"You asked a professor?" Michael was surprised. "After taking Professor Snape's class, you still dared to ask a professor?"
Theo smiled. "Professor Sprout is different; she's especially kind. And I thought, instead of practicing in secret, wouldn't it be better to get a professor's permission first? Besides, practicing spells isn't a bad thing."
"And then? Professor Sprout just gave us a place?" Wade asked.
"Right." Theo nodded. "An abandoned, empty classroom. Professor Sprout said it should meet our needs."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Let's all go take a look!" Michael said cheerfully—he was already tired of staying in the suffocating library.
Wade was about to leave when he suddenly looked back.
In the vast library, Hermione was engrossed in a book by herself, looking quite lonely.
Wade remembered that at this time, Hermione didn't seem to have any friends.
"Wait a moment," he said to the others. "I'm going to call someone else."
The books on the table were gently tapped twice. Hermione looked up to see Wade smiling at her. "Hermione, we're going to practice spells together. Do you want to come?"
…
"Hogwarts was the first magic school established. A long time ago, perhaps all underage wizards in Europe studied at Hogwarts. But later, other magic schools were built one after another, and many wizards chose to migrate to America to live. Their children then attended Ilvermorny School."
As they climbed the stairs, Theo said breathlessly, "So… Hogwarts can normally accommodate one or two thousand students and hundreds of professors. But now there are only two or three hundred people, so many classrooms are unused. For the students' safety, the school has hidden most of the abandoned, empty classrooms."
"Professor Sprout told us about an unused Charms classroom; the space should be quite large," Ryan added. "Behind the portrait of Miss Claudia with the umbrella on the third floor."
The group searched along the corridor for a while and finally found the portrait on the corridor near the West Tower.
—On a grassland full of flowers, the wind blew gently. A blonde girl holding a white umbrella with pink flowers looked melancholic into the distance, her side turned to the group.
Ryan tapped the left side of the portrait three times with his Wand and recited the password: "Sunshine, golden daisies."
The girl lifted her skirt and moved aside. The portrait opened, and the group entered one by one. After the portrait closed, the blonde girl changed direction with her umbrella, and rain began to patter down in the painting.
It was hard to tell how long this classroom had been unused. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, some tables and chairs were scattered haphazardly, and a few old books and discarded parchments lay strewn about. Along one wall, there was a row of wooden shelves, also empty, with several broken sections. In the corner, targets for spell practice were piled up, most of them broken as well.
"Alright, looks like we need to clean up before we can practice," Hermione said, rolling up her sleeves. "Who's getting a basin of water?"
"Me!" Theo volunteered. "I'll go find some cleaning supplies first."
"Why don't we ask the house-elves to help clean it up?" Michael said lazily. "You know Hogwarts has a bunch of house-elves, right?"
Ryan had already bent down to help a fallen chair upright.
"Hold on a moment, everyone." Wade stopped Theo, who was about to leave, and asked the others, "We're here to practice spells—why don't we start by cleaning this classroom?"
"What? No way!" Michael looked at him incredulously.
"Scourgify, Reparo. Let's start with these two spells," Wade said, looking at Ryan. "Moving tables, chairs, and benches can only be done with the Levitation Charm."
"Alright! It's a big project, but it sounds interesting!" Theo said with a grin.
Ryan thought for a moment, then put the chair he had just righted back down. He waved his Wand: "Scourgify!"
A table became slightly cleaner, but noticeable grime remained in the crevices.
Wade blinked.
"Ryan, say it again," Wade said.
So Ryan used the Scouring Charm again, but the effect wasn't very noticeable.
This time, Wade was sure he saw it clearly—when Ryan waved his Wand, Wade vaguely saw another arc, superimposed on the first. They were similar yet different, making him realize precisely why Ryan's spell hadn't had the intended effect.
It was like playing a game, and a cheat program calculated the optimal path and attack angle for him.
"Ryan, when you cast the spell, do it like this: raise your Wand slightly higher, and the ending should be crisper." Wade demonstrated. "Also, for 'Scourgify'—the 'gi' sound should be lighter. Try it again."
Ryan paused—perhaps Hufflepuff naturally trusted Ravenclaw's intellect more—he didn't offer any objections. Instead, he waved his Wand according to Wade's modified version: "Scourgify!"
The table instantly became sparkling clean, as if not even a fly could land on it. Even the floor beneath it became clean as well.
Ryan's eyes widened. He looked at his Wand, then at Wade, and murmured, "How did you do that?"
The others had similar reactions. They all gathered around the table to look. Theo even bent down and touched it repeatedly, exclaiming, "Ryan! I had no idea! You're a spellcasting genius!"
"No—it wasn't because of me—" Ryan said, somewhat bewildered. He waved his Wand again, but because his mind was too muddled, the effect wasn't as good as last time.
Wade didn't speak. He tried the spell himself but didn't see the extra arc—just as his eyes could see names above others' heads but not his own.
However, the experience of guiding Ryan made him clearly understand what was correct, so his own spellcasting was flawless, and the cleaning range was even wider.
Wade thought for a moment and had the others use the Scouring Charm as well. As expected, he saw the faint golden arcs again. Even Hermione's spell wasn't perfect, though it was closer to the standard than the others'.
He guided them one by one, bringing their spells closer to perfection. In the process, his own understanding deepened. Eventually, with a casual flick of his Wand, he could cast a perfect Scouring Charm without even needing to say the incantation.
If a Golden Finger had a name, Wade felt he might have a "Good Teacher System"—he could glance at a student's head and know what to call out; even if a group cast spells simultaneously, he could tell who was serious and who was slacking; in one-on-one guidance, he could make targeted micro-adjustments, allowing students to master a spell in the shortest time.
Unfortunately, the Golden Finger was a silent Golden Finger. Wade didn't know if it had more undiscovered functions waiting to be developed; he could only slowly explore.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read ***+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский
Or Translate for free at : https:// randomtranslator.com/translate
Join our Discord: https:// discord.com/invite/XXUR9nkjwa
-----------