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The Dementors outside Hogwarts Castle withdrew after Peter Pettigrew was captured. They returned to Azkaban and resumed the task they should have been carrying out in the first place: guarding prisoners. The weather also returned to its previous state. Although it was still sunny one moment and pouring rain the next, at least it was no longer gloomy and drizzling every moment of every day.
Having mastered a method to return to human form, Lupin was full of spirit and worked even harder to teach the students.
"Today's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson is about how to deal with Dark Magic. Serpensortia."
The lessons also gradually began shifting from Dark creatures to the confrontation of Dark Magic itself.
After all, the number of Dark creatures was limited. At most, Lupin could obtain creatures at the XXXX level. XXXXX-class Dark creatures were beyond his ability. For example, he currently could not obtain the Lethifold, which had an old alternate name that sounded uncomfortably close to Voldemort's.
That creature was simply too rare. Rare enough that the wizarding world was already considering whether to place it on the list of extinct magical creatures.
The basilisk had nearly been added before as well.
Learning how to fight Dark Magic was also a key part of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it was the core content of the course. It was divided into two sections: defending against Dark Magic as it was being cast, and undoing Dark Magic after it had taken effect.
The first section came first. Although it was described as confrontation while Dark Magic was being cast, more accurately, it was defense during spellcasting.
In ordinary people's understanding, where there was black, there should be white. Therefore, the spells used to oppose Dark Magic should be white magic.
In reality, however, while the wizarding world had Dark Magic, it did not have a concept called white magic.
In the wizarding world, spells capable of defending against Dark Magic were collectively called protective charms.
The Patronus Charm was one of the advanced charms among them. The ancient spell Lily used at the cost of her life to protect Harry could also be placed within the category of protective charms.
Of course, combat changed along with the situation. There was no fixed battle pattern.
If your magical power was strong enough, you did not need protective charms at all. You could even use Expelliarmus as both an attack and a defensive method.
Under Lupin's teaching, the students learned many different kinds of protective charms.
The second section was undoing Dark Magic after it had taken effect.
The content involved here was counter-curses.
Most spells had counter-curses, and Dark Magic was no exception. An excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts expert needed to master those spells.
For example, Sectumsempra was a rather powerful piece of Dark Magic. Once struck by that spell, the victim would bleed heavily, and the wounds would be extremely difficult to heal. Its counter-curse was Vulnera Sanentur.
If one did not know the counter-curse, injuries caused by Dark Magic, especially curses, were very difficult to treat.
That was why even though potions existed that could regrow bones, some people still lost legs or hands. They could not identify what kind of Dark Magic had struck them, so they could not find the counter-curse.
Of course, if someone was struck by many Dark spells at the same time, mutations could also occur. That made treatment even more difficult.
It was worth mentioning that a counter-curse was not like closing a valve, and Dark Magic was not like flipping a switch open. A counter-curse was a reversal of the spell previously cast.
It was the best and most effective way to repair damage caused by Dark Magic.
One could say that every excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts expert was also a master of counter-curses and defense.
The students absorbed Lupin's lessons eagerly. Their learning speed was enough to leave people dumbfounded.
Even Lupin himself said that if he taught them for another year or two, they might drain him of every bit of knowledge he had.
With Dudley there, and with the disciplinary group there, Hogwarts's third-years had become fiercely competitive.
It was not only Defense Against the Dark Arts. Every subject was competitive. Even the fifth-years preparing for their O.W.L.s were about to be surpassed by this group of madly studying third-years.
During Care of Magical Creatures, while the other students were immersed in the joy of observing unicorns, Hagrid quietly pulled Dudley aside.
"Dudley, I successfully bred the third generation of shelled carnivorous slugs."
A new batch of carnivorous slugs had once again successfully reproduced under the care of the magical-creature crossbreeding master. Now, a new generation had already hatched.
Hagrid looked extremely happy. His obsession with magical creatures had reached an unimaginable level.
In particular, the feeling of cultivating a new species himself was simply wonderful to him.
"Their shells already have real defensive properties. I think they should meet what you wanted."
As Hagrid spoke, he lifted the lid of the wooden crate to show Dudley his results. Those shelled carnivorous slugs had grown four or five times larger than before, slightly bigger than an ordinary person's palm.
This third generation of shelled carnivorous slugs had basically broken away from the category of carnivorous slug and was developing toward an entirely new species.
"How about it? Not bad, right? Oh, right, right, there is another piece of good news. That Manticore from before finally managed to impregnate several Fire Crabs. I think after some time, they will give birth to another new species. What kind of little babies will they be? I can hardly wait."
Hagrid spoke even more excitedly. Compared with the shelled carnivorous slugs, the pregnant Fire Crabs satisfied him even more.
Perhaps because of the giant blood in his body, Hagrid instinctively felt close to dangerous creatures. The more dangerous a species was, the cuter it seemed in his eyes.
In addition, as a half-giant, he was not only thick-skinned with extremely high physical defense, but also possessed absurd physical attack power. Hagrid could suppress ninety-nine percent of magical creatures with pure bodily strength. The fierce beasts in the Forbidden Forest had basically all been beaten by him at least once.
Otherwise, why did you think he could bring new magical creatures to every class, most of them fierce ones?
"Telephone Snails."
"What?"
Hagrid, who was still excited, had not heard clearly.
"From now on, these shelled carnivorous slugs will be called Telephone Snails. That is the new name I am giving them."
Dudley casually picked up one Telephone Snail and observed it closely. Under Dudley's close gaze, the Telephone Snail seemed to sense enormous danger. Its whole body withdrew into its shell and refused to come out no matter what.
After weighing it in his hand a few times, Dudley confirmed that these magical snails with teeth already had the conditions necessary to be modified into true Telephone Snails.
As for whether the modification would succeed, that could only be known afterward.
"Telephone Snails? What a strange name. I was planning to call them Shellies."
Hagrid's face filled with regret.
"Dudley, what is a telephone?"
Perhaps it was not Dudley's imagination, but ever since he defeated Hagrid, this man seemed extremely interested in him. More often than not, Hagrid even took the initiative to please him.
Dudley did not know where that inexplicable closeness had come from.
He did not seem to have drawn any ability like Giant Affinity.
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