The Combination of Spells

Daphne had grasped the underlying principle and was now eager to try it out. "So, we shouldn't just focus on attacking the enemy, but rather, while attacking and defending, we should try to limit the range of their movements, right?"

Seeing Skylar nod, Meredith asked, "I have another question. Regarding combination spells, I feel there's still a lot of potential to be explored. Do you have any other examples you can share?"

Since Skylar had made up his mind to train the two women as his right and left arms, he naturally wouldn't hold back. "There are many such examples. For instance, when facing enemies with high magic resistance, such as Werewolf or Troll, you can first use a 'Corrosion Curse' or a 'Hardening Curse' to damage a specific area of their skin, and then follow up with a 'Severing Curse' or Reducto' on the same spot. This way, the second wave of attacks can more effectively break through the magic resistance on the opponent's skin. Of course, doing this is not easy and requires a much higher level of shooting accuracy."

"What kind of curse is the Corrosion Curse? I've never heard of it before." Daphne asked the question without any hesitation.

"This is a spell I just invented, an improvement on the Aguamenti. It can spray a highly corrosive acid. I also invented the 'Sticky Charm,' which can spray a highly viscous paste to create terrain that restricts the opponent's movement. It's also a very practical spell." Skylar took out his notes on these two spells from his pocket and handed a copy to Daphne and Meredith, "These are records of these two spells. You can practice them, and ask me if you have any questions."

Then Skylar steered the conversation back to combination spells, "There are quite a few combination spells for single-target attacks. If you think about it carefully, you won't have trouble coming up with your own combinations. For example, 'Tooths Densaugeo' can make someone grow teeth that can't close their mouth. You might want to imagine what the effect would be if you combined it with the Laughter Curse 'Rictusempra'?"

Daphne chuckled. "Skylar, you're so naughty. Now that person can only keep laughing uncontrollably."

Skylar shook his head and explained seriously, "I'm not thinking of playing pranks. Think about it, whether it's the Langlock or the Densaugeo, they're just ways to make it impossible for someone to clearly chant the spell. But students in the fifth grade and above are required to learn Non-verbal Spellcasting. Maybe not everyone will eventually learn it, but there will definitely be quite a few who know how to Non-verbal Spellcasting. Against these people, the two spells mentioned above won't be effective."

Skylar changed the subject, "But—think about it, if it's paired with the Laughter Curse, wouldn't the opponent be unable to even cast Non-verbal Spellcasting? You know, laughter is a syllable, enough to interfere with Non-verbal Spellcasting."

(Note: If you are hit by a single Laughter Curse, you can temporarily suppress your laughter while casting the spell, but if you can't close your mouth, you won't be able to stop laughing.)

Daphne and Meredith were both exceptionally intelligent, and with a little guidance from Skylar, they grasped the concepts instantly. While they appeared calm on the surface, they were actually pondering how to combine the spells they knew.

Since that day of training, the two girls seemed to have discovered a new continent, with new combination spell ideas constantly popping into their minds. Some were quite good, while others made Skylar laugh and cry. For example, the Locomotor Wibbly combined with the Dancing Curse "Tarantallegra" made people jump around randomly with their feet together. Well, it was quite funny, though.

The two intelligent and kind-hearted girls never asked Skylar why he had suddenly become so enthusiastic about training them. All they had to do was cooperate unconditionally. That was because they knew that only when their strength caught up would Skylar naturally tell them what they needed to know; if their strength wasn't sufficient, knowing more would be useless.

Skylar didn't say it, but seeing two girls who should have been pampered and spoiled so diligently and strictly pushing themselves to practice magic, how could he not understand their thoughts? He was secretly moved, but could only keep these feelings to himself.

Meanwhile, Skylar's research on the Cloak of Invisibility was also progressing quite smoothly. He had successfully deciphered the main principles of the Cloak of Invisibility. This was because Skylar had received the complete inheritance of Nicolas Flamel, and the Alchemy Class in this semester had also just the right time to supplement his basic knowledge, allowing his alchemy skills to make a qualitative leap.

Ordinary Invisibility Cloak are woven from the fur of Demiguise, while the Cloak of Invisibility is imprinted with the invisibility effect using an Ancient Runic Magic Symbols "Hulinhjalmur" from Iceland. This rune means "invisibility helmet" in the ancient rune language and is a kind of artifact in Icelandic legend. It is said that wearing the helmet will grant the ability to become invisible.

The composition of this Ancient Runic Magic Symbols is quite complex. Its image consists of a central circle, a square rotated 45 degrees, and an octagon. The outermost octagon also has eight protruding forked patterns. (Those interested can search for this image on Baidu.)

Even so, the Cloak of Invisibility hides other secrets, and is not simply a matter of an Ancient Runic Magic Symbols being inscribed on it. Skylar used more than three hundred testing methods on the Cloak of Invisibility, but only detected most of its materials.

What is currently confirmed is that the pigment used to inscribe the Ancient Runic Magic Symbols must be made by combining one drop of blood from the left index finger and one drop of blood from the right index finger, along with six drops of blood extracted from the heart of a living raven. These eight drops of blood must then be crushed and mixed with the raven's brain to create the pigment.

After this point in his research, Skylar encountered a bottleneck—he had experimented on several pieces of cloth, and all of them had failed without exception. Clearly, besides the pigments, the chisels used to engrave the runes must also have some specific requirements— Skylar tried pure silver chisels, bronze chisels, and charcoal chisels, but none of them worked. It seemed that completing the modification of the Supreme Robe before the end of this semester would be quite difficult.

This is certainly reasonable; otherwise, how could no alchemist have invented an equivalent product in nearly a thousand years? The Peverell brothers' alchemical skills are indeed well-deserved. However, Skylar has samples to study, which is an advantage that other alchemists do not possess.

