Black Magic Class on Preventing Lust

This was truly a remarkable professor. Brie found himself agreeing with Malfoy's assessment; although it felt unfair to Dumbledore, Brie couldn't help but want to complain as well.

If it were just a matter of poor personal quality, that would be one thing, but Quirrell stuttered so badly during his lectures that he couldn't even finish a sentence. He just kept droning on while reading from the textbook, making Brie feel as if ants were crawling over his elbows—it was incredibly irritating.

Brie touched the wand-holster on his right arm, drew his wand, and straightened it out. While Quirrell was busy stuttering, he whispered, "Muffliato..."

Feeling the world instantly quiet down, Brie didn't hesitate to pull the notes he'd obtained from the East Tower out of his satchel. He read through the Full Body-Bind Curse introduced in the textbook Quirrell was currently droning over, jotting down various insights into his own diary.

Pansy Parkinson, who was sitting next to Malfoy, moved her lips and let out a scoff, whispering sarcastically, "A good student? Why aren't you paying attention to the lecture?"

Thinking that Brie couldn't hear the sounds around him, a wicked smirk flashed across her face. She carelessly lifted her leg and "accidentally" kicked the chair of Daphne Greengrass beside her.

"Screech..."

Quirrell seemed startled by the commotion. He stuttered, "W-what is it, Miss Greengrass?"

"Huh?" Daphne didn't seem to grasp the situation; she had been busy sneaking a look at a beauty magazine.

Pansy Parkinson glared at her, then answered first, "Professor Quirrell, you heard wrong. It's Breeze Order who has a question for you."

Daphne Greengrass glanced at Pansy but didn't bother to refute her; as long as she wasn't the one in trouble, she didn't care.

Malfoy, however, poked Brie's arm without a trace.

"Hm, wha—"

Brie hurriedly waved his wand to sever the magic, restoring the ambient noise of the room. He stood up, looking blankly at the professor. "Is something the matter, Professor?"

"Pfft." Malfoy let out a laugh and looked toward Quirrell.

"N-no... oh, I mean, please, Mr. Oude, try the Full Body-Bind Curse for everyone."

"A-ahem, the s-spell is Petrificus Totalus."

Brie blinked, then looked at Malfoy, who was leaning back against his seat with an arrogant air, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, very well, Professor. However, I'm not very familiar with this spell, and I need a target. I wonder if Mr. Malfoy would be willing?"

"What? You Mudblood, you—"

"A-ahem, s-sorry, you can u-use it on me."

Brie didn't want to listen to Quirrell anymore, so he stood up decisively, walked to the front of the room, and bowed to Quirrell with his wand in hand. "My apologies, Professor Quirrell."

The smell of garlic was truly pungent!

"Petrificus Totalus!" Brie flicked his wand, and a spell flew toward Quirrell. Brie was very careful, however, and didn't channel much magic into it. Quirrell sensed this immediately, realizing that Brie was holding back.

Quirrell broke free from the binding instantly and said, "Y-you can use your full strength. I, I mean, you used it v-very well, but I can r-resist it. There is no danger. I w-will protect you."

Brie nodded shyly, though he was calculating how much magic to use. Half should do, he thought, though he would have to make it look difficult on the surface.

From Faner's previous words, Brie knew his magic was powerful and only needed to be tamed to be used effectively; his future was promising. Using half his magic now would allow him to maintain near-perfect control.

Brie exhaled and said with a serious expression, "Petrificus Totalus!"

The spell shot from the tip of his wand with incredible speed. The young wizards below only felt a breeze pass by before Professor Quirrell's expression stiffened, and he stood frozen in place like a stone statue, only breaking free after ten seconds through a burst of magical force.

"V-very good. Try harder next time; I might not have been able to b-break it." Quirrell stuttered, appearing weak, which made the students below sneer. They didn't think Brie's spell was particularly impressive, just that he was a bit faster at learning charms than the rest.

"May I return to my seat now, Professor?" Brie felt Quirrell was a bit strange, but he didn't dwell on it. He was quite happy to have a target for his training, as most of these spells were meant for people or were too dangerous/destructive to practice easily.

"O-of course..."

Brie didn't leave immediately, however. He stared at Quirrell with his large, watery eyes, which seemed to remind Quirrell of something. "Slytherin, g-gets 5 points."

Soon, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class ended. Brie walked out of the classroom, beaming with joy after writing "+5 points for Defense Against the Dark Arts" in his diary.

Brie had expected to spend the class reading his notes alone, so this was an unexpected bonus. Thinking of the promise the Weasley twins had made him, he headed to the Great Hall for dinner in silence before making his way to the library.

This day was destined to be anything but ordinary in the Slytherin common room, and even some of the dormitories had a bad omen.

"Ah! Peeves!"

