"As I said earlier: today, we're going to practice the more difficult Mouse Vanishing Charm. Okay, here, the Vanishing Charm—"

"Ahem, ahem. ”

"I don't understand," said Professor McGonagall, turning to Professor Umbridge, with a cold and angry voice, "how can you understand my usual teaching methods if you keep interrupting me? ”

Professor Umbridge looked like he had been slapped in the face. She didn't speak, but straightened the parchment on the clipboard, and scribbled in annoyance.

Professor McGonagall looked indifferent and said to the class again, "I just said: the Vanishing Charm, as the animals that need to disappear become more and more complex, becomes more and more difficult to master. A snail is an invertebrate and is not very challenging, whereas a mouse is a mammal and is much more demanding. It's not kind of magic that you can do with dinner in mind. Alright—you already know the spell, let me see how you do—"

Professor Umbridge didn't follow Professor McGonagall around the room as she did in Professor Trelawney's class, perhaps realizing that Professor McGonagall wouldn't allow it. She just sat in the corner and jotted down on the clipboard, and when Professor McGonagall finally told the class to pack up and get out of class, she stood up with a frightening face.

"Hey, here we go. Ron said as he picked up a long, writhing rat's tail and threw it into the box that Lavender had passed on.

The students walked out of the classroom. Hermione dragged Cho to deliberately walk behind, eavesdropping behind with Ginny and Ron

"How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"By December of this year, it will be thirty-nine years old. Professor McGonagall replied stiffly, shutting the bag with a thud.

Professor Umbridge took a few notes.

"Very well," she said, "you will receive the results of your investigation within ten days." ”

"I can't wait. Professor McGonagall said in a tone of extreme indifference, and strode towards the door, "Hurry up, you four. She said, pushing them forward.

Hermione didn't say a word until they returned to the common room.

"What's wrong with you?" Andrew asked her, "I find you've been silent. ”

"I'm thinking," said Hermione, "what a terrible teacher we've had, especially since he's back, and we've learned nothing from her about defending against the dark arts." Hermione said.

"Well, what can we do? Harry yawned and said, "It's too late, is it? she's got the job, and she's destined to stay here." Fudge will guarantee that. ”

"Well," Hermione said hesitantly, "yes, I'm thinking—" she said a little nervously, "I'm thinking—maybe we should just- do it ourselves." ”

"What do you want to do?" asked Ginny.

"Well-we're learning Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves. Hermione said.

Harry and Ron stared at her with wide eyes.

"I mean, we've got to be ready to deal with what's going to be waiting for us out there. I mean, we want to make sure that we can really protect ourselves. If we don't learn anything for a whole year—"

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

"First of all," Hermione looked at Andrew, who was walking at the front, who didn't seem to care about anything, "we need a teacher, a proper teacher who can teach us how to use spells and correct us if we don't do it right." ”

"If you're talking about Lupin, I'm afraid not, he's sensitive, and we can't make sure everyone is safe during the full moon, none of us can—" Harry didn't finish.

"No, no, I'm not talking about him," Hermione said, "he's busy with the Order of the Phoenix, and the most we can see on our weekends in Hogsmeade isn't enough. ”

"And who is it?" said Harry, frowning at her.

Hermione let out a deep breath.

"Can't you see that?" she glanced at Andrew again, "Andrew Lee, he's very strong, and he taught us more than ...... rubbing"

A moment of silence. The night breeze rattled the window behind Ginny, and the fire in the stove was extinguished.

"Will Andrew Lee agree? Hermione, he doesn't seem that enthusiastic. Ginny asked, confused.

"I don't know," said Hermione, "Andy is the only one of us, or the most qualified person in the whole school to teach us the Dark Arts, he once defeated Cedric, you remember, and the last time Quidditch was played, he had magic that we didn't know anything about, don't you think?"

Hermione also knew that Andrew was proficient in the Demon Pattern Formation, and that she had participated in the terrible Battle of the Tower of London, and knew very well how powerful Andrew's full attack would be, and that was not something Professor Umbridge could resist.

