Chapter 282

Theoretically, building a society where pure-blood wizards and Muggle-borns are completely equal is unrealistic. How can a Muggle-born, arriving alone in the wizarding world, compete with families that have passed down their lineage for generations? Unless private property is abolished and a communist society is established within the wizarding world—but that is far too distant.

Therefore, under current conditions, the so-called "more reasonable pure-blood theory" has, in Harry's view, already found its answer: the Muggle-Born Rights Movement. Even if driven by political correctness, as long as wizards no longer discriminate against Muggles or Muggle-borns, that is sufficient.

But in reality, this is compatible with Lucius's doctrine of pure-blood superiority; Harry suspected Draco was calculating exactly this: he planned to present Lucius with a reasoned argument that, rather than using dishonorable means to seize the Greengrass fortune, he should directly persuade the Order of the Phoenix to support him.

"Unfortunately, your idea may not work," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Though we could build the wizarding world together with more harmonious ideals, your father won't abandon his plan. He wants to swallow the Greengrass estate purely for his own ambition."

"I knew it—Lord Lucius no longer remains loyal to the Dark Lord," Pansy said, her tone slightly resigned, but under Harry's gentle gaze, she cautiously added, "I didn't expect him to be so bold."

Can courage born of ambition still be called courage? Harry thought this was worth exploring, but not today. Yet this question revealed another possible danger: if Lucius's ambition is crushed, will he return to the Dark Lord?

Harry took a slow breath. Even setting that aside, faced with Draco—who didn't know (or refused to admit) about the Horcruxes—he felt he shouldn't yet reveal the diary's secret.

"The Dark Lord cannot return. That is certain," Harry said. "It is precisely what the Order of the Phoenix is determined to achieve. So, Pansy, I advise you to persuade the Parkinson family to seriously consider their allegiance."

"As for Draco, you should think carefully about how to use Torchwood and Hogwarts to convey your protest to your father," Harry emphasized again. "The Order of the Phoenix does only one thing: ensure the Dark Lord never returns to this world. Whether this helps you depends entirely on how you choose to act."

"You're right. I'll study how to leverage this," Draco sighed in relief. "I don't have a plan yet, but as long as there's room to negotiate, a way will emerge."

Harry glanced at his watch with a smile; today's meeting was ending. Before sleep, he still had to copy that self-congratulatory essay—but the good news was that his first class on Monday was History of Magic, where he could nap.

The next morning, reminded by Ron, they cast the Disguise Charm, then leisurely ate breakfast before heading to class. Perhaps because everyone had finished their homework, they encountered only one outside student searching for "Harry Potter" all morning.

After napping through History of Magic, Harry and Ron entered Potions class looking refreshed—only to see Professor Snape, pale, hollow-eyed, and vampire-like.

"Today we continue with the Draught of Living Death," Snape said, voice weary. "The recipe remains on the board. Students who can already brew it proficiently may preview the next lesson—or help your idiot friends."

"Why does the old bat look so drained?" Ron muttered.

"Think about how much he has to do," Harry whispered. "Preparing and grading Potions lessons for all seven years, fulfilling his Headmaster duties, attending endless high-level meetings, internal school briefings—he's also attending meetings with both the Order and the Death Eaters, and scheming to manipulate both sides. I'd bet he'll collapse from exhaustion."

Ron said with faint sympathy, "I wouldn't mind swapping Potions teachers."

It was hard to say whether this expressed his sympathy for Snape or his hatred.

This might have been one of the rare Potions classes where Ron wasn't scolded by Snape—first because Harry helped him, and second because Snape had no energy left to rage at mediocre potions.

In the afternoon's Care of Magical Creatures class, a student asked about Hagrid. Professor Grills said he was searching for a Chimera and gave a verbal overview of this most dangerous magical creature, then began training students in the Shield Charm and the Stunning Spell.

Immediately afterward, Sir Arnold spent the entire class explaining "Fundamentals of Defense," citing as justification that they had just practiced defensive spells in the previous lesson.

