A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 671 A Good Solution

Charles left Snape's office with satisfaction, walked down the chilly corridor for a while, and then suddenly stopped.

The torches on the wall flickered incessantly, their orange light casting shifting shadows on the rough stone, stretching the shadows of the pillars.

In the shadows of a corner, a figure huddled up, staring absently at the floor in front of him.

Draco Malfoy was huddled behind a pillar, his back against the cold stone wall, his usually pale face shifting with different expressions, as if he were making a decision.

Hearing footsteps and seeing Charles appear, he instinctively stiffened, his eyes darting around in a panic, unable to look directly at him, filled with undisguised fear.

“Smith…” Malfoy’s voice was tight, with a slight tremor, as if his vocal cords were being strangled by a rope, “The Dark Lord… asked me to convey… his apologies.”

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and continued, "He expressed his apologies for the inconvenience caused by Lukewood's actions."

The words of apology were squeezed out slowly and hesitantly from between his teeth, and when he finished speaking, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

As a mouthpiece, facing Charles, who had just dealt with a veteran Death Eater, the young master felt immense pressure, like a boulder weighing a ton.

Charles's face was expressionless; he merely glanced at it, his eyes appearing unfathomable in the flickering firelight, devoid of anger or smugness, only a chilling indifference.

This attitude of treating people like insects is more disturbing than any threat.

"Tell him this is a one-time exception."

Charles said it as if he were talking to an ordinary student, but each innocent remark felt like ice shards hitting Malfoy's fragile heart.

"That's the Dark Lord!" Malfoy's hands trembled uncontrollably. "How dare he speak to the Dark Lord like that?!"

"If I said those things to my father in that manner, wouldn't I get slapped?"

Malfoy only relaxed completely when Charles disappeared around the corner of the corridor, letting out a silent sigh of relief. Only then did he realize that his shirt back was soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his skin with a cool and sticky feeling.

Charles returned to his dormitory and had just sat down at his desk when Harry came running to him.

“Charles!” Harry pulled up a chair from Seamus’s desk and sat down beside him. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

"What's wrong?" Charles asked. "About that ball?"

He thought Harry was going to talk to him about the prophecy orb.

Harry shook his head and said, "I've already taken care of that. The ball is hidden in a place no one would expect."

"I need your help with Ron. He's really bad at Quidditch training, like the kind of 'erratic' player you described!"

"He performs very well only when I practice with him."

"However, when he practices with the team, he seems like a different person, and he's probably not as good as Hermione."

Charles nodded, roughly understanding the situation.

Ron's performance on the court is extremely inconsistent and fluctuates wildly, but he also often has incredible moments of brilliance.

Such athletes can lead their teams to heaven when they're in high spirits, but if they lose their composure, they can kick the team straight to hell.

After thinking for a moment, Charles said, "His problem is not uncommon, and the underlying reasons are concentrated in the following points."

"The first problem is insufficient stress management. There is excessive worry about the outcome of the competition and the opinions of others, and an extreme fear of failure."

"Secondly, attention control is weak, easily disturbed by external factors, and it is difficult to maintain focus for a long time."

"Third, they lack emotional regulation skills and are unable to quickly regain their composure after making mistakes, easily falling into a vicious cycle of self-doubt." "Fourth, they have a skewed self-perception, being overconfident when in a good state and extremely self-conscious when in a bad state."

"Finally, the pre-competition preparation was insufficient, and there was a lack of a systematic psychological preparation process."

“The coach told you this during training at the club, but you didn’t listen and went off to play somewhere else.”

Harry scratched his head a little embarrassedly. What annoyed him most at the boxing club was the coaches rambling on and on.

Now he felt that Charles's words made a lot of sense, and he had been nodding repeatedly just now. He asked, "Then do you have any practical ways to help him?"

Charles stroked his chin and began to think. Then he took a piece of parchment from the desk, spread it out, and a quill pen floated up by itself, dipped in ink, and began to write on the paper.

"Athlete Mental Stability Improvement Program"

He first wrote down the title, and then elaborated on it point by point.

“Establish daily mental skills practice.”

"A. Daily mental skills training: 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation daily to clear your mind and cultivate a keen awareness of your current physical sensations and the competition environment; practice the '478 breathing method'—inhale for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale slowly for 8 seconds to quickly calm an over-excited nervous system when feeling stressed; keep an 'emotional diary' to record your emotional state and triggering factors after training and identify patterns of fluctuation."

"B. Establish a pre-match psychological preparation process: Design personalized and repeatable pre-match rituals, such as a fixed warm-up order, motivational self-talk, or a personalized music playlist; guide the setting of 'process goals,' shifting the focus from just winning or losing to controllable technical goals such as 'maintaining hitting rhythm' and 'focusing on the next shot after losing a point'; conduct 'visual training' the night before the match, vividly imagining successful saves and smooth teamwork to activate the neural pathways in the brain that lead to success."

……

Harry looked at the detailed plan and found many parts familiar; he had heard about them before at the boxing club, but he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Charles said, "I reckon you'll be the Quidditch captain next year. You should take the opportunity to learn how to be a captain."

“There are plenty of players like Ron, so you can keep this strategy in the team.”

Harry thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.

Next year, Fred's class won't be around anymore, and there's no one in the current sixth-grade team who can carry the team. It's obvious who the captain will be.

Harry's smile suddenly turned a little lewd as he fawned over Charles, asking, "Is there... a less-than-proper way that works faster?"

"There's not much time left before the next match, and we've had very few training sessions. We need to get Ron in training as soon as possible."

There were only the two of them in the bedroom, but he kept his voice very low, looking like he had a guilty conscience.

Charles had anticipated this question and was prepared, replying earnestly, "Of course there is, but it's a bit troublesome."

Harry's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately asked, "What method is it? How many points are usually deducted?"

In his mind, that "some trouble" must be a violation of school rules.

Charles said seriously, "The solution is to use the Imperius Curse on Ron, directly ordering him to do his best on the field, ordering him to make precise saves on every ball, without any mistakes."

Harry was completely stunned. His mouth opened involuntarily, and his expression first showed astonishment, as if he didn't believe he had heard correctly. Then he fell into thought, his brows furrowed, and finally he nodded and said, "Hmm, that's a good idea."

"Getting Ron into Cambridge or Oxford is out of the question, but keeping him in the goal is still no problem."

He looked thoughtful, and finally took away the proposal Charles had written.

A dozen minutes later, Hermione arrived, angrily saying, "Charles, you need to control Harry! He wants to learn the Imperius Curse!"

(End of this chapter)