Ghosts Can Be a Source of Clients / It's Hard to Know Whether Electives Will Affect the Future

"You're named after your birthplace?" Harry paused, then asked, "So you really are an extremely powerful wizard?"

"Of course! At least, except for the part about living in ancient Greece, all the other information on the card is correct."

The Book Spirit's tone at that moment was unmistakably Versailles, but Harry didn't dare to complain at all!

A wizard capable of summoning a super Patronus without a staff, and bestowed with the titles of 'Invincible' and 'Homeland'... one can only imagine how illustrious the Book Spirit must have been in his lifetime.

But this raises another problem.

"Book Spirit, I don't understand... since you're so famous, why would the Chocolate Frog Card get your origins wrong?"

Harry was quite puzzled by this. How could the Chocolate Frog Card get Andros's era wrong by several hundred years? That was an absurdly large discrepancy!

"The history of wizards is often like this: although we may live longer than ordinary humans, wizards are terrible at recording historical facts."

After a slight pause, the Book Spirit's tone became somewhat playful. "Doesn't your Hogwarts also have a history filled with misinformation? Legend has it that the greatest wizard of all time Merlin, was sorted into Slytherin House and even received instruction from Salazar Slytherin... If Merlin had actually lived until the founding of your Hogwarts and heard this news with his own ears, do you think he wouldn't have blown up the entire castle with a single spell?"

Harry: (°ー°)

Well, since Andros has said so, then the story of Merlin and Arthur circulating in the Britain Wizarding World can probably be confirmed as false.

I knew it! Harry clearly remembered that the legend of Arthur and Merlin was set in the 5th century AD, a full 500 years before Hogwarts was founded!

"Much of the history of wizards isn't true, because only authoritative wizards or ghosts can pass on history. However, their emotions and personalities are influenced by their profound magic, making it easy for them to improvise when recounting history," the Book Spirit continued. "Take me for example. The reason my story is mistakenly attributed to ancient Greece is probably because... the person who killed me happened to be active during the ancient Greek period."

"Wait... the wizard who killed you was an ancient Greek, so doesn't that mean...?" Harry's eyes widened instantly at the thought of a certain possibility.

"Yes, it's Horcrux ..." Book Spirit sighed softly, confirming Harry's guess. "I think he's probably the first person in history to create Horcrux. The Horcrux extended his life, allowing him to exist since ancient Greece... Oh, and by the way, he's also a natural Parseltongue, and he also knows... no, I should say, he discovered how to hatch Basilisk! How about it, doesn't this guy sound a lot like the guy you're going to deal with?"

"They do look quite similar..."

Harry nodded silently, but inwardly he was about to curse.

Come on, why are all the monsters I'm encountering thousands of years ago?

Voldemort has been completely led astray by Salazar's Spirit, and now the Book Spirit has brought up the progenitor of ancient Greek Horcrux... Is there really no modern, even slightly normal, villain in this world that I can step on and humiliate?

Thinking of this, a deep weariness welled up from the depths of Harry's heart. All he wanted to do now was sigh to the heavens: Hogwarts and the Wizarding World...

It's so damn safe~

"The reason they look so alike is that that guy could almost be called the progenitor of dark magic. Compared to the so-called Dark Magic of modern times, the power he wielded was undoubtedly much more dangerous."

The Book Spirit, oblivious to Harry's inner turmoil, continued reminiscing, "Back then, I was overconfident in my power. After hearing the legends of that person, I confidently set out to kill them, but the result was... I don't even know how I died! When I regained consciousness as the spirit of this book, I was already stored in the Restricted Section of your Hogwarts Library. After that, all I could feel was the pain from my soul... I don't even know if I actually died at that person's hands!"

"Andros..."

At this moment, Harry, who had once practiced the art of emotional control under the guidance of the Book Spirit, truly felt the unspeakable sorrow in the other's heart.

A bizarre and tragic death, the soul vanished without a trace, the only remaining conscious spirit wanders in a foreign land, tormented day and night...

