A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 123 The Red Hat (Seeking First Subscription)

"You want us to deal with this thing? What if we get hurt?" said a young wizard with platinum blonde hair.

"Who are you?"

"Draco, Draco Malfoy," he drawled, introducing his surname.

But Belby simply nodded. "I've heard of the Malfoys. Don't worry, I'll be watching." Then he added, "Of course, if you get hurt, don't worry, injuries caused by Red Hats are easy to handle."

He winked at the trembling young wizards below, "I specially brewed a batch of healing potions, all of which are rare and exquisite..."

Draco's already pale face turned even paler as he looked at the new professor's "you're lucky if you get hurt" expression.

"Red Hats are agile when hunting, and they will suddenly change direction and roll to avoid the prey's counterattack. We can use banishing spells to deal with them. Correspondingly, petrification spells, freezing spells, tripping spells, leg-weakening spells, tickling spells, and disengagement spells are all acceptable. I don't have any specific requirements except for black magic."

"Little wizards, let me see what you're capable of!" Belby said with great enthusiasm.

"Professor, will the disarming spell work?" a young wizard asked.

Belby looked at him strangely and said, "If you know it, of course you can. But that's not a spell you can master at your age..."

"Professor, I learned about it in dueling class," the young wizard with light brown hair said confidently.

The other young wizards took two steps back. Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan were known as the two biggest accident-makers in the classroom. One caused frequent accidents in Potions class, while the other emerged as a dark horse in Charms class—even Professor Flitwick couldn't explain what strange mistakes his spells would make.

"Very well, your name is Seamo Finigan? Please come forward."

Belby released the cage and quietly used a softening spell to soften Red Hat's fingernails.

With the expectant looks of the young wizards, Seamus shouted out the incantation for the disarming spell—

"Disarm you!"

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Seamus's wand made a dull thud, like a distant winter thunderclap. A burst of sparks, accompanied by plumes of black smoke, shot wildly from its tip.

The young wizards quickly pressed themselves against the corner of the wall. Seamus's wand stopped, but his spark ignited the red hair on Red Hat's head.

Belby quickly shouted "Clear Water Like a Spring" to extinguish the flames. He turned to Seamus: "Uh... not a successful attempt. Your Disarming Charm isn't very good—in actual combat, you'll find that using an unfamiliar spell to deal with danger is a very foolish thing to do. Do you know any other spells, like the Tripping Charm? Good, but try it on a table first..."

This time, thankfully, nothing went wrong, and Seamus successfully used the Tripping Spell to repel Red Hat.

Of course, this may be related to the fact that the red-hatted creature dared not approach, as most of its red fur had been burned off.

Belby wiped his sweat from his brow.

Next, the young wizards lined up and took turns challenging the wizards, following Belby's instructions.

Because Belby didn't forbid them from using the minor evil spells they had learned on their own, the young wizards' abilities collectively improved, and most of those at the top managed to complete the task, albeit with some difficulty.

Dean Thomas's "Leg-Lowering Curse" caused Red Hat to suddenly fall to the ground, his body limp.

Draco Malfoy's tickling spell made Red Hat laugh hysterically;

Pansy Parkinson's banishment spell forced the red hat to retreat repeatedly, preventing her from getting close;

Hermione Granger's freezing spell froze the red hat in place, with only her small eyes moving around.

Ron's petrification spell caused Red Hat to fall to the ground with his legs together, like a stone.

Harry's Disarming Charm sent the Red Hat flying far away, unable to get up for a long time.

Midway through, the two red-hatted wizards refused to attack anymore, but when Belby took out a tube of dark red, blood-like potion and pointed it at the little wizards, they became very excited.

The young wizards were then severely beaten.

In the subsequent tests, the red-hatted creatures displayed a strong aggressiveness and skillful hunting techniques. They used their forelimbs to turn nimbly and made threatening "chirp chirp chirp" sounds, making the young wizards hesitant when facing them.

For young wizards, hesitation and timidity will cause them to perform poorly.

For example, Neville Longbottom, after several failed attempts to cast a spell, started running around the classroom, causing the Slytherin students to burst into laughter. He was quickly cornered, and Red Riding Hood scratched his thigh repeatedly with her softened nails.

"Fight back! Neville Longbottom, you need to fight back, by whatever means necessary!" Professor Belby shouted from the side.

Neville mustered his courage, grabbed Red Hat's paw, and swung it away.

The young wizards present watched as the short red-hatted figure flew through half the classroom in mid-air before being caught by Belby using a levitation charm.

Neville seemed to have opened up a new world for them.

"Very good! See? The red hat isn't that strong... When you're cornered, instead of cowering and retreating, fight back with all your might."

The tall and burly Crabbe tried to replicate the move, throwing a punch to cleanly knock down Red Hat. But Red Hat nimbly dodged it, tripping Crabbe instead.

Red Hat jumped onto Crabbe's chest and tried to scratch his face and eyes with his claws.

"What did I tell you? Don't hide, be brave... The red hats aren't physically strong, but they excel at surprise attacks and agility," Belby encouraged.

But Crabbe let out an exaggerated scream, and he couldn't stop yelling even after Belby used a spell to pull the red hat off.

Draco couldn't help but slap him: "Don't talk nonsense, there's nothing hurt on your face!"

……

When the lesson ended, Belby breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he had the foresight to soften Red Hat's nails with a spell beforehand; otherwise, half of the young wizards would have been defeated.

Although he could indeed cure them, it was really not a good thing to say that he knocked out a group of students in the first class.

He summarized the lesson for the young wizard: "How many people noticed that Red Hat's fingernails were softened by a spell?"

A few arms were raised sparsely.

"This shouldn't be, it really shouldn't be..." Belby shook his head. "All the young wizards after Longbottom should realize this—he doesn't have a single scratch on him!"

The young wizards felt embarrassed, but they really didn't realize it at the time.

"Observing details and judging situations are things you need to think about carefully... Okay, this assignment is to write a paper of at least eight inches about this lesson, discussing your own gains and losses."

(End of this chapter)