Chapter 72: Spellcasting Without a Wand

Boom!

With a deafening crash, Dali's figure was flung backward.

At the same time, the three-headed dog let out a painful wail.

"Close the door!"

Dali, who had rolled onto the corridor, immediately warned.

Harry, quick-eyed and swift-handed, slammed the door shut and locked it in an instant.

All sounds vanished the instant the door closed.

At that moment, the corridor fell into absolute dead silence.

Half of it was from fear, the other half from being at a loss.

"Sss~"

Dali inhaled sharply, the searing pain in his hand making him furrow his brows.

"Dali, are you okay?"

Harry recovered in time and hurried to check Dali's condition.

Dali's hand was smeared with blood, unsure whether it came from the three-headed dog or from himself.

"Just a minor wound, nothing serious."

Dali glanced at his hand; even with a barbarian's constitution, battling a creature of this caliber was still a strain.

Fortunately, no muscles or bones were broken, so he should recover quickly.

"Are they crazy? Keeping such a beast inside the school!" Luoen said in terror.

"Didn't you see what it was doing?" Hermione said, still shaken.

"Doing what? I have no time to police it. Maybe you didn't notice, that thing has three heads!!" Luoen said.

Hermione, speechless, closed her eyes, then opened them again and said, "It's standing on a trapdoor; obviously, it's guarding something."

"Guarding what?"

Harry's expression shifted, and he immediately looked at Dali.

Dali gave no evasive answer, merely nodding slightly.

Harry guessed that the thing the three-headed dog guarded was probably whatever was in Vault 713.

Only that would merit a guardian of such caliber.

After confirming Feiqi had left, the four of them, led by Dali, cautiously returned to Gryffindor's common room.

Luoen and Hermione argued the whole way; the two seemed to dislike each other, retorting to every remark. Their quarrel grew fiercer, and if Harry hadn't warned them they might summon Feiqi again, they would have turned the corridor into a battlefield of words.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep. I hope you don't devise any more schemes that put you in a monster's jaws or get you expelled."

Hermione, after speaking, stormed upstairs in anger.

Luoen stared wide-eyed as Hermione left.

"What's this about? It's as if we dragged her there; didn't she herself break school rules by running out with us?"

Harry patted Luoen's shoulder, saying nothing.

Dali quickly tended to his wound; after a short while, the scraped area had almost healed.

One must admit, a barbarian's constitution is indeed formidable.

"Dali, the thing that three-headed dog guards..." Harry began hesitantly.

"It should be whatever's in Vault 713, but I'm not sure exactly what that is," Dali replied.

"But one thing sparked a connection for me,"

"Remember the black wizard we found in the Forbidden Forest earlier? If that person is the same black-clothed figure we met in Gulingge, what do you think his goal was—could it be the thing the three-headed dog guards?"

Upon hearing that, Harry and Luoen fell silent.

"Do you think that black-clothed person could be from our school?" Harry speculated, "The Forbidden Forest isn't easy for outsiders to enter; I asked Hagrid about it before."

"It's possible."

Dali nodded.

Professor Quirrell flashed through his mind; a man possessed by a malevolent spirit could do anything.

But was he really the black-clothed person we saw in Gulingge at the time?

Dali wasn't certain.

During the Gulingge incident, Dali had a brief clash with that black-clothed figure, but they were far apart, and the person emitted almost no distinctive aura, clearly having prepared in advance.

Moreover, at that time Dali's power was only Sequence Nine; he had only elevated his stature by using the Trensost Brass Book, appearing as a spirit form to fight.

Under those circumstances, making an accurate judgment was difficult.

"Could it be Professor Sineipu!" Luoen suddenly said.

"I suspect it's him too," Harry immediately nodded.

"And just now Dali said he met Professor Sineipu in the Fourth Floor corridor. My god, could he have been trying to sneak in and got bumped by Dali?" Luoen exclaimed in shock.

Once people start making connections, they immediately link many unrelated events to support their view.

"That's a real possibility. Wait, it could also be that Professor Quirrell spotted him," Harry said.

The two grew more convinced that Sineipu was highly suspect.

Dali shook his head helplessly.

Compared to Sineipu, he suspected Quirrell more.

Sineipu, though detestable, probably isn't that evil; at least Dali didn't sense much darkness on him, except for a mark on his left arm that constantly emitted a faint evil aura.

Dali didn't correct Harry and Luoen's view of Sineipu, letting them continue guessing.

Anyway, Sineipu's behavior is just one step away from wearing a villain's mask.

As for Quirrell, is being possessed by an evil spirit really making him a bad person? It's hard to say; at least during this period, Dali hasn't noticed any abnormality.

The next morning.

When Dali and the other two were having breakfast in the hall, Hermione burst onto the scene, plopped herself beside Dali, didn't even glance at Harry or Luoen, and said to Dali.

"My God, I almost missed something extremely important yesterday, but luckily I remembered it this morning."

Hermione spoke in rapid‑fire succession.

"What's wrong?"

Dali wore a look of Doubt.

Harry and Luoen also cast inquisitive glances; it was clear Hermione was referring to last night's events.

Had they missed something important?

"Last night, when you cast a spell on that door, you didn't use a wand at all!"

"Wandless Magic! I almost missed it—how did you do it? Can you teach me?"

Hermione lowered her voice, but it was evident she was excited.

"Um, well… maybe when you get excited you just naturally cast it. You know, wizards can exhibit abilities beyond the ordinary when their emotions surge," Dali explained.

"Really?" Hermione said, a little disappointed.

Wandless casting is uncommon among ordinary wizards; only exceptionally powerful wizards can do it at will, such as Professor Dengbulido and others.

And Dali, a first‑year freshman just beginning to learn Magic, being able to cast without a wand is a very Shock‑inducing thing.