Shield Charm and Long Live Friendship

Shield Charm and Long Live Friendship

"Shield Charm!"

With a flick of his wand, Ted conjured a thin layer of Magic Shield before him, which then vanished.

He had finally successfully cast the Shield Charm! Shield Charm Lv. 1 had already appeared in his spell list, which meant the system acknowledged it.

He had also gained 65 experience points for learning a new spell.

However, after testing the Shield Charm's effects, he felt a little miserable.

At first, he used Magic Power to control a ball and send it flying at himself, but the Shield Charm failed to block it.

"Was that ball a little too powerful?"

Then he controlled a sheet of Parchment to fly at himself, but the Shield Charm still failed to block it.

"Uh, is there an even gentler attack?"

No wonder the original story said that most Ministry of Magic employees could not cast a decent Shield Charm.

Being able to cast the thing was not enough—the real key was whether it worked well!

In the end, Ted tested the defensive limit of his current Shield Charm... How should he put it?

It was as thin as a cicada's wing, ready to break at the slightest touch—Okamoto 0.01, ultra-thin and sensation-free. Damn it, he had merely cast it; it provided absolutely no protection at all.

It was worse than a bubble! He was afraid even a heavy breath would blow it apart!

But that was how magic worked. It always required constant thought, improvement, gradual strengthening, and optimization.

It was not like learning math, where once you learned that one plus one equaled two, you knew it forever.

It was more like a craft. Learning it only got you through the door; afterward, you still had to keep improving and researching.

Over this period, he had learned several spells, including the minor jinx Leg-Locker Curse that he had obtained from solving a puzzle. He had already known the Tooth-Growing Charm he gained from another adventure.

The former's incantation was "Leg-Locker Curse." The victim's legs would stiffen like wood, as though they had been glued together.

The effect was not very strong, at least not against wizards.

If it could turn someone's hands as stiff as wooden sticks and keep them from swinging a wand, that would be somewhat useful.

Still, could this thing be used somewhere else? Like on a third leg—an Impotence Curse?! The latter's incantation was "Tooth-Growing Charm." The victim's front teeth would grow wildly, even propping their mouth open so they could not close it at all. It could at least stop them from chanting spells.

After a period of intense study, Ted needed to relax as well.

After dinner, he took his old guitar alone to an empty terrace. After tuning it, he gently began to strum.

A rendition of "Down By the Salley Garden" rose in the quiet evening, rippling through the empty corridors, terraces, and towers, flowing freely amid the evening breeze and fading sunlight.

The song had been composed from the poem of the same name, "Down By the Salley Garden," by the poet William Butler Yeats. It told of a willow garden beside a river in Sligo, western Ireland. That was why the song also had another name: "Down By the Salley Garden."

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, playwright, and essayist, a famous mystic and the leader of the Irish Literary Revival.

Yeats's poetry had been influenced by Romanticism, Aestheticism, mysticism, Symbolism, and metaphysical poetry, evolving into his own unique style.

This song was the same. It carried a distinct romance and mystery that intoxicated its listeners.

Perhaps some students heard it by chance and stopped to listen, yet could not find where the music came from. Perhaps only the ancient magical castle listened to Ted's music.

He immersed himself in the music, relaxing body and mind as he let his psionic power spread without restraint, enjoying this brief moment of tranquility that belonged to him alone...

Before long, a paper crane came trembling through the air.

Ted held out his hand. The paper crane landed in his palm, unfolding into a sheet of paper.

It was from Hermione, asking where he had gone. She said she had vaguely heard the sound of a guitar and asked whether he was the one playing.

That made sense. Although the ancient castle was filled with statues and portraits, it had no artistic atmosphere whatsoever. There were hardly even any musical instruments.

Apparently, a stage play had caused a fire decades ago, and similar activities had been canceled afterward.

Ted picked up his guitar and went to find his friends.

Before leaving, he glanced at a wall some distance away.

After he left, a milky-white ghost emerged from that wall.

She was a lady known among Ravenclaw's Little Wizards as the Gray Lady, Ravenclaw's resident ghost.

She had been hiding inside the wall, listening to Ted play.

After returning the guitar to his dormitory, Ted went to the abandoned classroom where they usually gathered. His friends were already sitting in a row, chatting away.

Ted arrived just in time to hear Jerry say, "...Now that I'm at Hogwarts, this little mouse can finally eat all the cheese I want! Long live Hogwarts!"

Since his nickname in Gryffindor was Mousey, he had started referring to himself that way too.

Ted sat down and asked, "What are you talking about? You all seem so happy."

Only then did he learn that everyone was here reminiscing about hard times and appreciating the present.

They had now lived at Hogwarts for nearly two months, and they had somehow started discussing the huge changes in their lives before and after arriving.

There was no need to mention Hermione. A door to the Magical World had slowly opened before her.

She was so diligent and eager to learn not just for grades or competition. She genuinely enjoyed the fun the Magical World brought her.

