The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 204 The First Step Taken

Chapter 204 The First Step

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As Loila spoke, the classroom fell into an eerie silence. None of the students spoke, but instead watched the girl standing on the second-floor balcony of the classroom.

Was what I said too strange? Or did they also think my voice didn't sound like a professor's or an adult's?

Loila shrank back slightly, feeling a little scared, as she recalled that not-so-pleasant dream.

But then, as if one of the students had suddenly realized something, a crisp clapping sound rang out—

Loila looked over and saw that it wasn't some student clapping; it was her friend, Miss Luna Lovegood, who was sitting among a group of Gryffindors, happily raising her hand to clap.

"Splash splash splash splash".

Following Luna's applause, the other students seemed to snap out of their daze and joined in with their own applause.

Ah—it seems—okay, not bad?

A flicker of courage appeared on Loila's pale face beneath her mask—she wanted to be brave, just as Muller had said—and to respond to everyone's trust, just as Miss Nagini had said.

She looked at the students sitting in the audience and nodded gently. These students had chosen this course because they trusted her, and she had already disappointed many of them—but now, at least for now—she didn't want to disappoint them.

"As everyone knows, magic array studies are—a rather complex discipline." Loila pursed her lips and said slowly. This was the first time she felt that her voice was so clear—without any hesitation.

It must be because I was explaining magic array techniques, right?

"So I hope everyone can listen carefully—" Loila said, pursing her lips and gently waving her wand, helping all the students with books to turn to the first page of their textbooks.

Seeing the anticipation in the students' eyes, Loila nodded excitedly. So going to class wasn't so difficult after all.

So her voice became much louder, and she spoke faster.

"The study of magic arrays is an art form originating from ancient magic runes, so our learning will begin with ancient magic runes — um."

,

However, the consequence of speaking so fast seemed to be that she bit her tongue.

Oh—how embarrassing! In front of so many students—Loila's face under her mask immediately turned pale.

"Professor Hamilton, may I ask what Ancient Runes are?" It was Miss Granger's voice. In this somewhat awkward situation, she asked loudly, and her voice made Loila, who was already nervous, tremble slightly.

"Ancient runes originated from magical texts discovered by ancient wizards—most of which evolved into spells over time—" Loila answered Hermione's question instinctively, surprised at how fluently she could speak.

"Thank you, Professor!" Hermione said happily, bowing her head in thanks. After sitting down, she began to write furiously in her notebook.

"Ah—it's nothing—"

"Then let's try again—let's try to push ourselves a little further?" Loira took a deep breath and slowly said, "However, Miss Granger's question is excellent—five points for Gryffindor—"

Loila's words were a little awkward, but they still made the Gryffindor students quite happy. After all, this was the first time in more than a year that she had given students extra credit, and the fact that this honor belonged to Gryffindor was enough to excite them.

Seeing the students' excitement, a smile slowly crept onto Loila's face beneath her mask.

She thought to herself—perhaps she really could do what Muller said—and slightly tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes as she said, “Ancient magical runes are the core of magical arrays in the study of magical arrays.”

"For example, this magic circle in front of us—" she said, waving her wand lightly, and a glowing magic circle immediately appeared on the blackboard behind her.

Amid the students' exclamations of surprise, she coughed and said, "This is—this is the simplest energy storage magic array."

"It's also the first magic circle we're going to learn." As she spoke, her thoughts seemed to drift back to the first day she saw a magic circle, the first one she saw on her father's desk, which was also the energy storage magic circle in front of her.

That day it began to emit a faint glow, as if it had never changed—

But I feel like I've changed. My father is gone—my mother is gone—Müller is gone—

But now he has Luna by his side—Miss Nagini—Mr. Lupin and Hagrid.

Perhaps it is because of them that I was able to muster the courage to speak here?

Although her voice still trembled slightly, and although she still needed a long time to think before uttering a single sentence—Loyla felt that perhaps she really was about to step through that door—

At least she had taken a step forward—she thought to herself, nodded slightly, and then flicked her wand gently.

Her necklace slowly floated up and flew into the air in the students' eyes.

"Besides the energy storage magic circle—this year we will also learn the parry magic circle." She said, raising her wand and aiming it at the necklace.

"Buzz!"

To the students' surprise, a red spell went straight to the necklace, but instead of shattering it, it was blocked by a transparent membrane, emitting a dazzling silver light.

Amidst another gasp, Loila pursed her lips and said, "This is the blocking magic array—it can block any spell."

"7

"Even the Killing Curse."

Seeing the students' amazed expressions, Roy even felt a little smug.

This is the great science of magic arrays! It's definitely not the kind of toilet paper delivery science that Mr. Lovegood talked about!

As she spoke more and more, her speech became more fluent and composed. Although she hadn't yet reached the level of other professors, she had made significant progress compared to before.

At this moment, she seemed no different from a normal wizard.

Looking at Loila on the stage, Luna, sitting in the audience, slowly smiled. Not only her, but Miss Nagini, sitting next to her, also smiled.

As the person who has been by Loyla's side the longest, Nagini not only knows that she is a shy and timid wizard with social anxiety, but also that she has always been a brilliant genius.

On her very first attempt, she successfully cured the curse upon herself; in the midst of the chaos, she protected several students while simultaneously defeating Voldemort—Miss Hamilton was far stronger and more talented than she herself believed.

Loila has always been a genius, but she is constrained by her personality, like a timid girl. But if she dares to step out of the door called cowardice, she is destined to become someone remembered in the history of wizards.

Nagini felt that perhaps she had already taken the first step out of that door—although it would be a long time before she officially stepped out, she had already begun, hadn't she?

Although she didn't know what had driven her to take this step, Nagini felt gratified seeing her like this.

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