"We strictly limit the use of defensive magic to only the most urgent situations," he said slowly. "Judging whether a defensive spell is permissible requires assessing urgency and proportionality."

"Urgency is always an exam point. Note: you may only use defensive magic when you are about to be harmed. For example, if a man who appears to be a Dark Wizard reaches into his pocket right before you—would it be acceptable to stun him?" Arnold smiled at the students.

"No," Hermione raised her hand. "He might not be drawing his wand."

"Correct. Gryffindor earns one point," Arnold nodded. "But if he draws his wand and points it at you—can you use a defensive spell then?"

"No," Neville said after glancing at his book, then raising his hand. "Because he might not intend to harm me."

"Excellent. Gryffindor earns another point," Arnold continued. "What if he utters the syllables 'Avada'—can you use a defensive spell then?"

"No," Harry said, beginning to understand. "He might be casting 'Avada Kedavra' as a joke."

"Very reasonable," Arnold nodded deeply. "But what if he utters the true Killing Curse—can you use a defensive spell then?"

"No," Ron said. "By then I'd probably be dead."

"Good. If you're dead, can your friend beside you now use a defensive spell?" Arnold asked, ignoring the students' laughter, his tone unchanged.

"No," Harry nodded. "Because the unlawful attack has already ended."

"So, only the person directly targeted by the Killing Curse may use defensive magic while the curse is in flight. I assume you've clearly memorized the textbook definition," Arnold said calmly. "This is what the textbook says. No matter how we protect ourselves in reality, on the exam you must write exactly this. Do you understand?"

"But how should we actually protect ourselves in reality?" Seamus raised his hand.

"Simple," Arnold said. "Before he pulls out his wand, shout loudly that you're Harry Potter's roommate—he'll likely hesitate and dare not attack you." He suddenly stood up. "By the way, where is Harry Potter? Is he absent today?"

Harry raised his hand. "I used the Disguise Charm, Professor. Too many people have been looking for me lately."

Arnold ignored Harry's slightly annoyed tone and continued smiling. "An even more creative idea: in the future, you could claim you are Harry Potter himself."

"Alright, back to the textbook—on proportionality. Even in legitimate defense, you may not use any Unforgivable Curses," Arnold said. "The law recommends only the Disarming Charm and Apparition for legitimate defense. Note: the Expelliarmus and Shield Charm are not included."

"Using Expelliarmus or the Shield Charm—even spells like Petrificus Totalus or Incendio—may be judged as excessive defense," Arnold said sternly. "The law advises that when attacked, you should prioritize Apparition to escape."

"But we're only fifth-years—we can't Apparate yet," a student asked.

"Write on the exam that you can," Arnold answered without hesitation.

Amid the students' disgruntled glares, he cleared his throat and added, "Of course, if you're determined to kill your attacker legally, it's not entirely impossible."

"For instance," Arnold said, "after he casts the Killing Curse, you immediately dodge right, then use the Summoning Charm to pull him in front of you, Apparate to reposition yourself, and use the Disarming Charm to send him flying directly into the path of his own Killing Curse—creating a triangular trajectory so he dies by his own curse. Did you learn that?"

In suffocating silence, he picked up his book again. "Of course, generally, the Expelliarmus can be used—if after dodging the Killing Curse you use Expelliarmus against the Dark Wizard, that's perfectly acceptable, as it demonstrates sound defensive awareness. But we must also discuss the consequences of using Expelliarmus at the wrong moment."

"First: preemptive use. You may be charged with intentional property damage. For example, if you argue with someone and he draws his wand—you immediately use Expelliarmus, breaking it. You must compensate him, because he might have intended to Apparate away, correct?" Arnold explained the completely unrealistic defense theory. "Defensive spells cannot be used against preparatory acts when no immediate danger exists..."

"I wish the author of this book would face Voldemort and see if he could still write like this," Ron muttered, rolling his eyes as he took notes.

"Or perhaps," Harry said, "it was precisely because he died at Voldemort's hands that this book was published unchanged, word for word."