Chapter 147: Problems and Solutions
Chapter 147: Problems and Solutions
Soon, several younger students gathered around. Liam quickly understood the situation as soon as they started talking. Although Castrobrusso claimed to be a bilingual school, English was still the second language. To ensure effective teaching, the professors often used Spanish, the locally popular language.
This meant that while the older, more advanced students had studied English for international communication and could converse, the younger students struggled. This was why they had seemed so aloof earlier—unable to understand what was being said and instructed by the professors not to embarrass themselves. So, they had to sit stiffly, naturally appearing aloof.
Now, upon discovering Liam, a peer who spoke Spanish, they immediately gathered around, chattering excitedly. It was clear that the earlier period of incomprehension had been quite painful for everyone.
Their aloofness vanished instantly, and their natural Latin American warmth shone through. Soon, the bored second and third-year students from Hogwarts were also drawn over.
Fortunately, there was a third-year native student at Castrobrusso who spoke excellent English. With the help of two translators, the younger students from both schools finally began to communicate.
Since the selected student representatives were generally of a high caliber, they quickly moved on to academic discussions. Due to the younger students' general lack of theoretical knowledge, they decided to demonstrate their skills practically using their wands.
During the exchange, they learned that while Castrobrusso students, influenced by Europe, also used wands, they were skilled in using various magical tools related to magical creatures. For example, in a demonstration, they changed the material and color of a cup by holding different colored leaves in their left hand, without the need to carefully construct a magic power model in their mind like Liam and his peers.
However, they admitted that this method was cumbersome. For instance, the leaves could only change the form of wooden or paper items, while metal cups required different stones as props. Overall, this magic was easier to learn but less versatile than the magic used in Europe and America.
"Alright, now visualize the magic power nodes in your mind and construct your spell. Once you've finished, speak the incantation to channel the magic power", Liam explained, drawing a diagram in the air with his wand.
"Ha, I did it!" David, a tall and thin third-year boy, cheered as he successfully turned a wooden cup into a tin one. "Now, I won't have to worry about being caught with a rope when I go bird hunting."
Realizing he was speaking to foreign students, David suddenly felt embarrassed and gave Liam an awkward smile. Liam returned the smile, finding the school's atmosphere quite suitable for the Weasley Twins, but it was a shame they hadn't come this time.
Afterward, Liam also learned this technique of casting spells with the help of other items under David's guidance. It wasn't easy, especially for someone from Britain, where casting spells with just a wand was the norm. The need to focus on two things at once was quite challenging.
Liam noticed that Hermione had been struggling with the same technique, being taught by a black girl. Unfortunately, she kept subconsciously ignoring the object in her left hand, a habit formed from long-term practice that was hard to break.
However, after a couple of tries, Liam successfully used a leaf to change the material and pattern of the wooden cup in front of him, much to David's surprise. David praised Liam's quick understanding, but Liam didn't attribute it to his genius. Instead, he found the method similar to the material-based casting in Viking magic, with the only difference being the use of auxiliary props instead of consumables. Once he mastered the key of multitasking, it only took a couple of tries for Liam to learn the magic.
The morning passed quickly, and by noon, after lunch, the students returned to their dormitories for a midday rest. (In Brazil, due to its tropical climate, the midday rest lasts from twelve to three in the afternoon to avoid the hottest part of the day. However, evening classes end one hour later.) Liam noticed that everyone was in low spirits, and it seemed that each student felt a sense of defeat.
Younger students were particularly affected, as magic training, though diverse in its early stages, eventually converges through accumulated knowledge and experience in the higher grades. However, for the younger students, it was inevitable to make mistakes and feel embarrassed. This was a significant blow to those who had always excelled in their studies.
Of course, being embarrassed wasn't the fault of the students. Apart from a few exceptions like Liam, who had practiced beforehand, how could the others, after just a few hours of study, outperform local students who had been learning from the basics for at least a year? The magic systems here were fundamentally different from what they were used to.
Hermione, for instance, managed to barely learn how to use auxiliary tools to cast spells by the end of the session, which was a remarkable achievement, even though she only changed the color of less than a third of the cups.
Soon, Professor Sprout entered the lounge with a smile, her expression clearly showing that she had benefited greatly from the exchange with her counterparts at this herbology-specialized school.
Seeing the students' low spirits, Professor Sprout immediately understood the cause. She placed the flower pot she was carrying on the ground and said, "The purpose of our exchange is to learn from each other, to identify our shortcomings, and to improve. It's not a problem to discover our weaknesses; what matters is that we address them. Remember, you are the top students from Hogwarts. How can you so easily accept defeat?"
After a one-hour rest, everyone voluntarily gathered in the lounge to discuss the problems they had encountered that day, pooling their ideas to tackle each challenge.
At 2:50 PM, Professor Kettleburn rushed in to inform everyone that they needed to head to the social event, which had been moved from the Great Hall to the Garden at the back of the school.
Due to the change in location, everyone hurried back to their dormitories to change clothes. After all, dress robes were not suitable for activities in the semi-wild Garden.
As Liam rushed from Hermione's room to his own, he clearly heard her muttering about the unreliable South Americans. Indeed, for the romantic South Americans, changing plans on a whim was quite common, but for the more reserved British, it was rather difficult to accept.
After quickly changing into work robes, everyone followed the two professors to the Garden. The Garden at Castrobrusso was well-known in the Wizarding World. Originally, it was a primeval forest on this small highland. When the school was established, the entire highland was protected by magic, including this small patch of forest.
Over the years, generations of students and teachers transformed the forest by transplanting many local magical plants and clearing out any unpleasant or potentially dangerous elements. After centuries of development, the once-pristine forest had become a beautiful magical Garden.
From the plaza, a cobblestone path led to the Garden. Following this path and circling around the school buildings, everyone finally saw the legendary Garden.
(End of Chapter)
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