As Ciel waved his wand with practised precision, thin silver smoke poured from the tip like liquid moonlight. A wonderful sensation arose in his heart, completely unlike any magic he'd experienced before.
This feeling was like part of his will being drawn into the silver smoke, forming some ethereal connection with the swirling mist. His expression shifted to one of profound surprise. Though he now deeply understood the intricate relationship between will and magic, previously it had always been will determining magic's form and function.
This was his first encounter with magic that could conversely draw upon will itself. And this was already a version that had been completely altered beyond recognition from its original form.
One could imagine that if it were the original Patronus Charm that directly forced will manifestation and condensed will incarnations, such power truly wouldn't be impossible. Indeed an extremely special and dangerous form of magic.
No wonder it had caused such catastrophic turmoil throughout history.
Then wariness crept into his features, his expression growing more serious. For magic that had once caused such devastating problems, no matter how safe it was currently claimed to be, one had to maintain extra caution and vigilance.
Next, his gaze fell on the system panel. After his previous casting, blurred Patronus Charm text had appeared among his abilities. But it hadn't fully formed yet, the letters wavering like heat mirages.
Obviously, in the system's judgement, he hadn't reached the level of mastering this complex magic. He wasn't surprised by this harsh assessment.
The original story had already demonstrated the Patronus Charm's extraordinary difficulty. Harry began learning this spell in third year. As Voldemort's final Horcrux, affected by that dark soul fragment, Harry could even speak Parseltongue naturally.
Dumbledore had personally admitted that Harry had gained some of Voldemort's raw magical power. So actually, Harry's magical strength, perception, and other talents were extremely high. It's just that usually he didn't focus intensively on magic and didn't develop his natural gifts much.
Yet when he truly wanted to learn a spell, his speed was beyond imagination. Yet even with Harry's prodigious talent, from beginning to learn until he could cast a complete Patronus Charm took nearly a full year of dedicated practice.
Beyond Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't master the Patronus Charm until fifth year, during secret Dumbledore's Army training that required several months of intensive work. In fifth year, wizards were nearly adults and already accessing advanced magical courses.
Even the laziest students had basically fully awakened their magical potential by then. Ron and Hermione's talents definitely weren't as strong as Harry's, but they were absolutely excellent by any standard.
Even so, fifth-year versions of them still needed several months of hard practice to successfully cast the Patronus Charm. This spell's crushing difficulty was evident to anyone paying attention.
His current magical mastery was indeed quite respectable. But aside from outstanding Herbology achievements and exposure to ancient magic with natural will components, other magical fields might not surpass fifth-year Hermione's comprehensive knowledge.
Quickly mastering the Patronus Charm seemed unrealistic given current circumstances. Especially when his gaze fell on the magic power strength displayed on his system panel, his brow furrowed slightly.
He sighed quietly in his heart: "Magical perception has improved to Platinum level, which is excellent progress. But current magic power strength, looking at all of Hogwarts, is probably middle-to-lower level. The Patronus Charm has enormous magic power requirements, which will undoubtedly increase my difficulty in mastering it."
Fortunately, his Underwater Enhancement ability had reached Platinum level. Once triggered, magic power strength could increase significantly. This could somewhat compensate for this fundamental deficiency.
In a moment, his slight melancholy was smoothed away. Previously his talent conditions were much worse than now. Hadn't he still learnt magic successfully then? Now was always better than before.
Nothing but working a bit harder. Nothing to be sentimental about. Instead of time spent lamenting and complaining, practising a few more times was infinitely more practical.
As for the benefits to other magic that Dumbledore mentioned about the Patronus Charm, he hadn't experienced them yet. But this was perfectly normal. How many spells could make people improve dramatically and transform completely upon learning?
The Patronus Charm wasn't even properly mastered yet. Even if there were hidden benefits, what could be seen now? One couldn't become impatient or eager for quick results just because of recent consecutive gains.
Steady progress, gradual improvement. This was the only sustainable path forward.
Then he continued waving his wand with renewed determination. Stream after stream of thin silver smoke continued pouring from the wand tip like captured starlight. Accompanying this ethereal display, the Patronus Charm text on the system panel became slightly clearer.
Slowly advancing toward the Iron level. He focused completely, repeatedly practising with meditative intensity. Silver smoke filled with his will gradually permeated the small greenhouse, creating an atmosphere of otherworldly beauty.
A wisp of silver smoke drifted toward Herpo's manuscript that he had stored in a protective case. And this seemingly innocent contact triggered something completely unexpected.
Herpo's manuscript absorbed this wisp of silver smoke hungrily. The human skin pages began slowly turning with deliberate purpose. Gradually, more and more silver smoke seemed magnetically drawn to Herpo's manuscript, flowing into it like tributaries feeding a river.
The manuscript's turning speed began accelerating ominously. When he noticed the anomaly, rustling sounds already echoed throughout the small greenhouse with growing intensity.