Indeed, that's a good point. Harry said, remembering when Andrew was strong. Many times, he wondered if Andrew Lee might be the one who could have killed Voldemort in his infancy, because he was so genius that he seemed to be born with all the magic.

"Then Andrew has to agree to teach us, he seems to be busy all the time. Ginny asked.

Hermione frowned, she knew Andrew's character, for close people, although she was indifferent on the surface, she would silently arrange everything, and for those who were not familiar with her, she maintained a proper politeness like a mask, but when these strangers were in trouble, she did not have the slightest sympathy, and she was extremely cold.

"Then I'll ask," Hermione said, "I think at least a few of us Andy will agree,"

Andrew looked at Hermione's pleading eyes, and then at Harry and Ginny with expectant expressions.

"You want to learn the dark arts?" Andrew said.

"It's not dark magic, it's defense against the dark arts. Hermione emphasized.

"What's the difference? If you don't know the dark arts, what defense is there. If you want to defeat the enemy, you must first understand the enemy. ”

"Maybe it doesn't make a difference, anyway, would you like to teach us?" Hermione said, a little annoyed.

"As long as you are mentally prepared, then I will be happy to teach you. Andrew shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "But I want to make it clear beforehand that if one of you becomes addicted to it in the future, I won't be held responsible." ”

"Of course, Andy," Hermione let out a sigh of relief, smiling, "can I invite a few of the other students, I mean, in addition to the four of us, I'll invite a few more, so that more people can learn the real thing." ”

"Whatever you want, Hermione, but I warn you that if there are too many people, I'm afraid all I can teach you is a little superficial. Andrew said indifferently.

"Fur? But I don't want to learn anything about fur. Ginny said dissatisfied.

"As I said before, dark magic is a double-edged sword, and a wizard who is not strong enough will is simply not qualified to wield such a weapon. And our classmates, how much do you know about them? I know almost nothing about them anyway. Imagine what kind of disaster will happen to such a group of people once they master the spell of Asdavath's life. Andrew explained.

"No, there's no need to master those unforgivable spells, Andy, as I said, we're just going to learn the spells to defend against the dark arts, not the dark arts. Hermione stressed again.

"But the best way to defend against the dark arts is the dark arts. Do you think that armor, or some other spell, can resist Voldemort's life-seeking spell? ”

A few people left the classroom arguing about what Defence Against the Dark Arts was.

Hermione hadn't mentioned it for two weeks since she first suggested that she take Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.

Until one windy night in late September, when Hermione and Andrew were in the library.

"I'd love to know," Hermione said suddenly, "how would you like to teach us the Dark Arts--uh--I mean Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Of course, it's to teach you how to make the fastest system for each other," Andrew said with a smile, "by all means." ”

"All sorts of means, including unforgivable spells?" Hermione said, feeling a little uneasy in her heart.

"The so-called unforgivable spells are just rules set by the Ministry of Magic to protect the weak from accidents, and there has never been a magical god or anything else who has ever said that the Imperius Charm, the Heart-Piercing Curse, and the Death Seeking Charm are spells that are against the heavens and morals, and as long as you stick to the right things, these spells tend to be much more effective. ”

"You know, Hermione, those bad wizards aren't going to stand there and honestly let you cast spells. Andrew closed his notes, "They tend to be more cunning, cruel, and do whatever it takes." Therefore, when facing the enemy, it is the best, most efficient, and safest way to beat them directly with one move. ”

"In other words, it is necessary to master several powerful spells that can hit each other in an instant. ”

"Oh, well," said Hermione, but she looked more uneasy, "there are a few of them...... I'm a little interested in this too. ”

She leaned over to Andrew and whispered in Andrew's ear, Andrew felt itchy in his ears, "We're going to Hogsmeade on the first weekend of October, and a few interested people will come to the village, and ——— then."

Before Hermione could finish speaking, Andrew directly hugged her in his arms, making Hermione blush.

