In truth, Shawn had been startled himself just now. It was his first time using a level-five Disarming Charm, after all, and he had failed to control its power.
At Hermione's question, Shawn considered for a moment before speaking.
"The Wizarding World has never made a habit of classifying spells by level. At most, people describe someone as proficient. Today, I'll explain my own view of spell levels."
The young wizards immediately grew interested in what Shawn had to say.
The Wizarding World did indeed lack a clear system for grading spells, mainly because it was too much trouble.
There were simply too many different kinds of spells. The Wizarding World was too laid-back, and its academic atmosphere was hardly vigorous.
Although academic journals such as Transfiguration Today existed, very few people actually bought and read them. Their significance was largely symbolic.
Seeing that the young wizards were finally interested, Shawn smiled and continued his explanation.
"Let's take the Disarming Charm as an example. A level-one Disarming Charm means you've grasped the basics and can cast it, though it may or may not work."
"A level-two Disarming Charm means you've properly mastered it. Hmm, Harry, give us a demonstration."
"Ah, right. All right."
Harry had not expected to be called on. He glanced around and saw Draco looking jealous and dejected, even his stray tuft of hair drooping.
Harry felt a little sheepish, though he was secretly rather pleased.
After quickly bolstering his courage, he took a few steps forward and confidently aimed at another stick-holding dummy in the corner. "Expelliarmus!"
His holly wand immediately fired a beam of red light as thick as a chopstick.
The little stick in the dummy's hand flew backward toward Harry, and he caught it.
"Harry, that was a good Disarming Charm. You can make it your primary offensive spell from now on."
Standing with his hands behind his back, Shawn offered him a word of guidance.
Harry's Disarming Charm was more polished than it had been during their last midnight duel, almost reaching the standard of a level-three spell.
"As for level-three spells, unless you have a natural affinity for the spell in question, you'll need to devote considerable effort to practice and study. Montague, give us a demonstration."
Standing near the back of the crowd, Montague was rather bewildered. He had come intending to coast through the session, and hearing that they were being taught the Disarming Charm had made him even less inclined to put in any effort.
He had not expected to be involved, but he did not dwell on it. Walking to the front of the crowd, he bowed slightly to Shawn, then drew his wand and aimed it at a dummy.
"Expelliarmus!"
The red light from Montague's Disarming Charm was clearly much stronger than Harry's, roughly as thick as a thumb. The ordinary little wooden stick it struck nearly snapped as it flew backward.
Shawn gave a slight nod.
"Good power. Stay to one side for now. You'll help me teach the others in a moment."
Montague bowed slightly again and took his place to one side. He was finding it increasingly difficult to refuse Shawn's instructions.
Looking at the young wizards' expectant faces, Shawn smiled.
"As for level-four spells, reaching that standard probably requires guidance from an accomplished teacher, considerable effort, and some magical talent. At this level, you can already use Nonverbal Spellcasting and even influence the spell's trajectory. Like this!"
Without speaking an incantation, Shawn simply gave the wand at his fingertips a slight flick.
A beam of red light thicker than a thumb curved through the air before shooting straight at a dummy. Not only did it shatter the wooden stick, it also left a web of cracks across the dummy's body.
The young wizards gasped again. How impressive! Montague, who had just demonstrated his own Disarming Charm, also watched with a gleam in his eyes.
"A level-five spell can be cast without words or a wand, and you can even shape it slightly. Learning to do that is beyond the average person, though. You're still a long way from it, so for now, I'll just give you a demonstration."
With that, Shawn held his wand behind his back, extended his empty hand, and unleashed his full power!
A Rainbow Sword as thick as a wrist shot from his fingertips, blazing with dazzling red light. Trailing brilliant red-and-blue flames, it arced through the air and blasted a dummy to pieces.
Without losing any power, the Rainbow Sword continued into the thick wall behind the dummy.
Bang!
Boom!
Two deafening crashes rang out in succession, shaking the entire classroom. Everyone was so stunned that their jaws nearly hit the floor.
Through the dust and fragments of the dummy, they saw a large hole punched through the wall, with a dense web of cracks radiating outward from it.
The older students, including Montague and Alice, watched with burning eyes. At that moment, they wished they could immediately become Shawn's apprentices. He was simply too powerful.
Sometimes, that was how things worked. Although Shawn's Water Prison was more spectacular, none of them could cast it, so they had no basis for comparison. They merely knew that Shawn was strong.
But the Disarming Charm was a spell almost every older student knew. Only now did they realize it could be used like this. With such tremendous power on display, their interest naturally soared.
Hidden in the crowd, the Twins both swallowed.
George said, "It seems like, possibly, maybe, even if we can defend against electricity, we still can't do anything about the great demon king?"
Fred said, "Should we just disband the Anti-Tyranny Alliance right here and go apologize to Shawn?"
The Twins had barely finished their timid remarks when their dear little brother Ron immediately objected loudly.
"No! Sh-Shawn must have a weakness!"
The Twins immediately moved farther away from their foolish little brother, because many hostile gazes were turning their way.
George said, "Ha, we don't know this guy. Do whatever you like."
Fred said, "Exactly, exactly! I'm Deputy Head Shawn's loyal dog! Absolutely faithful!"
Ron now realized that he had spoken too loudly. But ever since he had been left hanging all night, he had considered Shawn his sworn enemy, so he simply could not help himself.
As seven or eight young snakes and three or four young lions gathered around him, he appealed pitifully to his two brothers.
"George, Fred, I'm your brother!"
After that display of spells, many of the young wizards admired Shawn even more.
Ron had managed to provoke everyone's anger.
Naturally, Shawn noticed the disturbance in the crowd. From the platform, he spoke in an icy voice.
"Enough. Now, everyone, divide into seven groups by year. The seventh-year students will teach the Disarming Charm."
Everyone shuddered. The crowd around Ron dispersed as well, and they hurriedly scrambled to find their groups, leaving only a bruised and battered Ron standing there in bewilderment.
Hermione, who had remained at the front of the crowd, gritted her teeth and raised her hand as she asked a question.
"Shawn, are there level-six spells beyond level five?"
Her question brought all the young wizards to a halt, and they turned to Shawn with expectant looks.
Shawn rubbed his nose guiltily.
"Of course there are."
This time, Harry followed up.
"What are they like? Is their power absolutely terrifying?"
For a moment, Shawn did not know how to answer. He wanted to know himself.
But he could not undermine his aura as an expert. How was he supposed to keep up this air of inscrutability?
Fortunately, just then, flames burst above his head, and a Phoenix emerged from them.
The Phoenix circled once above Shawn's head, dropped a note, then vanished in another flash of fire.
It was quite a stylish exit.
Shawn caught the note and skimmed it, his heart sinking. The Old Beekeeper was finally inviting him to tea.
His expression remained calm, and he even held up the note for the young wizards to see.
"The headmaster wants to see me, so I have to leave. As for seeing what a level-six spell looks like, if ten of you reach the standard of level-four spells, I'll not only prepare a mystery gift for each of those ten, but also demonstrate a level-six spell for you. Otherwise, it would be too discouraging."
Shawn's string of empty promises did indeed inspire the young wizards to work even harder.
He instructed Alice, Montague, Percy, and, oh, Hermione as well to serve as his helpers and organize the remaining lessons.
Then he dusted off his backside and left.
He sighed inwardly. Being a hands-off boss really did feel good.
Now he would go and pick up a few pointers from that old veteran, Dumbledore.