Above Herpo's manuscript, a swirling vortex seemed to form. Silver smoke originally filling the greenhouse was almost entirely drawn by this supernatural whirlpool, continuously absorbed by the ancient text.
His pupils contracted sharply. Herpo's manuscript was obtained from Lucius Malfoy during their previous encounter. Due to Herpo's infamous reputation as a Dark Arts pioneer, he had studied this manuscript several times during recent weeks.
But it mostly contained incomprehensible ravings, fragmented thoughts, and emotional outbursts. Not even complete sentences were frequent occurrences. Trying to extract valuable information from it was like finding a needle in a haystack of madness.
Therefore, he had temporarily abandoned exploring Herpo's manuscript. He completely gave up hope on it, treating it as a precious collectible that might prove useful someday in the distant future.
But he never expected that the silver smoke produced during his Patronus Charm practice would cause Herpo's manuscript to react so dramatically. And quite violently too.
Given Herpo the Foul's reputation as one of history's most dangerous Dark wizards, he maintained strong wariness and vigilance toward anything the man had left behind. He didn't approach rashly, only watching from a safe distance with mounting concern.
Then he discovered the manuscript's truly strange changes. The crazy ravings originally covering every page suddenly began rearranging themselves with purpose. Line after line of fresh, coherent ancient Greek text appeared on the manuscript's first page:
"I am Herpo. I have made a terrible mistake. I failed to successfully seal my evil will incarnation... it escaped. I also have a strong feeling that it and the Patronus Charm I created will not end their influence here. I must find ways to counter them, or extremely terrible disasters will occur."
The text stopped abruptly there, as if the writer had been interrupted mid-thought. Even with more silver smoke flowing steadily in, no additional text appeared. Herpo's manuscript fell silent again, returning to its previous dormant state.
But his eyes churned with waves of shock from what he'd just witnessed. He never expected that beneath this manuscript filled with Herpo's apparent insanity lay such profound secrets.
The genius wizard from ancient Greek times that Dumbledore had mentioned, who created the Patronus Charm through extensive bloody cruel experiments... was this actually Herpo the Foul?
Even Herpo had predicted the Patronus Charm's possible legacy toxins for posterity and left countermeasures hidden in this manuscript? The implications were staggering.
After a long while, his mood gradually calmed, but his brow furrowed tighter than before. If possible, he truly didn't want to know these dangerous secrets. After all, knowing less might mean being considerably safer.
Even Dumbledore's face had shown gravity and seriousness when mentioning the Patronus Charm's historical hidden dangers. He had no intention of investigating deeply into such matters.
Getting involved might be a whirlpool capable of swallowing everything whole. But fortunately, Herpo's manuscript's secrets probably hadn't been discovered all these years. The Malfoy family had also collected it for so long without any incidents.
Even if there were hidden dangers, they probably wouldn't erupt short-term. Moreover, from the manuscript's reaction just now, it seemed only under specific Patronus Charm magic would the real information recorded on it reveal itself.
And the Patronus Charm had to reach a certain mastery level. At least his current not-yet-mastered Patronus Charm wasn't qualified to explore its secrets, even if he desperately wanted to.
He'd have to wait until he could condense his own Patronus at minimum. This process was still quite early. Temporarily, he didn't need to worry about this dangerous knowledge.
This realisation made him breathe slightly easier. But after this unsettling episode, he no longer had the mood to continue practising tonight.
He'd learnt too many magical world secrets in one evening. Moreover, Patronus Charm practice involved will manipulation and was extremely mentally draining. The previous long period of practice, even with his extraordinarily strong spirit, still made him feel waves of fatigue.
After exhaling softly and seeing the sky brightening with dawn's approach, he headed toward the Hufflepuff common room. He planned to use hot tea to soothe his tense, exhausted spirit.
When he quietly entered the common room to avoid making too much noise, he saw a scene that genuinely surprised him. First-year little badgers were actually all awake and present in the common room?
His eyes showed amazement. He checked the time carefully... not even five in the morning! Usually without emergencies or breakfast's irresistible temptation, little badgers almost wished they could treasure every precious second in their warm beds.
Without breakfast's motivation, getting up was typically the little badgers' biggest daily challenge. How were they all awake today?
What surprised him even more was that the awakened little badgers weren't enjoying the small kitchen's delicious breakfast offerings but were practising spells with intense focus.
He momentarily wondered if he'd entered the wrong common room entirely. "You guys... what's going on? When did our house become so competitive?"
Hearing his surprised question, the little badgers looked at his figure still carrying morning dew, their faces showing they couldn't hold back their feelings anymore. When did Hufflepuff become competitive? You, this absolute king of competitiveness who treats all-nighters as completely normal, have no self-awareness whatsoever?
After a moment, Hannah, looking distinctly weary, answered his confusion. She said with a mournful face: "If we had a choice, who would want to get up this early to practise spells? It's all because of the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam."
"Merlin above, why did our year have to encounter this nightmare?"
