Chapter 256
Chapter 256
“Good morning, Mr Bones.” Professor Filius Flitwick was taking morning tea in the small dining room adjoining his office. He smiled and narrowed his eyes when Suer arrived.
“If I remember correctly, the club does not meet until this afternoon. Why have you come in the morning?”
“I’ve encountered a problem, Professor.” Suer stood with perfect respect before Professor Flitwick’s sofa. Anyone who underestimated the professor because of his stature would inevitably feel the lash of life soon afterwards.
“Oh? Even a Patronus failed to trouble you. What problem could possibly vex Mr Bones?” Professor Flitwick took a smiling sip of tea.
“Please don’t tease me.” Suer scratched his head awkwardly. “Learning the Patronus Charm was merely good fortune. I still have a great deal to learn.”
“A little good fortune is sometimes precisely what a wizard needs in a magical duel. Luck is part of one’s ability. By learning the Patronus Charm, you have already surpassed most people,” Professor Flitwick said with a quiet laugh.
“Now, tell me what has happened.”
“It’s like this…” Suer explained the problem currently affecting him.
“Professor Dumbledore suggested that I consult you.”
“This is no small matter, Mr Bones.” Professor Flitwick nodded as he listened, his expression grave.
“Dumbledore must have told you that a wizard’s magic grows with age and remains suited to the body’s condition at each stage. A sudden increase in power may appear beneficial at first, but if you fail to control it, it will begin to control you.”
Suer nodded. Dumbledore had indeed told him as much.
“An Obscurus is a classic example. Magic runs out of control, and the power takes command of its host. When that happens, you lose your awareness and begin to destroy and kill without restraint.” As Professor Flitwick continued, Suer grew distinctly anxious.
“Do not worry.” Professor Flitwick noticed the change in his expression and gave him a smiling wink. “That is the worst possible outcome. I was only frightening you deliberately.”
With that, Professor Flitwick drained his tea and released the cup.
Clatter!
It fell freely to the floor and broke into several pieces.
“Come, let me see. Use Reparo and restore this cup.”
Suer was utterly helpless in the face of Professor Flitwick’s mischievous streak. He dearly wanted to raise a firm middle finger at him, but instead swallowed and drew his wand.
Professor Flitwick might have called it a joke, but Suer’s little heart would not stop pounding.
“Reparo.”
Suer drew upon his magic and channelled it down his arm into his wand. White light flashed.
Professor Flitwick’s small eyes widened, and he gave a soft exclamation of surprise. Suer was equally astonished: Reparo was not normally accompanied by any visible light.
In the blink of an eye, magic pulled the pieces of porcelain back together. Ordinarily, the spell should have ceased its work at that point, but the changes continued.
The shattered cup had already returned to normal. With nowhere else to go, the excess magic continued acting upon it.
Before their eyes, the porcelain softened like clay and was moulded by the magic into another shape.
It changed several more times. By the end, the delicate English teacup had become a peculiar vessel with a narrow mouth, a bulging middle and a single handle.
“Hmm…” Professor Flitwick murmured but said nothing. He drew his wand and tapped the cup. It immediately returned to its original, intact form, then silently broke into an even greater number of pieces.
“Again, Mr Bones.”
Suer nodded and cast Reparo once more. This time, the cup changed shape less than before, but it still ended up crooked and distorted.
“Again.” Professor Flitwick shattered it into smaller fragments.
Suer cast Reparo again and noticed the difference himself. Although the cup remained slightly misshapen, it now looked far more like a proper teacup.
“Now try the Levitation Charm,” Professor Flitwick said softly.
And so they continued, progressing from a feather to an entire desk. By the end of their experiments, Professor Flitwick’s office was a complete shambles.
The professor did not mind. He waved his wand and restored everything to its former order. Suer lowered his wand and stood quietly as silence settled over the office.
It was some time before Professor Flitwick spoke.
“Do you know the essential nature of magic, Mr Bones?”
The textbooks had never discussed such lofty questions, so Suer naturally had no answer.
“Magic is, in truth, a chaotic and disordered form of energy. It exists everywhere.”
“We wizards act as organisers. We impose a certain order upon that magic, gather it together and then put it to use.”
“That is why spells first came into being. We discovered that certain words, or the will of the wizard himself, could tame magic and make it obedient.”
“Looking at the history of magic, it is not difficult to see that our entire development has been a process of taming magical power.”
“Are you saying that the extra power in me is actually magic in its original state — chaotic and disordered?” Suer asked softly beside the sofa.
“Yes, Mr Bones.” Professor Flitwick gestured for Suer to sit on the opposite sofa. “There is a limit to the amount of magic a wizard can hold — or, rather, tame. Put another way, practising and casting spells is itself a process of taming magic, teaching it to act in the manner we desire and achieve the results we seek.”
“I believe I understand your problem now. A spell you cast can carry only part of the magic within you, but that magic must be released. Excess energy with no other outlet can only pour out through the channel you open when casting.”
“You can probably feel it already. Even when you cast a basic Reparo, you unconsciously release far more magic along with it.”
Suer nodded. That was precisely what he had felt.
“Then what should I do, Professor?”
“It is very simple.” Professor Flitwick smiled. “Cast spells continually. Release as much of the magic within you as possible. At the same time, the practice will tame that power.”
Suer nodded thoughtfully, then followed with another question.
“You said that a spell can carry only a limited amount of magic. Would using more powerful spells that require more magic also solve the problem? Ancient spells, for example?”
“It could, but I do not recommend it, Mr Bones.” Professor Flitwick smiled and nodded.
“Powerful spells unquestionably require more magic, but they will not help you tame that magic any faster. I am not saying that spells demanding enormous power are useless, only that beginning with fundamental charms will produce better results.”
“As for ancient spells…” Professor Flitwick shook his head, his expression turning serious. “Do you know why we use modern spells today?”
Without waiting for Suer to answer, he continued.
“Ancient spells are undeniably powerful and require far more magic, but they are also imperfect and extremely dangerous.”
“As I said, magic itself is chaotic and disordered. Ancient spells organise it far too crudely, and the magic may easily recoil upon the caster. There are ample precedents.”
“The exception would be an ancient spell perfected long ago and passed down for a thousand years without extensive alteration — the Patronus Charm, for example.”
Understanding dawned across Suer’s face, and he nodded.
“I see. Thank you, Professor.”
“There is no need, Mr Bones. I doubt I must teach you the basic charms again. Use them as often as you can. As I told you in your earliest lessons, the wizard’s own will is one of the keys determining how powerfully magic takes effect.”
“Taming your magic will improve your control of it. Do not blindly pursue only powerful spells that demand ever greater reserves. Fundamental magic will be more effective and bring far greater benefits.”
Professor Flitwick’s serious expression softened into a smile. He glanced at the clock hanging in the office. Without either of them noticing, its hour hand had reached the Roman numeral eleven.
“It is getting late. If you are willing, would you care to share a meal with this old man?”
“It would be my honour, Professor.”