A series of screams erupted from the basement of Hogwarts Castle. The little snakes of Slytherin lost their usual composure and etiquette, as they were now far too busy looking after themselves. Snape and the others, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, stopped in their tracks without hesitation.

"Where has the Bloody Baron gone!" Snape looked at the stench of dung permeating the air, his expression shifting repeatedly before he turned and headed back to his office.

Professor McGonagall and Filch had already begun searching for the mischievous Peeves. Who knew if he still had more of those weapons? He had managed to fill the entire Slytherin common room with a thick, foul-smelling atmosphere of excrement.

The Slytherin students had fled, but they were covered in the stench. Since the bathing facilities were inside the dormitories, they had no desire to go back in.

"Ugh!"

"I'm going to kill you, Peeves!" The ones who suffered the most were the little snakes who had no classes that afternoon, like Zabini. The guy had just stepped out of his dorm, and as he closed the door, a dung bomb hit him square in the face.

The dung bomb exploded on contact, and a thick, yellowish, damp mist enveloped him, staining the surrounding walls as well.

"Ugh!"

Some of the girls couldn't help it and began to retch, while the boys covered their noses and mouths. As for Malfoy, he was on the verge of fainting, his face wearing a look of total ruin, muttering distractedly, "I'm going to have my father kill it..."

They didn't dare run around, fearing they would be seen by students from other houses. Even Pansy Parkinson had fainted to the side, with Daphne Greengrass looking after her. Theodore Nott looked just as wilted, and as for Zabini, he stood to the side with a cold face, and no one dared to approach him.

The prefects were busy discussing countermeasures, whether to suppress the incident or deal with Peeves.

However, the two large thugs beside Malfoy were still holding up, even serving as a sturdy, reliable backrest for Malfoy, supporting his remaining shred of elegance so he wouldn't collapse to the floor.

By the time Breeze heard the news, it was while Cedric was dragging him to continue studying in the library.

"You'd better not go back to the Slytherin common room just yet..." Cedric said with a calm expression, though he was clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. "Word just came in that Peeves snuck into Slytherin while the Bloody Baron was away, and... pfft, sorry, I mean Peeves pranked the Slytherin students with Dungbombs. The common room is currently filled with the stench and house-elves frantically cleaning it up."

Cedric rubbed his eyes and added, "The entire basement level reeks, and the Great Hall is affected too; nobody even dares to go eat right now."

"Dungbombs?" Breeze touched his nose, seemingly realizing why the Weasley twins had asked him for Stinkweed. Furthermore, Cedric likely knew as well.

Breeze guiltily met Cedric's gaze before silently looking away. Well, the look in his eyes confirmed it: he was someone who could be trusted, and there would be no need for Breeze to risk using an Obliviate spell he had never practiced before.

"Let's sit for a while longer then; I think studying is a good thing." After pulling Cedric to a corner, Breeze whispered, "I had no idea the Weasleys were so bold; this is truly terrifying." It's brilliant. Those two brothers are worth the effort, though I hope my dormitory is unscathed, or I'll have to shove those Dungbombs right into their mouths.

Cedric nodded earnestly and said to Breeze with a serious expression, "You should talk to them less, especially over the next few days, so you don't draw suspicion from the other Slytherins. Of course, Peeves did all of this, but no one knows if Peeves can keep his mouth shut."

Breeze nodded. He wasn't stupid, but weren't the Weasley twins afraid of being expelled, or perhaps being "taken out" of Hogwarts by the Slytherins?

"Thank you, Cedric, though I hope the house-elves can get it sorted before curfew. Otherwise, I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep for the night. I've already been fumigated by Professor Quirrell's garlic scent all morning; I don't want to spend the night enduring the smell of Dungbombs."

Of course, Breeze knew the Scouring Charm, which could eliminate those odors, but the mere thought of it was repulsive.

"Don't mention it. You're different from the other little snakes, and you have quite the appetite. The badgers in Hufflepuff all like you—or rather, they envy your appetite."

Cedric teased him with a smile before taking out his homework and beginning to write diligently.

Is that so? Breeze offered a fake smile. "That's truly wonderful, the friendship of Hufflepuff."

With that, Breeze returned to his book, taking the opportunity to study the Muffliato Charm. It was a spell that could dampen sounds within a certain range or even render them completely silent, which was different from the silencing spell—the Cheering Charm—he had used previously.

The difference was that using the Cheering Charm was undoubtedly like burying one's head in the sand; others would still hear exactly what they were meant to hear.

As time passed, Breeze's stomach began to growl, and it was only then that a prefect from another house arrived to announce that the "great event" caused by Peeves had concluded, the odor crisis was resolved, and it was safe to dine.

Breeze headed to the Great Hall with Cedric, but there were very few lucky little snakes eating at the tables that night. Even Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, those two hulking figures whose appetites were only slightly smaller than Breeze's, were nowhere to be seen.

It seemed the situation was quite serious indeed!