Chapter 819: Chapter 708: Iron Armor Spell, the Fallen Sirius_3
"If it were five years ago, maybe, but now... aren’t you overestimating yourself a bit."
"And didn’t you lose to Kael once just three years ago when you broke out of prison? So much time has passed, haven’t you accepted this fact yet?"
That’s what friends are for; every word Lupin said hit Sirius right in the heart, repeatedly, with a sprinkle of salt.
"Shut up, Remus," Sirius said through gritted teeth, his face flushed, "This is just a simple test, it doesn’t prove anything."
He initially wanted to regain some dignity, but this move not only failed to stop Lupin, it made him laugh even more happily.
The Sirius he knew was always so carefree, to put it bluntly, he had no care at all, a typical Gryffindor.
At least he was like that before Voldemort fell.
So it was rare for Lupin to see Sirius show the kind of bewildered expression he just did.
It’s understandable though, even if it was a simple test, it doesn’t prove anything. But losing his wand so easily against a student who just turned seventeen, it’s hard not to take it too much to heart.
In any case, he definitely would not spar with Kael.
Sirius’s face grew redder, and even the others in the room couldn’t resist pulling their mouths into slight smiles.
To change the topic, Sirius shifted his gaze to Kael once more.
Only then did he notice, the shield that blocked his Disarming Spell hadn’t disappeared, it was still there.
The Iron Armor Spell vanishes after rebounding an opponent’s charm, to continue using it, a second charm must be cast. It’s common knowledge, it’s intrinsic to the Iron Armor Spell itself, even Dumbledore isn’t exempt.
But the scene before him defied this trait.
Looking at the faintly glowing silver shield, Sirius felt a nagging familiarity, as if he’d seen it somewhere before.
Ah yes, at the Ministry of Magic!
Sirius suddenly remembered, before at the Ministry, Voldemort and Dumbledore fought, using just such a shield. At that time, Kael seemed interested in learning it.
"You’ve learned it?" Sirius couldn’t help but ask, "You-Know-Who’s Iron Armor Spell."
"Not the same." Kael glanced at the shield before him, shook his head, and said, "The charm You-Know-Who uses is a real shield, but mine is merely a concretization of a charm, its shape isn’t fixed."
Speaking, Kael waved his wand, the shield before him instantly transformed into a hexagonal magic array, glittering with complex magic text, high-level at a glance.
Then the magic array transformed into a honeycomb-like net, into Kael’s silhouette, Sirius’s silhouette... and then reverted back to a shield.
"It should be an effect of a magic text combination, I’ve forgotten the specifics," Kael continued, "It endowed the Iron Armor Spell with a more comprehensive defense effect, while allowing this charm to be fully concretized."
"What about its effect?" Lupin asked, "Does its appearance relate to its defensive ability?"
"Not in the slightest." Kael said, "It’s like a coat’s style, no matter how it changes, it doesn’t affect its warmth."
"If you don’t believe me, you can try." Kael transformed the shield into a circle before him.
Sirius acted as if he hadn’t seen it, with no intention to act, Lupin and Mr. Weasley also turned their heads aside.
"Alright, I’ll do it." Charlie held back a laugh, pulling out his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
The red glow of the Disarming Spell struck the empty space in the ring’s center, yet was repelled back.
But being prepared, Charlie sidestepped ahead of time, dodging it, and looked at Kael’s Iron Armor Spell before him, still pristine.
Lupin furrowed his brow, pondering intently.
This persisting Iron Armor Spell reminded him of another charm... Protego Totalum.
This charm is typically not cast by an individual, but by multiple wizards together, an enhanced version of the Iron Armor Spell, creating a protective net that persists until the magic power dissipates.
In normal situations, this charm is only used in wartime.
For example, a dozen years ago, Aurors used Protego Totalum more than once to thwart Death Eaters’s attempts to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic.
What Kael is using now seems to be a simplified version of that charm, from needing multiple people to cast, to one person being able to use it.
Too bad he doesn’t remember the process... if others could learn this charm, dealing with Death Eaters would be much easier.
But soon, Lupin shook his head again.
This is the most difficult Magic Text Magic, even if there is a process, few could learn it... besides, with more people, it risks exposure. If the Death Eaters learned it, it would indeed be troublesome.
After everyone had witnessed the charm’s effect, Kael waved his wand, the shield disappeared.
"Harry..." He turned to say, "In the coming time, you might have to endure some hardships."
"What?" Harry blinked, not quite understanding what Kael meant.
"Like this," Kael explained, "This is considered my trump card, meant to surprise the Death Eaters."
"Although saying this might make you uncomfortable, if You-Know-Who invades your mind again, it might see what happened today."
Harry’s gaze quickly darkened, for a while now, he tried to forget about this, but Kael brought it up again.
"I, I’ve been learning Occlumency," Harry whispered.
"I know." Kael said, "I saw a book on Occlumency in your room last night.
"I mean, your progress is too slow, if you don’t have anything important afterward, how about some special training."
Special training?
Harry instinctively thought of that unpleasant memory in the Room of Requirement.
"No, no need." His legs began to soften, his body faintly aching, "Sirius can teach me, and Professor Lupin, right?"
He looked to the two for help.
But Sirius didn’t understand what Harry was up to, and could only helplessly say, "Sorry Harry, I’m not that familiar with Occlumency, can’t help you much."
"The same goes for me," Lupin said.
"If that’s the case, then it’s decided," Kael said, "Sirius, didn’t you just say there’s a nice room in the basement? We should tidy it up later, Harry will have his special training there."
"Sure, no problem," Sirius said frankly.
...
