Under Hogwarts' star-studded night sky, the sun slowly prepared to rise, and the moon reluctantly faded behind the mountains.
When Leo woke the next morning, Madam Pomfrey examined him again and confirmed that he was perfectly fine. He was cleared to leave the hospital wing and attend classes as usual.
Unexpectedly, the waves of laziness surging through his mind nearly made him miss class anyway.
Since I'm already going to be late, why not slow down?
Since I'm already late, why not skip it entirely?
Or maybe I should find Dumbledore and ask for help…
Learning magic is so troublesome. Maybe I shouldn't learn it at all.
Leo fought those thoughts while hurrying through Hogwarts' corridors. Finally, he stopped before a portrait of two ladies in medieval gowns and asked politely, "Excuse me, beautiful ladies, could you tell me where the Charms classroom is? I'm going to be late. Thank you."
One of the painted ladies lifted her skirt slightly and answered gently, "Of course. Turn left ahead, dear little wizard."
Before Leo could thank her, a knight in another portrait laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Late for class, are you? Hurry along, little wizard, or your professor may spank you with a boot!"
Leo, still fighting the lazy fog in his head, bowed with sincere gratitude.
"Thank you, beautiful lady. You are very beautiful. And thank you as well, Sir Knight, for reminding me."
The two portraits exchanged stunned glances.
As Leo ran off, the lady called after him softly, "You're welcome, lovely little wizard."
The knight straightened and gave a formal salute.
"Thank you for forgiving my rudeness! May you run faster!"
The lady rolled her eyes at the knight, then seemed to realize the gesture was unbecoming and stomped out of her portrait. The knight looked instantly ashamed. He decided he would have to apologize properly to that little wizard after class.
With one minute left before the bell, Leo finally reached the Charms classroom.
The moment he entered, he saw Draco and Carlotta sitting in the front row and waving urgently at him. A space had clearly been reserved between them.
As Leo walked over, he glanced quickly at the professor standing on a small platform made of stacked books. The little professor was writing the spells for the day's lesson on the blackboard.
"Leo, why are you so late?" Carlotta asked the moment he sat down. Her violet eyes moved over him carefully. "Madam Pomfrey examined you, right? Are you really all right now?"
Before Leo could escape her scrutiny, Draco whispered from the other side, "Are you all right? You nearly missed class."
Leo looked away from Carlotta and faced the front.
"I'm fine. We'll talk later."
At that moment, the Charms professor finished writing the last letter and turned to face the Slytherin students.
"Greetings, students of Slytherin."
The professor's voice was bright and clear.
"I am Filius Flitwick, and I will be your Charms instructor. You may call me Professor Flitwick."
Although he was barely over a metre tall, Professor Flitwick carried himself with cheerful confidence as he stepped down from the books and stood beside the podium.
"I hope my lessons will help you defeat opponents and protect yourselves in the wizarding world. At the same time, remember this well: magic should never be used to bully the weak."
Leo had expected him to begin roll call, but Professor Flitwick suddenly looked toward him with concern.
"Professor McGonagall informed me before class that Mr. Nicholas had been sent to the hospital wing due to a magical disturbance. I'm very glad to see you well, Mr. Nicholas, and I thank you for not being late."
The mention of a magical disturbance immediately stirred whispers through the classroom.
For young wizards, a magical surge was usually an increase in magic that temporarily exceeded their control. With proper guidance and protection, it rarely caused serious trouble. Still, accidents could happen.
Leo stood and bowed slightly.
"Thank you for your concern, Professor Flitwick. It broke out suddenly after I returned to my dormitory, so it was only an accident."
The whispers eased after his explanation.
After all, Leo had brought the first-year Slytherins some honour before the Sorting. Worrying about him a little was not unreasonable.
Professor Flitwick nodded and climbed back onto his stack of books.
"You should all see the feather on your desks. That is what we'll use to learn the Levitation Charm."
He pointed to the feather on the podium, raised his wand, and clearly demonstrated the movement and pronunciation.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
The feather floated gently into the air.
Professor Flitwick continued explaining the wrist motion and the importance of concentration before letting the students try.
"Now, make your feathers float just as I showed you. Remember, concentration matters as much as pronunciation."
Soon, the classroom filled with wand movements and uneven voices.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
"Wingardium Levi-o-sa."
"Wingardium… Leviosa?"
Leo stared at the feather on his desk with a troubled expression.
His thoughts told him he could cast it silently and without a wand. He could also skip class entirely, since he had already mastered most of the basic spells in the textbook.
But he knew he couldn't do that.
It would be too conspicuous.
"Wingardium Leviosa… Leo, didn't you already know this?" Draco asked curiously. His feather, which had just begun to float, dropped back onto the table. "Why do you look so worried?"
"Yes," Carlotta said from the other side. Her own feather wobbled upward unsteadily. "You can already cast silently. Hurry up and teach us."
Professor Flitwick's ears seemed to catch the words instantly.
"Oh? Miss Peregrine, is that true?" he asked, hurrying over with visible surprise. "Mr. Nicholas can already cast silently?"
"Yes, I can prove it," Carlotta said.
"I saw it too," Draco added.
The other young Slytherins quickly became curious. They had been enthusiastically practising the spell a moment ago, but now everyone's attention shifted to Leo.
"It seems there is truth to it," Professor Flitwick said, looking both astonished and delighted. "Still, I would very much like to see it myself. May I?"
His eyes shone with excitement.
"Silent casting at your age would suggest the emergence of an exceptionally talented wizard."
Leo knew he couldn't escape.
"Yes, Professor Flitwick."
He drew Judgment, the wand shaped like a dark calligraphy brush, and gently waved it toward the feather on the desk.
Without a word, the feather rose gracefully into the air.
Professor Flitwick's eyes widened.
"What a beautiful wand. The magic within it is powerful as well, and the shape suits you perfectly."
Then he looked at Leo with open admiration.
"And you, Mr. Nicholas, are clearly talented. More importantly, you must have worked very hard. Talent alone does not produce silent casting at such a young age."
Leo felt slightly embarrassed by the praise and scratched his head.
"It's not that impressive. After my parents discovered I could use magic, they made me handle all the housework. That's why I'm used to it."
He quickly added, "As for the wand, I chose it at Ollivanders. Mr. Ollivander said he added special materials, which is why it looks like this."
At the same time, a lazy thought drifted through Leo's mind again.
Magic really was inconvenient.
If he could already cast silently and wandlessly, why did he still have to wave a wand?
No.
He couldn't think like that.
Humility.
Caution.
Old foxes existed everywhere.
"Right? Professor Flitwick, you think Leo's wand is beautiful too, don't you?" Carlotta stared intently at Judgment.
The wand's jade-like pale core seemed to glow softly beneath the dark wood coiling around it like a dragon. It looked like a brush carved from black and white jade, mysterious and beautiful in a way that felt distant and ancient.
"Can I see it?" Carlotta asked eagerly. "I've wanted to since I first saw it outside the Great Hall. Is that all right, Leo?"
Professor Flitwick quickly intervened.
"Miss Peregrine, it is impolite to ask another wizard to hand over their wand."
Carlotta immediately lowered her gaze.
"Oh. I'm sorry, Leo. Thank you for reminding me, Professor Flitwick."
She looked at her own wand, a ten-inch piece of purple wood embedded with five tiny green gems. It was beautiful too, like fireflies resting on a branch at night, but compared with Judgment, it lacked that strange air of mystery.
"It's fine," Leo said when he noticed the longing in her eyes. "It's only a small matter."
....
Join my P@treon and get 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/0LordSilvere0 (Remove the *)
Free members get 2 chapters free.
Join Right Now