Shield Charm Practice (4k)

Snape's words put Loren's mind at ease. Something he had been worrying about since before school had finally reached a conclusion.

Loren felt somewhat relieved, but not especially happy. What had happened just now had shaken him too deeply.

That sensation, that helplessness, even the anger that rose when he felt he had been toyed with. Every detail had branded itself into Loren's heart.

Snape had fulfilled his duty as a professor. He had not refused the request, but Loren still felt awful about it.

After returning to the common room, Loren washed himself thoroughly three times before climbing into bed, only stopping once that cold, slimy sensation had completely vanished.

His Roommate was already asleep. Loren lay flat on his bed with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling—or perhaps through it, at something else.

His mind was exhausted, and waves of drowsiness surged through his head. In the end, it felt as though they had been blocked somewhere. He was terribly sleepy, yet unable to fall asleep.

When he closed his eyes, he felt as though he was about to enter a dream, where he could vaguely see countless snakes tangled and coiled together.

Loren felt that a long time had passed, yet he remained awake. He seemed able to hear the cries of some unknown bird drifting in from far beyond the window.

After hesitating for a moment, Loren tapped Fantasy Book.

A halo flashed before his eyes, and the scene before him became the bright, clear Library.

Flamel did not seem to notice anything unusual about Loren. He flew two circles around him. "Today, we will be learning function words and grammar."

Loren stared blankly at Flamel, trying to see traces of those snakes in him. The way they wriggled was somewhat similar.

"Flamel, I don't want to study today." Loren's voice lacked energy.

Flamel looked at Loren. "Oh! Of course!"

The face of Nicol that he wore began to twist, and his voice grew shriller. "You don't want to study today. Today is the weekend. There are four weekends every month, fifty weekends every year."

"If you live to be a hundred, you still have more than four thousand weekends!"

"Of course! You will be the maker of the Sorcerer's Stone. You will have countless weekends!"

Loren did not notice anything strange about Flamel. He merely thought Flamel was urging him to study while he could, so he explained, "It's not because it's the weekend. Today, I..."

After pausing, Loren still told him about what had happened that day. "...After coming back, I felt a little tired. I just came in here to relax."

Flamel seemed to calm down. He floated in the air and said nothing for a long while.

Loren said nothing further either. He rested his head on the table, his eyes fixed on the illusory bright lights in the distance. His eyelids drooped lower and lower, as though he were about to fall asleep.

Flamel looked at the tiny child on the table. This was the one chosen by prophecy. He was only eleven years old, unaware that every gift from fate came with a price.

"Ah..."

"How exactly did fate make its choice, Albus?"

Flamel rose into the air and released a bright, pearly-white glow.

Loren slept in a daze. It felt like staying up hard on a Friday night until who knew what hour, then finally falling asleep. Sparse rain fell on Saturday, and the sky outside was gray and hazy. You seemed to open your eyes, glance out the window, then drift back to sleep.

When you woke, it felt as though you had slept for a century. You happily opened your eyes, ready for another day full of energy.

When Loren opened his eyes, he was still in the bright Library. Flamel floated by a distant shelf, reading a Muggle play.

Seeing Loren wake up, Flamel put down the book and floated over. "Loren, have you felt your own powerlessness?"

"???"

Loren was full of question marks. What kind of nonsense was that?

"If you possessed Dumbledore's strength, would something like this still have happened to you?" Flamel's expression was full of temptation.

"What First Year could possibly have Dumbledore's strength?" Loren felt that Flamel might need to be sent back to the factory for repairs.

Flamel ignored the flaw Loren had pointed out. "You will encounter more things like this in the future. Do not waste your talent anymore. Loren, you need to learn how to fight."

When Loren thought about it carefully, there would be battles against Death Eaters later on. Improving his practical combat ability was not a bad thing.

"Are we going to start using the Duel Chamber?"

"No, you are not qualified yet." Flamel's decisiveness wounded Loren's pride a little.

"You could have put that more tactfully. So what should I do?"

"Loren, you need to become proficient with spells in reality before you can use them in the Duel Chamber." Flamel intended to make Loren grow quickly. "Make use of your talent and build your own fighting strength."

"Why not practice spells in the Duel Chamber?"

