Her Influence

The talisman brought Lucretia to the Chameleon Water Grass.

This time, before she could even get close, the water grass began to change.

The speed of color cycling accelerated noticeably, from pale blue to deep green, then to purple.

She slowly crouched down, paused for a moment, then reached her hand toward the water's surface.

The instant her fingers touched the water, all the water grass stopped changing color.

Then, as if they had agreed upon it, they all simultaneously turned into a shade of emerald blue she had never seen before.

This color was deep, yet very transparent, like a mixture of lake water and sky.

The nearest strands of water grass began to move toward her fingers.

They gently coiled around her fingertips, the touch mild and friendly.

The talisman in her pocket began to heat up, then emitted a faint light.

This light was very soft, faintly visible through the fabric of her robe.

Sensing the glow, the water grass became even more vivid in color.

Lucretia closed her eyes, feeling this wondrous connection.

After arriving at the rocky area, Regulus first stood still and surveyed his surroundings.

His gaze lingered on each rock for a few seconds, as if assessing something.

Then he began to inspect methodically, starting with the largest and moving down to the smallest.

For each rock, he would first examine the surface texture with his eyes, then touch it with his fingers.

"This texture..."

One of the rocks was half-submerged in water, its surface possessing a peculiar smoothness.

Regulus took out his wand from inside his robe, first testing its weight in the air, then gently touching it to the rock's surface.

No reaction.

He frowned, recalling the ancient method his father had taught him.

The tip of his wand began to emit a faint fluorescence, and he brought the light close to different parts of the rock.

When the fluorescent light from his third attempt reached the junction where the rock met the water, the stone's surface suddenly rippled with a faint shimmer.

Regulus took a small vial of clear liquid from another pocket and carefully dripped it onto the glowing spot.

The moment the liquid touched the stone, tiny crystals began to spread outward from the point of contact, as if alive, covering the entire surface.

He looked at these crystals with satisfaction. "The Black family's ancient detection method... never fails. Good thing I prepared a bit before coming."

Regulus then took out the Crystal Vial the Headmaster had given him and carefully removed a few crystals.

When the crystals left the rock body, they emitted a soft blue glow in his hand, as if acknowledging his Black bloodline.

Little Barty had been in the soil area for ten minutes, but had found nothing.

He was still patient when he crouched to examine the first plant, lightly touching its leaves with his wand and observing the reaction.

No special response.

The second plant, his movements were quicker; he tested it directly with his hand.

Still an ordinary plant.

After that, Little Barty's movements as he stood up were noticeably impatient.

His right hand wiped across his robe, as if shaking off something unpleasant.

Just as he was about to turn to another area, his sleeve brushed against an inconspicuous, grayish-green plant.

The plant immediately raised tiny spines, reacting faster than any plant he had ever seen.

Little Barty immediately stepped back to observe this defensive reaction.

"Interesting."

He began to test it systematically.

First, he approached from the left; the plant's spines immediately turned toward him. Then from the right; the spines turned again.

Circling around to the back, all the spines adjusted their direction to track his position.

He took out his wand, drew a small circle at arm's length from the plant, marking a safe distance.

Then he slowly approached, counting his steps.

"Defense radius about half a meter, reaction time decreasing with distance..."

He recorded the data in his mind.

Then Little Barty took a silver pair of tweezers from his robe and reached toward the base of the plant.

The plant reacted violently, releasing a pale green mist, but the tweezers had already clamped onto the target.

He withdrew quickly, his fingertips red from the speed.

On the tweezers were several dark brown seeds, glistening oilily in the sunlight.

He inspected his harvest and nodded with satisfaction. "Defensive seeds, only release under specific threat patterns..."

As he was about to stand, his gaze passed over the plants and landed on Lucretia in the distance, gently interacting with the Chameleon Water Grass.

Her expression looked as natural as if she were conversing with a friend.

Mr. Little Barty paused for a few seconds, then turned back to the plant he had just harvested.

"Thank you for your contribution."

His voice was low, a little embarrassed.

Strangely, the plant's thorns slowly retracted, and its entire posture relaxed.

Dumbledore found a flat rock and sat down like a spectator watching a play, observing the three students.

His gaze first fell on Mr. Regulus.

Seeing the young Black applying his family's inherited detection methods, he nodded.

The way he took reagents from inside his robe, his patient repeated attempts, his trust in ancient wisdom—all of it reminded him of a certain student from many years ago.

"I heard that Godric and Rowena once argued over two different methods of material detection. Mr. Regulus's method focuses more on dialogue with magic rather than forceful probing, though he himself may not realize it."

When his gaze shifted to Mr. Little Barty, Dumbledore's expression grew more focused.

He watched the young man patiently analyze the plant's defensive mechanisms, testing reaction thresholds with an almost scientific approach.

Rigorous, efficient, goal-oriented.

But what truly made a glint flash in Dumbledore's eyes was that pause Mr. Little Barty took after looking at Lucretia.

That moment of hesitation, then the turn and the thanks to the plant.

He murmured to himself, a hint of gratification in his voice: "It seems Mr. Little Barty has grown not only in magic... some influences run deeper than I expected."

Finally, his gaze settled on Lucretia.

She didn't even need to search to find the material most aligned with her magical nature.

She could also inspire others to see the magical world in a different way.

"Sometimes, the most powerful magic isn't a spell, but the connection between people."

The three returned to Dumbledore's side, each holding a crystal vial filled with their material.

Dumbledore pointed to the flat stone surface at his feet. "Place the materials on this stone, forming a small circle."

Mr. Regulus set down his rock crystal first. The moment it touched the stone, it emitted a soft blue glow.

Mr. Little Barty followed, placing his seeds, which immediately formed a faint green shimmer around them.

Lucretia placed the Chameleon Water Grass last, and it began to shift colors.

"Now, place the talisman in the center."

Lucretia took the talisman from her pocket. Before it even touched the stone, the Chameleon Water Grass's color fixed to a cerulean blue and began emitting light of the same hue.

The light extended outward. When it met the rock crystal, the two glows began to intertwine.

The seeds sensed this energy, and their brown surfaces began to show an inner green light, merging with the other two glows.

The moment the talisman touched the stone, all three lights shot upward simultaneously, forming a complex web of light in the air.

Dumbledore's voice carried barely concealed joy: "This is magical resonance. A phenomenon that occurs when the magical properties of different materials complement each other."

The web of light lasted a full minute, then slowly dissipated.

But the glow of the three materials remained, gentle and enduring.

He drew his wand from deep within his robes, its shaft gleaming warmly in the sunlight.

"Now, I will teach you a special protective spell: Guardian Perception."

Dumbledore slowly demonstrated the motion in the air.

First, a small circle, the wand tip tracing a pale trail of light.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, the circle began to expand outward, forming the shape of a large protective barrier.

He repeated the motion. "An ordinary Shield Charm creates a barrier of fixed intensity, but this spell adjusts its properties according to the caster's intent and the environment."

This was quite different from the direct swish Lucretia had learned from Mr. Little Barty over the summer.

Dumbledore paused and looked at Lucretia. "This is a basic variant of the Shield Charm, usually not taught in standard courses. But it's important for understanding the connection between magical intent and effect. An ordinary Shield Charm creates a barrier of fixed strength and nature, while a perception-type protective spell adjusts its properties based on the caster's intent and the surrounding environment."

The wand moved in Dumbledore's hand as lightly as a feather.

"Don't worry about the difficulty. It's all an improvement on the same framework. I believe you'll learn it well."

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