"Hey, who was that wizard who killed you? And where was he supposedly said to have appeared?" Suddenly, a calm yet confident smile appeared on Harry's face.

"Tell me all of this, and I'll look up the rest for you."

Chapter 208 Ghosts can be used as customer resources.

"Harry, you..."

The Book Spirit choked up. The reason it had gone through so much trouble with Harry was because it couldn't decide whether or not to Harry, but it never expected that the latter would agree so readily.

"Didn't you say before that I need to redeem as many souls as possible in order to ultimately defeat Voldemort in the battle for bodies? Your soul is certainly among those I need to redeem." Harry smiled casually, showing absolutely no worry on his face. "So, just consider it doing me a favor~"

Admittedly, Harry was well aware of the immense difficulty in redeeming the Book Spirit's soul. He not only had to travel to foreign lands to search, but he also might encounter the old monster who was immortal thanks to Horcrux...

But Harry decided to agree anyway.

Over the past six months, he has learned many useful things from the Book Spirit and has used these powers to escape danger several times.

Therefore, even though Harry knew that the Book Spirit would eventually have ulterior motives, he remained grateful to it.

Now that all the mysteries have been revealed, the Book Spirit is not a treacherous villain at all, but rather a powerful being revered in the name of his homeland; and what it needs from Harry is not some Ravenclaw's Diadem act of sacrificing himself or saving the world, but simply to redeem his own soul.

"A drop of water in need is a spring of water in return." This is not only China proverb, but also Britain proverb. If Harry is afraid to help the Book Spirit just because he is afraid of that unknown dark wizard, then he is too selfish and a terrible person!

"I knew it, you wouldn't just stand by and do nothing... That wizard's Herpo, and he was an extremely evil being. I only heard about the legends of his appearance in the Aegean Sea and was worried that he would threaten the safety of my homeland, so I promised the people on the island that I would go and completely destroy him. But I had only been at sea for a short time when I mysteriously died at sea..."

Speaking of the past, the Book Spirit's tone, while filled with gratitude, gradually became choked with emotion. "Harry, I don't really know if the legends from back then are true, so I don't want you to risk helping me avenge myself... I just want to ask you to help me find my lost soul, and then take him and this book that I'm possessing, and go back to my homeland Andros Island, together, is that alright...?"

"Of course! It's just a trip to the Aegean Sea, no problem at all!" Harry nodded readily. "But let's make this clear beforehand: you know I'm very busy, so I won't be heading there immediately. And if I sense anything amiss, I'll definitely come back right away."

"I was afraid you wouldn't say that~" Knowing Harry was trying to comfort her, the Book Spirit's tone became more cheerful. "We've already waited so long, what's a few more years or decades... Anyway, thank you."

"Oh, no, I should be thanking you in advance." Harry's smile suddenly turned sly. "You're so good at Wandless Magic, why don't you give me some pointers?"

When Harry was researching the Book Spirit's unorthodox theory of externalizing magic, he had thought that the Book Spirit might be a master of Wandless Magic.

But now it turns out that the person is not only a master, but also a world-renowned expert in Wandless Magic, which is like a windfall for Harry.

He had just suffered from the inability to Wandless Magic at Voldemort's hands, so it's easy to imagine that he would study and practice diligently in the future, determined to master the ability to Wandless Magic as soon as possible!

Since Harry, after much deliberation (actually, just a moment of impulsiveness), agreed to Andros's request, many more days have quietly slipped away in his busy schedule.

Lately, besides his schoolwork, Harry has been busy with discussions about soul redemption with the Book Spirit and learning Wandless Magic. His days are practically as hectic as a struggling online novelist rushing to meet a deadline—one wrong step and he'll go bald!

After carefully studying the knowledge about karmic debts with the other party, Harry had a general understanding of what it takes to redeem a soul.

