Inside an empty classroom, Maurise used the exact same Bone Summoning spell to attack Snape's Shield Charm.
To his surprise, Snape's Shield Charm held out significantly longer than Moody's had.
This was something Maurise had entirely failed to anticipate. As a professional combatant, the Shield Charm was undoubtedly one of the most crucial spells in an Auror's arsenal. While Snape was a former Death Eater, Moody was an Auror with decades of experience! Based on stereotypical logic, Moody's Shield Charm should have been vastly superior.
Was this truly the standard for Ministry Aurors?
However, the person even more shocked than Maurise was Snape.
Maurise's magic had completely exceeded his expectations. No, it would be more accurate to say it was entirely beyond his imagination. That terrifying barrage of bone spikes... if relying solely on a Shield Charm to block it head-on, there were undoubtedly only a handful of people in the entire magical world who could manage it.
Was this the standard for students nowadays?
---
After the test concluded, Maurise returned to the Ravenclaw common room.
With the comparison of the two professors, he could now roughly gauge exactly how powerful Sclep was. From this perspective, losing to him was nothing to be ashamed of.
His current true combat capability was likely on par with Moody and Snape. While Moody and Snape had certainly not used their full strength, he also had his own hidden trump cards that he hadn't played. Both his undead summons and Death Energy were devastating weapons.
'Right, should I go find Dumbledore for a test as well?'
He wondered how Dumbledore, widely considered the most powerful wizard of the age, would compare to Sclep...
Ultimately, Maurise dismissed the idea. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Dumbledore was currently away from Hogwarts. There was nothing he could do if he couldn't find the man. Furthermore, he figured Dumbledore would highly likely decline. The Headmaster hardly had the time to indulge in such trivial games with him.
---
On an afternoon in mid-September, Maurise was browsing through books in the library. A new batch of books arrived here every term.
Over the years, he had maintained a good habit of reading. The more he read, the more likely he was to stumble upon useful knowledge.
Take the book currently in his hands, for example. 'The Daily Care and Maintenance of Inferi'.
Just as the title suggested, it was a book detailing Inferi, complete with numerous moving illustrations.
Inferi were dark magical constructs created from human corpses. They possessed no soul and no consciousness; they merely followed the orders of their creator. In a way, they were quite similar to Maurise's undead summons.
Unfortunately, the book did not explicitly detail the exact method for creating Inferi. The only mention was a single line stating: "The dark magic used to create an Inferius is exceedingly vile."
"That book is not suitable for you."
A sudden voice came from behind him. It was the Hogwarts librarian.
"Madam Pince." Maurise closed the book and greeted her politely.
"This book should be in the Restricted Section," Madam Pince said sternly. "Hand it over, Mr. Black."
Maurise pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to her. "I have a signed permission slip from Professor Snape."
Madam Pince took it and scrutinized it carefully for quite a while before finally nodding. "Remember, it must be returned in the exact same condition as when it left this library."
"Of course," Maurise said. Madam Pince had always possessed an almost obsessive urge to protect the books.
Carrying the book, Maurise found an empty desk by the wall, intending to sit down and savor the contents.
Truth be told, he was not particularly fond of reanimating fleshy corpses. He much preferred clean bones. After all, corpses required regular application of preservation spells, while skeletons did not, and they were far more aesthetically pleasing. However, if a suitable material presented itself, he certainly wouldn't refuse it.
Just as Maurise opened the book, someone sat down right next to him.
"What are you reading?" Hermione's voice came from his right.
"Extracurricular reading." Maurise looked up and saw Hermione placing a large box on the table. A metallic clinking sound came from within.
He was just about to ask what it was when Harry and Ron hurried over as well.
"Maurise is not going to humor you in this," Ron said the moment he sat down. "He knows what is realistic and what isn't."
Hermione glared at him but ignored the comment. She opened the box, revealing dozens of small metal badges inside.
"What are these?" Maurise asked.
Hermione picked one up and held it out to him. Etched onto the surface were four letters: S.P.E.W.
"The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," she announced proudly. "I am officially inviting you to join, Maurise."
Maurise was momentarily stunned. "The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare? What does it do?"
Hermione adopted a deeply serious expression. "It is an organization I founded to fight for the rights of house-elves. Our short-term goal is to secure better working conditions for them, as well as fair wages for their labor."
Maurise was thoroughly surprised. 'What on earth provoked her into this?'
"We tried to talk her out of it," Ron said, "but you know how Hermione is." He shrugged helplessly.
"Will you join?" Hermione stared at Maurise, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
However, Maurise's answer disappointed her.
"Well, it is an admirable attempt, Hermione, but I am not interested."
Hermione sighed and shook her head regretfully. "I will not force you." She gently placed the badge back into the box.
Meanwhile, Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, "I honestly thought she was going to forcefully pin that badge onto Maurise's robes."
Hermione's hearing was clearly much sharper than Ron assumed.
"Ron, I... oh, what is that?!"
She suddenly pointed a finger at the book in front of Maurise, her eyes wide with shock. The page currently displayed an illustration of an Inferius. In the moving picture, a rotting corpse was dragging itself up from the muddy ground, limping forward.
Harry and Ron's attention was immediately drawn to it as well.
"That's disgusting," Ron gagged.
"Is that a zombie?" Harry asked, recalling movies he had seen in the Muggle world.
"No, it is an Inferius."
A voice sounded from behind Maurise. Kyle had stopped by their table, clutching two massive, thick tomes in his arms.
"Yes, an Inferius," Maurise nodded. "I am currently researching them, Kyle."
"Inferi are bad news," Kyle said. "Over the summer holidays, my uncle and I visited an underground wizarding market in Somerset. There was someone there selling these creepy things, but my uncle wouldn't let me get close."
"An underground wizarding market?" Maurise asked. "Where exactly is it?"
His interest was immediately piqued.
"I wouldn't recommend going there alone," Kyle said, his speech speeding up as he noticed Madam Pince waving him over. "It is an unregulated place. I can tell you more about it later... oh, Madam Pince is calling me. See you." He scurried away in a hurry.
"You are definitely thinking about going to that underground market, aren't you?" Harry asked from across the table.
"If the opportunity arises," Maurise said.
Ron sighed enviously. "I am so jealous. My mum won't even let me step foot into Knockturn Alley."
Maurise smiled faintly. "Mrs. Weasley is entirely correct."
Harry nodded in profound agreement.