Magic Isn't Easy

"Is that enough?"

George did not mind. He took out a bulging cloth bag and set it on the table with a smile.

There were two main reasons he had chosen such a large owl.

First, an owl of this size already possessed considerable attacking ability. If it truly encountered danger, it could provide him with no small amount of help.

Second, he valued its flying ability. A normal magical owl could carry over a dozen pounds while flying, so an owl this large should have no problem carrying more than a hundred pounds, right?

If he ran into trouble in the future and could not win a fight, he could have the owl fly him away. It would not just be a pet—it could also serve as a flying mount. Why choose anything else?

"Since you're sure, then of course there's no problem."

The clerk estimated that the bag contained at least four hundred Galleons. George was genuinely rich enough to buy it and was not joking, so the clerk immediately and enthusiastically helped him move the Eagle Owl onto a cart, afraid that George might change his mind.

That owl ate quite a lot every day. If no wizard bought it soon, the shop would start losing money.

With his pet purchased, George headed to the last and most important shop: Flourish and Blotts.

Today, he was not only buying all the First Year textbooks. He also wanted to buy many other Magic Books, especially books on Gesture Casting.

If he could not learn Gesture Casting, then his true body in the Marvel Universe would not be able to properly use magic before making a wand.

Today was August 3rd, and there were still eighteen days until Gilderoy Lockhart's book-signing event at Flourish and Blotts. Thus, there were not many people in the bookstore, making it relatively easy to find books just by asking the clerk.

"Gesture Casting? Those books haven't been sold for ages. Everyone uses wands now. Who would still learn such an outdated casting method?"

The clerk shook his head.

George did not give up and continued, "I'm very interested in that outdated casting method. Could you think of a way to find a copy for me? I can pay extra!"

To show his sincerity, he first took out twenty Galleons.

The clerk hesitated when he saw them, then finally held up four fingers. "It needs to be specially ordered, and the cost is high. Forty."

"No problem."

George directly took out forty Galleons and placed them on the table.

He knew he was definitely being overcharged, but as long as he could get a Magic Book related to Gesture Casting, he would pay not just forty, but even four hundred Galleons.

"Three days. It'll definitely arrive within three days."

The clerk immediately accepted the forty Galleons with a grin.

"Then I'll come pick it up in three days."

After browsing around some more and paying the clearly marked prices in Galleons, George pushed his cart piled high with purchases and hummed an unknown tune as he headed back to the potion shop in Knockturn Alley, ready to teach himself magic.

The huge, conspicuous Eagle Owl drew plenty of curious looks along the way.

"Be good. Don't make any noise."

After arriving at the shop, George placed the Eagle Owl on the table in his bedroom and fed it one of the wild rabbits he had bought at the owl shop. After giving it that instruction, he began sorting through the Magic Books he had just bought.

To his surprise, after hearing George's words, the Eagle Owl nodded very meekly.

For ordinary young wizards, an Eagle Owl was too large to carry and potentially dangerous, making it unsuitable as a pet.

But things were different for George.

His body was stronger than that of an ordinary adult. Though the Eagle Owl was large, it was no challenge for him.

As for danger, the Psychic Abilities he had inherited from Professor X were only at level two. They had little influence on complicated human minds, but they worked quite well on simple animals.

Not only could he easily communicate with animals, but he could also influence their behavior to a certain extent.

Sometimes, George thought that if he spent his time studying magical creatures, he probably would not be any worse than Newt or Hagrid in the future. He could become a Magizoologist as well.

"Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 and Magical Theory. I'll study these two first."

He pulled the two most important books from the pile and began studying them with complete focus.

At present, the most important thing was mastering practical spells. Other subjects such as History of Magic, Herbology, and Potion could be set aside for now, at least until the crisis facing his true body in the Marvel Universe had passed.

He studied until evening.

"As expected, it isn't that simple!"

Setting down the Magic Book, George rubbed his slightly dry eyes and began chewing on some bread he had picked up while shopping in Diagon Alley.

When watching movies, it seemed as though wizards only had to wave their wands to cast magic, making it look quite easy.

But once he actually began learning, he discovered that successfully casting a spell was far from easy.

It was like cooking.

It looked as though there were only a few steps, but when it was your turn to do it yourself, you were completely lost.

Even with the same steps, the results could taste entirely different.

According to the Magic Book, to successfully cast a spell, one first needed a Wizard bloodline and magical power. Otherwise, even if every following step was correct, it would still be useless.

Next came the incantation. The words had to be pronounced clearly, and each spell differed in speed, emotion, and other aspects. If the standard was not met, either the magical effect would be greatly weakened or nothing would happen at all.

In a very small number of cases, unexpected effects could occur.

Finally came the wand movement. A wand could not simply be waved around at random; the trajectory differed for every spell.

Of course, all of this was aimed at beginners.

If someone truly understood and mastered a spell, and had even deeply researched its underlying principles and laws, then casting that magic wandlessly and silently would not be difficult.

Truly top-tier wizards could instantly cast most magic silently and without wands.

"The Softening Charm, Severing Charm, Alohomora, Levitation Charm, Locking Charm, and Reparo. I'll focus on Alohomora first."

After finishing his bread, George turned to the page in Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 that explained Alohomora.

The spells in First Year textbooks were the most basic, simplest, and easiest to learn. At the same time, they basically had no real power.

Take the Severing Charm, for example. Even if he learned it, at his level he could at most cut something like a napkin. If he used it on a person, it probably would not even break the skin.

Rather than that, he might as well learn Alohomora first. That way, his self in the main Marvel Universe could unlock the mutant ability suppressor fastened around his neck and use his abilities.

He could also open the various high-tech doors in the experimental research room and escape smoothly.

If he had extra time afterward, it would not be too late to learn more spells.

Actually, he felt that Transfiguration should be more useful than Alohomora. Especially against high-tech weapons, as long as he could destroy even one component, he could render them inoperable.

But after thinking it over carefully, he gave up on the idea.

Transfiguration was a category of magic all on its own, so its difficulty had to be far greater than that of other spells. Even a genius like Hermione had been unable to learn it before school started. He did not believe he could master it in a short time without anyone to guide him.

Even if he did manage to learn it, the results probably would not be that noticeable. There was no need to take the risk.