Chapter 12: A Fresh Start
Chapter 12: A Fresh Start
"You asked a professor?" Michael exclaimed in surprise. "After Professor Snape's class, you still dared to approach another professor?"
Theo laughed. "Professor Sprout is different. She's especially kind. And I thought it would be better to seek the professor's permission first rather than practice in secret. Besides, practicing spells isn't exactly a bad thing."
"And then? Did Professor Sprout provide us with a place to practice?" Ved inquired.
"Yes." Theo nodded. "An abandoned empty classroom. Professor Sprout said it would definitely meet our needs."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! We can check it out together!" Michael said cheerfully—he had long been eager to leave the stifling library.
As Ved turned to leave, he suddenly looked back.
In the vast library, Hermione was alone, her head buried in a book, looking rather lonely.
Ved recalled that at this time, Hermione didn't seem to have any friends.
"Wait a moment," he said to the others. "I'll call one more person."
Tapping the table twice, he caught Hermione's attention. Smiling, he said, "Hermione, we're going to practice spells together. Would you like to join us?"
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"Hogwarts is one of the earliest established magic schools. A long time ago, probably all underage wizards in Europe studied at Hogwarts. But later, other magic schools were established, and many wizards chose to migrate to America, so their children attended Ilvermorny School."
As they climbed the stairs, Theo panted, "So... Hogwarts normally accommodates one to two thousand students and hundreds of professors. But now there are only a few hundred, and many classrooms are left unused. For the students' safety, the school has hidden most of the abandoned classrooms."
"Professor Sprout told us about an unused Charms classroom," Ryan added. "It's behind Miss Claudia's portrait on the third floor, the one holding an umbrella."
The group searched along the corridor and finally found the portrait near the corridor on the west side of the castle.
—In the portrait, a golden-haired girl stood on a flower-filled grassland, the wind gently blowing her hair. She held a white and pink flowered umbrella and gazed wistfully into the distance, her body turned slightly to the side, facing the group.
Ryan tapped the left side of the portrait three times with his wand and spoke the password: "Sunshine, goldendrop."
The girl with the umbrella moved to the side, and the portrait opened. One by one, they entered. After the portrait closed, the golden-haired girl changed the direction of her umbrella, and rain began to fall in the painting.
It was unclear how long this classroom had been unused, but a thick layer of dust covered the floor, and the tables and chairs were scattered haphazardly. Old books and discarded parchment lay on the ground, and a row of wooden shelves along the wall were empty and damaged in several places. In the corner was a pile of targets used for practicing spells, most of them broken.
"Well, it looks like before we can start practicing, we need to clean up," Hermione said, rolling up her sleeves. "Who will fetch some water?"
"I will!" Theo volunteered. "I'll go find some cleaning tools, too."
"Why don't we ask the house-elves to help clean?" Michael said lazily. "You know Hogwarts has a group of house-elves, right?"
Ryan had already bent down to pick up a fallen chair.
"Wait a moment, everyone," Ved said, stopping Theo as he was about to leave. He turned to the others and asked, "We're here to practice spells—why don't we start by tidying up this classroom?"
"What? No way?" Michael exclaimed in disbelief.
"Let's start with those two spells, Scourgify and Reparo," Ved suggested, looking at Ryan. "And for moving the tables and chairs, we can only use the Levitation Charm."
"Alright! This is going to be a huge task, but it sounds fun!" Theo said with a grin.
Ryan thought for a moment, then knocked down the chair he had just picked up. He waved his wand and said, "Scourgify!"
The table became slightly cleaner, but there was still noticeable dirt in the crevices.
Ved blinked.
"Ryan, try it again," Ved said.
Ryan cast the cleaning spell once more, but the effect was still not very noticeable.
This time, Ved was certain of what he saw—as Ryan waved his wand, he faintly saw another arc, similar yet different, overlapping with Ryan's movement. This made it clear to Ved why Ryan's spell hadn't worked as it should have.
It was as if, while playing a game, the cheat had calculated the optimal route and angle of attack for him.
"Ryan, when you're casting the spell, lift your wand a little higher and be more decisive with your finishing movement," Ved demonstrated. "At the same time, pronounce 'gi' in 'Scourgify' more softly. Try it again."
Ryan paused for a moment—perhaps it was a Hufflepuff's natural tendency to trust Ravenclaw's intellect more readily. He didn't voice any objections but followed Ved's modified instructions as he waved his wand and said, "Scourgify!"
The table instantly became sparkling clean, so much so that even a fly wouldn't be able to stand on it, and even the floor underneath was cleaned.
Ryan's eyes widened as he stared at his wand, then at Ved, and asked in astonishment, "How did I do that?"
The others had a similar reaction, crowding around the table, and Theo even bent down to feel it with his hand, marveling, "Ryan! I had no idea! You're a spellcasting genius!"
"It's—it's not because of me..." Ryan said, looking bewildered. He waved his wand again, but because his mind was in a mess, the effect was not as good as the previous one.
Ved remained silent. He cast the spell himself but didn't see the extra arc—just as his eyes could see others' names floating above their heads but not his own.
However, the experience of guiding Ryan had given him a clear understanding of what was correct. Thus, his own casting was flawless, and the area of cleaning was even larger.
Ved thought for a moment and had the others cast the cleaning spell as well. As expected, he saw the faint golden arc again with each of their casts. Even Hermione's spell was not perfectly executed, though it was closer to the standard than the others'.
He guided them one by one, helping them perfect their spells. In the process, his own understanding deepened, and by the end, he could casually wave his wand without even uttering the incantation to cast a perfect cleaning spell.
If there was a name for this golden finger, Ved felt that he might have acquired a "Good Teacher System." With just a glance at the students' heads, he knew whose name to call. Even when a group of people cast spells simultaneously, he could tell who was serious and who was just going through the motions. In one-on-one guidance, he could make targeted adjustments to help students master a spell in the shortest time possible.
Unfortunately, the golden finger was a taciturn one, and Ved had no idea if there were any undiscovered functions waiting to be unlocked. He could only explore its potential slowly.
(End of Chapter)
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