Harry Potter: Is It Normal for a Hogwarts Professor to Be a Dark Lord?

As the mischievous ghosts spoke, it became clear that Tver wasn't controlling their words. No, he had merely infused them with magic and set the classroom standards, also stirring the link between them and their human counterparts.

What the ghosts vocalized resembled the unsettling truths a Horcrux might reveal—expressing the inner worries of their humans, making their comments all the more impactful for learning. After all, harsh truths can be the most enlightening.

With the blunt advice(cold mocking) from the ghosts, the students began to rectify their errors and adhere more closely to the lesson's objectives. Being upperclassmen, hitting a stationary target was a simple task for them—something even a troll could manage, let alone skilled young wizards. Thus, within half an hour, every student was able to accurately strike the snowballs.

However, they soon encountered a new challenge—the spells contained within the snowballs did not last long. Some spells dissipated after a short while; others exploded unexpectedly while the students watched in shock.

"You're the most impressive young wizard I've seen," a ghost said admiringly.

"Not bad," the student replied, a mix of pride and bashfulness in his gesture.

"Absolutely, not a single instance of continuous and stable magical output. When it comes to being inept, no one does it better than you!"

This wasn't something that the ghosts' sarcasm could help with. Maintaining a steady output of magical power was something the students had never attempted before. To them, magic was about accumulating power and releasing it with a spell and gesture. The idea of controlling the magic after its release was foreign—no one thought about managing energy like a continuous laser beam.

Thus, it was time for Tver to step in.

Waving his wand over their heads, he took control of the ghosts to ensure his instructions would be communicated through them. "This technique isn't unfamiliar to you," he announced. "It's similar to the Levitation Charm, which requires continuous control. Only this time, you're controlling magical power, not an object. So don't rush. Start by slowly understanding the flow of your magical power, then try to control it."

After imparting this new educational concept to the ghosts, Tver severed the connection, allowing the students to explore on their own. This method of communicating with hundreds of souls was more mentally draining than he had anticipated, especially since he hadn't rested much in the past few days. Continuing at this pace might just leave him exhausted enough to sleep on the ground.

Moreover, the nature of this advanced class meant that the students needed to come to their own realizations—if such skills could be simply taught in routine classes, they would already be in the textbooks.

With Tver's guidance concluded, the students each struggled visibly, their faces turning red as they wrestled with their magical powers.

To the onlookers outside the magical shield, it looked rather comical—as if the students were trying to pass gas, unsuccessfully...

"What are they doing now?" Cho Chang turned her pleading eyes towards Cedric.

Caught by such attention, Cedric fumbled, unsure where to put his hands. "I... I don't know. The professor hasn't told us about this," he stammered, his face as red as those inside the circle.

Suddenly, an excited voice chimed in from the edge of their little group. "I know!"

Everyone turned around to see an unexpected figure.

"LONGBOTTOM?" Draco Malfoy, who had been eavesdropping from outside the circle, chuckled lightly. "I guess you know how to turn your face red like them!"

The crowd burst into laughter, their teasing eyes turning towards Neville. His round face flushed red, and the excitement was replaced by shyness and timidity; he whimpered and lowered his head.

"Ignore him, Neville. He's just another coward!" Harry stepped forward, glaring at Malfoy.

Neville: [・_・?]

Although Harry's comforting words were a bit strange, recalling Professor Fawley's encouragement, Neville mustered his courage and spoke in a low voice: "The professor taught me this. He said it's an obscure technique, but it's necessary for some advanced applications of magic, especially sophisticated Transfiguration. Unlike the Transfiguration we're used to, some powerful Transfiguration involves continuous transformation. To achieve this, you need to continuously output magic power; the more balanced it is, the higher its stability."

"Can you do it then?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Do I look like I can master it?" Neville retorted with newfound confidence. "I've only learned to continuously output magic. To use the professor's words, he could splash water more steadily than I can manage magic!"

The ghosts inside seemed to overhear Neville's words and started a new round of encouragement.

By now, the students had developed a resistance to such remarks.

"If your magical output were as single-minded as your brain, you'd have mastered it in three seconds," a ghost sneered.

The young wizard returned a gentle smile. "Sorry, the 'single mind' in my brain is broken. Maybe I should learn something else, like your non-stop chatter~"

As Neville had described, mastering this technique was indeed essential for becoming powerful, but not easy to achieve.

Thus, Tver's expectations for the students weren't high; he merely wanted them to maintain a spell within a snowball. Besides, the Shield Charm within the snowball would also help them balance their magic.

"Professor, have I succeeded?!" Percy shouted excitedly.

However, due to his excitement, the magic within the snowball dissipated again.

Tver glanced over. "Well done. If this were a formal class, I'd award you points. But next, ensure the success rate, try to complete it both quickly and well."

Not just Percy, but soon many academically inclined and talented students mastered the skill. They took care to guide their classmates, especially those they fancied, almost meticulously, stopping just short of holding their hands through it.

The students progressed at different speeds, but all had mastered it an hour before dinner.

Tver was pleased with the progress, or rather, he was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm the students showed in teaching each other.

With Christmas approaching, he wondered how many couples might emerge?

"Great job, honestly, if half of you had managed it, I would have been satisfied," Tver said, genuinely impressed by the students' progress.

"Since that's the case, the next step will be much simpler. I'd like you to cast a Levitation Charm on your snowballs, which shouldn't need much explanation, right?" The students burst into proud laughter at the challenge.

However, Tver needed to seal their snowballs first, as the students weren't yet capable of casting two spells simultaneously. He manipulated the nearby snow, creating additional small snowballs to top off each one before letting them settle to the ground, ready for the students' spells.

"This should be your first exposure to advanced magical applications, so please take this seriously. Even using a simple Levitation Charm might feel different now," he explained. "Be mindful, though, these snowballs contain a spell, so handle them with care."

The students paused, puzzled. Wasn't this just levitating a snowball? How was that advanced? Truth be told, they were a bit disappointed, feeling that what they were doing didn't quite match the cool applications Tver had talked about.

But their disappointment vanished within a minute. It wasn't just about levitating snowballs!

As they released the Levitation Charm, they immediately sensed something was off. The snowballs felt weightless, completely devoid of mass, and many accidentally sent theirs shooting skyward.

It wasn't just the weight—the feedback from the Levitation Charm was also different. It felt as if two spells had fused together, creating a new form of magic. They had created this new magic themselves!

Excited, they looked at Tver, the sense of achievement rendering them speechless.

Tver returned their excited looks with a smile. He remembered feeling the same way when he first learned the Protego Diabolica under his own teacher's guidance.

Speaking of his teacher, with the Christmas break approaching, perhaps it was time for a visit? He was already looking forward to seeing his teacher's always proud and confident face show a hint of surprise.

"I hope you all gain something from this class," Tver said with a broad smile. "But remember, there's an offensive spell in those snowballs, right?"

"So, we have an hour left. Let's have a snowball fight!"