Pandora's Magical Theory

"Modern Spell Theory?"

Andy had a copy of Basic Spell Theory at home, but the two books had not been written by the same author.

Andy glanced at the author's name.

Pandora Lovegood! To his surprise, she was even Andy's neighbor.

When Andy was eight, Pandora Lovegood had died in an accident during a spell experiment. Andy had even attended her funeral with his parents.

Andy casually flipped through it. "Then I'll start with this one. What about you? Have you picked a book yet?"

Hermione took a hefty book from the shelf. "We have History of Magic this afternoon, so I want to first learn about some of the famous wizards throughout history."

Andy glanced at it. It was a book introducing every famous wizard from the past thousand years, precisely the sort of book he would never so much as look at.

"Let's go!" Hermione tilted her head.

Perhaps because school had only just started, there was hardly anyone in the library. The two found a quiet spot, sat down, and read in silence.

After flipping through a few pages, Andy discovered that Hogwarts's library really was a treasure trove.

There were many books on the market discussing spell theory. Different authors naturally held different views on spells, and their explanations focused on different aspects as well.

Modern Spell Theory could be regarded as a general outline of modern spells. Rather than explaining any particular spell in detail, it discussed the various factors involved in casting spells.

The book opened by discussing the effect emotions had on a spell's power.

Using spells required not only incantations and specific gestures, but also the caster's emotions.

In many cases, extreme emotions could even greatly enhance a spell's power.

The Obscurus mentioned in Research on the Development of Ancient Witchcraft, which Andy had read before, was a product born from the fusion of a Little Wizard's negative emotions and magic.

Looks like I need to raise my mind attribute.

Many people said that Voldemort was the strongest Dark Wizard of the past century. Some even called him the strongest Dark Wizard in history.

Of course, "in history" was somewhat of an exaggeration, but Voldemort's power was beyond doubt.

"Could his Dark Arts be so powerful because his mind has become completely evil?"

Andy guessed, "Only an evil mind combined with the Dark Arts can make the Dark Arts more powerful."

It was probably more than that.

So far, Andy only knew that Dumbledore and Voldemort stood at the pinnacle of the Wizarding World. Yet as for the secret behind their strength, he still had no clue.

But one thing was certain: the answer to the secret of their strength could definitely be found in the Restricted Section.

Perhaps those secrets were hidden in some corner of a book.

Andy calmed himself and continued reading. An hour and a half passed in the blink of an eye.

"Andy, class starts in fifteen minutes!" Hermione reminded him.

"Got it." Andy closed the book.

If possible, Andy would have liked to skip this History of Magic class. Unfortunately, it was compulsory, and skipping class on the first day of school would leave a bad impression on the professors.

After completing the borrowing procedures with Madam Pince, the librarian, Andy and Hermione left the library.

The History of Magic classroom was also on the Second Floor, so they did not have to deal with those unruly staircases.

Ravenclaw had History of Magic together with Slytherin.

Slytherin House had a somewhat poor reputation, and all of it had something to do with Gryffindor.

Not only because of Voldemort, but also because in many major events throughout Wizarding World history, Slytherin had played the role of the villain, while Gryffindor had represented justice.

As a result, students from the two Houses often clashed.

Badmouthing Slytherin was part of every Gryffindor's daily routine.

By Gryffindor standards, if you lost points for fighting a Slytherin student, then you were a hero to the entire House—as long as you won.

The result of such conflicts was that Slytherin generally did not offend Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff students.

Being targeted by one House was bad enough. They had no desire to be targeted by two.

At two in the afternoon, a pearly white, translucent ghost floated out of the wall.

Professor Binns was a ghost, and he looked extremely old. According to the official account, one day while Professor Binns was still alive, he went to teach class and accidentally left his body behind in the Teacher's Lounge.

Andy was utterly disappointed by this class.

Many of the ghosts in the castle were quite interesting, but Professor Binns clearly was not one of them.

His voice was dry, low, and monotonous as he read from the textbook. Everyone in class was drowsy. Every now and then, they would snap back to attention, copy down a date or a name, then sink back into a half-asleep state.

Even Hermione, who usually loved studying, could only force herself to stay alert in Professor Binns's class—Andy had already seen her pinching her thigh.

She really had the spirit of hanging herself from the beam and stabbing herself with an awl.

Andy decided to give up on this class.

History of Magic! Give me a pen, and I can make history.

This class had little to do with magic. He could just read the textbook before the exams and scrape together a passing grade.

Andy took out Modern Spell Theory, which he had borrowed from the library, and began reading it.

Besides mentioning the effects of emotions on spell power, the book also raised a refreshing idea.

Modern spells had been invented based on modern languages, so what about ancient magic? Moreover, every country had its own language, yet different languages could cast the same spell.

Did that mean language and gestures were not necessary factors in casting spells? Little Wizards had unstable magic, yet during magical outbursts, they could make things happen just by wishing for them—they did not even need wands.

Many powerful wizards could cast spells without incantations, and could even use some simple magic without wands.

Did that also mean learning magic, and even becoming proficient in it, was simply a matter of reclaiming our instinct to cast spells?

Of course, the book only mentioned this theory. Even its author could not perform Wandless Magic.

Andy was surprised to find that the author shared many ideas similar to his own. Unfortunately, the author of this book was already dead.

Pandora...

Andy had heard the story of Pandora's Box.

"Is this warning me not to try things lightly?"

There were many things in the Wizarding World that seemed fated, and many prophecies were unexpectedly accurate.

Andy decided to trust fate's guidance. Until his magical ability reached a certain level, he would never attempt dangerous magical experiments.

"Still, when Christmas comes, I could pay a visit to Lovegood House!" Andy thought.

"Uh... better not."

After all, casually bringing up someone's deceased wife or Mom was rather impolite.