"Casting a spell requires not only a wizard's will, but also the participation of the body. Wizards skilled in dueling train the spells they excel at until they become instinct."

Harry's Expelliarmus immediately appeared in Loren's mind. Half-understanding, he nodded. Sure, whatever you said.

"Your talent allows you to practice spells faster. You need to make distinctions."

"Find what suits you best, not what is strongest."

"Finally, learn the Shield Charm first."

Breakfast time.

The Gryffindor table had stewed beans, bread, and salad. Those who preferred meat chose Bacon and Fried Sausages.

Only Loren had Steak for breakfast. Ron watched him chew and swallow the last bite, then even lick his lips.

He had to admit that watching Loren eat was a kind of pleasure. Just looking at him, one could almost taste the aroma of well-done Steak mingling with salty-sweet gravy, soaking into every fiber of the meat.

"Why are you looking at me?" Loren picked up his vegetable juice to clear the taste from his mouth. He needed to replenish the vitality he had lost last night.

Ron continued staring blankly, his eyes following Loren's hand. "N-No reason. It just feels... kind of strange to eat Steak for breakfast."

"Oh, I highly recommend trying it tomorrow."

After saying that, Loren leaned toward Hermione. "Hermione, do you have any plans today?"

Hermione was a little groggy. She had stayed up late over her Transfiguration Class homework yesterday and had not gotten enough sleep. Blinking, she looked blankly at Loren. "I'm always in the Library on weekends."

"I need your help!" Loren felt that Hermione was the only First Year who could help him.

Without knowing what was going on, Hermione was dragged all the way to the Room of Requirement by Loren.

Loren paced back and forth before Silly Barnaby being beaten senseless, asking the Room of Requirement to set up a Duel Chamber before pulling Hermione inside.

"For reasons I can't tell you yet, I need to improve my practical combat ability, at least until I reach a certain threshold." Loren held Hermione by the shoulders, his blue eyes fixed on her brown ones. "Among the First Years, you know the most spells, so I need your help."

Flamel had made a request last night. At minimum, Loren needed to master the Shield Charm. Before learning to hit people, he had to learn how to take a hit.

Hermione did not press him for details. She merely counted on her fingers. "The only spell I currently know that can be used in combat is the Binding Charm."

The little Witch looked dejected. "I can't help you. I still know too few spells." After thinking about it, she was already the most knowledgeable among the First Years, so she added, "I don't think we need to pursue practical combat yet. We're only First Years."

"That's enough. What I want to practice is the Shield Charm. You only need to cast spells at me," Loren explained.

That sounded like there was nothing wrong with it, so Hermione nodded.

Loren gave a simple introduction to the Shield Charm. "The Shield Charm is a spell that can resist many different spells. An invisible magical barrier appears in the direction the caster's wand points, deflecting or dispersing objects and spells to protect the caster and a certain area around them."

The Shield Charm was unlike other spells. Casting it did not immediately provide feedback.

It had to be refined according to different defensive outcomes. Ideally, one could control the direction in which an enemy's spell was deflected, or make it disperse entirely.

Taking it a step further, one could extend this invisible magical barrier over the whole body.

Of course, if Loren could successfully cast a complete protective barrier today, that would count as a success.

Hermione immediately recalled something. "Miranda Goshawk mentioned in Advanced Rune Translation that many adult wizards might not even be able to cast this spell."

Ever since reading Miranda Goshawk's manuscript last time, Hermione had become interested in the legendary witch.

Hermione had borrowed the author's other books from the Library. Madam Pince had been a great help, saving her quite a bit of time.

"I don't think this is a spell a First Year can learn, Loren." Hermione tried to dissuade him, and she had begun to make some guesses. "Did you run into some kind of trouble? We can go find a professor right now, and the headmaster too." Her tone was urgent.

A student suddenly wanting to learn an advanced defensive spell was clearly not normal.

"Stop, stop!" Loren cut off Hermione's wild speculation. "It's just a spell. Nothing else happened."

After some persuasion, Hermione reluctantly accepted Loren's explanation.

They stood two or three meters apart, their wands pointed at each other.

Hermione was a little nervous. This was her first time casting a spell at someone. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

Hermione confirmed once more. "Are you ready?"

Loren was nervous too. He inhaled, then exhaled. "I'm ready."

"Are you ready?"

"Of course!"

