Chapter 56: Two Feet
Chapter 56: Two Feet
Fred and George, who had been contemplating a last-ditch effort, ultimately failed to master the Scouring Charm in one night. Of course, what truly made them give up was Albert's remark: "Filch might not even allow you to use magic."
The next day, during Charms class, Professor Flitwick checked on everyone's progress. Compared to the Gryffindor students, only a handful of Hufflepuffs had successfully mastered the Lumos spell.
Professor Flitwick took five minutes to review the content from the previous lesson before moving on to teach them about the counter-spell to Lumos—Nox.
"Nox can be used not only to extinguish the light from your wand but also to snuff out regular light sources," Professor Flitwick said as he pointed to a candle on the table. He then lifted his wand and gently tapped it, murmuring, "Nox."
The candle flame went out as if it had been pinched by an invisible hand.
"As you can see, the counter-spell to Lumos is Nox, and this spell is also effective for extinguishing burning flames," Professor Flitwick explained.
"Lumos," the professor chanted, and the tip of his wand lit up with a pale glow. "Nox," he said again, and the light from his wand disappeared.
After explaining the content related to the extinguishing spell in class, Professor Flitwick allotted the remaining time for students to practice the charms.
"Lumos... Nox," Albert tried several times and soon succeeded. To further test the spell's effect, he transfigured his hand into a candle, lit it, and attempted to extinguish the flame.
"I did it, too!" Lee Jordan was in high spirits. After practicing over a dozen times, he finally managed to extinguish the light from his wand and then mimicked Albert in snuffing out the candle flame.
According to Professor Flitwick's description, extinguishing a raging fire was more challenging than countering the Lumos spell.
"This is so frustrating!" Fred was still struggling to master Lumos, and he wasn't alone; several other students in the class were in the same boat.
In the end, only three students succeeded in extinguishing the light from their wands, and one of them was Diggory from Hufflepuff.
Before the Charms class ended, Professor Flitwick assigned them a new homework task: to write a two-foot-long essay report on the Lumos and Nox spells, to be handed in by the following Monday.
"Two feet long?" George muttered under his breath. "Professor Flitwick must be crazy!"
For young wizards who had barely written essays, let alone used a quill extensively, producing a two-foot-long parchment essay was a daunting challenge. Even finding enough words to fill two feet of parchment wouldn't be easy.
"Actually, this kind of essay report is quite simple," Albert said, glancing at George with a look that suggested he found his reaction exaggerated. "You just need to copy down the origins of the Lumos and Nox spells, then write about the problems you encountered while learning Lumos. After that, head to the library and copy some related knowledge on the subject, and finally, write a concluding report. That should easily fill two feet of parchment."
In truth, Albert was well aware that Professor Flitwick wasn't expecting the first homework assignment for newcomers to be perfect.
Frankly, the purpose of this essay was to help students gain a deeper understanding of the Lumos and Nox spells and enhance their grasp of charms in general.
In his previous life, Albert had written plenty of similar essays during his university days, and although it had been a long time, he still remembered the process.
"That's it?" Lee Jordan asked incredulously, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"That's it?" Alicia shot back at him, giving him a withering look. "Wait until you start writing, and you'll realize it's not that simple. But thank goodness for Albert; at least now I know what to write on those two feet of parchment."
On the way, as the group discussed their Charms homework, a discordant voice suddenly piped up.
"Are you sure what he said is correct?" a Hufflepuff student interjected oddly.
"Well, it sounds reliable, doesn't it...?" Fred and George exchanged a glance and then walked over to the Hufflepuff student, each putting an arm around his shoulders. "Maybe Albert got a little hint from Professor Flitwick," they said in unison.
"Get off me!" The Hufflepuff student struggled, but he couldn't break free from the Weasley twins' grip.
"Oh, come now, don't be tense," Fred said, releasing him and giving his shoulders a light pat. He watched the fellow scurry off to rejoin the Hufflepuff group and couldn't help but laugh in satisfaction.
"Cut it out," Diggory warned, giving the twins a stern look.
"We didn't do anything, Diggory. We just had a friendly chat," the twins said together, each with an arm draped over the other's shoulders. "Right, we didn't do anything. Who knows why he got so worked up?"
"Alright, let go of me," Diggory said helplessly. He, of course, knew that the twins' friendly exchange wasn't meant maliciously, but others might not see it that way.
"He looks scared of you," Lee Jordan remarked.
"Don't spread rumors. We didn't scare him; be careful, or you'll be accused of defamation," Fred and George said, their faces innocent as if to say, "We didn't do anything; he scared himself."
In fact, they really hadn't done anything.
Albert found their antics amusing, and he felt like laughing. However, he didn't think the twins were in the wrong, as they truly hadn't done anything; it was all a misunderstanding.
"Speaking of which, when do we have our Flying lessons?" Angelina suddenly asked.
"Not too sure," Fred replied after a moment's thought. "I heard that the Gryffindor newcomers have their Flying lessons on Thursday afternoons. There will be a notice on the bulletin board in the common room when it's time." He paused before adding, "Charlie's been recruiting reserve players lately. If you like Quidditch, you can give it a shot. Reserve players have a chance to get their hands on a broom, but becoming an official player depends on your own abilities."
"When?" Angelina asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.
"Today, in the afternoon. You can go to the Quidditch pitch and talk to Charlie," George answered without hesitation.
"You don't seriously want to join the Quidditch team, do you?" Alicia exclaimed, staring at her roommate in surprise.
"Yeah, I want to give it a try," Angelina replied.
"We still have a Transfiguration class coming up," Susan murmured. "I hope Professor McGonagall doesn't give us more homework."
However, they were destined to be disappointed.
Even if Professor McGonagall didn't assign them homework, they would still have to continue practicing transfiguration.
Nevertheless, Professor McGonagall indicated that she would inspect their progress in turning matches into needles the following week, and those who still couldn't perform the transfiguration would be in for some trouble.
(End of Chapter)
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