Regardless, Skylar was quite satisfied with his achievements this semester.

Thanks to the Magic-Boosting Potion, his magical power had caught up with that of older students, and after maxing out his Mental Magic skills, his strength increased even more. The success of the Patronus Charm exchange meeting, as well as the bestseller status of "Me and the Basilisk at Hogwarts," propelled his reputation to its peak.

Almost everyone at Hogwarts knew his name—though this attracted the attention of Pure-blood diehards and the Ghosts Society. But as the saying goes, the tallest tree catches the most wind; from this perspective, the appearance of these enemies also demonstrates the extent of Skylar's achievements. Harry in the original stories didn't receive such treatment; they probably didn't take the Savior seriously at all. In their eyes, Hermione, with her determination to reform, was likely a greater threat.

The week before the Easter holidays arrived.

That day, after Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures outdoors, the Slytherin Little Snakes, having no more classes, frolicked on the grass on their way back to the castle.

Among the Gryffindor students, Harry, Harry, and Hagrid stayed behind to talk to Hagrid. Since Black's second invasion, student security measures had been more strictly enforced, and Harry and his friends could no longer sneak out of the castle, so they could only take this opportunity to speak with Hagrid.

Although Buckbeak was spared execution because of Skylar's abduction, Hagrid was still very upset that his mistake had caused Dumbledore trouble. After Buckbeak's disappearance, Madam Zabini was furious and told Hagrid that he had deliberately let Buckbeak go. Dumbledore stepped in to vouch for Hagrid, which also caused him a lot of trouble.

Voices questioning Dumbledore began to appear in media outlets, primarily the Daily Prophet, with numerous articles accusing Dumbledore protecting Hagrid and attempting to cover up his questionable hiring practices. Then, it was revealed that the young wizards hadn't learned anything useful in Defense Against the Dark Arts over the past two years...

Even Dumbledore was troubled by this. His biggest worry was that if the students' parents found out that the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor for this semester was actually a Werewolf, it would be the last straw.

Indeed, after Lucius was expelled from the Board of Governors, the Board of Governors was firmly under Dumbledore's control, but under immense public pressure, everything could change.

Fudge couldn't offer him much support either, as Fudge himself had been under considerable public pressure lately. Black's two intrusions into Hogwarts had been exposed, and all the students' parents knew about it from anonymous letters. Even the Daily Prophet, controlled by the Ministry of Magic, had to report the facts.

The public was outraged by the potential threat to their children's safety, and the merchants and residents of Hogsmeade Village Ministry of Magic furious. The presence of Dementor had severely impacted their business and daily life, and the program had done nothing to achieve its intended purpose!

The biggest difference between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord is that he does not use force to subdue people, but chooses to play the game within the rules of politics.

This time, Hagrid didn't let Buckbeak go, but Buckbeak cleverly linked hiring Hagrid to hiring the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, creating the impression that he had poor judgment in choosing talent, and thus making Hagrid's hiring decision seem like nepotism. It seems that behind Madam Zabini is a master of manipulating public opinion...

To be fair, Skylar actually strongly disapproved of Dumbledore's behavior.

Hagrid is indeed capable of being a good professor of Care of Magical Creatures, but that doesn't mean he's the best candidate for the course. Skylar doesn't object to giving Hagrid a chance, but only if that chance is earned fairly by Hagrid, meaning he has to stand out from the crowd of applicants, rather than being promoted internally through underhanded tactics like those of Dumbledore, who skipped the recruitment process.

As for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, it was even worse. Whether it was hiring Quirrell in the first year or Lockhart in the second year, it was all inextricably linked to his Harry training program.

This is actually irresponsible towards the other students! Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the Britain, not Dumbledore's family business!

What? You're saying it's because the Defense Against the Dark Arts can't get enough students? Then what about Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody? What were they doing all those years ago?

Back to Hagrid. During this time, both Hagrid and Dumbledore had been under considerable public pressure. The sensitive Hagrid, as he spoke, couldn't help but cry. Then, he turned around, covered his face with a handkerchief, and hurried towards his hut.

Unfortunately, Draco couldn't shake his foul mouth, and in front of everyone, he mocked Hagrid, "Look at him, crying and whining! Have you ever seen such a pathetic creature? And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

Harry and Ron charged at Draco in fury, but Hermione was faster—smack! She slapped Draco across the face with all her might. "How dare you call Hagrid a wretched wretch, you vile—you evil—"

Draco's face burned with pain; the pain and shame instantly brought back some unbearable memories.

This was the second time he had been humiliated at Hogwarts. The first time, the pampered young man was brutally beaten by Ron, who took advantage of his size. Fortunately, few people witnessed his predicament at the time. But now, he had actually been slapped in the face in public by a Muggle-born wizard!

A surge of rage welled up in Draco's heart, and he roared, "You Mudblood, how dare you hit me!"

He quickly drew his wand and cast "Furnunculus" on Hermione, but his spell Hermione because Harry cast an Expelliarmus faster, and Draco missed while trying to dodge Harry's spell.

(Note: The author followed the People's Publishing House's translation "Furnunculus" to avoid confusing readers. In fact, Furnunculus is a boil curse that causes the victim's face to be covered with boils full of pus, which not only disfigures the face but also causes great pain. It is a rather vicious curse, especially for girls.)

Everything went haywire. Goyle and Crabbe simultaneously drew their wands and fired spells at Harry. Ron and Hermione, seeing Harry outnumbered, joined the fray. Meanwhile, the other Little Snakes on the grass, slightly further away, led by Pansy and Blaise, also rushed in...