Souls, primarily referring to ghosts, are those who have already died. Therefore, if we can find a way to resolve the knots in their hearts before their death, it can be considered as redeeming their souls and establishing a life debt with them.

So Myrtle is just one example. Those souls lingering in the human world need genuine solace from the heart. Not every ghost is thinking about revenge.

Therefore, after Harry's analysis, he set his sights on the ghosts of Hogwarts as his targets for redemption.

The first to be affected are Lady Grey, the Ravenclaw ghost, and Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost. The former has regrets because of the Ravenclaw's Diadem, and the latter has regrets because of the former. Therefore, if Harry can make good use of the Ravenclaw's Diadem, he may be able to resolve the inner conflicts of these two ghosts at the same time.

Of course, if he did that, Harry might not be able to keep the Ravenclaw's Diadem that could increase his wisdom, so he decided to wait and see for a while.

The other, and equally important, goal of Harry's redemption, is Nearly Headless Nick the Ghost of Gryffindor.

Nick's inner conflict is actually quite easy to guess. It's simply that after being beheaded, there was still a piece of skin left on his neck, which forced him to become 'Nearly Headless Nick' instead of the more imposing 'Jazz Nick the Headless'.

So Harry still needs to do some research to see how to change the form of a ghost at the moment of death.

Logically, since the ghosts could be affected by the Basilisk's gaze, it means that some spells could still work on them. Harry might be able to find a way to completely sever the skin on his neck.

Of course, the main reason Harry considered Nearly Headless Nick so important was because of his social circle.

Nick has an extremely large network of ghost connections behind him, and his popularity among ghosts is evident from the guests at his Deathday Party.

If Nick is willing to help Harry make introductions, then this would be an absolutely huge and invaluable resource!

The Book Spirit once told Harry that every ghost inevitably has a knot in their heart, because ghosts themselves are the path of retreat chosen by wizards who could not face death calmly when they died.

Therefore, the reason why ghosts become ghosts is not simply because they are cowardly and dare not start over in another world, but to a large extent because they linger in the human world due to the regrets in their hearts.

Therefore, if Harry can truly soothe the souls of the ghosts, he could even leverage Nearly Headless Nick's 'client resources' to develop it into a special business.

If that's the case, he could not only accumulate more life debts to use against Voldemort's soul, but he might also receive some other rewards. Why wouldn't he want that?

Chapter 209: Elective Courses – Will They Influence the Future?

"Waddiwasi!"*N

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class in late March had been moved from the classroom to the grass field, which was originally intended for Quidditch, but the first-year wizards were still learning Waddiwasi Spell...

In addition, there was physical training before each class.

Running laps around the track is mandatory; complaining is not allowed, and falling behind is absolutely forbidden... unless some little wizard wants to get riddled with marbles by the Harry behind them!

Since Harry took over the first-year Black Protection course, the young wizards had been Waddiwasi for almost a month, but Harry only made them repeat the exercises and refused to teach them any new spells, because their use of spells did not meet Harry's requirements.

The process of learning magic is actually not pleasant; on the contrary, it is quite tedious. Harry's requirement for himself is that he should have many skills, but for these inexperienced first-year students, he strictly forbids them from trying to learn too much at once.

Explaining other spells to them now is pointless; it will only make them mediocre at everything. It's better to focus on one spell and master it first.

Moreover, the Waddiwasi Spell is a complex spell; a month of diligent practice will yield more than just improved accuracy.

At least some bright students—like Luna Lovegood —have already noticed that their Knockback Jinx and Levitation Charm have improved significantly.

While teaching them, Harry himself was actually relearning the Waddiwasi Spell, only his method of practice was much more eye-catching.

Point your index finger at the marble in front of you, use a layer of transparent water to envelop the marble, then slowly raise your arm to make the marble float in front of you, and then suddenly fire it as if shooting!

The crystal-clear marble suddenly flew out, traveling at an extremely fast speed for a distance of 100 meters, accurately piercing the center of the target plate erected on the side of the field, while splashing up a few drops of clear water.