"Are you ready?"

"Yes?" Loren hesitated.

"Are you ready?"

Loren could not take it anymore. Was this the SpongeBob opening song or something? "Enough, Hermione!"

"Ah! Petrificus Totalus!" Startled by Loren's impatient tone, Hermione cast the spell with astonishing smoothness under pressure.

Her Vine Wood wand emitted a faint white light.

Loren was still caught up in the rhythm of talking to the captain and did not react at all. His whole body snapped upright, his hands pressed tightly against his trouser seams, his face turning bluish as he fell stiffly to the floor.

It was Hermione's first time seeing the spell's actual effects too. She froze for a moment, then quickly came back to herself. "I told you that you weren't ready!" Her voice held a trace of grievance. "Why did you yell at me?"

"We obviously should have coordinated a few more times."

"If you hadn't shouted at me, I wouldn't have panicked so much..."

The little Witch muttered complaints about Loren for quite a while before remembering to lift the spell.

The counterspell did not go very smoothly. After several repeated attempts, Loren's rigid body finally relaxed.

"It's all your fault!" Hermione vented by slapping Loren on the shoulder.

Loren felt wronged, but did not dare say so. He still needed her help, and he really had been rude.

Brushing off nonexistent dust, Loren put on an easygoing expression. "Again. This time, I'll definitely cooperate with you."

The two returned to their original positions, their wands aimed at each other.

"Are you ready?" Hermione's voice was no longer nervous.

"Yes, Captain!" Loren swore inwardly that he would cooperate even if she said it a hundred times.

"Petrificus Totalus!" This time, Hermione acted decisively after confirming once.

Loren, who had been preparing to receive the captain's next greeting, watched helplessly as the white light shot toward him. I refuse to accept this!!!

Loren fell stiffly to the ground with his eyes wide open.

"Ah..." Hermione sighed. "You were not ready."

Hermione said nothing else. She sighed as she lifted the spell from Loren.

Loren stood up again and brushed off nonexistent dust. "Ahem, accident. It definitely won't happen next time."

Hermione shook her head and returned to her position. "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Protego!"

They spoke almost simultaneously, but the Shield Charm was not an elementary spell. Loren failed to summon a magical barrier.

Once again, Loren fell down.

Hermione had a feeling that she would be very tired today, endlessly casting and lifting spells. "Ah..."

Loren stood again. His tensed muscles made his breathing a little rushed, and his face felt hot.

Neither of them spoke as they returned to their original positions.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

"Protego!"

The instant Loren cast the spell, he felt it. He still failed to summon a magical barrier, but embarrassment rapidly drove his brain into action. Loren lunged to the side and dodged the petrification.

Their practice finally got on track.

Over nearly an entire morning, Loren only succeeded in neutralizing Hermione's spell twice.

The good news was that Hermione had become much more proficient at casting and lifting spells. The bad news was that Loren still could not cast the Shield Charm reliably.

"Ahem, Hermione, I don't think you should just keep repeating this. It isn't helping you." Driven by some strange sense of pride, Loren came up with a brilliant idea: he wanted to take Hermione down at least once.

"Tell me what you have in mind." Hermione knew Loren had not yet learned any offensive spells. The Explosion Curse Seamus had mentioned was too powerful and unsuitable for practice.

"Let's have a wizard's duel!" Loren said with a solemn, righteous expression.

"The current score is twenty-one to zero." Hermione lifted her chin proudly.

After bowing, they raised their wands before their chests and watched each other's movements intently.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione struck first.

Loren had been waiting for this. He swiftly dove sideways into a roll, then crouched halfway and pointed at the shoe on Hermione's right foot. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The Levitation Charm made the shoe try to run wild. Hermione lost her balance and staggered toward the floor, hurriedly casting a Binding Charm at Loren before she fell.

Hermione had been using that spell all morning, and she was in the groove.

Both of them fell to the floor, their shoulders pressed together, but Loren had already lost his ability to fight.

Hermione's smile showed in her teeth, in the crescents of her eyes, and in every part of her face. Loren could feel her shoulders trembling with laughter.

Hermione patted Loren on the shoulder and slowly got to her feet. "Mr. Morgan, twenty-two to zero. Haha..."

Something came up today, so there was only one update—but it's 4k, so it's basically no different.