I nodded at this explanation as it all made sense so far even if the teacher of it mistakenly thought they had achieved one of these methods.
"Do you have any questions?" he asked finally.
"Is the reason you stutter when more than one person is near caused by dark magic?" I asked finally pointing out the slip up.
"Something like that yes." he said stiffly.
"I see, thank you for the lesson." I said calmly.
"Think nothing of it. Geniuses should get special treatment after all." He said before dismissing me with a paling face and slight tremble in his limbs.
I left without pressing the issue as I could guess what the trouble was. Voldemort having taken over Quirrell's body for this little lesson likely caused the body to start taking damage far faster than normal. This was the reason Quirrell needed unicorns blood in the books to begin with. His body was rejecting Voldemorts presence as it was two souls in a single body and one was parasitizing the lifeforce.-
I left the classroom and headed straight for the library as I had fully decided to look up the bubblehead or air freshening charms. As for the knowledge on dark magic? I filed it away and left it alone. I didn't need it since "white" magic could do almost everything it could but with more effort needed. Even if I did try and learn it I'd only do so with some form of scape goat for the soul branding in place and not a moment before.-
Terry and Mike were working on their homework when I arrived in the library and after I confirmed my being held back was just for what I said we got to work on our individual things. I put aside my own homework papers for now to find a tome on the bubblehead charm called "Airheaded you" that went into detail on the spell. Despite how it appeared at first glance the spell was actually quite complex. The bubble it created had to have a few different properties after all to work. For example it had to cycle the air in it, isolate the airspace around your head and even resist outside forces pressing against it.-
Additionally it turned out there was a full body version as well though the author of the book warned that it was LESS practical than the normal one as any spells you use from within it would pop the bubble leaving you in quite the pickle. I didn't dare try and practice the spell in the library as I didn't want to risk damaging any of the books and after making some notes got to work on my own homework. For Binns it was merely making a series of references to specific goblins from the particular rebellion he was talking about. Quirelmort's homework was on the passage from the textbook he covered today. Neither took particularly long with my memorization of the textbooks.-
"What now?" Mike asked once I finished my homework.
"Tempus" I said flicking my wand and checking the time.
5:17
"Got about an hour till dinner so i'll probably practice the bubblehead charm a bit to get it down for our next DADA lesson. That stench is bloody unbearable." I said with a grimace just remembering it.
"Mind if we try too? That stench really is dreadful." Terry asked and I shrugged.
"Always good to know more spells." I said as we found an empty classroom to practice in near the great hall.
The rules specifically state you can't cast spells in the halls but made no mention of empty rooms so we weren't breaking any rules by doing so. I was obviously the first one to grasp the spell even though only at the most basic level. Neither of the other two got it yet as every attempt they made popped almost immediately. Having an example to follow made it easier though.-
Eventually though dinnertime came and we got into the great hall. We were among the first there and chatted between us about the bubblehead charm while we waited for the food to be served. It didn't take long as when about half the students showed up and most of the professors as well the food magically appeared on the tables and everyone dug in. I myself however spotted something new on the table along with a few other muggleborn students and quickly snatched several pieces of it before the dish could be ripped apart.-
I was of course referring to pizza, standard pepperoni and cheese specifically. I devoured the salty savory slices with a satisfied sigh before giving Dumbledore a thumbs up on his choice. I got why he picked this as the first dish rather than my fish and chips. For all of how unhealthy the stuff is pizza is an iconic and beloved food for a reason. My only real regret was that this was clearly a test run on his side so there was only two pies total on each table. This meant those sixteen slices were gone in the blink of an eye once the dish was recognized.-
I ended up being shameless and stealing the Slytherin tables pies since they were all avoiding the foreign dish. The sheer look of amusement on Dumbledore's face at that said enough about what he thought of this test run. I couldn't hoard the pizzas unfortunately as I was pressed in no uncertain terms to share by my housemates. Actually stealing the pies was a matter of using the levitation charm to float the trays they were on up and over the Slytherins to our table.