This move left all the first-year students present completely dumbfounded.

"Harry, you... you didn't use your wand just now?" Colin, the little fanboy, was absolutely shocked and annoyed. His idol had just performed Wandless Magic right in front of him, and he had completely forgotten to pick up his camera?!

"How did he do that?" Luna Lovegood's eyes blinked in confusion. She was used to most things, but Harry always managed to surprise her.

"It's just a trick, it doesn't really count as Wandless Magic." Harry waved his hand dismissively, signaling the young wizards watching to disperse.

He was indeed taking shortcuts. Wandless Magic was much more difficult than he had imagined. Even with the help of Ravenclaw's Diadem, Harry was still unable to grasp the basics. It can only be said that he was rushing into such advanced spellcasting techniques.

So Harry came up with a plan. He first wrapped the marble in water, and then indirectly controlled the marble by controlling the water element. Finally, he successfully cast the water gun version of the Waddiwasi Spell.

Of course, his actions were unsurprisingly met with disdain from the Book Spirit, since this method wouldn't work if the spell were changed.

However, the Book Spirit still offered him some valuable suggestions, such as incorporating water elements into certain spells, which might allow him to cast them without a staff, just like the Water Gun Waddiwasi Spell.

Harry thought about it carefully and realized that the Book Spirit was actually asking him to create water-based elemental magic based on the existing magic system, so he decisively put the task on hold.

Are you kidding me? Do you really think Harry is Merlin's junior brother, able to learn all sorts of random things so easily?

"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. Have a wonderful Easter holiday, and when school starts again, we'll learn something new."

"Yay~" *N

Harry's decision caused the first-years on the playground to cheer, but he just smiled, shook his head, and left alone.

Laugh now, but you won't be laughing when the final exams come in ten weeks, hehehe~

Easter holiday is the second long holiday of each school year, usually lasting from the end of March to mid-to-late April, with a total length of half a month to twenty days, similar to the Christmas holiday.

However, for most students, the Easter holiday is far less fun than Christmas, mainly due to piles of homework and the upcoming final exams.

Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, and other second-year students had another matter to consider during the Easter holidays: the elective courses they would take starting in their third year.

Divination, Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and studies of ordinary people... Third-year students are required to choose at least two of these five subjects to study.

Therefore, the third year at Hogwarts is actually similar to the "collapsing period" of the second year of junior high China. Not only do the original core courses become more difficult, but there are also equally challenging elective courses, making the academic burden quite heavy.

In addition, students often experience a kind of adolescent delusions during this period, so if they fall apart during this time, it will be extremely difficult to recover later.

"Therefore, course selection will absolutely affect our entire future!"

It's clear that Hermione is taking this course selection very seriously; she's been researching it on her own for several days now.

But Harry didn't think so.

The future he can currently foresee is twofold: first, the academically gifted girl before him; second, the Voldemort within his mind... So, which of these two 'futures' can be affected by elective courses?

"Hey, have you decided which classes to take?" Just as Harry was leisurely admiring the girl's profile, Hermione suddenly threw the course list in front of Harry.

"Electives... I'll go with Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures." Harry decided on his new courses without much thought.

He had spent so much time studying Old English with Hermione, using those convoluted words and grammar to cope with Study of Ancient Runes, which could be considered putting his knowledge to good use.

Furthermore, the water element that Harry possesses is a power that modern wizards cannot comprehend, so he has been wondering whether a system of elemental magic existed in ancient times.

To resolve these questions, studying Study of Ancient Runes might be helpful.

As for the other subject, that's purely about utilizing one's own strengths.

If Harry were to take a class on Care of Magical Creatures, he could not only be a student, but also sponsor all sorts of 'teaching aids'.

If Kettleburn dares to ask, everyone can have an Acromantula!

"No way, only two doors?"

However, Hermione seemed a little... disapproving of Harry's choice?

"Only two?" Harry looked Hermione up and down speechlessly. "What, you think it's not enough?"