Chapter 152: Transformation
Chapter 152: Transformation
With less than a week left of the Easter break, Felix suddenly abandoned all his activities and secluded himself in the Room of Requirement to practice Memory Magic and the Patronus Charm. He had a premonition that his magic was about to undergo a significant transformation.
It was a strange sensation, a mix of fluidity and awkwardness coexisting within him.
As the days passed, even students who occasionally crossed paths with him in the corridors noticed that something was off with Felix.
"Professor, are you feeling unwell?" Hermione asked, her eyes catching the silver glow in his.
When Professor Hep turned to her, Hermione felt as though her thoughts were being effortlessly read.
Felix turned his head and said gently, "No, it's nothing. Just some progress with my magic. It will be fine in a while."
On the last day of the Easter break, in the Room of Requirement—
He sat in a large bronze armchair, leaning forward with his long fingers supporting his chin, lost in deep thought.
Ripples of emotion stirred in Felix's heart as memories of using the Patronus Charm flooded his mind—
From the first time he successfully conjured a Patronus in his fifth year;
To the companionship during nighttime strolls in the Forbidden Forest;
To the battles against Vampire Bats during his travels after graduation;
And countless days of relentless practice...
Each wave of his wand, each thought and realization, each moment of gathering joy, each time he watched it soar through the sky...
These memories surged in his mind like a volcanic eruption.
But Felix was no longer the helpless fourth-year student. With his extensive experience and recent breakthrough in Memory Magic, he methodically organized his jumbled thoughts.
The Mind Chamber, as if under an Undetectable Extension Charm, expanded and extended endlessly. Books in the room flipped through the air like leaves in a gale, and various Runic Script symbols burst into brilliant light.
In his mind, countless silver-winged Swifts filled his thoughts, converging towards a central point in an instant.
The speed was unimaginable!
Silver figures collided, exploding into clouds of silver mist. Thousands upon thousands of Swifts rushed forward, the central mist churning as if brewing something new.
In the Room of Requirement, Felix's eyes grew increasingly bright, his pale blue irises glowing with a dazzling silver light.
At the peak of the light, Felix drew his wand and thrust it forward—
"Expecto Patronum!"
A burst of silver light exploded, rapidly expanding to engulf Felix's form and then spreading to half the room. After a brief pause, the silver light swiftly condensed into a silver Swift.
This was Felix's new Patronus.
The Swift was significantly larger than its usual form, about the size of an owl, with its body covered in a dense web of light points.
These points were connected by almost invisible threads, resembling the bones and veins of the Patronus.
As the last trace of silver light merged with the Patronus, the light points and threads vanished.
Before Felix stood a fully materialized, new Patronus.
A sixth-level Patronus Charm!
He and the silver Swift locked eyes, as if able to sense each other's thoughts. It spread its scythe-like wings and darted through the room like a bolt of lightning, leaving a continuous trail of silver behind.
"Your speed has increased again", Felix marveled.
Swift abruptly appeared before him, floating in mid-air and letting out a short chirp to express its joy.
Felix extended his index finger, gently touching its head. It had a solid feel to it; if not for the silver glow, others might have mistaken it for a mutated large bird.
Swift rubbed against his finger, conveying its happiness.
Felix also smiled contentedly. On the eve of Easter, he had finally transformed his recent accumulation into reality—
Occlumency—six transformations!
Legilimency—six transformations!
Memory Charm—six transformations!
Patronus Charm—six transformations!
The breakthroughs in the other three spells came naturally. They were already at the pinnacle of the fifth level, and during his less than a year back at Hogwarts, his magical foundation had deepened due to various experiences—
From the formation and practice of Mind Chamber magic, to the exchange of Memory Magic with Snape, to Lockhart's magical notes... all the way to Rowena Ravenclaw's thousand-year-old memories in the Room of Requirement, which revealed the pinnacle of Memory Magic to him.
With the help of the diadem, everything led to a qualitative change in his Memory Magic.
And once Memory Magic transformed, the breakthrough in the Patronus Charm was only natural.
After all, he faced no obstacles. Rowena Ravenclaw had directly told him about the existence and location of memory nodes, saving him countless hours. However, due to the insufficient control of Memory Magic, it was somewhat challenging...
The silver Swift landed on his shoulder, gently pecking his ear.
Felix's thoughts raced. He pondered a question that had troubled him for a long time—Golden Thumb.
What exactly was his Golden Thumb? Or did it even exist?
There was no panel, no prompt, no sudden intrusion of other people's thoughts...
All he had was tireless practice and natural transformation. Felix named his magic levels based on the number of transformations, calling them first level, second level, and so on...
Perhaps this was the essence of his "Golden Thumb"—
An innate magical talent?
The magical world was never short of talented individuals, such as Parseltongues and Metamorphmagi;
There were also talents specific to certain fields, like flying, advanced transfiguration, potions, and even exceptional strength in a particular spell...
Such examples were numerous in history, but how many could truly maximize their talents?
Felix had done it.
His determination, wisdom, and unique magical talent had collectively shaped him into who he was today.
"So, does it really matter if it's called Golden Thumb?"
Felix smiled, looking at the silver Swift on his shoulder, and walked out of the Room of Requirement.
By a window, Felix gently tapped the Patronus on the forehead. "Go, bring me a Moon Dew Flower from the Forbidden Forest."
Swift spread its wings, transforming into a silver streak that swiftly disappeared into the night sky.
Felix watched its silver trail, suddenly recalling an ancient poem he had read in the Ravenclaw Manuscript—
"The stone turned into a bird, chirping. It crossed mountains and lakes, bringing back a daisy from the red plains."
(End of Chapter)
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