"It's up to you," Andrew said.

"Hmm. ”

The morning of the trip to Hogsmeade, it was sunny, but windy. After breakfast, they lined up in front of Filch, who checked their names against the long list of classmates whose parents or guardians had allowed them to visit Hogsmeade.

Andrew walks with Harry, Hermione, and Ron on on the road to Hogsmeade.

"Where the hell are we going?" asked Harry, "Three broomsticks?"

"Oh—no," Hermione said, ausing from her musings, "no, it's always crowded and noisy. I told the others to meet us at the Hog's Head Bar, which is another bar, you know, off the road. I also think it's a bit of — you know — not very safe — but students don't usually go there, so I don't think we're going to be overheard. ”

They walked down the main road, past Jokowi's joke shop——, where they saw Fred, George and Lee Jordan, past the post office, where every few moments some owls flew out, and then they turned onto a side road with a small bar at the intersection. A tattered wooden sign hung from a rusty stand on the door, on which was depicted a severed boar's head, blood seeping through the white cloth that encased it. As they approached, the sign creaked and rattled in the wind. The three of them hesitated outside the door.

"Let's go, let's go in. Hermione said, looking a little nervous. Pulled Andrew to lead the way in.

Inside it's nothing like the Three Broomsticks Bar, where the big bar always feels bright, clean and warm. The Pig's Head Bar is a small, dark, very dirty room with a strong smell of mutton. Several bay windows were covered with a thick layer of dirt that barely let in the light, and some candles were lit on the rough wooden tables. At first glance, anyone will think that the ground is compacted mud, but when you step on it, you will find that the original stone floor has accumulated dirt for centuries.

There was a man at the bar, his whole head wrapped in a dirty gray bandage, but still being able to pour a smoking, flame-burning thing through a gap in the bandage in his mouth, cup after cup.

The bar owner flashed sideways through a back door and greeted them. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a large pile of long gray hair and a beard.

"What do you want?" he muttered.

"Four bottles of Butterbeer, please. Hermione said.

The man stooped down and pulled out three dusty, filthy bottles from under the counter and placed them heavily on the bar.

"Eight Sico. He said.

"I'll pay for it. Harry said, handing the silver coin. The barkeeper put the money Harry had given him into an old wooden cash cabinet, and the drawer slid open and swallowed the money.

They retreated to a table furthest from the bar and sat down.

"How many people? When are they coming?" asked Andrew.

"Not many," Hermione said, looking at her watch and looking anxiously towards the doorway, "I told them to be around this time, and I think they must all know where they are—oh, look, this is probably them." ”

The door to the bar opened, and a thick, dusty sunlight split the room in two, and then disappeared again, blocked by a large crowd of people who had swarmed in.

Neville, Dean and Lavender were the first to enter, followed by twins Parvati and Padma Petyr, Cho and Luna. Luna returned to her absent-minded, unfocused gaze, and Andrew motioned for the two of them to come over.

"I heard that you have organized a small club, a club about black magic?" Qiu Dafang asked suspiciously, standing beside her boyfriend.

"It's not a dark arts society, Hogwarts isn't Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it won't allow us to study any dark arts, we need Andrew to teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts. Hearing Cho's words, Hermione hurriedly explained.

After a while, the originally empty bar turned into a black crowd of people,

"That's not many?" Harry Potter said to Hermione, a little uneasy. "I don't think Umbridge would like us doing this. ”。

"Well, Harry, when did you become so cowardly, what is Umbridge, besides she won't know, I've prepared something for the sake of secrecy. Hermione said dissatisfied.

"What's that?"

"You'll find out later. Hermione smiled confidently.

Eventually, Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan, all three of them walked in with large paper bags full of things they had bought at Jokowi's joke shop.

The bar's owner, Aberforth, was wiping a glass with a rag that looked like he had never washed before, and he couldn't help but be stunned at the sight. His bar probably hasn't had so many people in a long time, and the last time there were so many people was when the bar opened, and at that time, there was only one broom for three brooms.