Alice gripped her wand, her eyes locked on the lanolin in front of her.
She could feel the joy radiating from her ten-inch yew wand with a dragon heartstring core, and it put her in a great mood. With a smooth, effortless motion, she cast the Levitation Charm.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
In an instant, the entire classroom gasped in awe as the parchment in front of Alice floated upward.
One by one, checkmarks appeared in the blank spaces on the parchment, ticking off all twelve criteria. A dazzling golden light burst from the parchment, framing Alice like some kind of divine figure.
For a moment, every young witch and wizard in the room was completely stunned.
Alice shot a look at Professor Flitwick. She really hadn't expected him to enchant the parchment with a Lumos spell!
Sure, it looked cool—judging by her classmates' faces, they thought so too—but it caught her so off guard that she felt a little embarrassed.
Professor Flitwick gave an awkward chuckle. He hadn't expected the glowing spell to make Alice look that stunning either.
Seeing the mix of shock and envy on the other students' faces, Flitwick decided the glowing spell was a total win. Seizing the moment, he announced with enthusiasm, "Alice helped me develop this new method—fifty points to Slytherin!"
"An excellent Levitation Charm, perfectly executed by Alice—ten more points to Slytherin!"
"And Bibber and Malfoy provided a great demonstration—one point each to Ravenclaw and Slytherin!"
Boom!
In a single class, Slytherin racked up sixty-one points. Even the students who weren't big fans of Alice had to admit she was impressive. The classroom erupted in thunderous applause.
Some Ravenclaw students clapped wholeheartedly for Alice. The little eagles always admired brainy kids like her.
For the rest of the class, Professor Flitwick had Alice act as his assistant, helping him guide the other students with their Levitation Charms.
Draco Malfoy, meanwhile, was getting more and more frustrated as he cast the spell on his parchment. His tone grew snappy, and despite being capable of meeting eight of the criteria, he ended up with two X's.
He was fuming—until Alice walked over to him. Only then did he rein in his scowl.
"What are you doing? Why's your Levitation Charm getting worse than before?" Alice asked.
Malfoy shot her a sidelong glance and snapped, "What's it to you, Miss Gifted Norton?"
Alice's lips twitched into a half-smile. "I'll take that as a genuine compliment."
"But seriously, Malfoy, magic doesn't pick sides. It doesn't get stronger just because you want to show off, and it doesn't hand you success just because you're desperate for it."
"Don't waste your talent, but don't overestimate it either."
"If your talent's not enough, practice. If you've got the skill, then make the most of it."
"Get caught up in your little schemes, and it'll only come back to bite you."
With that, Alice lost interest in continuing the conversation. But Crabbe, standing next to Malfoy, suddenly piped up, "Norton, why can I cast the Levitation Charm but still not get the parchment to approve it?"
Alice paused, then told Crabbe to cast the spell on a nearby feather.
As Crabbe recited the incantation, the feather slowly floated upward, seemingly proving he'd learned the charm.
Alice glanced at Professor Flitwick, who was watching from the front of the room. He gave her an encouraging nod and gestured for her to take the lead.
Alice thought for a moment before saying, "I think there are two reasons. First, it's about understanding the power of your magic. Let me give you an example. You all saw my Shield Charm and Disarming Charm when I faced off with Parkinson. I'm sure plenty of you have learned those spells from your parents or older siblings."
"Heck, some of you can probably cast them already. But do you think you could've held off Parkinson's attacks in that fight? She's no pushover, you know."
"That's my first point: just because you can cast a spell doesn't mean it's effective."
"I think we all need to take a hard look at the spells we know and figure out how well we've actually mastered them."
"The second reason ties into that. The parchment is based on Professor Flitwick's understanding of the Levitation Charm, and his standards are way higher than ours. What you think counts as 'mastering' a spell might not match what the professor expects."
"So, you end up in a situation where you can cast the Levitation Charm, but the parchment doesn't give you a passing grade."
When Alice finished, Professor Flitwick started clapping, and he chimed in, "Alice is absolutely right. Let me add something about the parchment you're all using."
"If you meet more than half of the twelve criteria—say, seven or more—you can cast the Levitation Charm."
"But my expectations for you go way beyond just hitting seven. I want you to hit ten, or even all twelve."
"That's why the parchment can feel so frustrating."
"I can promise you this: if you meet ten or more of the criteria, your Levitation Charm will be as good as most graduating students'. And if you hit all twelve? You can call yourself a master of the Levitation Charm."
The students turned to look at Alice, realization dawning. Had she really reached that level of skill with the Levitation Charm?
She was only eleven!
Pansy Parkinson, who'd arrived late and was stuck sitting in the back corner, stared at Alice's back, lost in thought. When Alice mentioned their duel, Pansy had felt a pang of embarrassment. But hearing Alice and Flitwick's explanations, she started to reconsider.
Alice was only eleven years old.
Pansy didn't believe for a second that Alice wouldn't go on to make a name for herself after she grew up. I mean, who gets into Slytherin without some ambition, right?
So, should she throw her lot in with Alice?
Pansy's gaze drifted to Theodore Nott nearby. He was watching Alice, his expression cool and detached, but Pansy could tell there was unspoken respect—and maybe even admiration—in his eyes.
Looks like I need to have a chat with Theodore Nott, Pansy thought. Figure out what Alice is up to and what she wants.
---