Ancient Magic: Shield

Vizet smoothly completed the discharge procedures and claimed his new identity—a member of the Lovegood family.

In other words, the "family" Luna had mentioned.

Luna lived in Ottery St Catchpole, a semi-Wizarding settlement.

A so-called semi-Wizarding settlement was one where Wizards and Muggles lived together.

However, Wizards had to restrain themselves and avoid using magic in front of Muggles as much as possible, so they would not violate the Statute of Secrecy.

Perhaps because of this, Luna rarely went to Muggle villages. Her home was the entirety of her activity space.

Even Luna did not know the specific contents of the Statute of Secrecy very well.

She only knew that after entering Hogwarts, she could learn more through the relevant History of Magic courses.

Aside from that, Luna also knew a great deal about common knowledge in the Magical World, precisely what Vizet needed.

Without a doubt, Vizet was a good listener.

After spending these past few days together, Luna had nothing left she would not tell him.

Luna's Home was situated in a black Ancient Castle beside the village. It was shaped like a cylinder, resembling a rook from International Chess.

Beyond the Ancient Castle was a lush garden filled with all kinds of strange Magical Plants.

This was Luna's most important source of entertainment. Like a butterfly dancing through the air, she collected Dew, loosened the soil, watered and fertilized the plants, and happily played in the garden.

She had many playmates, but her favorite was an Owl.

When Vizet had just moved in, Luna introduced the Owl to him. "Her name is Diana. She's a very good postwoman!"

"Postwoman? Do people in the Magical World use Owls to deliver letters?"

Luna stroked the Owl's fluffy feathers. "Yes. Whether it's letters or packages, you can ask Diana to deliver them."

Using Owls to send letters and transport packages was common knowledge in the Magical World, carrying a romance unique to Wizards.

Aside from the Owl that was only as big as a palm, the most active creatures in the garden were Goblins.

Goblins were small Magical creatures that looked like potatoes with legs.

Luna got along very well with the Goblins. Whenever she planted something, they would crawl out of their holes and help dig the soil.

The Goblins were friendly only toward Luna. Their attitude toward Vizet was much worse—they had even bitten his finger.

Luna carefully bandaged his wound and said lightly, "Father once said that the Goblins in the garden are a blessing."

"If you feel some talent budding today, don't suppress it. That's a blessing from the Goblins!"

Vizet had only just begun living in the Magical World, while Luna had grown up in a Wizarding Family, so he chose to believe her.

He really did feel that something was budding—

In his mind, the Wizard Combat Guide opened to the second page, revealing new content.

"Ancient Magic: Shield": Guided through a Meditation Method and hand gestures, it gathers Ancient Magic Power and spreads it into a Magic Barrier...

This was magic that did not require a Wand.

Luna had once told him that Wizards generally needed the help of a Wand to cast spells.

And if Vizet wanted a Wand, he still needed an Admission Letter from Hogwarts.

Although Dumbledore had told him that he had to enter Hogwarts to study,

nearly half a month had passed, yet the so-called Admission Letter had never appeared.

Being able to obtain magic from the Wizard Combat Guide—magic that did not require a Wand—left him extremely excited.

Vizet left the garden and came to a stream, where he began practicing the magic.

First, he needed to master the hand gestures it required.

The first movement was to press his palms together. After several movements resembling hand seals, he spread his hands apart, touching his index fingers and thumbs together...

The casting gestures were not complicated. After practicing them several times, Vizet committed the entire sequence to memory.

Practicing the gestures was only the first step. He still needed to guide the Ancient Magic Power and merge it into the gestures.

This process was clearly much more difficult. Every time his hands touched, it was a collision of power.

His hands would part like repelling magnets, making the gestures he needed to maintain during casting feel awkward.

"Is it because my power comes from the Obscurus? I'll try combining it with the Meditation Method!"

As a student, Vizet was good at thinking through problems and solving them.

Once he entered the state of the Guardian Meditation, everything around him became clear.

Even the process of guiding the power became much smoother.

When he completed the final gesture, Silver-Blue Ancient Magic Power appeared and gathered into a sphere of light between his hands.

Then...

The sphere of light vanished, and the power returned to Vizet's body.

According to the description in the Wizard Combat Guide, once all the steps were complete, the power should spread out and form a Magic Barrier.

Yet the power had returned to his body. Clearly, the spell had failed.

However, the appearance of the sphere of light was already enough to lift his spirits and encourage him to keep practicing.

After practicing again and again, Vizet's gestures had become extremely fluid, yet he still could not complete the final step.

Every time the sphere of light gathered between his hands and was about to spread out, the power returned to his body.

After practicing continuously, he felt that he seemed to be missing something during the casting process...

"Vizet, are you practicing magic?" A light voice came from the side.

Diana stood on Luna's shoulder, dozing off and bobbing her head like a pecking chick.

"It looks like magic that Wizards used to cast in the past. Can you show me one more time?"

"Of course!" Vizet maintained the Meditation Method, his gestures and the flow of power proceeding as one.

Yet at the final moment, the power still failed to transform into a barrier.

"Perhaps you're missing a powerful desire?" Luna tilted her head. "I once read an ancient notebook filled with Wizards' insights into spellcasting."

"The Wizard who left behind the notebook mentioned that whenever Wizards cast spells, they always needed to have a desire. Only then could magic become docile, just like Diana."

"There was really such a notebook?" Vizet was curious. "Is it still around? Could I borrow it?"

"It's gone." Luna gently shook her head, and her voice seemed to become a little more solid. "Something happened, and many of the notebooks were lost."

"Something happened? Couldn't magic repair them?" Vizet knew a spell called the Mending Charm. It could even quickly repair houses.

Luna shook her head again. "It was a magical accident. My mother... a wonderful witch... loved conducting experiments... One of her spells went wrong..."

"I was there too. The power released by that failed spell was very strong. My mother was gone, and the notebooks were lost in the same way..."

Looking at Luna's expression, Vizet felt his heart tighten. He murmured, "I'm sorry... I didn't know..."

He had only known that Luna's mother was gone. He had never considered that Luna had witnessed her mother's death.

"It really is a sad thing." Luna's voice became light again.

"But I still have my family... It's not as if I can never see my mother again. There will be a chance in the future, won't there?"

Vizet now somewhat understood why Luna had spoken so solemnly about family when they were at St. Mungo's.

"Hoo-hoo!"

The Owl on Luna's shoulder woke up, flapping its wings and crying out sharply.

The calm stream grew agitated. Large swathes of water churned up and splashed over Vizet and Luna...