"Oh, Ron, that's completely ridiculous. A room that can change into whatever you want? How could that be possible?" Hermione instinctively questioned the bizarre claim, which she had never read about in a book. "You might as well say there's a stone in this world that can bring the dead back to life."
"Confringo—the Latin word for 'I break apart.' It's a vicious curse with the greatest destructive power in terms of physical damage." Harry stroked the silver-white shaft of his wand.
In the original timeline, this was the curse that broke his Holly Wand—because Hermione had made a mistake.
"Peter Pettigrew used that curse to blow up a whole street and kill twelve Muggles," Draco added.
"Nick's gone mad, hasn't he? Seamus is already explosive, and now he's got the Explosion Curse." Ron grew even more anxious. "At this rate, he'll blow up a bridge."
[Ding! Ding! Ding! [The Explosive Knight's Beginning] quest completed. Received 10 experience points and 1 Bronze talent trait.]
[[Train the Bunny-Toothed Grand Scholar] quest triggered.]
[How can the great Savior allow his loyal Bunny-Toothed Grand Scholar to remain stubborn and narrow-minded? Broaden her horizons. Reward: 10 experience points.]
—So this is the live-action version of training Hermione, huh?
"Seamus and this curse really are a perfect match." Harry smiled warmly, keeping his contribution to himself.
Whenever anything unusual happened at Hogwarts, it was always connected to Harry and the Dogskin Book's quests.
That was the caliber of Hogwarts' timely savior, Slytherin's true hero.
Neville and Ron's wands, Percy breaking off his romantic entanglements to devote himself to academic research...
The same went for Seamus's Potions, which had exploded despite him following every step correctly.
As the Uncrowned Teaching Assistant, Harry had naturally coached Seamus, including in Potions Class.
But the explosions were a manifestation of Seamus's talent, and Harry's coaching had only helped it flourish.
"You lot—" Hermione flushed red when no one paid her any attention.
"I'll do you the favor of teaching you a lesson today: in the Wizarding World, nothing is impossible." Harry stood up. "Come on. Let's go to the Room of Requirement."
"There... there really is one?" Hermione stammered as she followed.
"Dumbledore once said that when he needed the loo, he took a wrong turn and still came across a bathroom. There was a very elegant chamber pot inside, but he could never find it again." Harry headed for the moving staircase without looking back. "The Headmaster's Office and the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room are both on the Seventh Floor. So is that tapestry."
[...10 experience points received.]
The door that appeared out of thin air, along with Seamus sneaking out of it, finally made Hermione accept reality. Her horizons had been broadened.
—Side quests really are the best. All I have to do is go down a flight of stairs.
[[Train the Bunny-Toothed Grand Scholar: Continued]...]
[...Don't let your loyal subject keep going astray. Show her another world. Reward: 3 experience points.]
Harry gazed keenly at the group. They were all quest triggers—his saviors when it came to breaking the Dogskin Book's crooked training quests and slacking off.
He'd triggered more quests lately than in the previous four years combined.
That was the real reason he was willing to spend time with them.
Take Ron, for example. Every time Ron invited him to eat, Harry gained a precious ninety minutes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Draco, his toady, was a super side-quest prodigy too. He liked hissing at the other Slytherins, then seeking Harry's protection.
Hermione, with her head in the clouds and a stubborn streak.
Neville, who was always in need of help...
"Stop Seamus. I'll show you how to really use the Room of Requirement."
"I want a room for training Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Harry strode over to a blank stretch of wall without pacing back and forth.
"It's just like casting a spell. As long as your conviction is strong enough, you can do without the incantation, the wand movements, even the wand itself."
Before long, a smooth door appeared before them.
"You don't have to walk back and forth three times and say what room you want three times?" Seamus gaped at the sight, held back by Ron.
"My fist, my body—they house my unshakable conviction. That's what makes them invincible." Harry pulled open the door.
"Wow!" Ron exclaimed.
"Sneakoscopes, Monster Mirrors... These are the kind of tools only experienced Aurors have!" Neville, who had been silent until now, displayed the professional knowledge of an Auror's descendant.
"Common Spells and Their Counters, Outsmarting Dark Magic, Collection of Self-Defense Charms, Fight Poison with Poison... So many books! There must be hundreds!" Hermione made a beeline for the bookcase.
She took down Common Spells and Their Counters and opened it.
[If you have already learned Finite Incantatem, you may close this book.]
"Finite Incantatem... The Universal Counter-Curse is enough to undo most spells?" Hermione exclaimed. "But it's only in Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2."
"Why not just borrow a copy from a second-year?" Ron was already stretched out on a cushion, pointing his wand at a humanoid target.
"More accurately, it works on every spell. A skilled counter-curse expert can even use it to dispel a Weather Charm that's supposedly only removable with Meteolojinx Recanto," Harry explained.
"Grindelwald, the first Dark Lord, also used it to extinguish the Fiendfyre he unleashed across Paris."
"Finite Incantatem is a spell you can never truly finish learning."
"It grows along with your knowledge, experience, and magical ability."
"But... you have to be quick enough to cast it."
"The Killing Curse kills the instant it hits, and bringing the dead back to life..."
[...3 experience points received...]
—Ha! I've saved up enough experience for another ten-pull!
Harry held back a laugh. "Only magic that's just as powerful and swift, powerful magic of the opposite nature prepared in advance, or a physical barrier can stop the Killing Curse."
"Maybe a cloak covered in live rats would work too, but that wouldn't exactly stop it."
"For a skilled wizard, it's more convenient to use a Transfiguration Spell to conjure a shield or a spell to move a solid obstacle into the way."
"One thing to remember: when the Killing Curse hits an inanimate object, it has an effect similar to the Explosion Curse. You need to make sure your shield or barrier is sturdy enough." Harry made a punching motion.
"Or... add the power of Finite Incantatem."
Harry spoke at length. The content was like an Auror's lecture, but his tone was that of an experienced Dark wizard who often cast Avada Kedavra.
"Oh, Harry." Hermione's eyes reddened.
Hermione wasn't the only one who had missed the signs, thinking Harry was putting on a brave face as he remembered his parents.
The others felt the same way.
"Harry, you don't have to face an enemy you can't possibly beat," Ron said with a cough. "The Dark Lord has Dumbledore to deal with. Even if he isn't dead, he's probably little more than a Ghost type by now."
"Weasley's right," Draco chimed in, glaring at Ron for stealing his role as Harry's toady.
Neville nodded.
—What's wrong with you lot?
He'd been dragged through the wringer for so long that he didn't have the mood for maudlin reflections anymore.
—Time to distribute experience points and start pulling!
The snow-white Savior Training Manual, tinged with crimson, appeared. As its pages turned, everything came to a standstill...
The Bronze gleam gradually took on a more solid form.
[[Core Savior lv8] (All Resistances +6)—1/100]
[Dear Savior Lord, you have accumulated 8 draws, including a guaranteed Bronze talent draw on your second pity. Would you like to draw?]
"Draw! Give me a ten-pull!"
Before you continue