Even A History of Magic, which everyone else found unbearably dull, seemed like a strange fairy tale to her.

The best talent really was interest!

Wasn't that bald, caped hero who acted purely on interest also the strongest hero?!

Although Ron and Harriett came from wizarding families and had encountered magic since childhood, perhaps the Magical World felt children should not be exposed to magic too early, lest they lose control of it. So they actually had not learned very much.

Harriett had learned quite a few things from Sirius since childhood, but they were scattered and unsystematic.

Ron had simply never cast magic before entering school.

Since wizards generally lived far apart, often with only one wizarding family within dozens of miles, Little Wizards rarely had playmates at home.

The Little Wizard Harriett had interacted with most often as a child was actually Malfoy. Could you believe that?! Yet it was true.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Old Malfoy must have taken a blow after Voldemort's downfall.

At that time, the equally ancient, wealthy, influential, and related Black Family became especially important.

Although Sirius could not stand him and mocked him whenever they met, Old Malfoy really could make use of much of the family network and prestige Sirius had no use for.

Yeah, that was why Malfoy had been getting punched by Harriett since childhood! That was the price! Gryffindor's boxing champion was no joke!

Ron was the opposite extreme. There were seven children in his family, and he was the sixth—the least noticed one.

Who would pay attention to the sixth child? You sixth child!

Although parents were supposed to love all their children equally, there were still considerable differences in real life.

Bill, the eldest of the Weasley family, was the firstborn and an academic star, so naturally Mr. and Mrs. Weasley valued him greatly.

The third child was now Peggy, the first girl in the family. She had a good personality and was also an academic star, so she was dearly loved too.

Whenever the family bought something new, it was usually for Peggy first, then passed down layer by layer.

But it generally stopped once it reached Ron, because Ginny was the youngest girl. The baby of the family was naturally cherished.

Ron's parents loved him too, but with so many children, they did not have enough energy to spare. Being overlooked to some degree was inevitable.

His two older brothers were much older than him, creating a generation gap.

And what common hobbies or topics could he have with his little sister, who was close to his age?

The Twins expressed their feelings a little differently from ordinary people and often played pranks on him.

Only his third sister, Peggy, often cared for her youngest brother.

But after entering school, he had finally made close friends—five of them, no less.

There was the somewhat honest and dull but dependable savior, Neville; the clever, lively, cheerful Mousey Jerry; Harriett, the big sister who always took the lead; Ted, who let him copy homework and taught him how to find reference materials for his after-class essays; and Hermione, who always complained that they did not work hard enough but was thoughtful enough to notice her friends' concerns...

Ron had not said it just now, but he truly treasured these friends.

But then again, was he the only ordinary one? Ah, why was it always like this?! Neville was practically the one who appreciated Hogwarts the most.

What kind of life had he lived at home? The moment he opened his eyes each day, he felt enormous pressure settling onto his shoulders.

He worried that his grandmother and family would be disappointed. He worried that the wizards who looked forward to "defeating" The Dark Lord's Boy Who Lived would be disappointed. He worried that he would betray his parents' sacrifice...

The fact that Neville had not turned dark under such pressure could only mean that he was a true warrior.

After entering school, he could finally relax.

No one mentioned The Boy Who Lived anymore, and his friends did not look at him as though he were some curiosity.

Even when he clumsily made mistakes while brewing potions, someone corrected him in time.

When homework had him scratching his scalp in desperation, someone helped him find reference books.

When Slytherin bullied him, his friends were the first to rush up and beat them soundly...

Here, he also had the Herbology he loved and a Herbology professor who appreciated him.

This was heaven!

Neville was now so grateful that Hermione had entered his compartment on the train back then, allowing him to meet his friends.

And Jerry!

His situation was even more unusual.

His mother had accidentally come to this world after the second Celestial Conjunctions. Later, she discovered that she was already pregnant!

She had once had a happy family, but suddenly became a single mother.

At the time, the Magical World had not yet settled on its attitude toward intelligent races from other worlds.

Many wizards were unfriendly, and some Dark Wizards even secretly captured intelligent humanoid creatures from other worlds for experiments or to make Dark Magic items.

Even after the Ministry of Magic acknowledged their status as "people," there were still problems with how they were treated in private.

Jerry's childhood had not been good. Just as he said, it was only after receiving his acceptance letter, becoming a wizard, and entering Hogwarts that he achieved cheese freedom.

Looking at his friends' youthful yet sincere faces, and their pairs of eyes that seemed to shine with light, Ted smiled and spoke of the joy he had felt when he received Hogwarts's notice at the orphanage, as well as his thoughts from working in Diagon Alley...

Today, his friends did not play games or do anything else, but this heart-to-heart talk brought them even closer.

Friendship with such childlike innocence, untouched by any self-interest, was exceedingly precious.

Because by the time you realized that fact, you had already left that state behind and could never again gain such friendship...