Ancient Magic: Improved Summoning Charm

The girl sat down. Penelope and Cho Chang stopped practicing magic and turned to look Vizet and the girl over.

"Oh! I tried a few spells at home too." The girl seemed a little excited. "Just simple practice. I thought I knew all the magic we were going to learn this year."

"A lot of strange things happened while I was at school. It wasn't until I received my Admission Letter that I learned it was magic. As far as I know, Hogwarts is the best Magic School!"

"What I mean is... I've memorized all of this year's textbooks, but I've never seen that spell of yours. Oh, right! My name is Hermione Granger. What are your names?"

Having rattled all that off in one breath, Hermione looked somewhat awkwardly at the others in the compartment.

"She's Cho Chang, and I'm Penelope Clearwater," Penelope introduced them. "Did you see Vizet casting a spell just now?"

"Yes!" Hermione nodded repeatedly, her eyes especially bright. "He shouted, 'Chocolate Frog, come!' Then the Chocolate Frog flew from the seat into his hand!"

Penelope asked incredulously, "You've learned the Summoning Charm?"

"I tried it a few times. Just now was the first time I succeeded." Vizet nodded lightly, reflecting on what had happened.

He had been deeply absorbed in his magical practice just then. Instinctively, he had wanted to tidy up the seat, so he had habitually recited a spell.

For some reason, he thought of something Luna had once told him: when Wizards cast spells, they always needed a wish. Only then could their magic become docile...

Penelope leaned closer. "Could you try it again?"

"I'll give it a try!" Vizet did not refuse. He pointed his Wand at the notebook in Cho Chang's hands.

Following Penelope's advice, he first memorized the notebook's appearance, imagining its specific Details as clearly as possible.

Once a clear image of the notebook formed in his mind, he added the inspiration Luna had given him—granting it a wish. He wanted to take the notebook from Cho Chang's hands.

"Notebook, come!"

Whoosh!

The notebook in Cho Chang's hands shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, cutting a straight line through the air before plunging into Vizet's hand.

"Merlin's beard! That's fourth-year magic..." Penelope said blankly. "Is there something wrong with my magical talent?"

"That's fourth-year magic?" Hermione pressed anxiously. "Did you buy fourth-year textbooks early? Have you already mastered the earlier textbooks?"

Vizet shook his head lightly. "They were practicing over there, so I just listened in..."

"You just listened in?" Penelope covered her cheeks, her voice full of dejection. "He's a New Student, yet he's already mastered fourth-year magic. Meanwhile, I can still fail even when reviewing..."

Cho Chang did not know whether to laugh or cry, so she could only comfort her as gently as possible. "You received a Prefect Badge. That's the school recognizing you, and Professor Flitwick recognizing you..."

"Could it be that you're too anxious?" Drawing on his pre-exam experiences from his previous life, Vizet shared his own advice. "After all, a major exam is coming up."

"Feeling unsettled and the like is perfectly normal... Miss Clearwater, after making a round of the train, did you have lunch?"

"No." Penelope shook her head. "I came to find Cho right after I finished my patrol."

"That's the reason!" Cho Chang's eyes lit up. "How about eating something first? My grandfather once told me—'People need food like iron needs steel; skip a meal and you'll be starving.'"

"Miss Clearwater, have this." Vizet handed her a box of Chocolate Frogs. "Some sugar might help ease feelings of depression and anxiety."

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with your notebook. Otherwise, I couldn't have learned the Summoning Charm in just one afternoon. I practiced step by step according to your advice."

"I don't think it's your problem. You're simply not in a good enough state right now, so you need to adjust a little—at least get back to your usual level."

"Is that so? Thank you..." Though Penelope was somewhat doubtful, she obediently ate a Chocolate Frog anyway.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked in confusion. "Why did she listen to you? None of my classmates listen to me."

"Did I do anything?" Vizet shrugged. "I just told her to get some sugar. She only lacks a bit of calm."

"She said just now that she'll be facing the O.W.L. Exam this Academic Year. Pre-exam anxiety is perfectly normal, but it's only the beginning of term... What will she do later on?"

"Were you a Muggle before too? Why are you so familiar with exams?" Hermione asked. "I read in books that, in order to remain hidden, Wizards teach their children themselves rather than sending them to school."

Only then did she truly examine Vizet.

He had a refined and handsome face, with a sense of steadiness between his brows.

"You're Vizet? The Obscurial who appeared in The Daily Prophet? I'm not saying I'm scared... It's just that I've only recently entered the Magical World... You understand what I mean, right?"

She once again spoke in a rapid-fire stream, and Vizet could only nod helplessly. "Perhaps you don't need to explain so much. Sometimes, the more you say, the more likely you are to say something wrong and cause misunderstandings."

"Is that so?" Hermione frowned tightly, as though recalling some unpleasant experience. "Maybe that really is the case?"

"Notebook, come!" Penelope suddenly shouted, her tone far firmer than before.

The notebook broke free of Vizet's palm and flew back to its owner.

"It feels completely different from before! I succeeded on the first try!" she said excitedly, placing the notebook back in Cho Chang's hands. "Notebook, come!"

The notebook returned to her hand once more.

"This is how it's supposed to feel! I could do this before, so how could I suddenly start failing?"

Penelope had recovered her spirits. Turning to Hermione, she asked curiously, "Miss Granger, I believe you were looking for something just now?"

"That's right! I need to help Neville find his Toad!" Hermione came to her senses, looking annoyed with herself. "It's Neville's pet. I read in books that Wizards used to like keeping Toads."

"I couldn't stand it, anyway." Penelope shuddered. "Hogwarts itself keeps some Toads. If you want to practice magic or test potions, you can apply to the school."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Test potions? You use pets for testing?"

Now that her spirits had recovered, Penelope became quite talkative. "At least during the Middle Ages, Toads were Wizards' preferred pets. They were very convenient for all kinds of tests."

"I remember there was a passage in History of Magic about Muggles' misunderstandings of Wizards. They believed Wizards would persecute Muggles, then turn them into toads."

"Magic can indeed do that, but it requires a very high level of Magical Ability. Later, the Ministry of Magic banned the mistreatment of toads, so fewer and fewer people kept them."

"Miss Clearwater, thank you! I've learned so much from you, but I promised Neville I'd help him find his toad." Hermione spoke as she rose to her feet, preparing to leave the compartment.

Vizet stopped her. "Miss Granger, perhaps I can help."

When Penelope had been discussing the history of toad magic, he had tried merging the Summoning Charm with improved magic, obtaining a new page:

"Ancient Magic: Improved Summoning Charm (Basic Creature Capture)": Channels Ancient Magic to cast the Summoning Charm, enhancing its power and allowing it to affect living creatures.