On Saturday morning, Neville did not go to Hogsmeade with the others; instead, he arrived at the Muggle Studies Class office early.
"Professor, good morning."
"Morning, have a seat," Sebastian waved his wand, pouring Neville a cup of hot tea. "It's getting cold, so no soda for you."
Neville sat opposite Sebastian, took a small sip of hot tea, then looked up at him, his eyes full of anticipation.
He could finally learn the advanced uses of the Patronus Charm.
He had waited too long for this day.
"A Patronus Charm," Sebastian cut to the chase, "is summoned by the caster's strongest positive emotions. It is the manifestation of your inner hope and joy."
"It is a special power that originates from our soul."
"In the Wizarding World, it is commonly believed that only those with pure hearts can cast a Patronus Charm, but this is a misconception."
"There are many irritable or morally corrupt Wizards who can also cast a Patronus Charm."
In the Wizarding World, Sebastian had indeed seen morally corrupt people who could also cast a Patronus Charm.
The most famous among them was the Ministry of Magic Deputy Minister; her Patronus Charm was a cat.
Honestly, he had never met anyone more disgusting than her.
In the original work, this fellow had a famous nickname—the Pink Toad.
Sebastian rubbed his furrowed brow with his right hand, reined in his scattered thoughts, and continued to explain to Neville.
"Only when infected by Dark Arts and with a fallen soul will a wand backfire when casting a Patronus Charm. This is because the erosion of the soul by Dark Arts interferes with the normal operation of the Patronus Charm."
"Although the main purpose of a Patronus Charm is to ward off Dark creatures like Dementors, we can strengthen our positive emotions and will by training our Patronus Charm, allowing it to protect our souls from the erosion of Dark Arts."
So that's how it is!
Neville nodded thoughtfully; it was the first time he had heard such a statement.
"When facing the invasion of Dark Arts, especially spells that cause permanent damage to the soul, such as Dark Arts similar to Crucio, the victim's soul is often torn."
"Such cracks in the soul are very tricky and often cannot be healed by conventional Healers."
"At this time, we can use a Patronus Charm to enter the victim's body, clear the traces left by Dark Arts, and warm those wounds to achieve the purpose of healing the wounds."
Neville tightened his grip on his wand and asked nervously, "Is this the advanced use of the Patronus Charm?"
"Professor, how do I use a Patronus Charm to achieve this step?"
"To achieve this step, you need to train your Patronus Charm with a special method."
Sebastian said gently, "When casting a Patronus Charm, in addition to mobilizing emotions of joy and happiness, you must also add the will to protect."
"The will to protect?" Neville repeated with a frown.
"Exactly, you need to release an extremely strong will to protect, allowing the Patronus Charm to transform your emotional power into healing power."
"This technique is very difficult; to put it simply, it's more than ten times harder than learning the Patronus Charm."
More than ten times harder than the Patronus Charm?!
Could he possibly do it?
Neville felt a bit disheartened; he really didn't know if he could learn such an advanced technique.
Feeling the Frustration emotions emanating from Neville, Sebastian stood up, walked to Neville, and gently patted his shoulder.
"You have this power to protect others, Neville. Your desire to protect your parents will be the source of power for you to successfully cast this advanced use."
"Neville, I believe you can succeed. Last night, when dealing with the Dementors, I already felt that will to protect in you."
"However, you need to put in a lot of time and effort to practice."
"Professor Swan, I've always had a question."
"Why must I be the one to heal my parents?"
Seeing Sebastian's gaze, Neville hastily explained, "What I mean is, to achieve this step, I'm afraid it will take me a very long time."
"Thinking of my parents still lying in St. Mungo's hospital beds for a long time in the future, it makes me terribly sad."
He looked up, gathered his courage, and made a request: "Could I ask you to take action and heal my parents?"
"I know you don't lack Galleons, but I am willing to pay anything to repay you."
Looking into Neville's eyes, Sebastian gently shook his head and explained kindly.
"I'm afraid, Neville, your parents' situation is too special, and my abilities are not sufficient to heal them."
Why?
How exactly is it special?
Neville looked at Sebastian excitedly, expecting him to give a reasonable explanation.
Sebastian sat beside Neville, waved his wand, and transformed a quill into a small figurine.
"Neville, let's consider this figurine as your parents' souls."
"After being tortured by Crucio, their souls shattered into many fragments."
He waved his wand again, shattering the quill-turned-figurine into fragments scattered on the floor, some large, some small, lying haphazardly.
"To heal your parents' souls, you need to use the power of a Patronus Charm to reassemble those fragments, then slowly nurture them to allow the soul to heal."
"The difficulty here is that the soul is a person's most private thing, and a stranger's Patronus Charm entering their body will first cause a soul rejection reaction."
"Due to the rejection reaction, many tiny soul fragments will not be able to withstand the powerful force of the Patronus Charm and will suffer destructive damage."
"At that point, it wouldn't be saving someone, but harming them."
Looking at the shattered figurine on the floor, Neville felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if he could already see his parents' souls shattering.
"Let's put it this way: to heal your parents' souls, on one hand, you need a very powerful Patronus Charm; but due to the rejection reaction, a powerful Patronus Charm would also cause harm to those tiny soul fragments."
"It is precisely because of these special circumstances that the Healers at St. Mungo's are helpless."
"To heal your parents, only you can do it yourself."
Sebastian smiled slightly, "Don't forget, you have a strong blood tie with your parents."
"This power, originating from the depths of your bloodline, will not trigger a rejection reaction in their souls when your Patronus Charm enters your parents' bodies."
"On the contrary, their souls will only feel kind, and thus actively cooperate with your Patronus Charm."
"However, reassembling soul fragments is not that simple."
"Then what should I do, Professor?" Neville asked eagerly.
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