"Whoa… didn't think it would be that bright."
Ollivander leaned against the shelf, rubbing his eyes.
Leonard, who had been prepared, was only a little dazzled.
"I did warn you it was bright," Leonard said.
"Yes, yes, my mistake," Ollivander admitted, still rubbing his eyes. "Hopefully my eyesight isn't ruined. Let's move on. I want to see if this wand works for more than just Lumos."
He opened another section of shelving, revealing a target dummy.
"I'm not very good at teaching magic," Ollivander admitted. "I can't really give you the 'secret' to a spell, but I can correct you step by step. I'll start with four spells: the Disarming Charm, the Disillusionment Charm, the Shield Charm, and the Mending Charm."
The Disarming Charm was offensive, the Disillusionment Charm supportive, the Shield Charm defensive, and the Mending Charm more for daily use. Testing these would give him a clear idea of the wand's amplification effect.
Leonard's eyes lit up. These were perfect for him—and all were spells Hogwarts wouldn't teach until at least third year. They certainly weren't in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade One.
"First is the Disarming Charm. It's a very common spell. It can cause some damage, but its main function is to knock away your opponent's weapon and subdue them."
"The incantation is Expelliarmus," Ollivander said, raising his wand toward the dummy. "Pay attention to my movement."
He cast the spell: "Expelliarmus!"
A red flash struck the dummy, sending it crashing back against the wall. The stick it was holding shot into the air and spun neatly into Ollivander's waiting hand.
"That's the Disarming Charm. Now, you try." He placed the stick back into the dummy's grip.
Leonard blinked. "That's… all the instruction?"
"What else?" Ollivander asked, genuinely puzzled. "You've got the motion and the incantation. Go on, give it a shot."
Leonard, still doubtful, copied Ollivander's gesture and chanted, "Expelliarmus!"
Nothing happened. The silence was painfully awkward.
"Your wand movement was fine, but your pronunciation is off," Ollivander corrected. "Modern spells are in Latin. You need to work on your accent. Your pronunciation for Lumos was much better."
Leonard's face twitched.
Sorry, but he hadn't even mastered English yet—his spellcasting was all based on half-remembered phonetic crutches. And Lumos was a lot simpler than Expelliarmus.
"Try again," Ollivander encouraged.
Leonard nodded, took a deep breath, and raised his wand again.
"Expelliarmus!"
"No, still the accent. Your intonation slipped in the middle. Remember—the incantation guides the magic. If you can feel the shifts in the sound, it'll help you later with nonverbal casting."
"Expelliarmus!"
"Better—the intonation's correct now, but you forgot to coordinate with your wand. Each syllable corresponds to a change in the wand movement. The wand is just as important a guide for your magic. Understanding this will make wandless casting easier down the line."
"Expelliarmus!"
"Good. Wand and incantation are both solid now. But don't get it backwards—the real key is the magic itself. You're too focused on form and forgetting to channel your power. Remember this: the wizard drives the magic. The wand and words are just aids."
...
The morning slipped by in a blur.
Leonard kept at it, swinging his wand and chanting spells until his mouth went dry and his arms ached with fatigue.
Ollivander, as it turned out, wasn't much of a teacher. His demonstrations carried unconscious distortions from his own ingrained casting habits. That was no problem for him, but for a beginner, even the smallest deviation could mean total failure.
Still, Ollivander was patient. He corrected Leonard's mistakes over and over, carefully tracing back the precise motions he'd been taught in his own youth.
After repeated failures, Leonard finally pieced together everything he'd learned. He raised his wand again, determined.
"Expelliarmus!"
Magic surged through him, rushing to the wand tip and bursting forth in one seamless flow.
A red blast the size of a watermelon shot across the room, slamming into the dummy with a deafening crack. The impact hurled the target against the wall so hard the ceiling rained down dust.
A jagged split tore across the dummy's chest, nearly ripping it apart. Meanwhile, the fake wand it had been holding spun backward like a dart, burying itself deep in the wall right beside Leonard.
The boy's cheer caught in his throat. That thing had missed his arm by a hair's breadth. The speed was so vicious he hadn't even had time to flinch.
Ollivander wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the dummy slowly mend itself and the fake wand quiver in the wall. That wall had been magically reinforced, yet the wand had driven straight through.
"Well done," Ollivander said at last. His tone carried a trace of lingering fear, but his eyes gleamed with irrepressible excitement.
It was confirmed—Leonard's wand amplified offensive magic.
His theory had been right all along.
...
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
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