent," Charlie replied modestly.

Just then, Hermione suddenly spoke, her tone serious and carrying clear disapproval:

"Charlie, you shouldn't scare the professor like that. It's wrong."

"You should use your talent for studying."

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Fred and George exchanged glances, and Harry didn't know what to say.

Charlie put down the chicken leg in his hand and looked at Hermione.

"I was just asking a question. Who knew Professor Binns would be so easily startled?"

"You know that name can't be said casually!" Hermione's voice rose.

"But I don't know why it can't be said." Charlie spread his hands. "I'm Muggle-born, I don't know much about the taboos in the wizarding world."

Hermione was choked up for a moment. She was also Muggle-born, but she had long since learned these common sense things through books.

"Then you should have understood them clearly before asking questions!" Hermione was a bit exasperated.

"Understood what?" Charlie countered.

"I just wanted to understand history, that's why I asked."

Hermione opened her mouth but found she had nothing to say.

Indeed, without knowing the background, Charlie's behavior was just a normal question.

"Forget it, I'm not talking to you anymore." Hermione turned and walked away in a huff.

Ron watched Hermione's retreating back, leaned in close to Charlie, and said quietly:

"Don't mind her. That's just how she is, always thinking she knows everything."

"Really annoying sometimes."