In just one week, Lewis had fully proven his aptitude.
Both students and professors at Hogwarts had come to recognize that Ravenclaw's first years included an exceptionally outstanding newcomer.
Despite being Muggle-born, his magical aptitude and learning ability surpassed even many pure-blood students.
There was no subject he struggled with—Transfiguration, Charms, Potions—nothing could stump him.
Even in Flying class, Lewis ranked among the best of the first-years.
Though his physical condition was only average, he never forgot to cast a trio of spells on himself before class: Bear's Endurance, Bull's Strength, and Cat's Grace.
Bear's Endurance granted him seemingly limitless stamina.
Bull's Strength gave him explosive power.
Cat's Grace allowed him to move with feline agility.
The best part was that these enhancement spells lasted quite a while—easily enough to cover one or two classes.
And more importantly, all three were his own creations, fundamentally different from standard spells and Transfiguration.
They were practically impossible to detect.
With all three combined, Lewis instantly became a flying prodigy, dazzling Madam Hooch during class.
However, after the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff session ended, the Gryffindor and Slytherin class ran into serious trouble—nearly escalating into a full-blown fight.
That evening, in a corner of the library, Lewis ran into Harry again.
Or rather, Harry and Ron had come specifically to find him.
Recently, Lewis's routine had been extremely consistent. He could usually be found in only three places: classrooms, the library, or the Great Hall.
"Lewis! Knew you'd be here."
Lewis set down his copy of Mad Wizard's Wild Magic and looked up at his "old" friends from before Hogwarts. "Oh? What brings you here?"
"We're not even in the same House. Aside from a few shared classes, we never get to meet. And most of our lessons overlap with those annoying Slytherins," Harry complained. "You're always in the library… I bet the only one from Gryffindor who sees you often is that bossy know-it-all."
"I did hear about what happened today," Lewis said calmly. "Harry did quite something in Flying class—snatched Neville's Remembrall back from Malfoy."
Even in the library, whispers of the incident had spread everywhere, much to Madam Pince's irritation.
"Yeah! You should've seen it—it was incredible! Harry dove fifty feet to catch it!" Ron said excitedly.
Lewis raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did Neville forget?"
"He forgot to wear his Hogwarts robes," Ron replied with a grin, clearly amused.
Unfortunately, he spoke too loudly.
"Quiet! This is a library!" Madam Pince snapped, waving her feather duster in warning.
Lowering his voice, Harry leaned in. "Because of that, Malfoy challenged us to a wizard's duel."
He looked at Lewis with some difficulty. "Lewis… you know I barely know any spells."
Lewis's performance over the past week had left a strong impression on everyone, so Harry naturally turned to him for help.
"Malfoy's second is Crabbe. I was going to be Harry's second, but he thinks we'd have a better chance if you came," Ron added, though his tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
It wasn't that Ron disliked Lewis—he acknowledged Lewis's academic brilliance—but that didn't necessarily translate to combat ability.
Recalling the original storyline, Lewis asked, "Did you consider that Malfoy might be tricking you?"
"But… but a wizard can't refuse a duel once it's been issued! That'd be humiliating!" Ron protested. He clearly wanted to teach Malfoy a lesson.
Under normal circumstances, Ron was right.
Malfoy came from one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families.
Pure-bloods like them valued honor deeply and would never back down from a duel.
In the original story, Malfoy only managed to trick Harry because they were just first-years—no one took their childish duel seriously.
If they were adults, such behavior would disgrace his family.
So Lewis couldn't use that argument to persuade them.
"Well? Will you help us?" Harry asked expectantly.
"…Alright, Harry."
At this point, Lewis couldn't really refuse. After all, they had been friends back in the Muggle world.
"We're definitely going to win!" Harry and Ron high-fived in excitement—
and once again forgot to keep their voices down.
"No shouting in the library! Out! All of you!" Madam Pince finally lost her patience and stormed over.
"Alright then—trophy room, eleven-thirty tonight," Harry whispered hurriedly before they bolted.
Across the table, Stephen—who had been buried in his homework—looked up. "You're really going to duel Malfoy?"
"No need to worry. It'll be fine," Lewis replied confidently.
He had just been studying the Disillusionment Charm from Mad Wizard's Wild Magic, and in the process, he had gained insight into Invisibility.
Compared to the wizarding world's Disillusionment Charm—which merely camouflaged the user like a chameleon—true Invisibility was far superior.
It rendered the caster completely unseen.
And it was only a second-tier spell, much easier to learn.
Stephen nodded. "That makes sense. At our level, dueling just means throwing sparks at each other. What could really happen?"
"And even if you get caught, it's just a few points deducted. You'll earn them back in no time."
At eleven-thirty that night, well past curfew, Lewis quietly slipped out of bed.
After casting Invisibility on himself, he made his way to the trophy room on the fourth floor with practiced ease.
The trophy room displayed all past honors—
trophies, statues, cups, shields, medals—everything gleamed behind glass cases.
There was even a list of all former Head Boys and Head Girls.
Lewis arrived first.
With nothing better to do, he wandered between the display cases.
By the time Harry and the others arrived, Lewis was admiring a Triwizard Tournament trophy.
A blink of an eye—and the story had already reached sixty thousand words.
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