"...So, what was the situation at the time?"
But clearly, this wasn't the time to control those guys, as all the professors around were drawn to Professor Sprout's question.
So, William put down the pumpkin juice, the orange-yellow liquid swaying slightly, his perfect expression management—a mix of annoyance, regret, and helplessness—was appropriately combined.
"That scene... was indeed very tricky."
William began to speak, his voice steady with a hint of heaviness, "The emergency call from the Aurors came too late. By the time I arrived, the battle was near its end, the ship severely damaged, seawater pouring in, the Aurors all injured to varying degrees, chaotic beyond measure."
"Then, that guy took Malfoy away. I had to ensure the Aurors' safety first before continuing the pursuit—"
William sighed just right, his tone carrying deep frustration.
"Thank Merlin you rushed over at the time, William."
Professor Flitwick patted his small chest with a sense of relief, and then his little eyes suddenly lit up, as if recalling something important. "Speaking of which... William, those samples you gave me earlier, my research... has made some preliminary, fairly good progress—"
The little professor rubbed his hands excitedly, like a white-eyed fruit fly eager to mate.
...
The hustle and bustle of the hall were shut out by the heavy oak door as William and Professor Flitwick, with mismatched shoulders, walked out into the sunlight. Through large stained glass windows, sunlight cast mottled shadows on the floor, and the haphazardly dressed little wizards (obviously having overslept) running around rejuvenated the entire castle.
"Merlin's miniskirt, William."
Professor Flitwick bounced along as he walked, speaking swiftly, his tone becoming increasingly sharp with excitement. "Trust me, you'll absolutely love those surprises!"
William maintained his usual smile, "Thank you for putting your heart into it, Professor."
"Oh, don't say that. Your inventions have opened a door to a new world for me—of course, I remember, safety is still the priority."
Professor Flitwick bounced as he pushed open the door to the Charm class. The room was empty, the morning sunlight slanting in from outside the glass window, looking warm and cozy.
Then, Flitwick quickly ran to the back of the platform, moved a box filled with feathers used for practicing Levitating Spells, revealing a seemingly unimpressive, yet heavily enchanted, small oak cabinet. He solemnly placed the box on the podium—
"It's right in here!"
Hidden by the podium, Flitwick bounced up to his seat and then pulled out a bunch of keys from his pocket, skillfully unlocking the magic lock on it and lifted the lid.
William leaned over to look—
Inside the box lay three badges of varying colors quietly, seemingly made of stone. The exterior had clearly been meticulously polished countless times, smooth and round, with restrained luster. Inside one could see countless extremely fine, seemingly alive, flowing and rotating rune lines, emitting a faint glow.
Upon receiving permission, William picked up the light blue badge, and Professor Flitwick's enthusiastic explanation followed as expected, "This is my favorite!"
"Look!"
With that, Flitwick took the badge from William's hand and held it in his left palm, while his right hand held the magic wand. The desks and chairs in front gave way in batches, and a target dummy for practicing the power of spells appeared in the center of the classroom. "Expelliarmus!"
As the incantation sounded, a red spell nearly as thick as a water tank penetrated through the air, striking the target dummy. As the smoke cleared, the dummy was left with only its lower half.
Compared to the Disarming Spell, this thing seemed more like "The Blasting Curse"?
But William could smell a familiar taste in it—because this thing had nearly half the power of his spells released at full strength.
"I call it 'Source Stone' because it seems to be the origin of that ancient magic power—it can enhance the user's spell power, just like the ones you demonstrated before, the Disarming Spell strong enough to smash through a wall, an almost ethereal Disillusionment Charm, uh... and that chainable... um..."
Flitwick gesticulated for a moment, seemingly searching for the right words.
"Ah, I almost thought it was infringing—"
William's response was to pat his chest, almost thinking someone else played Genshin Impact in another world—he reclaimed the badge and held it in his palm to feel it. "Too bad, no amplification effect for me, probably because I can perform those moves myself?"
"Ah..."
Professor Flitwick looked visibly disappointed for a moment, but he didn't get discouraged and continued introducing the other two badges, one gold, and one silver. "It doesn't matter, that 'Source Stone' was just a coincidental experiment, I probably can't replicate another one, but these two—"
He picked up the silver-gray badge, "I haven't named it yet, but it has borrowed from your Teleportation Stones, with some inspiration from Apparition, still with the ability to teleport—but its biggest breakthrough is that it doesn't need pre-set coordinate positioning, like setting an anchor point on the opposite side. You just need to think of the destination like Apparition—and it's not one-time use!"
With that, he grabbed William's shoulder—or at least he thought so, ultimately only able to grip William's forearm—as the two figures flickered and disappeared from the classroom, the air of the Forbidden Forest flashing past the nose, followed by the sound of waves, magma spewing... After swapping places five or six times in a row, they finally returned to the side of the podium in the Charm class.
"Just needs to recharge with magic power..." Flitwick handed the badge to William, the silvery sheen now noticeably dulled.
"There's still that great inventor..."
William caressed the badge in his palm, whispering, feeling like he'd drawn an SSR again—almost able to synthesize to two stars. Meanwhile, Norbert poked its head out of William's sleeve, curiously looking at those badges in the box, it opened its mouth, seemingly quantifying something.
Then, the fire dragon licked its nose.
"Finally, this one!"
Professor Flitwick's voice pulled William back from his thoughts, as he pointed to the last badge on the tray. It was a solid yellow, slightly golden, with runes like layered rock barriers, exuding a steady aura. "Defense Badge—name speaks for itself."
With that, he raised his hand to attach the badge to William's chest, then effortlessly waved his magic wand. The Disarming Spell hurled towards William, yet stopped ten centimeters from the latter's face, blocked by a layer of shimmering golden light. When William looked down, his entire body was enveloped in a layer of translucent gold armor—
"Passive, instantaneous Iron Armor Spell, and can be activated based on circumstances—"
"Looks pretty cool."