Mentioning this topic, Hannah couldn't help shuddering with genuine fear. The other little badgers also showed terrified expressions:
"That's the Forbidden Forest! They say there are vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of evil things inside. The Weasley twins, supposedly Forbidden Forest regulars, bet that half our year will die in there!"
"I heard not just us... many little lions in Gryffindor were scared to tears. They say Slytherins are trying to fake illness or take leave to escape this Defence Against the Dark Arts exam."
Besides fear of the Forbidden Forest itself, Hannah looked at him and chuckled nervously, then whispered: "Also... we heard about it. This assessment, Ciel, you have to enter the Forbidden Forest through another entrance with Harry and them, not together with us."
Mentioning this, Hannah's eyes were full of worry for him, with genuine sadness on her face: "We can't do anything. Can't help you; can only let you face those terrible things alone. At least... we must be capable; we can't let you worry about us. You just focus on your preparations."
Hannah clenched her small fists, eyes full of determination: "We'll take care of ourselves. For final exams, we'll also work hard to let our house get first place. You've done enough for us."
"We just hope to see you come out of the Forbidden Forest unharmed. Forget getting up early... even pulling all-nighters, we can do it."
Saying this, the other little badgers also nodded with determined faces. He was first stunned, not expecting the little badgers' uncharacteristic effort was specifically to avoid worrying him.
And everyone was genuinely concerned about his safety in the Forbidden Forest. Then his heart warmed considerably, and he nodded gently: "Don't worry. I'm already prepared. You don't need to be afraid either. Headmaster Dumbledore won't let terrible things happen to everyone."
"I'll quietly tell you... I've been to the Forbidden Forest many times with Hagrid. It's not that scary. As for the Weasley twins, they've always wanted to go, but Hagrid keeps blocking them from the Forbidden Forest. What they're saying is just to scare you."
Hannah's eyes brightened considerably: "Really?" He smiled reassuringly: "When have I ever lied to you?"
This undoubtedly made Hannah and the other little badgers breathe genuine sighs of relief. Their tense nerves relaxed considerably. Unknowingly, he had become the first-year little badgers' emotional backbone.
After he said the Forbidden Forest wasn't that scary, many little badgers who had been worried and even had their spellcasting become shaky could finally stabilise their performance.
He sat in a corner, watching the little badgers practice with renewed vigour, his heart still filled with warmth. Thinking of the upcoming Forbidden Forest trip, cold light flashed in his eyes.
Quirrell's target would definitely focus mostly on his and Harry's team. But he absolutely wouldn't miss the opportunity to use other students to restrain Dumbledore and the professors.
The little badgers would probably inevitably encounter danger too. Though Dumbledore would make arrangements, he couldn't place all hope on Dumbledore alone.
Perhaps he could do something additional. If he could enhance the little badgers' strength, giving them more self-protection ability, that would naturally be ideal.
But even though little badgers were already much stronger than their original story counterparts, they were still only first-years. They'd learnt limited spells and lacked the ability and conditions to learn many advanced techniques.
Thinking this, his gaze involuntarily fell on the system panel, on the laser spell he'd previously derived from Lumos. If this spell were completed thoroughly, it would be quite suitable for teaching the little badgers.
After all, it was derived from Lumos, so the difficulty hadn't been raised too dramatically. The little badgers had solid foundations in Lumos, so mastering the laser spell in a few days was quite possible.
Moreover, this spell had certain killing power and naturally restrained dark creatures. Using it for self-protection in the Forbidden Forest was absolutely perfect.
But the laser spell's text was still somewhat blurred and hadn't fully formed. This meant the spell still lacked something crucial and wasn't sufficiently perfected.
Teaching it rashly to the little badgers... he didn't know what might happen. But what exactly was missing?
He had pondered this matter extensively but hadn't found that missing inspiration. Now he again activated Occlumency, entering a high-intensity flow state.
Surrounding time seemed slowed countless times. His thoughts operated at maximum intensity and speed. Time passed minute by minute.
He pondered the laser spell intensively, checking all factors repeatedly. But still couldn't find what the missing component was.
His spirit, already quite fatigued from practising the Patronus Charm, bore an increasingly heavy burden under the high-intensity flow state. Even his vision gradually blurred.
Images transmitted from the retina to the brain... the little badgers' wand movements while practising Lumos almost became discontinuous, flickering residual images.
He shook his head, rubbing his throbbing temples, just preparing to relax. But after a moment, his thoughts suddenly froze on an image in his mind.
Then he seemed to think of something profound. His blurred vision looked toward the scene of little badgers practising Lumos.
In one area, a special phenomenon appeared. In his eyes, the light there flickered bright and dim. Sometimes, as dim as complete darkness. Sometimes, it was bright, far exceeding two young wizards' combined Lumos output.
This phenomenon flashed through his mind like lightning... a term he'd learnt in his previous life. Simultaneously, understanding crashed through his consciousness.
He finally understood what part his laser spell was missing.
"Light interference!"