Chapter 123
Chapter 123
“Ring-ring-ring…”
The mechanical alarm clock clattered noisily, and the air that had slumbered all night abruptly came alive.
His hair a tousled mess, Suer instinctively sat up, picked up the wand beside his pillow and pointed its tip at his heart.
“Amato Animo Animato Animagus.”
After reciting the incantation, he closed his eyes out of habit and fell back.
“Eh…?” A second later, he sat bolt upright again. He did not know whether it had been his imagination, but as he lay down just now, he had felt another heartbeat.
Suer closed his eyes and relaxed his breathing, allowing his own heartbeat to settle as much as possible.
There was no mistake… no mistake at all… A faint second heartbeat was indeed pulsing inside his chest.
“Whew…” Suer suppressed the wild joy in his heart. It had been half a month. At last, there was a response…
According to the book’s explanation, the appearance of a second heartbeat meant the potion was steadily maturing. It also meant his Animagus transformation was within sight of success.
“Now I only need a thunderstorm.” Suer rested a hand against his chest and carefully sensed the faint heartbeat.
The sudden delight washed away every trace of sleepiness. He was as happy as Dudley finally receiving that expensive greatsword.
Hermione had not wanted to acknowledge Suer. That insufferable man stared at her two ears every day. Did he not know that a girl’s ears were not to be touched at random?
They were cat ears now, you said? They were still a girl’s ears!
Yet she was far too curious about Suer’s strange behaviour. He was grinning foolishly and touching his chest every so often.
“Hey, what are you grinning about?” Hermione asked crossly.
“Something good. Heh-heh.” Suer raised his hand and touched his chest again.
“Has practising magic done something to your brain?” Hermione could not help shuddering as she reached up and felt his forehead.
“You don’t have a fever,” she muttered in puzzlement.
“I’m fine.” Suer took Hermione’s fur-covered hand in his and spoke with exasperation. Then his eyebrows lifted slightly.
Huh… Cat paws were rather pleasant to touch too.
“Let go of my hand, you pervert!” Hermione’s face flushed as she tried to wrench her hand free.
That afternoon, as agreed, Suer returned to Professor Flitwick’s office to continue practising the wand movement for the Patronus Charm. According to Professor Flitwick, he had to practise until he could perform it flawlessly at any moment.
The standard to aim for was completing the cast within a single second during an emergency.
Practising nothing but wand movements for an entire afternoon was obviously tedious work, so Professor Flitwick scheduled breaks in between. During those breaks, he explained some of the theory behind strengthening spells, giving Suer a change of pace.
Flitwick stressed that Suer was not expected to learn these methods, only to understand them. Enhanced spells were, without exception, extremely complex. They involved compounding, layering and amplification, and the magic within a second-year wizard was nowhere near enough to support casting them in full.
This was material Professor Flitwick covered in his small advanced class for older students preparing for their final wizarding examinations.
Professor Flitwick truly deserved his reputation as a master of Charms. Whenever he discussed a spell, he showed Suer its history and the process by which it had evolved into its modern form.
“Ancient wizards generally used ancient magical scripts to cast magic, and this magic of ancient scripts was also known as Ancient Runes. That is one reason we regard runes as one of the origins of magic. Here, I must emphasise that modern runes and Ancient Runes are two entirely different things. The runes studied today are translations of Ancient Runes.”
“Without exception, they are extremely difficult. Ancient Runes is one of the elective subjects available to students in their third year and above. If you hope to make your magic more powerful, it is a subject you absolutely must not miss.”
“Of course, the choice is yours.” Professor Flitwick tossed a biscuit lightly into his mouth. After giving Suer time to absorb the information, he continued.
“Then where did modern magic — the magic you study today — come from?”
“Its history is very long, reaching back to before Hogwarts was founded.”
“If you wish to learn about that history, you may ask Professor Babbling.”
“Returning to our subject, modern magic is the version that gradually evolved after Ancient Runes were translated. In other words, the magic we use today is actually a weakened form of ancient magic.”
“The question, then, is how we can make modern magic produce the power of ancient magic.” Flitwick smiled at Suer and waited for his answer.
Suer remained silent for a long time, brow furrowed in thought, before replying hesitantly.
“Increase the magical power supplied to it?”
“You explained in class that a spell’s power depends on a wizard’s emotions, but that is not the only factor. The magic inside the wizard also affects the spell’s strength. Could increasing the amount of magic supplied allow it to reach the power of ancient magic?”
Professor Flitwick neither nodded nor shook his head.
“Yes and no,” he said. “Imagine this, Mr Bones.”
“Two wizards of equal strength are duelling. One of them casts a spell and pours more magic into it, yet fails to defeat the other. That means the wizard who failed must then find a way to use other spells.”
“As time passes, the wizard increasing the magical power supplied is bound to lose, because eventually the magic left within that wizard’s body will no longer be sufficient to continue fighting.”
“Furthermore, the power of a modern spell has an upper limit. Its strength can reach only the greatest amount of magic the spell itself can contain. It is like a balloon: if the gas exceeds its capacity, it will — pop — burst.”
Suer nodded thoughtfully.
“So why do we not try another method? Remember that modern magic evolved almost entirely from Ancient Runes.”
Professor Flitwick had given a very clear hint, and Suer was no fool.
“Change how the spell is cast? No, change the incantation itself, raising the spell’s power directly at its source.”
“Correct, Mr Bones.” Flitwick clapped his hands happily. “You should have been in Ravenclaw,” he said regretfully.
Professor Flitwick then drew his wand. “For example…”
“Lumos.” A faint light appeared at the tip of Flitwick’s wand, then began to grow stronger.
The Wand-Lighting Charm was among the most basic of spells. Apart from the Levitation Charm, it was one of the easiest spells for young wizards to master when they first began school.
“Watch closely. I am now increasing the magic supplied.”
Suer stared intently as the point of light grew larger and larger, until it was approximately as bright as two paraffin lamps placed together.
“Pop…” A faint cracking sound rang out, and the Wand-Lighting Charm went out altogether.
“That is the greatest power the Wand-Lighting Charm itself can attain,” Flitwick said. “Now watch closely. Suppose we make a tiny alteration to the incantation.”
“Lumos Maxima.”
Professor Flitwick deliberately restrained the spell’s power, but Suer could easily tell that even the initial brightness of this altered magic exceeded that of the Wand-Lighting Charm.
“Can every spell be changed like that?” Suer could not help asking.
Flitwick extinguished the light at his wand tip, his expression becoming solemn. “In theory, yes, Mr Bones. But I must warn you again: do not alter a spell’s incantation on your own unless you possess enough ability to deal with the consequences of that alteration.”
“Every modern spell, without exception, is steeped in blood. Those who came before us paid an enormous price. Every spell that has survived and developed to the present day is already a mature piece of magic.”
Startled by Professor Flitwick’s grave expression, Suer immediately nodded with frantic enthusiasm.
“We have rested long enough. Let us continue practising, Mr Bones. In another two days, I believe we can begin combining the movement with the incantation and try casting the Patronus Charm.”